2 Kings 9:10 kjv
And the dogs shall eat Jezebel in the portion of Jezreel, and there shall be none to bury her. And he opened the door, and fled.
2 Kings 9:10 nkjv
The dogs shall eat Jezebel on the plot of ground at Jezreel, and there shall be none to bury her.' " And he opened the door and fled.
2 Kings 9:10 niv
As for Jezebel, dogs will devour her on the plot of ground at Jezreel, and no one will bury her.'?" Then he opened the door and ran.
2 Kings 9:10 esv
And the dogs shall eat Jezebel in the territory of Jezreel, and none shall bury her." Then he opened the door and fled.
2 Kings 9:10 nlt
Dogs will eat Ahab's wife Jezebel at the plot of land in Jezreel, and no one will bury her." Then the young prophet opened the door and ran.
2 Kings 9 10 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Kgs 21:23 | "The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel." | Elijah's original prophecy fulfilled here. |
| 2 Kgs 9:35 | "But they found no more of her than the skull and the feet and the palms of her hands." | Partial fulfillment; confirms dogs ate her. |
| 2 Kgs 9:36-37 | "This is the word of the Lord... In the plot of Jezreel the dogs shall eat the flesh of Jezebel, and the corpse of Jezebel shall be as dung on the face of the field." | Full and specific fulfillment of the prophecy. |
| 1 Kgs 21:19 | "...In the place where dogs licked up the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick up your own blood, also." | Context of Ahab's judgment related to Naboth. |
| 1 Kgs 21:21-22 | "Behold, I will bring disaster upon you... and make your house like the house of Jeroboam... like the house of Baasha..." | Broader judgment on Ahab's house. |
| Deut 28:26 | "And your carcass shall be food for all birds of the air and for the beasts of the earth..." | Denial of burial as a curse in the Law. |
| Ps 79:2-3 | "They have given the bodies of your servants to the birds of the heavens... they have poured out their blood like water... and there was none to bury them." | Denied burial as a profound national calamity. |
| Jer 7:33 | "And the dead bodies of this people will be food for the birds of the air and for the beasts of the earth, with none to frighten them away." | God's judgment leading to unburial. |
| Jer 8:1-2 | "They shall bring the bones of the kings... out of their graves... they shall not be gathered or buried." | Prophecy of total dishonor and unburial. |
| Jer 14:16 | "...and there will be none to bury them—them, their wives, their sons, or their daughters..." | Extensive divine judgment leading to no burial. |
| Jer 16:4 | "They shall die of deadly diseases... they shall not be lamented or buried. They shall be as dung on the surface of the ground..." | Comprehensive picture of a cursed, unburied death. |
| Ecc 6:3 | "If a man fathers a hundred children and lives many years... yet his soul is not satisfied... and he has no burial..." | Misfortune and disgrace tied to lack of burial. |
| Ps 22:16 | "For dogs encompass me..." | Dogs often symbolic of vicious, unholy enemies. |
| Phil 3:2 | "Look out for the dogs, look out for the evil doers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh." | Paul uses "dogs" metaphorically for false teachers. |
| Isa 46:10 | "declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, 'My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose.'" | God's sovereignty over prophetic fulfillment. |
| Isa 55:11 | "so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose..." | The certainty of God's prophetic word. |
| Num 23:19 | "God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind." | Reinforces the reliability of God's word. |
| 1 Sam 15:29 | "And also the Glory of Israel will not lie or change his mind; for he is not a man, that he should change his mind.” | God's unchangeable word. |
| Rev 22:15 | "Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and the sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood." | "Dogs" associated with those outside God's kingdom. |
| Gen 4:10 | "What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood is crying to me from the ground." | Echoes the cry for justice for innocent blood (Naboth). |
| Deut 18:21-22 | "...how may we know the word that the Lord has not spoken?’ When a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the thing does not come to pass... that is a word that the Lord has not spoken." | This prophecy, quickly fulfilled, authenticates the prophet and Elisha. |
| Rom 12:19 | "Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, 'Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.'" | Divine justice exemplified in Jezebel's fate. |
2 Kings 9 verses
2 Kings 9 10 Meaning
This verse is a direct prophetic declaration, forming a pivotal part of Jehu's anointing. It foretells the horrific demise of Jezebel, specifying that dogs would consume her body on the very ground associated with her wickedness in Jezreel, and that she would be denied the crucial burial rites, signifying profound dishonor and complete divine judgment. It functions as the specific personal judgment against her within the broader judgment on the house of Ahab.
