2 Chronicles 13:8

THE MESSAGE

"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!

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
“And now you are saying you can assert yourselves against the Lord’s kingdom, which is in the hand of one of David’s sons. You are a vast number and have with you the golden calves that Jeroboam made for you as gods.

Hebrew Names Version
Now you think to withstand the kingdom of the LORD in the hand of the sons of David; and you are a great multitude, and there are with you the golden calves which Yarov`am made you for gods.

King James Version
And now ye think to withstand the kingdom of the Lord in the hand of the sons of David; and ye be a great multitude, and there are with your golden calves, which Jeroboam made you for gods.

English Standard Version
"And now you think to withstand the kingdom of the Lord in the hand of the sons of David, because you are a great multitude and have with you the golden calves that Jeroboam made you for gods.

New Century Version
"Now you people are making plans against the Lord 's kingdom, which belongs to David's sons. There are many of you, and you have the gold calves Jeroboam made for you as gods.

New English Translation
Now you are declaring that you will resist the Lord 's rule through the Davidic dynasty. You have a huge army, and bring with you the gold calves that Jeroboam made for you as gods.

Amplified Bible
"And now you intend to assert yourselves against the kingdom of the LORD which is in the hands of the sons of David, since you are a great multitude and have with you the golden calves (idols) which Jeroboam made for you as gods.

New American Standard Bible
"So now you intend to assert yourselves against the kingdom of the LORD through the sons of David, being a great multitude and having with you the golden calves which Jeroboam made for you as gods.

World English Bible
Now you think to withstand the kingdom of Yahweh in the hand of the sons of David; and you are a great multitude, and there are with you the golden calves which Jeroboam made you for gods.

Geneva Bible (1587)
Now therefore ye thinke that yee be able to resist against the kingdome of the Lorde, which is in the handes of the sonnes of Dauid, and ye bee a great multitude, and the golden calues are with you which Ieroboam made you for gods.

Legacy Standard Bible
"So now you intend to exert your strength before the kingdom of Yahweh by the hand of the sons of David, being a great multitude and having with you the golden calves which Jeroboam made for gods for you.

Berean Standard Bible
And now you think you can resist the kingdom of the LORD, which is in the hands of David's descendants. You are indeed a vast army, and you have with you the golden calves that Jeroboam made for you as gods.

Contemporary English Version
Now you and your powerful army think you can stand up to the kingdom that the Lord has given to David's descendants. The only gods you have are those gold statues of calves that Jeroboam made for you.

Complete Jewish Bible
Now you expect to withstand the kingdom of Adonai in the hands of the descendants of David. Yes, there are a great number of you, and you have with you the gold calves that Yarov‘am made as gods for you.

Darby Translation
And now ye think to shew yourselves strong against the kingdom of Jehovah in the hand of the sons of David; and ye are a great multitude, and ye have with you the golden calves that Jeroboam made you for gods.

Easy-to-Read Version
"Now, you people have decided to defeat the Lord 's kingdom—the kingdom that is ruled by David's sons. You have so many people with you and you have the golden calves—the ‘gods' that Jeroboam made for you.

George Lamsa Translation
And even now what can you say? You went away and renounced the kingdom of the house of David and went and served dead gods. And I reign over a single tribe, but you over many tribes, and there are with you golden calves which Jeroboam the son of Nebat made for you.

Good News Translation
Now you propose to fight against the royal authority that the Lord gave to David's descendants. You have a huge army and have with you the gold bull-calves that Jeroboam made to be your gods.

Lexham English Bible
So now you yourselves are considering that you are strong before the kingdom of Yahweh which is in the hand the sons of David, since you yourselves are a great multitude and you have bull calves of gold that Jeroboam has made for idols.

Literal Translation
And now you think to be strong against the kingdom of Jehovah in the hand of the sons of David. And you are a great host; yea, with you are calves of gold that Jeroboam has made as gods to you.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Now thinke ye to set youre selues against the kyngdome of the LORDE amonge the sonnes of Dauid, for so moch as there is so greate a multitude of you, and haue ye golden calues yt Ieroboam made for goddes.

American Standard Version
And now ye think to withstand the kingdom of Jehovah in the hand of the sons of David; and ye are a great multitude, and there are with you the golden calves which Jeroboam made you for gods.

Bible in Basic English
And now it is your purpose to put yourselves against the authority which the Lord has put into the hands of the sons of David, and you are a very great number, and you have with you the gold oxen which Jeroboam made to be your gods.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And now ye say, that ye be able to preuaile against the kingdome of the Lord, which is in the hande of the sonnes of Dauid, and ye be a great multitude, and haue the golden calues which Ieroboam made you for gods.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
And now ye think to withstand the kingdom of the LORD in the hand of the sons of David; and ye are a great multitude, and there are with you the golden calves which Jeroboam made you for gods.

King James Version (1611)
And now ye thinke to withstand the kingdome of the Lord, in the hand of the sonnes of Dauid, and ye be a great multitude, and there are with you golden calues, which Ieroboam made you for gods.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And now ye profess to resist the kingdom of the Lord in the hand of the sons of David; and ye are a great multitude, and with you are golden calves, which Jeroboam made you for gods.

