2 Chronicles 23:7

Hebrew (Westminster Leningrad Codex) 2 Chronicles 23:7 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 23:7 (World English Bible). Public Domain. Lemma interlinear Bible study tool, https://lemma.gebible.app/v/2-chronicles/23/7.

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English Translation
The Levites shall compass the king round about, every man with his weapons in his hand; and whoever comes into the house, let him be slain: and be you with the king when he comes in, and when he goes out.
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
    The Levites shall compass the king round about, every man with his weapons in his hand; and whoever comes into the house, let him be slain: and be you with the king when he comes in, and when he goes out.
  • King James Version Public Domain
    And the Levites shall compass the king round about, every man with his weapons in his hand; and whosoever else cometh into the house, he shall be put to death: but be ye with the king when he cometh in, and when he goeth out.
  • unfoldingWord Literal Text CC BY-SA 4.0
    And the Levites will surround the king all around, each and his weapon in his hand. And the one going into the house will be killed. And they will be with the king in his coming in and his going out.”

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)

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Show all 18 translations

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

  • World English Bible Public Domain
    The Levites shall compass the king round about, every man with his weapons in his hand; and whoever comes into the house, let him be slain: and be you with the king when he comes in, and when he goes out.
  • Berean Standard Bible Public Domain
    The Levites must surround the king with weapons in hand, and anyone who enters the temple must be put to death. You must stay close to the king wherever he goes.”
  • Majority Standard Bible Public Domain
    The Levites must surround the king with weapons in hand, and anyone who enters the temple must be put to death. You must stay close to the king wherever he goes.”
  • King James Version Public Domain
    And the Levites shall compass the king round about, every man with his weapons in his hand; and whosoever else cometh into the house, he shall be put to death: but be ye with the king when he cometh in, and when he goeth out.
  • American Standard Version (1901) Public Domain
    And the Levites shall compass the king round about, every man with his weapons in his hand; and whosoever cometh into the house, let him be slain: and be ye with the king when he cometh in, and when he goeth out.
  • Revised Version (1885) Public Domain
    And the Levites shall compass the king round about, every man with his weapons in his hand; and whosoever cometh into the house, let him be slain: and be ye with the king when he cometh in, and when he goeth out.
  • Geneva Bible (1599) Public Domain
    And the Leuites shall compasse the King rounde about, and euery man with his weapon in his hand, and he that entreth into the house, shall be slaine, and be you with the King, when he commeth in, and when he goeth out.
  • Douay-Rheims (1899) Public Domain
    And let the Levites be round about the king, every man with his arms; (and if any other come into the temple, let him be slain;) and let them be with the king, both coming in, and going out.
  • Young's Literal Translation Public Domain
    and the Levites have compassed the king round about, each with his weapon in his hand, and he who hath gone in unto the house is put to death; and be ye with the king in his coming in and in his going out.'
  • Literal Standard Version CC BY-SA 4.0
    and the Levites have surrounded the king all around, each with his weapon in his hand, and he who has gone into the house is put to death; and be with the king in his coming in and in his going out.”
  • Unlocked Literal Bible CC BY-SA 4.0
    The Levites must surround the king on all sides, every man with his weapons in his hand. Whoever comes into the house, let him be killed. Stay with the king when he comes in and when he goes out.”
  • unfoldingWord Literal Text CC BY-SA 4.0
    And the Levites will surround the king all around, each and his weapon in his hand. And the one going into the house will be killed. And they will be with the king in his coming in and his going out.”
  • Darby Bible Public Domain
    And the Levites shall encompass the king round about, every man with his weapons in his hand; and he that comes into the house shall be put to death; and ye shall be with the king when he comes in and when he goes out.
  • World Messianic Bible Public Domain
    The Levites shall surround the king, every man with his weapons in his hand. Whoever comes into the house, let him be slain. Be with the king when he comes in and when he goes out.”
  • Webster's Bible Public Domain
    And the Levites shall encompass the king, every man with his weapons in his hand; and whoever else cometh into the house, he shall be put to death: but be ye with the king when he cometh in, and when he goeth out.
  • Free Bible Version CC BY-SA 4.0
    The Levites shall surround the king, weapons in hand. Kill anyone who enters the Temple. Stay close to the king wherever he goes.”
  • Bible in Basic English Public Domain
    And the Levites are to make a circle round the king, every man being armed; and any man who comes into the house is to be put to death; you are to keep with the king when he comes in and when he goes out.
  • JPS Tanakh (1917) Public Domain
    And the Levites shall compass the king round about, every man with his weapons in his hand; and whosoever cometh into the house, let him be slain; and be ye with the king when he cometh in, and when he goeth out.'

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).

