12 And there cometh in unto him a writing from Elijah the prophet, saying, `Thus said Jehovah, God of David thy father, Because that thou hast not walked in the ways of Jehoshaphat thy father, and in the ways of Asa king of Judah,
And Asa doth that which is good, and that which is right, in the eyes of Jehovah his God, and turneth aside the altars of the stranger, and the high places, and breaketh the standing-pillars, and cutteth down the shrines, and saith to Judah to seek Jehovah, God of their fathers, and to do the law and the command; and he turneth aside out of all cities of Judah the high places and the images, and the kingdom is quiet before him.
And Jehovah is with Jehoshaphat, for he hath walked in the first ways of David his father, and hath not sought to Baalim, for to the God of his father he hath sought, and in His commands he hath walked, and not according to the work of Israel.
And he walketh in all the way of Asa his father, he hath not turned aside from it, to do that which `is' right in the eyes of Jehovah; only the high places have not turned aside, yet are the people sacrificing and making perfume in high places.
And it cometh to pass, at Jehovah's taking up Elijah in a whirlwind to the heavens, that Elijah goeth, and Elisha, from Gilgal,
`Take to thee a roll of a book, and thou hast written on it all the words that I have spoken unto thee concerning Israel, and concerning Judah, and concerning all the nations, from the day I spake unto thee, from the days of Josiah, even unto this day;
and it cometh to pass, when Jehudi readeth three or four leaves, he cutteth it out with the scribe's knife, and hath cast unto the fire, that `is' on the stove, till the consumption of all the roll by the fire that `is' on the stove.
`Turn, take to thee another roll, and write on it all the former words that were on the first roll, that Jehoiakim king of Judah burnt, and unto Jehoiakim king of Judah thou dost say: Thus said Jehovah, Thou hast burnt this roll, saying, Wherefore hast thou written on it, saying, The king of Babylon surely cometh in, and hath destroyed this land, and caused to cease from it man and beast? `Therefore, thus said Jehovah, concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah: He hath none sitting on the throne of David, and his carcase is cast out to heat by day, and to cold by night; and I have charged on him, and on his seed, and on his servants, their iniquity; and I have brought in on them, and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and unto the men of Judah, all the evil that I have spoken unto them, and they hearkened not.' And Jeremiah hath taken another roll, and giveth it unto Baruch son of Neriah the scribe, and he writeth on it from the mouth of Jeremiah all the words of the book that Jehoiakim king of Judah hath burnt in the fire; and again there were added unto them many words like these.
In that hour come forth have fingers of a man's hand, and they are writing over-against the candlestick, on the plaster of the wall of the king's palace: and the king is seeing the extremity of the hand that is writing;
and this `is' the writing that is noted down: Numbered, Numbered, Weighed, and Divided. This `is' the interpretation of the thing: Numbered -- God hath numbered thy kingdom, and hath finished it. Weighed -- Thou art weighed in the balances, and hast been found lacking. Divided -- Divided is thy kingdom, and it hath been given to the Medes and Persians.' Then hath Belshazzar said, and they have clothed Daniel with purple, and a bracelet of gold `is' on his neck, and they have proclaimed concerning him that he is the third ruler in the kingdom.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on 2 Chronicles 21
Commentary on 2 Chronicles 21 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 21
Never surely did any kingdom change its king so much for the worse as Judah did, when Jehoram, one of the vilest, succeeded Jehoshaphat, one of the best. Thus were they punished for not making a better use of Jehoshaphat's good government, and their disaffectedness (or coldness at least) to his reformation, ch. 20:33. Those that knew not now to value a good king are justly plagued with a bad one. Here is,
2Ch 21:1-11
We find here,
2Ch 21:12-20
Here we have,