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THE MESSAGE

2 Chronicles 12:8

This verse is not available in the MSG!

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Egyptians;   Rehoboam;   Repentance;   Shishak;   War;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Egypt;   Shemaiah;   Shishak;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Rehoboam;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Herodians;   No;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Libya;   Service;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Chronicles, I;   Rehoboam,;   Shemaiah;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Egypt;   Rehoboam ;   Shemaiah ;   Shishak ;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Judah the kingdom of;   Smith Bible Dictionary - Shi'shak,;   Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary - Jerusalem;  

Encyclopedias:

- Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia - Kingdom of Judah;   International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Chronicles, Books of;   Shishak;   Temple;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
However, they will become his servants so that they may recognize the difference between serving me and serving the kingdoms of other lands.”
Hebrew Names Version
Nevertheless they shall be his servants, that they may know my service, and the service of the kingdoms of the countries.
King James Version
Nevertheless they shall be his servants; that they may know my service, and the service of the kingdoms of the countries.
English Standard Version
Nevertheless, they shall be servants to him, that they may know my service and the service of the kingdoms of the countries."
New Century Version
But the people of Jerusalem will become Shishak's servants so they may learn that serving me is different than serving the kings of other nations."
New English Translation
Yet they will become his subjects, so they can experience how serving me differs from serving the surrounding nations."
Amplified Bible
"Nevertheless they will become his slaves, so that they may know [the difference between] My service and the service of the kingdoms of the countries."
New American Standard Bible
"But they will become his slaves, so that they may learn the difference between My service and the service of the kingdoms of the countries."
World English Bible
Nevertheless they shall be his servants, that they may know my service, and the service of the kingdoms of the countries.
Geneva Bible (1587)
Neuerthelesse they shalbe his sernants: so shal they knowe my seruice, and the seruice of the kingdomes of the earth.
Legacy Standard Bible
But they will become his slaves so that they may know the difference between My slavery and the slavery of the kingdoms of the countries."
Berean Standard Bible
Nevertheless, they will become his servants, so that they may learn the difference between serving Me and serving the kings of other lands."
Contemporary English Version
he will conquer and rule them. Then my people will know what it's like to serve a foreign king instead of serving me.
Complete Jewish Bible
However, they will become his slaves, so that they will come to appreciate the difference between serving me and serving earthly kingdoms."
Darby Translation
Nevertheless they shall be his servants; that they may know my service, and the service of the kingdoms of the countries.
Easy-to-Read Version
But the people of Jerusalem will become Shishak's servants. This will happen so that they may learn that serving me is different from serving the kings of other nations."
George Lamsa Translation
Nevertheless they shall be his servants, that they may know my service, and the service of the kingdoms of the countries.
Good News Translation
but Shishak will conquer them, and they will learn the difference between serving me and serving earthly rulers."
Lexham English Bible
However, they shall be his servants, that they might know my service and the service of the kingdoms of other countries."
Literal Translation
But they shall become his servants, and they shall know My service, and the service of the kingdoms of the lands.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
for they shalbe subdued vnto him, yt they maye knowe what it is to serue me, & to serue the kyngdomes of the worlde.
American Standard Version
Nevertheless they shall be his servants, that they may know my service, and the service of the kingdoms of the countries.
Bible in Basic English
But still they will become his servants, so that they may see how different my yoke is from the yoke of the kingdoms of the lands.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
Neuerthelesse, they shalbe his seruauntes: to knowe what difference is betweene my seruice and the seruice of the kingdomes of the worlde.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
Nevertheless they shall be his servants; that they may know My service, and the service of the kingdoms of the countries.'
King James Version (1611)
Neuerthelesse they shalbe his seruants, that they may know my seruice, and the seruice of the kingdomes of the countreys.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
Nevertheless they shall be servants, and know my service, and the service of the kings of the earth.
English Revised Version
Nevertheless they shall be his servants; that they may know my service, and the service of the kingdoms of the countries.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Netheles thei schulen serue hym, that thei knowe the dyuersitee of my seruyce and of the seruyce of the rewme of londis.
Update Bible Version
Nevertheless they shall be his slaves, that they may know my service, and the service of the kingdoms of the countries.
Webster's Bible Translation
Nevertheless they shall be his servants; that they may know my service, and the service of the kingdoms of the countries.
New King James Version
Nevertheless they will be his servants, that they may distinguish My service from the service of the kingdoms of the nations."
New Living Translation
But they will become his subjects, so they will know the difference between serving me and serving earthly rulers."
New Life Bible
But they will be made to work for him. In this way they may learn the difference between My work and the work of the kings of the countries."
New Revised Standard
Nevertheless they shall be his servants, so that they may know the difference between serving me and serving the kingdoms of other lands."
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Nevertheless they shall become his servants, that they may know my service, and the service of the kingdoms of the countries.
Douay-Rheims Bible
But yet they shall serve him, that they may know the difference between my service, and the service of a kingdom of the earth.
Revised Standard Version
Nevertheless they shall be servants to him, that they may know my service and the service of the kingdoms of the countries."
Young's Literal Translation
but they become servants to him, and they know My service, and the service of the kingdoms of the lands.'
New American Standard Bible (1995)
"But they will become his slaves so that they may learn the difference between My service and the service of the kingdoms of the countries."

