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2 Chronicles 17:3

And the Lord was with Jehoshaphat because he followed the example of his father David’s earlier days and did not seek the Baals,
2 Chronicles 17:3 · New American Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB Yahweh was with Jehoshaphat, because he walked in the first ways of his father David, and didn’t seek the Baals,
  • KJV And the LORD was with Jehoshaphat, because he walked in the first ways of his father David, and sought not unto Baalim;
  • BSB Now the LORD was with Jehoshaphat because he walked in the earlier ways of his father David. He did not seek out the Baals,
  • NKJV Now the Lord was with Jehoshaphat, because he walked in the former ways of his father David; he did not seek the Baals,
  • NLT The Lord was with Jehoshaphat because he followed the example of his father’s early years and did not worship the images of Baal.

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 Lord was with Jehoshaphat because he walked in David's early ways and did not seek the Baals. God's presence rests on a king devoted to Him.

Overview

Jehoshaphat follows the godly pattern of David's earlier years and shuns Baal worship. The Chronicler ties God's favorable presence directly to his faithfulness. This commendation reflects the covenant principle that God is with those who seek Him, ultimately fulfilled in Christ, Immanuel, God with us.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 33

  • Isa 41:10Don’t you be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you. Yes, I will help you. Yes, I will uphold you with the right hand of my righteousness.
  • 2 Kgs 22:2He did that which was right in Yahweh’s eyes, and walked in all the way of David his father, and didn’t turn aside to the right hand or to the left.
  • 2 Tim 4:22The Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Grace be with you. Amen.
  • Ps 46:11Yahweh of Armies is with us. The God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.
  • Gen 39:21But Yahweh was with Joseph, and showed kindness to him, and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison.
  • Gen 39:2–3Yahweh was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man. He was in the house of his master the Egyptian.
  • Josh 1:9Haven’t I commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Don’t be afraid. Don’t be dismayed, for Yahweh your God is with you wherever you go.”
  • Matt 28:20teaching them to observe all things that I commanded you. Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.
  • Judg 6:12Yahweh’s angel appeared to him, and said to him, “Yahweh is with you, you mighty man of valor!”
  • 1 Chr 22:18“Isn’t Yahweh your God with you? Hasn’t he given you rest on every side? For he has delivered the inhabitants of the land into my hand; and the land is subdued before Yahweh, and before his people.
  • Matt 1:23“Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall give birth to a son. They shall call his name Immanuel”; which is, being interpreted, “God with us.”
  • Josh 1:5No man will be able to stand before you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not fail you nor forsake you.
  • Isa 8:10Take counsel together, and it will be brought to nothing; speak the word, and it will not stand: for God is with us.”
  • 2 Sam 5:10David grew greater and greater; for Yahweh, the God of Armies, was with him.
  • 2 Chr 15:8–13When Asa heard these words, and the prophecy of Oded the prophet, he took courage, and put away the abominations out of all the land of Judah and Benjamin, and out of the cities which he had taken from the hill country of Ephraim; and he renewed Yahweh’s altar that was before Yahweh’s porch.
  • Matt 18:20For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there I am in the middle of them.”
  • 2 Sam 8:15David reigned over all Israel; and David executed justice and righteousness for all his people.
  • 2 Kgs 18:3He did that which was right in Yahweh’s eyes, according to all that David his father had done.
  • Jer 2:23“How can you say, ‘I am not defiled. I have not gone after the Baals’? See your way in the valley. Know what you have done. You are a swift dromedary traversing her ways;
  • 2 Chr 15:2and he went out to meet Asa, and said to him, “Hear me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin! Yahweh is with you, while you are with him; and if you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake him, he will forsake you.
  • Ps 46:7Yahweh of Armies is with us. The God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.
  • Exod 4:12Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth, and teach you what you shall speak.”
  • Exod 3:12He said, “Certainly I will be with you. This will be the token to you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.”
  • 1 Kgs 11:6Solomon did that which was evil in Yahweh’s sight, and didn’t go fully after Yahweh, as David his father did.
  • Ps 132:1–5A Song of Ascents. Yahweh, remember David and all his affliction,
  • Judg 2:11The children of Israel did that which was evil in Yahweh’s sight, and served the Baals.
  • 1 Kgs 15:3–4He walked in all the sins of his father, which he had done before him; and his heart was not perfect with Yahweh his God, as the heart of David his father.
  • 2 Kgs 16:2Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. He didn’t do that which was right in Yahweh his God’s eyes, like David his father.
  • 2 Chr 14:11Asa cried to Yahweh his God, and said, “Yahweh, there is no one besides you to help, between the mighty and him who has no strength. Help us, Yahweh our God; for we rely on you, and in your name are we come against this multitude. Yahweh, you are our God. Don’t let man prevail against you.”
  • 2 Chr 14:2–5Asa did that which was good and right in Yahweh his God’s eyes;
  • Judg 8:33As soon as Gideon was dead, the children of Israel turned again, and played the prostitute following the Baals, and made Baal Berith their god.
  • Judg 2:18When Yahweh raised up judges for them, then Yahweh was with the judge, and saved them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge; for it grieved Yahweh because of their groaning by reason of those who oppressed them and troubled them.
  • 2 Kgs 14:3He did that which was right in Yahweh’s eyes, yet not like David his father. He did according to all that Joash his father had done.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (3)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — 2 Chronicles videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on 2 Chronicles 17:3YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on 2 ChroniclesMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

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 17:3 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.