2 Kings 10:4
in 2 Kings 10But they were terrified and reasoned, “If two kings could not stand against him, how can we?”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
But they were exceedingly afraid, and said, Behold, the two kings stood not before him: how then shall we stand?
KJV
But they were exceedingly afraid, and said, Behold, two kings stood not before him: how then shall we stand?
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This verse in 2 Kings 10
Commentary
6 notes on this verseA 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.
This site's exposition
two kings stood not before him
on 2 Kings 10:4-5
Two kings, Joram and Ahaziah, had already fallen before Jehu in one day, and the palace officers of Samaria reason from that record rather than from any fresh threat. Their surrender is total: they will crown no one, and they hand Jehu their own servitude in his words, do thou that which is good in thine eyes. Ahab's house is undone by the very officers his own line raised to guard it.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Therefore they sent him a surrender of themselves: " We are thy servants, thy subjects, and will do all that thou shalt bid us, right or wrong, and will set up nobody in competition with thee." They saw it was to no purpose to contend with him, and therefore it was their interest to submit to him.
But they were exceedingly afraid,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
Two kings stood not before him - That is Joram and Ahaziah.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Two kings - literally, “the two kings,” i. e., Jehoram and Ahaziah 2Ki 9:21-28.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּֽרְאוּ֙ | vaiyiru | and they were afraid | H3372 → | 315 times |
| מְאֹ֣ד | meod | very | H3966 → | 300 times |
| מְאֹ֔ד | meod | very | H3966 → | 300 times |
| וַיֹּ֣אמְר֔וּ | vaiyomeru | and they said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| הִנֵּה֙ | hineh | there! | H2009 → | 843 times |
| שְׁנֵ֣י | shenei | [the] two | H8147 → | 768 times |
| הַמְּלָכִ֔ים | hamelakhim | the kings | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| לֹ֥א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| עָמְד֖וּ | ʾamedu | they stood | H5975 → | 521 times |
| לְפָנָ֑יו | lefanav | <to> before him | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| וְאֵ֖יךְ | veeikh | and how? | H349 → | 82 times |
| נַעֲמֹ֥ד | naamod | will we stand | H5975 → | 521 times |
| אֲנָֽחְנוּ׃ | ʾanachenu | we | H587 → | 120 times |
וַיִּֽרְאוּ֙and they were afraid
vaiyiruH3372 →315 times
מְאֹ֣דvery
meodH3966 →300 times
מְאֹ֔דvery
meodH3966 →300 times
וַיֹּ֣אמְר֔וּand they said
vaiyomeruH559 →5305 times
הִנֵּה֙there!
hinehH2009 →843 times
שְׁנֵ֣י[the] two
sheneiH8147 →768 times
הַמְּלָכִ֔יםthe kings
hamelakhimH4428 →2525 times
לֹ֥אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
עָמְד֖וּthey stood
ʾameduH5975 →521 times
לְפָנָ֑יו<to> before him
lefanavH6440 →2123 times
וְאֵ֖יךְand how?
veeikhH349 →82 times
נַעֲמֹ֥דwill we stand
naamodH5975 →521 times
אֲנָֽחְנוּ׃we
ʾanachenuH587 →120 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
Jeremiah 49:19Behold, one will come up like a lion from the thickets of the Jordan to the watered pasture. For in an instant I will chase Edom from her land. Who is the chosen one…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 12:5
“If you have raced with men on foot and they have worn you out, how can you compete with horses? If you stumble in a peaceful land, how will you do in the thickets…
- Jeremiah 30:21
Their leader will be one of their own, and their ruler will arise from their midst. And I will bring him near, and he will approach Me, for who would dare on his own…
- Jeremiah 12:5
Through
Luke 14:31Or what king on his way to war with another king will not first sit down and consider whether he can engage with ten thousand men the one coming against him with twenty thousand?
it leads to
- Proverbs 20:18
Set plans by consultation, and wage war under sound guidance.
- Proverbs 20:18
Through
2 Kings 9:27When King Ahaziah of Judah saw this, he fled up the road toward Beth-haggan. And Jehu pursued him, shouting, “Shoot him too!” So they shot Ahaziah in his chariot on the Ascent of Gur,…
it leads to
- Judges 1:27
At that time Manasseh failed to drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shean, Taanach, Dor, Ibleam, Megiddo, and their villages; for the Canaanites were determined to dwell in that land.
- Joshua 17:11
Within Issachar and Asher, Manasseh was assigned Beth-shean, Ibleam, Dor (that is, Naphath), Endor, Taanach, and Megiddo, each with their surrounding settlements.
- Judges 1:27
Through
Isaiah 27:4I am not angry. If only thorns and briers confronted Me, I would march and trample them, I would burn them to the ground.
it leads to
- Hebrews 6:8
But land that produces thorns and thistles is worthless, and its curse is imminent. In the end it will be burned.
- Isaiah 10:17
And the Light of Israel will become a fire, and its Holy One a flame. In a single day it will burn and devour Assyria’s thorns and thistles.
- Matthew 3:12
His winnowing fork is in His hand to clear His threshing floor and to gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
- Hebrews 6:8
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About 2 Kings

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; 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 (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
