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2 Chronicles 15:13

That whosoever would not seek the LORD God of Israel should be put to death, whether small or great, whether man or woman.
2 Chronicles 15:13 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB and that whoever would not seek Yahweh, the God of Israel, should be put to death, whether small or great, whether man or woman.
  • BSB And whoever would not seek the LORD, the God of Israel, would be put to death, whether young or old, man or woman.
  • NKJV and whoever would not seek the Lord God of Israel was to be put to death, whether small or great, whether man or woman.
  • NASB and whoever would not seek the Lord God of Israel was to be put to death, whether small or great, man or woman.
  • NLT They agreed that anyone who refused to seek the Lord, the God of Israel, would be put to death—whether young or old, man or woman.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

The covenant included death for any who would not seek the God of Israel. The community treated covenant loyalty with utmost seriousness.

Overview

This severe stipulation reflects the gravity of apostasy under the old covenant law, where idolatry threatened the whole nation. (Faithful readers note this as a feature of Israel's theocracy, not a pattern for the church.) The seriousness of sin it underscores points to the cross, where God's justice against sin and His mercy meet in Christ.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 13

  • Exod 22:20He that sacrificeth unto any god, save unto the LORD only, he shall be utterly destroyed.
  • Deut 29:18Lest there should be among you man, or woman, or family, or tribe, whose heart turneth away this day from the LORD our God, to go and serve the gods of these nations; lest there should be among you a root that beareth gall and wormwood;
  • Ps 115:13He will bless them that fear the LORD, both small and great.
  • Deut 17:2–5If there be found among you, within any of thy gates which the LORD thy God giveth thee, man or woman, that hath wrought wickedness in the sight of the LORD thy God, in transgressing his covenant,
  • Acts 26:22Having therefore obtained help of God, I continue unto this day, witnessing both to small and great, saying none other things than those which the prophets and Moses did say should come:
  • 1 Kgs 18:40And Elijah said unto them, Take the prophets of Baal; let not one of them escape. And they took them: and Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon, and slew them there.
  • Deut 13:5–15And that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams, shall be put to death; because he hath spoken to turn you away from the LORD your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed you out of the house of bondage, to thrust thee out of the way which the LORD thy God commanded thee to walk in. So shalt thou put the evil away from the midst of thee.
  • Rev 20:12And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
  • Job 3:19The small and great are there; and the servant is free from his master.
  • Rev 6:15And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;
  • Exod 12:29And it came to pass, that at midnight the LORD smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sat on his throne unto the firstborn of the captive that was in the dungeon; and all the firstborn of cattle.
  • Job 34:19How much less to him that accepteth not the persons of princes, nor regardeth the rich more than the poor? for they all are the work of his hands.
  • Gen 19:11And they smote the men that were at the door of the house with blindness, both small and great: so that they wearied themselves to find the door.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

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Christ at the center

Temple, priesthood, and the repeated need for a faithful king who seeks the LORD all point past every imperfect reign to the King and Temple who finally and fully dwell with God's people.

How 2 Chronicles 15:13 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.