2 Chronicles 21:17 kjv
And they came up into Judah, and brake into it, and carried away all the substance that was found in the king's house, and his sons also, and his wives; so that there was never a son left him, save Jehoahaz, the youngest of his sons.
2 Chronicles 21:17 nkjv
And they came up into Judah and invaded it, and carried away all the possessions that were found in the king's house, and also his sons and his wives, so that there was not a son left to him except Jehoahaz, the youngest of his sons.
2 Chronicles 21:17 niv
They attacked Judah, invaded it and carried off all the goods found in the king's palace, together with his sons and wives. Not a son was left to him except Ahaziah, the youngest.
2 Chronicles 21:17 esv
And they came up against Judah and invaded it and carried away all the possessions they found that belonged to the king's house, and also his sons and his wives, so that no son was left to him except Jehoahaz, his youngest son.
2 Chronicles 21:17 nlt
They marched against Judah, broke down its defenses, and carried away everything of value in the royal palace, including the king's sons and his wives. Only his youngest son, Ahaziah, was spared.
2 Chronicles 21 17 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Lev 26:33 | "And I will scatter you among the nations and will draw out a sword after you, and your land shall be a desolation..." | Desolation & scattering for disobedience. |
| Deut 28:49-51 | "...a nation from afar, from the end of the earth... consume the fruit of your livestock and the fruit of your ground..." | Enemy invasion & consumption for sin. |
| Deut 28:54-57 | "...he will not share with any of them the flesh of his children whom he eats, because he has nothing else left..." | Extreme famine and desperation from siege. |
| Jer 25:9 | "I will send for all the tribes of the north...and for Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and I will bring them against this land and its inhabitants..." | God using foreign nations as instruments. |
| Isa 39:6 | "Behold, the days are coming, when all that is in your house, and that which your fathers have stored up till this day, shall be carried to Babylon; nothing shall be left, says the Lord." | Plunder of royal treasures as judgment. |
| 1 Kgs 14:10 | "...I will bring evil upon the house of Jeroboam and will cut off from Jeroboam every male, bond or free, in Israel..." | Divine cutting off of wicked royal line. |
| 1 Kgs 15:29 | "...he destroyed it, according to the word of the Lord that he spoke by his servant Ahijah the Shilonite..." | Fulfillment of prophecy against king's house. |
| 1 Kgs 21:21-22 | "...I will bring evil upon you and will utterly sweep you away, and will cut off from Ahab every male, bond or free, in Israel..." | Judgment on Ahab's house for wickedness. |
| 2 Kgs 8:16-19 | "In the fifth year of Joram...Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, began to reign... Yet the Lord would not destroy Judah, for the sake of David his servant..." | Context of Jehoram's reign; Davidic covenant. |
| Isa 1:9 | "If the Lord of hosts had not left us a few survivors, we would have been like Sodom, and become like Gomorrah." | God preserving a small remnant. |
| Rom 9:29 | "And as Isaiah prophesied: 'If the Lord of hosts had not left us a remnant, we would have become like Sodom and Gomorrah.'" | Remnant preserved by God's mercy. |
| Lam 4:10 | "The hands of compassionate women have boiled their own children; they became their food in the destruction of the daughter of my people." | Extreme famine, children consumed. |
| Hos 13:16 | "Samaria shall bear her guilt, because she has rebelled against her God; they shall fall by the sword; their little ones shall be dashed in pieces..." | Severe judgment on rebel cities. |
| 2 Chron 21:12-15 | "...Behold, the Lord will strike your people, your sons, your wives, and all your possessions with a great blow..." | Elijah's prophetic letter, foreshadowing. |
| 2 Chron 22:1 | "And the inhabitants of Jerusalem made Ahaziah his youngest son king in his place, for the band of men that came with the Arabians to the camp had killed all the elder sons..." | Jehoahaz/Ahaziah's survival and succession. |
| Prov 13:22 | "A good man leaves an inheritance to his children's children, but the sinner's wealth is laid up for the righteous." | Sinner's wealth seized; contrasts inheritance. |
| Job 20:28 | "The increase of his house will depart; his goods will flow away in the day of his wrath." | Wealth departing in God's wrath. |
| Zech 14:14 | "Then the wealth of all the surrounding nations shall be gathered, gold, silver, and garments in great abundance." | Future large-scale plunder by God's will. |
| 2 Chron 12:9-10 | "So Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem...He took away the treasures of the house of the Lord and the treasures of the king's house..." | Historical precedent of Jerusalem's plunder. |
| Ps 107:40 | "He pours contempt on princes and makes them wander in trackless wastes..." | God's sovereignty over earthly rulers. |
| Ezra 8:27 | "And two vessels of fine bright bronze, as precious as gold. I weighed out to them 650 talents of silver, and silver vessels worth 100 talents, and 100 talents of gold..." | Contrast: Gold/silver given for God's house. |
| Jer 39:6 | "The king of Babylon slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah at Riblah before his eyes, and the king of Babylon slaughtered all the nobles of Judah." | Killing of royal sons as part of judgment. |
2 Chronicles 21 verses
2 Chronicles 21 17 Meaning
2 Chronicles 21:17 describes the devastating consequences of divine judgment upon King Jehoram of Judah. Invading Philistines and Arabians thoroughly plundered all the king's material possessions found throughout Jerusalem and Judah. Furthermore, they captured and ultimately caused the death of all of Jehoram's sons and wives, with the sole exception of Jehoahaz (also known as Ahaziah), his youngest son. This complete loss of wealth and near-total annihilation of his male lineage signified the severity of God's wrath due to Jehoram's profound unfaithfulness and wicked reign, including idolatry and the murder of his brothers.
