2 Kings 10:3
in 2 Kings 10select the best and most worthy son of your master, set him on his father’s throne, and fight for your master’s house.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
look ye out the best and meetest of your master’s sons, and set him on his father’s throne, and fight for your master’s house.
KJV
Look even out the best and meetest of your master’s sons, and set him on his father’s throne, and fight for your master’s house.
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This verse in 2 Kings 10
Commentary
5 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Jehu, placing his adversaries’ advantages before them in the most favorable light, called upon them to decide what they would do. The unscrupulous soldier shows shrewdness as well as courage, a sharp wit as well as a bold heart.
This site's exposition
Ahab had seventy sons in Samaria
on 2 Kings 10:1-3
Jehu's first letter does not demand surrender; it dares Samaria's rulers to set up one of Ahab's seventy sons as king and fight for the house, testing whether they will resist him at all. The seventy sons, some of them likely grandsons given the reckoning at verse thirteen, mark the size of a dynasty Jehu intends to end in full. The letter's real aim is to force the guardians to name their loyalty before Jehu ever draws a sword against them.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
"You that are hearty well-wishers to the house of Ahab, and entirely in its interests, now is your time to appear for it. Samaria is a strong city; you are in possession of it; you have forces at command; you may choose out the likeliest person of all the royal family to head you; you know you are not tied to the eldest, unless he be the best and meetest of your master's sons.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — odd-straight-quotes
Look even out the best and meetest of your master's sons,.... Most fit for government, whether on account of age or proper qualifications, and wisdom, courage, &c. and set him on his father's throne; proclaim him king: and fight for your master's house; that the crown may continue in his family; all which he did not desire might be, but in this sarcastic and sneering manner dares them to do it.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Ahab had seventy sons in Samaria--As it appears (2Ki 10:13), that grandsons are included it is probable that this number comprehended the whole posterity of Ahab.
The words behind it
13 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וּרְאִיתֶ֞ם | ureitem | and you will see | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| הַטּ֤וֹב | hatov | the good | H2896 → | 538 times |
| וְהַיָּשָׁר֙ | vehaiyashar | and the right | H3477 → | 119 times |
| מִבְּנֵ֣י | mibenei | of [the] sons of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| אֲדֹנֵיכֶ֔ם | ʾadoneikhem | master<s> your | H113 → | 333 times |
| וְשַׂמְתֶּ֖ם | vesamtem | and you will set [him] | H7760 → | 584 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| כִּסֵּ֣א | kise' | [the] throne of | H3678 → | 135 times |
| אָבִ֑יו | ʾaviv | father his | H1 → | 1212 times |
| וְהִֽלָּחֲמ֖וּ | vehilachamu | and fight | H3898 → | 177 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| בֵּ֥ית | beit | [the] house of | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| אֲדֹנֵיכֶֽם׃ | ʾadoneikhem | master<s> your | H113 → | 333 times |
וּרְאִיתֶ֞םand you will see
ureitemH7200 →1300 times
הַטּ֤וֹבthe good
hatovH2896 →538 times
וְהַיָּשָׁר֙and the right
vehaiyasharH3477 →119 times
מִבְּנֵ֣יof [the] sons of
mibeneiH1121 →4930 times
אֲדֹנֵיכֶ֔םmaster<s> your
ʾadoneikhemH113 →333 times
וְשַׂמְתֶּ֖םand you will set [him]
vesamtemH7760 →584 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
כִּסֵּ֣א[the] throne of
kise'H3678 →135 times
אָבִ֑יוfather his
ʾavivH1 →1212 times
וְהִֽלָּחֲמ֖וּand fight
vehilachamuH3898 →177 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
בֵּ֥ית[the] house of
beitH1004 →2046 times
אֲדֹנֵיכֶֽם׃master<s> your
ʾadoneikhemH113 →333 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
John 18:36Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world; if it were, My servants would fight to prevent My arrest by the Jews. But now My kingdom is not of this realm.”
it leads to
- Luke 17:20–21
When asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, “The kingdom of God will not come with observable signs.
- Colossians 1:12–14
giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light.
- John 6:15
Then Jesus, realizing that they were about to come and make Him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by Himself.
- Romans 14:17
For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.
- Daniel 2:44
In the days of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will shatter all these kingdoms…
- Luke 17:20–21
Through
1 Samuel 11:15So all the people went to Gilgal and confirmed Saul as king in the presence of the LORD. There they sacrificed peace offerings before the LORD, and Saul and all the Israelites rejoiced greatly.
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 10:8
And you shall go before me to Gilgal, and surely I will come to you to offer burnt offerings and to sacrifice peace offerings. Wait seven days until I come to you and show…
- 1 Samuel 10:8
Through
1 Samuel 10:24Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see the one the LORD has chosen? There is no one like him among all the people.” And all the people shouted, “Long live the king!”
it leads to
- 1 Kings 1:39
Zadok the priest took the horn of oil from the tabernacle and anointed Solomon. Then they blew the ram’s horn, and all the people proclaimed, “Long live King Solomon!”
- 2 Samuel 21:6
let seven of his male descendants be delivered to us so that we may hang them before the LORD at Gibeah of Saul, the chosen of the LORD.” “I will give them to you,”…
- 1 Kings 1:39
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About 2 Kings
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.