2 Chronicles 23:3

Hebrew (Westminster Leningrad Codex) 2 Chronicles 23:3 appears in the Hebrew Old Testament. The text above is from the Westminster Leningrad Codex. Each word links to its Strong’s number, a concise gloss, and parsing drawn from the Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible morphology. Click any word for its full Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB) entry.
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2 Chronicles 23:3 (World English Bible). Public Domain. Lemma interlinear Bible study tool, https://lemma.gebible.app/v/2-chronicles/23/3.

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All the assembly made a covenant with the king in the house of God. He said to them, Behold, the king's son shall reign, as Yahweh has spoken concerning the sons of David.
World English Bible · Public Domain
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Compare translations 3

The same verse in 3 English versions, stacked beneath the original-language interlinear above. Click any original word for its lexicon entry.

Each is an independent rendering of the whole verse — the interlinear is not word-aligned to these translations.

Highlighted words mark where these versions differ — a whole-verse word diff, not a word-by-word alignment.

  • World English Bible Public Domain
    All the assembly made a covenant with the king in the house of God. He said to them, Behold, the king's son shall reign, as Yahweh has spoken concerning the sons of David.
  • King James Version Public Domain
    And all the congregation made a covenant with the king in the house of God. And he said unto them, Behold, the king's son shall reign, as the LORD hath said of the sons of David.
  • unfoldingWord Literal Text CC BY-SA 4.0
    And all the assembly cut a covenant in the house of God with the king. And he said to them, “Behold, the son of the king will reign, just as Yahweh spoke concerning the sons of David.

unfoldingWord Literal Text — © unfoldingWord, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Word-aligned USFM3 via Door43 (git.door43.org/unfoldingWord/en_ult).

Versions to compare (up to 4)

3 of 4 selected

Show all 18 translations

Every available English version of this verse, each an independent rendering of the whole verse.

  • World English Bible Public Domain
    All the assembly made a covenant with the king in the house of God. He said to them, Behold, the king's son shall reign, as Yahweh has spoken concerning the sons of David.
  • Berean Standard Bible Public Domain
    the whole assembly made a covenant with the king in the house of God. “Behold, the king’s son!” said Jehoiada. “He must reign, just as the LORD promised concerning the descendants of David.
  • Majority Standard Bible Public Domain
    the whole assembly made a covenant with the king in the house of God. “Behold, the king’s son!” said Jehoiada. “He must reign, just as the LORD promised concerning the descendants of David.
  • King James Version Public Domain
    And all the congregation made a covenant with the king in the house of God. And he said unto them, Behold, the king's son shall reign, as the LORD hath said of the sons of David.
  • American Standard Version (1901) Public Domain
    And all the assembly made a covenant with the king in the house of God. And he said unto them, Behold, the king's son shall reign, as Jehovah hath spoken concerning the sons of David.
  • Revised Version (1885) Public Domain
    And all the congregation made a covenant with the king in the house of God. And he said unto them, Behold, the king’s son shall reign, as the LORD hath spoken concerning the sons of David.
  • Geneva Bible (1599) Public Domain
    And al the Congregation made a couenant with the King in the house of God: and he sayde vnto them, Behold, the Kings sonne must reigne, as the Lord hath sayd of the sonnes of Dauid.
  • Douay-Rheims (1899) Public Domain
    And all the multitude made a covenant with the king in the house of God: and Joiada said to them: Behold the king's son shall reign, as the Lord hath said of the sons of David.
  • Young's Literal Translation Public Domain
    and all the assembly make a covenant in the house of God with the king, and he saith to them, `Lo, the son of the king doth reign, as Jehovah spake concerning the sons of David.
  • Literal Standard Version CC BY-SA 4.0
    and all the assembly make a covenant in the house of God with the king, and he says to them, “Behold, the son of the king reigns, as YHWH spoke concerning the sons of David.
  • Unlocked Literal Bible CC BY-SA 4.0
    All the assembly made a covenant with the king in the house of God. Jehoiada said to them, “See, the king's son will reign, as Yahweh has said concerning the descendants of David.
  • unfoldingWord Literal Text CC BY-SA 4.0
    And all the assembly cut a covenant in the house of God with the king. And he said to them, “Behold, the son of the king will reign, just as Yahweh spoke concerning the sons of David.
  • Darby Bible Public Domain
    And all the congregation made a covenant with the king in the house of God. And he said to them, Behold, the king's son shall reign, as Jehovah has said of the sons of David.
  • World Messianic Bible Public Domain
    All the assembly made a covenant with the king in God’s house. Jehoiada said to them, “Behold, the king’s son must reign, as the LORD has spoken concerning the sons of David.
  • Webster's Bible Public Domain
    And all the congregation made a covenant with the king in the house of God. And he said to them, Behold, the king's son shall reign, as the LORD hath said of the sons of David.
  • Free Bible Version CC BY-SA 4.0
    they all assembled at God's Temple and made a solemn agreement with the king. Jehoiada announced to them, “Look, here is the king's son and he must reign, just as the Lord promised the descendants of David would.
  • Bible in Basic English Public Domain
    And all the people made an agreement with the king in the house of God. And he said to them, Truly, the king's son will be king, as the Lord has said about the sons of David.
  • JPS Tanakh (1917) Public Domain
    And all the congregation made a covenant with the king in the house of God. And he said unto them: 'Behold, the king's son shall reign, as the LORD hath spoken concerning the sons of David.

