2 Chronicles 23:8

2Ch 23:8 So the Levites and all Judah did according to all things that Jehoiada the priest had commanded, and took every man his men that were to come in on the sabbath, with them that were to go [out] on the sabbath: for Jehoiada the priest dismissed not the courses.

Ver. 8. Did according to all things.] See 2Ki 11:9.

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.

Which had finished their course on the Sabbath, and so the other part entered to keep their turn.

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

Jehoiada . . . dismissed not the courses--As it was necessary to have as large a disposable force as he could command on such a crisis, the high priest detained those who, in other circumstances, would have returned home on the expiry of their week of service.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

(8) The Levites and all Judah.—2Ki_11:9 reads, “the captains of the hundreds.” The rest of the verse is the same in both narratives so far as the words “go out on the Sabbath.”

For Jehoiada the priest dismissed not the courses.—The companies of priests and Levites, whose weekly duties had been fulfilled, and who under ordinary circumstances would have been formally “dismissed” by the high priest, were detained at the present emergency as auxiliaries to their brethren who were “coming in.”

Instead of this clause Kings has: “And they came to Jehoiada the priest,” i.e., the captains of the hundreds came, to him; a remark which quite naturally preludes the statement of the next verse both there and here.

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

8. the Levites and all Judah] In 2 Kin. “the captains over the hundreds.” See notes on 2Ch_23:4.

for Jehoiada the priest dismissed not the courses] Not in Kings. The Levites (1Ch_23:6), the priests (ibid. 1Ch_24:1), and the king’s army (ibid. 1Ch_27:1 ff.) were each divided into “courses,” but it is clear from the context that courses of Levites are meant here.

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 took every man his men ... - i. e. the relief, already organized by Jehoiada into three bodies 2Ch 23:4-5, was further strengthened by the members of the outgoing “course,” who were associated in the work to be done.

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

High. Heb. "the priest dismissed not the courses." H. --- In case of right and necessity, we see here what the high priest could do, though otherwise he would not interfere. W.

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).

All Judah; i.e. all those of Judah"s provincial cities who had been honoured with summons to join in this great and solemn enterprise. Dismissed not the courses; i.e. the provincial Levites cooperated with the regulars of Jerusalem.

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

all Judah

This is a generalization to refer to all the people of Judah who were present in the courtyard that day. (See: Hyperbole and Generalization)

served in every way in the manner in which Jehoiada the priest commanded

"did exactly what Jehoiada the priest commanded" or "obeyed everything that Jehoiada the priest commanded"

Each one took his men ... any of their divisions

The priests and guards served in divisions, with each group working for two weeks. This refers to the point in time when two divisions were present—the one ending their service and the one starting their service. Thus there were twice as many men as usual.

were to leave off serving on the Sabbath

"were finishing their work on that Sabbath day"

translationWords

Judah

servant

shield

house of God

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

of those coming in on the Sabbath with those leaving on the Sabbath, for he did not dismiss those divisions who were leaving to go home, but he detained them with those who were arriving. A similarity to [the word פָּטַר] is found in (I Chron. 9:33): “in the chambers, who are exempt (פְּטוּרִים)”; i.e., they were exempt from all work in the forecourt, for day and night it was incumbent upon them to perform the work to guard the forecourts and the chambers; they were therefore exempt from all other work in the forecourt.

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.