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THE MESSAGE

2 Chronicles 13:12

"Can't you see the obvious? God is on our side; he's our leader. And his priests with trumpets are all ready to blow the signal to battle. O Israel—don't fight against God , the God of your ancestors. You will not win this battle."

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Battle;   Captain;   Faith;   Faithfulness;   Priest;   Rebellion;   Trumpet;   War;   Thompson Chain Reference - Instruments, Chosen;   Music;   Musical Instruments;   Trumpets;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Kings;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Abijah;   Jeroboam;   King, Kings;   War;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Abijah (abijam);   Jeroboam;   Priest;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Chronicles, Theology of;   Immanuel;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Zemaraim;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Levites;   Music;   Priest;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Alarm;   Chronicles, Books of;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Chronicles, I;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Abijah ;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Judah the kingdom of;   War;   Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary - Armies;  

Encyclopedias:

- Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia - Kingdom of Judah;   International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Captain;   Cry, Crying;   Head;   War;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Abijah;   Trumpet;  

Devotionals:

- Daily Light on the Daily Path - Devotion for March 1;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Look, God and his priests are with us at our head. The trumpets are ready to sound the charge against you. Israelites, don’t fight against the Lord God of your ancestors, for you will not succeed.”
Hebrew Names Version
Behold, God is with us at our head, and his Kohanim with the trumpets of alarm to sound an alarm against you. Children of Yisra'el, don't you fight against the LORD, the God of your fathers; for you shall not prosper.
King James Version
And, behold, God himself is with us for our captain, and his priests with sounding trumpets to cry alarm against you. O children of Israel, fight ye not against the Lord God of your fathers; for ye shall not prosper.
English Standard Version
Behold, God is with us at our head, and his priests with their battle trumpets to sound the call to battle against you. O sons of Israel, do not fight against the Lord , the God of your fathers, for you cannot succeed."
New Century Version
God himself is with us as our ruler. His priests blow the trumpet to call us to war against you. Men of Israel, don't fight against the Lord , the God of your ancestors, because you won't succeed."
New English Translation
Now look, God is with us as our leader. His priests are ready to blow the trumpets to signal the attack against you. You Israelites, don't fight against the Lord God of your ancestors, for you will not win!"
Amplified Bible
"Behold, God is with us at our head, and His priests [are here] with their signal trumpets to sound an alarm against you. O sons of Israel, do not fight against the LORD God of your fathers, for you cannot succeed."
New American Standard Bible
"Now behold, God is with us at our head, and His priests with the signal trumpets to sound the war cry against you. Sons of Israel, do not fight against the LORD God of your fathers, for you will not succeed."
World English Bible
Behold, God is with us at our head, and his priests with the trumpets of alarm to sound an alarm against you. Children of Israel, don't you fight against Yahweh, the God of your fathers; for you shall not prosper.
Geneva Bible (1587)
And behold, this God is with vs, as a captaine, and his Priests with the sounding trumpets, to crie an alarme against you. O yee children of Israel, fight not against the Lorde God of your fathers: for ye shall not prosper.
Legacy Standard Bible
And behold, God is with us at our head and His priests with the signal trumpets to raise the shout of war against you. O sons of Israel, do not fight against Yahweh, the God of your fathers, for you will not succeed."
Berean Standard Bible
Now behold, God Himself is with us as our head, and His priests with their trumpets sound the battle call against you. O children of Israel, do not fight against the LORD, the God of your fathers, for you will not succeed."
Contemporary English Version
That's why God is on our side and will lead us into battle when the priests sound the signal on the trumpets. It's no use, Israelites. You might as well give up. There's no way you can defeat the Lord , the God your ancestors worshiped.
Complete Jewish Bible
"So look here! God is with us, leading us and his cohanim with the battle trumpets to sound an alarm against you. People of Isra'el! Don't fight against Adonai , the God of your ancestors; because you will not succeed."
Darby Translation
And behold, we have God with us at our head, and his priests, and the loud-sounding trumpets to sound an alarm against you. Children of Israel, do not fight with Jehovah the God of your fathers; for ye shall not prosper.
Easy-to-Read Version
God himself is with us. He is our ruler, and his priests are with us. God's priests blow his trumpets to wake you up and make you excited about coming to him. Men of Israel, don't fight against the Lord , God of your ancestors, because you will not succeed!"
George Lamsa Translation
