Bible Strands
2 Chronicles 20:11
See how they are repaying us by coming to drive us out of the possession that You gave us as an inheritance.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Jehoshaphat and the people of Judah address God while encircled by the armies of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir. They state their military helplessness and note that the invaders are attacking land God originally allotted to Israel.
The words — The Hebrew גֹּמְלִים (go.me.Lim) literally means "are repaying" or "are rendering," describing the enemy's hostile response against Judah. It stands adjacent to לְ/גָ֣רְשֵׁ֔/נוּ (le./Ga.re.She./nu), meaning "to drive us out," which frames the assault as a deliberate attempt to dispossess the nation.
The thread — The pattern of hostile repayment surfaces in Psalms 83:3, where enemies conspire against God's people, and Jeremiah 18:20, which questions how good is repaid with evil. Proverbs 17:13 further notes that returning evil for good guarantees lasting judgment.
Why it lands — The passage requires the reader to acknowledge human powerlessness and direct attention to God rather than relying on military strategy. It calls for immediate dependence on divine judgment when facing overwhelming opposition.
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
Behold, I say, how they reward us, to come to cast us out of thy possession, which thou hast given us to inherit.
Cross-references
- Psalms 83:3 With cunning they scheme against Your people and conspire against those You cherish,
- Proverbs 17:13 If anyone returns evil for good, evil will never leave his house.
- Jeremiah 18:20 Should good be repaid with evil? Yet they have dug a pit for me. Remember how I stood before You to speak good on their behalf, to turn Your wrath from them.
- Genesis 44:4 They had not gone far from the city when Joseph told his steward, “Pursue the men at once, and when you overtake them, ask, ‘Why have you repaid good with evil?
- Judges 11:23 Now since the LORD, the God of Israel, has driven out the Amorites from before His people Israel, should you now possess it?
- Psalms 7:4 if I have rewarded my ally with evil, if I have plundered my foe without cause,
- Psalms 35:12 They repay me evil for good, to the bereavement of my soul.