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2
Chronicles Chapter Sixteen
New King James Version (NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO 2 CHRONICLES 16
Baasha
coming up against Judah
and building Ramah
Asa made a league with the king of
Syria
and hired him to make a diversion in his favour
and cause Baasha to
leave off building
which succeeded
2 Chronicles 16:1
for which he was reproved by a prophet of the Lord
with whom he was so angry
for it as to put him in prison
and oppress others
2 Chronicles 16:7
and the chapter is closed with an account of his disease and conduct under it
and of his death and burial
2 Chronicles 16:11.
2 Chronicles
16:1 In the
thirty-sixth year of the reign of Asa
Baasha king of Israel came up against
Judah and built Ramah
that he might let none go out or come in to Asa king of
Judah.
YLT
1In the thirty and sixth
year of the reign of Asa
come up hath Baasha king of Israel
against Judah
and buildeth Ramah
so as not to permit any going out and coming in to Asa king
of Judah.
Verses 1-6
In the thirty and sixth year of the reign of Asa Baasha king of
Israel came up against Judah
.... How this is to be reconciled with the
reign of Baasha
which was but twenty four years
and was begun in the third of
Asa
and therefore must have been dead nearly ten years before this year of
Asa's reign; see Gill on 1 Kings 15:17
where
and in the following verses
are the same things related as here
to the
end of the sixth verse; the explanation of which the reader is referred to.
2 Chronicles
16:2 2 Then
Asa brought silver and gold from the treasuries of the house of the Lord and of the
king’s house
and sent to Ben-Hadad king of Syria
who dwelt in Damascus
saying
YLT
2And Asa bringeth out silver
and gold from the treasures of the house of Jehovah
and of the house of the
king
and sendeth unto Ben-Hadad king of Aram
who is dwelling in Damascus
saying
2 Chronicles
16:3 3 “Let
there be a treaty between you and me
as there was between my father and
your father. See
I have sent you silver and gold; come
break your treaty with
Baasha king of Israel
so that he will withdraw from me.”
YLT
3`A covenant [is] between me
and thee
and between my father and thy father
lo
I have sent to thee silver
and gold; go
break thy covenant with Baasha king of Israel
and he doth go up
from off me.'
2 Chronicles 16:4 4 So Ben-Hadad heeded King
Asa
and sent the captains of his armies against the cities of Israel. They
attacked Ijon
Dan
Abel Maim
and all the storage cities of Naphtali.
YLT
4And Ben-Hadad hearkeneth
unto king Asa
and sendeth the heads of the forces that he hath unto cities of
Israel
and they smite Ijon
and Dan
and Abel-Maim
and all the stores
cities
of Naphtali.
2 Chronicles 16:5 5 Now it happened
when
Baasha heard it
that he stopped building Ramah and ceased his work.
YLT
5And it cometh to pass
at
Baasha's hearing
that he ceaseth from building Ramah
and letteth his work rest;
2 Chronicles 16:6 6 Then King Asa took all
Judah
and they carried away the stones and timber of Ramah
which Baasha had
used for building; and with them he built Geba and Mizpah.
YLT
6and Asa the king hath taken
all Judah
and they bear away the stones of Ramah
and its wood
that Baasha
hath built
and he buildeth with them Geba and Mizpah.
2 Chronicles 16:7 7 And at that time Hanani
the seer came to Asa king of Judah
and said to him: “Because you have relied
on the king of Syria
and have not relied on the Lord your God
therefore the army of the king of Syria has escaped from your hand.
YLT
7And at that time hath
Hanani the seer come in unto Asa king of Judah
and saith unto him
`Because of
thy leaning on the king of Aram
and thou hast not leaned on Jehovah thy God
therefore hath the force of the king of Aram escaped from thy hand.
And at that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah
.... Being
sent by the Lord to reprove him:
and said unto him
because thou hast relied on the king of Syria; on the
covenant he made with him
on the promises the Syrian king made to him upon
receiving his money
and so trusted to an arm of flesh
and even an Heathen
king:
and not relied on the Lord thy God; his promises
power
and
providence
which he had reason to believe would have been engaged on his
behalf
had he placed his confidence in him as he ought to have done: the
Targum is
"and not relied on the Word of the Lord thy God:"
therefore is the host of the king of Syria escaped out of thine
hand; which otherwise would have fallen into it
had he left him to
continue in league with the king of Israel
and not solicited him to break it;
for then he would have come with him against Asa
and the Lord would have
delivered him to him.