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וְהִקִּיפוּ֩
nâqaph
H5362
“and · to strike”
Conjunction + Verb, Hiphil, Sequential Perfect, 3rd Person, Common, Plural
Part of Speech
Conjunction + Verb
Stem
Hiphil
Form
Sequential Perfect
Person
3rd Person
Gender
Common
Number
Plural
Full BDB Definition

Origin: a primitive root

TWOT: 1415 , 1416

to strike, strike off - (Piel) to strike off skin - to go around, compass, round - (Qal) to go around - (Hiphil) - to go around, surround, encompass, enclose - to make the round, complete the circuit - to make round, round off
  1. הַלְוִיִּ֨ם Lêvîyîy H3881 “the · Levites” Particle, Definite Article + Noun, Gentilic, Masculine, Plural, Absolute
  2. אֶת ʼêth H853 “-” Particle, Direct Object
  3. הַמֶּ֜לֶךְ melek H4428 “the · king” Particle, Definite Article + Noun, Common, Masculine, Singular, Absolute
  4. סָבִ֗יב çâbîyb H5439 “round about” Noun, Common, Both, Singular, Absolute
  5. אִ֚ישׁ ʼîysh H376 “man” Noun, Common, Masculine, Singular, Absolute
  6. וְכֵלָ֣יו kᵉlîy H3627 “and · vessels · his” Conjunction + Noun, Common, Masculine, Plural, Construct + Suffix, Personal, 3rd Person, Masculine, Singular
  7. בְּיָד֔וֹ yâd H3027 “in/at · hand · his” Preposition + Noun, Common, Both, Singular, Construct + Suffix, Personal, 3rd Person, Masculine, Singular
  8. וְהַבָּ֥א bôwʼ H935 “and · the · entering” Conjunction + Particle, Definite Article + Verb, Qal, Participle Active, Masculine, Singular, Absolute
  9. אֶל ʼêl H413 “to” Preposition
  10. הַבַּ֖יִת bayith H1004 “the · house” Particle, Definite Article + Noun, Common, Masculine, Singular, Absolute
  11. יוּמָ֑ת mûwth H4191 “to die” Verb, Hophal, Imperfect, 3rd Person, Masculine, Singular
  12. וִֽהְי֥וּ hâyâh H1961 “and · be” Conjunction + Verb, Qal, Imperative, 2nd Person, Masculine, Plural
  13. אֶת ʼêth H854 “with” Preposition
  14. הַמֶּ֖לֶךְ melek H4428 “the · king” Particle, Definite Article + Noun, Common, Masculine, Singular, Absolute
  15. בְּבֹא֥וֹ bôwʼ H935 “in/at · to enter · him” Preposition + Verb, Qal, Infinitive Construct + Suffix, Personal, 3rd Person, Masculine, Singular
  16. וּבְצֵאתֽוֹ yâtsâʼ H3318 “and · in/at · to go out · him” Conjunction + Preposition + Verb, Qal, Infinitive Construct + Suffix, Personal, 3rd Person, Masculine, Singular

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 →

17
words
15
distinct lemmas
Historical
section

Notable vocabulary

The rarest word here is וְהִקִּיפוּ֩ to strike H5362 — appearing just 19 times in the whole Hebrew Bible.

Shared distinctive vocabulary

וְהִקִּיפוּ֩ to strike H5362 occurs in 19 verses of the Hebrew Bible. Also found in:

Grammatical profile

  • 6 verbs
  • 8 nouns
  • 2 prepositions
  • 1 particle

Verb forms

  • וְהִקִּיפוּ֩ Hiphil · Sequential Perfect
  • וְהַבָּ֥א Qal · Participle Active
  • יוּמָ֑ת Hophal · Imperfect
  • וִֽהְי֥וּ Qal · Imperative
  • בְּבֹא֥וֹ Qal · Infinitive Construct
  • וּבְצֵאתֽוֹ Qal · Infinitive Construct

Repetition

Words recur within this verse — often emphatic in Hebrew:

  • הַמֶּ֜לֶךְ king H4428 ×2
  • וְהַבָּ֥א to enter H935 ×2

Hebrew & Septuagint length

In English translation the verse runs 41 words from the Hebrew and 40 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 17 Hebrew tokens and 27 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

5

Topical passages linked to 2 Chronicles 23:7 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — connected by theme and wording, ordered by reader-vote popularity; previews shown in the World English Bible.

  • Exodus 19:12–13 You shall set bounds to the people round about, saying, 'Be careful that you don't go up onto the mountain, or touch its border. Whoever touches the mountain shall be surely put to death.
  • Exodus 21:14 If a man schemes and comes presumptuously on his neighbor to kill him, you shall take him from my altar, that he may die.
  • Numbers 3:10 You shall appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall keep their priesthood. The stranger who comes near shall be put to death."
  • Numbers 3:38 Those who encamp before the tabernacle eastward, in front of the Tent of Meeting toward the sunrise, shall be Moses, and Aaron and his sons, keeping the charge of the sanctuary for the charge of the children of Israel. The stranger who comes near shall be put to death.
  • 2 Kings 11:8–9 You shall compass the king round about, every man with his weapons in his hand; and he who comes within the ranks, let him be slain: and be you with the king when he goes out, and when he comes in.

