And departed Hebrew, went, namely, the way of all the earth, as it is more fully expressed Joshua 23:14. Or, to the land of darkness, Job 10:21-22. Or, to his long home, Ecclesiastes 12:5. Or, went away, namely, out of this world, as the word הלךְ, halack, used here and Job 14:20; Ecclesiastes 5:15; Ecclesiastes 6:4, signifies. And there are many such phrases used concerning death, in the Old and New Testaments, which all signify that death is not an annihilation, but only a translation into another place and state. See Genesis 15:15; Philippians 1:23. Without being desired Hebrew, without desire, which may be referred, 1st, To himself. He had no desire of living longer, nor any pleasure in life, but was heartily weary of it, through his excessive pains. Or rather, it belongs, 2d, To his people, who did not desire that he should live longer, but oft and heartily wished that he had died sooner: which contempt of him they showed both by making no burning for him, as they used to do for good kings, and by denying him burial among the kings. The expression is emphatical: for it is usual with men to desire the death of some persons, whom afterward they lament, and heartily wish they were alive again. But for this ungodly and unhappy prince, his people did not only in his life-time wish his death, but afterward did not repent of those desires.
Related Commentaries of 2 Chronicles 21:20
2 Chronicles 21:20
20 Thirty and two years old was he when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem eight years, and departed without being desired. Howbeit they buried him in the city of David, but not in the sepulchres of the kings.