2 Chronicles 27:1-9 King James Version (KJV)

1 Jotham was twenty and five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. His mother's name also was Jerushah, the daughter of Zadok.

2 And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father Uzziah did: howbeit he entered not into the temple of the LORD. And the people did yet corruptly.

3 He built the high gate of the house of the LORD, and on the wall of Ophel he built much.

4 Moreover he built cities in the mountains of Judah, and in the forests he built castles and towers.

5 He fought also with the king of the Ammonites, and prevailed against them. And the children of Ammon gave him the same year an hundred talents of silver, and ten thousand measures of wheat, and ten thousand of barley. So much did the children of Ammon pay unto him, both the second year, and the third.

6 So Jotham became mighty, because he prepared his ways before the LORD his God.

7 Now the rest of the acts of Jotham, and all his wars, and his ways, lo, they are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah.

8 He was five and twenty years old when he began to reign, and reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem.

9 And Jotham slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David: and Ahaz his son reigned in his stead.


2 Chronicles 27:1-9 King James Version with Strong's Concordance (STRONG)

1 Jotham H3147 was twenty H6242 and five H2568 years H8141 old H1121 when he began to reign, H4427 and he reigned H4427 sixteen H8337 H6240 years H8141 in Jerusalem. H3389 His mother's H517 name H8034 also was Jerushah, H3388 the daughter H1323 of Zadok. H6659

2 And he did H6213 that which was right H3477 in the sight H5869 of the LORD, H3068 according to all that his father H1 Uzziah H5818 did: H6213 howbeit he entered H935 not into the temple H1964 of the LORD. H3068 And the people H5971 did yet corruptly. H7843

3 He built H1129 the high H5945 gate H8179 of the house H1004 of the LORD, H3068 and on the wall H2346 of Ophel H6077 he built H1129 much. H7230

4 Moreover he built H1129 cities H5892 in the mountains H2022 of Judah, H3063 and in the forests H2793 he built H1129 castles H1003 and towers. H4026

5 He fought H3898 also with the king H4428 of the Ammonites, H5984 and prevailed H2388 against them. And the children H1121 of Ammon H5983 gave H5414 him the same year H8141 an hundred H3967 talents H3603 of silver, H3701 and ten H6235 thousand H505 measures H3734 of wheat, H2406 and ten H6235 thousand H505 of barley. H8184 So much did the children H1121 of Ammon H5983 pay H7725 unto H2063 him, both the second H8145 year, H8141 and the third. H7992

6 So Jotham H3147 became mighty, H2388 because he prepared H3559 his ways H1870 before H6440 the LORD H3068 his God. H430

7 Now the rest H3499 of the acts H1697 of Jotham, H3147 and all his wars, H4421 and his ways, H1870 lo, they are written H3789 in the book H5612 of the kings H4428 of Israel H3478 and Judah. H3063

8 He was five H2568 and twenty H6242 years H8141 old H1121 when he began to reign, H4427 and reigned H4427 sixteen H8337 H6240 years H8141 in Jerusalem. H3389

9 And Jotham H3147 slept H7901 with his fathers, H1 and they buried H6912 him in the city H5892 of David: H1732 and Ahaz H271 his son H1121 reigned H4427 in his stead.


2 Chronicles 27:1-9 American Standard (ASV)

1 Jotham was twenty and five years old when he began to reign; and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem: and his mother's name was Jerushah the daughter of Zadok.

2 And he did that which was right in the eyes of Jehovah, according to all that his father Uzziah had done: howbeit he entered not into the temple of Jehovah. And the people did yet corruptly.

3 He built the upper gate of the house of Jehovah, and on the wall of Ophel he built much.

4 Moreover he built cities in the hill-country of Judah, and in the forests he built castles and towers.

5 He fought also with the king of the children of Ammon, and prevailed against them. And the children of Ammon gave him the same year a hundred talents of silver, and ten thousand measures of wheat, and ten thousand of barley. So much did the children of Ammon render unto him, in the second year also, and in the third.

6 So Jotham became mighty, because he ordered his ways before Jehovah his God.

7 Now the rest of the acts of Jotham, and all his wars, and his ways, behold, they are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah.

8 He was five and twenty years old when he began to reign, and reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem.

