2 Chronicles 7:19

But if ye turn away, and forsake my statutes and my commandments, which I have set before you, and shall go and serve other gods, and worship them;

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(19) But.—And. Kings omits, but emphasises the verb, “If ye will turn,” or, “if turn ye will.”

The order of words in the Heb. implies that ū-bnêkem, “and your children,” has fallen out of the text: “And if ye turn, ye and your children.” So Kings, and Syriac and Arabic here. Kings adds, “From after me.”

And forsake.—Kings, “and keep not.” So Syriac and Arabic.

Benson Commentary

2 Chronicles 7:19. But if ye turn away — Thou or thy seed, and forsake my statutes, &c. — Thus God sets before him death as well as life, the curse as well as the blessing. He supposes it possible, that though they had this temple built to the honour of God, yet they might be drawn aside to worship other gods. For he knew how prone they were to backslide into that sin. And he threatens, if they did so, it would certainly be the ruin of both church and state. That though they had been long in that good land, and had taken deep root in it, he would pluck them up by the roots, would extirpate their whole nation, as men pluck up weeds in a garden, and throw them out upon the dunghill. And that this sanctuary would be no sanctuary to them to protect them from the judgments of God, as they imagined; but that this house, which was so high, not only for the magnificence of its structure, but for the intended ends and uses of it, should be brought down, laid in ruins, and made a cause of wonder and astonishment to every one that passed by, and to all the neighbouring nations.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

7:1-22 God's answer to Solomon's prayer. - God gave a gracious answer to Solomon's prayer. The mercies of God to sinners are made known in a manner well suited to impress all who receive them, with his majesty and holiness. The people worshipped and praised God. When he manifests himself as a consuming Fire to sinners, his people can rejoice in him as their Light. Nay, they had reason to say, that God was good in this. It is of the Lord's mercies we are not consumed, but the sacrifice in our stead, for which we should be very thankful. And whoever beholds with true faith, the Saviour agonizing and dying for man's sin, will, by that view, find his godly sorrow enlarged, his hatred of sin increased, his soul made more watchful, and his life more holy. Solomon prosperously effected all he designed, for adorning both God's house and his own. Those who begin with the service of God, are likely to go on successfully in their own affairs. It was Solomon's praise, that what he undertook, he went through with; it was by the grace of God that he prospered in it. Let us then stand in awe, and sin not. Let us fear the Lord's displeasure, hope in his mercy, and walk in his commandments.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The prayer that is made in this place - literally, as in the margin. The unsual phrase includes the two cases of prayers offered in 2 Chronicles 6:24 and toward 2 Chronicles 6:34, 2 Chronicles 6:38 the sanctuary.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

2Ch 7:12-22. God Appears to Him.

12. the Lord appeared to Solomon by night—(See on [424]1Ki 9:1-9). The dedication of the temple must have been an occasion of intense national interest to Solomon and his subjects. Nor was the interest merely temporary or local. The record of it is read and thought of with an interest that is undiminished by the lapse of time. The fact that this was the only temple of all nations in which the true God was worshipped imparts a moral grandeur to the scene and prepares the mind for the sublime prayer that was offered at the dedication. The pure theism of that prayer—its acknowledgment of the unity of God as well as of His moral perfections in providence and grace, came from the same divine source as the miraculous fire. They indicated sentiments and feelings of exalted and spiritual devotion, which sprang not from the unaided mind of man, but from the fountain of revelation. The reality of the divine presence was attested by the miracle, and that miracle stamped the seal of truth upon the theology of the temple-worship.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

No text from Poole on this verse.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

And the Lord appeared to Solomon by night,.... From hence, to the end of the chapter, much the same things are related as in 1 Kings 9:2. See Gill on 1 Kings 9:2, 1 Kings 9:3, 1 Kings 9:4, 1 Kings 9:5, 1 Kings 9:6, 1 Kings 9:7, 1 Kings 9:8, 1 Kings 9:9, excepting 2 Chronicles 7:13 which contain an answer to the particular requests made by Solomon in case of a famine or pestilence, that when the people of Israel should humble themselves in prayer and supplication, the Lord would be attentive to them, and forgive them, 2 Chronicles 6:26 and which is given as a specimen, and as encouragement to expect the same treatment in all other cases mentioned in Solomon's prayer, they so behaving.

Geneva Study Bible

But if ye turn away, and forsake my statutes and my commandments, which I have set before you, and shall go and serve other gods, and worship them;

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Pulpit Commentary

Verses 19, 20. - And forsake. The parallel (1 Kings 9:6) puts it, according to the Authorized Version, "If ye shall at all turn from following me," etc., which rendering on the part of the Authorized Version probably errs by excess. Much mercy, much forbearing, long-suffering, and slowness to anger, were sure to mark the Divine rule; nor would condemnation take effect, nor did it take effect, till the revolt of the people was a thorough revolt, as finally testifying itself in the crucifixion of Christ (see also, as comments on the expressions of these two verses, Leviticus 26:14; Deuteronomy 4:26, 27; Deuteronomy 28:37, and generally 15-64). The same Hebrew words for a proverb and a byword among all nations are found in ver. 37, as just quoted. 2 Chronicles 7:19

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

The Lord's answer to Solomon's dedicatory prayer. Cf. 1 Kings 9:1-9. The general contents, and the order of the thoughts in the divine answer in the two texts, agree, but in the Chronicle individual thoughts are further expounded than in the book of Kings, and expressions are here and there made clear. The second clause of 2 Chronicles 7:11 is an instance of this, where "and all the desire of Solomon, which he was pleased to do," is represented by "and all that came into Solomon's heart, to make in the house of the Lord and in his own house, he prosperously effected." Everything else is explained in the Com. on 1 Kings 9.