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 23:7 Masoretic · Westminster Leningrad Codex

וְהִקִּיפוּ֩ הַלְוִיִּ֨ם אֶת הַמֶּ֜לֶךְ סָבִ֗יב אִ֚ישׁ וְכֵלָ֣יו בְּיָד֔וֹ וְהַבָּ֥א אֶל הַבַּ֖יִת יוּמָ֑ת וִֽהְי֥וּ אֶת הַמֶּ֖לֶךְ בְּבֹא֥וֹ וּבְצֵאתֽוֹ

The Levites shall compass the king round about, every man with his weapons in his hand; and whoever comes into the house, let him be slain: and be you with the king when he comes in, and when he goes out.

World English Bible · Public Domain

Greek LXX 2 Chronicles 23:7 Septuagint · lemma form

καί κυκλόω ὁ λευείτης ὁ βασιλεύς κύκλος ἀνήρ σκεῦος ἐν χείρ αὐτός καί ὁ εἰςπορεύομαι εἰς ὁ οἶκος ἀποθνήσκω καί εἰμί μετά ὁ βασιλεύς εἰςπορεύομαι καί ἐκπορεύομαι

And the Levites shall compass the king round about, every man's weapon in his hand; and whoever else goes into the house shall die: but they shall be with the king when he goes out, and when he comes in.

LXX2012 (modern English Septuagint) · Public Domain

On this verse, Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers discusses the Septuagint’s reading. Read the note in Commentary ↓

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 23:7 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 23:7 And the Levites shall compass the king round about, every man with his weapons in his hand; and whosoever [else] cometh into the house, he shall be put to death: but be ye with the king when he cometh in, and when he goeth out.

Ver. 7. And the Levites shall compass the king.] See 2Ki 11:8.

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.

Geneva Bible (1599)

Geneva Bible translators

Meaning, to make any tumult, or to hinder their enterprise.

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

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(7) And the Levites shall compass.—Kings, “And ye (i.e., the centurions of the royal guard) shall compass.” (See Note on 2Ch_23:4.) The chronicler characteristically dwells on the share of the Levites in the matter; but he does not expressly exclude the royal guard; and it is utterly unfair to allege that he has metamorphosed the guardsmen of Kings into Levites, “in order to divert to the priesthood the honour which properly belonged to the Praetorians” (Thenius). The truth may perhaps be that the high priest Jehoiada brought about a combination of the royal guard with the Levitical warders of the Temple; and that the united body acted under the command of the five centurions of the guard.

Cometh into the house.—2Ki_11:8 has, “into the ranks;” a rare word (sedçrôth), occurring only four times, viz., in this narrative thrice, and once in 1Ki_6:8 (in a different sense).

But be ye.—So Kings. But some MSS. and the LXX., Vulg., Targ., and Arab. read here: “and let them (i.e., the Levites) be.” (See Note on 2Ki_11:8.)

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

7. into the house] 2 Kin. “within the ranges” (“within the ranks,” R.V.). Any one who should attempt to break through the ranks of the guard to get near to the king was to be killed. According to the Chronicler Jehoiada’s precaution would protect the sanctity of the Temple as well as the person of the young king.

he shall be put to death] R.V. let him be slain (so 2 Kin.).

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

Compare 2Ki 11:8, 2Ki 11:11. The soldiers and the Levites in the temple were probably intermixed in about equal proportions.

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

Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary

Slain. Athalia ventured to enter; but she was alone, and not much feared. 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).

The Pulpit Commentary

And the Levites shall compass the king. The matter of ver. 8 in the parallel suggests nothing inconsistent with the express mention of the Levites here, but rather that the word "Levites" is desiderated there, and its significance perhaps accidentally overlooked, when the writer of Kings was using the original authorities and sources of his history.

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)

with his weapons in his hand His weapons in his hand.

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 17 words (15 distinct Hebrew lemmas). Its most distinctive word is nâqaph (“to strike”). A historical commentator’s framing appears above. Read the whole chapter for the surrounding context.

Discussion questions

  1. What does “to strike” (nâqaph) contribute to the verse as a whole?
  2. Leviticus 19:27 shares the word «to strike» with this verse. How do the two illuminate each other?
  3. “king” occurs 2× in this one verse. What is the effect of the repetition?
  4. These translations render this verse differently; the difference is in the English rendering, not the original. What questions does that raise?
  5. The verb «וְהִקִּיפוּ֩» is Hiphil Sequential Perfect. How does its form color the action?
  6. Reading how Trapp's Complete Commentary and Geneva Bible (1599) 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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