But you have forsaken him and have gone after dead gods, and you serve them and worship them; and have forsaken the LORD God of your fathers, therefore you shall not prosper in the world.
Good News Translation
God himself is our leader and his priests are here with trumpets, ready to blow them and call us to battle against you. People of Israel, don't fight against the Lord , the God of your ancestors! You can't win!"
Lexham English Bible
And look, God is with us at the head, and his priests have the trumpets for sounding blasts against you, O sons of Israel. Do not fight against Yahweh, the God of your ancestors, for you will not succeed."
Literal Translation
And, behold, God is with us at our head, and His priests, and the trumpets, the signal to sound for battle against you. O sons of Israel, do not fight with Jehovah, the God of your fathers, for you shall not prosper.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Beholde, God is the captayne of oure hoost, and with vs are his prestes, and the blowynge trompettes, to trompe agaynst you. Ye children of Israel, fight not agaynst the LORDE God of yor fathers: for ye shal not prospere.
American Standard Version
And, behold, God is with us at our head, and his priests with the trumpets of alarm to sound an alarm against you. O children of Israel, fight ye not against Jehovah, the God of your fathers; for ye shall not prosper.
Bible in Basic English
And now God is with us at our head, and his priests with their loud horns sounding against you. O children of Israel, do not make war on the Lord, the God of your fathers, for it will not go well for you.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
And beholde, God him selfe is our captayne, and his priestes blowe with the trumpettes and crie alarum against you. O ye children of Israel, fight not against the Lorde God of your fathers: for it wyll not prosper with you.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
And, behold, God is with us at our head, and His priests with the trumpets of alarm to sound an alarm against you. O children of Israel, fight ye not against the LORD, the God of your fathers; for ye shall not prosper.'
King James Version (1611)
And behold, God himselfe is with vs for our captaine, and his Priests with sounding trumpets to cry alarme against you: O children of Israel, fight ye not against the Lord God of your fathers, for you shall not prosper.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And, behold, the Lord and his priests are with us at our head, and the signal trumpets to sound an alarm over us. Children of Israel, fight not against the Lord God of our fathers; for ye shall not prosper.
English Revised Version
And, behold, God is with us at our head, and his priests with the trumpets of alarm to sound an alarm against you. O children of Israel, fight ye not against the LORD, the God of your fathers; for ye shall not prosper.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Therfor God is duyk in oure oost, and hise preestis, that trumpen and sownen ayens you; nyle ye, sones of Israel, fiyte ayens the Lord God of youre fadris, for it spedith not to you.
Update Bible Version
And, look, God is with us at our head, and his priests with the trumpets of alarm to sound an alarm against you. O sons of Israel, don't fight against Yahweh, the God of your fathers; for you shall not prosper.
Webster's Bible Translation
And behold, God himself [is] with us for [our] captain, and his priests with sounding trumpets to cry alarm against you. O children of Israel, fight ye not against the LORD God of your fathers; for ye will not prosper.
New King James Version
Now look, God Himself is with us as our head, and His priests with sounding trumpets to sound the alarm against you. O children of Israel, do not fight against the LORD God of your fathers, for you shall not prosper!"
New Living Translation
So you see, God is with us. He is our leader. His priests blow their trumpets and lead us into battle against you. O people of Israel, do not fight against the Lord , the God of your ancestors, for you will not succeed!"
New Life Bible
Now see, God is with us at our head. His religious leaders are ready to blow the horns, to sound the call to battle against you. O sons of Israel, do not fight against the Lord God of your fathers. For you cannot win."
New Revised Standard
See, God is with us at our head, and his priests have their battle trumpets to sound the call to battle against you. O Israelites, do not fight against the Lord , the God of your ancestors; for you cannot succeed."
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And lo! with us as Head, is God himself, and his priests, and the trumpets of alarm, to sound an alarm against you, - O sons of Israel! do not fight against Yahweh God of your fathers, for ye shall not prosper.
Douay-Rheims Bible
Therefore God is the leader in our army, and his priests who sound with trumpets, and resound against you: O children of Israel, fight not against the Lord the God of your fathers, for it is not good for you.
Revised Standard Version
Behold, God is with us at our head, and his priests with their battle trumpets to sound the call to battle against you. O sons of Israel, do not fight against the LORD, the God of your fathers; for you cannot succeed."
Young's Literal Translation
`And lo, with us -- at [our] head -- [is] God, and His priests and trumpets of shouting to shout against you; O sons of Israel, do not fight with Jehovah, God of your fathers, for ye do not prosper.'
New American Standard Bible (1995)
"Now behold, God is with us at our head and His priests with the signal trumpets to sound the alarm against you. O sons of Israel, do not fight against the LORD God of your fathers, for you will not succeed."

