What Does 2 Chronicles 20:12 Mean?
Two renderings of the same sentence, the verses it belongs to, and what the passage is doing — so you can decide what it means rather than take someone's word for it.
"O our God, wilt thou not judge them? for we have no might against this great company that cometh against us; neither know we what to do: but our eyes are upon thee." 2 Chronicles 20:12, King James Version
The same verse in modern English
"Our God, will You not judge them? For we are powerless before this vast army that comes against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon You.”" 2 Chronicles 20:12, Berean Standard Bible
What it sits inside
A verse quoted on its own is the commonest way one gets misread. Here it is with what comes immediately before and after, in the King James Version.
2 Chronicles 20:10 And now, behold, the children of Ammon and Moab and mount Seir, whom thou wouldest not let Israel invade, when they came out of the land of Egypt, but they turned from them, and destroyed them not;
2 Chronicles 20:11 Behold, I say, how they reward us, to come to cast us out of thy possession, which thou hast given us to inherit.
2 Chronicles 20:12 O our God, wilt thou not judge them? for we have no might against this great company that cometh against us; neither know we what to do: but our eyes are upon thee.
2 Chronicles 20:13 And all Judah stood before the Lord, with their little ones, their wives, and their children.
2 Chronicles 20:14 Then upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, came the Spirit of the Lord in the midst of the congregation;
A conversation built on it
Having no plan feels like the thing you must hide. Jehoshaphat said it out loud, in front of everyone, with three armies closing in — and then added the six words that turned it. Not knowing was never the problem. Facing the wrong way was.
Questions people ask
What does 2 Chronicles 20:12 mean?
In modern English (Berean Standard Bible) it reads: “Our God, will You not judge them? For we are powerless before this vast army that comes against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon You.”” The King James rendering most people know is: “O our God, wilt thou not judge them? for we have no might against this great company that cometh against us; neither know we what to do: but our eyes are upon thee.”
What is the context of 2 Chronicles 20:12?
The verses immediately around it read: (2 Chronicles 20:10) And now, behold, the children of Ammon and Moab and mount Seir, whom thou wouldest not let Israel invade, when they came out of the land of Egypt, but they turned from them, and destroyed them not; (2 Chronicles 20:11) Behold, I say, how they reward us, to come to cast us out of thy possession, which thou hast given us to inherit. (2 Chronicles 20:12) O our God, wilt thou not judge them? for we have no might against this great company that cometh against us; neither know we what to do: but our eyes are upon thee. (2 Chronicles 20:13) And all Judah stood before the Lord, with their little ones, their wives, and their children. (2 Chronicles 20:14) Then upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, came the Spirit of the Lord in the midst of the congregation;
How is 2 Chronicles 20:12 used in a conversation about this?
Having no plan feels like the thing you must hide. Jehoshaphat said it out loud, in front of everyone, with three armies closing in — and then added the six words that turned it. Not knowing was never the problem. Facing the wrong way was.
Reading it is one thing. Saying what it stirs up is another.
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