But if you will go, take action, and be strong for the battle. God will overthrow you before the enemy; for God has power to help, and to overthrow.”
Parallel Translations
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But if you will go, take action, and be strong for the battle. God will overthrow you before the enemy; for God has power to help, and to overthrow.”
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But if thou wilt go, do it, be strong for the battle: God shall make thee fall before the enemy: for God hath power to help, and to cast down.
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But if thou wilt go, and do engage never so valiantly in battle, God will cast thee down before the enemy; for God hath power to help, and to cast down.'
Cross-references (23)
Passages linked to 2 Chronicles 25:8 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- 2 Chronicles 14:11 Asa cried to Yahweh his God, and said, “Yahweh, there is no one besides you to help, between the mighty and him who has no strength. Help us, Yahweh our God; for we rely on you, and in your name are we come against this multitude. Yahweh, you are our God. Don’t let man prevail against you.”
- 2 Chronicles 20:6 and he said, “Yahweh, the God of our fathers, aren’t you God in heaven? Aren’t you ruler over all the kingdoms of the nations? Power and might are in your hand, so that no one is able to withstand you.
- Philippians 4:19 My God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.
- Luke 18:29-30 He said to them, “Most certainly I tell you, there is no one who has left house, or wife, or brothers, or parents, or children, for God’s Kingdom’s sake, who will not receive many times more in this time, and in the world to come, eternal life.”
- Deuteronomy 8:18 But you shall remember Yahweh your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he swore to your fathers, as it is today.
- Judges 7:7 Yahweh said to Gideon, “I will save you by the three hundred men who lapped, and deliver the Midianites into your hand. Let all the other people go, each to his own place.”
- 1 Samuel 14:6 Jonathan said to the young man who bore his armor, “Come! Let’s go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised. It may be that Yahweh will work for us; for there is no restraint on Yahweh to save by many or by few.”
- 2 Chronicles 1:12 therefore wisdom and knowledge is granted to you. I will give you riches, wealth, and honor, such as none of the kings have had who have been before you had, and none after you will have.”
- 2 Chronicles 18:14 When he had come to the king, the king said to him, “Micaiah, shall we go to Ramoth Gilead to battle, or shall I forbear?” He said, “Go up, and prosper. They shall be delivered into your hand.”
- Job 5:18 For he wounds and binds up. He injures and his hands make whole.
- Job 9:13 “God will not withdraw his anger. The helpers of Rahab stoop under him.
- Psalms 20:7 Some trust in chariots, and some in horses, but we trust in the name of Yahweh our God.
- Psalms 24:1 The earth is Yahweh’s, with its fullness; the world, and those who dwell in it.
- Psalms 33:10 Yahweh brings the counsel of the nations to nothing. He makes the thoughts of the peoples to be of no effect.
- Psalms 33:16 There is no king saved by the multitude of an army. A mighty man is not delivered by great strength.
- Psalms 62:11 God has spoken once; twice I have heard this, that power belongs to God.
- Proverbs 10:22 Yahweh’s blessing brings wealth, and he adds no trouble to it.
- Ecclesiastes 9:11 I returned and saw under the sun that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favor to men of skill; but time and chance happen to them all.
- Ecclesiastes 11:9 Rejoice, young man, in your youth, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth, and walk in the ways of your heart, and in the sight of your eyes; but know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment.
- Isaiah 8:9-10 Make an uproar, you peoples, and be broken in pieces! Listen, all you from far countries: dress for battle, and be shattered! Dress for battle, and be shattered! Take counsel together, and it will be brought to nothing; speak the word, and it will not stand, for God is with us.”
- Joel 3:9-14 Proclaim this among the nations: “Prepare for war! Stir up the mighty men. Let all the warriors draw near. Let them come up. Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruning hooks into spears. Let the weak say, ‘I am strong.’ Hurry and come, all you surrounding nations, and gather yourselves together.” Cause your mighty ones to come down there, Yahweh. “Let the nations arouse themselves, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat; for there I will sit to judge all the surrounding nations. Put in the sickle; for the harvest is ripe. Come, tread, for the wine press is full, the vats overflow, for their wickedness is great.” Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of Yahweh is near, in the valley of decision.
- Haggai 2:8 The silver is mine, and the gold is mine,’ says Yahweh of Armies.
- Matthew 26:45 Then he came to his disciples, and said to them, “Sleep on now, and take your rest. Behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (10 sources)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain If thou wilt not give credit to my words.
If thou wilt not give credit to my words.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 2Ch 25:8 But if thou wilt go, do [it],…
2Ch 25:8 But if thou wilt go, do [it], be strong for the battle: God shall make thee fall before the enemy: for God hath power to help, and to cast down.
Ver. 8. But if thou wilt go.] If thou hast a mind to wrestle a fall with the Almighty, at thy own peril be it.
