2 Chronicles 36:16 kjv
But they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words, and misused his prophets, until the wrath of the LORD arose against his people, till there was no remedy.
2 Chronicles 36:16 nkjv
But they mocked the messengers of God, despised His words, and scoffed at His prophets, until the wrath of the LORD arose against His people, till there was no remedy.
2 Chronicles 36:16 niv
But they mocked God's messengers, despised his words and scoffed at his prophets until the wrath of the LORD was aroused against his people and there was no remedy.
2 Chronicles 36:16 esv
But they kept mocking the messengers of God, despising his words and scoffing at his prophets, until the wrath of the LORD rose against his people, until there was no remedy.
2 Chronicles 36:16 nlt
But the people mocked these messengers of God and despised their words. They scoffed at the prophets until the LORD's anger could no longer be restrained and nothing could be done.
2 Chronicles 36 16 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Neh 9:26 | "But they became disobedient and rebelled against You, and cast Your law behind their backs, and killed Your prophets who testified against them to turn them to You..." | Rebellion & Killing Prophets |
| Jer 7:25-26 | "Since the day that your fathers came out of the land of Egypt until this day, I have even sent to you all My servants the prophets, daily rising up early and sending them. Yet they did not obey Me or incline their ear..." | Persistent Disobedience to Prophets |
| Jer 25:3-7 | "For twenty-three years the word of the Lord has come to me... and I have spoken to you, rising early and speaking, but you have not listened... but you have not obeyed Me." | Long history of rejecting divine word |
| Zec 7:11-12 | "But they refused to heed, shrugged their shoulders, and stopped their ears so that they could not hear. Yes, they made their hearts like flint..." | Stubborn refusal to hear |
| Mat 23:37-38 | "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her!... See! Your house is left to you desolate;" | Jerusalem's rejection of prophets |
| Act 7:51-53 | "You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you. Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute?" | Stephen's rebuke: ongoing rejection |
| Rom 1:18 | "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness," | God's wrath revealed against ungodliness |
| Eph 5:6 | "Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience." | Wrath on sons of disobedience |
| Col 3:6 | "Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience," | Divine wrath for disobedience |
| Psa 78:49-50 | "He cast on them the fierceness of His anger, wrath, indignation, and trouble, by sending angels of destruction among them." | God's fierce anger against Israel |
| Isa 9:12 | "...For all this His anger is not turned away, But His hand is stretched out still." | God's sustained, escalating wrath |
| Prov 1:24-28 | "Because I have called and you refused... I also will laugh at your calamity... when terror comes like a storm, then they will call on me, but I will not answer..." | Divine rejection of those who reject God |
| Prov 29:1 | "He who is often rebuked, and hardens his neck, Will suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy." | Sudden destruction for hardening hearts |
| Isa 6:9-10 | "Go, and tell this people: 'Keep on hearing, but do not understand; Keep on seeing, but do not perceive.' Make the heart of this people dull..." | Judicial hardening by God |
| Hos 4:6 | "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you..." | Destruction for rejecting God's knowledge |
| 2 Pet 3:9 | "The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance." | God's long-suffering and patience |
| Rom 2:4 | "Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?" | Despising God's goodness and forbearance |
| Deut 28:15 | "But it shall come to pass, if you do not obey the voice of the Lord your God... that all these curses will come upon you..." | Covenant curses for disobedience |
| Lev 26:14-16 | "But if you do not obey Me, and do not observe all these commandments, and if you despise My statutes... then I will also do this to you..." | Consequences of despising God's law |
| Zep 3:7 | "I said, 'Surely you will fear Me, you will receive instruction'—Then her dwelling would not be cut off... But they rose early and corrupted all their deeds." | Rejection of divine instruction |
| Isa 30:12-13 | "Because you despise this word, And trust in oppression and perversity, And rely on them, Therefore this iniquity shall be to you Like a breach ready to fall..." | Consequences of despising divine word |
| Psa 50:16-17 | "But to the wicked God says: 'What right have you to declare My statutes, Or take My covenant in your mouth, Seeing you hate instruction and cast My words behind you?'" | Rejecting instruction & God's words |
2 Chronicles 36 verses
2 Chronicles 36 16 Meaning
This verse succinctly encapsulates the culmination of Judah's persistent disobedience and contempt toward God's divine communication, leading directly to the inescapable Babylonian exile. It details a crescendo of rejection: first, they mocked God's messengers; then, they utterly despised His very words; and finally, they scorned His prophets, intensifying their rebellion against divine truth. This sustained and severe rejection ultimately exhausted God's boundless patience, causing His burning wrath to justly arise against His covenant people, reaching a point where no recovery or healing for their national state was possible, thus ensuring the promised judgment would be enacted without reprieve.
2 Chronicles 36 16 Context
This verse stands at the tragic climax of Judah's history as recounted in 2 Chronicles. It is the immediate prelude to the final, devastating Babylonian exile (2 Chron 36:17-21). The Chronicler emphasizes that this calamity was not arbitrary but the direct, inevitable consequence of generations of spiritual rebellion. Specifically, the latter kings of Judah – Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin, and especially Zedekiah – continued and intensified the nation's idolatry, moral decay, and disregard for the Mosaic Covenant. Despite God's persistent and compassionate attempts to call His people back through numerous prophets, His patience eventually reached its limit. This verse functions as the ultimate summary judgment on Judah's national failure to heed divine warnings, providing the theological rationale for the unparalleled devastation of Jerusalem and the Temple. It underscores the Chronicler's recurring theme that obedience brings blessing and disobedience brings divine judgment, culminating in the most severe judgment yet: national expulsion from the Promised Land.
