But let no one come into Yahweh’s house, except the priests and those who minister of the Levites. They shall come in, for they are holy, but all the people shall follow Yahweh’s instructions. The Levites shall surround the king, every man with his weapons in his hand. Whoever comes into the house, let him be slain. Be with the king when he comes in, and when he goes out.”
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2 Chronicles 23:6-7 sits inside this longer paragraph.
In the seventh year, Jehoiada strengthened himself, and took the captains of hundreds, Azariah the son of Jeroham, Ishmael the son of Jehohanan, Azariah the son of Obed, Maaseiah the son of Adaiah, and Elishaphat the son of Zichri, into a covenant with him. They went around in Judah, and gathered the Levites out of all the cities of Judah, and the heads of fathers’ households of Israel, and they came to Jerusalem. All the assembly made a covenant with the king in God’s house. He said to them, “Behold, the king’s son must reign, as Yahweh has spoken concerning the sons of David. This is the thing that you must do. A third part of you, who come in on the Sabbath, of the priests and of the Levites, shall be gatekeepers of the thresholds. A third part shall be at the king’s house; and a third part at the gate of the foundation. All the people will be in the courts of Yahweh’s house. But let no one come into Yahweh’s house, except the priests and those who minister of the Levites. They shall come in, for they are holy, but all the people shall follow Yahweh’s instructions. The Levites shall surround the king, every man with his weapons in his hand. Whoever comes into the house, let him be slain. Be with the king when he comes in, and when he goes out.”
Parallel Translations
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But let no one come into Yahweh’s house, except the priests and those who minister of the Levites. They shall come in, for they are holy, but all the people shall follow Yahweh’s instructions.
The Levites shall surround the king, every man with his weapons in his hand. Whoever comes into the house, let him be slain. Be with the king when he comes in, and when he goes out.”
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But let none come into the house of the LORD, save the priests, and they that minister of the Levites; they shall go in, for they are holy: but all the people shall keep the watch of the LORD.
And the Levites shall compass the king round about, every man with his weapons in his hand; and whosoever else cometh into the house, he shall be put to death: but be ye with the king when he cometh in, and when he goeth out.
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But let none come into the house of the LORD, save the priests, and they that minister of the Levites; they shall come in, for they are holy; but all the people shall keep the charge of the LORD.
And the Levites shall compass the king round about, every man with his weapons in his hand; and whosoever cometh into the house, let him be slain; and be ye with the king when he cometh in, and when he goeth out.'
Cross-references (7)
- 1 Chronicles 23:28-32 (v6) For their office was to wait on the sons of Aaron for the service of Yahweh’s house, in the courts, and in the rooms, and in the purifying…
- Exodus 19:12-13 (v7) You shall set bounds to the people all around, saying, ‘Be careful that you don’t go up onto the mountain, or touch its border. Whoever…
- Exodus 21:14 (v7) If a man schemes and comes presumptuously on his neighbor to kill him, you shall take him from my altar, that he may die.
- Numbers 3:10 (v7) You shall appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall keep their priesthood, but the stranger who comes near shall be put to death.”
- Numbers 3:38 (v7) Those who encamp before the tabernacle eastward, in front of the Tent of Meeting toward the sunrise, shall be Moses, and Aaron and his…
Show all 7 cross-references
- 2 Kings 11:6-7 (v6) a third of you shall be at the gate Sur; and a third of you at the gate behind the guard. So you shall keep the watch of the house, and be…
- 2 Kings 11:8-9 (v7) You shall surround the king, every man with his weapons in his hand; and he who comes within the ranks, let him be slain. Be with the king…
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (11 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On v7 Meaning, to make any tumult, or to hinder their…
Meaning, to make any tumult, or to hinder their enterprise.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv6–7 2Ch 23:6 But let none come into the house…
2Ch 23:6 But let none come into the house of the LORD, save the priests, and they that minister of the Levites; they shall go in, for they [are] holy: but all the people shall keep the watch of the LORD.
