2 Chronicles Chapter 21
Showing all 20 verses for 2 Chronicles Chapter 21.
The People's Bible is written by people, for the people. Each verse below shows:
"Now Jehoshaphat slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David. And Jehoram his son reigned in his stead. "
"Jehoshaphat died and was buried with his ancestors in the City of David, and his son Jehoram became king in his place."
I don't ask you to coast on what your parents built or believed - I ask you to make your own honest choices each day. The gifts you inherit, whether wealth, position, or reputation, are not a substitute for your own character.
"And he had brethren the sons of Jehoshaphat, Azariah, and Jehiel, and Zechariah, and Azariah, and Michael, and Shephatiah: all these were the sons of Jehoshaphat king of Israel. "
"Jehoram had brothers, sons of Jehoshaphat: Azariah, Jehiel, Zechariah, Azariah, Michael and Shephatiah - all sons of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah (here called Israel)."
Every name matters to me - not just the famous ones. When you think of people only as obstacles or rivals, you stop seeing them as real. Learn to see the individual person before you decide what they're worth to you.
"And their father gave them great gifts of silver, and of gold, and of precious things, with fenced cities in Judah: but the kingdom gave he to Jehoram; because he was the firstborn. "
"Their father had given them generous gifts of silver, gold and valuable items, along with fortified cities in Judah - but he gave the kingdom itself to Jehoram, because he was the firstborn."
I care about your intentions, but I also want you to notice that you cannot guarantee someone else's character just by giving them things. Provide for those you love generously, and then let go of trying to control what they become.
"Now when Jehoram was risen up to the kingdom of his father, he strengthened himself, and slew all his brethren with the sword, and divers also of the princes of Israel. "
"When Jehoram had firmly taken hold of his father's kingdom, he strengthened his position by killing all his brothers with the sword, along with some of the leaders of Israel (Judah)."
Fear makes people believe that only by destroying others can they be safe. I tell you the opposite is true - real security never comes from crushing whoever might threaten your position. Love and trust, not elimination, are what actually protect you.
"Jehoram was thirty and two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. "
"Jehoram was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem for eight years."
I don't measure your life by how many years you get - I care about what fills them. Eight years lived faithfully is worth more than eighty lived selfishly; make the time you have count for something good.
"And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, like as did the house of Ahab: for he had the daughter of Ahab to wife: and he wrought that which was evil in the eyes of the LORD. "
"Jehoram followed the corrupt example of the kings of Israel, just as the family of Ahab had done, because he was married to a daughter of Ahab - and he did what was evil in the LORD's sight."
The people you let closest to you will shape your direction more than almost anything else. I want you to choose companions who draw out your best self, not ones who pull you towards cruelty or selfishness - and to have the courage to notice when an influence is doing you harm.
"Howbeit the LORD would not destroy the house of David, because of the covenant that he had made with David, and as he promised to give a light to him and to his sons for ever. "
"Even so, the LORD was not willing to destroy David's royal line, because of the covenant he had made with David, and his promise to give David and his descendants a lasting light."
I don't withdraw my love from a whole family, a whole people, or you, because of someone else's mistakes, or even your own worst moments. My commitments are not contracts I tear up at the first sign of failure - they hold, even when you can't see how.
"In his days the Edomites revolted from under the dominion of Judah, and made themselves a king. "
"During Jehoram's reign, the Edomites rebelled against Judah's rule and set up their own king."
When your inner life is in disorder, the effects ripple outward into every relationship and responsibility you hold. I want you to tend to your own integrity first - order on the inside tends to hold things together on the outside too.
"Then Jehoram went forth with his princes, and all his chariots with him: and he rose up by night, and smote the Edomites which compassed him in, and the captains of the chariots. "
"Jehoram went out with his commanders and all his chariots; he got up at night and attacked the Edomites who had surrounded him and his chariot captains."
Skill and courage in one area of life don't cancel out damage done in another. I look at the whole of a person's life, not just the moments where they perform well - be honest with yourself about where you still need to change.
"So the Edomites revolted from under the hand of Judah unto this day. The same time also did Libnah revolt from under his hand; because he had forsaken the LORD God of his fathers. "
"So the Edomites remain independent of Judah's control to this day. Libnah also rebelled at the same time, because Jehoram had abandoned the LORD, the God of his ancestors."
What you build your life on shows up eventually in what happens around you. I'm not threatening you with punishment - I'm telling you honestly that neglecting what matters most tends to cost you elsewhere in ways you don't always predict.
