Limitless Word

2 Chronicles 15:13

and whoever would not seek the Lord God of Israel was to be put to death, whether small or great, man or woman.
2 Chronicles 15:13 · New American Standard Bible
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.
  • KJV That whosoever would not seek the LORD 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.
  • 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 22:20“He who sacrifices to any god, except to Yahweh only, shall be utterly destroyed.
  • Deut 29:18lest there should be among you man, woman, family, or tribe whose heart turns away today from Yahweh our God, to go to serve the gods of those nations; lest there should be among you a root that produces bitter poison;
  • Ps 115:13He will bless those who fear Yahweh, both small and great.
  • Deut 17:2–5If there is found among you, within any of your gates which Yahweh your God gives you, a man or woman who does that which is evil in Yahweh your God’s sight, in transgressing his covenant,
  • Acts 26:22Having therefore obtained the help that is from God, I stand to this day testifying both to small and great, saying nothing but what the prophets and Moses said would happen,
  • 1 Kgs 18:40Elijah said to them, “Seize the prophets of Baal! Don’t let one of them escape!” They seized them; and Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon, and killed them there.
  • Deut 13:5–15That prophet, or that dreamer of dreams, shall be put to death, because he has spoken rebellion against Yahweh your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed you out of the house of bondage, to draw you aside out of the way which Yahweh your God commanded you to walk in. So you shall remove the evil from among you.
  • Rev 20:12I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and they opened books. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged out of the things which were written in the books, according to their works.
  • Job 3:19The small and the great are there. The servant is free from his master.
  • Rev 6:15The kings of the earth, the princes, the commanding officers, the rich, the strong, and every slave and free person, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains.
  • Exod 12:29At midnight, Yahweh struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the captive who was in the dungeon; and all the firstborn of livestock.
  • Job 34:19Who doesn’t respect the persons of princes, nor respects the rich more than the poor; for they all are the work of his hands.
  • Gen 19:11They struck the men who 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

Topics (9)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

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.