Ver. 6. Shall keep the watch of the Lord.] They shall observe to do in this service of the Lord what is given them in charge. Every man must move in his own orb to promote the work of reformation.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On v6 Into the house of the Lord; strictly so called,…
Into the house of the Lord; strictly so called, as it is distinguished from the courts, into which others were permitted to come, 2Ch 23:5, to wit, into the holy place.
The priests, and they that minister of the Levites; they who are to minister in course, or by my present appointment.
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The watch of the Lord, i.e. of the house of the Lord; as the phrase may be filled up out of this place and 2Ki 11:6. The sense is, Let them stand in their court to prevent and oppose any person who shall endeavour violently to break into the house to seize upon the king, or to disturb their present work; which he expected Athaliah and her accomplices would do.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On v6 2Ch 23:6. Let none come into the house of…
2Ch 23:6. Let none come into the house of the Lord — Strictly so called, and distinguished from the courts just mentioned, namely, into the sanctuary, or holy place. Save the priests, and they that minister of the Levites — Who are to minister in course, or according to my present appointment. They shall go in, for they are holy — They have been consecrated to the service of God, and are bound to attend there. But all the people shall keep the watch of the Lord — That is, of the house of the Lord, as is expressed 2Ki 11:6. The meaning is, Let them stand in their court to prevent and oppose any person that shall endeavour violently to break into the house, to seize upon the king, or to oppose the present work, which he expected Athaliah and her accomplices would do.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv6–7 Keep the watch of the Lord - i. e.…
Keep the watch of the Lord - i. e. guard against any attempt that might be made by the Baal-worshippers to force their way through the courts into the temple.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On v7 Slain. Athalia ventured to enter; but she was alone,…
Slain. Athalia ventured to enter; but she was alone, and not much feared. C.
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv6–7 6. let none come into the house of the…
6. let none come into the house of the Lord] It is clear on the contrary from Kings (2Ch_23:11) that the royal guards (who were laymen) were brought into the Temple itself under Jehoiada’s directions. Ritual custom was broken through for such a crisis.
all the people] Not mentioned in Kings; but cp. 2Ki_11:14.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv6–7 (6) But let none come into the house of…
(6) But let none come into the house of the Lord.—This verse is not read in Kings. Apparently it is merely an emphatic repetition of the direction of the last verse that all the people were to remain in the courts, and not to break the law by presuming to enter the holy chambers. In 2Ki_11:7 we read instead: “And the two parts among you, all that go out on the Sabbath, they shall keep the watch of the house of the Lord, with regard to the king.” The last words of the present verse, “And all the people shall keep the watch of the Lord” repeat a portion of this, but in a different sense: “Let all the people carefully observe the legal rule against entering the sanctuary.”
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv6–7 But let none come save the priests. Through this…
But let none come save the priests. Through this little chink we get some light confirmatory of the concurrent jurisdiction of the account in the parallel The express caution of this clause shows that there were others about, and others officiating, beside the Levites, who only have been mentioned hitherto in our text, except under the most generic designation (as before, so again in last clause of this verse) of "all the people." The last clause of this verse may cover the contents of ver. 7 in the parallel. The distinction between "the courts of the house of the Lord" (ver. 5), and "the house of the Lord" (ver. 6) is, of course, quite apparent.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v6 Allow no one to come into the house of…
Allow no one to come into the house of Yahweh
"Do not allow anyone to come into the house of Yahweh"
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But all the other people must obey the commands of Yahweh
It may be helpful to state that command. AT: "All the others must remain in the courtyard, obeying what Yahweh has commanded" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
The Levites must surround the king on all sides
"The Levites must surround the king on all sides in order to protect him"
all sides, every man with his weapons in his hand
"all sides, and every temple guard should have his weapons and be ready to fight"
Whoever comes into the house, let him be killed
This did not include the temple guards and the priests. This can be stated explicitly and in active form. AT: "You must kill anyone except the temple guards and the priests who come into the temple" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information and Active or Passive)
when he comes in and when he goes out
Possible meanings are 1) "at all times" or 2) "wherever he goes." (See: Idiom)
translationWords
command
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v6 23:6-7 Because only the priests and Levites on duty…
23:6-7 Because only the priests and Levites on duty may enter the Temple, the Levites were required to prevent anyone else from doing so.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.