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 Be strong for the battle; take courage, and strengthen…
Be strong for the battle; take courage, and strengthen thyself as much as thou canst. It is an ironical concession, like that, Go, and prosper.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And Amaziah said to the man of God, but…
And Amaziah said to the man of God, but what shall we do for the one hundred talents which I have given to the army of Israel?.... They will be lost, there is no demanding them back again; this he spake with some concern, as loath to lose so much money:
and the man of God answered, the Lord is able to give thee much more than this; whose is the earth, and the fulness thereof, the gold and silver, and all the riches of it; and therefore he had no need to trouble himself about the loss of his money, which, if obedient to the will of God, he might expect it would be abundantly repaid him.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Do it - It is an ironical concession like…
Do it - It is an ironical concession like that, go, and prosper.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain If the present text is regarded as sound, this…
If the present text is regarded as sound, this passage must be taken ironically. But most recent commentators supply a second negative, and render it: “But go thou alone, act, be strong for the battle - God shall then not make thee to fall.”
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 And. Heb. "But if thou wilt go, do; be…
And. Heb. "But if thou wilt go, do; be strong; (he speaks ironically) God," &c. Sept. "if thou thinkest that thou art strong with these, the Lord," &c. Amasias ought to have known that no dependance was to be placed on Israel, while they despised God, C. xv. 2.
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 8. do it] R.V. do valiantly (spoken ironically).
8. do it] R.V. do valiantly (spoken ironically).
shall make thee fall] R.V. shall cast thee down.
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 (8) But if thou wilt go.—Rather, But go thyself;…
(8) But if thou wilt go.—Rather, But go thyself; in contrast with the prohibition, “Let not the army of Israel go.”
Do it, be strong for the battle.—Compare 1Ch_22:16 : “Arise! act!”
Read full note →
God shall make thee fall.—Before these words, the expression wĕlô’, “and not,” must have dropped out of the text. “Venture on the expedition by thyself. with a good courage,” says the prophet, “and God will not let thee stumble before the foe.”
For God hath power.—For there is strength in God, to help and to make to stumble. (Comp. 2Ch_20:6; 1Ch_29:12; Psa_9:3.) The ancient versions were evidently embarrassed by the passage. The LXX. render: “Because if thou think to prevail through them, then will the Lord rout thee before thy foes; because it is from the Lord both to be strong and to rout.” Vulg.: “But if thou thinkest that wars depend on the strength of an army, God will make thee to be overcome by the enemy.” Syriac: “Because thou art going to make war, the Lord will cast thee down before thy foes; because thou hast not praised the Lord, who is the helper and uplifter.” It is noticeable that no version inserts the required negative; the omission, therefore, is ancient.
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 It is hard to feel satisfied as to the…
It is hard to feel satisfied as to the correct rendering of this verse. The drift of the next verse, which shows Amaziah a convert to the strong exhortation of the man of God, makes either alternative allowable under the present text very untimely. and not very much in accord with what we should look for at the lips of the man of God. The very conceivable way out of the difficulty is to read al, hyphened to (all the rather that no vau is present in aOB, as the present text is), and proceed to supply aB or awB again before hTa crediting some copyist with confusion of eye through these having come close together in his manuscript. The rendering will then be straightforward, and prepare the way for Amaziah"s yielding conformably with the tenor of the next verse. "But if not" (i.e. if thou wilt not be guided by my remonstrance as to Ephraim), "go thou, be on the alert, exert all the strength possible for the battle, and yet nevertheless God will cause thee to stumble." And the remaining sentence may bear this significance, "For God hath power to help thee though alone, or to cast thee down though supported by an extra hundred thousand." If such alteration or conjectural restoration of the text be not accepted, we may harmonize the facts of the case with the most utter faithfulness of lip on the part of the prophet, by translating, "For in very truth, if thou go at all, and though thou make the best preparations, God shall make it go ill with thee." And Amaziah is persuaded to this point, that he will neither risk the lives of them of Ephraim vainly, nor risk the likelier displeasure of God on himself. He yields only partly, and therefore is nothing benefited. The difficulty is left untouched, that the prophet did not simply in toto forbid Amaziah to go, and that, saving them of Ephraim, he saves them to be a second scourge for the back of Amaziah, though he took his prophet"s advice so far, and lost his own money. A careful and devout observer of human life and perverseness, when once these commit themselves to the vain struggle with God, and equally vain attempt to haggle with his providence as to how much to yield and how much to resist and with. hold, cannot but be struck with the photograph here thrown off, and that it is a faithful one, of hard facts that have met together disastrously times without number in men"s lives. The sum, then, of the matter of our vers. 7, 8 may amount to this: "Under no circumstances take Israel, and if thou go thyself with all best preparations, yet know that God shall destroy thee."
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.