2 Chronicles 15:3 (DBY)

Passage

Now for a long while Israel [was] without the true God, and without a teaching priest, and without law;

Nearby Context

2 Chronicles 15:1 And the Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded.

2 Chronicles 15:2 And he went out to meet Asa, and said to him, Hear ye me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin: Jehovah is with you while ye are with him; and if ye seek him he will be found of you, but if ye forsake him he will forsake you.

2 Chronicles 15:3 Now for a long while Israel [was] without the true God, and without a teaching priest, and without law;

2 Chronicles 15:4 but in their trouble they turned to Jehovah the God of Israel, and sought him, and he was found of them.

2 Chronicles 15:5 And in those times there [was] no peace to him that went out nor to him that came in, but great disturbances were amongst all the inhabitants of the countries.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "long", "israel", "without", "true", "teaching", and "priest". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "long" and "israel", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 2's "And he went out to meet Asa..." into verse 4's "but in their trouble they turned to...", so "long" and "israel" belong inside that flow. In 2 Chronicles context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "long" and "israel" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.