2 Chronicles 15:6

2Ch 15:6 And nation was destroyed of nation, and city of city: for God did vex them with all adversity.

Ver. 6. And nation was destroyed.] Heb., Beaten to pieces: such is the woe of war, that no words, however so wide, are sufficient to set it forth.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

2Ch 15:6. Nation was destroyed of nation — One part of the people of Israel destroyed the other by civil wars; of which see instances, Jdg 9:23, &c., and 2Ch 12:1, &c. As all Israel, so the several tribes of them are sometimes called nations.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

"And one people is dashed in pieces by the other, and one city by the other; for God confounds them by all manner of adversity." המם denotes confusion, which God brings about in order to destroy His enemies (Exo 14:24; Jos 10:10; Jdg 4:15). Days when they were without the true God, without teaching prophets, and without law, Israel had already experienced in the times of defection after Joshua (cf. Jdg 2:11.), but will experience them in the future still oftener and more enduringly under the idolatrous kings in the Assyrian and Babylonian exile, and still even now in its dispersion among all nations. That this saying refers to the future is also suggested by the fact that Hosea (Hos 3:4) utters, with a manifest reference to Ch2 15:3 of our speech, a threat that the ten tribes will be brought into a similar condition (cf. Hos 9:3-4); and even Moses proclaimed to the people that the punishment of defection from the Lord would be dispersion among the heathen, where Israel would be compelled to serve idols of wood and stone (Deu 4:27., Deu 28:36, Deu 28:64), i.e., would be without the true God. That Israel would, in such oppression, turn to its God, would seek Him, and that the Lord would be found of them, is a thought also expressed by Moses, the truth of which Israel had not only had repeated experience of during the time of the judges, but also would again often experience in the future (cf. Hos 3:5; Jer 31:1; Eze 36:24.; Rom 11:25.). בּצּר־לו refers back to Deu 4:30; the expression in Ch2 15:4 is founded upon Deu 4:29 (cf. Isa 55:6). - Of the oppression in the times of defection portrayed in Ch2 15:5., Israel had also had in the time of the judges repeated experience (cf. Jdg 5:6), most of all under the Midianite yoke (Jdg 6:2); but such times often returned, as the employment of the very words of the first hemistich of Ch2 15:5 in Zac 8:10, in reference to the events of the post-exilic time, shows; and not only the prophet Amos (Amo 3:9) sees רבּות מהוּמות, great confusions, where all is in an indistinguishable whirl in the Samaria of his time, but they repeated themselves at all times when the defection prevailed, and godlessness degenerated into revolution and civil war. Azariah portrays the terrors of such times in strong colours (Ch2 15:6): "Dashed to pieces is people by people, and city by city." The war of the tribes of Israel against Benjamin (Judg 20:f.), and the struggle of the Gileadites under Jephthah with Ephraim (Jdg 12:4.), were civil wars; but they were only mild preludes of the bellum omnium contra omnes depicted by Azariah, which only commenced with the dissolution of both kingdoms, and was announced by the later prophets as the beginning of the judgment upon rebellious Israel (e.g., Isa 9:17-20), and upon all peoples and kingdoms hostile to God (Zac 14:13; Mat 24:7). With הממם אלהים כּי cf. רבּה יי מהוּמת, Zac 14:13. To this portrayal of the dread results of defection from the Lord, Azariah adds (Ch2 15:7) the exhortation, "Be ye strong (vigorous), and show yourselves not slack, languid" (cf. Zep 3:16; Neh 6:9); i.e., in this connection, proceed courageously and vigorously to keep yourselves true to the Lord, to exterminate all idolatry; then you shall obtain a great reward: cf. on these words, Jer 31:16.

Keil & Delitzsch — Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1861–1891) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API. (Old Testament only.)

