And he set the gatekeepers at the gates of the house of the Lord, so that no one who was in any way unclean should enter.
Parallel translations
- WEB He set the porters at the gates of Yahweh’s house, that no one who was unclean in anything should enter in.
- KJV And he set the porters at the gates of the house of the LORD, that none which was unclean in any thing should enter in.
- BSB He stationed gatekeepers at the gates of the house of the LORD, so that nothing unclean could enter for any reason.
- ESV He stationed the gatekeepers at the gates of the house of the LORD so that no one should enter who was in any way unclean.
- NASB He stationed the gatekeepers of the house of the Lord, so that no one would enter who was in any way unclean.
- NLT He also stationed gatekeepers at the gates of the Lord’s Temple to keep out those who for any reason were ceremonially unclean.
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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
He set gatekeepers to prevent anyone unclean from entering the temple. The purity of God's house was carefully guarded.
Overview
Jehoiada appointed porters at the gates so that no unclean person could enter Yahweh's house. The attention to ceremonial purity reflected reverence for God's holiness. It underscores that access to God's presence is on his terms, ultimately opened fully through Christ's cleansing work.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 2
- 1 Chr 26:1–32For the divisions of the doorkeepers: of the Korahites, Meshelemiah the son of Kore, of the sons of Asaph.
- 1 Chr 9:22–24All these who were chosen to be porters in the thresholds were two hundred twelve. These were listed by genealogy in their villages, whom David and Samuel the seer ordained in their office of trust.
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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 23:19 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
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