2 Chronicles 32:12

Translations

Modern

Did not Hezekiah himself remove His high places and His altars and say to Judah and Jerusalem, ‘You must worship before one altar, and on it you shall burn sacrifices’?

Traditional

Hath not the same Hezekiah taken away his high places and his altars, and commanded Judah and Jerusalem, saying, Ye shall worship before one altar, and burn incense upon it?

Literal

…is it not He for whom Hezekiah has taken away His high places and His altars, and has spoken to Judah and to Jerusalem, saying, ‘You must worship before one altar, and on it burn incense’?

Latin

Numquid non iste est Ezechias, qui destruxit excelsa illius, et altaria, et præcepit Juda et Jerusalem, dicens: Coram altari uno adorabitis, et in ipso comburetis incensum?

Original

Hebrew

English

Did not Hezekiah himself remove His high places and His altars and say to Judah and Jerusalem, ‘You must worship before one altar, and on it you shall burn sacrifices’ ?

Notes

2 Chronicles 32:10–19

The Assyrian king's threats highlighted the main issues for the people of Jerusalem. The real question was whether to trust in God. The enemy king claimed Hezekiah could not be trusted (2 Chronicles 32:11–12) because he had angered the Lord by removing God's shrines and altars. However, the opposite was true. This reform was Hezekiah's greatest act of loyalty to the Lord. The question was whether God could be trusted against Assyria's power (2 Chronicles 32:11–15).

2 Chronicles 32:1–23

The Chronicler summarizes the long account of the siege against Jerusalem in twenty-three verses (compare 2 Kings 18:17–19:37; Isaiah 36–38). God responded to King Sennacherib of Assyria's attack by blessing Judah and Hezekiah for their faithfulness in seeking the Lord.

Theme notes and profiles

Hezekiah

Related verses

2 Chronicles 31:1
When all this had ended, the Israelites in attendance went out to the cities of Judah and broke up the sacred pillars, chopped down the Asherah poles, and tore down the high places and altars throughout Judah and Benjamin, as well as in Ephraim and Manasseh, until they had utterly destroyed them all. Then all the Israelites returned to their cities, each to his own property.
Exodus 27:1–8
“You are to build an altar of acacia wood. The altar must be square, five cubits long, five cubits wide, and three cubits high.
2 Kings 18:4
He removed the high places, shattered the sacred pillars, and cut down the Asherah poles. He also demolished the bronze snake called Nehushtan that Moses had made, for up to that time the Israelites had burned incense to it.
1 Kings 7:48
Solomon also made all the furnishings for the house of the LORD: the golden altar; the golden table on which was placed the Bread of the Presence;
2 Chronicles 4:1
He made a bronze altar twenty cubits long, twenty cubits wide, and ten cubits high.
Deuteronomy 12:13–14
Be careful not to offer your burnt offerings in just any place you see;
Exodus 40:26–29
Moses placed the gold altar in the Tent of Meeting, in front of the veil,
Isaiah 36:7
But if you say to me, ‘We trust in the LORD our God,’ is He not the One whose high places and altars Hezekiah has removed, saying to Judah and Jerusalem, ‘You must worship before this altar’?
Deuteronomy 12:26–27
But you are to take your holy things and your vow offerings and go to the place the LORD will choose.
Exodus 30:1–6
“You are also to make an altar of acacia wood for the burning of incense.
2 Kings 18:22
But if you say to me, ‘We trust in the LORD our God,’ is He not the One whose high places and altars Hezekiah has removed, saying to Judah and Jerusalem: ‘You must worship before this altar in Jerusalem’?

Parallels

2 Kings 18:17–37 Isaiah 36:1–22

People

Hezekiah: A righteous king of Judah Judah: Israelite tribe, kingdom, and province

Places

Jerusalem: The capital of Israel, a holy city for three religions

Glossary

Chronicles, Books of First and Second Genealogy Hezekiah

Topics

Incense: On the Golden Altar Self-Exaltation: Sennacherib Sennacherib: Invades Judah Siege by Sennacherib

2 Chronicles 32:12

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