9 And Jotham slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David: and Ahaz his son reigned in his stead.


2 Chronicles 27:1-9 Young's Literal Translation (YLT)

1 A son of twenty and five years `is' Jotham in his reigning, and sixteen years he hath reigned in Jerusalem, and the name of his mother `is' Jerushah daughter of Zadok.

2 And he doth that which is right in the eyes of Jehovah, according to all that Uzziah his father did; only, he hath not come in unto the temple of Jehovah; and again are the people doing corruptly.

3 He hath built the upper gate of the house of Jehovah, and in the wall of Ophel he hath built abundantly;

4 and cities he hath built in the hill-country of Judah, and in the forests he hath built palaces and towers.

5 And he hath fought with the king of the sons of Ammon, and prevaileth over them, and the sons of Ammon give to him in that year a hundred talents of silver, and ten thousand cors of wheat, and of barley ten thousand; this have the sons of Ammon returned to him both in the second year, and in the third.

6 And Jotham doth strengthen himself, for he hath prepared his ways before Jehovah his God.

7 And the rest of the matters of Jotham, and all his battles, and his ways, lo, they are written on the book of the kings of Israel and Judah.

8 A son of twenty and five years was he in his reigning, and sixteen years he hath reigned in Jerusalem;

9 and Jotham lieth with his fathers, and they bury him in the city of David, and reign doth Ahaz his son in his stead.


2 Chronicles 27:1-9 Darby English Bible (DARBY)

1 Jotham was twenty-five years old when he began to reign; and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem; and his mother's name was Jerushah, daughter of Zadok.

2 And he did what was right in the sight of Jehovah, according to all that his father Uzziah had done; only he entered not into the temple of Jehovah. And the people still acted corruptly.

3 It was he who built the upper gate of the house of Jehovah, and on the wall of Ophel he built much.

4 And he built cities in the hill-country of Judah, and in the forests he built castles and towers.

5 And he fought against the king of the children of Ammon, and overcame them. And the children of Ammon gave him the same year a hundred talents of silver, and ten thousand measures of wheat, and ten thousand of barley. This the children of Ammon brought again to him also in the second year, and in the third.

6 And Jotham became strong, for he prepared his ways before Jehovah his God.

7 And the rest of the acts of Jotham, and all his wars, and his ways, behold, they are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah.

8 He was twenty-five years old when he began to reign; and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem.

9 And Jotham slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David; and Ahaz his son reigned in his stead.


2 Chronicles 27:1-9 World English Bible (WEB)

1 Jotham was twenty-five years old when he began to reign; and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem: and his mother's name was Jerushah the daughter of Zadok.

2 He did that which was right in the eyes of Yahweh, according to all that his father Uzziah had done: however he didn't enter into the temple of Yahweh. The people did yet corruptly.

3 He built the upper gate of the house of Yahweh, and on the wall of Ophel he built much.

4 Moreover he built cities in the hill-country of Judah, and in the forests he built castles and towers.

5 He fought also with the king of the children of Ammon, and prevailed against them. The children of Ammon gave him the same year one hundred talents of silver, and ten thousand measures of wheat, and ten thousand of barley. So much did the children of Ammon render to him, in the second year also, and in the third.

6 So Jotham became mighty, because he ordered his ways before Yahweh his God.

7 Now the rest of the acts of Jotham, and all his wars, and his ways, behold, they are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah.

8 He was five and twenty years old when he began to reign, and reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem.

9 Jotham slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David: and Ahaz his son reigned in his place.


2 Chronicles 27:1-9 Bible in Basic English (BBE)

1 Jotham was twenty-five years old when he became king; and he was ruling in Jerusalem for sixteen years; and his mother's name was Jerushah, the daughter of Zadok.

2 He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, as his father Uzziah had done; but he did not go into the Temple of the Lord. And the people still went on in their evil ways.

3 He put up the higher doorway of the house of the Lord, and did much building on the wall of the Ophel.

4 In addition, he made towns in the hill-country of Judah, and strong buildings and towers in the woodlands.

5 He went to war with the king of the children of Ammon and overcame them. That year, the children of Ammon gave him a hundred talents of silver, and ten thousand measures of grain and ten thousand measures of barley. And the children of Ammon gave him the same amount the second year and the third.