"Moreover he made high places in the mountains of Judah, and caused the inhabitants of Jerusalem to commit fornication, and compelled Judah thereto. "
"On top of this, Jehoram built pagan shrines in the hill country of Judah, led the people of Jerusalem into unfaithfulness (idol worship, pictured as spiritual adultery), and forced Judah to do the same."
Real leadership lifts others up; it never forces them into what damages their own integrity or wellbeing. If you have influence over anyone else, I ask you to use it to protect their freedom to choose good, not to bend them towards your own worst instincts.
"And there came a writing to him from Elijah the prophet, saying, Thus saith the LORD God of David thy father, Because thou hast not walked in the ways of Jehoshaphat thy father, nor in the ways of Asa king of Judah, "
"A letter arrived for Jehoram from the prophet Elijah, saying: This is what the LORD, the God of your ancestor David, says - because you have not followed the ways of your father Jehoshaphat or your grandfather Asa, king of Judah,"
I never judge you against an impossible standard - I hold up the good you've actually seen and had access to, and ask whether you lived up to what you knew. Be honest with yourself about what you already understand to be right, even when it's inconvenient.
"But hast walked in the way of the kings of Israel, and hast made Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to go a whoring, like to the whoredoms of the house of Ahab, and also hast slain thy brethren of thy father’s house, which were better than thyself: "
"but instead you have followed the ways of the kings of Israel, leading Judah and Jerusalem into unfaithfulness like the house of Ahab did, and you have also murdered your own brothers, men who were better than you."
When you tear someone down to elevate yourself, you rarely improve your own standing - you just prove what you were willing to sacrifice. I ask you instead to measure your worth by what you build and protect, not by who you're willing to destroy.
"Behold, with a great plague will the LORD smite thy people, and thy children, and thy wives, and all thy goods: "
"Watch - the LORD will strike your people, your children, your wives and all your possessions with a terrible plague."
I want you to understand that your choices, especially as someone others depend on, never stay contained to you alone. Take seriously the weight of decisions that affect people who trust you or rely on you.
"And thou shalt have great sickness by disease of thy bowels, until thy bowels fall out by reason of the sickness day by day. "
"And you yourself will suffer a serious illness in your bowels, until your intestines come out because of the disease, day after day."
I don't enjoy anyone's suffering, and this isn't a threat I want you to live in fear of - it's an honest picture of how far things can go when someone refuses every chance to change course. There is always a way back before it gets this far; take it while you can.
"Moreover the LORD stirred up against Jehoram the spirit of the Philistines, and of the Arabians, that were near the Ethiopians: "
"The LORD stirred up hostility against Jehoram from the Philistines and the Arabians who lived near the Ethiopians (Cushites)."
When you abandon the values that hold your life together, the difficulties that follow often aren't random bad luck - they're often the natural result of the foundation you removed. I want you to notice the connection, not just endure the pain.
"And they came up into Judah, and brake into it, and carried away all the substance that was found in the king’s house, and his sons also, and his wives; so that there was never a son left him, save Jehoahaz, the youngest of his sons. "
"They invaded Judah, broke into it, and carried off everything of value from the king's palace, including his sons and wives - so that no son was left to him except Jehoahaz, his youngest."
What you fight hardest to protect through wrongdoing often turns out to be the very thing you lose. I ask you to build your security on things that can't be stripped away by circumstance - your character, your relationships built in honesty, your integrity - not on power or possessions alone.
"And after all this the LORD smote him in his bowels with an incurable disease. "
"After all this, the LORD struck Jehoram with an incurable disease in his bowels."
I always give warning before consequence, and I always leave room to turn back. The tragedy isn't that a warning was given - it's when a warning is heard and ignored anyway.
"And it came to pass, that in process of time, after the end of two years, his bowels fell out by reason of his sickness: so he died of sore diseases. And his people made no burning for him, like the burning of his fathers. "
"In time, after two years, his bowels came out because of the disease, and he died in terrible pain. His people did not light a funeral fire for him as they had for his ancestors."
How people remember you at the end often reflects how you actually treated them along the way, not how powerful you managed to seem. I want your life to earn genuine grief when it ends, not quiet relief - and that comes from how you treat people now, while you still can.
"Thirty and two years old was he when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem eight years, and departed without being desired. Howbeit they buried him in the city of David, but not in the sepulchres of the kings. "
"Jehoram was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem for eight years. He died without anyone wishing he had lived longer. Even so, they buried him in the City of David, but not among the tombs of the kings."
I'm not interested in how much power or how long a life you're given - I care about what it amounts to for the people around you. Let your life be one people are glad they had, not one they're relieved to see end; that's within your power to choose, starting today.