2 Chronicles 9:8

Hebrew (Westminster Leningrad Codex)

English Translation

Blessed be Yahweh your God, who delighted in you, to set you on his throne, to be king for Yahweh your God: because your God loved Israel, to establish them forever, therefore made he you king over them, to do justice and righteousness.

World English Bible · Public Domain

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בְּאַהֲבַ֨ת

ʼahăbâh

H160

“in/at · love”

Preposition + Verb, Qal, Infinitive Construct

Appears 40× in the Hebrew Bible
First appears at Deuteronomy 7:8

Full BDB Definition

Origin: f of H158

TWOT: 29c

love - human love for human object - of man toward man - of man toward himself - between man and woman - sexual desire - God's love to His people

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 →

25: words
18: distinct lemmas
Historical: section

Shared distinctive vocabulary

בְּאַהֲבַ֨ת love H160 occurs in 37 verses of the Hebrew Bible. Also found in:

Grammatical profile

8 verbs
12 nouns
3 prepositions
2 particles

Verb forms

יְהִ֨י Qal · Jussive
בָּר֔וּךְ Qal · Participle Passive
חָפֵ֣ץ Qal · Perfect
לְתִתְּךָ֤ Qal · Infinitive Construct
בְּאַהֲבַ֨ת Qal · Infinitive Construct
לְהַעֲמִיד֣וֹ Hiphil · Infinitive Construct
וַיִּתֶּנְךָ֤ Qal · Sequential Imperfect
לַעֲשׂ֖וֹת Qal · Infinitive Construct

Repetition

Words recur within this verse — often emphatic in Hebrew:

אֱלֹהֶ֨יךָ֙ God H430 ×3
יְהוָ֤ה LORD H3068 ×2
לְתִתְּךָ֤ to give H5414 ×2
עַל upon H5921 ×2
לְמֶ֔לֶךְ king H4428 ×2

Hebrew & Septuagint length

In English translation the verse runs 43 words from the Hebrew and 53 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 25 Hebrew tokens and 47 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

Topical passages linked to 2 Chronicles 9:8 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — connected by theme and wording, ordered by reader-vote popularity; previews shown in the World English Bible.

2 Chronicles 2:11 Then Huram the king of Tyre answered in writing, which he sent to Solomon, Because Yahweh loves his people, he has made you king over them.
1 Chronicles 29:23 Then Solomon sat on the throne of Yahweh as king instead of David his father, and prospered; and all Israel obeyed him.
Isaiah 32:1–2 Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, and princes shall rule in justice.
Deuteronomy 7:8 but because Yahweh loves you, and because he would keep the oath which he swore to your fathers, has Yahweh brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondage, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.
Jeremiah 33:15–16 In those days, and at that time, will I cause a Branch of righteousness to grow up to David; and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.
Hebrews 1:8–9 but of the Son he says, "Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; The scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your Kingdom.
2 Samuel 8:15 David reigned over all Israel; and David executed justice and righteousness to all his people.
2 Samuel 15:25–26 The king said to Zadok, Carry back the ark of God into the city: if I shall find favor in the eyes of Yahweh, he will bring me again, and show me both it, and his habitation:

2 Samuel 23:3 The God of Israel said, The Rock of Israel spoke to me: One who rules over men righteously, Who rules in the fear of God,
1 Kings 3:28 All Israel heard of the judgment which the king had judged; and they feared the king: for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him, to do justice.
1 Kings 10:9 Blessed be Yahweh your God, who delighted in you, to set you on the throne of Israel: because Yahweh loved Israel forever, therefore made he you king, to do justice and righteousness.
1 Chronicles 17:22 For your people Israel did you make your own people forever; and you, Yahweh, became their God.
1 Chronicles 28:5 Of all my sons (for Yahweh has given me many sons), he has chosen Solomon my son to sit on the throne of the kingdom of Yahweh over Israel.
1 Chronicles 29:10 Therefore David blessed Yahweh before all the assembly; and David said, You are blessed, Yahweh, the God of Israel our father, forever and ever.
1 Chronicles 29:20 David said to all the assembly, Now bless Yahweh your God. All the assembly blessed Yahweh, the God of their fathers, and bowed down their heads, and worshiped Yahweh, and the king.
Psalms 18:19 He brought me forth also into a large place. He delivered me, because he delighted in me.