Contextual Overview

1In the eighteenth year of the rule of King Jeroboam, Abijah took over the throne of Judah. He ruled in Jerusalem three years. His mother was Maacah daughter of Uriel of Gibeah. War broke out between Abijah and Jeroboam. Abijah started out with 400,000 of his best soldiers; Jeroboam countered with 800,000 of his best. Abijah took a prominent position on Mount Zemaraim in the hill country of Ephraim and gave this speech: "Listen, Jeroboam and all Israel! Don't you realize that God , the one and only God of Israel, established David and his sons as the permanent rulers of Israel, ratified by a ‘covenant of salt'— God 's kingdom ruled by God 's king? And what happened? Jeroboam, the son of Solomon's slave Nebat, rebelled against his master. All the riffraff joined his cause and were too much for Rehoboam, Solomon's true heir. Rehoboam didn't know his way around—besides he was a real wimp; he couldn't stand up against them. "Taking advantage of that weakness, you are asserting yourself against the very rule of God that is delegated to David's descendants—you think you are so big with your huge army backed up by the golden-calf idols that Jeroboam made for you as gods! But just look at what you've done—you threw out the priests of God , the sons of Aaron, and the Levites, and made priests to suit yourselves, priests just like the pagans have. Anyone who shows up with enough money to pay for it can be a priest! A priest of No-God! "But for the rest of us in Judah, we're sticking with God . We have not traded him in for the latest model—we're keeping the tried-and-true priests of Aaron to lead us to God and the Levites to lead us in worship by sacrificing Whole-Burnt-Offerings and aromatic incense to God at the daily morning and evening prayers, setting out fresh holy bread on a clean table, and lighting the lamps on the golden Lampstand every night. We continue doing what God told us to in the way he told us to do it; but you have rid yourselves of him. "Can't you see the obvious? God is on our side; he's our leader. And his priests with trumpets are all ready to blow the signal to battle. O Israel—don't fight against God , the God of your ancestors. You will not win this battle." While Abijah was speaking, Jeroboam had sent men around to take them by surprise from the rear: Jeroboam in front of Judah and the ambush behind. When Judah looked back, they saw they were attacked front and back. They prayed desperately to God , the priests blew their trumpets, and the soldiers of Judah shouted their battle cry. At the battle cry, God routed Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah. The army of Israel scattered before Judah; God gave them the victory. Abijah and his troops slaughtered them—500,000 of Israel's best fighters were killed that day. The army of Israel fell flat on its face—a humiliating defeat. The army of Judah won hands down because they trusted God , the God of their ancestors. Abijah followed up his victory by pursuing Jeroboam, taking the towns of Bethel, Jeshanah, and Ephron with their surrounding villages. Jeroboam never did recover from his defeat while Abijah lived. Later on God struck him down and he died. Meanwhile Abijah flourished; he married fourteen wives and ended up with a family of twenty-two sons and sixteen daughters. The rest of the history of Abijah, what he did and said, is written in the study written by Iddo the prophet. 3King Abijah In the eighteenth year of the rule of King Jeroboam, Abijah took over the throne of Judah. He ruled in Jerusalem three years. His mother was Maacah daughter of Uriel of Gibeah. War broke out between Abijah and Jeroboam. Abijah started out with 400,000 of his best soldiers; Jeroboam countered with 800,000 of his best. 4Abijah took a prominent position on Mount Zemaraim in the hill country of Ephraim and gave this speech: "Listen, Jeroboam and all Israel! Don't you realize that God , the one and only God of Israel, established David and his sons as the permanent rulers of Israel, ratified by a ‘covenant of salt'— God 's kingdom ruled by God 's king? And what happened? Jeroboam, the son of Solomon's slave Nebat, rebelled against his master. All the riffraff joined his cause and were too much for Rehoboam, Solomon's true heir. Rehoboam didn't know his way around—besides he was a real wimp; he couldn't stand up against them. 8"Taking advantage of that weakness, you are asserting yourself against the very rule of God that is delegated to David's descendants—you think you are so big with your huge army backed up by the golden-calf idols that Jeroboam made for you as gods! But just look at what you've done—you threw out the priests of God , the sons of Aaron, and the Levites, and made priests to suit yourselves, priests just like the pagans have. Anyone who shows up with enough money to pay for it can be a priest! A priest of No-God! 10"But for the rest of us in Judah, we're sticking with God . We have not traded him in for the latest model—we're keeping the tried-and-true priests of Aaron to lead us to God and the Levites to lead us in worship by sacrificing Whole-Burnt-Offerings and aromatic incense to God at the daily morning and evening prayers, setting out fresh holy bread on a clean table, and lighting the lamps on the golden Lampstand every night. We continue doing what God told us to in the way he told us to do it; but you have rid yourselves of him. 12 "Can't you see the obvious? God is on our side; he's our leader. And his priests with trumpets are all ready to blow the signal to battle. O Israel—don't fight against God , the God of your ancestors. You will not win this battle."

