Bible Strands
2 Chronicles 35:21
But Neco sent messengers to him, saying, “What is the issue between you and me, O king of Judah? I have not come against you today, but I am fighting another dynasty, and God has told me to hurry. So stop opposing God, who is with me, or He will destroy you!”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Neco king of Egypt addresses Josiah king of Judah through dispatched messengers as his army marches toward Carchemish and Josiah rides out to intercept him.
The words — The Hebrew מַה־ (mah-) poses the literal question “what?” regarding the conflict, while מַלְאָכִים (mal'akim) identifies the messengers Neco sends to deliver his warning.
The thread — Neco’s assertion that God commanded his campaign aligns with the divine authorization motif in 2 Kings 18:25 and 2 Samuel 16:10, while Josiah’s refusal to heed the warning mirrors the prideful defiance documented in 2 Chronicles 25:19.
Why it lands — The text records Neco’s explicit warning and Josiah’s deliberate choice to ignore it, requiring the reader to confront the direct outcome of rejecting a divinely framed warning.
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 he sent ambassadors to him, saying, What have I to do with thee, thou king of Judah? I come not against thee this day, but against the house wherewith I have war: for God commanded me to make haste: forbear thee from meddling with God, who is with me, that he destroy thee not.
Cross-references
- 2 Kings 18:25 So now, was it apart from the LORD that I have come up against this place to destroy it? The LORD Himself said to me, ‘Go up against this land and destroy it.’”
- 2 Chronicles 25:19 You have said, ‘Look, I have defeated Edom,’ and your heart has become proud and boastful. Now stay at home. Why should you stir up trouble so that you fall—you and Judah with you?”
- 2 Samuel 16:10 But the king replied, “What have I to do with you, O sons of Zeruiah? If he curses me because the LORD told him, ‘Curse David,’ who can ask, ‘Why did you do this?’”
- Isaiah 36:10 So now, was it apart from the LORD that I have come up against this land to destroy it? The LORD Himself said to me, ‘Go up against this land and destroy it.’”
- Matthew 8:29 “What do You want with us, Son of God?” they shouted. “Have You come here to torture us before the appointed time?”
- John 2:4 “Woman, what is that to you and to Me?” Jesus replied. “My hour has not yet come.”