Now hear me therefore, and deliver the captives again, which ye have taken captive of your brethren: for the fierce wrath of the LORD is upon you.

2 CHRONICLES 28:11KJV
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2 Chronicles 28:11 (KJV)

What does 2 Chronicles 28:11 mean?

2 Chronicles 28:11 is a warning to the people of Israel to release the captives they have taken from their fellow Israelites, because God’s anger is against them for what they have done. The verse urges them to listen and act quickly to avoid further judgment from the LORD.

In this scene, a prophet is speaking to the leaders of Israel after they have captured people from Judah during a conflict. The prophet tells them that keeping their own relatives as prisoners is wrong and has brought about the fierce wrath of the LORD (H3068) against them. The message is direct: they must return the captives (H7633) to avoid even greater consequences.

The Hebrew behind 2 Chronicles 28:11

  • "Deliver" (שׁוּב, shuv, H7725) means to return or restore. The prophet is not just asking for release, but for the captives to be brought back to their homes, emphasizing restoration and making things right.
  • "Captives" (שְׁבִי, shevi, H7633) and "captive" (שָׁבָה, shavah, H7617) both refer to people taken by force in war. The use of both words highlights the seriousness of taking their own brethren (אח, ach, H251) as prisoners, stressing the family relationship and the betrayal involved.
  • "Fierce" (חָרוֹן, charon, H2740) and "wrath" (אַף, aph, H639) together describe an intense, burning anger. This pairing shows that the LORD’s response is not mild but deeply provoked by their actions.

Why 2 Chronicles 28:11 matters

  • This verse clarifies that God holds His people accountable for how they treat each other, especially when they harm their own kin.
  • The warning about the LORD’s fierce wrath connects to the larger theme in Chronicles that God’s judgment is real and immediate when His people act unjustly.
  • The call to restore the captives shows that repentance is not just about feeling sorry but about taking concrete steps to correct wrongs.

Where else these words appear

“captives” Hebrew H7633 · used in 9 verses

  • Deuteronomy 21:11 And seest among the captives a beautiful woman, and hast a desire unto her, that thou wouldest have her to thy wife;
  • 2 Chronicles 28:5 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.
  • 2 Chronicles 28:15 And the men which were expressed by name rose up, and took the captives, and with the spoil clothed all that were naked among them, and arrayed them, and shod them, and gave them to eat and to drink, and anointed them, and carried all the feeble of them upon asses, and brought them to Jericho, the city of palm trees, to their brethren: then they returned to Samaria.

“fierce” Hebrew H2740 · used in 40 verses

  • Exodus 15:7 And in the greatness of thine excellency thou hast overthrown them that rose up against thee: thou sentest forth thy wrath, which consumed them as stubble.
  • Job 20:23 When he is about to fill his belly, God shall cast the fury of his wrath upon him, and shall rain it upon him while he is eating.
  • Jeremiah 25:38 He hath forsaken his covert, as the lion: for their land is desolate because of the fierceness of the oppressor, and because of his fierce anger.

“captive” Hebrew H7617 · used in 42 verses

  • Genesis 14:14 And when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his trained servants, born in his own house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued them unto Dan.
  • 1 Kings 8:47 Yet if they shall bethink themselves in the land whither they were carried captives, and repent, and make supplication unto thee in the land of them that carried them captives, saying, We have sinned, and have done perversely, we have committed wickedness;
  • 2 Chronicles 28:17 For again the Edomites had come and smitten Judah, and carried away captives.