2 Chronicles 17:6

2 Chronicles 17:6 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And his heart was lifted up in the ways of the Lord: moreover he took away the high places and groves out of Judah.
• New International Version (NIV)His heart was devoted to the ways of the Lord; furthermore, he removed the high places and the Asherah poles from Judah.
• English Standard Version (ESV)His heart was courageous in the ways of the Lord. And furthermore, he took the high places and the Asherim out of Judah.
• New King James Version (NKJV)And his heart took delight in the ways of the Lord; moreover he removed the high places and wooden images from Judah.

Context of 2 Chronicles 17:6

4Instead, he served the God that his father had served. He obeyed the Lord's commands. He did not do the wrong things that Israel's people did. 5The Lord gave Jehoshaphat power over the kingdom of Judah. All Judah's people brought gifts to him. So Jehoshaphat became rich and people respected him. He served the Lord with all his strength. He removed from Judah the altars on the hills and the Asherah poles. 7In the third year that Jehoshaphat ruled Judah as king, he sent his officers to teach people in all Judah's towns. The names of those officers were Ben-Hail, Obadiah, Zechariah, Nethanel and Micaiah. 8He sent these Levites to go with them: Shemaiah, Nethaniah, Zebadiah, Asahel, Shemiramoth, Jehonathan, Adonijah, Tobijah, and Tob-Adonijah. He also sent the priests, Elishama and Jehoram.

2 Chronicles 17:6 word by word

וַיִּגְבַּ֥הּ לִבּ֖וֹ בְּדַרְכֵ֣י יְהוָ֑ה וְע֗וֹד הֵסִ֛יר אֶת־הַבָּמ֥וֹת וְאֶת־הָאֲשֵׁרִ֖ים מִיהוּדָֽה׃ פRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And his heartלֵבlêb · heartH3820
• was lifted upגָּבַהּgâbahh · be highH1361
• in the waysדֶּ֫רֶךְderek · way: conductH1870
• of the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• moreover he took awayסוּרsûr ώûr · to turn aside: removeH5493
• the high placesבָּמָהbâmâh · high placeH1116
• and grovesאֲשֵׁרָה'ăshêrâh 'ăshêyrâh · AsherahH842
• out of Judahיְהוּדָהyehûdâh · JudahH3063

Cross-references for 2 Chronicles 17:6

• Deuteronomy 28:47The Lord has given you many good things. But you have not agreed to serve the Lord your God with joy.
• Job 22:26You will be happy that Almighty God is your friend. You will look up to him to help you.
• Psalms 18:21I have obeyed the Lord's commands. I have not turned against my God.
• Psalms 119:1God has blessed people who always do what is right. They obey the Lord's Law.
• Psalms 138:5They will sing about the things that you have done, because they see that you are great, Lord.
• Hosea 14:9If you are wise, you should understand these things. If you understand, think carefully about them. The Lord teaches you to live in ways that are right. Righteous people live in those good ways. But people who turn against the Lord fall down and lose their way.
• Acts 13:10‘You are a servant of the Devil! You are against everything that is right. Your mind is full of lies and other bad things. You try to change the true message of the Lord and make it into lies. You must stop doing that!
• 2 Chronicles 14:3He removed the altars and other places where people worshipped foreign gods. He broke the stone pillars and he cut down the Asherah poles.
• 2 Chronicles 15:17Asa did not remove the altars on all the hills in Israel, but he served the Lord faithfully for his whole life.
• 2 Chronicles 19:3But you have done some good things. You have removed the Asherah poles from Judah's land. You have chosen to serve God.’
• 2 Chronicles 20:33But he did not remove all the altars that were on the hills. The people still did not want to be completely faithful to the God of their ancestors.
• 2 Chronicles 31:1The Passover festival finished. Then the Israelites who were there went to all the towns in Judah. They knocked down the stone pillars that people worshipped. They also cut down the Asherah poles. They destroyed all the altars and places for worship on the hills. They did that everywhere in Judah, Benjamin, Ephraim and Manasseh. After they finished, all the Israelites returned to their homes in their own towns.
• 2 Chronicles 34:3When Josiah had been king for eight years, he was still a young man. At that time he began to worship God, as his ancestor David had done. When he had been king for 12 years, he started to remove the places in Jerusalem and in all Judah where people worshipped false gods. He removed the altars on the hills, the Asherah poles, the idols and the images of false gods.
• 1 Kings 22:43Jehoshaphat lived in the good way that his father Asa had lived. He only did things that the Lord says are right. But he did not remove all the altars that were on the hills. People continued to offer sacrifices on those altars and they continued to burn incense there.

Commentaries on 2 Chronicles 17:6

• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 6His heart was lifted up - This expression generally occurs in a bad sense Deuteronomy 8:14; 2 Chronicles 26:16; Psalm 131:1; Proverbs 18:12; but here it must be taken differently. The margin “was encouraged” expresses fairly the true meaning. He first began by setting an example of faithfulness to Yahweh. He then proceeded to use his best endeavors to extirpate idolatry. He took away the high places - Compare 2 Chronicles 20:33, and see the 2 Chronicles…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 5-6The word translated as "gifts" is often translated as "tribute," like what conquering kings demanded from their subjects (for example, Judges 3:15–18). However, forced tribute is not the intended meaning here. The people of Judah willingly made Jehoshaphat very wealthy. Like Uzziah (2 Chronicles 26:16) and Hezekiah (32:25), wealth often leads to pride. However, Jehoshaphat was deeply committed to following the Lord's ways. He did not take pride in his own…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 66. his heart was lifted up in the ways of the Lord--Full of faith and piety, he possessed zeal and courage to undertake the reformation of manners, to suppress all the works and objects of idolatry (see on 2Ch 20:33), and he held out public encouragement to the pure worship of God. 2Ch 17:7-11. He Sends Levites to Teach in Judah.Read the comment

Topics related to 2 Chronicles 17:6

• Groves
• High Places
• Iconoclasm
• Jehoshaphat
• Obedience
• Religion
• Rulers

In the dictionaries

• Judah
• Judah, kingdom of Judah
• Judea, Judah
• Criticism
• High Place
• Jehoshaphat (2)
• Priests and Levites

Commentaries on 2 Chronicles 17

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings