2 Chronicles 19:7

2Ch 19:7 Wherefore now let the fear of the LORD be upon you; take heed and do [it]: for [there is] no iniquity with the LORD our God, nor respect of persons, nor taking of gifts.

Ver. 7. Wherefore now let the fear of the Lord be upon you.] Fear to offend so great a majesty. Cave, spectat Cato, was a watchword among the Romans. The Turkish senate is very careful what they say or do, when they know that the grand signior is at the dangerous door, and hears all.

Take heed and do it.] Abundans cautela hic non nocet.

For there is no iniquity with the Lord our God.] As neither must there be with you, whom he hath intrusted with the administration of his earthly kingdom. The Athenian judges, before they ascended the tribunal, swore that they would without writhing or warping, give sentence according to the laws; and in those things concerning which there were no laws, according to conscience and equity, which the Greeks call γνωμην δικαιοτατην, - the most righteous sentence. {a}

Nor respect of persons.] He heareth causes speak, and not persons; so should ye. The ancients, for this, pictured justice blind. The Areopagites heard causes in the dark; but so did not those other Athenian judges, who, having the fair harlot Phryne before them, convicted of some great crime, and being about to condemn her, absolverunt tamen postquam conspexerunt speciosissimum eius pectus, &c., acquitted her nevertheless, when they had beheld her beautiful bosom, which Hyperides her lawyer showed them, to move them to pity her. Was this agreeable to their oath mentioned in the former note? It is reported of Trajan the emperor, that he neither feared nor hated any man living. {b}

Nor taking of gifts.] God is not δωροφαγος: he rejecteth the sacrifices of the wicked, and will not be bribed. Demosthenes was by Harpalus, to the hazard of his country; but Phocion would not, for when Alexander the Great sent him great gifts to win him over thereby to his side, he asked the messengers why their master sent gifts to him rather than to any other of the Athenians. They answered, Because he holdeth you to be honest, and therefore best deserving. He replied, Carry back his gifts therefore; Et me talem esse porro sinat, and let him suffer me still to continue in mine honesty.

{a} Archaeol. Attic., 113.

{b} Plutarch., Vit. x., Rhet. in Hyperide.

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_19:7

Wherefore now let the fear of the Lord be upon you.

Jehoshaphat reproved

I. His sin. This was--

1. Helping in an ungodly enterprise, against which the prophet had warned him.

2. Forming an alliance, of which the influence on himself, his family, and people could only be bad. It fills one with a kind of despair to see how, among those who profess to regard religion an all-important, friendships and alliances discussed and fixed without this ever coming into view.

II. The rebuke which followed the kings sin.

III. The kings repentance.

1. He received reproof with meekness.

2. He kept aloof from occasions of fresh sin.

3. He did what he could to repair the wrong his example had done.

IV. What made jehoshaphat so prompt to return to the right path when once he had left it? His deep sense of God and right appreciation of His character. Wherefore now let the fear of the Lord be upon you; take heed and do it: for there is no iniquity with the Lord, nor respect of persons, nor taking of gifts. Nothing so controllingly underlies what a man is and does as his cherished thoughts of God. (Monday Club Sermons.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

2Ch 19:7. Wherefore, let the fear of the Lord be upon you — Which will be a restraint upon you to keep you from doing wrong, and an encouragement to you to be active in fulfilling the duties of your office. For there is no iniquity in our God, nor respect of persons — And therefore you, who are in God’s stead, and do his work, and must give an account to him, must imitate him herein. Nor taking of gifts — So as to pervert judgment. See Exo 23:8; Deu 16:19; Pro 17:23.

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

He will declare by the sharpness of the punishment, that he hateth all iniquity.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

(7) Wherefore.—And.

The fear of the Lord.—A dread, or awe, of Jehovah. (See 2Ch_17:10.)

Take heed and do (a hendiadys, i.e., act heedfully. deal warily).

Iniquity—i.e., want of equity, unfairness, injustice i’avlah). To the marginal references add the prohibition, Deu_16:19. They who judge for Jehovah (2Ch_19:6) are bound to judge like Jehovah.

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

Moreover, in Jerusalem did Jehoshaphat set of the Levites, and of the priests, and of the chief of the fathers of Israel,.... This was the great court of judicature, consisting of princes, priests, and Levites, of ecclesiastics and political persons; for causes of both sorts were brought thither:

for the judgment of the Lord; in things sacred, which related to the worship of God, and the support of it:

and for controversies; of a civil kind between man and man, whether pecuniary or capital, of a more private or public kind:

when they returned to Jerusalem; that is, this court was set up at Jerusalem, when Jehoshaphat, the priests, Levites, and chief men that went with him, returned thither.

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

Gifts. The contrary is the source of so much corruption. H. --- It would be proper to inscribe this sentence on the walls of all courts of judicature, or rather on the hearts of all in office. T. --- None but the true religion can produce such maxims. C.

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).

And therefore you who are in God’s stead, and do his work, and must give an account to him, must imitate God here. Of

respect of persons, see Deu 10:17; Job 34:19; Act 10:4.

No taking of gifts; so as to pervert judgment for them, by comparing this with Exo 23:8; Deu 16:19; Pro 17:23.

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

Wherefore - And therefore you who are in God's stead, and do his work, and must give an account to him, must imitate God herein.

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

for with the Lord your God there is neither injustice, favoritism, nor bribe-taking and He is with you in judgment; therefore, He does not wish you to commit injustice in judgment.

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.