2 Chronicles 9:19

Hebrew (Westminster Leningrad Codex) 2 Chronicles 9:19 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 9:19 (World English Bible). Public Domain. Lemma interlinear Bible study tool, https://lemma.gebible.app/v/2-chronicles/9/19.

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English Translation
Twelve lions stood there on the one side and on the other on the six steps: there was nothing like it made in any kingdom.
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
    Twelve lions stood there on the one side and on the other on the six steps: there was nothing like it made in any kingdom.
  • King James Version Public Domain
    And twelve lions stood there on the one side and on the other upon the six steps. There was not the like made in any kingdom.
  • unfoldingWord Literal Text CC BY-SA 4.0
    And 12 lions were standing there on six steps, from this and from this; it had not been done thus for any kingdom.

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
    Twelve lions stood there on the one side and on the other on the six steps: there was nothing like it made in any kingdom.
  • Berean Standard Bible Public Domain
    Twelve lions stood on the six steps, one at either end of each step. Nothing like this had ever been made for any kingdom.
  • Majority Standard Bible Public Domain
    Twelve lions stood on the six steps, one at either end of each step. Nothing like this had ever been made for any kingdom.
  • King James Version Public Domain
    And twelve lions stood there on the one side and on the other upon the six steps. There was not the like made in any kingdom.
  • American Standard Version (1901) Public Domain
    And twelve lions stood there on the one side and on the other upon the six steps: there was not the like made in any kingdom.
  • Revised Version (1885) Public Domain
    And twelve lions stood there on the one side and on the other upon the six steps: there was not the like made in any kingdom.
  • Geneva Bible (1599) Public Domain
    And twelue lyons stoode there on the sixe steps on either side: there was not the like made in any kingdome.
  • Douay-Rheims (1899) Public Domain
    Moreover twelve other little lions standing upon the steps on both sides: there was not such a throne in any kingdom.
  • Young's Literal Translation Public Domain
    and twelve lions are standing there on the six steps on this `side', and on that: it hath not been made so for any kingdom.
  • Literal Standard Version CC BY-SA 4.0
    and twelve lions are standing there on the six steps on this [side] and on that [side]: it has not been made so for any kingdom.
  • Unlocked Literal Bible CC BY-SA 4.0
    Twelve lions stood on the steps, one on each side of each of the six steps. There was no throne like it in any other kingdom.
  • unfoldingWord Literal Text CC BY-SA 4.0
    And 12 lions were standing there on six steps, from this and from this; it had not been done thus for any kingdom.
  • Darby Bible Public Domain
    and twelve lions stood there on the one side and on the other upon the six steps: there was not the like made in any kingdom.
  • World Messianic Bible Public Domain
    Twelve lions stood there on the one side and on the other on the six steps. There was nothing like it made in any other kingdom.
  • Webster's Bible Public Domain
    And twelve lions stood there on the one side and on the other upon the six steps. There was not the like made in any kingdom.
  • Free Bible Version CC BY-SA 4.0
    Twelve lions stood on the six steps, one on opposite ends of each step. Nothing like this had ever been made for any kingdom.
  • Bible in Basic English Public Domain
    And twelve lions were placed on one side and on the other side on the six steps: there was nothing like it in any kingdom.
  • JPS Tanakh (1917) Public Domain
    And twelve lions stood there on the one side and on the other upon the six steps; there was not the like made in any kingdom.

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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הַֽמַּעֲל֖וֹת
maʻălâh
H4609
“the · steps”
Particle, Definite Article + Noun, Common, Feminine, Plural, Absolute
Part of Speech
Particle + Noun
Type
Common
Gender
Feminine
Number
Plural
State
Absolute
Full BDB Definition

Origin: from H4608

TWOT: 1624 L, 1624m

what comes up, thoughts - step, stair - step, stair - steps (of sundial) - stories (of heaven) - ascent - song of ascent - to the three great pilgrim feasts (Psalm titles)
  1. וּשְׁנֵ֧ים shᵉnayim H8147 “and · two” Conjunction + Adjective, Cardinal number, Masculine, Dual, Absolute
  2. עָשָׂ֣ר ʻâsâr H6240 “teen” Adjective, Cardinal number, Masculine, Singular, Absolute
  3. אֲרָי֗וֹת ʼărîy H738 “lions” Noun, Common, Masculine, Plural, Absolute
  4. עֹמְדִ֥ים ʻâmad H5975 “standing” Verb, Qal, Participle Active, Masculine, Plural, Absolute
  5. שָׁ֛ם shâm H8033 “there” Adverb
  6. עַל ʻal H5921 “upon” Preposition
  7. שֵׁ֥שׁ shêsh H8337 “six” Adjective, Cardinal number, Feminine, Singular, Absolute
  8. מִזֶּ֣ה zeh H2088 “from · this” Preposition + Pronoun, Demonstrative, Masculine, Singular
  9. וּמִזֶּ֑ה zeh H2088 “and · from · this” Conjunction + Preposition + Pronoun, Demonstrative, Masculine, Singular
  10. לֹא lôʼ H3808 “not” Particle, Negative
  11. נַעֲשָׂ֥ה ʻâsâh H6213 “to do” Verb, Niphal, Perfect, 3rd Person, Masculine, Singular
  12. כֵ֖ן kên H3651 “thus” Adverb
  13. לְכָל kôl H3605 “to/for · all of” Preposition + Noun, Common, Masculine, Singular, Construct
  14. מַמְלָכָֽה mamlâkâh H4467 “kingdom” Noun, Common, Feminine, Singular, Absolute