Literal Standard Version (2020), Covenant Press — licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API (eBible.org). Unlocked Literal Bible (unfoldingWord) — licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API (eBible.org). unfoldingWord Literal Text — © unfoldingWord, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Word-aligned USFM3 via Door43 (git.door43.org/unfoldingWord/en_ult). Free Bible Version, Dr. Jonathan Gallagher — licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API (eBible.org).

Word by word

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הַקָּהָ֥ל
qâhâl
H6951
“the · assembly”
Particle, Definite Article + Noun, Common, Masculine, Singular, Absolute
Part of Speech
Particle + Noun
Type
Common
Gender
Masculine
Number
Singular
State
Absolute
Full BDB Definition

Origin: from H6950

TWOT: 1991a

assembly, company, congregation, convocation - assembly - for evil counsel, war or invasion, religious purposes - company (of returning exiles) - congregation - as organised body
  1. וַיִּכְרֹ֨ת kârath H3772 “and · to cut” Conjunction + Verb, Qal, Sequential Imperfect, 3rd Person, Masculine, Singular
  2. כָּל kôl H3605 “all of” Noun, Common, Masculine, Singular, Construct
  3. בְּרִ֛ית bᵉrîyth H1285 “covenant” Noun, Common, Feminine, Singular, Absolute
  4. בְּבֵ֥ית bayith H1004 “in/at · house of” Preposition + Noun, Common, Masculine, Singular, Construct
  5. הָאֱלֹהִ֖ים ʼĕlôhîym H430 “the · God(s)” Particle, Definite Article + Noun, Common, Masculine, Plural, Absolute
  6. עִם ʻim H5973 “with” Preposition
  7. הַמֶּ֑לֶךְ melek H4428 “the · king” Particle, Definite Article + Noun, Common, Masculine, Singular, Absolute
  8. וַיֹּ֣אמֶר ʼâmar H559 “and · to say” Conjunction + Verb, Qal, Sequential Imperfect, 3rd Person, Masculine, Singular
  9. הִנֵּ֤ה hinnêh H2009 “behold” Particle, Demonstrative
  10. בֶן bên H1121 “son of” Noun, Common, Masculine, Singular, Construct
  11. הַמֶּ֨לֶךְ֙ melek H4428 “the · king” Particle, Definite Article + Noun, Common, Masculine, Singular, Absolute
  12. יִמְלֹ֔ךְ mâlak H4427 “to reign” Verb, Qal, Imperfect, 3rd Person, Masculine, Singular
  13. כַּאֲשֶׁ֛ר ʼăsher H834 “like/as · which” Preposition + Particle, Relative
  14. דִּבֶּ֥ר dâbar H1696 “to speak” Verb, Piel, Perfect, 3rd Person, Masculine, Singular
  15. יְהוָ֖ה Yᵉhôvâh H3068 “LORD” Noun, Proper
  16. עַל ʻal H5921 “upon” Preposition
  17. בְּנֵ֥י bên H1121 “sons of” Noun, Common, Masculine, Plural, Construct
  18. דָוִֽיד Dâvid H1732 “David” Noun, Proper

About this verse

These counts appear in no published source. They are computed here, from the morphology-tagged text and Lemma’s own curated glosses. What Lemma adds →

20
words
17
distinct lemmas
Historical
section

Grammatical profile

  • 4 verbs
  • 11 nouns
  • 3 prepositions
  • 2 particles

Verb forms

  • וַיִּכְרֹ֨ת Qal · Sequential Imperfect
  • וַיֹּ֣אמֶר Qal · Sequential Imperfect
  • יִמְלֹ֔ךְ Qal · Imperfect
  • דִּבֶּ֥ר Piel · Perfect

Repetition

Words recur within this verse — often emphatic in Hebrew:

  • הַמֶּ֑לֶךְ king H4428 ×2
  • בֶן son H1121 ×2

Hebrew & Septuagint length

In English translation the verse runs 33 words from the Hebrew and 43 from the Septuagint (LXX English) — closely comparable.

