What Does 2 Chronicles 33:5 Mean in the King James?
And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the LORD.
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 LORD’s courts can house an altar to another allegiance: sacred surroundings do not decide whom devotion serves.
THE MEANING
Altars for the whole host of heaven occupy both courts of the house of the LORD. A sacred setting does not by itself determine whom service and sacrifice are directed toward. The verse brings your own sacred spaces and loyalties into view.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The lie it undoes is that sacred surroundings guarantee undivided devotion.
THE ROOT
מִזְבְּחוֹת
mizbeḥot
GROWS FROM
זבח
z-b-ḥ
To slaughter or sacrifice.
“altars” in this verse is mizbeḥot. The word for altar grows from the language of slaughter and sacrifice: an altar is a place where something is handed over. The verse’s force is that this devotion is directed to the whole host of heaven inside the LORD’s courts.
ALSO GROWS
zevaḥ: Sacrifice; an offering made by slaughter.
זֶבַח
This branch makes explicit the offering implied by an altar and shows that worship involves giving something over.
zoveaḥ: One who sacrifices or slaughters.
זֹבֵחַ
This branch names the person performing the act, revealing that the altar is part of an active relationship of devotion.
צְבָא
tseva
GROWS FROM
צבא
ts-b-ʾ
An assembled host or army; the root also carries the sense of mustering or service.
The Hebrew word can carry the sense of an ordered host, and related usage can describe service. This adds a note of allegiance to the verse: the host of heaven is not just a spectacle above, but the recipient of service within the LORD’s courts.
ALSO GROWS
tsava: An army, host, or organized company.
צָבָא
This branch shows that “host” evokes an ordered assembly rather than a scattered multitude.
tsava: To muster or serve; in some contexts, to enter a term of service.
צָבָא
This branch brings the idea of service alongside the host, sharpening the verse’s picture of devotion directed to the heavens.
THE PATTERN
Worship’s allegiance is revealed by the one who receives its service and sacrifice, wherever the altar stands.
Thou shalt have no other gods before me.And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if the LORD be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word.Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord’s table, and of the table of devils.THE THREAD
And Elijah said unto all the people, Come near unto me. And all the people came near unto him. And he repaired the altar of the LORD that was broken down.The Hebrew word translated “altar” is מִזְבֵּחַ (mizbeach), from זבח (z-b-ḥ), “to sacrifice or slaughter,” in both verses. Here, altars for heaven’s host occupy the LORD’s courts; in Elijah’s scene, the LORD’s altar is repaired. The shared word makes the question concrete: an altar is marked by the offering and allegiance it serves.
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