6 So Jotham became strong, because in all his ways he made the Lord his guide.

7 Now the rest of the acts of Jotham, and all his wars and his ways, are recorded in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah.

8 He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he was ruling in Jerusalem for sixteen years.

9 And Jotham went to rest with his fathers, and they put his body into the earth in the town of David; and Ahaz his son became king in his place.

Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on 2 Chronicles 27

Commentary on 2 Chronicles 27 Matthew Henry Commentary


Chapter 27

Here is a very short account of the reign of Jotham, a pious prosperous prince, of whom one would wish to have known more: but we may better dispense with the brevity of his story because that which lengthened the history of the last three kings was their degeneracy in their latter end, of which we have had a faithful account; but there was no occasion for such a melancholy conclusion of the history of this reign, which is only an account,

  • I. Of the date and continuance of this reign (v. 1, 8).
  • II. The general good character of it (v. 2, 6).
  • III. The prosperity of it (v. 3-5).
  • IV. The period of it (v. 7, 9).

2Ch 27:1-9

There is not much more related here concerning Jotham than we had before, 2 Ki. 15:32, etc.

  • I. He reigned well. He did that which was right in the sight of the Lord; the course of his reign was good, and pleasing to God, whose favour he made his end, and his word his rule, and (which shows that he acted from a good principle) he prepared his ways before the Lord his God (v. 6), that is, he walked circumspectly and with much caution, contrived how to shun that which was evil and compass that which was good. He looked before him, and cast his affairs into such a posture and method as made the regular management of them the more easy. Or he established or fixed his ways before the Lord, that is, he walked steadily and constantly in the way of his duty, was uniform and resolute in it: not like some of those that went before him, who, though they had some good in them, lost their credit by their inconstancy and inconsistency with themselves. They had run well, but something hindered them. It was not so with Jotham. Two things are observed here in his character:-
    • 1. What was amiss in his father he amended in himself (v. 2): He did according to all that his father did well and wisely; howbeit he would not imitate him in which he did amiss; for he entered not into the temple of the Lord to burn incense as his father did, but took warning by his fate not to dare so presumptuous a thing. Note, We must not imitate the best men, and those we have the greatest veneration for, any further than they did well; but, on the contrary, their falls, and the injurious consequences of them, must be warnings to us to walk the more circumspectly, that we stumble not at the same stone that they stumbled at.
    • 2. What was amiss in his people he could not prevail to amend: The people did yet corruptly. Perhaps it reflects some blame upon him, that he was wanting in his part towards the reformation of the land. Men may be very good themselves, and yet not have courage and zeal to do what they might do towards the reforming of others. however it certainly reflects a great deal of blame upon the people, that they did not do what they might have done to improve the advantages of so good a reign: they had good instructions given them and a good example set before them, but they would not be reformed; so that even in the reign of their good kings, as well as in that of the bad ones, they were treasuring up wrath against the day of wrath; for they still did corruptly, and the founder melted in vain.
  • II. He prospered, and became truly reputable.
    • 1. He built. He began with the gate of the house of the Lord, which he repaired, beautified, and raised. He then fortified the wall of Ophel, and built cities in the mountains of Judah (v. 3, 4), took all possible care for the fortifying of his country and the replenishing of it.
    • 2. He conquered. He prevailed against the Ammonites, who had invaded Judah in Jehoshaphat's time, ch. 20:1. He triumphed over them, and exacted great contributions from them, v. 5. He became mighty (v. 6) in wealth and power, and influence upon the neighbouring nations, who courted his friendship and feared his displeasure; and this he got by preparing his ways before the Lord his God. The more stedfast we are in religion the more mighty we are both for the resistance of that which is evil and for the performance of that which is good.
  • III. He finished his course too soon, but finished it with honour. He had the unhappiness to die in the midst of his days; but, to balance that, the happiness not to out-live his reputation, as the last three of his predecessors did. He died when he was but forty-one years of age (v. 8); but his wars and his ways, his wars abroad and his ways at home, were so glorious that they were recorded in the book of the kings of Israel, as well as of the kings of Judah, v. 7. The last words of the chapter are the most melancholy, as they inform us that Ahaz his son, whose character, in all respects, was the reverse of his, reigned in his stead. When the wealth and power with which wise men have done good devolve upon fools, that will do hurt with them, it is a lamentation, and shall be for a lamentation.