2 Chronicles 30:8

8 Don't become obstinate^[a] now like your fathers did. Give your allegiance^[b] to the Lord, and come to His sanctuary that He has consecrated forever. Serve the Lord your God so that He may turn His fierce wrath away from you,

2 Chronicles 30:8 Meaning and Commentary

2 Chronicles 30:8

Now be ye not stiffnecked, as your fathers were,
&c.] Obstinate and refractory, like heifers unaccustomed to the yoke, which draw back from it, and will not submit to it:

but yield yourselves unto the Lord;
be subject unto him, or "give the hand" ^F17 to him, as a token of subjection and homage, or of entering into covenant with him, promising for the future to serve and obey him:

and enter into his sanctuary, which he hath sanctified for ever;
set apart for worship and service, until the Messiah should come:

and serve the Lord your God;
there, in the temple, according to his prescribed will:

that the fierceness of his wrath may turn away from you;
which had already broke out, in suffering the Assyrians to invade their land, and distress them.

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FOOTNOTES:

F17 (dy wnt) "date manum", Pagninus, Montanus

2 Chronicles 30:8 In-Context

6 So the couriers went throughout Israel and Judah with letters from the hand of the king and his officials, and according to the king's command, saying, "Israelites, return to the Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel so that He may return to those of you who remain, who have escaped from the grasp of the kings of Assyria.

7 Don't be like your fathers and your brothers who were unfaithful to the Lord God of their ancestors so that He made them an object of horror as you yourselves see.

8 Don't become obstinate now like your fathers did. Give your allegiance to the Lord, and come to His sanctuary that He has consecrated forever. Serve the Lord your God so that He may turn His fierce wrath away from you,

9 for when you return to the Lord, your brothers and your sons [will receive] mercy in the presence of their captors and will return to this land. For the Lord your God is gracious and merciful; He will not turn [His] face away from you if you return to Him."

10 The couriers traveled from city to city in the land of Ephraim and Manasseh as far as Zebulun, but the inhabitants laughed at them and mocked them.

Footnotes

• [a]. Lit Don't stiffen your neck
• [b]. Lit hand