Psalms 22:8 "He trusts in Yahweh; Let him deliver him; Let him rescue him, since he delights in him."
Psalms 72:2 He will judge your people with righteousness, And your poor with justice.
Psalms 72:18–19 Praise be to Yahweh God, the God of Israel, Who alone does marvelous deeds.
Psalms 99:4 The King's strength also loves justice. You do establish equity. You execute justice and righteousness in Jacob.
Proverbs 21:3 To do righteousness and justice Is more acceptable to Yahweh than sacrifice.
Isaiah 9:7 Of the increase of his government and of peace there shall be no end, on the throne of David, and on his kingdom, to establish it, and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from henceforth even forever. The zeal of Yahweh of Hosts will perform this.
Isaiah 11:1–5 There shall come forth a shoot out of the stock of Jesse, and a branch out of his roots shall bear fruit.
2 Corinthians 9:12–15 For this service of giving that you perform not only makes up for lack among the saints, but abounds also through many givings of thanks to God;

Isaiah 42:1 Behold, my servant, whom I uphold; my chosen, in whom my soul delights: I have put my Spirit on him; he will bring forth justice to the Gentiles.
Isaiah 62:4 You shall no more be termed Forsaken; neither shall your land any more be termed Desolate: but you shall be called Hephzibah, and your land Beulah; for Yahweh delights in you, and your land shall be married.

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 9:8 Masoretic · Westminster Leningrad Codex

יְהִ֨י יְהוָ֤ה אֱלֹהֶ֨יךָ֙ בָּר֔וּךְ אֲשֶׁ֣ר חָפֵ֣ץ בְּךָ֗ לְתִתְּךָ֤ עַל כִּסְאוֹ֙ לְמֶ֔לֶךְ לַיהוָ֖ה אֱלֹהֶ֑יךָ בְּאַהֲבַ֨ת אֱלֹהֶ֤יךָ אֶת יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ לְהַעֲמִיד֣וֹ לְעוֹלָ֔ם וַיִּתֶּנְךָ֤ עֲלֵיהֶם֙ לְמֶ֔לֶךְ לַעֲשׂ֖וֹת מִשְׁפָּ֥ט וּצְדָקָֽה

Blessed be Yahweh your God, who delighted in you, to set you on his throne, to be king for Yahweh your God: because your God loved Israel, to establish them forever, therefore made he you king over them, to do justice and righteousness.

World English Bible · Public Domain

Greek LXX 2 Chronicles 9:8 Septuagint · lemma form

εἰμί κύριος ὁ θεός σύ εὐλογέω ὅς θέλω σύ ὁ δίδωμι σύ ἐπί θρόνος αὐτός εἰς βασιλεύς ὁ κύριος θεός σύ ἐν ὁ ἀγαπάω κύριος ὁ θεός σύ ὁ ἰσραήλ ὁ ἵστημι αὐτός εἰς αἰών καί δίδωμι σύ ἐπί αὐτός εἰς βασιλεύς ὁ ποιέω κρίμα καί δικαιοσύνη

Blessed be the Lord your God, who took pleasure in you, to set you upon his throne for a king, to the Lord your God: forasmuch as the Lord your God loved Israel to establish them for ever, therefore he has set you over them for a king to execute judgment and justice.

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 9:8 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 9:8 Blessed be the LORD thy God, which delighted in thee to set thee on his throne, [to be] king for the LORD thy God: because thy God loved Israel, to establish them for ever, therefore made he thee king over them, to do judgment and justice.

Ver. 8. To establish them for ever.] She speaketh of the spiritual Israel.

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.

The Biblical Illustrator

Joseph S. Exell

2Ch_9:8

Therefore made he thee king over them.

