2 Kings 10:6

2 Kings 10:6 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Then he wrote a letter the second time to them, saying, If ye be mine, and if ye will hearken unto my voice, take ye the heads of the men your master’s sons, and come to me to Jezreel by to morrow this time. Now the king’s sons, being seventy persons, were with the great men of the city, which brought them up.
• New International Version (NIV)Then Jehu wrote them a second letter, saying, “If you are on my side and will obey me, take the heads of your master’s sons and come to me in Jezreel by this time tomorrow.” Now the royal princes, seventy of them, were with the leading men of the city, who were rearing them.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Then he wrote to them a second letter, saying, "If you are on my side, and if you are ready to obey me, take the heads of your master's sons and come to me at Jezreel tomorrow at this time." Now the king's sons, seventy persons, were with the great men of the city, who were bringing them up.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Then he wrote a second letter to them, saying: If you are for me and will obey my voice, take the heads of the men, your master’s sons, and come to me at Jezreel by this time tomorrow. Now the king’s sons, seventy persons, were with the great men of the city, who were rearing them.

Context of 2 Kings 10:6

4But they were paralyzed with fear and said, “We’ve seen that two kings couldn’t stand against this man! What can we do?” 5So the palace and city administrators, together with the elders and the guardians of the king’s sons, sent this message to Jehu: “We are your servants and will do anything you tell us. We will not make anyone king; do whatever you think is best.” Jehu responded with a second letter: “If you are on my side and are going to obey me, bring the heads of your master’s sons to me at Jezreel by this time tomorrow.” Now the seventy sons of the king were being cared for by the leaders of Samaria, where they had been raised since childhood. 7When the letter arrived, the leaders killed all seventy of the king’s sons. They placed their heads in baskets and presented them to Jehu at Jezreel. 8A messenger went to Jehu and said, “They have brought the heads of the king’s sons.” So Jehu ordered, “Pile them in two heaps at the entrance of the city gate, and leave them there until morning.”

2 Kings 10:6 word by word

וַיִּכְתֹּ֣ב אֲלֵיהֶם֩ סֵ֨פֶר׀ שֵׁנִ֜ית לֵאמֹ֗ר אִם־לִ֨י אַתֶּ֜ם וּלְקֹלִ֣י׀ אַתֶּ֣ם שֹׁמְעִ֗ים קְחוּ֙ אֶת־רָאשֵׁי֙ אַנְשֵׁ֣י בְנֵֽי־אֲדֹנֵיכֶ֔ם וּבֹ֧אוּ אֵלַ֛י כָּעֵ֥ת מָחָ֖ר יִזְרְעֶ֑אלָה וּבְנֵ֤י הַמֶּ֙לֶךְ֙ שִׁבְעִ֣ים אִ֔ישׁ אֶת־גְּדֹלֵ֥י הָעִ֖יר מְגַדְּלִ֥ים אוֹתָֽם׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Then he wroteכָּתַבkâthab · to writeH3789
• a letterסֵ֫פֶרsêpher siphrâh · scroll: documentH5612
• the second timeשֵׁנִיshênîy · secondH8145
• to them, sayingאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• ye will hearkenשָׁמַעshâma‛ · to hear: obeyH8085
• unto my voiceקוֹלqôl qôl · voice: messageH6963
• takeלָקַחlâqach · to take: takeH3947
• ye the headsרֹאשׁrô'sh · headH7218
• of the menאֱנוֹשׁ'ĕnôsh · humanH582
• your master’sאָדוֹן'âdôn 'âdôn · lordH113
• sonsבֵּןbên · son: childH1121
• and comeבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
• to me to Jezreelיִזְרְעֶאלyizre‛ê'l · JezreelH3157
• by to morrowמָחָרmâchâr · tomorrowH4279
• this timeעֵת‛êth · timeH6256
• Now the king’sמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4428
• seventyשִׁבְעִיםshib‛îym · seventyH7657
• personsאִישׁ'îysh · manH376
• with the great menגָּדוֹלgâdôl gâdôl · great: largeH1419
• of the cityעִיר‛îyr ‛âr ‛âyar · cityH5892
• which brought them upגָּדַלgâdal · to magnifyH1431

Cross-references for 2 Kings 10:6

• 2 Kings 9:32Jehu looked up and saw her at the window and shouted, “Who is on my side?” And two or three eunuchs looked out at him.
• Matthew 12:30“Anyone who isn’t with me opposes me, and anyone who isn’t working with me is actually working against me.
• Luke 9:50But Jesus said, “Don’t stop him! Anyone who is not against you is for you.”
• Numbers 25:4The Lord issued the following command to Moses: “Seize all the ringleaders and execute them before the Lord in broad daylight, so his fierce anger will turn away from the people of Israel.”
• 1 Kings 21:8So she wrote letters in Ahab’s name, sealed them with his seal, and sent them to the elders and other leaders of the town where Naboth lived.
• Deuteronomy 5:9You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject me.
• Joshua 7:24Then Joshua and all the Israelites took Achan, the silver, the robe, the bar of gold, his sons, daughters, cattle, donkeys, sheep, goats, tent, and everything he had, and they brought them to the valley of Achor.
• Job 21:19“‘Well,’ you say, ‘at least God will punish their children!’ But I say he should punish the ones who sin, so that they understand his judgment.
• Isaiah 14:21Kill this man’s children! Let them die because of their father’s sins! They must not rise and conquer the earth, filling the world with their cities.”
• Revelation 2:20“But I have this complaint against you. You are permitting that woman—that Jezebel who calls herself a prophet—to lead my servants astray. She teaches them to commit sexual sin and to eat food offered to idols.

Commentaries on 2 Kings 10:6

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 6Come to me to Jezreel - Therefore the letters were not written to Jezreel, but from Jezreel to Samaria.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 6The heads of rivals, pretenders, and other obnoxious persons are commonly struck off in the East, and conveyed to the chief ruler, in order that he may be positively certified that his enemies have ceased to live. In the Assyrian sculptures we constantly see soldiers conveying heads from place to place, not, however, in baskets, but in their hands, holding the head by the hair.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 6-7In the ancient Near East, people often beheaded their enemies (2 Kings 6:31–32; 1 Samuel 17:46, 51; see also Matthew 14:11).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 66. take ye the heads of the men, your master's sons--The barbarous practice of a successful usurper slaughtering all who may have claims to the throne, has been frequently exemplified in the ancient and modern histories of the East.Read the comment

Topics related to 2 Kings 10:6

• Ahab
• Children
• Enthusiasm
• Government
• Homicide
• Jehu
• Massacre

In the dictionaries

• Jezreel
• Behead
• Writing
• Elijah
• Elisha
• Epistle
• Fact
• Hazael
• Jehonadab
• Jehu

Commentaries on 2 Kings 10

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings