2 Chronicles 23:7
New International Version
The Levites are to station themselves around the king, each with weapon in hand. Anyone who enters the temple is to be put to death. Stay close to the king wherever he goes.”

New Living Translation
You Levites, form a bodyguard around the king and keep your weapons in hand. Kill anyone who tries to enter the Temple. Stay with the king wherever he goes.”

English Standard Version
The Levites shall surround the king, each with his weapons in his hand. And whoever enters the house shall be put to death. Be with the king when he comes in and when he goes out.”

Berean Standard Bible
The Levites must surround the king with weapons in hand, and anyone who enters the temple must be put to death. You must stay close to the king wherever he goes.”

King James Bible
And the Levites shall compass the king round about, every man with his weapons in his hand; and whosoever else cometh into the house, he shall be put to death: but be ye with the king when he cometh in, and when he goeth out.

New King James Version
And the Levites shall surround the king on all sides, every man with his weapons in his hand; and whoever comes into the house, let him be put to death. You are to be with the king when he comes in and when he goes out.”

New American Standard Bible
The Levites will surround the king, each man with his weapons in his hand; and whoever enters the house is to be put to death. Therefore be with the king when he comes in and when he goes out.”

NASB 1995
“The Levites will surround the king, each man with his weapons in his hand; and whoever enters the house, let him be killed. Thus be with the king when he comes in and when he goes out.”

NASB 1977
“And the Levites will surround the king, each man with his weapons in his hand; and whoever enters the house, let him be killed. Thus be with the king when he comes in and when he goes out.”

Legacy Standard Bible
And the Levites will surround the king, each man with his weapons in his hand; and whoever enters the house, let him be put to death. And be with the king when he comes in and when he goes out.”

Amplified Bible
The Levites shall surround the [young] king, every man with his weapons in his hand; and whoever comes into the temple [breaking through the ranks of the guard to get near Joash] is to be killed. You are to be with the king when he comes in [from the temple chamber where he is hiding] and when he goes out.”

Christian Standard Bible
The Levites are to completely surround the king with weapons in hand. Anyone who enters the temple is to be put to death. Accompany the king in all his daily tasks.”

Holman Christian Standard Bible
You must completely surround the king with weapons in hand. Anyone who enters the temple is to be put to death. You must be with the king in all his daily tasks.”

American Standard Version
And the Levites shall compass the king round about, every man with his weapons in his hand; and whosoever cometh into the house, let him be slain: and be ye with the king when he cometh in, and when he goeth out.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
And the Levites shall come out to the King as they surround him, each man, and the implements of his weapons in his hand, and he who will enter the inner house shall die; and be with the King in his coming in and in his going out.”

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And the Levites shall compass the king round about, every man's weapon in his hand; and whoever else goes into the house shall die: but they shall be with the king when he goes out, and when he comes in.

Contemporary English Version
You Levites must protect King Joash. Don't let him out of your sight! And keep your swords ready to kill anyone who comes into the temple.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And let the Levites be round about the king, every man with his arms; (and if any other come into the temple, let him be slain;) and let them be with the king, both coming in, and going out.

English Revised Version
And the Levites shall compass the king round about, every man with his weapons in his hand; and whosoever cometh into the house, let him be slain: and be ye with the king when he cometh in, and when he goeth out.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
The Levites should surround the king. Each man should have his weapon in his hand. Kill anyone who tries to come into the temple. Stay with the king wherever he goes."

Good News Translation
The Levites are to stand guard around the king, with their swords drawn, and are to stay with the king wherever he goes. Anyone who tries to enter the Temple is to be killed."

International Standard Version
The descendants of Levi will surround the king, brandishing weapons in their hands, and anybody who enters the Temple will be killed. Stay near the king wherever he enters and leaves."

JPS Tanakh 1917
And the Levites shall compass the king round about, every man with his weapons in his hand; and whosoever cometh into the house, let him be slain; and be ye with the king when he cometh in, and when he goeth out.'

Literal Standard Version
and the Levites have surrounded the king all around, each with his weapon in his hand, and he who has gone into the house is put to death; and be with the king in his coming in and in his going out.”

Majority Standard Bible
The Levites must surround the king with weapons in hand, and anyone who enters the temple must be put to death. You must stay close to the king wherever he goes.”

New American Bible
The Levites shall surround the king on all sides, each with drawn weapon. Whoever tries to enter the house is to be killed. Stay with the king wherever he goes.”

NET Bible
The Levites must surround the king. Each of you must hold his weapon in his hand. Whoever tries to enter the temple must be killed. You must accompany the king wherever he goes."

New Revised Standard Version
The Levites shall surround the king, each with his weapons in his hand; and whoever enters the house shall be killed. Stay with the king in his comings and goings.”

New Heart English Bible
The Levites shall surround the king, every man with his weapons in his hand. Whoever comes into the house, let him be slain. Be with the king when he comes in, and when he goes out."

Webster's Bible Translation
And the Levites shall encompass the king, every man with his weapons in his hand; and whoever else cometh into the house, he shall be put to death: but be ye with the king when he cometh in, and when he goeth out.

World English Bible
The Levites shall surround the king, every man with his weapons in his hand. Whoever comes into the house, let him be slain. Be with the king when he comes in and when he goes out.”

Young's Literal Translation
and the Levites have compassed the king round about, each with his weapon in his hand, and he who hath gone in unto the house is put to death; and be ye with the king in his coming in and in his going out.'

