2 Chronicles 16:9

God's presence Strength and help in weakness Faithfulness and loyalty Faith

⁷ At that time Hanani the seer came to King Asa of Judah and told him, “Because you have relied on the king of Aram and not on the LORD your God, the army of the king of Aram has escaped from your hand.

⁸ Were not the Cushites and Libyans a vast army with many chariots and horsemen? Yet because you relied on the LORD, He delivered them into your hand.

For the eyes of the LORD roam to and fro over all the earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose hearts are fully devoted to Him. You have acted foolishly in this matter. From now on, therefore, you will be at war.”

¹⁰ Asa was angry with the seer and became so enraged over this matter that he put the man in prison. And at the same time Asa oppressed some of the people.

¹¹ Now the rest of the acts of Asa, from beginning to end, are indeed written in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel.

Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.

Compare

BSB: For the eyes of the LORD roam to and fro over all the earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose hearts are fully devoted to Him. You have acted foolishly in this matter. From now on, therefore, you will be at war.”
KJV: For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him. Herein thou hast done foolishly: therefore from henceforth thou shalt have wars.
WEB: For the LORD’s eyes run back and forth throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him. You have done foolishly in this; for from now on you will have wars.”
ASV: For the eyes of Jehovah run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him. Herein thou hast done foolishly; for from henceforth thou shalt have wars.
DARBY: For the eyes of Jehovah run to and fro through the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of those whose heart is perfect toward him. Herein thou hast done foolishly; for from henceforth thou shalt have wars.
BLB: For YHWH—His eyes go to and fro in all the earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart [is] perfect to Him. You have acted foolishly regarding this; therefore from now on there will be wars with you.”

ÅB: For Herrens øyne farer over all jorden for at han med sin kraft kan støtte dem hvis hjerte er helt med ham. Du har båret deg uforstandig at i dette; for fra nå av skal du alltid ha krig.
OTB: For Herrens øyne farer over hele jorden for å styrke dem som helhjertet holder seg til ham. Du har handlet uklokt i dette; fra nå av vil du møte kriger."
B1930: For Herrens øine farer over all jorden forat han med sin kraft kan støtte dem hvis hjerte er helt med ham. Du har båret dig uforstandig at i dette; for fra nu av skal du alltid ha krig.

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

1 Peter 3:12
For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are inclined to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”
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Proverbs 15:3
The eyes of the LORD are in every place, observing the evil and the good.
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Jeremiah 16:17
For My eyes are on all their ways. They are not hidden from My face, and their guilt is not concealed from My eyes.
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Proverbs 5:21
For a man’s ways are before the eyes of the LORD, and the LORD examines all his paths.
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Psalms 34:15
The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, and His ears are inclined to their cry.
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Job 34:21
For His eyes are on the ways of a man, and He sees his every step.
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Hebrews 4:13
Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight; everything is uncovered and exposed before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.
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Zechariah 4:10
For who has despised the day of small things? But these seven eyes of the LORD, which scan the whole earth, will rejoice when they see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel.”
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