2 Chronicles 29:6

6 For our fathers were unfaithful and did what is evil in the sight of the Lord our God. They abandoned Him, turned their faces away from the Lord's tabernacle, and turned their backs on Him.^[a]

2 Chronicles 29:6 Meaning and Commentary

2 Chronicles 29:6

For our fathers have transgressed, and done that which was evil
in the eyes of the Lord our God
Meaning their more immediate ancestors, his father and theirs, who had committed idolatry; which is a great trespass, and than which there is not a greater evil in the sight of God, nor more provoking to him:

and have forsaken him;
his word, worship, and ordinances:

and have turned away their faces from the habitation of the Lord;
the temple, by neglecting that, and the service of it, and attending the high places: and turned their backs; upon it; though some think this refers to a rite or custom, introduced by Ahaz before he shut up the temple, that instead of looking to the west, when they worshipped, where was the ark of the Lord, he ordered them to turn their faces to the east, where his altar stood.

2 Chronicles 29:6 In-Context

4 Then he brought in the priests and Levites and gathered them in the eastern public square.

5 He said to them, "Hear me, Levites. Consecrate yourselves now and consecrate the temple of the Lord God of your ancestors. Remove everything detestable from the holy place.

6 For our fathers were unfaithful and did what is evil in the sight of the Lord our God. They abandoned Him, turned their faces away from the Lord's tabernacle, and turned their backs on Him.

7 They also closed the doors of the vestibule, extinguished the lamps, did not burn incense, and did not offer burnt offerings in the holy place of the God of Israel.

8 Therefore, the wrath of the Lord was on Judah and Jerusalem, and He made them an object of terror, horror, and hissing, as you see with your own eyes.

Footnotes

• [a]. Lit and they gave the back of the neck