English Revised Version
And now ye think to withstand the kingdom of the LORD in the hand of the sons of David; and ye be a great multitude, and there are with you the golden calves which Jeroboam made you for gods.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Now therfor ye seien, that ye moun ayenstonde the rewme of the Lord, which he holdith in possessioun bi the sones of Dauid; and ye han a greet multitude of puple, and goldun caluys, whiche Jeroboam made in to goddis to you.

Update Bible Version
And now you think to withstand the kingdom of Yahweh in the hand of the sons of David; and you are a great multitude, and there are with you the golden calves which Jeroboam made you for gods.

Webster's Bible Translation
And now ye think to withstand the kingdom of the LORD in the hand of the sons of David; and ye [are] a great multitude, and [there are] with you golden calves, which Jeroboam made you for gods.

New King James Version
And now you think to withstand the kingdom of the LORD, which is in the hand of the sons of David; and you are a great multitude, and with you are the gold calves which Jeroboam made for you as gods.

New Living Translation
"Do you really think you can stand against the kingdom of the Lord that is led by the descendants of David? You may have a vast army, and you have those gold calves that Jeroboam made as your gods.

New Life Bible
So now you plan to stand against the power of the Lord through the sons of David. You think you can because you have many people and the gold calves Jeroboam made you for gods.

New Revised Standard
"And now you think that you can withstand the kingdom of the Lord in the hand of the sons of David, because you are a great multitude and have with you the golden calves that Jeroboam made as gods for you.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Now, therefore, ye, are thinking to strengthen yourselves against the kingdom of Yahweh, in the hand of the sons of David, - and, ye, are a great multitude, and, with you, are calves of gold, which Jeroboam hath made you for gods.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And now you say that you are able to withstand the kingdom of the Lord, which he possesseth by the sons of David, and you have a great multitude of people, and golden calves, which Jeroboam hath made you for gods.

Revised Standard Version
"And now you think to withstand the kingdom of the LORD in the hand of the sons of David, because you are a great multitude and have with you the golden calves which Jerobo'am made you for gods.

Young's Literal Translation
`And now, ye are saying to strengthen yourselves before the kingdom of Jehovah in the hand of the sons of David, and ye [are] a numerous multitude, and with you calves of gold that Jeroboam hath made to you for gods.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"So now you intend to resist the kingdom of the LORD through the sons of David, being a great multitude and having with you the golden calves which Jeroboam made for gods for you.

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

the kingdom: 2 Chronicles 9:8, Psalms 2:1-6, Isaiah 7:6, Isaiah 7:7, Isaiah 9:6, Isaiah 9:7, Luke 19:14, Luke 19:27

a great multitude: 2 Chronicles 14:9-11, 2 Chronicles 20:6, 2 Chronicles 20:12, Psalms 33:16

with you golden: 2 Chronicles 11:15, 1 Kings 12:28, 1 Kings 14:9, Hosea 8:5, Hosea 8:6

Reciprocal: Exodus 32:4 - calf Isaiah 8:6 - refuseth Hosea 10:5 - the calves Amos 7:10 - the priest

Cross-References

Genesis 13:3
He moved on from the Negev, camping along the way, to Bethel, the place he had first set up his tent between Bethel and Ai and built his first altar. Abram prayed there to God .

Genesis 13:14
After Lot separated from him, God said to Abram, "Open your eyes, look around. Look north, south, east, and west. Everything you see, the whole land spread out before you, I will give to you and your children forever. I'll make your descendants like dust—counting your descendants will be as impossible as counting the dust of the Earth. So—on your feet, get moving! Walk through the country, its length and breadth; I'm giving it all to you."

Genesis 13:18
Abram moved his tent. He went and settled by the Oaks of Mamre in Hebron. There he built an altar to God .

Genesis 45:24
Then he sent his brothers off. As they left he told them, "Take it easy on the journey; try to get along with each other."

Exodus 2:13
The next day he went out there again. Two Hebrew men were fighting. He spoke to the man who started it: "Why are you hitting your neighbor?"

Psalms 133:1
A Pilgrim Song of David How wonderful, how beautiful, when brothers and sisters get along! It's like costly anointing oil flowing down head and beard, Flowing down Aaron's beard, flowing down the collar of his priestly robes. It's like the dew on Mount Hermon flowing down the slopes of Zion. Yes, that's where God commands the blessing, ordains eternal life.

Proverbs 15:1
A gentle response defuses anger, but a sharp tongue kindles a temper-fire.

Proverbs 15:18
Hot tempers start fights; a calm, cool spirit keeps the peace.

Proverbs 20:3
It's a mark of good character to avert quarrels, but fools love to pick fights.

Matthew 5:9
"You're blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight. That's when you discover who you really are, and your place in God's family.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And now ye think to withstand the kingdom of the Lord in the hand of the sons of David,.... To oppose them, prevail over them, and get it out of their hands, which is delivered to them by the Lord, as the Targum:

and ye be a great multitude; of which they boasted, and in which they trusted, being ten tribes to two, and in this army two to one:

and [there are] with you golden calves which Jeroboam made you for gods; or, "but r there are with you", &c. which Abijah suggests would be so far from helping them, that they would be their ruin, they having, by the worship of them, provoked the Lord against them.

r So Grotious, Schnidt, and others.