(6) And nation was destroyed of nation.—And they were crushed, nation by nation and city by city. The verb khathath occurs Isa_2:4 (“to beat”); but in its (intensive) passive form only here. Some MSS. have the (intensive) active form, which is found elsewhere. So LXX. and Vulg.: “And nation shall fight against nation.” Nation is gôy, i.e., a community of kindred, such as a tribe or clan, rather than a merely political aggregate. The allusion is to the old feuds and contentions between rival tribes, e.g., between Ephraim and Gilead (Manasseh) (Judges 12), or between Benjamin and the other tribes (Judges 20). The verse vividly pourtrays an internecine strife, like that described in Isa_19:2 : “And I will set the Egyptians against the Egyptians, and they shall fight every one against his brother, and every one against his neighbour; city against city, kingdom against kingdom;” or like that depicted by the same prophet (Isa_9:18-21): “No man shall spare his brother . . . they shall eat every man the flesh of his own arm [i.e., of his natural ally]: Manasseh, Ephraim; and Ephraim, Manasseh; and they together shall be against Judah.”

Did vex them with all adversity.—Had confounded (or, discomfited) them with every kind of distress. (Comp. Zec_14:13 : “A great confusion from the Lord.”)

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

6. nation was destroyed of nation, and city of city] R.V. they were broken in pieces, nation against nation, and city against city. Israel is meant. In the civil strife of the days of the Judges Israel appeared more than once as two nations destroying one another: cp. Jdg_8:13-17; Jdg_9:26 ff; Jdg_12:1 ff; Jdg_20:12 ff.

vex] Rather, afflict; see 2Ch_15:5.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And nation was destroyed of nation, and city of city,.... Or one tribe of another; as the Ephraimites by the Gileadites, and the tribe of Benjamin by the other tribes; and Shechem by Abimelech, Jdg 9:45,

for God did vex them with all adversity; both with foreign enemies and civil wars; and now it is intimated that this would be their case again, should they not keep close to the Lord their God.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

The allusion is probably to the destructions recorded in Jdg 9:45; 20:33-48.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Nation, both in the times of Baasa, who fought against Asa, and afterwards. For the same prophecy may be literally explained of more thing than one. (Menochius) --- Distress. Our Saviour says, Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, &c. But he that shall persevere to the end, shall be saved. [Matthew xxiv. 9-13.]

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Nation was destroyed of nation, i.e. one part of the people of Israel destroyed the other by civil wars; of which see instances, Jdg 9:23, &c.; Jdg 12:1, &c. As all the people of Israel are called a nation, so the several tribes and families of them are sometimes called nations, as Gen 17:4; Eze 2:3 Act 4:27, compared with Psa 2:1.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

6. Nation… destroyed of nation — “It is quite in harmony with the rhetorical nature of the passage that the contentions of the Israelites among themselves (for example, in the time of the Judges between the inhabitants of Gilead and Ephraim, and between Benjamin and the rest of the tribes, Jdg_12:4; Judges 20, 21; and in later times between the two Israelitish kingdoms) should be described as a crushing of one people by the other.” — Bertheau.

City of city — Comp. Jdg_9:45.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Among other patent instances, not the least remarkable are found in Jud 20:35-45 9:44-47; these forecast and heralded that final rupture of Rehoboam and Jeroboam, which showed the "house divided against itself," and the sure consequences thereof.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And nation, &c. - One part of the people of Israel destroyed the other by civil wars. As all Israel are called a nation, so the several tribes of them are sometimes called nations.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

They were broken in pieces, nation against nation, and city against city

The word "they" refers to the words "nation" and "city." Conquering one another is spoken of as if they were breaking each other into pieces. AT: "Nations and cities destroyed each other, nations fighting nations, cities fighting cities" (See: Metaphor)

They were broken in pieces, nation against nation, and city against city

Here "nation" and "city" are metonyms for the people who live there. You may also supply a connecting word to clarify the relationship between these two phrases. AT: "Nations and cities destroyed each other, as the people of one nation fought against the people of another nation, and the people of one city fought against the people of another city" (See: Metonymy and Connecting Words)

do not let your hands be weak

Here the word "hands" represents the people who work. AT: "do not become weak as you work" (See: Synecdoche)

for your work will be rewarded

This can be stated in active form. Yahweh is the implied subject. AT: "for Yahweh will reward your work" (See: Active or Passive and Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)

translationWords

nation

trouble

suffer

hand

works

reward

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

And nation was crushed by nation - Heb. וְכֻתְּתוּ. Another instance of this is (Num. 14:45): “and they struck them and crushed them (וַיַּכְּתוּם).”

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.