Lectionary Calendar
Tuesday, July 29th, 2025
the Week of Proper 12 / Ordinary 17
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Read the Bible

New Living Translation

2 Chronicles 23:2

These men traveled secretly throughout Judah and summoned the Levites and clan leaders in all the towns to come to Jerusalem.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Constitution;   Covenant;   Israel, Prophecies Concerning;   Levites;   Zeal, Religious;   Thompson Chain Reference - Levites;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Kings;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Athaliah;   Joash or Jehoash;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Athaliah;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Jehoiada;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Chronicles, I;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Jehoiada ;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Joash;   Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary - Anoint;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Criticism (the Graf-Wellhausen Hypothesis);   Jehoash;   Jehoiada;   Priests and Levites;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Athaliah;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
They made a circuit throughout Judah. They gathered the Levites from all the cities of Judah and the family heads of Israel, and they came to Jerusalem.
Hebrew Names Version
They went about in Yehudah, and gathered the Levites out of all the cities of Yehudah, and the heads of fathers' [houses] of Yisra'el, and they came to Yerushalayim.
King James Version
And they went about in Judah, and gathered the Levites out of all the cities of Judah, and the chief of the fathers of Israel, and they came to Jerusalem.
English Standard Version
And they went about through Judah and gathered the Levites from all the cities of Judah, and the heads of fathers' houses of Israel, and they came to Jerusalem.
New Century Version
They went around in Judah and gathered the Levites from all the towns, and they gathered the leaders of the families of Judah. Then they went to Jerusalem.
New English Translation
They traveled throughout Judah and assembled the Levites from all the cities of Judah, as well as the Israelite family leaders. They came to Jerusalem,
Amplified Bible
They went throughout Judah and gathered the Levites out of all the cities of Judah, and the heads of the households of the fathers (ancestors) in Israel, and they came to Jerusalem.
New American Standard Bible
And they went throughout Judah and gathered the Levites from all the cities of Judah, and the heads of the fathers' households of Israel, and they came to Jerusalem.
World English Bible
They went about in Judah, and gathered the Levites out of all the cities of Judah, and the heads of fathers' [houses] of Israel, and they came to Jerusalem.
Geneva Bible (1587)
And they went about in Iudah, & gathered the Leuites out of all the cities of Iudah, and the chiefe fathers of Israel: & they came to Ierusale.
Legacy Standard Bible
And they went around Judah and gathered the Levites from all the cities of Judah, and the heads of the fathers' households of Israel, and they came to Jerusalem.
Berean Standard Bible
So they went throughout Judah and gathered the Levites from all the cities of Judah and the heads of the families of Israel. And when they came to Jerusalem,
Contemporary English Version
These five men went to the towns in Judah and called together the Levites and the clan leaders. They all came to Jerusalem
Complete Jewish Bible
They canvassed Y'hudah and gathered the L'vi'im from all the cities of Y'hudah, together with the clan heads of Isra'el, and came to Yerushalayim.
Darby Translation
And they went about in Judah and gathered together the Levites out of all the cities of Judah, and the chief fathers of Israel; and they came to Jerusalem.
Easy-to-Read Version
They went around in Judah and gathered the Levites from all the towns of Judah. They also gathered the leaders of the families of Israel. Then they went to Jerusalem.
George Lamsa Translation
And they went about in Judah and gathered the Levites from all the cities of Judah and the chiefs of the fathers of Israel, and they came to Jerusalem.
Good News Translation
They traveled to all the cities of Judah and brought back with them to Jerusalem the Levites and all the heads of the clans.
Lexham English Bible
And they went around in Judah and gathered the Levites from all the cities of Judah, and the heads of the families of Israel, and they came to Jerusalem.
Literal Translation
And they went around in Judah and gathered the Levites out of all the cities of Judah, and the chiefs of the fathers of Israel, and came to Jerusalem.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
and they wente aboute in Iuda, and broughte ye Leuites together out of all the cities of Iuda, and the chefe fathers of Israel, to come vnto Ierusalem.
American Standard Version
And they went about in Judah, and gathered the Levites out of all the cities of Judah, and the heads of fathers' houses of Israel, and they came to Jerusalem.
Bible in Basic English
And they went through Judah, getting together the Levites and the heads of families in Israel from all the towns of Judah, and they came to Jerusalem.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
And they went about in Iuda, and gathered the Leuites out of all the cities of Iuda, & the auncient fathers of Israel, and they came to Hierusalem.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
And they went about in Judah, and gathered the Levites out of all the cities of Judah, and the heads of fathers' houses of Israel, and they came to Jerusalem.
King James Version (1611)
And they went about in Iudah, and gathered the Leuites out of all the cities of Iudah, and the chiefe of the fathers of Israel, and they came to Ierusalem.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And they went round about Juda, and gathered the Levites out of all the cities of Juda, and heads of the families of Israel, and they came to Jerusalem.
English Revised Version
And they went about in Judah, and gathered the Levites out of all the cities of Judah, and the heads of fathers’ [houses] of Israel, and they came to Jerusalem.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Which cumpassiden Juda, and gaderiden togidere dekenes of alle the citees of Juda, and the princes of the meynees of Israel, and camen in to Jerusalem.
Update Bible Version
And they went about in Judah, and gathered the Levites out of all the cities of Judah, and the heads of fathers' [houses] of Israel, and they came to Jerusalem.
Webster's Bible Translation
And they went about in Judah, and gathered the Levites out of all the cities of Judah, and the chief of the fathers of Israel, and they came to Jerusalem.
New King James Version
And they went throughout Judah and gathered the Levites from all the cities of Judah, and the chief fathers of Israel, and they came to Jerusalem.
New Life Bible
And they went through Judah and gathered the Levites from all the cities. They gathered the heads of the fathers' houses of Israel. And they came to Jerusalem.
New Revised Standard
They went around through Judah and gathered the Levites from all the towns of Judah, and the heads of families of Israel, and they came to Jerusalem.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And they went round throughout Judah, and gathered together the Levites out of all the cities of Judah, and the ancestral chiefs of Israel, - and they came into Jerusalem.
Douay-Rheims Bible
And they went about Juda, and gathered together the Levites out of all the cities of Juda, and the chiefs of the families of Israel, and they came to Jerusalem.
Revised Standard Version
And they went about through Judah and gathered the Levites from all the cities of Judah, and the heads of fathers' houses of Israel, and they came to Jerusalem.
Young's Literal Translation
And they go round about in Judah, and gather the Levites out of all the cities of Judah, and heads of the fathers of Israel, and come in unto Jerusalem,
New American Standard Bible (1995)
They went throughout Judah and gathered the Levites from all the cities of Judah, and the heads of the fathers' households of Israel, and they came to Jerusalem.