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 →

15
words
14
distinct lemmas
Historical
section

Shared distinctive vocabulary

הַֽמַּעֲל֖וֹת step H4609 occurs in 40 verses of the Hebrew Bible. Also found in:

Grammatical profile

  • 2 verbs
  • 4 nouns
  • 3 adjectives
  • 2 pronouns
  • 1 preposition
  • 2 adverbs
  • 1 particle

Verb forms

  • עֹמְדִ֥ים Qal · Participle Active
  • נַעֲשָׂ֥ה Niphal · Perfect

Repetition

A word recurs within this verse — often emphatic in Hebrew:

  • מִזֶּ֣ה this H2088 ×2

Hebrew & Septuagint length

In English translation the verse runs 25 words from the Hebrew and 21 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 15 Hebrew tokens and 18 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

2

Topical passages linked to 2 Chronicles 9:19 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — connected by theme and wording, ordered by reader-vote popularity; previews shown in the World English Bible.

  • Matthew 19:28 Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly I tell you that you who have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of Man will sit on the throne of his glory, you also will sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
  • Revelation 21:12 having a great and high wall; having twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels; and names written on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel.

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 9:19 Masoretic · Westminster Leningrad Codex

וּשְׁנֵ֧ים עָשָׂ֣ר אֲרָי֗וֹת עֹמְדִ֥ים שָׁ֛ם עַל שֵׁ֥שׁ הַֽמַּעֲל֖וֹת מִזֶּ֣ה וּמִזֶּ֑ה לֹא נַעֲשָׂ֥ה כֵ֖ן לְכָל מַמְלָכָֽה

Twelve lions stood there on the one side and on the other on the six steps: there was nothing like it made in any kingdom.

World English Bible · Public Domain

Greek LXX 2 Chronicles 9:19 Septuagint · lemma form

καί δώδεκα λέων ἵστημι ἐκεῖ ἐπί ὁ ἕξ ἀναβαθμός ἔνθεν καί ἔνθεν οὐ γίγνομαι οὕτως ἐν πᾶς βασιλεία

and twelve lions standing there on the six steps on each side. There was not the like in any other kingdom.

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 9:19 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 9:19 And twelve lions stood there on the one side and on the other upon the six steps. There was not the like made in any kingdom.

Ver. 19-23, &c.] See 1Ki 10:20-22, &c.

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.

unfoldingWord translationNotes

Door43 World Missions Community

the House of the Forest of Lebanon

Solomon's palace was built of trees from Lebanon. See how you translated this in 2 Chronicles 9:16. Possible meanings are 1) this was the name of a large room in the palace. AT: "the Hall of the Forest of Lebanon" or 2) this was the name of his whole palace. AT: "the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon" (See: How to Translate Names)

silver was not considered valuable in Solomon's days

Silver was so common in Solomon's days that if a king wanted to show his wealth, he would not do it by making things out of silver. Instead he would use gold, which was less common and more valuable. This can be stated in active form. AT: "people did not value silver so much" (See: Active or Passive)

in Solomon's days

Here "Solomon's days" refers to the time when Solomon ruled. AT: "when Solomon ruled" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)

a fleet of oceangoing ships

"a group of ships that travel on the ocean"

along with the fleet of Hiram

"along with Hiram's fleet of ships"

apes and baboons

It is not certain whether the word translated as "apes" here refers to apes, baboons, or monkeys. It is not certain whether the word translated as "baboons" here refers to baboons or peacocks. This can be translated more generally as "animals from far away" or "animals from Africa." (See: Translate Unknowns)

translationWords

kingdom

pure

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

Rashi

Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki (Rashi)

and two lions were standing beside the armrests [The lions were made] of gold, and the entire form of the throne and the forms of the beasts that were in the throne are depicted in the Targum of the Scroll of Esther (1:2).

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 15 words (14 distinct Hebrew lemmas). Its most distinctive word is maʻălâh (“step”). A historical commentator’s framing appears above. Read the whole chapter for the surrounding context.

Discussion questions

  1. What does “step” (maʻălâh) contribute to the verse as a whole?
  2. How does Exodus 20:26, which shares the word «step», read alongside this verse?
  3. What does the repetition of “this” (2× in this one verse) do in this verse?
  4. These translations render this verse differently. What is at stake in choosing one wording over another?
  5. «עֹמְדִ֥ים» is a Qal Participle Active verb. How does that grammatical form shape the action described?
  6. Compare how Trapp's Complete Commentary and unfoldingWord translationNotes read this verse. Where do they agree or differ?

Things to notice

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