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2 Kings 14:9

in 2 Kings 14

But Jehoash king of Israel replied to Amaziah king of Judah: “A thistle in Lebanon sent a message to a cedar in Lebanon, saying, ‘Give your daughter to my son in marriage.’ Then a wild beast in Lebanon came along and trampled the thistle.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And Jehoash the king of Israel sent to Amaziah king of Judah, saying, The thistle that was in Lebanon sent to the cedar that was in Lebanon, saying, Give thy daughter to my son to wife: and there passed by a wild beast that was in Lebanon, and trod down the thistle.

KJV

And Jehoash the king of Israel sent to Amaziah king of Judah, saying, The thistle that was in Lebanon sent to the cedar that was in Lebanon, saying, Give thy daughter to my son to wife: and there passed by a wild beast that was in Lebanon, and trode down the thistle.

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This verse in 2 Kings 14

Commentary

7 notes on this verse

A commentator

Ishodad of Merv

BOOKS OF SESSIONS 2 KINGS 12:4 · Written before 850.

The thorn bush [mentioned here] is a tiny plant and herb and is not the blackberry bush, [whose fruits] we eat. "Since, if ever," he says, "the thorn bush were sent to a cedar, saying, 'Give your daughter to my son for a wife,' it …

This site's exposition

let us look one another in the face

on 2 Kings 14:8-10

Flushed with Edom, Amaziah sends a challenge to Jehoash of Israel, and Jehoash answers with a fable rather than an army: a thistle of Lebanon asks a cedar for its daughter in marriage, and a passing beast tramples the thistle without even noticing it. The parable's point is proportion, a small king demanding what only a great one could ask, and Jehoash's counsel that follows is blunt, glory in the victory already won and stay home. Amaziah will not hear it, and the chapter has already told the reader what an unheard warning costs a king.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

Thy heart has lifted thee up. " See where the root of all sin lies; it is in the heart, thence it flows, and that must bear the blame. It is not Providence, the event, the occasion (whatever it is), that makes men proud, or secure, or discontented, or the like, but it is their own heart that does it.

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — odd-straight-quotes

And Jehoash the king of Israel sent to Amaziah the king of Judah,....

The Nineteenth Century3 voices

The Oriental use of apologues on the most solemn and serious occasions is well known to all, and scarcely needs illustration (compare marginal reference). It is a common feature of such apologues that they are not exact parallels to the case whereto they are applied, but only general or partial resemblances. Hence, there is need of caution in applying the several points of the illustration.

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

proposed

Jehoash the king of Israel sent to Amaziah--People in the East very often express their sentiments in a parabolic form, especially when they intend to convey unwelcome truths or a contemptuous sneer. This was the design of the admonitory fable related by Joash in his reply.

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

proposed

Jehoash - sent to Amaziah - saying - The meaning of this parable is plain. The thistle that was in Lebanon - Amaziah, king of Judah, sent to the cedar that was in Lebanon - Jehoash, king of Israel, saying, Give thy daughter - a part of thy kingdom, to my son to wife - to be united to, and possessed by the kings of Judah. And there passed by a wild beast - Jehoash and his enraged army, and trode down the thistle - utterly discomfited Amaziah and his troops, pillaged the temple, and broke down the walls of Jerusalem: see 2Ki 14:12-14. Probably Amaziah had required certain cities of Israel to be given up to Judah; if so, this accounts for that part of the parable, Give thy daughter to my son to wife.

The words behind it

31 Hebrew words

Every 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.

  • וַיִּשְׁלַ֞חand he sent

    vaiyishlachH7971 →845 times

  • יְהוֹאָ֣שׁJehoash

    yehoashH3060 →17 times

  • מֶֽלֶךְ־[the] king of

    melekh-H4428 →2525 times

  • יִשְׂרָאֵ֗לIsrael

    yisraelH3478 →2507 times

  • אֶל־to

    ʾel-H413 →5510 times

  • אֲמַצְיָ֣הוּAmaziah

    ʾamatzyahuH558 →40 times

  • מֶֽלֶךְ־[the] king of

    melekh-H4428 →2525 times

  • יְהוּדָה֮Judah

    yehudahH3063 →819 times

  • לֵאמֹר֒<to> saying

    lemorH559 →5305 times

  • הַח֜וֹחַ<the> thornbush

    hachoachH2336 →

  • אֲשֶׁ֣רwhich

    ʾasherH834 →5497 times

  • בַּלְּבָנ֗וֹן[was] in <the> Lebanon

    balevanonH3844 →71 times

  • שָׁ֠לַחit sent

    shalachH7971 →845 times

  • אֶל־to

    ʾel-H413 →5510 times

  • הָאֶ֜רֶז<the> cedar

    haerezH730 →

  • אֲשֶׁ֤רwhich

    ʾasherH834 →5497 times

  • בַּלְּבָנוֹן֙[was] in <the> Lebanon

    balevanonH3844 →71 times

  • לֵאמֹ֔ר<to> saying

    lemorH559 →5305 times

  • תְּנָֽה־give !

