II Chronicles 6:23
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then may You hear from heaven and act. May You judge Your servants, condemning the wicked man by bringing down on his own head what he has done, and justifying the righteous man by rewarding him according to his righteousness.
Commentaries
Excerpts gathered from published commentaries to ground the reading.
The words with which Solomon celebrates this wondrous evidence of the divine favour, entirely coincide with the narrative in Kg1 8:12-21, except that in Ch2 6:5. the actual words of Solomon's speech are more completely given than in Kg1 8:16, where the words, "and I have not chosen a man to be prince over my people Israel, and I have chosen Jerusalem that my name might be there," are omitted. For the commentary on this address, see on Kg1 8:12-21.
Open source ↗The glory of the Lord, in the vehicle of a thick cloud, having filled the house which Solomon built, by which God manifested his presence there, he immediately improves the opportunity, and addresses God, as a God now, in a peculiar manner, nigh at hand. I. He makes a solemn declaration of his intention in building this house, to the satisfaction of the people and the honour of God, both of whom he blessed (Ch2 6:1-11). II. He makes a solemn prayer to God that he would please graciously to accept and answer all the prayers that should be made in, or towards, that house (v. 12-42). This whole chapter we had before, with very little variation (1 Kings 8:12-53), to which it may not be amiss here to look back.
Open source ↗Cross-references
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The soul who sins is the one who will die. A son will not bear the iniquity of his father, and a father will not bear the iniquity of his son. The righteousness of the righteous man will fall upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked man will fall upon him.
Acquitting the guilty and condemning the righteous— both are detestable to the LORD.
For a destroyer is coming against her— against Babylon. Her warriors will be captured, and their bows will be broken, for the LORD is a God of retribution; He will repay in full.
But You have regarded trouble and grief; You see to repay it by Your hand. The victim entrusts himself to You; You are the helper of the fatherless.
When he has made her drink the water, if she has defiled herself and been unfaithful to her husband, then the water that brings a curse will enter her and cause bitter suffering; her belly will swell, her thigh will shrivel, and she will become accursed among her people.
If there is a dispute between men, they are to go to court to be judged, so that the innocent may be acquitted and the guilty condemned.
‘As surely as I saw the blood of Naboth and the blood of his sons yesterday, declares the LORD, so will I repay you on this plot of ground, declares the LORD.’ Now then, according to the word of the LORD, pick him up and throw him on the plot of ground.”
So they will eat the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices.