2 Kings 21:13
in 2 Kings 21I will stretch out over Jerusalem the measuring line used against Samaria and the plumb line used against the house of Ahab, and I will wipe out Jerusalem as one wipes out a bowl—wiping it and turning it upside down.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And I will stretch over Jerusalem the line of Samaria, and the plummet of the house of Ahab; and I will wipe Jerusalem as a man wipeth a dish, wiping it and turning it upside down.
KJV
And I will stretch over Jerusalem the line of Samaria, and the plummet of the house of Ahab: and I will wipe Jerusalem as a man wipeth a dish, wiping it, and turning it upside down.
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This verse in 2 Kings 21
Commentary
9 notes on this verseAnd I will stretch over Jerusalem the line of Samaria,.... The Targum is, the line of destruction; and the sense is, that the same measure should be measured to Jerusalem as was to Samaria; that is, the same lot and portion should befall one as the other, that is, be utterly destroyed: and the plummet of the house of Ahab; the Targum is, the weight or plummet of tribulation; signifying, that the same calamities should come upon the families of Jerusalem, and especially on the family of Manasseh as came upon the family of Ahab.
This site's exposition
the line of Samaria
The Lord stretches over Jerusalem the line of Samaria and the plummet of the house of Ahab, measuring the south by the instrument that already condemned the north to exile and Ahab's house to extinction. The city that had survived every wicked king before this one for David's sake now faces the same standard the ten tribes could not pass. Wiped as a man wipes a dish and turns it upside down completes the picture: a total and deliberate reversal, not a partial judgment.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
A commentator
John ChrysostomHOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW 22.6 · Written in the 5th century.
proposed
For so Manasses had perpetrated innumerable pollutions, having both stretched out his hands against the saints, and brought abominations into the temple, and filled the city with murders, and wrought many other things beyond excuse; yet nevertheless after so long and so great wickedness, he washed away from himself all these things. How and in what manner? By repentance, and consideration. For there is not, yea, there is not any sin, that doth not yield and give way to the power of repentance, or rather to the grace of Christ. Since if we would but only change, we have Him to assist us. And if thou art desirous to become good, there is none to hinder us; or rather there is one to hinder us, the devil, yet hath he no power, so long as thou choosest what is best, and so attractest God to thine aid.
A commentator
Apostolic ConstitutionsCONSTITUTIONS OF THE HOLY APOSTLES 2.22 · Written before 380.
proposed
For it is written thus in the fourth book of Kings and the second book of Chronicles, or of Days: "Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign; he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Hephzibah. He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, following the abominable practices of the nations that the Lord drove out before the people of Israel.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
The line - She shall have the same measure, the same judgments which Samaria had. The line is often put for one's lot or portion, because mens portions or possessions used to be measured by lines.
When God lays righteousness to the line it shall be the line of Samaria, measuring out to Jerusalem that which had been the lot of Samaria; when he lays judgment to the plummet it shall be the plummet of the house of Ahab, marking out for the same ruin to which that wretched family was devoted.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Am 7:7); so that the line of Samaria means the line drawn for the destruction of Samaria; the plummet of the house of Ahab, for exterminating his apostate family; and the import of the threatening declaration here is that Judah would be utterly destroyed, as Samaria and the dynasty of Ahab had been.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
The line of Samaria - I will treat Jerusalem as I have treated Samaria. Samaria was taken, pillaged, ruined, and its inhabitants led into captivity; Jerusalem shall have the same measure. And the plummet of the house of Ahab - The house of Ahab was totally destroyed, and not a man of his race left to sit upon the throne of Israel: so shall it be done to the house or royal family of Judah; they shall be all finally destroyed, and not a man of their race shall any more sit on the throne of Judah; nor shall Judah have a throne to sit on. Thus Jerusalem shall have the same weight as well as the same measure as Samaria, because it has copied all the abominations which brought that kingdom to total destruction. I will wipe Jerusalem as a man wipeth a dish - The Vulgate translates this clause as follows: Delebo Jerusalem, sicut deleri solent tabulae; “I will blot out Jerusalem as tablets are wont to be blotted out.” This is a metaphor taken from the ancient method of writing: they traced their letters with a stile on boards thinly spread over with wax; for this purpose one end of the stile was sharp, the other end blunt and smooth, with which they could rub out what they had written, and so smooth the place and spread back the wax, as to render it capable of receiving any other word. Thus the Lord had written down Jerusalem, never intending that its name or its memorial should be blotted out. It was written down The Holy City, The City of the Great King; but now God turns the stile and blots this out; and the Holy Jerusalem, the City of the Great King, is no longer to be found! […]
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The general meaning is plain, but the exact force of the metaphor used is not so clear. If the “line” and the “plummet” be “symbols of rule” or law, the meaning will be - “I will apply exactly the same measure and rule to Jerusalem as to Samaria - I will treat both alike with strict and even justice.”
