2 Kings 10:30
in 2 Kings 10Nevertheless, the LORD said to Jehu, “Because you have done well in carrying out what is right in My sight and have done to the house of Ahab all that was in My heart, four generations of your sons will sit on the throne of Israel.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Jehovah said unto Jehu, Because thou hast done well in executing that which is right in mine eyes, and hast done unto the house of Ahab according to all that was in my heart, thy sons of the fourth generation shall sit on the throne of Israel.
KJV
And the Lord said unto Jehu, Because thou hast done well in executing that which is right in mine eyes, and hast done unto the house of Ahab according to all that was in mine heart, thy children of the fourth generation shall sit on the throne of Israel.
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This verse in 2 Kings 10
Commentary
5 notes on this verseThy children of the fourth generation - These four descendants of Jehu were Jehoahaz, Jehoash, Jeroboam the second, and Zechariah; see 2 Kings 14 and 15. This was all the compensation Jehu had in either world, as a recompense of his zeal for the Lord.
This site's exposition
thy children of the fourth generation shall sit
The Lord's own commendation credits Jehu for doing what was right in executing judgment on Ahab's house, and promises four generations on Israel's throne as the reward, a dynasty no other northern line receives. That promise is kept to the letter: Jehoahaz, Jehoash, Jeroboam the second, and Zechariah reign in turn before the line ends at 2 Kings 15:12. The reward answers the deed rather than the man, since the very next verse turns to what the deed left undone.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
He departed from the sins of Ahab, but not from the sins of Jeroboam--discarded Baal, but adhered to the calves. The worship of Baal was indeed the greater evil, and more heinous in the sight of God, but the worship of the calves was a great evil, and true conversion is not only from gross sin, but from all sin--not only from false gods, but from false worships.
And the Lord said unto Jehu,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
And the Lord said unto Jehu - Probably by the mouth of Elisha. To a certain extent Jehu’s measures were acts of obedience, for which God might see fit to assign him a temporal reward. Thy children ... - This was accomplished in the persons of Jehoahaz, Joash, Jeroboam, and Zachariah, the son, grandson, great-grandson, and great-great-grandson of Jehu (compare the marginal references). No other family sat upon the throne of Israel so long. The house of Omri, which furnished four kings, held the crown for three generations only and for less than 50 years - that of Jehu reigned for five generations and for more than 100 years.
The words behind it
23 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֨אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| יְהוָ֜ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| יֵה֗וּא | yehu' | Jehu | H3058 → | 58 times |
| יַ֤עַן | yaan | because | H3282 → | 99 times |
| אֲשֶׁר־ | ʾasher- | that | H834 → | 5497 times |
| הֱטִיבֹ֙תָ֙ | hetivota | you have done well | H2895 → | |
| לַעֲשׂ֤וֹת | laasot | by doing | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| הַיָּשָׁר֙ | haiyashar | the right | H3477 → | 119 times |
| בְּעֵינַ֔י | beeinai | in view my | H5869 → | 887 times |
| כְּכֹל֙ | kekhol | according to all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֣ר | ʾasher | that | H834 → | 5497 times |
| בִּלְבָבִ֔י | bilvavi | [was] in heart my | H3824 → | 252 times |
| עָשִׂ֖יתָ | ʾasita | you have done | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| לְבֵ֣ית | leveit | to [the] house of | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| אַחְאָ֑ב | ʾachav | Ahab | H256 → | 92 times |
| בְּנֵ֣י | benei | descendants of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| רְבִעִ֔ים | reviim | [the] fourth [generation] | H7243 → | 56 times |
| יֵשְׁב֥וּ | yeshevu | they will sit | H3427 → | 1079 times |
| לְךָ֖ | lekha | of you | ||
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| כִּסֵּ֥א | kise' | [the] throne of | H3678 → | 135 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
וַיֹּ֨אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
יְהוָ֜הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
יֵה֗וּאJehu
yehu'H3058 →58 times
יַ֤עַןbecause
yaanH3282 →99 times
אֲשֶׁר־that
ʾasher-H834 →5497 times
הֱטִיבֹ֙תָ֙you have done well
hetivotaH2895 →
לַעֲשׂ֤וֹתby doing
laasotH6213 →2628 times
הַיָּשָׁר֙the right
haiyasharH3477 →119 times
בְּעֵינַ֔יin view my
beeinaiH5869 →887 times
כְּכֹל֙according to all
kekholH3605 →5413 times
אֲשֶׁ֣רthat
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
בִּלְבָבִ֔י[was] in heart my
bilvaviH3824 →252 times
עָשִׂ֖יתָyou have done
ʾasitaH6213 →2628 times
לְבֵ֣יתto [the] house of
leveitH1004 →2046 times
אַחְאָ֑בAhab
ʾachavH256 →92 times
בְּנֵ֣יdescendants of
beneiH1121 →4930 times
רְבִעִ֔ים[the] fourth [generation]
reviimH7243 →56 times
יֵשְׁב֥וּthey will sit
yeshevuH3427 →1079 times
לְךָ֖of you
lekha
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
כִּסֵּ֥א[the] throne of
kise'H3678 →135 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
1 Kings 21:22I will make your house like that of Jeroboam son of Nebat and like that of Baasha son of Ahijah, because you have provoked My anger and caused Israel to sin.’
it leads to
- 1 Kings 16:3
So now I will consume Baasha and his house, and I will make your house like that of Jeroboam son of Nebat:
- 1 Kings 14:16
So He will give Israel over on account of the sins Jeroboam has committed and has caused Israel to commit.”
- 1 Kings 16:11
As soon as Zimri began to reign and was seated on the throne, he struck down the entire household of Baasha. He did not leave a single male, whether a kinsman or friend.
- 1 Kings 12:30
And this thing became a sin; the people walked as far as Dan to worship before one of the calves.
- 1 Kings 15:29–30
As soon as Baasha became king, he struck down the entire household of Jeroboam. He did not leave to Jeroboam anyone that breathed, but destroyed them all according to the word that the LORD…
- 1 Kings 16:3
Through
2 Kings 10:35And Jehu rested with his fathers and was buried in Samaria, and his son Jehoahaz reigned in his place.
it leads to
- 2 Kings 13:7–8
Jehoahaz had no army left, except fifty horsemen, ten chariots, and ten thousand foot soldiers, because the king of Aram had destroyed them and made them like the dust at threshing.
- 2 Kings 13:1
In the twenty-third year of the reign of Joash son of Ahaziah over Judah, Jehoahaz son of Jehu became king of Israel, and he reigned in Samaria seventeen years.
- 1 Kings 2:10
Then David rested with his fathers and was buried in the City of David.
- 2 Kings 13:7–8
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About 2 Kings

Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PersonDivided kingdomAhabSeventh king of the northern kingdom, son of Omri, who "did evil above all that were before him"; Elijah's chief antagonist, conde…
- PersonDivided kingdomJehuThe furious-driving commander anointed at Elisha's order who purged the house of Ahab and Baal from Israel — zealous for the LORD,…
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
