What Does 2 Chronicles 19:10 Mean in the King James?
And what cause soever shall come to you of your brethren that dwell in their cities, between blood and blood, between law and commandment, statutes and judgments, ye shall even warn them that they trespass not against the LORD, and so wrath come upon you, and upon your brethren: this do, and ye shall not trespass.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
The Hebrew root for “warn” also names shining: justice begins by bringing danger into view.
THE MEANING
When a conflict reaches you, it carries concrete stakes, blood, instruction, command, statute, and judgment. The passage makes warning part of justice itself: wrongdoing left unspoken can bring guilt upon both the people in dispute and those responsible for judging it. Clear warning brings the breach into view before its consequences spread.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
This undoes the belief that justice begins only after a verdict. Here, a judge’s silence can share in the guilt of the wrong left unaddressed.
THE ROOT
וְהִזְהַרְתֶּם
ve-hizhartem
GROWS FROM
ז־ה־ר
z-h-r
Shine or be radiant; in the Hiphil form, admonish or warn.
The verb וְהִזְהַרְתֶּם (ve-hizhartem, “you shall warn”) belongs to the same word-family as radiance in Daniel 12:3. The root makes admonition an act of illumination: danger brought into view can be answered before it becomes shared guilt.
ALSO GROWS
yazhiru: They will shine or radiate.
יַזְהִרוּ
Daniel 12:3 uses this form for shining, revealing the radiance carried in the root of “warn.”
zohar: Brightness or radiance.
זֹהַר
This branch appears in Daniel 12:3 beside the word for “shine,” opening the image of warning as making danger visible.
תּוֹרָה
torah
GROWS FROM
י־ר־ה
y-r-h
Throw or cast; in the Hiphil form, direct or instruct.
The word’s family carries the sense of directing or instructing, so instruction here gives a path for discernment amid conflict. The verse places that guidance alongside specific commands, statutes, and judgments.
ALSO GROWS
moreh: A teacher or instructor.
מוֹרֶה
This related word shows instruction as guidance offered by someone who directs another.
lehorot: To instruct or direct.
לְהוֹרוֹת
This verb makes the guiding action within torah audible: instruction points toward a course of judgment.
יֶאְשְׁמוּ
ye’ashmu
GROWS FROM
א־ש־ם
ʾ-sh-m
Be guilty or incur liability.
“trespass” in this verse is ye’ashmu. The verse repeats this root: first the disputants must not become guilty before the LORD, then the judges say they themselves must not become guilty. Liability is not located only in the person whose case is heard; failing to make the breach clear can implicate those judging it too.
ALSO GROWS
asham: Guilt or liability; also a guilt offering.
אָשָׁם
This noun ties the verse’s warning against guilt to the wider language of bearing or addressing liability.
ashmah: Guilt or culpability.
אַשְׁמָה
This related form underscores that the verse’s repeated verb concerns accountability shared across the judgment.
THE PATTERN
Justice protects a community when those who see danger make it visible before guilt and harm spread.
That innocent blood be not shed in thy land, which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance, and so blood be upon thee.When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand.Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears.THE THREAD
And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.Daniel uses the same root as 2 Chronicles for “shine” and “brightness,” opening another depth in the word for “warn.” Admonition is illumination: it makes danger visible while there is still room for the community to turn from it.
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