2 Kings 9 10 Context
Chapter 9 of 2 Kings initiates the purge of the Omride dynasty. Elisha dispatches a young prophet to Ramoth-gilead, where Jehu, a commander in the Israelite army, is stationed. The prophet's primary task is to anoint Jehu as king of Israel and command him to execute God's judgment against the house of Ahab, particularly for the bloodshed of God's prophets and the worship of Baal promoted by Jezebel. The specific pronouncement concerning Jezebel in verse 10 is crucial, confirming that her wicked acts, especially Naboth's murder at Jezreel (1 Kgs 21), would result in a horrific, undignified end, denying her the basic honor of burial. This divine directive immediately sets Jehu in motion, as his commanders instantly recognize the prophetic legitimacy and proclaim him king, leading directly to his swift and violent campaign.
2 Kings 9 10 Word analysis
- And the dogs: Dogs (Heb. kə·lā·ḇîm) in ancient Near Eastern culture, and especially in biblical context, were largely viewed as scavengers and unclean animals, associated with violence, decay, and societal outcasts (e.g., Phil 3:2). Their participation in a death was a sign of ultimate dishonor and desecration. It highlights a common prophetic curse for the wicked.
- shall eat: The verb (Heb. yōḵ·lū) implies consuming or devouring, indicating a gruesome and complete destruction of the body, leaving no trace for proper funerary rites. This is a severe act of divine judgment.
- Jezebel: (Heb. `Iyzebel) The Phoenician princess, daughter of King Ethbaal of Sidon, who married Ahab. She notoriously introduced Baal worship to Israel on a grand scale, persecuted YHWH's prophets, and orchestrated the judicial murder of Naboth to seize his vineyard (1 Kgs 21). Her name became synonymous with idolatry, depravity, and persecution of God's people (cf. Rev 2:20). Her demise here represents divine justice against her egregious sins.
- in the plot of ground: (Heb. ha·ḥê֑leq) This term refers to a specific piece or portion of land. The precise mention connects her judgment directly to her specific crimes. This links strongly to Naboth's vineyard in Jezreel, which was acquired through Jezebel's malevolent scheme. Poetic justice demands she be consumed on the ground she corrupted.
- at Jezreel: (Heb. Yizre`el) A city located in the fertile valley, often used as a royal residence by Ahab. It was the location of Naboth's vineyard (1 Kgs 21:1) and where much of Ahab and Jezebel's wickedness unfolded. The setting emphasizes that God's judgment targets the very locus of their defiance.
- and none shall bury her: (Heb. wə·'ên maq·bîr) This phrase denotes a profound and terrible curse in the ancient world. Burial was an essential cultural and religious rite, signifying honor, remembrance, and the proper transition of the deceased. To be denied burial was to suffer the ultimate disgrace, signaling abandonment by both man and God, and a lasting stain on one's memory and family line. It often accompanied total destruction or annihilation (Jer 8:2).
Words-group analysis
- "And the dogs shall eat Jezebel": This powerful phrase pronounces her ultimate humiliation. Instead of a dignified resting place, her body will become food for scavengers, a horrifying fate that underlines her total fall from power and divine abhorrence. It demonstrates YHWH's complete contempt for her and her actions.
- "in the plot of ground at Jezreel": This clause provides the exact geographical link between Jezebel's sin and her punishment. It signifies that divine judgment is precise and justly proportionate to the offense. The land itself, defiled by her sin, now serves as the scene of her retribution, reinforcing the theme of "eye for an eye" justice.
- "and none shall bury her": This final component of the curse seals Jezebel's ignominy. The denial of burial ensured no resting place, no tomb, and no monument to commemorate her. It represented a spiritual as well as physical desecration, denying her rest and confirming her utter repudiation by God. This stark absence of ritual signaled her condemnation.
2 Kings 9 10 Bonus section
Jezebel's death, described partially in 2 Kings 9:30-37 as her being thrown from a window and then consumed by dogs, shows the swiftness and precision of prophetic fulfillment. The refusal of a burial, a deep cultural shame, emphasized the thoroughness of God's curse and left her as mere "dung on the face of the field," obliterating any sense of dignity or lasting memory for a queen. Jehu's subsequent action in seeing her remains and then commenting on their state solidifies the understanding that the prophecy in verse 10 was a profound, immediate, and literal truth about God's power and faithfulness to His word, even against the most powerful and wicked.
2 Kings 9 10 Commentary
2 Kings 9:10 serves as a succinct, divinely authored verdict on Jezebel, whose actions embody the spiritual apostasy and moral decay during the Omride dynasty. This prophecy, delivered with startling clarity and immediately preceding Jehu's bloody purge, signals the precise and complete nature of God's justice. The gruesome manner of her predicted death—devoured by dogs and denied burial—was the ultimate insult in ancient Near Eastern society, signifying the eradication of her honor, her memory, and any legacy. It perfectly fulfilled Elijah's earlier word in 1 Kings 21:23, demonstrating the unerring truthfulness of God's prophetic declarations. Her demise, in the very place defiled by her scheme against Naboth, underscored that divine justice tracks and accounts for specific acts of wickedness. This verse firmly establishes the theological imperative of divine retribution for rebellion, idolatry, and persecution of God's people.