2 Chronicles 7:19-20

7:19 “But if you people ¹  ever turn away from me, fail to obey the regulations and rules I instructed you to keep, ²  and decide to serve and worship other gods, ³  7:20 then I will remove you ⁴  from my land I have given you, ⁵  I will abandon this temple I have consecrated with my presence, ⁶  and I will make you ⁷  an object of mockery and ridicule ⁸  among all the nations.

[7:19]  ¹ tn The Hebrew pronoun is plural, suggesting that Solomon and all Israel (or perhaps Solomon and his successors) are in view. To convey this to the English reader, the translation “you people” has been employed.

[7:19]  ² tn Heb “which I placed before you.”

[7:19]  ³ tn Heb “and walk and serve other gods and bow down to them.”

[7:20]  ⁴ tn Heb “them.” The switch from the second to the third person pronoun is rhetorically effective, for it mirrors God’s rejection of his people – he has stopped addressing them as “you” and begun addressing them as “them.” However, the switch is awkward and confusing in English, so the translation maintains the direct address style.

[7:20]  ⁵ tn Heb “them.” See the note on “you” earlier in this verse.

[7:20]  ⁶ tc Instead of “I will throw away,” the parallel text in 1 Kgs 9:7 has “I will send away.” The two verbs sound very similar in Hebrew, so the discrepancy is likely due to an oral transmissional error.

[7:20]  ⁷ tn Heb “him,” which appears in context to refer to Israel (i.e., “you” in direct address). Many translations understand the direct object of the verb “make” to be the temple (NEB, NASB, NIV, NRSV “it”).

[7:20]  ⁸ tn Heb “and I will make him [i.e., Israel] a proverb and a taunt,” that is, a proverbial example of destruction and an object of reproach.