2 Kings 11:8
in 2 Kings 11You must surround the king with weapons in hand, and anyone who approaches the ranks must be put to death. You must stay close to the king wherever he goes.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And ye shall compass the king round about, every man with his weapons in his hand; and he that cometh within the ranks, let him be slain: and be ye with the king when he goeth out, and when he cometh in.
KJV
And ye shall compass the king round about, every man with his weapons in his hand: and he that cometh within the ranges, let him be slain: and be ye with the king as he goeth out and as he cometh in.
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This verse in 2 Kings 11
Commentary
4 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
guard the house of the LORD for the king
on 2 Kings 11:7-9
The other two-thirds, who would ordinarily go off duty, stay instead to ring the king himself, with orders to kill anyone who breaks the ranks. Every captain does exactly as Jehoiada commanded, and the narrator gives the plot's execution in one sentence of compliance, no hesitation recorded on either side.
This site's exposition
with weapons in hand
John Gill held that the men had come into the temple unarmed, so as to raise no suspicion, and were armed there from David's store. The guard is to ring the king with those weapons. The arms are handed out at verse 10.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
), to guard him from Athaliah's partizans, for still there were those that thirsted after royal blood. (2.) To preserve the holy temple from being profaned by the concourse of people that would come together on this occasion (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation
And ye shall compass the king round about, every man with his weapons in his hand,....
The words behind it
16 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְהִקַּפְתֶּ֨ם | vehikaftem | and you will surround | H5362 → | |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | <on> | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| הַמֶּ֜לֶךְ | hamelekh | the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| סָבִ֗יב | saviv | all around | H5439 → | 336 times |
| אִ֚ישׁ | ʾish | everyone | H376 → | 1663 times |
| וְכֵלָ֣יו | vekhelav | and weapons his | H3627 → | 325 times |
| בְּיָד֔וֹ | beyado | in hand his | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| וְהַבָּ֥א | vehaba' | and the [one who] comes | H935 → | 2568 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | into | H413 → | 5510 times |
| הַשְּׂדֵר֖וֹת | hasederot | the ranks | H7713 → | |
| יוּמָ֑ת | yumat | he will be put to death | H4191 → | 839 times |
| וִהְי֥וּ | vihyu | and be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | with | H854 → | 929 times |
| הַמֶּ֖לֶךְ | hamelekh | the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| בְּצֵאת֥וֹ | betzeto | when goes out he | H3318 → | 1067 times |
| וּבְבֹאֽוֹ׃ | uvevoo | and when comes he | H935 → | 2568 times |
וְהִקַּפְתֶּ֨םand you will surround
vehikaftemH5362 →
עַל־<on>
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
הַמֶּ֜לֶךְthe king
hamelekhH4428 →2525 times
סָבִ֗יבall around
savivH5439 →336 times
אִ֚ישׁeveryone
ʾishH376 →1663 times
וְכֵלָ֣יוand weapons his
vekhelavH3627 →325 times
בְּיָד֔וֹin hand his
beyadoH3027 →1618 times
וְהַבָּ֥אand the [one who] comes
vehaba'H935 →2568 times
אֶל־into
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
הַשְּׂדֵר֖וֹתthe ranks
hasederotH7713 →
יוּמָ֑תhe will be put to death
yumatH4191 →839 times
וִהְי֥וּand be
vihyuH1961 →3559 times
אֶת־with
ʾet-H854 →929 times
הַמֶּ֖לֶךְthe king
hamelekhH4428 →2525 times
בְּצֵאת֥וֹwhen goes out he
betzetoH3318 →1067 times
וּבְבֹאֽוֹ׃and when comes he
uvevooH935 →2568 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
Numbers 27:17who will go out and come in before them, and who will lead them out and bring them in, so that the congregation of the LORD will not be like sheep without a shepherd.”
it leads to
- Ezekiel 34:5
They were scattered for lack of a shepherd, and when they were scattered they became food for all the wild beasts.
- 1 Kings 22:17
So Micaiah declared: “I saw all Israel scattered on the hills like sheep without a shepherd. And the LORD said, ‘These people have no master; let each one return home in peace.’”
- Mark 6:34
When Jesus stepped ashore and saw a large crowd, He had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And He began to teach them many things.
- 2 Chronicles 1:10
Now grant me wisdom and knowledge, so that I may lead this people. For who is able to govern this great people of Yours?”
- Deuteronomy 31:2
he said to them, “I am now a hundred and twenty years old; I am no longer able to come and go, and the LORD has said to me, ‘You shall not cross the…
- Ezekiel 34:5
Through
Exodus 21:14But if a man schemes and acts willfully against his neighbor to kill him, you must take him away from My altar to be put to death.
it leads to
- 1 Kings 2:28–34
When the news reached Joab, who had conspired with Adonijah but not with Absalom, he fled to the tent of the LORD and took hold of the horns of the altar.
- Hebrews 10:26
If we deliberately go on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no further sacrifice for sins remains,
- Deuteronomy 17:12–13
But the man who acts presumptuously, refusing to listen either to the priest who stands there to serve the LORD your God, or to the judge, must be put to death. You must purge…
- 1 Kings 2:28–34
About 2 Kings
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.