The Meaning of 2 Chronicles 36:17 Explained

2 Chronicles 36:17

KJV: Therefore he brought upon them the king of the Chaldees, who slew their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion upon young man or maiden, old man, or him that stooped for age: he gave them all into his hand.

YLT: And He causeth to go up against them the king of the Chaldeans, and he slayeth their chosen ones by the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and hath had no pity on young man and virgin, old man and very aged -- the whole He hath given into his hand.

Darby: And he brought up against them the king of the Chaldees, and slew their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and spared not young man nor maiden, old man nor him of hoary head: he gave them all into his hand.

ASV: Therefore he brought upon them the king of the Chaldeans, who slew their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion upon young man or virgin, old man or hoary-headed: he gave them all into his hand.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Therefore he brought  upon them the king  of the Chaldees,  who slew  their young men  with the sword  in the house  of their sanctuary,  and had no compassion  upon young man  or maiden,  old man,  or him that stooped for age:  he gave  [them] all into his hand. 

What does 2 Chronicles 36:17 Mean?

Context Summary

2 Chronicles 36:11-23 - Defeat And Exile
It is expressly stated in Ezekiel 17:13 that Nebuchadnezzar administered to Zedekiah an oath of fealty in the presence of Jehovah. Hence by his rebellion, he not only broke his promise to the king of Babylon, but profaned the name of God. It is in reference to this profanation of his oath that Zedekiah is addressed in Ezekiel 21:25, r.v., as "thou deadly wounded wicked one"¦ whose day is come."
It also appears from Ezekiel 8:1 that toward the close of this reign idolatrous rites of various kinds intruded upon the sacred precincts of the Temple. Hebrew women bewailed Tammuz; elders burned incense to the forms of beasts portrayed on the walls; and men, turning their backs on the sanctuary, worshiped the sun. There was no remedy but exile.
It had been distinctly predicted that if the Hebrew people disobeyed, their land should become a desolation, and their cities a waste, until the soil had enjoyed the rest which they had failed to give it. Compare Leviticus 25:4 with 26:34, 35. There was a point beyond which the divine judgment would not go. God loved the people whom he chastened; and since He hates putting away, the recreant nation, at the instigation of Cyrus, had one further opportunity of fulfilling their great mission to mankind.
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Chapter Summary: 2 Chronicles 36

1  Jehoahaz succeeding, is deposed by Pharaoh, and carried into Egypt
5  Jehoiakim reigning ill, is carried bound into Babylon
9  Jehoiachin succeeding, reigns ill, and is brought into Babylon
11  Zedekiah succeeding, reigns ill, despite the prophets, and rebels against Nebuchadnezzar
14  Jerusalem, for the sins of the priests and the people, is wholly destroyed
22  The proclamation of Cyrus

What do the individual words in 2 Chronicles 36:17 mean?

Therefore He brought against them - the king of Chaldeans the Chaldeans and who killed their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary and no had compassion on young man or virgin on the aged or the weak all He gave [them] into his hand
וַיַּ֨עַל עֲלֵיהֶ֜ם אֶת־ מֶ֣לֶךְ [כשדיים] (כַּשְׂדִּ֗ים) וַיַּהֲרֹ֨ג בַּחוּרֵיהֶ֤ם בַּחֶ֙רֶב֙ בְּבֵ֣ית מִקְדָּשָׁ֔ם וְלֹ֥א חָמַ֛ל עַל־ בָּח֥וּר וּבְתוּלָ֖ה זָקֵ֣ן וְיָשֵׁ֑שׁ הַכֹּ֖ל נָתַ֥ן בְּיָדֽוֹ

וַיַּ֨עַל  Therefore  He  brought 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Hifil, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: סָלַק 
Sense: to go up, ascend, climb.
עֲלֵיהֶ֜ם  against  them 
Parse: Preposition, third person masculine plural
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.
אֶת־  - 
Parse: Direct object marker
Root: אֹות 
Sense: sign of the definite direct object, not translated in English but generally preceding and indicating the accusative.
מֶ֣לֶךְ  the  king 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: מֶלֶךְ 
Sense: king.
[כשדיים]  of  Chaldeans 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine plural
(כַּשְׂדִּ֗ים)  the  Chaldeans 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine plural
Root: כַּשְׂדִּים  
Sense: a territory in lower Mesopotamia bordering on the Persian Gulf.
וַיַּהֲרֹ֨ג  and  who  killed 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: הָרַג  
Sense: to kill, slay, murder, destroy, murderer, slayer, out of hand.
בַּחוּרֵיהֶ֤ם  their  young  men 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct, third person masculine plural
Root: בָּחוּר 
Sense: youth, young man.
בַּחֶ֙רֶב֙  with  the  sword 
Parse: Preposition-b, Article, Noun, feminine singular
Root: חֶרֶב  
Sense: sword, knife.
בְּבֵ֣ית  in  the  house 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: בַּיִת 
Sense: house.
מִקְדָּשָׁ֔ם  of  their  sanctuary 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine plural
Root: מִקְדָּשׁ  
Sense: sacred place, sanctuary, holy place.
וְלֹ֥א  and  no 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Adverb, Negative particle
Root: הֲלֹא 
Sense: not, no.
חָמַ֛ל  had  compassion 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: חָמַל 
Sense: (Qal) to spare, pity, have compassion on.
בָּח֥וּר  young  man 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: בָּחוּר 
Sense: youth, young man.
וּבְתוּלָ֖ה  or  virgin 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, feminine singular
Root: בְּתוּלָה  
Sense: virgin.
זָקֵ֣ן  on  the  aged 
Parse: Adjective, masculine singular
Root: זָקֵן  
Sense: old.
וְיָשֵׁ֑שׁ  or  the  weak 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Adjective, masculine singular
Root: יָשֵׁשׁ  
Sense: aged, decrepit, feeble.
נָתַ֥ן  He  gave  [them] 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: יָתַן 
Sense: to give, put, set.
בְּיָדֽוֹ  into  his  hand 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, feminine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: יָד  
Sense: hand.