2 Chronicles 29:7

They also shut the doors of the portico and extinguished the lamps. They did not burn incense or present burnt offerings in the Holy Place of the God of Israel.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — The verse addresses the accumulated neglect of Judah's ancestors who abandoned the dwelling place of the LORD (2 Chronicles 29:6) and records the physical cessation of temple worship that preceded the declaration of divine wrath (2 Chronicles 29:8).

The words — The Hebrew verb סָֽגְר֞וּ (sa.gerū) means they shut the doors of the portico (הָ/אוּלָ֗ם), while וַ/יְכַבּוּ֙ (wa/yəḵabbû) denotes they extinguished the lamps (הַ/נֵּר֔וֹת). The particle גַּ֣ם (gam) marks these actions as part of a broader pattern of abandonment.

The thread — This cessation of lamp maintenance and incense offering directly contravenes the command to keep the lamps burning continually (Leviticus 24:2) and parallels the earlier dismantling of sanctuary furnishings under Ahaz (2 Chronicles 28:24; 2 Kings 16:17). The text places this worship failure immediately before stating that the wrath of the LORD fell upon Judah and Jerusalem (2 Chronicles 29:8).

Why it lands — The passage states the factual shutdown of portico doors, lamp extinguishing, and the cessation of incense and burnt offerings before linking those acts to national judgment. It requires the reader to acknowledge that the physical abandonment of prescribed duties constitutes the documented cause of the subsequent divine wrath.

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

גַּ֣םgamalso סָֽגְר֞וּsa.ge.Ruthey shut דַּלְת֣וֹתdal.Tot[the] doors of הָאוּלָ֗םha./'u.Lamthe/ porch וַיְכַבּוּ֙va/y.kha.Buand/ they extinguished אֶת־'et-<obj.>הַנֵּר֔וֹתha./ne.Rotthe/ lamps וּקְטֹ֖רֶתu./ke.To.retand/ incense לֹ֣אlo'not הִקְטִ֑ירוּhik.Ti.ruthey made smoke וְעֹלָה֙ve./'o.Lahand/ burnt offering[s]לֹא־lo'-not הֶעֱל֣וּhe.'e.Luthey offered up בַקֹּ֔דֶשׁva./Ko.deshin the/ holy place לֵאלֹהֵ֖יle./lo.Heito/ [the] God of יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃Yis.ra.'ElIsrael

King James Version

Also they have shut up the doors of the porch, and put out the lamps, and have not burned incense nor offered burnt offerings in the holy place unto the God of Israel.

Cross-references

2 Chronicles 28:24 Then Ahaz gathered up the articles of the house of God, cut them into pieces, shut the doors of the house of the LORD, and set up altars of his own on every street corner in Jerusalem.
Leviticus 24:2 “Command the Israelites to bring you pure oil of pressed olives for the light, to keep the lamps burning continually.
2 Kings 16:17 King Ahaz also cut off the frames of the movable stands and removed the bronze basin from each of them. He took down the Sea from the bronze oxen that were under it and put it on a stone base.
2 Chronicles 29:3 In the first month of the first year of his reign, Hezekiah opened and repaired the doors of the house of the LORD.
Malachi 1:10 “Oh, that one of you would shut the temple doors, so that you would no longer kindle useless fires on My altar! I take no pleasure in you,” says the LORD of Hosts, “and I will accept no offering from your hands.