2 Chronicles
Old Testament · translated from the Hebrew
From Solomon to the exile, looking above all at Judah and the temple: YHWH blesses the kings who seek him and punishes those who abandon him. It ends with the decree of Cyrus that allows the return.
How it is laid out
Key verses
- 2 Chronicles 7:14 — If my people humble themselves and pray, I will hear from the heavens
- 2 Chronicles 16:9 — The eyes of YHWH range through all the earth
- 2 Chronicles 20:15 — The war is not yours, but Elohim’s
Who wrote it
The book does not say who wrote it. In Hebrew it formed one book with 1 Chronicles. Jewish tradition attributes it to Ezra (Babylonian Talmud, Bava Batra 15a). Authorship is debated.
When it was written
After the return from exile, probably between 450 and 400 BC; it already knows the decree of Cyrus (36:22–23), from around 538 BC.
For whom, and in what situation
Those who had returned from exile. The book shows them how YHWH dealt with the kings who sought him or abandoned him, and ends with permission to go back and rebuild (36:23).
All the books
GenesisExodusLeviticusNumbersDeuteronomyJoshuaJudgesRuth1 Samuel2 Samuel1 Kings2 Kings1 Chronicles2 ChroniclesEzraNehemiahEstherJobPsalmsProverbsEcclesiastesSong of SongsIsaiahJeremiahLamentationsEzekielDanielHoseaJoelAmosObadiahJonahMicahNahumHabakkukZephaniahHaggaiZechariahMalachiMatthewMarkLukeJohnActsRomans1 Corinthians2 CorinthiansGalatiansEphesiansPhilippiansColossians1 Thessalonians2 Thessalonians1 Timothy2 TimothyTitusPhilemonHebrewsJames1 Peter2 Peter1 John2 John3 JohnJudeRevelation