2 Chronicles 30:6 (KJV)

What does 2 Chronicles 30:6 mean?

2 Chronicles 30:6 records King Hezekiah’s appeal to people across Israel and Judah to come back to the LORD. His message promises that the LORD will return to those who survived Assyrian rule if they return to him.

The appeal comes in letters carried by “posts,” or royal messengers. The phrase “escaped out of the hand of the kings of Assyria” pictures survival from the power of Assyrian rulers, whose campaigns had devastated the northern kingdom of Israel. The message addresses survivors as “children of Israel,” linking them with Abraham, Isaac, and their ancestor Israel.

The Hebrew behind 2 Chronicles 30:6

• “posts” — רוּץ (ruts): The word refers to runners or couriers. In this verse, the “posts” are people carrying a royal message, not objects to which notices are attached.
• “turn again” — שׁוּב (shuv): The word carries the sense of turning back or returning. The same Hebrew word also stands behind “return” later in the verse, making the response of the people and the promised response of the LORD echo each other.

Why 2 Chronicles 30:6 matters

• The invitation reaches beyond Judah. The messengers go “throughout all Israel and Judah,” and the following verse addresses people whose ancestors had been unfaithful to the LORD (verse 7).
• The appeal is connected to a shared history. Calling the LORD the God of “Abraham, Isaac, and Israel” places the surviving people within the family history of their ancestors.
• The letters form part of an invitation to keep Passover in Jerusalem (verses 1–5). Passover was a feast remembering the Israelites’ departure from Egypt.