My sons, don’t be negligent now; for Yahweh has chosen you to stand before him, to minister to him, and that you should be his ministers, and burn incense.”
Parallel Translations
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My sons, don’t be negligent now; for Yahweh has chosen you to stand before him, to minister to him, and that you should be his ministers, and burn incense.”
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My sons, be not now negligent: for the LORD hath chosen you to stand before him, to serve him, and that ye should minister unto him, and burn incense.
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My sons, be not now negligent; for the LORD hath chosen you to stand before Him, to minister unto Him, and that ye should be His ministers, and offer unto Him.'
Cross-references (6)
Passages linked to 2 Chronicles 29:11 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Deuteronomy 10:8 At that time Yahweh set apart the tribe of Levi to bear the ark of Yahweh’s covenant, to stand before Yahweh to minister to him, and to bless in his name, to this day.
- Numbers 8:6-14 “Take the Levites from among the children of Israel, and cleanse them. You shall do this to them, to cleanse them: sprinkle the water of cleansing on them, let them shave their whole bodies with a razor, let them wash their clothes, and cleanse themselves. Then let them take a young bull and its meal offering, fine flour mixed with oil; and another young bull you shall take for a sin offering. You shall present the Levites before the Tent of Meeting. You shall assemble the whole congregation of the children of Israel. You shall present the Levites before Yahweh. The children of Israel shall lay their hands on the Levites, and Aaron shall offer the Levites before Yahweh for a wave offering on the behalf of the children of Israel, that it may be theirs to do the service of Yahweh. “The Levites shall lay their hands on the heads of the bulls, and you shall offer the one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering to Yahweh, to make atonement for the Levites. You shall set the Levites before Aaron and before his sons, and offer them as a wave offering to Yahweh. Thus you shall separate the Levites from among the children of Israel, and the Levites shall be mine.
- Galatians 6:7-8 Don’t be deceived. God is not mocked, for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption. But he who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.
- Numbers 3:6-9 “Bring the tribe of Levi near, and set them before Aaron the priest, that they may minister to him. They shall keep his requirements, and the requirements of the whole congregation before the Tent of Meeting, to do the service of the tabernacle. They shall keep all the furnishings of the Tent of Meeting, and the obligations of the children of Israel, to do the service of the tabernacle. You shall give the Levites to Aaron and to his sons. They are wholly given to him on the behalf of the children of Israel.
- Numbers 16:35-40 Fire came out from Yahweh, and devoured the two hundred fifty men who offered the incense. Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest, that he take up the censers out of the burning, and scatter the fire away from the camp; for they are holy, even the censers of those who sinned against their own lives. Let them be beaten into plates for a covering of the altar, for they offered them before Yahweh. Therefore they are holy. They shall be a sign to the children of Israel.” Eleazar the priest took the bronze censers which those who were burned had offered; and they beat them out for a covering of the altar, to be a memorial to the children of Israel, to the end that no stranger who isn’t of the offspring of Aaron, would come near to burn incense before Yahweh, that he not be as Korah, and as his company; as Yahweh spoke to him by Moses.
- Numbers 18:2-7 Bring your brothers also, the tribe of Levi, the tribe of your father, near with you, that they may be joined to you, and minister to you; but you and your sons with you shall be before the Tent of the Testimony. They shall keep your commands and the duty of the whole Tent; only they shall not come near to the vessels of the sanctuary and to the altar, that they not die, neither they nor you. They shall be joined to you and keep the responsibility of the Tent of Meeting, for all the service of the Tent. A stranger shall not come near to you. “You shall perform the duty of the sanctuary and the duty of the altar, that there be no more wrath on the children of Israel. Behold, I myself have taken your brothers the Levites from among the children of Israel. They are a gift to you, dedicated to Yahweh, to do the service of the Tent of Meeting. You and your sons with you shall keep your priesthood for everything of the altar, and for that within the veil. You shall serve. I give you the service of the priesthood as a gift. The stranger who comes near shall be put to death.”
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
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John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 2Ch 29:11 My sons, be not now negligent: for…
2Ch 29:11 My sons, be not now negligent: for the LORD hath chosen you to stand before him, to serve him, and that ye should minister unto him, and burn incense.
Ver. 11. Be not now negligent.] Or, Be not deceived: a good memento for ministers, who must be both intelligent and diligent. Hezekiah found, it seemeth, some slackness and backwardness in the priests and Levites to the work of reformation: he therefore - as after him Aemilius Paulus the consul, when nobody else dared, did himself run with the hatchet into the temple of Serapis, the demolishing whereof the senate had decreed - began first himself, and awaketh those sluggards with these words, Ne sitis socordes, Be not slack, my sons; God hath chosen you, &c. Up and be doing.
