Bible Strands
2 Chronicles 15:7
But as for you, be strong; do not be discouraged, for your work will be rewarded.”
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Azariah son of Oded the prophet addresses the people of Judah after the nation has been crushed by foreign powers as divine judgment (v.6). King Asa hears the words and responds by removing idols and restoring the altar (v.8).
The words — חִזְקוּ (chiz.Ku), "be strong," is an imperative from the root חזק (H2388), denoting resolute firmness. Discouragement is pictured as hands dropping — יְדֵי־כֶם (ye.dei./Khem), "your hands" — a physical image for giving up.
The thread — The cluster "be strong / do not be discouraged / your work is not in vain" recurs in Joshua 1:9 and 1 Corinthians 15:58. Joshua 1:7 pairs the same command with the call to observe the Law.
Why it lands — It asks a reader to keep working after visible failure, grounded not in a promise of immediate reversal but in the assertion that the work itself carries a reward. The demand is concrete: do not stop.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Be ye strong therefore, and let not your hands be weak: for your work shall be rewarded.
Cross-references
- 1 Corinthians 15:58 Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast and immovable. Always excel in the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
- Joshua 1:7 Above all, be strong and very courageous. Be careful to observe all the law that My servant Moses commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may prosper wherever you go.
- Joshua 1:9 Have I not commanded you to be strong and courageous? Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”
- Hebrews 10:35 So do not throw away your confidence; it holds a great reward.
- 1 Chronicles 28:20 David also said to Solomon his son, “Be strong and courageous, and do it. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD God, my God, is with you. He will neither fail you nor forsake you before all the work for the service of the house of the LORD is finished.
- Genesis 15:1 After these events, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.”
- Psalms 58:11 Then men will say, “There is surely a reward for the righteous! There is surely a God who judges the earth!”
- 2 John 1:8 Watch yourselves, so that you do not lose what we have worked for, but that you may be fully rewarded.
- Hebrews 6:10 For God is not unjust. He will not forget your work and the love you have shown for His name as you have ministered to the saints and continue to do so.
- Colossians 3:24 because you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as your reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.