Bible Strands
2 Chronicles 30:12
Moreover, the power of God was on the people in Judah to give them one heart to obey the command of the king and his officials according to the word of the LORD.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The chronicler records God’s intervention during Hezekiah’s call for the remnant of Judah and returning northern tribes to gather in Jerusalem for the delayed Passover. The narrative occurs as the assembly prepares to celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread in the second month.
The words — The phrase יַד הָאֱלֹהִים (yad ha'elohim) literally means "the hand of God," and לֵב אֶחָד (lev echad) translates to "one heart." These terms describe divine agency compelling unified obedience to the royal decree.
The thread — This motif of God granting a singular heart appears in Jeremiah 32:39 and Jeremiah 24:7, where divine action produces covenantal loyalty and knowledge of Yahweh. The concept also echoes the willing response of God’s people in Psalms 110:3.
Why it lands — The text requires readers to recognize that unified compliance with divine commands originates from God’s direct influence, not human resolve. It demands accountability to royal and priestly instruction as the mechanism of covenant obedience.
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
Also in Judah the hand of God was to give them one heart to do the commandment of the king and of the princes, by the word of the Lord.
Cross-references
- Jeremiah 32:39 I will give them one heart and one way, so that they will always fear Me for their own good and for the good of their children after them.
- Psalms 110:3 Your people shall be willing on Your day of battle. Arrayed in holy splendor, from the womb of the dawn, to You belongs the dew of Your youth.
- Jeremiah 24:7 I will give them a heart to know Me, that I am the LORD. They will be My people, and I will be their God, for they will return to Me with all their heart.
- Philippians 2:13 For it is God who works in you to will and to act on behalf of His good purpose.
- 2 Thessalonians 2:13 But we should always thank God for you, brothers who are loved by the Lord, because God chose you from the beginning to be saved by the sanctification of the Spirit and by faith in the truth.
- Deuteronomy 4:5 See, I have taught you statutes and ordinances just as the LORD my God has commanded me, so that you may follow them in the land that you are about to enter and possess.
- 2 Chronicles 29:25 Hezekiah stationed the Levites in the house of the LORD with cymbals, harps, and lyres according to the command of David, of Gad the king’s seer, and of Nathan the prophet. For the command had come from the LORD through His prophets.
- 2 Chronicles 29:36 Then Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced at what God had prepared for the people, because everything had been accomplished so quickly.
- Ezekiel 36:26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.
- Deuteronomy 4:2 You must not add to or subtract from what I command you, so that you may keep the commandments of the LORD your God that I am giving you.