2 Kings 10 9

2 Kings 10:9 kjv

And it came to pass in the morning, that he went out, and stood, and said to all the people, Ye be righteous: behold, I conspired against my master, and slew him: but who slew all these?

2 Kings 10:9 nkjv

So it was, in the morning, that he went out and stood, and said to all the people, "You are righteous. Indeed I conspired against my master and killed him; but who killed all these?

2 Kings 10:9 niv

The next morning Jehu went out. He stood before all the people and said, "You are innocent. It was I who conspired against my master and killed him, but who killed all these?

2 Kings 10:9 esv

Then in the morning, when he went out, he stood and said to all the people, "You are innocent. It was I who conspired against my master and killed him, but who struck down all these?

2 Kings 10:9 nlt

In the morning he went out and spoke to the crowd that had gathered around them. "You are not to blame," he told them. "I am the one who conspired against my master and killed him. But who killed all these?

2 Kings 10 verses

2 Kings 10 9 Meaning

2 Kings 10:9 details Jehu's calculated public address after ordering the slaughter of King Ahab's seventy sons. Standing before the populace in Samaria, Jehu declares, "Ye be righteous." This is a profoundly ironic and manipulative statement, subtly implying their blamelessness or even complicity, while simultaneously shifting accountability. He openly admits to conspiring against and killing King Joram (his "master"), establishing himself as a single, identifiable actor. Immediately following this confession, he poses a rhetorical question, "but who slew all these?" – referring to the seventy headless bodies of Ahab's sons. This question aims to broaden the perceived responsibility, implicating either the people themselves (for executing his previous command) or, more profoundly, God's prophetic judgment against the house of Ahab, thus attempting to legitimize his violent coup and make opposition appear as defiance against divine will.

2 Kings 10 9 Context

2 Kings 10 opens with Jehu firmly establishing his bloody coup against the Omride dynasty. After executing Joram, king of Israel, and Ahaziah, king of Judah, and ordering Jezebel's death, Jehu proceeds to eliminate Ahab's remaining seventy sons residing in Samaria. He sends a chilling message to the city elders and guardians of these sons, daring them to choose the best son and place him on the throne. Terrified, they refuse and instead declare their readiness to obey Jehu's command. Jehu then demands the heads of Ahab's seventy sons, which are delivered to him in baskets. The verse 2 Kings 10:9 marks the dramatic morning after this massacre. The heads are piled at the city gate. Jehu emerges to confront the gathered crowd, who are now witnessing the brutal outcome of his previous order. Historically, Jehu's revolt fulfilled several prophecies against the house of Ahab for their idolatry, especially Baal worship promoted by Jezebel and Ahab, but his methods were excessively cruel, reflecting an internal power struggle in Israel marked by violence and theological justification. This public address is Jehu's attempt to navigate the delicate line between executing divine judgment and facing potential backlash for mass murder.

2 Kings 10 9 Word analysis

• And it came to pass in the morning: This signifies a new day, symbolically shedding light on the previous night's horrors (2 Ki 10:8) but also marking a moment of public reckoning and decision. The new light also suggests the dawning of Jehu's new regime.
• he went out, and stood: This conveys deliberate action and authority. Jehu physically positions himself to confront and address the public directly, signaling the gravity of the moment and his intention to seize control publicly.
• and said to all the people: Jehu addresses the entire assembled community, ensuring his message is widely disseminated and understood by everyone, laying the groundwork for his legitimacy and pre-empting dissent.
• Ye be righteous: (Hebrew: צַדִּקִים, tzaddiqim – "righteous ones" or "innocent ones"). This statement is a profound piece of manipulative rhetoric. It could be understood sarcastically ("You consider yourselves innocent?"), ironically ("You think you've done nothing wrong?"), or as a false exoneration designed to draw the people into shared culpability or to lessen their resistance. Jehu is essentially telling them, "You are innocent spectators to all this; I am the one who conspired, but the greater slaughter has another cause/culprit." This rhetorical move separates him from the full culpability of the collective bloodshed while setting up his next crucial question.
• behold, I conspired against my master, and slew him: This is an open confession. "Conspired" (Hebrew: קָשַׁר, qashar – "to bind, conspire, revolt") accurately describes his actions against Joram, the reigning king, emphasizing the coup's legitimacy from Jehu's perspective as fulfilling divine judgment. By confessing this first, he establishes himself as the direct actor in Joram's death (2 Ki 9:24), which was publicly seen as a righteous act to purge the Omride evil. This part is true and aims to present Jehu as decisive and unashamed in his role as God's instrument.
• but who slew all these?: This is the pivotal rhetorical question, pointedly referring to the seventy headless bodies of Ahab's sons lying nearby. The question deliberately lacks a singular human agent for this broader act. It serves multiple purposes:
  • Shared Responsibility: It forces the people, who facilitated the delivery of the heads, to consider their own complicity, making it difficult for them to disavow Jehu’s actions.
  • Divine Providence: It subtly redirects blame (or credit) from himself entirely to God's ultimate decree against the house of Ahab, which was prophesied by Elijah and Elisha. Jehu presents himself as merely the executor of divine will, implying that the true killer of "all these" is divine judgment.
  • Legitimacy: By shifting the focus from his specific actions to the broader, divinely ordained purge, he strengthens his claim to the throne, positioning himself as Yahweh's chosen instrument to cleanse Israel.

