2 Chronicles 28:13

“You must not bring the captives here,” they said, “for you are proposing to bring guilt upon us from the LORD and to add to our sins and our guilt. For our guilt is great, and fierce anger is upon Israel.”

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — The Ephraimite leaders Azariah, Berechiah, Jehizkiah, and Amasa confront the returning Israelite armed men, demanding they halt the forced transport of captives immediately after their military campaign against Judah.

The words — לֹא־תָבִיאוּ (lo'- ta.Vi.'u) translates literally as "you must not bring," while לְאַשְׁמַת (le./'ash.Mat) means "to [the] guilt of," framing the command as a direct warning against incurring divine penalty.

The thread — This warning against compounding national guilt runs parallel to the corporate warnings in Numbers 32:14 and Joshua 22:17, and aligns with the pattern of accumulated judgment cited in Matthew 23:32.

Why it lands — The text requires the reader to acknowledge that human justification cannot override divine law, demanding immediate cessation of action to prevent further collective condemnation.

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

And said unto them, Ye shall not bring in the captives hither: for whereas we have offended against the Lord already, ye intend to add more to our sins and to our trespass: for our trespass is great, and there is fierce wrath against Israel.

Cross-references

Numbers 32:14 Now behold, you, a brood of sinners, have risen up in place of your fathers to further stoke the burning anger of the LORD against Israel.
Joshua 22:17 Was not the sin of Peor enough for us, from which we have not cleansed ourselves to this day? It even brought a plague upon the congregation of the LORD.
Matthew 23:32 Fill up, then, the measure of the sin of your fathers.
Matthew 23:35 And so upon you will come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.
Romans 2:5 But because of your hard and unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of wrath, when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.