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 My sons; so he calls them indifferently, though many…
My sons; so he calls them indifferently, though many of them were elder than himself, because he was by his tender love and affection, as he was by his office obliged to be, a nursing-father to them. See Isa 49:23.
Be not now negligent, in sanctifying yourselves and the temple, 2Ch 29:5, and in quickening and preparing yourselves and the people to God’s service.
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 Then the Levites arose,.... Whose names are mentioned; of…
Then the Levites arose,.... Whose names are mentioned; of the Kohathites two, Mahath the son of Amashai, and Joel the son of Azariah; of the Merarites two, Kish the son of Abdi, and Azariah the son of Jehalelel; of the Gershonites two, Joah the son of Zimmah, and Eden the son of Joah; and of the family of Elizaphan, a Kohathite, two, Shimri and Jehiel; and of the family of Asaph, one of the chief singers in the times of David, two, Zechariah and Mattaniah; and of the family of Heman, another principal singer in the same times, two, Jehiel and Shimei; and of the family of Jeduthun, the third principal singer, the same with Ethan, two, Shemaiah and Uzziel, in all fourteen.
Then the Levites arose,.... Whose names are mentioned; of the Kohathites two, Mahath the son of Amashai, and Joel the son of Azariah; of the Merarites two, Kish the son of Abdi, and Azariah the son of Jehalelel; of the Gershonites two, Joah the son of Zimmah, and Eden the son of Joah; and of the family of Elizaphan, a Kohathite, two, Shimri and Jehiel; and of the family of Asaph, one of the chief singers in the times of David, two, Zechariah and Mattaniah; and of the family of Heman, another principal singer in the same times, two, Jehiel and Shimei; and of the family of Jeduthun, the third principal singer, the same with Ethan, two, Shemaiah and Uzziel, in all fourteen.
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2 Chronicles 29:15
ch2 29:15
ch2 29:15
ch2 29:15And they gathered their brethren, and sanctified themselves,.... As they were bid, see Ch2 29:5,
and came, according to the commandment of the king, by the word of the Lord, to cleanse the house of the Lord; for this, which the king commanded, was by the Lord, and they came to do this work, in obedience to both.
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 Sons - So he calls them, though many of…
Sons - So he calls them, though many of them were elder than himself, because he was by his tender love and affection, as he was by his office obliged to be, a nursing father to them. Negligent - In sanctifying yourselves and the temple, ver. 5, and in quickening and preparing yourselves and the people for God's service.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Negligent. Heb. adds, "now," when every thing tends to…
Negligent. Heb. adds, "now," when every thing tends to open your eyes. H.
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).
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 11. My sons — The king speaks kindly, as…
11. My sons — The king speaks kindly, as the father of all the people whom he rules.
Be not negligent — Literally, do not go astray.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 11. to stand before him] Deu_10:8.
11. to stand before him] Deu_10:8.
to serve him, and that you should minister unto him] R.V. to minister unto him, and that ye should be his ministers.
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 (11) My sons.—A condescending term from the king; just…
(11) My sons.—A condescending term from the king; just as my father was a term of respect (2Ki_2:12; 2Ki_5:13; 2Ki_13:14).
Be not now negligent.—The Niphal form of the verb shalah (“to be at ease”) occurs nowhere else. The margin is incorrect.
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The Lord hath chosen you.—You hath the Lord chosen. The pronoun is emphatic. (Comp. the similar words: 1Ch_23:13; Deu_10:8.)
To stand before him, (in order) to serve him, is the construction.
And that ye should minister.—Literally, And to become to him ministers and thurifers.
The thoughts and the style of the royal address make it evident enough that it is a free composition, in the well-known manner of ancient historians.
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 Be not now negligent; Hebrew, WlCTiAla. This verb in…
Be not now negligent; Hebrew, WlCTiAla. This verb in kal (supposing it the same verb) occurs but five times (Job_3:26 Job_12:6; Psa_122:6; Jer_12:1; Lam_1:5) the radical idea of it being the safety of ease or security rather than any absolute safety. In niph. it is found only in this place and in 2Ki_4:28, where the rendering of the Authorized Version, "Do not deceive me," will easily yield the same essential idea. The derivative adjective (wlev) occurs eight times, and always has the same flavour about it (1Ch_4:40; Job_16:12 Job_20:20 Job_21:23; Psa_73:12; Jer_49:31 Eze_23:42; Zec_7:7) And the derivative nouns (wlv and hwlv) occur nine times, and, at any rate, in almost every instance evidently carrying the same fundamental idea (Psa_30:6 Psa_122:7; Pro_1:32 Pro_17:1; Jer_22:21; Eze_16:49; Dan_8:25 Dan_11:21, Dan_11:24) Our Authorized Version, therefore, sufficiently reproduces the thought of Hezekiah, though perhaps this would more exactly come out of the rendering, "Be not now at ease," i.e. sacrifice ease and self-indulgence, etc. To serve him that ye should minister. The same verb is used in both these places; so Revised Version, To minister unto him, and that ye should be his ministers.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain For the Lord hath chosen you to stand before…
2Ch_29:11
For the Lord hath chosen you to stand before Him, to serve Him.
