---
title: 2 Chronicles 35:21
url: https://jw-apologetics.app/verses/2-chronicles-35-21/
markdown: https://jw-apologetics.app/verses/2-chronicles-35-21.md
type: verse
perspective: Protestant (historic Nicene) response to Jehovah's Witness teaching
reference: 2 Chronicles 35:21
testament: OT
section: History
index: https://jw-apologetics.app/llms.txt
---

# 2 Chronicles 35:21

## Text (Berean Standard Bible)

> But Neco sent messengers to him, saying, “What is the issue between you and me, O king of Judah? I have not come against you today, but I am fighting another dynasty. God told me to hurry; so stop opposing God, who is with me, or He will destroy you!”

## JW Usage

JWs rarely cite 2 Chronicles 35:21 directly — it is not a Watchtower proof-text in its own right. The verse surfaces in apologetic discussions as a Hebrew-idiom parallel: Neco of Egypt sends messengers to Josiah saying, "What is the issue between you and me, O king of Judah?" The Watchtower framework treats this simply as reported speech without theological weight, and the rs book's broader reading of John 2:4 ("Woman, what have I to do with thee?") as a rebuke of Mary does not notice that the verse pattern repeats across the Old Testament.

## Protestant Usage

2 Chronicles 35:21 matters because it anchors a decisive rebuttal to the Watchtower's reading of John 2:4 at Cana. The Greek phrase "ti emoi kai soi" is a direct word-for-word rendering of the Hebrew idiom *mah-li va-lak* — "what to me and to you" — which appears in at least five Old Testament contexts: Judges 11:12 (Jephthah to Ammonites), 2 Samuel 16:10 (David to the sons of Zeruiah), 1 Kings 17:18 (widow of Zarephath to Elijah), 2 Kings 3:13 (Elisha to the king of Israel), and 2 Chronicles 35:21 here (Neco to Josiah).
In every occurrence the idiom signals *distance of intent* or *non-alignment of agenda* — not contempt, not rejection, not rebuke. At Cana, Jesus is telling his mother that his messianic timing is not set by her social cue — his hour has not yet come. Verse 5 then shows Mary calmly instructing the servants to "do whatever he tells you," and verse 7 shows Jesus performing the miracle anyway. If verse 4 were a rejection of Mary, verse 7 would contradict it. The Hebrew-idiom reading is not a sophisticated dodge — it is just reading the phrase the way the OT uses it five times already.

## Arguments Using This Verse

- [Theotokos Is About Jesus, Not About Mary](https://jw-apologetics.app/arguments/mary-theotokos-christological-fence.md) — Luke 1:43 / John 1:14 / Colossians 2:9 [Deity of Christ]