Words-group by words-group analysis:

• "And it came to pass in the morning, that he went out, and stood, and said to all the people,": This establishes the dramatic public setting and Jehu's calculated control of the narrative. It emphasizes his initiative in confronting the people. The choice of "morning" suggests transparency or a fresh start, yet ironically, it is a display of gruesome violence and calculated deception.
• "Ye be righteous: behold, I conspired against my master, and slew him: but who slew all these?": This is a masterclass in political rhetoric and manipulation. Jehu validates the crowd ("righteous"), subtly making them feel they are on his side or complicit. Then, he takes credit for the initial coup ("I conspired...and slew him")—an act generally accepted as removing a wicked king. But crucially, he divorces himself from the mass murder ("who slew all these?"), shifting that ultimate responsibility to an unstated "other"—either the elders and people who delivered the heads, or, more effectively, divine will, thus absolving himself of excess and wrapping his violence in a cloak of prophetic fulfillment. This complex rhetorical question is designed to legitimize the entire bloody purge by tying it to God's judgment, while deflecting specific blame for the sheer scale of the massacre.

2 Kings 10 9 Bonus section

The biblical narrative of Jehu offers a complex theological point regarding divine instruments: God can and does use individuals with imperfect motives and methods to achieve His perfect purposes. While Jehu fulfills God's decree against Ahab's house, his brutal and manipulative execution of that task raises questions about human agency, responsibility, and the potential for zeal to devolve into excessive cruelty. Hosea's later prophecy (Hos 1:4) highlights that even actions done "for God" can incur divine disfavor if they cross the bounds of divine intention, particularly in terms of motive or excess, signifying that human agents remain accountable for their methods. Jehu's rhetorical question in verse 9 also creates a clever disjunction between the immediate human agents of death (the elders/people following his orders) and the ultimate divine instigator (God's judgment on Ahab), allowing Jehu to position himself as an agent, not the ultimate responsible party. This dynamic illustrates the interplay of divine sovereignty and human responsibility within a biblical historical context.

2 Kings 10 9 Commentary

2 Kings 10:9 encapsulates Jehu's shrewd political acumen amidst ruthless violence. Having orchestrated the complete extermination of Ahab's lineage, Jehu now confronts the public not with brute force alone, but with calculated words. His address serves as a psychological maneuver to legitimize his actions and consolidate power. By paradoxically declaring the people "righteous," he disarms potential opposition and subtly makes them complicit, shifting focus from his own direct commands to a perceived shared or divinely ordained action. His open confession to slaying Joram presents him as a direct, decisive agent fulfilling a known judgment, which aligns with prophetic pronouncements (1 Ki 21:21-24, 2 Ki 9:7-10). The ensuing rhetorical question, "but who slew all these?", about the seventy bodies, is masterful. It diverts the full weight of culpability from himself for the extensive slaughter, subtly transferring it either to the people who executed his command or, more powerfully, to the irresistible will of God's judgment upon the house of Ahab. Jehu thus transforms himself from a mere blood-stained usurper into a divine instrument of judgment, making any protest against his reign seem like rebellion against Yahweh's declared will. His words aim to instill both awe and fear, securing compliance by tying the gruesome event to prophetic fulfillment rather than simple human ambition or excessive cruelty, though the latter remains a point of later divine judgment (Hos 1:4). This moment shows Jehu to be a leader who, though acting on God's behalf in fulfilling prophecy, used deceit and fear to maintain his newly acquired position, demonstrating the complexities of leadership even when ostensibly divinely sanctioned.