Contextual Overview

1 By the time Rehoboam had secured his kingdom and was strong again, he, and all Israel with him, had virtually abandoned God and his ways. 2In Rehoboam's fifth year, because he and the people were unfaithful to God , Shishak king of Egypt invaded as far as Jerusalem. He came with twelve hundred chariots and sixty thousand cavalry, and soldiers from all over—the Egyptian army included Libyans, Sukkites, and Ethiopians. They took the fortress cities of Judah and advanced as far as Jerusalem itself. 5 Then the prophet Shemaiah, accompanied by the leaders of Judah who had retreated to Jerusalem before Shishak, came to Rehoboam and said, " God 's word: You abandoned me; now I abandon you to Shishak." 6 The leaders of Israel and the king were repentant and said, " God is right." 7When God saw that they were humbly repentant, the word of God came to Shemaiah: "Because they are humble, I'll not destroy them—I'll give them a break; I won't use Shishak to express my wrath against Jerusalem. What I will do, though, is make them Shishak's subjects—they'll learn the difference between serving me and serving human kings." 9 Then Shishak king of Egypt attacked Jerusalem. He plundered the treasury of The Temple of God and the treasury of the royal palace—he took everything he could lay his hands on. He even took the gold shields that Solomon had made. 10King Rehoboam replaced the gold shields with bronze shields and gave them to the guards who were posted at the entrance to the royal palace. Whenever the king went to God 's Temple, the guards went with him carrying the shields, but they always returned them to the guardroom. 12 Because Rehoboam was repentant, God 's anger was blunted, so he wasn't totally destroyed. The picture wasn't entirely bleak—there were some good things going on in Judah.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Nevertheless: Nehemiah 9:36, Isaiah 26:13

that they may: Deuteronomy 28:47, Judges 3:1, Jeremiah 10:24, Hosea 8:10

Reciprocal: Deuteronomy 28:48 - serve Judges 3:2 - might know Job 36:15 - openeth

