2 Chronicles 15:3

2 Chronicles 15:3 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Now for a long season Israel hath been without the true God, and without a teaching priest, and without law.
• New International Version (NIV)For a long time Israel was without the true God, without a priest to teach and without the law.
• English Standard Version (ESV)For a long time Israel was without the true God, and without a teaching priest and without law,
• New King James Version (NKJV)For a long time Israel has been without the true God, without a teaching priest, and without law;

Context of 2 Chronicles 15:3

1God’s Spirit came to Azariah, son of Oded. 2Azariah went to Asa and said to him, “Listen to me, Asa and all you men from Judah and Benjamin. The Lord is with you when you are with him. If you will dedicate your lives to serving him, he will accept you. But if you abandon him, he will abandon you. For a long time Israel was without the true God, without a priest who taught ⌞correctly⌟, and without Moses’ Teachings. 4But when they were in trouble, they turned to the Lord God of Israel. When they searched for him, he let them find him. 5At those times no one could come and go in peace, because everyone living in the land had a lot of turmoil.

2 Chronicles 15:3 word by word

וְיָמִ֥ים רַבִּ֖ים לְיִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל לְלֹ֣א׀ אֱלֹהֵ֣י אֱמֶ֗ת וּלְלֹ֛א כֹּהֵ֥ן מוֹרֶ֖ה וּלְלֹ֥א תוֹרָֽה׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Now for a longרַבrab · manyH7227
• seasonיוֹםyôm · dayH3117
• Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
• withoutלֹאlô' lô' lôh · notH3808
• the trueאֱמֶת'emeth · truth: trueH571
• Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
• and without a teachingיָרָהyârâh yârâ' · to showH3384
• priestכֹּהֵןkôhên · priestH3548
• and without lawתּוֹרָהtôrâh tôrâh · instructionH8451

Cross-references for 2 Chronicles 15:3

• 1 Kings 12:28After seeking advice, the king made two golden calves. He said, “You’ve been worshiping in Jerusalem long enough. Israel, here are your gods who brought you out of Egypt.”
• Hosea 3:4In the same way, the Israelites will wait a long time without kings or officials, without sacrifices or sacred stones, and without ephods or family idols.
• Jeremiah 10:10But the Lord is the only God. He is the living God and eternal king. The earth trembles when he is angry. The nations can’t endure his fury.
• John 17:3This is eternal life: to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you sent.
• 1 Thessalonians 1:9They talk about how you welcomed us when we arrived. They even report how you turned away from false gods to serve the real, living God
• 1 John 5:20We know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding so that we know the real God. We are in the one who is real, his Son Jesus Christ. This Jesus Christ is the real God and eternal life.
• 2 Chronicles 17:8With them were the Levites Shemaiah, Nethaniah, Zebadiah, Asahel, Shemiramoth, Jehonathan, Adonijah, Tobijah, Tob Adonijah, and the priests Elishama and Jehoram.
• Leviticus 10:11Also teach the Israelites all the laws that I gave them through Moses.”
• Deuteronomy 33:10They teach Jacob your rules and give Israel your teachings. They burn incense for you to smell and sacrifice burnt offerings on your altar.
• Nehemiah 8:9Then Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people told them, “This is a holy day for the Lord your God. Don’t mourn or cry.” All the people were crying as they listened to the reading of God’s Teachings.
• Ezekiel 44:21None of the priests may drink wine when they enter the inner courtyard.
• Micah 3:11Your leaders exchange justice for bribes. Your priests teach for a price. Your prophets tell the future for money. But they rely on the Lord when they say, “After all, the Lord is with us. Nothing bad will happen to us.”
• Malachi 2:7“A priest’s lips should preserve knowledge. Then, because he is the messenger for the Lord of Armies, people will seek instruction from his mouth.
• Matthew 2:4He called together all the chief priests and the experts in the Scriptures and tried to find out from them where the Messiah was supposed to be born.
• 1 Timothy 3:2A bishop must have a good reputation. He must have only one wife, be sober, use good judgment, be respectable, be hospitable, and be able to teach.
• Romans 2:12Here’s the reason: Whoever sins without having the laws in Moses’ Teachings will still be condemned to destruction. And whoever has these laws from God and sins will still be judged by them.

Commentaries on 2 Chronicles 15:3

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 3Now for a long season Israel - "Israel hath followed Jeroboam, and they have not worshipped the true God. They have burnt incense to their golden calves; their priestlings [כומריא cumeraiya, their black, sooty sacrificers] have burnt perfumes with a strange worship, and have not exercised themselves in the law." - Targum. These priests could not teach, because they had not learnt; and as they had abandoned the law of the Lord, consequently they had no…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 3“Israel” here is used generally for the whole people of God; and the reference is especially to the many apostasies in the days of the Judges, which were followed by repentance and deliverance.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 3-6The dark times, caused by not knowing God (see Hosea 3:4–5), likely refer to the period of the judges.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 3-63-6. Now for a long season Israel hath been without the true God, &c.--Some think that Azariah was referring to the sad and disastrous condition to which superstition and idolatry had brought the neighboring kingdom of Israel. His words should rather be taken in a wider sense, for it seems manifest that the prophet had his eye upon many periods in the national history, when the people were in the state described--a state of spiritual destitution and…Read the comment

Topics related to 2 Chronicles 15:3

• Backsliders
• Courage
• Instruction
• Minister, Christian
• Prayer
• Preaching
• Repentance
• Revivals
• Simeon
• Word of God

In the dictionaries

• God
• Israel
• Israel, Israelites
• Jacob, Israel
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
• Covenant
• Renew
• Azariah
• Catechist; Catechumen
• Famine

Commentaries on 2 Chronicles 15

• 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