    tenah-H5414 →2011 times

  • אֶת־<obj.>

    ʾet-H853 →10935 times

  • בִּתְּךָ֥daughter your

    bitekhaH1323 →588 times

  • לִבְנִ֖יto son my

    livniH1121 →4930 times

  • לְאִשָּׁ֑הto a wife

    leishahH802 →781 times

  • וַֽתַּעֲבֹ֞רand it passed by

    vataavorH5674 →556 times

  • חַיַּ֤ת[the] animal of

    chaiyatH2416 →498 times

  • הַשָּׂדֶה֙the field

    hasadehH7704 →334 times

  • אֲשֶׁ֣רwhich

    ʾasherH834 →5497 times

  • בַּלְּבָנ֔וֹן[was] in <the> Lebanon

    balevanonH3844 →71 times

  • וַתִּרְמֹ֖סand it trampled

    vatirmosH7429 →19 times

  • אֶת־<obj.>

    ʾet-H853 →10935 times

  • הַחֽוֹחַ׃the thornbush

    hachoachH2336 →

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

18 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Judges 9:8–15One day the trees set out to anoint a king for themselves. They said to the olive tree, ‘Reign over us.’5 worksJudges 9:14Finally all the trees said to the thornbush, ‘Come and reign over us.’3 worksJudges 9:15But the thornbush replied, ‘If you really are anointing me as king over you, come and find refuge in my shade. But if not, may fire come out of the thornbush and consume the cedars of Lebanon.’3 worksHosea 9:6For even if they flee destruction, Egypt will gather them and Memphis will bury them. Their precious silver will be taken over by thistles, and thorns will overrun their tents.2 worksProverbs 26:9Like a thorn that falls into the hand of a drunkard is a proverb in the mouth of a fool.2 works2 Chronicles 33:11So the LORD brought against them the military commanders of the king of Assyria, who captured Manasseh, put a hook in his nose, bound him with bronze shackles, and took him to Babylon.2 works
The other 12 cross-references, with their words ▾
2 Samuel 12:1–4Then the LORD sent Nathan to David, and when he arrived, he said, “There were two men in a certain city, one rich and the other poor.2 works1 Kings 4:33He spoke of trees, from the cedar in Lebanon to the hyssop growing in the wall, and he taught about animals, birds, reptiles, and fish.2 worksEzekiel 20:49Then I said, “Ah, Lord GOD, they are saying of me, ‘Is he not just telling parables?’”2 worksSong of Solomon 2:2Like a lily among the thorns is my darling among the maidens.2 works1 Samuel 13:6Seeing that they were in danger because their troops were hard-pressed, the men of Israel hid in caves and thickets, among the rocks, and in cellars and cisterns.2 worksJob 31:18though from my youth I reared him as would a father, and from my mother’s womb I guided the widow—2 works2 Chronicles 25:18But Jehoash king of Israel replied to Amaziah king of Judah: “A thistle in Lebanon sent a message to a cedar in Lebanon, saying, ‘Give your daughter to my son in marriage.’ Then a wild beast in Lebanon came along and trampled the thistle.2 works2 Chronicles 25:10–13So Amaziah dismissed the troops who had come to him from Ephraim and sent them home. And they were furious with Judah and returned home in great anger.2 worksIsaiah 34:13Her towers will be overgrown with thorns, her fortresses with thistles and briers. She will become a haunt for jackals, an abode for ostriches.2 works1 Corinthians 12:15If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body.2 worksProverbs 20:3It is honorable for a man to resolve a dispute, but any fool will quarrel.2 worksJudges 14:2So he returned and told his father and mother, “I have seen a daughter of the Philistines in Timnah. Now get her for me as a wife.”2 works

The walk

8 stops

Each 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

    Hosea 9:6

    For even if they flee destruction, Egypt will gather them and Memphis will bury them. Their precious silver will be taken over by thistles, and thorns will overrun their tents.

    it leads to

    • Hosea 10:8

      The high places of Aven will be destroyed—it is the sin of Israel; thorns and thistles will overgrow their altars. Then they will say to the mountains, “Cover us!” and to the hills, “Fall…

    • Isaiah 5:6

      I will make it a wasteland, neither pruned nor cultivated, and thorns and briers will grow up. I will command the clouds that rain shall not fall on it.”

    • Isaiah 7:23

      And on that day, in every place that had a thousand vines worth a thousand shekels of silver, only briers and thorns will be found.

    • Hosea 8:13

      Though they offer sacrifices as gifts to Me, and though they eat the meat, the LORD does not accept them. Now He will remember their iniquity and punish their sins: They will return to…

    • Hosea 7:16

      They turn, but not to the Most High; they are like a faulty bow. Their leaders will fall by the sword for the cursing of their tongue; for this they will be ridiculed in…

  • Through

    2 Chronicles 33:11

    So the LORD brought against them the military commanders of the king of Assyria, who captured Manasseh, put a hook in his nose, bound him with bronze shackles, and took him to Babylon.

    it leads to

    • Deuteronomy 28:36

      The LORD will bring you and the king you appoint to a nation neither you nor your fathers have known, and there you will worship other gods—gods of wood and stone.

    • 2 Chronicles 36:6

      Then Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against Jehoiakim and bound him with bronze shackles to take him to Babylon.

  • Through

    Proverbs 26:9

    Like a thorn that falls into the hand of a drunkard is a proverb in the mouth of a fool.

    it leads to

    • Proverbs 23:35

      “They struck me, but I feel no pain! They beat me, but I did not know it! When can I wake up to search for another drink?”

About 2 Kings

Elijah Ascends to Heaven in a Chariot of Fire, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
Elijah Ascends to Heaven in a Chariot of Fire, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
2 Kings: the study guide →Read 2 Kings 14 →

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); Ishodad of Merv, BOOKS OF SESSIONS 2 KINGS 12:4; 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.

Read on in 2 Kings 14 →