Cross-References

Genesis 12:14
When Abram arrived in Egypt, the Egyptians took one look and saw that his wife was stunningly beautiful. Pharaoh's princes raved over her to Pharaoh. She was taken to live with Pharaoh.
Genesis 12:16
Because of her, Abram got along very well: he accumulated sheep and cattle, male and female donkeys, men and women servants, and camels. But God hit Pharaoh hard because of Abram's wife Sarai; everybody in the palace got seriously sick.
Genesis 21:33
Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba and worshiped God there, praying to the Eternal God. Abraham lived in Philistine country for a long time.
Joshua 7:2
Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai (The Ruin), which is near Beth Aven just east of Bethel. He instructed them, "Go up and spy out the land." The men went up and spied out Ai.
Joshua 8:3
Joshua and all his soldiers got ready to march on Ai. Joshua chose thirty thousand men, tough, seasoned fighters, and sent them off at night with these orders: "Look sharp now. Lie in ambush behind the city. Get as close as you can. Stay alert. I and the troops with me will approach the city head-on. When they come out to meet us just as before, we'll turn and run. They'll come after us, leaving the city. As we are off and running, they'll say, ‘They're running away just like the first time.' That's your signal to spring from your ambush and take the city. God , your God, will hand it to you on a platter. Once you have the city, burn it down. God says it, you do it. Go to it. I've given you your orders."
Nehemiah 11:31
The Benjaminites from Geba lived in: Micmash Aijah Bethel and its suburbs Anathoth Nob and Ananiah Hazor Ramah and Gittaim Hadid, Zeboim, and Neballat Lod and Ono and the Valley of the Craftsmen. Also some of the Levitical groups of Judah were assigned to Benjamin.
Isaiah 10:28
You Who Legislate Evil Doom to you who legislate evil, who make laws that make victims— Laws that make misery for the poor, that rob my destitute people of dignity, Exploiting defenseless widows, taking advantage of homeless children. What will you have to say on Judgment Day, when Doomsday arrives out of the blue? Who will you get to help you? What good will your money do you? A sorry sight you'll be then, huddled with the prisoners, or just some corpses stacked in the street. Even after all this, God is still angry, his fist still raised, ready to hit them again. "Doom to Assyria, weapon of my anger. My wrath is a cudgel in his hands! I send him against a godless nation, against the people I'm angry with. I command him to strip them clean, rob them blind, and then push their faces in the mud and leave them. But Assyria has another agenda; he has something else in mind. He's out to destroy utterly, to stamp out as many nations as he can. Assyria says, ‘Aren't my commanders all kings? Can't they do whatever they like? Didn't I destroy Calno as well as Carchemish? Hamath as well as Arpad? Level Samaria as I did Damascus? I've eliminated kingdoms full of gods far more impressive than anything in Jerusalem and Samaria. So what's to keep me from destroying Jerusalem in the same way I destroyed Samaria and all her god-idols?'" When the Master has finished dealing with Mount Zion and Jerusalem, he'll say, "Now it's Assyria's turn. I'll punish the bragging arrogance of the king of Assyria, his high and mighty posturing, the way he goes around saying, "‘I've done all this by myself. I know more than anyone. I've wiped out the boundaries of whole countries. I've walked in and taken anything I wanted. I charged in like a bull and toppled their kings from their thrones. I reached out my hand and took all that they treasured as easily as a boy taking a bird's eggs from a nest. Like a farmer gathering eggs from the henhouse, I gathered the world in my basket, And no one so much as fluttered a wing or squawked or even chirped.'" Does an ax take over from the one who swings it? Does a saw act more important than the sawyer? As if a shovel did its shoveling by using a ditch digger! As if a hammer used the carpenter to pound nails! Therefore the Master, God -of-the-Angel-Armies, will send a debilitating disease on his robust Assyrian fighters. Under the canopy of God's bright glory a fierce fire will break out. Israel's Light will burst into a conflagration. The Holy will explode into a firestorm, And in one day burn to cinders every last Assyrian thornbush. God will destroy the splendid trees and lush gardens. The Assyrian body and soul will waste away to nothing like a disease-ridden invalid. A child could count what's left of the trees on the fingers of his two hands. And on that Day also, what's left of Israel, the ragtag survivors of Jacob, will no longer be fascinated by abusive, battering Assyria. They'll lean on God , The Holy—yes, truly. The ragtag remnant—what's left of Jacob—will come back to the Strong God. Your people Israel were once like the sand on the seashore, but only a scattered few will return. Destruction is ordered, brimming over with righteousness. For the Master, God -of-the-Angel-Armies, will finish here what he started all over the globe. Therefore the Master, God -of-the-Angel-Armies, says: "My dear, dear people who live in Zion, don't be terrorized by the Assyrians when they beat you with clubs and threaten you with rods like the Egyptians once did. In just a short time my anger against you will be spent and I'll turn my destroying anger on them. I, God -of-the-Angel-Armies, will go after them with a cat-o'-nine-tails and finish them off decisively—as Gideon downed Midian at the rock Oreb, as Moses turned the tables on Egypt. On that day, Assyria will be pulled off your back, and the yoke of slavery lifted from your neck." Assyria's on the move: up from Rimmon, on to Aiath, through Migron, with a bivouac at Micmash. They've crossed the pass, set camp at Geba for the night. Ramah trembles with fright. Gibeah of Saul has run off. Cry for help, daughter of Gallim! Listen to her, Laishah! Do something, Anathoth! Madmenah takes to the hills. The people of Gebim flee in panic. The enemy's soon at Nob—nearly there! In sight of the city he shakes his fist At the mount of dear daughter Zion, the hill of Jerusalem. But now watch this: The Master, God -of-the-Angel-Armies, swings his ax and lops the branches, Chops down the giant trees, lays flat the towering forest-on-the-march. His ax will make toothpicks of that forest, that Lebanon-like army reduced to kindling.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Nevertheless, they shall be his servants,.... tributaries to the king of Egypt:

that they may know my service, and the service of the kingdoms of the countries; the difference between them, how easy the one, which they might perform without taxes and tributes, and how hard and heavy the other, through the exactions and exorbitant demands of those to whom they became subjects.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

That they may know my service, and the service of the kingdom - i. e., that they may contrast the light burthen of the theocracy with the heavy yoke of a foreign monarch.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 2 Chronicles 12:8. They shall be his servants — They shall be preserved, and serve their enemies, that they may see the difference between the service of God and that of man. While they were pious, they found the service of the Lord to be perfect freedom; when they forsook the Lord, they found the fruit to be perfect bondage. A sinful life is both expensive and painful.


 
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