2 Chronicles 20:13

Meanwhile all the men of Judah, with their wives and children and little ones, were standing before the LORD.

Berean Standard Bible

Study note

Setting — Following Jehoshaphat’s declaration of helplessness, the entire population of Judah gathers in a posture of waiting before the LORD. This assembly occurs between the king’s prayer and the prophetic word delivered by Jahaziel.

The words — The verb עֹמְדִ֖ים ('o.me.Dim) denotes a sustained posture of standing, while לִ/פְנֵ֣י (li/f.Nei) places the assembly directly in the presence of יְהוָ֑ה (Yah.weh). Together they describe a collective, physical positioning before God rather than a ritual action.

The thread — Corporate assembly before God appears in Deuteronomy 29:10 during covenant renewal, Ezra 10:1 during national confession, and Jonah 3:5 when Nineveh fasts in response to judgment. This verse continues that pattern of a whole community gathering at a decisive moment.

Why it lands — The text records a factual gathering without describing emotional states or prescribing a ritual. It requires the reader to note that corporate waiting precedes divine intervention, not human strategy.

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

וְכָ֨ל־ve./Khol-and/ all יְהוּדָ֔הye.hu.DahJudah עֹמְדִ֖ים'o.me.Dim[were] standing לִפְנֵ֣יli/f.Nei<to>/ before יְהוָ֑הYah.wehYahweh גַּם־gam-also טַפָּ֖םta.Pa/mlittle one[s]/ their נְשֵׁיהֶ֥םne.shei./Hemwives/ their וּבְנֵיהֶֽם׃ פu./ve.nei./Hemand/ children/ their

King James Version

And all Judah stood before the Lord, with their little ones, their wives, and their children.

Cross-references

Ezra 10:1 While Ezra prayed and made this confession, weeping and falling facedown before the house of God, a very large assembly of Israelites—men, women, and children—gathered around him, and the people wept bitterly as well.
Deuteronomy 29:10 All of you are standing today before the LORD your God—you leaders of tribes, elders, officials, and all the men of Israel,
Jonah 3:5 And the Ninevites believed God. They proclaimed a fast and dressed in sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least.
Acts 21:5 But when our time there had ended, we set out on our journey. All the disciples, with their wives and children, accompanied us out of the city and knelt down on the beach to pray with us.