The Divine appointment of kings

I. That princes are of Divine appointment.

II. That wise and good rulers are a signal mark of the Divine love and favour to any nation.

III. The description of the regal office and dignity, both in respect of God and of the people.

IV. That on the advancement of a prince eminently qualified to serve God and his country we ought to bless God, that is, to return the tribute of praise due to Him. (Abp. Potter.)

The blessing of a Protestant king and royal family to the

nation:--

I. That it is God who maketh kings, and setteth them on their thrones as His vicegerents to do justice and judgment upon earth.

II. All kings should remember that they sit upon the throne of the Lord their God, of whom the Psalmist says, that righteousness and judgment are the habitation of His seat. They must therefore be good and just, ruling in His fear, and after His example. (John Donne, D. D.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Joseph Benson's Commentary

2Ch 9:8. To set thee on his throne, to be king for the Lord thy God — In the Lord’s name and stead, in a special manner, because he sat in God’s own throne, and ruled over God’s peculiar people, and did, in an eminent manner, maintain the honour of God in his land, and in the eyes of all the world. Those mercies are doubly sweet, in which we can taste the kindness and good-will of God as our God.

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

Geneva Bible (1599)

Geneva Bible translators

Meaning, that the Israelites were God’s peculiar people, and that Kings are the lieutenants of God, which ought to grant unto him the superiority, and minister justice to all.

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

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(8) On his throne—i.e., Jehovah’s throne. (Comp. 1Ch_28:5.) Kings has, “on the throne of Israel.”

To be king for the Lord thy God.—A further insistance on the idea that Solomon was but the vicegerent of Jehovah. The clause is added by the chronicler, but need not be called “an evidently wilful alteration” (Thenius).

To establish.—This phrase is wanting in the Hebrew of Kings, but is probably original, as the LXX. there has it.

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

8. on his throne] The Israelite throne is God’s; the visible king occupies it only as a deputy. Cp. 1Ch_28:5 (“the throne of the kingdom of the Lord”); ibid. 1Ch_29:23 (“Solomon sat on the throne of the Lord”).

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.

Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary

King of the Lord. Hence the style, "By the grace of God, king of England," &c., has been adopted. Those deserve the name, who rule according to God’s will. (Worthington) --- The kings of the Jews were more properly lieutenants of God, as the government was a theocracy, chap. xiii. 8., &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).

Matthew Poole's English Annotations

King for the Lord, i.e. in the Lord’s name and stead, both in general, because all kings have and hold their kingdoms from God, and act as his viceregents and deputies; and in a special manner, because he sat in God’s own throne and ruled over God’s peculiar people, and did in a singular and eminent manner maintain the honour and worship of God in his land, and in the eyes of all the world besides.

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

The Pulpit Commentary

The abstinence on the part of the queen in her mention of the Lord God of Israel, and of the Lord thy God, of any indication of a desire that he should become her God, is as suggestive as it is noticeable. (compare Hiram"s language in 2Ch_2:12)

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

John Wesley's Explanatory Notes

For the Lord - In the Lord's name and stead, in a special manner, because he sat in God's own throne, and ruled over God's peculiar people, and did in an eminent manner maintain the honour of God in his land, and in the eyes of all the world. Those mercies are doubly sweet, in which we can taste the kindness and good will of God as our God.

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

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 25 words (18 distinct Hebrew lemmas). Its most distinctive word is ʼahăbâh (“love”). A historical commentator’s framing appears above. Read the whole chapter for the surrounding context.

Discussion questions

What does “love” (ʼahăbâh) contribute to the verse as a whole?
How does Deuteronomy 7:8, which shares the word «love», read alongside this verse?
What does the repetition of “God” (3× in this one verse) do in this verse?
The translations on this page render this verse differently — a whole-verse word diff, not a word-by-word alignment. What might account for the different wordings?
«יְהִ֨י» is a Qal Jussive verb. How does that grammatical form shape the action described?
Compare how Trapp's Complete Commentary and The Biblical Illustrator read this verse. Where do they agree or differ?

Things to notice

This verse counts 25 Hebrew ↔ 47 Greek words.
These translations choose different wording for 16 words in this verse.
“God” occurs 3× in this single verse.
18 distinct Hebrew lemmas span 25 words in this verse.