Contextual Overview

1 In the seventh year of Athaliah's reign, Jehoiada the priest decided to act. He summoned his courage and made a pact with five army commanders: Azariah son of Jeroham, Ishmael son of Jehohanan, Azariah son of Obed, Maaseiah son of Adaiah, and Elishaphat son of Zicri. 2 These men traveled secretly throughout Judah and summoned the Levites and clan leaders in all the towns to come to Jerusalem. 3 They all gathered at the Temple of God, where they made a solemn pact with Joash, the young king. Jehoiada said to them, "Here is the king's son! The time has come for him to reign! The Lord has promised that a descendant of David will be our king. 4 This is what you must do. When you priests and Levites come on duty on the Sabbath, a third of you will serve as gatekeepers. 5 Another third will go over to the royal palace, and the final third will be at the Foundation Gate. Everyone else should stay in the courtyards of the Lord 's Temple. 6 Remember, only the priests and Levites on duty may enter the Temple of the Lord , for they are set apart as holy. The rest of the people must obey the Lord 's instructions and stay outside. 7 You Levites, form a bodyguard around the king and keep your weapons in hand. Kill anyone who tries to enter the Temple. Stay with the king wherever he goes." 8 So the Levites and all the people of Judah did everything as Jehoiada the priest ordered. The commanders took charge of the men reporting for duty that Sabbath, as well as those who were going off duty. Jehoiada the priest did not let anyone go home after their shift ended. 9 Then Jehoiada supplied the commanders with the spears and the large and small shields that had once belonged to King David and were stored in the Temple of God. 10 He stationed all the people around the king, with their weapons ready. They formed a line from the south side of the Temple around to the north side and all around the altar.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

went about: Psalms 112:5, Matthew 10:16, Ephesians 5:15

the chief of: Houbigant omits the words of Israel. Bp. Patrick, however, is of the opinion that Judah is here called by the general name of Israel, but it is probable, that these "chief fathers of Israel," were the descendants of those priests and Levites, and other pious persons of the ten tribes, who left their cities and possessions, and joined themselves to Judah, in the days of Jeroboam. See the parallel passages. 2 Chronicles 11:13-17, 1 Chronicles 15:12, 1 Chronicles 24:6

Reciprocal: 2 Chronicles 21:2 - Israel

Cross-References

Genesis 13:18
So Abram moved his camp to Hebron and settled near the oak grove belonging to Mamre. There he built another altar to the Lord .
Genesis 23:14
Ephron answered Abraham,
Genesis 23:15
"My lord, please listen to me. The land is worth 400 pieces of silver, but what is that between friends? Go ahead and bury your dead."
Genesis 23:16
So Abraham agreed to Ephron's price and paid the amount he had suggested—400 pieces of silver, weighed according to the market standard. The Hittite elders witnessed the transaction.
Genesis 23:18
It was transferred to Abraham as his permanent possession in the presence of the Hittite elders at the city gate.
Genesis 23:19
Then Abraham buried his wife, Sarah, there in Canaan, in the cave of Machpelah, near Mamre (also called Hebron).
Genesis 27:41
From that time on, Esau hated Jacob because their father had given Jacob the blessing. And Esau began to scheme: "I will soon be mourning my father's death. Then I will kill my brother, Jacob."
Genesis 50:10
When they arrived at the threshing floor of Atad, near the Jordan River, they held a very great and solemn memorial service, with a seven-day period of mourning for Joseph's father.
Numbers 13:22
Going north, they passed through the Negev and arrived at Hebron, where Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai—all descendants of Anak—lived. (The ancient town of Hebron was founded seven years before the Egyptian city of Zoan.)
Numbers 20:29
When the people realized that Aaron had died, all Israel mourned for him thirty days.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

:-.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Jehoiada was unwilling to trust the success of the revolution wholly and entirely to the royal body-guard. Accordingly, the captains collected from the cities of Judah a strong body of Levites and the chief of the fathers of Israel (i. e. “Judah,” see 2 Chronicles 20:34 note) who were brought up to Jerusalem.


 
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