A rough comparison of the two English renderings, which tokenize alike — not a word-level alignment.

Word counts can differ between the Hebrew and the Greek without any difference in meaning — e.g. the Hebrew direct-object marker אֵת has no separate Greek word, and Greek often adds the article ὁ.

In the original languages it is 20 Hebrew tokens and 36 Greek tokens — but the two are counted differently (Hebrew bundles its prefixes and suffixes into one token; the Greek is in lemma form), so that isn’t a like-for-like length.

Cross-references

14

Topical passages linked to 2 Chronicles 23:3 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — connected by theme and wording, ordered by reader-vote popularity; previews shown in the World English Bible.

  • 2 Samuel 7:12 When your days are fulfilled, and you shall sleep with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you, who shall proceed out of your bowels, and I will establish his kingdom.
  • 2 Chronicles 6:16 Now therefore, Yahweh, the God of Israel, keep with your servant David my father that which you have promised him, saying, There shall not fail you a man in my sight to sit on the throne of Israel, if only your children take heed to their way, to walk in my law as you have walked before me.
  • 2 Chronicles 21:7 However Yahweh would not destroy the house of David, because of the covenant that he had made with David, and as he promised to give a lamp to him and to his children always.
  • 1 Kings 2:4 That Yahweh may establish his word which he spoke concerning me, saying, If your children take heed to their way, to walk before me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul, there shall not fail you (said he) a man on the throne of Israel.
  • 2 Kings 11:17 Jehoiada made a covenant between Yahweh and the king and the people, that they should be Yahweh's people; between the king also and the people.
  • 2 Chronicles 7:18 then I will establish the throne of your kingdom, according as I covenanted with David your father, saying, There shall not fail you a man to be ruler in Israel.
  • 2 Samuel 5:3 So all the elders of Israel came to the king to Hebron; and king David made a covenant with them in Hebron before Yahweh: and they anointed David king over Israel.
  • 2 Samuel 7:16 Your house and your kingdom shall be made sure for ever before you: your throne shall be established forever.
  • 1 Kings 9:5 then I will establish the throne of your kingdom over Israel forever, according as I promised to David your father, saying, There shall not fail you a man on the throne of Israel.
  • 1 Chronicles 9:9–27 and their brothers, according to their generations, nine hundred fifty-six. All these men were heads of fathers' [houses] by their fathers' houses.
  • 1 Chronicles 11:3 So all the elders of Israel came to the king to Hebron; and David made a covenant with them in Hebron before Yahweh; and they anointed David king over Israel, according to the word of Yahweh by Samuel.
  • 2 Chronicles 23:16 Jehoiada made a covenant between himself, and all the people, and the king, that they should be Yahweh's people.
  • Psalms 89:29 I will also make his seed endure forever, And his throne as the days of heaven.
  • Psalms 89:36 His seed will endure forever, His throne like the sun before me.

Cross-references courtesy of OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0).

Hebrew and Greek witnesses Masoretic Hebrew ↔ Greek Septuagint

The same verse in the two great witnesses to the Old Testament, shown verse-for-verse.

These are two independent witnesses, not word-aligned to each other, and the Septuagint is shown in lemma (dictionary) form.

Hebrew 2 Chronicles 23:3 Masoretic · Westminster Leningrad Codex

וַיִּכְרֹ֨ת כָּל הַקָּהָ֥ל בְּרִ֛ית בְּבֵ֥ית הָאֱלֹהִ֖ים עִם הַמֶּ֑לֶךְ וַיֹּ֣אמֶר לָהֶ֗ם הִנֵּ֤ה בֶן הַמֶּ֨לֶךְ֙ יִמְלֹ֔ךְ כַּאֲשֶׁ֛ר דִּבֶּ֥ר יְהוָ֖ה עַל בְּנֵ֥י דָוִֽיד

All the assembly made a covenant with the king in the house of God. He said to them, Behold, the king's son shall reign, as Yahweh has spoken concerning the sons of David.

World English Bible · Public Domain

Greek LXX 2 Chronicles 23:3 Septuagint · lemma form

καί διατίθημι πᾶς ἐκκλησία ἰουδά διαθήκη ἐν οἶκος ὁ θεός μετά ὁ βασιλεύς καί δεικνύω αὐτός ὁ υἱός ὁ βασιλεύς καί εἶπον αὐτός ἰδού ὁ υἱός ὁ βασιλεύς βασιλεύω καθώς λαλέω κύριος ἐπί ὁ οἶκος δαυίδ

and all the congregation of Juda made a covenant with the king in the house of God. And he showed them the king's son, and said to them, Behold, let the king's son reign, as the Lord said concerning the house of David.