2 Chronicles 16:8 8 Were the Ethiopians and
the Lubim not a huge army with very many chariots and horsemen? Yet
because
you relied on the Lord
He delivered them into your hand.
YLT
8Did not the Cushim and the
Lubim become a very great force for multitude
for chariot
and for horsemen?
and in thy leaning on Jehovah He gave them into thy hand
Were not the Ethiopians and the Lubim a huge host
with very many
chariots and horsemen?.... They were no less than 1
000
000 men
and three hundred
chariots
2 Chronicles 14:9
the Lubim were the Libyans
a people near Egypt
that dwelt in Africa;
according to an Arabic writerF12Abulpharag. Hist. Dynast. dyn. 3. p.
57.
they were the Nubians:
yet
because thou didst rely on the Lord
he delivered them into
thine hand; and with equal ease could and would have delivered the Syrian
army unto him
had he as then trusted in the Lord.
2 Chronicles 16:9 9 For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro
throughout the whole earth
to show Himself strong on behalf of those
whose heart is loyal to Him. In this you have done foolishly; therefore
from now on you shall have wars.”
YLT
9for Jehovah -- His eyes go
to and fro in all the earth
to show Himself strong [for] a people whose heart
[is] perfect towards Him; thou hast been foolish concerning this
because --
henceforth there are with thee wars.'
For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth
.... The eyes
of his omniscience are everywhere
and the eyes of his mercy and goodness
of
his care and providence
are here and there
and in every place throughout the
whole world at once
see Zechariah 4:10
to show himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is
perfect towards him; or
as in the margin
"strongly to hold" with such
to
be on their side
take their part
strengthen them
support and supply them
and to protect and defend them who are sincere and upright in heart; whose
graces are sincere and unfeigned
though not complete
nor they free from sin
and who
with the heart
sincerely believe in God
in which Asa at this time
failed
though otherwise his heart is said to be perfect
1 Kings 15:4
it
was so in the general bent of it
and especially with respect to the worship of
God
though there was something lacking in his faith at this time
as there
often is in the best of men:
herein thou hast done foolishly; to trust in man
and not
in the Lord
to part with his money
and lose the opportunity of having the
whole Syrian army fall into his hands:
therefore from henceforth thou shalt have wars; which
though
we read not of
was doubtless his case; some interpret it of his posterity.
2 Chronicles 16:10 10 Then Asa was angry with
the seer
and put him in prison
for he was enraged at him because of
this. And Asa oppressed some of the people at that time.
YLT
10And Asa is angry at the
seer
and giveth him to the house of torture
for [he is] in a rage with him
for this; and Asa oppresseth [some] of the people at that time.
Then Asa was wroth with the seer
.... For this faithful
reproof of him
which was another instance of his sin and folly:
and put him in a prison house; in a very strait place
in which he could not turn himself
what we call "little ease"; some
say it was the stocks
others a pillory he put him into:
for he was in a rage with him because of this thing; his passion
rose very high
and to which he gave way
and was his infirmity:
and Asa oppressed some of the people the same time; by fines and
imprisonments
such as perhaps expressed their disapprobation of his league
with the king of Syria
and of his ill usage of the prophet.
2 Chronicles 16:11 11 Note that the acts of Asa
first and last
are indeed written in the book of the kings of Judah and
Israel.
YLT
11And lo
the matters of Asa
the first and the last
lo
they are written on the book of the kings of Judah
and Israel.
And
behold
the acts of Asa
first and last
.... See Gill
on 1 Kings 15:23.
2 Chronicles 16:12 12 And in the thirty-ninth
year of his reign
Asa became diseased in his feet
and his malady was severe;
yet in his disease he did not seek the Lord
but the physicians.
YLT
12And Asa is diseased -- in
the thirty and ninth year of his reign -- in his feet
till his disease is
excessive
and also in his disease he hath not sought Jehovah
but among
physicians.
And Asa in the thirty ninth year of his reign was diseased in his
feet
.... This was about two years before his death
and his disease
is generally thought to be the gout in his feet
and a just retaliation for
putting the prophet's feet into the stocks:
until his disease was exceeding great; it increased
upon him
and became very severe and intolerable
and the fits were frequent
as well as the pain sharper; though the sense of the HebrewF13עד למעלה "usque ad
supra"
Montanus; "usque ad summum"
Vatablus; "usque ad
sursum"
Piscator. phrase may be
that his disease got upwards
into a
superior part of his body
head
or stomach
which
when the gout does
it is
dangerous. A very learned physicianF14Scheuchzer. Physic. Sacr. vol.
