2 Chronicles 7:19

But if you turn away and forsake the statutes and commandments I have set before you, and if you go off to serve and worship other gods,

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — God addresses Solomon following His promise to uphold David’s royal throne, issuing a covenant warning during the temple dedication. The passage frames the conditional relationship between Israel’s obedience and the continuation of divine favor.

The words — The Hebrew תְּשׁוּבוּן (tešûḇûn) and עֲזַבְתֶּם (ʿăzavtem) carry the core action, translating literally as "you will turn away" and "you will forsake." These verbs introduce the conditional clause that precedes the stipulation regarding other gods.

The thread — This conditional structure matches the covenant warnings in Leviticus 26:14 and Deuteronomy 28:15, while Leviticus 26:33 records the resulting consequence of scattering rather than restating the condition. The progression moves from stipulation to judgment across the cited passages.

Why it lands — The text demands a direct choice between maintaining fidelity to the statutes God set before the people or facing exile and the loss of His sanctified presence. It requires readers to recognize that covenant continuity depends on sustained obedience, not merely initial commitment.

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

וְאִם־ve./'im-and/ if תְּשׁוּב֣וּןte.shu.Vu/nyou will turn away/ !אַתֶּ֔ם'a.Temyou וַעֲזַבְתֶּם֙va./'a.zav.Temand/ you will forsake חֻקּוֹתַ֣יchu.ko.Ta/istatutes/ my וּמִצְוֹתַ֔יu./mitz.vo.Ta/iand/ commandments/ my אֲשֶׁ֥ר'a.Sherwhich נָתַ֖תִּיna.Ta.tiI have set לִפְנֵיכֶ֑םli/f.nei./Khem<to>/ before/ you וַהֲלַכְתֶּ֗םva./ha.lakh.Temand/ you will go וַעֲבַדְתֶּם֙va./'a.vad.Temand/ you will serve אֱלֹהִ֣ים'E.lo.Himgods אֲחֵרִ֔ים'a.che.Rimother וְהִשְׁתַּחֲוִיתֶ֖םve./hish.ta.cha.vi.Temand/ you will bow downלָהֶֽם׃la./Hemto/ them

King James Version

But if ye turn away, and forsake my statutes and my commandments, which I have set before you, and shall go and serve other gods, and worship them;

Cross-references

Leviticus 26:14 If, however, you fail to obey Me and to carry out all these commandments,
Deuteronomy 28:15 If, however, you do not obey the LORD your God by carefully following all His commandments and statutes I am giving you today, all these curses will come upon you and overtake you:
Leviticus 26:33 But I will scatter you among the nations and will draw out a sword after you as your land becomes desolate and your cities are laid waste.
Deuteronomy 4:23 Be careful that you do not forget the covenant of the LORD your God that He made with you; do not make an idol for yourselves in the form of anything He has forbidden you.
Deuteronomy 28:36 The LORD will bring you and the king you appoint to a nation neither you nor your fathers have known, and there you will worship other gods—gods of wood and stone.
Joshua 23:15 But just as every good thing the LORD your God promised you has come to pass, likewise the LORD will bring upon you the calamity He has threatened, until He has destroyed you from this good land He has given you.
1 Samuel 12:25 But if you persist in doing evil, both you and your king will be swept away.”
1 Kings 9:6 But if indeed you or your sons turn away from following Me and do not keep the commandments and statutes I have set before you, and if you go off to serve and worship other gods,
1 Kings 11:4 For when Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and he was not wholeheartedly devoted to the LORD his God, as his father David had been.
1 Chronicles 28:9 As for you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father and serve Him wholeheartedly and with a willing mind, for the LORD searches every heart and understands the intent of every thought. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will reject you forever.