2 Chronicles 36 16 Word analysis
But they mocked: (וַיְשׂחֲקוּ - vayiśḥaqu, from שׂחק - śaḥaq, to laugh, mock, make sport of). This denotes a disrespectful, derisive laughter, treating divine warnings as a joke. It highlights a deliberate act of ridicule rather than mere disbelief, revealing a deep-seated contempt.
the messengers of God: (בְּמַלְאֲכֵ֣י הָאֱלֹהִ֔ים - bĕmal'akei hā'Elohim). These are human envoys—prophets—whom God sent with His words. Calling them "messengers of God" emphasizes their divine commission and the sacred authority of their message. Mocking them was equivalent to mocking God Himself.
despised: (וַיִּבְּז֣וּ - vayivzu, from בּוּז - buz, to disdain, scorn, hold in contempt). This indicates a deep-seated disdain and rejection. It's not just disbelieving, but actively looking down upon and rejecting the value of something.
His words: (דְבָרָ֗יו - dəvarav, literally "His words," from דָּבָר - dabar, word, matter, thing, divine utterance). This refers to the revealed truth, commandments, and warnings delivered by the prophets, originating directly from God. Despising God's words meant rejecting the very foundation of the covenant relationship.
and scoffed: (וַיְהַתֵּ֤לּוּ - vayehattelu, from הָתַל - hatal, to mock, deceive, deride). This is a strong verb indicating mockery or playing the fool with something serious, akin to treating sacred things with levity and insolence. It often implies a contemptuous form of deception or ridiculing manipulation.
at His prophets: (בִנְבִיאִוֹתָו֙ - binvi'otav, literally "at His prophets"). These are the inspired individuals chosen by God to speak on His behalf, like Jeremiah, Zephaniah, Habakkuk, and others who consistently warned Judah. The escalation from "messengers" to specifically "prophets" underscores the direct and explicit nature of their warnings, which were continuously dismissed.
But they mocked the messengers of God, despised His words, and scoffed at His prophets: This is a powerful, escalating description of Israel's spiritual rebellion. It shows a progression from derision of the divine representatives, to a contemptuous disregard for God's direct revelation, to finally an open, contemptuous rejection of those who embodied God's voice. This cumulative and pervasive contempt for divine authority painted the complete picture of Judah's hardened heart.
until the wrath of the Lord arose against His people: This phrase signifies that God's judgment was not hasty but a result of prolonged, defiant sin that reached a tipping point. The "arising" of wrath portrays it as an inevitable outcome, an active consequence of their actions, indicating God's righteous response to chronic rebellion. The phrase "His people" emphasizes the tragedy that despite their covenant relationship, their rebellion broke the very terms of that bond.
till there was no remedy: (אֵין מַרְפֵּא - 'ein marpē', literally "there is no healing/cure"). This signifies a final, irreversible state. It means that Judah's spiritual sickness had become terminal; there was no spiritual cure or means of repentance available that would avert the impending judgment. It underscores that God's patience, though immense, is not infinite. The judgment was necessary, and the time for repentance to prevent it had passed. This marks the culmination of their actions, signifying a point of no return.
2 Chronicles 36 16 Bonus section
The Chronicler's unique emphasis on Israel's spiritual decline as the primary cause for the exile (as opposed to political factors, though intertwined) is strongly articulated in this verse. The threefold description of their rejection ("mocked," "despised," "scoffed") escalating in intensity reflects a literary device common in biblical Hebrew to emphasize complete and utter contempt. It underscores that Judah's fate was self-inflicted due to covenant unfaithfulness. The narrative acts as a solemn warning not only for its immediate audience returning from exile, urging future obedience, but also for all generations who are prone to ignoring God's word and messengers. The concept of "no remedy" highlights a critical theological principle: while God is infinitely patient, there is a boundary beyond which sin’s consequence becomes irreversible in the earthly realm, leading to an appointed judgment for the benefit of His broader redemptive plan.
2 Chronicles 36 16 Commentary
2 Chronicles 36:16 serves as the Chronicler's poignant summary of why the catastrophic Babylonian exile befell Judah. It is not merely a statement of fact but a profound theological explanation. God's judgment, personified as His wrath "arising," is presented not as arbitrary but as a direct, proportionate response to His people's unrelenting contempt. The threefold rejection—mocking messengers, despising words, and scoffing at prophets—demonstrates a willful and progressive hardening of heart. Each category represents a distinct layer of disregard for divine authority: ridiculing those who speak for God, then actively disdaining the very content of God's message, and finally making sport of the appointed spokespersons. This progression emphasizes the deliberateness and depth of their rebellion.
The divine response, "the wrath of the Lord arose," signifies a just and active indignation from a patient God whose longsuffering had finally been exhausted. The phrase "till there was no remedy" is particularly powerful. It doesn't imply that God simply gave up or that healing was metaphysically impossible, but rather that Judah had consistently and irrevocably refused every opportunity for repentance and restoration. Their spiritual state had become incurable by human or divine intervention, in the sense that the necessary consequences had become inevitable. It points to a judicial hardening, where persistent rejection leads to a divine handing over to the consequences of one's chosen path. This verse therefore explains the justice behind the ensuing devastation, highlighting that judgment is not God's first resort, but the necessary conclusion when grace, patience, and persistent warnings are thoroughly spurned. It stands as a timeless warning against trivializing or ignoring divine revelation.