Bible Strands
2 Chronicles 32:19
They spoke against the God of Jerusalem as they had spoken against the gods of the peoples of the earth—the work of human hands.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Assyrian envoys address the Judean defenders on Jerusalem’s walls during a siege, using psychological warfare to provoke fear and surrender. The words — וַֽ/יְדַבְּר֔וּ (va/y.da.be.Ru, they spoke) and אֱלֹהֵ֖י ('e.lo.Hei, God/gods) anchor the verse’s claim that the besiegers equate Yahweh with the idols of other nations. The thread — This equation appears in 2 Kings 19:18, Isaiah 2:8, and Deuteronomy 4:28, where false deities are repeatedly labeled the work of human hands. Why it lands — The text forces readers to confront the absurdity of treating the Creator as a manageable artifact, demanding a clear distinction between the living God and crafted idols.
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 they spake against the God of Jerusalem, as against the gods of the people of the earth, which were the work of the hands of man.
Cross-references
- 2 Kings 19:18 They have cast their gods into the fire and destroyed them, for they were not gods, but only wood and stone—the work of human hands.
- Isaiah 2:8 Their land is full of idols; they bow down to the work of their hands, to what their fingers have made.
- Deuteronomy 4:28 And there you will serve man-made gods of wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or eat or smell.
- Deuteronomy 27:15 ‘Cursed is the man who makes a carved idol or molten image—an abomination to the LORD, the work of the hands of a craftsman—and sets it up in secret.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’
- 1 Samuel 17:36 Your servant has killed lions and bears; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the living God.”
- 2 Chronicles 6:6 But now I have chosen Jerusalem for My Name to be there, and I have chosen David to be over My people Israel.’
- 2 Chronicles 32:13 Do you not know what I and my fathers have done to all the peoples of the lands? Have the gods of these nations ever been able to deliver their land from my hand?
- Job 15:25 For he has stretched out his hand against God and has vaunted himself against the Almighty,
- Psalms 10:13 Why has the wicked man renounced God? He says to himself, “You will never call me to account.”
- Psalms 73:8 They mock and speak with malice; with arrogance they threaten oppression.