2 Chronicles 19:3

However, some good is found in you, for you have removed the Asherah poles from the land and have set your heart on seeking God.”

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — Jehu son of Hanani addresses King Jehoshaphat immediately after warning him that God’s wrath rests on him for aiding the wicked, before the king resumes his reform tour (2 Chronicles 19:2; 2 Chronicles 19:4).

The words — The Hebrew אֲבָ֕ל ('a.Val) translates to “but,” marking a pivot from judgment to grace, while בִעַ֤רְתָּ (vi.'Ar.ta) means “you have removed,” describing the physical eradication of the Asherah poles.

The thread — This motif of divine wrath yielding to mercy upon repentance appears when Rehoboam humbles himself and God withholds complete destruction (2 Chronicles 12:12), while the phrase “set your heart” parallels Ezra’s deliberate commitment to study and teach the Law (Ezra 7:10).

Why it lands — The text states that good actions are found in the king because he destroyed idolatrous sites and directed his focus toward God, requiring a reader to recognize that reform begins with concrete removal of competing loyalties and deliberate pursuit of divine instruction.

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

אֲבָ֕ל'a.Valbut דְּבָרִ֥יםde.va.Rimthings טוֹבִ֖יםto.Vimgood נִמְצְא֣וּnim.tze.'Uthey have been found עִמָּ֑ךְ'i.Ma/khwith/ you כִּֽי־ki-for בִעַ֤רְתָּvi.'Ar.tayou have removed הָאֲשֵׁרוֹת֙ha./'a.she.rOtthe/ Asherah poles מִן־min-from הָאָ֔רֶץha./'A.retzthe/ land וַהֲכִינ֥וֹתָva./ha.khi.No.taand/ you have directed לְבָבְךָ֖le.va.ve./Khaheart/ your לִדְרֹ֥שׁli/d.Roshto/ seek הָֽאֱלֹהִֽים׃Ha./'E.lo.Him<the>/ God

King James Version

Nevertheless there are good things found in thee, in that thou hast taken away the groves out of the land, and hast prepared thine heart to seek God.

Cross-references

2 Chronicles 12:12 Because Rehoboam humbled himself, the anger of the LORD turned away from him, and He did not destroy him completely. Indeed, conditions were good in Judah.
1 Kings 14:13 All Israel will mourn for him and bury him. For this is the only one belonging to Jeroboam who will receive a proper burial, because only in him has the LORD, the God of Israel, found any good in the house of Jeroboam.
Ezra 7:10 For Ezra had set his heart to study the Law of the LORD, to practice it, and to teach its statutes and ordinances in Israel.
2 Chronicles 30:19 who sets his heart on seeking God—the LORD, the God of his fathers—even if he is not cleansed according to the purification rules of the sanctuary.”
2 Chronicles 12:14 And Rehoboam did evil because he did not set his heart to seek the LORD.
2 Chronicles 17:3 Now the LORD was with Jehoshaphat because he walked in the earlier ways of his father David. He did not seek the Baals,
Psalms 57:7 My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast. I will sing and make music.
Romans 7:18 I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my flesh; for I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.