2 Kings 9:12
in 2 Kings 9“That is a lie!” they said. “Tell us now!” So Jehu answered, “He talked to me about this and that, and he said, ‘This is what the LORD says: I anoint you king over Israel.’”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And they said, It is false; tell us now. And he said, Thus and thus spake he to me, saying, Thus saith Jehovah, I have anointed thee king over Israel.
KJV
And they said, It is false; tell us now. And he said, Thus and thus spake he to me, saying, Thus saith the Lord, I have anointed thee king over Israel.
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This verse in 2 Kings 9
Commentary
6 notes on this verseThey said, It is false - Or, as the Chaldee has it, Thou liest. Or, perhaps, it might be thus understood, “We know he has said nothing but folly and lies, nevertheless, let us hear what he has said.
This site's exposition
Why did this madman come to you?
on 2 Kings 9:11-13
The captains call the messenger this madman, and Jehu answers only, “You know his kind and their babble,” letting them draw their own conclusion. Once he repeats the anointing word plainly, the captains act at once. Quickly, they blew the ram’s horn and proclaimed him king.
This site's exposition
That is a lie!
The captains refuse Jehu's evasion, and Adam Clarke reports that the Chaldee gives their words as a flat charge that he is lying. Matthew Henry notes the risk Jehu ran in telling them: loyalty to Joram or envy of Jehu could have turned any captain against him.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
"Then the prophet Elisha called a member of the company of prophets and said to him, 'Gird up your loins; take this flask of oil in your hand, and go to Ramoth-gilead.' " Here the Scripture reports the just sentence that befalls the house of …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
He knew not but some of them either out of loyalty to Joram or envy of him, might oppose him, and go near to crush his interest in its infancy; but he relied on the divine appointment, and was not afraid to own it, knowing whom he had trusted: he that raised him would stand by him.
And they said, it is false, tell us now,....
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
They said, “That is a lie.” [What] you are saying; you are hiding what he said to you. 6 Yeihu wanted to conceal the prophecy and wait for a more opportune time to reveal it.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
“You know the man.” You recognize the man, that he is insane. 5 Occasionally, prophets under the influence of prophecy lost control of themselves and acted strangely.—Metzudas Dovid. See I Shmuel:24. Also, followers of the Baal were making these derogatory remarks about the prophet.—Radak
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 5 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
18 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּאמְר֣וּ | vaiyomeru | and they said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| שֶׁ֔קֶר | sheker | falsehood | H8267 → | |
| הַגֶּד־ | haged- | tell | H5046 → | 370 times |
| נָ֖א | na' | please | H4994 → | 404 times |
| לָ֑נוּ | lanu | to us | ||
| וַיֹּ֗אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| כָּזֹ֤את | kazot | like this | H2063 → | 603 times |
| וְכָזֹאת֙ | vekhazot | and like this | H2063 → | 603 times |
| אָמַ֤ר | ʾamar | he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֵלַי֙ | ʾelai | to me | H413 → | 5510 times |
| לֵאמֹ֔ר | lemor | <to> saying | H559 → | 5305 times |
| כֹּ֚ה | koh | thus | H3541 → | 577 times |
| אָמַ֣ר | ʾamar | he says | H559 → | 5305 times |
| יְהוָ֔ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| מְשַׁחְתִּ֥יךָֽ | meshachtikha | I anoint you | H4886 → | 70 times |
| לְמֶ֖לֶךְ | lemelekh | to king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
וַיֹּאמְר֣וּand they said
vaiyomeruH559 →5305 times
שֶׁ֔קֶרfalsehood
shekerH8267 →
הַגֶּד־tell
haged-H5046 →370 times
נָ֖אplease
na'H4994 →404 times
לָ֑נוּto us
lanu
וַיֹּ֗אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
כָּזֹ֤אתlike this
kazotH2063 →603 times
וְכָזֹאת֙and like this
vekhazotH2063 →603 times
אָמַ֤רhe said
ʾamarH559 →5305 times
אֵלַי֙to me
ʾelaiH413 →5510 times
לֵאמֹ֔ר<to> saying
lemorH559 →5305 times
כֹּ֚הthus
kohH3541 →577 times
אָמַ֣רhe says
ʾamarH559 →5305 times
יְהוָ֔הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
מְשַׁחְתִּ֥יךָֽI anoint you
meshachtikhaH4886 →70 times
לְמֶ֖לֶךְto king
lemelekhH4428 →2525 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃Israel
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
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; Ephrem the Syrian, ON THE SECOND BOOK OF KINGS 9:1-24; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.