2 Chronicles 29:15

2Ch 29:15 And they gathered their brethren, and sanctified themselves, and came, according to the commandment of the king, by the words of the LORD, to cleanse the house of the LORD.

Ver. 15. By the words of the Lord,] i.e., In his name, and according to his express will. Or, In the business of the 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.

2Ch 29:15-16. To cleanse the house of the Lord — From the dirt it had contracted while it was so long shut up; from dust, cobwebs, and the rust of the vessels. Much more from the idols, and idolatrous altars, which had been set up therein. The priests went into the inner part of the house — Not the holy of holies, into which only the high-priest might go, and he only once in a year, but into the holy place. And brought out all the uncleanness into the court — To wit, the priests’ court, called here the court, by way of eminence.

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

Or, concerning the things of the Lord.

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

(15) They gathered their brethren.—As chiefs, or heads of houses, they had the requisite authority. The families mostly concerned would naturally be those residing in Jerusalem.

According to the commandment of the king, by the words of the Lord—i.e., through the words of Jehovah; a mandate based on the words of Jehovah, as recorded in the written Law. Comp. 1Ch_25:5, and 2Ch_30:12. Also 2Ch_29:25, below: “For by the hand of Jehovah was the commandment” (Note).

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

15. and came] R.V. and went in.

by the words of the Lord] The phrase suggests that Hezekiah had been moved to issue his command by the utterances of a prophet, but this is nowhere actually stated.

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.

Now they began on the first day of the first month to sanctify,.... Either of the reign of King Hezekiah, or rather of the year; the month Ab or Nisan, as the Targum expresses it:

and on the eighth of the month came they to the porch of the Lord; they seem to have begun cleansing the inner part of the temple first, and so came forward until they came to the porch which led into it:

so they sanctified the house of the Lord in eight days; the holy place, and it may be the most holy place, and the court of the priests:

and on the sixteenth day of the first month they made an end; it took them eight days more to cleanse the outward porch, and the buildings and chambers belonging to the temple; according to Jarchi, it required so much time, because Ahaz had framed pictures of idols upon the walls of the temple, which could not be defaced sooner.

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

By the words of the Lord - Rather, as suggested in the margin, “According to the commandment of the king in the business (or matters) of the Lord.”

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

15. By the words of the Lord — The exact sense of this phrase is here doubtful. It may mean, either that the king’s commandment was given by inspiration of God or was based upon the words of his law; or דברי, rendered words, may here mean things, and the meaning be as expressed in the margin, in the business of the Lord: that is, the king’s commandment in respect to the Lord’s matters, namely, the cleansing of the temple. This last is on the whole the more preferable exposition. Comp. chap. 2Ch_30:12.

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

By the words of the Lord. The Hebrew here (hwhy yrebdiB) may possibly mean, "in the business of Jehovah," upon which King Hezekiah was now intent. But it is not by any means needful so to understand it. The words or commands of the Lord are such as are written Exo_19:22; Lev_11:44.

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

To cleanse - From the dirt it had contracted, while it was so long shut up; from dust, cobwebs, and the rust of the vessels. Much more from the idols, and idolatrous altars which had been set up therein.

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

following the words of Yahweh

This phrase shows that the king gave his command in obedience to the word of Yahweh. AT: "in obedience to the word of Yahweh" or "because of what Yahweh had said"

to cleanse the house of Yahweh

A place that is fit to be used for God's purposes is spoken of as if it were physically clean. (See: Metaphor)

the house of Yahweh ... the courtyard of the house

Here the word "house" represents the temple. AT: "the temple of Yahweh ... the courtyard of the temple" (See: Metonymy)

they brought out all the filth that they found in the temple of Yahweh

The word "filth" refers to things that the people had used to worship other gods. The narrator speaks of these things making the temple unacceptable to Yahweh as if they were physically dirty. AT: "they brought out all the defiled things that they found in the temple of Yahweh" or "they brought out all the things that they found in the temple of Yahweh that made it unacceptable to Yahweh" (See: Metaphor)

brook Kidron

A small body of water that flows on the east side of Jerusalem. At times it was used as a trash dump. (See: How to Translate Names)

the first day of the first month

This is the first month of the Hebrew calendar. The first day marks the day when Yahweh brought the people out of Egypt. This is near the middle of March on Western calendars. (See: Hebrew Months and Ordinal Numbers)

the eighth day of the month

This is near the end of March on Western calendars. (See: Hebrew Months and Ordinal Numbers)

they reached the porch of Yahweh

The phrase "the porch of Yahweh" refers to the porch of the temple. "They reached" means that they began to cleanse this section. AT: "they had begun to cleanse the porch of Yahweh's temple" (See: Metonymy and Idiom)

sixteenth day of the first month

This is near the beginning of April on Western calendars. (See: Hebrew Months and Ordinal Numbers)

translationWords

brother

consecrate

command

word of God

clean

house of God

temple

court

day

consecrate

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