What Does 2 Chronicles 13:10 Mean?
But as for us, the LORD is our God, and we have not let go of him. The priests who attend the LORD are the sons of Aaron, and the Levites are at their work.
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
But as for us, the LORD is our God, and we have not forsaken him; and the priests, which minister unto the LORD, are the sons of Aaron, and the Levites wait upon their business:THE KEY
Belonging is not only named here; it is the bond that remains and the service that continues.
THE MEANING
You encounter a bond that is both named and lived: the LORD is your God, and you do not forsake him. The priests’ ministry and the Levites’ appointed work give that allegiance an ongoing shape, joining confession with service.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The verse undoes the belief that belonging is only a spoken claim with no continuing form: here allegiance includes both not abandoning the bond and carrying on its service.
THE ROOT
עֲזַבְנוּהוּ
azavnu-hu
GROWS FROM
עזב
ʿazav
To leave, leave behind, or abandon.
“let go of him” in this verse is azavnu-hu. The root עזב (ʿazav, leave or abandon) carries both the act of leaving and the abandoned state left behind. Saying “we have not forsaken him” describes a bond kept from breaking, not merely a name retained.
ALSO GROWS
ʿazuv: Abandoned; left behind.
עָזוּב
This branch names the state that follows leaving, sharpening what the verse says has not happened.
ʿazuvah: A forsaken one; abandoned.
עֲזֻבָּה
This form carries the same root into a description of someone left behind, giving the verse’s refusal to forsake a relational weight.
מְשָׁרְתִים
meshartim
GROWS FROM
שרת
sharat
To attend or serve.
“attend” in this verse is meshartim. The priests are described through the service they are carrying out. This root presents their role as continuing attendance, alongside the Levites’ continuing work.
ALSO GROWS
mesharet: One who serves or attends.
מְשָׁרֵת
The singular form makes clear that ministry describes an active role, not only a title.
sherut: Service; attendance.
שֵׁרוּת
This related noun keeps the focus on service itself, echoing the ongoing action in the verse.
THE PATTERN
A declared bond with God takes shape as steady service in the work entrusted to it.
And if it seems evil in your eyes to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served beyond the river, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you settle. As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.Do not hang back in eagerness. Burn in breath, serving the Lord.So then, my beloved brothers, be steady, unmoved, always overflowing in the work of the Lord, seeing that your toil is not empty in the Lord.THE THREAD
Hold fast and be firm. Do not fear, and do not quake before them. For the LORD your God is the one who walks with you. He will not release you, nor leave you.The root עזב (ʿazav, leave or abandon) appears in both verses: here, the people say they have not left God; there, God is said not to leave them. The shared word makes continued presence the center of the bond in both directions.
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