LXX2012 (modern English Septuagint) · Public Domain

Hebrew: Westminster Leningrad Codex (CC BY 4.0). Greek: Septuagint (public domain); English from LXX2012 (modern English Septuagint) (Public Domain). How the Septuagint differs from the Hebrew →

Commentary

Notes on 2 Chronicles 23:3 from classic Christian and Jewish commentators (each source and its license shown beneath its notes). The classic Christian expositions comment on the surrounding passage and are grouped to its opening verse, so a note may address several verses; the Jewish commentaries on the Tanakh (Rashi and others) are per-verse, so they appear only where the commentator wrote on this verse.

Lemma curates 59 commentaries, every one of them public domain or Creative Commons licensed, each selected and text-cleaned for this edition rather than reprinted as found. About our sources →

Trapp's Complete Commentary

John Trapp

2Ch 23:3 And all the congregation made a covenant with the king in the house of God. And he said unto them, Behold, the king’s son shall reign, as the LORD hath said of the sons of David.

Ver. 3. Made a covenant with the king.]. Swearing silence, allegiance, and obedience to him, that they would be his liege people, as he should be their liege lord.

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.

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(3) And all the congregation.—Of the assembled Levites and family chiefs, as well as the royal guard.

Made a covenant with the king.—Comp. 2Ki_11:4 : “And he made a covenant for them,” i.e., imposed a compact on them, made them swear fidelity to the young prince. (Comp. also 2Sa_3:21; 2Sa_5:3.)

The king’s son shall reign.—Or, Behold the king’s son! Let him be king.

As the Lord hath said.—Spake concerning the sons of David, in the oracle delivered by the prophet Nathan (2Sa_7:4-17).

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

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne

3. made a covenant] Cp. 1Ch_11:3 (note).

hath said of] R.V. hath spoken concerning. Cp. 2Sa_7:16; 1Ch_17:17.

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.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible

By “all the congregation” here is meant the persons referred to in 2Ch 23:2.

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

The Pulpit Commentary

All the congregation; i.e. all who have been mentioned in vers. 1 and 2; for so the parallel makes plain. Made a covenant. This was the second wider and more embracing covenant. This covenant is between all the gathered representatives and the young king, Jehoiada no doubt putting all things into shape. And he said unto them, Behold, the king"s son shall reign. The he is Jehoiada, as of course. In view of the last clause of ver. 4 in the parallel, Jehoiada showed them the king"s son the likelier rendering of our text here is, Behold the kings son; he shall reign, as, etc. As the Lord hath said of the sons of David (see 2Ch_6:16 2Ch_7:18; 2Sa_7:12; 1Ki_2:4 1Ki_9:5) The hereditary nature of the monarchy, (2Sa 7) pervaded ever by the spirit of the covenant, is evidently glanced at. It is probable that the existence of Joash was news to those to whom Jehoiada, as the parallel has it, "showed the king"s son," so that double significance lies in the word "showed."

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

Rashi

Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki (Rashi)

And the entire congregation enacted a covenant in the House of God with the king that they would support him.

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.

Lesson kit

Teaching starters — assembled from the data on this page, not authored interpretation. Every prompt links to the verse data it draws on. Edit before teaching.

2 Chronicles, in the Historical, opens this verse with 20 words (17 distinct Hebrew lemmas). Its most distinctive word is qâhâl (“assembly”). A historical commentator’s framing appears above. Read the whole chapter for the surrounding context.

Discussion questions

  1. What does “assembly” (qâhâl) contribute to the verse as a whole?
  2. 2 Samuel 7:12 shares this passage’s theme. How do the two illuminate each other?
  3. “king” occurs 2× in this one verse. What is the effect of the repetition?
  4. The translations on this page render this verse differently — a whole-verse word diff, not a word-by-word alignment. What might account for the different wordings?
  5. The verb «וַיִּכְרֹ֨ת» is Qal Sequential Imperfect. How does its form color the action?
  6. Reading how Trapp's Complete Commentary and Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers read this verse, where do the two commentators agree and where do they part?

Things to notice

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Old Testament
Old Testament edition

Read the OT as the Masoretic Hebrew (MT) or the Greek Septuagint (LXX).

English shown for the Greek Septuagint (in the Hebrew ↔ Greek comparison).

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