Verse Lens · Expanded explanation
2 Chronicles 28:6 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 6. 6For Pekah the son of Remaliah slew in Judah an hundred and twenty thousand in one day, which were all valiant men; because they had forsaken the LORD God of their fathers.
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 Pekah the son of Remaliah slew in Judah an hundred and twenty thousand in one day, which….” Its responsible meaning belongs to the complete movement “Ahaz's apostasy brings devastating defeats.”
Read It With
- 2 Chronicles 28:1–8
Read 2 Chronicles 28:6 with 28:1–8. 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: Ahaz makes images, burns children in the Hinnom valley, sacrifices widely, and suffers defeats by Aram and Israel that produce captives and an enormous Judahite death toll.
Why This Verse Appears Here
Within “Ahaz's apostasy brings devastating defeats,” 2 Chronicles 28:6 advances the thought unit through its next action, speech, or consequence through the wording “For Pekah the son of Remaliah slew in Judah an hundred and twenty thousand in one day, which….” Its placement is governed by this reviewed relationship: The narrative reverses Jotham's ordered way and makes children, soldiers, families, and captives bear the cost of royal and national failure. 2 Chronicles 27:7–9 has just established this prior movement: The narrator cites further acts and wars, sums Jotham's sixteen-year reign, and records his burial in David's city before Ahaz succeeds. Together those details explain why “Ahaz's apostasy brings devastating defeats” belongs here rather than merely following a database record.
Read 2 Chronicles 28:1–8 together
Why these verses belong together: 2 Chronicles 28:1–8 forms the complete movement “Ahaz's apostasy brings devastating defeats”: Ahaz makes images, burns children in the Hinnom valley, sacrifices widely, and suffers defeats by Aram and Israel that produce captives and an enormous Judahite death toll.
Verse 1. 1 Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem: but he did not that which was right in the sight of the LORD, like David his father:
Verse 2. 2 For he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, and made also molten images for Baalim.
Verse 3. 3 Moreover he burnt incense in the valley of the son of Hinnom, and burnt his children in the fire, after the abominations of the heathen whom the LORD had cast out before the children of Israel.
Verse 4. 4 He sacrificed also and burnt incense in the high places, and on the hills, and under every green tree.
Verse 5. 5 Wherefore the LORD his God delivered him into the hand of the king of Syria; and they smote him, and carried away a great multitude of them captives, and brought them to Damascus. And he was also delivered into the hand of the king of Israel, who smote him with a great slaughter.
Verse 6. 6 For Pekah the son of Remaliah slew in Judah an hundred and twenty thousand in one day, which were all valiant men; because they had forsaken the LORD God of their fathers.
Verse 7. 7 And Zichri, a mighty man of Ephraim, slew Maaseiah the king’s son, and Azrikam the governor of the house, and Elkanah that was next to the king.
Verse 8. 8 And the children of Israel carried away captive of their brethren two hundred thousand, women, sons, and daughters, and took also away much spoil from them, and brought the spoil to Samaria.
Follow the Context
- Ahaz makes images, burns children in the Hinnom valley, sacrifices widely, and suffers defeats by Aram and Israel that produce captives and an enormous Judahite death toll.
- The narrative reverses Jotham's ordered way and makes children, soldiers, families, and captives bear the cost of royal and national failure.
What This Verse Is Not Saying
2 Chronicles 28:6 does not permit the wording “For Pekah the son of Remaliah slew in Judah an hundred and twenty thousand in one day, which…” to be read apart from the selected verse's context. The account does not authorize child sacrifice, collective blame, antisemitism, ethnic hatred of Arameans or northern Israelites, or the claim that defeated people deserve violence.
What Remains True
Reform joins worship, generosity, welcome, administration, practical preparation, prayer, humility, and truthful limits; neither prosperity nor deliverance proves permanent immunity. This unit tests that truth through the narrated movement: Ahaz makes images, burns children in the Hinnom valley, sacrifices widely, and suffers defeats by Aram and Israel that produce captives and an enormous Judahite death toll. In 2 Chronicles 28:6, the concrete line “For Pekah the son of Remaliah slew in Judah an hundred and twenty thousand in one day, which…” keeps that truth accountable to the narrated evidence.
How It Can Shape Life
- The evidence to keep visible in this verse is “For Pekah the son of Remaliah slew in Judah an hundred and twenty thousand in one day, which….” Pair worship and prayer with safe facilities, inclusive teaching, transparent distribution, verified crisis preparation, truthful communication, and humility after success. This response follows from the unit's own movement: Ahaz makes images, burns children in the Hinnom valley, sacrifices widely, and suffers defeats by Aram and Israel that produce captives and an enormous Judahite death toll.
Teach It Back
Explain why 2 Chronicles 28:6 states Pekah's enormous one-day killing of Judahite warriors. Use 28:1–8, paraphrase “For Pekah the son of Remaliah slew in Judah an hundred and twenty thousand in one day, which…,” 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 28:1–8 — Ahaz's apostasy brings devastating defeatsSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? probable
Where care is needed
The battle totals and direct retribution language are rhetorically intense; they should not become universal explanations of war casualties.
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 28:1–8, 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 28:1–8
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 28:1–8, verse-attached translation and translator notes
Open source ↗