2 Kings 9:18
in 2 Kings 9So a horseman rode off to meet Jehu and said, “This is what the king asks: ‘Have you come in peace?’” “What do you know about peace?” Jehu replied. “Fall in behind me.” And the watchman reported, “The messenger reached them, but he is not coming back.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
So there went one on horseback to meet him, and said, Thus saith the king, Is it peace? And Jehu said, What hast thou to do with peace? turn thee behind me. And the watchman told, saying, The messenger came to them, but he cometh not back.
KJV
So there went one on horseback to meet him, and said, Thus saith the king, Is it peace? And Jehu said, What hast thou to do with peace? turn thee behind me. And the watchman told, saying, The messenger came to them, but he cometh not again.
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This verse in 2 Kings 9
Commentary
8 notes on this verseWhat hast thou to do with peace? - “What is it to thee whether there be peace or war? Join my company, and fall into the rear.”
This site's exposition
a watchman on the tower
on 2 Kings 9:17-20
A watchman posted on the tower reads the approach and sends first one horseman, then a second, and Jehu answers each the same way, what hast thou to do with peace, turn thee behind me, folding the king's own messengers into his advancing company. The watchman's final report turns on one detail rather than any message, the driving is like the driving of Jehu the son of Nimshi, for he driveth furiously, a description Clarke calls almost proverbial for the man. The reader learns Jehu's identity from his chariot before Joram does.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
So he went out with a group of select men. But he met Joram, king of Israel, in the course of his journey, and little later Ahaziah, king of Judah. He was able to defeat them after the first attack and killed them both.
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
He had scarcely recovered from the fright he was put into in the battle, and his guilty conscience put him into a continual terror. Each messenger asked the same question: " Is it peace? are you for us or for our adversaries?
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — odd-straight-quotes
So there went one on horseback to meet him, and said, thus saith the king, is it peace?....
But it is not much for any man's reputation to be known by his fury. He that has rule over his own spirit is better than the mighty. The Chaldee paraphrase gives this a contrary sense: The leading is like that of Jehu, for he leads quietly.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
A report was made to Joram in his palace below. A messenger on horseback was quickly despatched down into the plain to meet the ambiguous host and to question the object of their approach. "Is it peace?" We may safely assume that this messenger would meet Jehu at the distance of three miles or more.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
What hast thou to do with peace? - i. e., “What does it matter to thee whether my errand is one of peace or not?”
The words behind it
26 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֵּלֶךְ֩ | vaiyelekh | and he went | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| רֹכֵ֨ב | rokhev | [the] rider of | H7392 → | 78 times |
| הַסּ֜וּס | hasus | the horse | H5483 → | 140 times |
| לִקְרָאת֗וֹ | likrato | to meet him | H7122 → | 139 times |
| וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙ | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| כֹּֽה־ | koh- | thus | H3541 → | 577 times |
| אָמַ֤ר | ʾamar | he says | H559 → | 5305 times |
| הַמֶּ֙לֶךְ֙ | hamelekh | the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| הֲשָׁל֔וֹם | hashalom | ¿ peace | H7965 → | 236 times |
| וַיֹּ֧אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| יֵה֛וּא | yehu' | Jehu | H3058 → | 58 times |
| מַה־ | mah- | what? | H4100 → | 752 times |
| לְּךָ֥ | lekha | [is] to you | ||
| וּלְשָׁל֖וֹם | uleshalom | and to peace | H7965 → | 236 times |
| סֹ֣ב | so | go around | H5437 → | 161 times |
| אֶֽל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| אַחֲרָ֑י | ʾacharai | after me | H310 → | 715 times |
| וַיַּגֵּ֤ד | vaiyaged | and he reported | H5046 → | 370 times |
| הַצֹּפֶה֙ | hatzopeh | the watchman | H6822 → | 36 times |
| לֵאמֹ֔ר | lemor | <to> saying | H559 → | 5305 times |
| בָּֽא־ | ba'- | he came | H935 → | 2568 times |
| הַמַּלְאָ֥ךְ | hamalakh | the messenger | H4397 → | 213 times |
| עַד־ | ʾad- | to | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| הֵ֖ם | hem | they | H1992 → | 553 times |
| וְלֹֽא־ | velo'- | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| שָֽׁב׃ | shav | he has turned back | H7725 → | 1056 times |
וַיֵּלֶךְ֩and he went
vaiyelekhH1980 →1546 times
רֹכֵ֨ב[the] rider of
rokhevH7392 →78 times
הַסּ֜וּסthe horse
hasusH5483 →140 times
לִקְרָאת֗וֹto meet him
likratoH7122 →139 times
וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙and he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
כֹּֽה־thus
koh-H3541 →577 times
אָמַ֤רhe says
ʾamarH559 →5305 times
הַמֶּ֙לֶךְ֙the king
hamelekhH4428 →2525 times
הֲשָׁל֔וֹם¿ peace
hashalomH7965 →236 times
וַיֹּ֧אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
יֵה֛וּאJehu
yehu'H3058 →58 times
מַה־what?
mah-H4100 →752 times
לְּךָ֥[is] to you
lekha
וּלְשָׁל֖וֹםand to peace
uleshalomH7965 →236 times
סֹ֣בgo around
soH5437 →161 times
אֶֽל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
אַחֲרָ֑יafter me
ʾacharaiH310 →715 times
וַיַּגֵּ֤דand he reported
vaiyagedH5046 →370 times
הַצֹּפֶה֙the watchman
hatzopehH6822 →36 times
לֵאמֹ֔ר<to> saying
lemorH559 →5305 times
בָּֽא־he came
ba'-H935 →2568 times
הַמַּלְאָ֥ךְthe messenger
hamalakhH4397 →213 times
עַד־to
ʾad-H5704 →1261 times
הֵ֖םthey
hemH1992 →553 times
וְלֹֽא־and not
velo'-H3808 →5168 times
שָֽׁב׃he has turned back
shavH7725 →1056 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 48:22“There is no peace,” says the LORD, “for the wicked.”
it leads to
- Isaiah 57:21
“There is no peace,” says my God, “for the wicked.”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Job 15:20–24
A wicked man writhes in pain all his days; only a few years are reserved for the ruthless.
- Luke 19:42
and said, “If only you had known on this day what would bring you peace! But now it is hidden from your eyes.
- Romans 3:17
and the way of peace they have not known.”
- Isaiah 57:21
Through
Romans 3:17and the way of peace they have not known.”
it leads to
- Isaiah 59:8
The way of peace they have not known, and there is no justice in their tracks. They have turned them into crooked paths; no one who treads on them will know peace.
- Romans 5:1
Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
- Isaiah 59:8
Through
Jeremiah 16:5Indeed, this is what the LORD says: “Do not enter a house where there is a funeral meal. Do not go to mourn or show sympathy, for I have removed from this people My…
it leads to
- Ezekiel 24:16–23
“Son of man, behold, I am about to take away the desire of your eyes with a fatal blow. But you must not mourn or weep or let your tears flow.
- Ezekiel 24:16–23
Through
2 Kings 9:22When Joram saw Jehu, he asked, “Have you come in peace, Jehu?” “How can there be peace,” he replied, “as long as the idolatry and witchcraft of your mother Jezebel abound?”
it leads to
- 2 Chronicles 21:13
but you have walked in the ways of the kings of Israel and have caused Judah and the people of Jerusalem to prostitute themselves, just as the house of Ahab prostituted itself. You have…
- 2 Chronicles 21:13
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About 2 Kings

Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Ephrem the Syrian, ON THE SECOND BOOK OF KINGS 9:1-24; 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.