2 Chronicles 21 17 Context
2 Chronicles chapter 21 details the ungodly reign of King Jehoram of Judah, son of Jehoshaphat. Despite his righteous father, Jehoram adopted the idolatrous practices of the northern kingdom of Israel, primarily influenced by his wife Athaliah, the daughter of Ahab (v. 6). He initiated his reign by ruthlessly murdering all his brothers, a heinous act of securing power (v. 4). Due to his extreme wickedness and abandonment of the Lord, a letter from the prophet Elijah warned him of severe divine judgment: a plague upon his people, sons, wives, and possessions, and a fatal, painful illness for himself (v. 12-15). Verse 17 directly describes the immediate fulfillment of a significant portion of this prophecy, where God stirred up the Philistines and the Arabians to invade Judah, acting as instruments of His wrath to plunder Jerusalem and inflict devastating loss upon the royal family. This act served as a clear demonstration of the consequences of covenant disobedience for a king who, though of David's line, rejected the Lord.
2 Chronicles 21 17 Word analysis
- And they carried away: The Hebrew word for "carried away" is וַיִּשְׁבּוּ (vayyishbū), meaning "they took captive" or "they carried off as plunder/spoil." It indicates a forceful act of taking by a conquering army, reflecting the violence and complete dispossession of the raid. This was not a negotiation but a military subjugation.
- all the substance: The Hebrew term for "substance" is רְכוּשׁ (rekush), which broadly refers to property, possessions, wealth, goods, or movable effects. Its use emphasizes that not just a portion, but all available wealth—from the king's treasury to personal belongings—was looted, indicating a total and ruinous plunder.
- that was found: Highlights the thoroughness of the search by the invaders, leaving nothing undiscovered or untouched.
- in Jerusalem and Judah: Specifies the geographical extent of the plunder. This was not confined to the royal palace or the capital city alone but extended throughout the broader kingdom, indicating a widespread devastation.
- with his sons: A grave component of the judgment. "Sons" (בָּנָיו, bānāw) indicates male heirs. Their being "carried away" likely refers to their capture, preceding their eventual killing mentioned subsequently. This act effectively threatened the royal lineage, a central promise of the Davidic covenant.
- and his wives: "Wives" (נָשָׁיו, nāshāw) implies the women of the royal household, including the concubines and harem. Their capture was a profound humiliation for a king, signifying the complete breakdown of his protection over his family and the desecration of his house.
- so that there was not a son left him, save: This clause functions as an emphatic declaration of near-total annihilation of Jehoram's male descendants. The severity of "not a son left him" is contrasted powerfully by "save," which immediately highlights the one exception, indicating precise divine control over the extent of the judgment.
- Jehoahaz: (יְהוֹאָחָז, Yəhô’āḥāz - "Yahweh has held/sustained"). This name's meaning ironically reflects the very act of God preserving him despite the surrounding destruction. He is later identified as Ahaziah (2 Chron 22:1) and sometimes Azariah. The different names may be a short form, a changed name upon accession, or scribal variations, but it is unequivocally the same individual.
- the youngest of his sons: This detail emphasizes that Jehoahaz's survival was not due to his strength, age, or prominence, but purely due to God's selective intervention. It also highlights the extreme nature of the judgment that swept away all but the least significant in human terms, demonstrating God's sovereign hand in both destruction and preservation.
2 Chronicles 21 17 Bonus section
- Echoes of Ahab's House: Jehoram's ungodly actions, especially his "walking in the ways of the kings of Israel" (2 Chron 21:6), mirror the wicked pattern set by his father-in-law Ahab, whose house was also brought to a violent and complete end (1 Kings 21:21-22). This comparison underscores the chronicler's theological point about the devastating consequences of idolatry and evil kingship, whether in Israel or Judah.
- The Uniqueness of Elijah's Letter: The mention of a letter from Elijah (2 Chron 21:12) is significant as Elijah was associated primarily with the Northern Kingdom and would likely have been deceased by Jehoram's active reign. This detail implies either a posthumous prophetic message delivered through another means or a specific warning sent by Elijah before his rapture that manifested during Jehoram's time, highlighting the certainty and far-reaching nature of prophetic judgment from God.
- The Davidic "Lamp": The preservation of Jehoahaz despite the near-total destruction of Jehoram's sons serves to illustrate the "lamp for David" promise (2 Kgs 8:19; Ps 132:17). No matter how wicked an individual king might be, God remains committed to upholding the promise of a descendant to sit on David's throne, signifying the faithfulness of His covenant rather than the worthiness of any specific king. This subtle act of mercy within overwhelming judgment points to God's ultimate control over destiny and history.
2 Chronicles 21 17 Commentary
2 Chronicles 21:17 marks the fulfillment of Elijah's dire prophecy against Jehoram, serving as a chilling demonstration of God's covenant faithfulness – His promise to bless obedience and to judge severe rebellion. Jehoram's abandonment of the Lord, particularly his embrace of idolatry and fratricide, provoked divine wrath. The Philistines and Arabians, traditionally hostile neighbors, were divinely "stirred up" (2 Chron 21:16) and became instruments of this judgment, illustrating that God uses any means necessary to achieve His righteous purposes. The plundering of all Jehoram's wealth and the devastating loss of his family (sons and wives) represented a comprehensive destruction of his kingdom and lineage, the very foundations of his earthly power and legacy. This judgment reflects the principle that those who reject God's rule will lose what they cherish most. However, the precise survival of Jehoahaz, "the youngest of his sons," underscores another crucial theological point: the steadfastness of God's promise to David (2 Sam 7:12-16). Despite Jehoram's heinous sin, God preserved a remnant to ensure the continuation of the Davidic line, from which the Messiah would eventually come. Thus, even in judgment, God’s ultimate redemptive plan is secured, revealing His perfect blend of justice and mercy.