Bible Strands
2 Chronicles 23:6
No one is to enter the house of the LORD except the priests and those Levites who serve; they may enter because they are consecrated, but all the people are to obey the requirement of the LORD.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Jehoiada issues military and religious orders to the Levites and priests to secure the temple precincts during the coronation of Joash.
The words — The Hebrew `אַל־` (al-) paired with `יָב֣וֹא` (ya.vo') literally means "may not go/enter," establishing a hard boundary. The phrase `כִּי־ אִם` (ki-'im) translates to "that except," limiting the exception strictly to consecrated priests and serving Levites.
The thread — The restriction to consecrated personnel and the division of guard duty reappear in 1 Chronicles 23:28 and 2 Kings 11:6.
Why it lands — The text demands strict obedience to sacred boundaries, requiring the people to respect the separation between holy space and common access.
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
But let none come into the house of the Lord, save the priests, and they that minister of the Levites; they shall go in, for they are holy: but all the people shall keep the watch of the Lord.
Cross-references
- 1 Chronicles 23:28 but their duty was to assist the descendants of Aaron with the service of the house of the LORD, being responsible for the courts and chambers, the purification of all the holy things, and the work of the service of the house of God,
- 2 Kings 11:6 a third shall be at the gate of Sur, and a third at the gate behind the guards. You are to take turns guarding the temple—