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
And the plumb line. That is the string to which the builders of a wall tie a lead weight to make the wall straight. 2 I.e., so that the following rows of bricks or stones will all be directly above one another.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
Will ring. An expression of cymbals, 1 See Rashi in I Shmuel:11. tintiner, in O. F.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 5 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
21 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְנָטִ֣יתִי | venatiti | and I will stretch out | H5186 → | 214 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | over | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| יְרוּשָׁלִַ֗ם | yerushalim | Jerusalem | H3389 → | 643 times |
| אֵ֚ת | ʾet | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| קָ֣ו | kav | [the] measuring-line of | H6957 → | |
| שֹֽׁמְר֔וֹן | shomeron | Samaria | H8111 → | 109 times |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| מִשְׁקֹ֖לֶת | mishkolet | [the] leveling tool of | H4949 → | |
| בֵּ֣ית | beit | [the] house of | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| אַחְאָ֑ב | ʾachav | Ahab | H256 → | 92 times |
| וּמָחִ֨יתִי | umachiti | and I will wipe clean | H4229 → | 36 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| יְרוּשָׁלִַ֜ם | yerushalim | Jerusalem | H3389 → | 643 times |
| כַּֽאֲשֶׁר־ | kaasher- | just as | H834 → | 5497 times |
| יִמְחֶ֤ה | yimcheh | someone wipes clean | H4229 → | 36 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הַצַּלַּ֙חַת֙ | hatzalachat | the bowl | H6747 → | |
| מָחָ֔ה | machah | he wipes [it] clean | H4229 → | 36 times |
| וְהָפַ֖ךְ | vehafakh | and he turns [it] over | H2015 → | 94 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| פָּנֶֽיהָ׃ | paneiha | face its | H6440 → | 2123 times |
וְנָטִ֣יתִיand I will stretch out
venatitiH5186 →214 times
עַל־over
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
יְרוּשָׁלִַ֗םJerusalem
yerushalimH3389 →643 times
אֵ֚ת<obj.>
ʾetH853 →10935 times
קָ֣ו[the] measuring-line of
kavH6957 →
שֹֽׁמְר֔וֹןSamaria
shomeronH8111 →109 times
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
מִשְׁקֹ֖לֶת[the] leveling tool of
mishkoletH4949 →
בֵּ֣ית[the] house of
beitH1004 →2046 times
אַחְאָ֑בAhab
ʾachavH256 →92 times
וּמָחִ֨יתִיand I will wipe clean
umachitiH4229 →36 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
יְרוּשָׁלִַ֜םJerusalem
yerushalimH3389 →643 times
כַּֽאֲשֶׁר־just as
kaasher-H834 →5497 times
יִמְחֶ֤הsomeone wipes clean
yimchehH4229 →36 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הַצַּלַּ֙חַת֙the bowl
hatzalachatH6747 →
מָחָ֔הhe wipes [it] clean
machahH4229 →36 times
וְהָפַ֖ךְand he turns [it] over
vehafakhH2015 →94 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
פָּנֶֽיהָ׃face its
paneihaH6440 →2123 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
Isaiah 10:22Though your people, O Israel, be like the sand of the sea, only a remnant will return. Destruction has been decreed, overflowing with righteousness.
it leads to
- Romans 9:27–28
Isaiah cries out concerning Israel: “Though the number of the Israelites is like the sand of the sea, only the remnant will be saved.
- Romans 9:27–28
Through
Isaiah 34:11The desert owl and screech owl will possess it, and the great owl and raven will dwell in it. The LORD will stretch out over Edom a measuring line of chaos and a plumb…
it leads to
- Lamentations 2:8
The LORD determined to destroy the wall of the Daughter of Zion. He stretched out a measuring line and did not withdraw His hand from destroying. He made the ramparts and walls lament; together…
- Zephaniah 2:14
Herds will lie down in her midst, creatures of every kind. Both the desert owl and screech owl will roost atop her pillars. Their calls will sound from the window, but desolation will lie…
- Revelation 18:2
And he cried out in a mighty voice: “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She has become a lair for demons and a haunt for every unclean spirit, every unclean bird, and every detestable…
- Lamentations 2:8
Through
Isaiah 28:17I will make justice the measuring line and righteousness the level. Hail will sweep away your refuge of lies, and water will flood your hiding place.
it leads to
- Revelation 16:21
And great hailstones weighing almost a hundred pounds each rained down on them from above. And men cursed God for the plague of hail, because it was so horrendous.
- Revelation 16:21
Through
Lamentations 2:8The LORD determined to destroy the wall of the Daughter of Zion. He stretched out a measuring line and did not withdraw His hand from destroying. He made the ramparts and walls lament; together…
it leads to
- Isaiah 3:26
And the gates of Zion will lament and mourn; destitute, she will sit on the ground.
- Jeremiah 14:2
“Judah mourns and her gates languish. Her people wail for the land, and a cry goes up from Jerusalem.
- Isaiah 34:11
The desert owl and screech owl will possess it, and the great owl and raven will dwell in it. The LORD will stretch out over Edom a measuring line of chaos and a plumb…
- Isaiah 3:26
About 2 Kings
Who and where
3 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…
- PlaceThe northern hill countrySamariaThe hill Omri bought and built his capital on, where Ahab raised a temple to Baal, where the four lepers found the Aramean camp em…
- PlaceJerusalemJerusalemThe city David took from the Jebusites and made his capital, where Solomon built the temple, where Christ was crucified and rose,…
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Apostolic Constitutions, CONSTITUTIONS OF THE HOLY APOSTLES 2.22; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Chrysostom, HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW 22.6; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.