2 Kings 9:31
in 2 Kings 9And as Jehu entered the gate, she asked, “Have you come in peace, O Zimri, murderer of your master?”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And as Jehu entered in at the gate, she said, Is it peace, thou Zimri, thy master’s murderer?
KJV
And as Jehu entered in at the gate, she said, Had Zimri peace, who slew his master?
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This verse in 2 Kings 9
Commentary
6 notes on this verseAnd as Jehu entered in at the gate,.... Either of the city of Jezreel, or of the king's palace: she said, had Zimri peace, who slew his master? Elah the son of Baasha king of Israel; no, he had not; he reigned but seven days, and, being besieged, burnt the king's house over him, and died, 1Ki 16:10, suggesting that the like would be his fate, who had slain his master Joram; or the words may be rendered, "O Zimri, the slayer of his master"; calling Jehu so, because of his likeness to Zimri.
This site's exposition
she painted her eyes
on 2 Kings 9:30-31
Jezebel painted her eyes, adorned her head, and looked down from a window. Her taunt reaches for the one precedent that fits: “Have you come in peace, O Zimri, murderer of your master?” Zimri took Elah's throne by murder and burned in it seven days later.
This site's exposition
O Zimri, murderer of your master
The Berean takes her words as a greeting that names Jehu Zimri, a rendering John Gill allowed. Adam Clarke reports that the rabbi Jarchi heard them as a bid for favor, as if killing a master were nothing new. Most of the old versions, Clarke adds, read a mocking salute.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
They thought that she would have wept over her dead son, but in the very hour in which she heard that the king had come, she painted her eyes, a raving old woman, adorned her head with a miter and looked from her window so …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
7 And thou shalt smite the house of Ahab thy master, that I may avenge the blood of my servants the prophets, and the blood of all the servants of the L ORD , at the hand of Jezebel.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:95%@v7
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Had Zimri peace, who slew his master? - Jarchi paraphrases this place thus: “If thou hast slain thy master, it is no new thing; for Zimri also slew Elah, the son of Baasha;” which words were rather intended to conciliate than to provoke. But the words are understood by most of the versions thus: Health to Zimri, the slayer of his master!
The words behind it
8 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְיֵה֖וּא | veyehu' | and Jehu | H3058 → | 58 times |
| בָּ֣א | ba' | he came | H935 → | 2568 times |
| בַשָּׁ֑עַר | vashaar | in the gate | H8179 → | 374 times |
| וַתֹּ֣אמֶר | vatomer | and she said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| הֲשָׁל֔וֹם | hashalom | ¿ peace | H7965 → | 236 times |
| זִמְרִ֖י | zimri | O Zimri | H2174 → | |
| הֹרֵ֥ג | horeg | [the] murderer of | H2026 → | 167 times |
| אֲדֹנָֽיו׃ | ʾadonav | master<s> his | H113 → | 333 times |
וְיֵה֖וּאand Jehu
veyehu'H3058 →58 times
בָּ֣אhe came
ba'H935 →2568 times
בַשָּׁ֑עַרin the gate
vashaarH8179 →374 times
וַתֹּ֣אמֶרand she said
vatomerH559 →5305 times
הֲשָׁל֔וֹם¿ peace
hashalomH7965 →236 times
זִמְרִ֖יO Zimri
zimriH2174 →
הֹרֵ֥ג[the] murderer of
horegH2026 →167 times
אֲדֹנָֽיו׃master<s> his
ʾadonavH113 →333 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 9:30; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.