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

God: Numbers 23:21, 1 Samuel 4:5-7, Isaiah 8:10, Zechariah 10:5, Romans 8:31

for our captain: Deuteronomy 20:4, Joshua 5:13-15, Psalms 20:7, Hebrews 2:10

his priests: Numbers 10:8, Numbers 10:9, Numbers 31:6, Joshua 6:13-20

fight ye: Job 15:25, Job 15:26, Job 40:9, Isaiah 45:9, Jeremiah 50:24, Acts 5:39, Acts 9:4, Acts 9:5

ye shall not: 2 Chronicles 24:20, Numbers 14:41, Deuteronomy 28:29, Job 9:4, Isaiah 54:17, Jeremiah 2:37, Ezekiel 17:9

Reciprocal: Numbers 14:9 - the Lord Deuteronomy 3:22 - for the Lord Deuteronomy 20:2 - General Joshua 6:4 - trumpets of rams' Judges 12:3 - wherefore 2 Kings 20:5 - the captain 1 Chronicles 16:6 - with trumpets 2 Chronicles 13:14 - the priests 2 Chronicles 13:17 - five hundred 2 Chronicles 14:11 - in thy name 2 Chronicles 15:2 - The Lord 2 Chronicles 25:7 - for the Lord 2 Chronicles 32:8 - with us Nehemiah 4:18 - he that sounded Nehemiah 12:35 - with trumpets Nehemiah 12:44 - some Psalms 46:7 - Lord Psalms 81:3 - Blow Psalms 108:11 - go forth Jeremiah 32:5 - though

Cross-References

Genesis 13:8
Abram said to Lot, "Let's not have fighting between us, between your shepherds and my shepherds. After all, we're family. Look around. Isn't there plenty of land out there? Let's separate. If you go left, I'll go right; if you go right, I'll go left."
Genesis 19:1
The two angels arrived at Sodom in the evening. Lot was sitting at the city gate. He saw them and got up to welcome them, bowing before them and said, "Please, my friends, come to my house and stay the night. Wash up. You can rise early and be on your way refreshed." They said, "No, we'll sleep in the street."
Genesis 19:29
And that's the story: When God destroyed the Cities of the Plain, he was mindful of Abraham and first got Lot out of there before he blasted those cities off the face of the Earth.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And, behold, God himself is with us for our Captain,.... To go before our armies, and fight our battles for us:

and his priests with sounding trumpets to cry alarm against you; which was one use of the trumpets, that the people might be remembered by the Lord, and saved from their enemies, Numbers 10:9, so that this circumstance was against Jeroboam and his army, and for Abijah and his:

O children of Israel, fight ye not against the Lord God of your fathers; for fighting against his people, that retained the pure worship of him, was fighting against him:

for you shall not prosper; he seems to be assured of victory.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 2 Chronicles 13:12. God himself is with us — Ye have golden calves; we have the living and omnipotent Jehovah.

With - trumpets to cry alarm against you. — This was appalling: When the priests sound their trumpets, it will be a proof that the vengeance of the Lord shall speedily descend upon you.


 
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