2 Kings 10:31
in 2 Kings 10Yet Jehu was not careful to follow the instruction of the LORD, the God of Israel, with all his heart. He did not turn away from the sins that Jeroboam had caused Israel to commit.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
But Jehu took no heed to walk in the law of Jehovah, the God of Israel, with all his heart: he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam, wherewith he made Israel to sin.
KJV
But Jehu took no heed to walk in the law of the Lord God of Israel with all his heart: for he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam, which made Israel to sin.
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This verse in 2 Kings 10
Commentary
6 notes on this verseJEHU was raised up by God to be a great reformer in the kingdom of Israel. No sooner did he receive his commission than he was at his work with a daring and a perseverance never excelled. He was commanded to cut off the whole house of Ahab, and the task was a very congenial one—he slew right and left and spared none. Unlike Saul with the Amalekites, who spared Agag and the best of the cattle, Jehu utterly exterminated the race whom God had doomed.
This site's exposition
Jehu was not careful to follow the instruction of the LORD
Jehu was not careful to follow the instruction of the LORD, the God of Israel, with all his heart. Zeal that executes judgment on another man's house differs from a heart that keeps the law in its own. Spurgeon preached on this verse in a sermon titled Heedlessness in Religion.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
But Jehu took no heed to walk in the law of the Lord God of Israel with all his heart,.... As to his moral conversation, he was not careful that it was according to the law of God, and what he did agreeable to it, it was not sincerely, and from the right principle: for he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam, which made Israel to sin; which he would, if he had had a cordial respect to all the commandments of the law.
Those that are heedless, it is to be feared, are graceless; for, where there is a good principle in the heart, it will make men cautious and circumspect, desirous to please God and jealous of doing any thing to offend him.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
JEHU was raised up by God to be a great reformer in the kingdom of Israel. No sooner did he receive his commission than he was at his work with a daring and a perseverance never excelled. He was commanded to cut off the whole house of Ahab, and the task was a very congenial one—he slew right and left and spared none. Unlike Saul with the Amalekites, who spared Agag and the best of the cattle, Jehu utterly exterminated the race whom God had doomed. When full vengeance had been worked upon Jezebel and all Ahab's brood, he scarcely paused by the way to congratulate himself and say to Jehonadab, "Come with me and see my zeal for the Lord," but proceeded at once to gather together all the priests of Baal and to annihilate them at a blow. He was a thorough root-and-branch reformer in this matter and cut off the Baalites without remorse and without exception. He was not one of those who of old were cursed for doing the work of God deceitfully, holding back their hands from blood. He made a thorough and clean sweep of the abominations of Baal worship and accomplished the work for which he was raised up with the most wonderful thoroughness and zeal. But—oh, that but—how unhappily does it mar everything! While he was thus ready and earnest in a work which suited his furious taste, he had no true heart toward God! While he was a destroyer of Baal he was not a servant of Jehovah—he was an iconoclast of the very first order, breaking idols right and left—but he was no builder up of the house of the Lord! He did not yield his mind reverently and obediently to the worship of Israel's God. Neither did he care to know His mind and Law.
Jehu took no heed - He never made it his study; indeed, he never intended to walk in this way; it neither suited his disposition nor his politics.
The words behind it
19 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְיֵה֗וּא | veyehu' | and Jehu | H3058 → | 58 times |
| לֹ֥א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| שָׁמַ֛ר | shamar | he took care | H8104 → | 468 times |
| לָלֶ֛כֶת | lalekhet | to walk | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| בְּתֽוֹרַת־ | betorat- | in [the] law of | H8451 → | 219 times |
| יְהוָ֥ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֱלֹהֵֽי־ | ʾelohei- | [the] God of | H430 → | 2601 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| בְּכָל־ | bekhol | with all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| לְבָב֑וֹ | levavo | heart his | H3824 → | 252 times |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| סָ֗ר | sar | he turned aside | H5493 → | 299 times |
| מֵעַל֙ | meal | from on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| חַטֹּ֣אות | chatot | [the] sins of | H2403 → | 295 times |
| יָֽרָבְעָ֔ם | yaraveam | Jeroboam | H3379 → | 104 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| הֶחֱטִ֖יא | hecheti' | he caused to sin | H2398 → | 238 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
וְיֵה֗וּאand Jehu
veyehu'H3058 →58 times
לֹ֥אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
שָׁמַ֛רhe took care
shamarH8104 →468 times
לָלֶ֛כֶתto walk
lalekhetH1980 →1546 times
בְּתֽוֹרַת־in [the] law of
betorat-H8451 →219 times
יְהוָ֥הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֱלֹהֵֽי־[the] God of
ʾelohei-H430 →2601 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֖לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
בְּכָל־with all
bekholH3605 →5413 times
לְבָב֑וֹheart his
levavoH3824 →252 times
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
סָ֗רhe turned aside
sarH5493 →299 times
מֵעַל֙from on
mealH5921 →5755 times
חַטֹּ֣אות[the] sins of
chatotH2403 →295 times
יָֽרָבְעָ֔םJeroboam
yaraveamH3379 →104 times
אֲשֶׁ֥רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
הֶחֱטִ֖יאhe caused to sin
hecheti'H2398 →238 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃Israel
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Proverbs 4:23Guard your heart with all diligence, for from it flow springs of life.
it leads to
- Luke 6:45
The good man brings good things out of the good treasure of his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil treasure of his heart. For out of the overflow…
- Matthew 12:34–35
You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks.
- Mark 7:21–23
For from within the hearts of men come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery,
- Psalms 139:23–24
Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my concerns.
- Proverbs 13:3
He who guards his mouth protects his life, but the one who opens his lips invites his own ruin.
- Luke 6:45
Through
Hebrews 2:1We must pay closer attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away.
it leads to
- Luke 8:15
But the seeds on good soil are those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, cling to it, and by persevering produce a crop.
- 2 Peter 1:12–13
Therefore I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them and are established in the truth you now have.
- Proverbs 7:1–2
My son, keep my words and treasure my commandments within you.
- Luke 8:15
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About 2 Kings
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 685: “Heedlessness In Religion” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 685: Heedlessness In Religion; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.