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Divine service
I. Some persons may ask, why should we serve God? He doesnt seem as if He troubled about us? We admit that so far as outward appearances go, it seems as if this great universe was something like a well-regulated machine with God as the invisible engineer. When a human being, man, woman, or child, goes against the laws of this great machine, God does not stop it, as a human mechanic would his engine. The Christian believer sometimes wonders why God does not in some critical emergency interfere; but shall we that are but as the creatures of a day express any doubt of the wisdom of God?
II. Permit me to say a few words to those who are now serving God.
1. Be cheerful in your service.
2. Let your service be pure and unselfish. One man who had been helping in a good work for a few months, with a cry of discontent said, I shall not come any more because nobody ever thanks me. Does the violet, or the rose, or the sun need thanks for giving forth beauty, and perfume, and light? The beat reward of good service is in the heart of the server. A man who engages in the Divine service from selfish motives is like a fettered bird. The bird could wing itself into the vault of yonder blue sky; but it has a stone tied to its leg. Your selfishness is a stone which fetters your usefulness.
3. Let your service be continual.
III. Let me speak to those who have no hope of ever becoming the servants of God. God knows and cares for you. (W. Birch.)
Diligence and exertion in the Chistian ministry
Let us endeavour--
I. To explain the counsel or Hezekiah to the priests and Levites: be not now negligent. This is sometimes rendered: be not now deceived. This conveys the idea that we are never more apt to impose upon ourselves than when we are remiss in duty, for we vainly imagine that God will not be strict to mark against us what is so natural and so pleasing to the depraved heart of man. It implies a former deficiency in the performance of duty. This counsel was--
1. Most necessary.
2. Highly important and useful
3. Peculiarly reasonable.
II. To consider some motives to its enforcement.
1. If we would act in accordance with the design of God in the appointment of the sacred office of the ministry, we will use the utmost diligence in His service.
2. The number, the variety, the difficulty and importance of the duties connected with the office of the ministry, require diligence.
5. Consistency with your professed character.
4. The shortness and uncertainty of the time allotted.
5. The sense of responsibility. Ye serve the Lord Christ. (W. Schaw.)
The Christian ministry
I. While all Gods children are called to serve Him, there is a special sense in which the minister of God is chosen to serve Him
1. He is outwardly chosen and called to this work by men who have public authority given unto them in the church.
2. He is inwardly brought to it; for he declares that he thinks in his heart that he is truly called.
II. The object of the ministerial office is the glory of God in the salvation of sinners.
III. The means whereby this result is to be effected are--
1. The preaching of the Gospel.
(1) Faithfully.
(2) Boldly.
(3) Affectionately.
2. The right discharge of his regular official duties, baptism, marriage, etc.
3. Personal intercourse with his flock.
4. The ministers consistency of life.
IV. The attitude of the minister is one of peculiar dignity; it is to stand before the Lord. Exhortation; be not now negligent.
1. In Prayer.
2. In study, It is said of the Venerable Bede, that he never knew what it was to do nothing, and always found it sweet to be either learning, teaching, or writing.
3. In labour.
4. In conduct. (F. B. Ashley.)
The complex idea of worship
We make mistakes if we suppose that worship is a mere cloud, a foam of sentiment; it is work of all kinds, door-opening and lamp-lighting and floor-sweeping, cleansing, preparing, ventilating, expecting the people and welcoming them with joy; and then incense-burning, and cross-uplifting, and cry of thunderous and mute eloquence, and hymn, sweet, gentle, tender, and prayer that beats against heaven like artillery--all these things and many more ere included in the complex idea of worship. Let each man, therefore, do what he can in this matter, knowing that no one man works the whole ministry of worship, but that it is an act of co-operation and combination, one part playing with another part, and each interrelating itself with each other, so as to constitute a sum total significant of unity, adaptation, music, and homage. (J. Parker, D.D.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.