Verse Lens · Expanded explanation
2 Chronicles 16:9 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 9. 9For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him. Herein thou hast done foolishly: therefore from henceforth thou shalt have wars.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
This verse advances the thought unit through its next action, speech, or consequence: “For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong….” Its responsible meaning belongs to the complete movement “Hanani rebukes Asa, who imprisons him and oppresses others.”
Read It With
- 2 Chronicles 16:7–10
Read 2 Chronicles 16:9 with 16:7–10. The selected wording supplies one step in the thought unit through its next action, speech, or consequence; the surrounding verses supply the causes, responses, and outcome summarized here: Hanani says Asa relied on Aram rather than God, recalls the earlier deliverance, announces wars, and is imprisoned as Asa crushes some of the people.
Why This Verse Appears Here
Within “Hanani rebukes Asa, who imprisons him and oppresses others,” 2 Chronicles 16:9 advances the thought unit through its next action, speech, or consequence through the wording “For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong….” Its placement is governed by this reviewed relationship: The Chronicler refuses to let military success silence prophetic criticism or hide retaliatory abuse. Hanani contrasts Asa's earlier dependence in crisis with his purchased Aramean alliance, and Asa's imprisonment of the seer turns policy failure into repression.
Read 2 Chronicles 16:7–10 together
Why these verses belong together: 2 Chronicles 16:7–10 forms the complete movement “Hanani rebukes Asa, who imprisons him and oppresses others”: Hanani says Asa relied on Aram rather than God, recalls the earlier deliverance, announces wars, and is imprisoned as Asa crushes some of the people.
Verse 7. 7 And at that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah, and said unto him, Because thou hast relied on the king of Syria, and not relied on the LORD thy God, therefore is the host of the king of Syria escaped out of thine hand.
Verse 8. 8 Were not the Ethiopians and the Lubims a huge host, with very many chariots and horsemen? yet, because thou didst rely on the LORD, he delivered them into thine hand.
Verse 9. 9 For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him. Herein thou hast done foolishly: therefore from henceforth thou shalt have wars.
Verse 10. 10 Then Asa was wroth with the seer, and put him in a prison house; for he was in a rage with him because of this thing. And Asa oppressed some of the people the same time.
Follow the Context
- Hanani says Asa relied on Aram rather than God, recalls the earlier deliverance, announces wars, and is imprisoned as Asa crushes some of the people.
- The Chronicler refuses to let military success silence prophetic criticism or hide retaliatory abuse.
What This Verse Is Not Saying
2 Chronicles 16:9 does not permit the wording “For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong…” to be read apart from the selected verse's context. The rebuke does not ban prudent diplomacy, but no leader may punish truth-tellers or vulnerable people and call coercion spiritual strength.
What Remains True
Reform, prayer, victory, and prosperity never remove the need to hear correction, protect dissenters, reject coercion, and respond responsibly to illness and failure. This unit tests that truth through the narrated movement: Hanani says Asa relied on Aram rather than God, recalls the earlier deliverance, announces wars, and is imprisoned as Asa crushes some of the people. In 2 Chronicles 16:9, the concrete line “For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong…” keeps that truth accountable to the narrated evidence.
How It Can Shape Life
- The evidence to keep visible in this verse is “For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong….” Test reform and success by truthfulness, noncoercion, protection of critics, and responsible care; do not turn victory, wealth, or illness into a formula about someone's faith. This response follows from the unit's own movement: Hanani says Asa relied on Aram rather than God, recalls the earlier deliverance, announces wars, and is imprisoned as Asa crushes some of the people.
Teach It Back
Explain why 2 Chronicles 16:9 turns divine searching into a charge of folly and future war. Use 16:7–10, paraphrase “For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong…,” state one source or reconstruction limit, identify one person or group power can obscure, and reject one conclusion this verse does not authorize.
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Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read 2 Chronicles 16:7–10 — Hanani rebukes Asa, who imprisons him and oppresses othersSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? probable
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact KJV wording, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage for this thought unit.
Exact location: 2 Chronicles 16:7–10, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: 2 Chronicles
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Hebrew wording, morphology, names, clauses, regnal formulas, temple vocabulary, older-English controls, and translation limits.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/2Chr.xml, Masoretic words and morphology for 16:7–10
Open source ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible Full Notes: 2 Chronicles
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press; STEP Bible presentation, 2019 edition; current web presentation
Supports: Unit-bounded translation comparisons and only those lexical, textual, grammatical, numerical, historical, and parallel-passage notes attached to these verses.
Exact location: STEP Bible NET2full, 2 Chronicles 16:7–10, verse-attached translation and translator notes
Open source ↗