4. p. 645. is of opinion
that not the gout
but what he calls an
"aedematous" swelling of the feet
is meant
which insensibly gets up
into the bowels
and is successively attended with greater inconveniences; a tension
of the abdomen
difficulty of breathing
very troublesome to the patient
and
issues in a dropsy
and death itself:
yet in his disease he sought not to the Lord; his seeking
to physicians for help in his disease
perhaps
would not have been observed to
his reproach
had he also sought unto the Lord
whom he ought to have sought in
the first place; and when he applied to the physicians
he should have implored
the blessing of God on their prescriptions; but he so much forgot himself as to
forget the Lord: this is the first time we read of physicians among the Jews
and some think these were Heathens
and a sort of enchanters: the Jews
entertained a very ill opinion of physicians; the best of them
they sayF15T.
Bab. Kiddashin
fol. 32. 1. Gloss. in ib.
deserve hell
and they adviseF16T.
Bab. Pesachim
fol. 113. 1. men not to live in a city where the chief man is a
physician; but the author of the book of Ecclesiasticus gives a great encomium
of them
and exhorts to honour and esteem them
"1Honour a physician with
the honour due unto him for the uses which ye may have of him: for the Lord
hath created him. 2For of the most High cometh healing
and he shall receive
honour of the king. 3The skill of the physician shall lift up his head: and in
the sight of great men he shall be in admiration. 4The Lord hath created
medicines out of the earth; and he that is wise will not abhor them. 5 Was not
the water made sweet with wood
that the virtue thereof might be known? 6 And
he hath given men skill
that he might be honoured in his marvellous works. 7
With such doth he heal men
and taketh away their pains. 8 Of such doth
the apothecary make a confection; and of his works there is no end; and from
him is peace over all the earth
' (Sirach 38)JulianF17Opera
par. 2. p. 154. the emperor greatly honoured them
and observes
that it is
justly said by the philosophers
that the art of medicine fell from heaven.
2 Chronicles 16:13 13 So Asa rested with his
fathers; he died in the forty-first year of his reign.
YLT
13And Asa lieth with his
fathers
and dieth in the forty and first year of his reign
And Asa slept with his fathers
and died in the forty first year
of his reign. See 1 Kings 15:10.
2 Chronicles 16:14 14 They buried him in his own
tomb
which he had made for himself in the City of David; and they laid him in
the bed which was filled with spices and various ingredients prepared in a
mixture of ointments. They made a very great burning for him.
YLT
14and they bury him in [one
of] his graves
that he had prepared for himself in the city of David
and they
cause him to lie on a bed that [one] hath filled [with] spices
and divers
kinds of mixtures
with perfumed work; and they burn for him a burning -- very
great.
And they buried him in his own sepulchres which he had made for
himself in the city of David
.... Where was the burying place of the
kings of Judah; here Asa had ordered a vault to be made for himself and his
family
and therefore called sepulchres
because of the several cells therein
to put separate bodies in:
and laid him in the bed; not only laid him out
as we express it
but laid him on a bed of state
where he lay in great pomp;
or the funeral bed
which
with other nationsF18Herodian. Hist. l.
4. c. 3. Vid. Kirchman. de Funer. Roman. l. 1. c. 11. & Alstorph. de Lect.
Vet. c. 19. p. 151
152.
used to be strowed with sweet smelling flowers and
herbs
as follows:
which was filled with sweet odours
and divers kinds of spices
prepared by the apothecaries art; or rather confectioner
or druggist; for it is a question whether there were then any such we call
apothecaries; this bed was strowed with spices
myrrh
aloes
cassia
cinnamon
&c. and which perhaps might be made up into a liquid
which was sprinkled
over the bed and shroud in which he lay:
and they made a very great burning for him; not that they
made a great fire
and burned his body; for burning was not used with the Jews;
but they burnt spices and other things in great quantity
in honour of him: See
Gill on Jeremiah 34:5
and
this custom continued to the times of Herod
at whose funeral there were five
hundred of his domestics and freed men bearing spicesF19Joseph. de
Bello Jud. l. 1. c. 33. sect. 9. .
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》