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Joash Anointed King in Judah
6No one is to enter the house of the LORD except the priests and those Levites who serve; they may enter because they are consecrated, but all the people are to obey the requirement of the LORD. 7The Levites must surround the king with weapons in hand, and anyone who enters the temple must be put to death. You must stay close to the king wherever he goes.” 8So the Levites and all Judah did everything that Jehoiada the priest had ordered. Each of them took his men—those coming on duty on the Sabbath and those going off duty—for Jehoiada the priest had not released any of the divisions.…

Cross References
2 Chronicles 23:6
No one is to enter the house of the LORD except the priests and those Levites who serve; they may enter because they are consecrated, but all the people are to obey the requirement of the LORD.

2 Chronicles 23:8
So the Levites and all Judah did everything that Jehoiada the priest had ordered. Each of them took his men--those coming on duty on the Sabbath and those going off duty--for Jehoiada the priest had not released any of the divisions.


Treasury of Scripture

And the Levites shall compass the king round about, every man with his weapons in his hand; and whoever else comes into the house, he shall be put to death: but be you with the king when he comes in, and when he goes out.

the Levites

2 Kings 11:8,9
And ye shall compass the king round about, every man with his weapons in his hand: and he that cometh within the ranges, let him be slain: and be ye with the king as he goeth out and as he cometh in…

whosoever

Exodus 19:12,13
And thou shalt set bounds unto the people round about, saying, Take heed to yourselves, that ye go not up into the mount, or touch the border of it: whosoever toucheth the mount shall be surely put to death: …

Exodus 21:14
But if a man come presumptuously upon his neighbour, to slay him with guile; thou shalt take him from mine altar, that he may die.

Numbers 3:10,38
And thou shalt appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall wait on their priest's office: and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death…

Jump to Previous
Circle Close Compass Death Encompass Enters Goes Hand House Killed Levites Round Slain Station Surround Temple Themselves Weapon Weapons Wherever
Jump to Next
Circle Close Compass Death Encompass Enters Goes Hand House Killed Levites Round Slain Station Surround Temple Themselves Weapon Weapons Wherever
2 Chronicles 23
1. Jehoiada, having set things in order, makes joash king
12. Athaliah is slain
16. Jehoiada restores the worship of God














(7) And the Levites shall compass.--Kings, "And ye (i.e., the centurions of the royal guard) shall compass." (See Note on 2Chronicles 23:4.) The chronicler characteristically dwells on the share of the Levites in the matter; but he does not expressly exclude the royal guard; and it is utterly unfair to allege that he has metamorphosed the guardsmen of Kings into Levites, "in order to divert to the priesthood the honour which properly belonged to the Praetorians" (Thenius). The truth may perhaps be that the high priest Jehoiada brought about a combination of the royal guard with the Levitical warders of the Temple; and that the united body acted under the command of the five centurions of the guard.

Cometh into the house.--2Kings 11:8 has, "into the ranks;" a rare word (sed?roth), occurring only four times, viz., in this narrative thrice, and once in 1Kings 6:8 (in a different sense).

But be ye.--So Kings. But some MSS. and the LXX., Vulg., Targ., and Arab. read here: "and let them (i.e., the Levites) be." (See Note on 2Kings 11:8.)

Verse 7. - And the Levites shall compass the king. The matter of ver. 8 in the parallel suggests nothing inconsistent with the express mention of the Levites here, but rather that the word "Levites" is desiderated there, and its significance perhaps accidentally overlooked, when the writer of Kings was using the original authorities and sources of his history.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
The Levites
הַלְוִיִּ֨ם (hal·wî·yim)
Article | Noun - proper - masculine plural
Strong's 3881: Levites -- descendant of Levi

must surround
וְהִקִּיפוּ֩ (wə·hiq·qî·p̄ū)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Hifil - Conjunctive perfect - third person common plural
Strong's 5362: To strike, to knock together, surround, circulate

the king
הַמֶּ֜לֶךְ (ham·me·leḵ)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 4428: A king

with weapons
וְכֵלָ֣יו (wə·ḵê·lāw)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine plural construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 3627: Something prepared, any apparatus

in hand,
בְּיָד֔וֹ (bə·yā·ḏōw)
Preposition-b | Noun - feminine singular construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 3027: A hand

and anyone who enters
וְהַבָּ֥א (wə·hab·bā)
Conjunctive waw, Article | Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine singular
Strong's 935: To come in, come, go in, go

the temple
הַבַּ֖יִת (hab·ba·yiṯ)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 1004: A house

must be put to death.
יוּמָ֑ת (yū·māṯ)
Verb - Hofal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 4191: To die, to kill

You must stay
וִֽהְי֥וּ (wih·yū)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Imperative - masculine plural
Strong's 1961: To fall out, come to pass, become, be

close
אֶת־ (’eṯ-)
Preposition
Strong's 854: Nearness, near, with, by, at, among

to the king
הַמֶּ֖לֶךְ (ham·me·leḵ)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 4428: A king

wherever he goes.”
בְּבֹא֥וֹ (bə·ḇō·’ōw)
Preposition-b | Verb - Qal - Infinitive construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 935: To come in, come, go in, go


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OT History: 2 Chronicles 23:7 The Levites shall surround the king every (2 Chron. 2Ch iiCh ii ch 2 chr 2chr)
2 Chronicles 23:6
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