Verse Lens · Concise explanation
2 Chronicles 21:14 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 14. 14Behold, with a great plague will the LORD smite thy people, and thy children, and thy wives, and all thy goods:
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: “Behold, with a great plague will the LORD smite thy people, and thy children, and thy wives, and….” Its responsible meaning belongs to the complete movement “Elijah's letter announces household and bodily disaster.”
A writing in Elijah's name lists the murders first
This verse is one part of that explanation in 2 Chronicles 21:12–15. The complete section carries the connected meaning and how it should shape life.
Read It With
- 2 Chronicles 21:12–15
Read 2 Chronicles 21:14 with 21:12–15. 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: A writing attributed to Elijah condemns Jehoram's unfaithfulness and murders and predicts blows against his people, household, goods, and bowels.
Why This Verse Appears Here
Within “Elijah's letter announces household and bodily disaster,” 2 Chronicles 21:14 advances the thought unit through its next action, speech, or consequence through the wording “Behold, with a great plague will the LORD smite thy people, and thy children, and thy wives, and….” Its placement is governed by this reviewed relationship: The letter names the murdered brothers yet also announces collective and bodily suffering that requires ethical scrutiny. 2 Chronicles 21:8–11 has just established this prior movement: Edom and Libnah revolt, Jehoram escapes a nighttime encirclement, and he builds high places that lead Judah astray. Together those details explain why “Elijah's letter announces household and bodily disaster” belongs here rather than merely following a database record.
Read 2 Chronicles 21:12–15 together
Why these verses belong together: 2 Chronicles 21:12–15 forms the complete movement “Elijah's letter announces household and bodily disaster”: A writing attributed to Elijah condemns Jehoram's unfaithfulness and murders and predicts blows against his people, household, goods, and bowels.
Verse 12. 12 And there came a writing to him from Elijah the prophet, saying, Thus saith the LORD God of David thy father, Because thou hast not walked in the ways of Jehoshaphat thy father, nor in the ways of Asa king of Judah,
Verse 13. 13 But hast walked in the way of the kings of Israel, and hast made Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to go a whoring, like to the whoredoms of the house of Ahab, and also hast slain thy brethren of thy father’s house, which were better than thyself:
Verse 14. 14 Behold, with a great plague will the LORD smite thy people, and thy children, and thy wives, and all thy goods:
Verse 15. 15 And thou shalt have great sickness by disease of thy bowels, until thy bowels fall out by reason of the sickness day by day.
What Remains True
Dynastic promise can persist through corrupt rulers, child danger, rescue, and violent transition without approving the people or methods through which survival occurs. This unit tests that truth through the narrated movement: A writing attributed to Elijah condemns Jehoram's unfaithfulness and murders and predicts blows against his people, household, goods, and bowels. In 2 Chronicles 21:14, the concrete line “Behold, with a great plague will the LORD smite thy people, and thy children, and thy wives, and…” keeps that truth accountable to the narrated evidence.
Continue in Context
Read the complete section for the connected explanation and how it should shape life. This verse is a doorway into that passage, not a saying that stands alone.
Read 2 Chronicles 21:12–15 — Elijah's letter announces household and bodily disasterSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? strong
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 21:12–15, 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 21:12–15
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 21:12–15, verse-attached translation and translator notes
Open source ↗