The Meaning of 2 Chronicles 20:23 Explained

2 Chronicles 20:23

KJV: For the children of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of mount Seir, utterly to slay and destroy them: and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, every one helped to destroy another.

YLT: and the sons of Ammon stand up, and Moab, against the inhabitants of mount Seir, to devote and to destroy, and at their finishing with the inhabitants of Seir, they helped, a man against his neighbour, to destroy.

Darby: And the children of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of mount Seir, to exterminate and destroy them; and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, they helped to destroy one another.

ASV: For the children of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of mount Seir, utterly to slay and destroy them: and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, every one helped to destroy another.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

For the children  of Ammon  and Moab  stood up  against the inhabitants  of mount  Seir,  utterly to slay  and destroy  [them]: and when they had made an end  of the inhabitants  of Seir,  every one  helped  to destroy  another. 

What does 2 Chronicles 20:23 Mean?

Chapter Summary: 2 Chronicles 20

1  Jehoshaphat, invaded by Moab, proclaims a fast
5  His prayer
14  The prophecy of Jahaziel
20  Jehoshaphat exhorts the people, and sets singers to praise the Lord
22  The great overthrow of his enemies
26  The people, having blessed God at Berachah, return in triumph
31  Jehoshaphat's reign
35  His convoy of ships, according to the prophecy of Eliezer, unhappily perishes

What do the individual words in 2 Chronicles 20:23 mean?

For stood up the sons of Ammon and Moab against the inhabitants of Mount Seir to utterly kill and destroy [them] and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir they helped one another to destroy
וַ֠יַּֽעַמְדוּ בְּנֵ֨י עַמּ֧וֹן וּמוֹאָ֛ב עַל־ יֹשְׁבֵ֥י הַר־ שֵׂעִ֖יר לְהַחֲרִ֣ים וּלְהַשְׁמִ֑יד וּכְכַלּוֹתָם֙ בְּיוֹשְׁבֵ֣י שֵׂעִ֔יר עָזְר֥וּ אִישׁ־ בְּרֵעֵ֖הוּ לְמַשְׁחִֽית

וַ֠יַּֽעַמְדוּ  For  stood  up 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: עָמַד  
Sense: to stand, remain, endure, take one’s stand.
בְּנֵ֨י  the  sons 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: בֵּן 
Sense: son, grandson, child, member of a group.
עַמּ֧וֹן  of  Ammon 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: עַמֹּון  
Sense: a people dwelling in Transjordan descended from Lot through Ben-ammi.
וּמוֹאָ֛ב  and  Moab 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: מֹואָב 
Sense: a son of Lot by his eldest daughter.
עַל־  against 
Parse: Preposition
Root: עַל 
Sense: upon, on the ground of, according to, on account of, on behalf of, concerning, beside, in addition to, together with, beyond, above, over, by, on to, towards, to, against.
יֹשְׁבֵ֥י  the  inhabitants 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine plural construct
Root: יָשַׁב 
Sense: to dwell, remain, sit, abide.
הַר־  of  Mount 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: הַר  
Sense: hill, mountain, hill country, mount.
שֵׂעִ֖יר  Seir 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: שֵׂעִיר 
Sense: patriarch of the Horites, the inhabitants of Edom before the descendants of Esau, the Edomites.
לְהַחֲרִ֣ים  to  utterly  kill 
Parse: Preposition-l, Verb, Hifil, Infinitive construct
Root: חָרַם 
Sense: to ban, devote, destroy utterly, completely destroy, dedicate for destruction, exterminate.
וּלְהַשְׁמִ֑יד  and  destroy  [them] 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition-l, Verb, Hifil, Infinitive construct
Root: שָׁמַד  
Sense: to destroy, exterminate, be destroyed, be exterminated.
וּכְכַלּוֹתָם֙  and  when  they  had  made  an  end 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition-k, Verb, Piel, Infinitive construct, third person masculine plural
Root: כָּלָה  
Sense: to accomplish, cease, consume, determine, end, fail, finish, be complete, be accomplished, be ended, be at an end, be finished, be spent.
בְּיוֹשְׁבֵ֣י  of  the  inhabitants 
Parse: Preposition-b, Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine plural construct
Root: יָשַׁב 
Sense: to dwell, remain, sit, abide.
שֵׂעִ֔יר  of  Seir 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: שֵׂעִיר 
Sense: patriarch of the Horites, the inhabitants of Edom before the descendants of Esau, the Edomites.
עָזְר֥וּ  they  helped 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: עָזַר  
Sense: to help, succour, support.
אִישׁ־  one 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: אִישׁ 
Sense: man.
בְּרֵעֵ֖הוּ  another 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: רֵעַ  
Sense: friend, companion, fellow, another person.
לְמַשְׁחִֽית  to  destroy 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, masculine singular
Root: מַשְׁחִית  
Sense: ruin, destruction.