2 Chronicles 32:30

2Ch 32:30 This same Hezekiah also stopped the upper watercourse of Gihon, and brought it straight down to the west side of the city of David. And Hezekiah prospered in all his works.

Ver. 30. Stopped the upper watercourse of Gihon.] See 2Ch 32:4.

And Hezekiah prospered.] See 2Ki 18:7.

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 32:30. Hezekiah stopped the upper watercourse of Gihon — A rivulet near Jerusalem, consisting of two streams, the upper, which was brought into one pool, called the upper pool, (Isa 7:3,) and the lower, which was brought into another, called the lower pool, Isa 22:9. The former he diverted, and brought by pipes into Jerusalem, which was a work of great art and labour. And brought it straight down to the city of David — Whereas before it fetched a compass, and therefore might have been beneficial to the Assyrian host.

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

Which also was called Shiloah [Siloam], whereof mention is made, Isa. 8:6; John 9:7.

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

stopped the . . . watercourse of Gihon, and brought it . . . to the west side of the city, &c.--(Compare Kg2 20:20). Particular notice is here taken of the aqueduct, as among the greatest of Hezekiah's works. "In exploring the subterranean channel conveying the water from Virgin's Fount to Siloam, I discovered a similar channel entering from the north, a few yards from its commencement; and on tracing it up near the Mugrabin gate, where it became so choked with rubbish that it could be traversed no farther, I there found it turn to the west in the direction of the south end of the cleft, or saddle, of Zion, and if this channel was not constructed for the purpose of conveying the waters of Hezekiah's aqueduct, I am unable to suggest any purpose to which it could have been applied. Perhaps the reason why it was not brought down on the Zion side, was that Zion was already well-watered in its lower portion by the Great Pool, 'the lower pool of Gihon.' And accordingly WILLIAMS [Holy City] renders this passage, 'He stopped the upper outflow of the waters of Gihon, and led them down westward to the city'" [BARCLAY, City of the Great King]. The construction of this aqueduct required not only masonic but engineering skill; for the passage was bored through a continuous mass of rock. Hezekiah's pool or reservoir made to receive the water within the northwest part of the city still remains. It is an oblong quadrangular tank, two hundred forty feet in length, from one hundred forty-four to one hundred fifty in breadth, but, from recent excavations, appears to have extended somewhat farther towards the north.

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

Verse 30. The upper watercourse] He made canals to bring the waters of Gihon from the west side of Jerusalem to the west side of the city of David.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(30) This same Hezekiah also stopped.—And he, Hezekiah, had closed in the upper outlet of the waters of Gihon. (See 2Ch_32:3.)

And brought . . . city of David.—And conducted them underground to the west of the city of David. (Comp. 2Ki_20:20, where also this great work of Hezekiah is referred to in concluding his history: “He made the pool, and the aqueduct, and brought the waters into the city.”) The chronicler gives further details.

Brought it straight.—Directed or conducted them (wayyashshĕrçm; the form in the Hebrew margin is a peculiar contraction of the ordinary piel form which appears in the text).

And Hezekiah prospered.—2Ch_31:21; 1Ch_29:23.

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

30. stopped] Cp. 2Ch_32:3-4.

the upper watercourse] R.V. the upper spring of the waters.

Gihon] The upper spring of Gihon is perhaps represented to-day by St Mary’s Well; cp. Bädeker, p. 99, and note on 2Ch_32:3 above.

to the west side] R.V. on the west side. The present Lower Pool of Siloam is rather to the S.E. of the present Jerusalem but it may have been S.W. of the ancient City of David. The Ambrosian MS. of Pesh. reads, on the east side, and this may be right.

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.

See 2Ch 32:3 note. Either then or afterward, Hezekiah conducted the water of this spring by an underground channel down the Tyropoeon valley to a pool or reservoir (marginal reference).

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

Underneath the walls of the city, making them run westward, C. xxxiii. 14.

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 upper water-course of Gihon; a rivulet near Jerusalem consisting of two streams, the upper, which was brought into one pool, called the upper pool, Isa 7:3; and the lower, which was brought into another, called the lower pool, Isa 22:9. The former he diverted and brought by secret pipes into Jerusalem, which was a work of great art, and labour, and policy, and therefore is here commended.

Brought it straight down; whereas before it fetched a compass, and thereby might have been beneficial to the Assyrian host.

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

Stopped the upper watercourse, etc. (see our vers. 3, 4). What Hezekiah "stopped" was the spring, or more strictly access to it, and guided its prized waters down, probably by an underground channel, to Siloam, or else to the pool in the city which he had constructed and enclosed by that "another wall without" (ver. 5), west of the "city of David."

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

Stopped, &c. - A rivulet near Jerusalem consisting of two streams, the upper which was brought into one pool, called the upper pool, Isaiah vii, 3, and the lower which was brought into another, called the lower pool, Isaiah xxii, 9. The former he diverted and brought by pipes into Jerusalem, which was a work of great art and labour.

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

Hezekiah who also stopped up ... and who brought them straight down

The readers should understand that Hezekiah probably commanded other people to do the actual work. AT: "Hezekiah who ordered his workers to stop up ... and to build a tunnel so that the water would flow down" (See: Metonymy)

waters of Gihon

This is the name of a stream near Jerusalem. (See: How to Translate Names)

the miraculous sign that had been done in the land

This can be stated in active form. AT: "the miracle that Yahweh had performed in the land" (See: Active or Passive)

to know all that was in his heart

Here "heart" represents a person's inner being. AT: "to reveal Hezekiah's true character" (See: Metonymy)

translationWords

water

city of David

ambassador

prince

Babylon

sign

test

heart

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

and he led them straight down on the west He led them along a straight way down on the west to the City of David.

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.