2 Chronicles 30:8

8 Don't be pigheaded as your ancestors were. Clasp God's outstretched hand. Come to his Temple of holy worship, consecrated for all time. Serve God, your God. You'll no longer be in danger of his hot anger.

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 The king gave the orders, and the couriers delivered the invitations from the king and his leaders throughout Israel and Judah. The invitation read: "O Israelites! Come back to God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, so that he can return to you who have survived the predations of the kings of Assyria.

7 Don't repeat the sins of your ancestors who turned their backs on God, the God of their ancestors who then brought them to ruin - you can see the ruins all around you.

8 Don't be pigheaded as your ancestors were. Clasp God's outstretched hand. Come to his Temple of holy worship, consecrated for all time. Serve God, your God. You'll no longer be in danger of his hot anger.

9 If you come back to God, your captive relatives and children will be treated compassionately and allowed to come home. Your God is gracious and kind and won't snub you - come back and he'll welcome you with open arms."

10 So the couriers set out, going from city to city through the country of Ephraim and Manasseh, as far north as Zebulun. But the people poked fun at them, treated them as a joke.