So one went on horseback to meet him, and said, “the king says, ‘Is it peace?’ ” Jehu said, “What do you have to do with peace? Fall in behind me!” The watchman said, “The messenger came to them, but he isn’t coming back.”
Then he sent out a second on horseback, who came to them, and said, “The king says, ‘Is it peace?’ ” Jehu answered, “What do you have to do with peace? Fall in behind me!”
The watchman said, “He came to them, and isn’t coming back. The driving is like the driving of Jehu the son of Nimshi, for he drives furiously.”
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv18, 20 Or, follow me.
Or, follow me.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv18–20 2Ki 9:18 So there went one on horseback to…
2Ki 9:18 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.
Ver. 18. Is it peace?] See 2Ki 9:17.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv18, 20 What hast thou to do with peace? what right…
What hast thou to do with peace? what right hast thou, or thy master that sent thee, to peace?
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv18–20 And Joram said, make ready,.... The chariot, put to…
And Joram said, make ready,.... The chariot, put to the horses; bind them, as the word signifies, to the chariot:
and his chariot was made ready; by his servants immediately:
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and Joram king of Israel and Ahaziah king of Judah went out, each in his chariot; not both in the same chariot, but each in his own, for the sake of greater magnificence:
and they went out against Jehu; not in an hostile manner, for they had no notion of him as an enemy; though it is much they had no suspicion of him by his detaining the messengers; but Joram perhaps thought he was desirous of delivering his message himself; and in honour to him, and also being eager to know what it was, went out to meet him:
and met him in the portion of Naboth the Jezreelite; which had been his, and where, or near it, he was stoned, and his blood shed; a very inauspicious place to meet him in.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv18, 20 Verse 18. What hast thou to do with peace?]…
Verse 18. What 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."
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv18, 20 What hast thou to do with peace? - i.…
What hast thou to do with peace? - i. e., “What does it matter to thee whether my errand is one of peace or not?”
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv18, 20 Peace? As this expression sufficiently vindicated the designs of…
Peace? As this expression sufficiently vindicated the designs of Jehu, he would not suffer the messenger to return before him. (Haydock)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv18, 20 18. What hast thou to do with peace —…
18. What hast thou to do with peace — The supercilious language of a conqueror who is perfect master of the situation, and can dictate the course to be pursued.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv18, 20 18. What hast thou to do with peace?] What…
18. What hast thou to do with peace?] What concern is it of thine whether I come peaceably or not? My errand is not to thee. Josephus says the messenger’s enquiry was about affairs in the camp, for that the king’s questions were about them. Jehu bade him not to worry about these things but to follow him (Ant. IX. 6. 3). The design of Jehu’s order was that no information should be brought to Joram.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv18–20 (18) One on horseback.—Literally, the rider of the horse.
(18) One on horseback.—Literally, the rider of the horse.
What hast thou to do with peace?—A rough evasion: “What business is it of yours, on what ground I am come?” Conscious of his strength, Jehu can despise the royal message, and the messenger durst not disobey the fierce general, when ordered summarily to the rear. Of course Jehu wished to prevent an alarm being raised in Jezreel.
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Came to them.—Literally, came right up to them. (The Hebrew text should be corrected from 2Ki_9:20.)
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv18–20 So there went one on horseback to meet him,…
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. Jehu chooses to accept the messenger"s words as if they were his own, and not those of the king. "What does it matter to such a one as thee, a mere common man, whether my tidings are peaceful or the contrary? I shall not tell thee my errand. Turn and follow in my train." The messenger had no choice but to obey. An attempt at flight would have led to his being seized or slain. And the watchman told, saying, The messenger came to them, but he cometh not again. The watchman evidently thought his not returning suspicious, and reported it at once. Joram should now have taken alarm, but he did not. He appears to have had no notion that any danger could be approaching.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On v20 The driving is like the driving of Jehu.
2Ki_9:20
The driving is like the driving of Jehu.
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Religious fanaticism
Jehu was a religious fanatic; his whole nature was on fire with indignation against the idolatry in his country under the reign of King Joram. We may take this mans history to illustrate some of the worst features of fanaticism.
I. It driveth furiously, with a heartless disregard to the lives of all who differ from it. What eared Jehu for the lives of those who differed from him in religious opinion? Nothing. What do your religious fanatics, who often assemble in thousands to hoot Out their impious crudities, care for the bodily interests, health, or life of those who differ from them? Religious fanaticism is essentially cruel.
II. It driveth furiously, with an ostentatious spirit. Come with me, and see my zeal for the Lord (2Ki_10:16). Jehu really did not care for the Lord or for true theology. He cared only for himself--self-display, self-glory. Fanaticism is essentially ostentations. It creates a morbid hunger for the applause of men. It will itinerate the country, have preachments every day of the week, prayer-meetings all the day, and drive furiously on; but it will take good care to have the whole set forth in puffing advertisements and paraded in all the prints of the so-called Christian world. Come with me, and see my zeal for the Lord. How unlike the true ministry of heaven, which does not cause its voice to be heard in the street, which does its world silently as the sunbeam.
III. It driveth furiously under the cover of pretence. This Jehu resolved to destroy all the worshippers of Baal; but how did he set to work in order to accomplish this end? Not in a straightforward way. Inspiration tells us, Jehu did it in subtilty. There is a somewhat popular impression, that fanaticism is always sincere. This is a mistake; as a rule, it is a lying thing. As it works by falsehood, so it works under its cover. Fanaticism, says Professor Lange, dissolves all the bonds of life and love, but imputes the blame of it to faith. It leads a man to acts of betrayal, of rebellion, and of murder, while he imagines that he is offering sacrifices acceptable to God. It institutes a community of hatred, in opposition to the community of love, and treats the fire of hell as if it were sacred. It appears in the guise of religion, but for the purpose of banishing Christ and His Gospel from the earth. Conclusion:--Infer not that because a minister, a community, or a Church are driving furiously in religious work, that they are religious. Genuine religion is a life, not a passion; it is a river, silent and constant as the stars, not a flood rushing and roaring for the hour. (Homilist.)
Going ahead
Jehu has been dead many a long century now, but he has always had his successors; and probably they are more numerous to-day than ever. Among the young men of our day this go-ahead character is very common. Nor do I feel disposed to check it. Our tirades demand it. We are living in an age of lightning. It teems with revolutions every hour. Art, science, and commercial enterprises advance with inconceivable velocity. What was, not long since, the dreary journey of a week, is now a delightful excursion of a few hours; and young men feel that if they are to keep pace with the times, they must possess the go-ahead spirit of Jehu. This I do not condemn. Idleness leads to the greatest prodigality. But what I wish to do to-night is this--exhort you to mind that your zeal is guided by wisdom and prudence. You are zealous; but is your zeal directed to right ends? A misdirected zeal is like a sword in a madmans hand. There are numbers, who, with their go-ahead spirit, have found themselves in our gaols, or lying in our hospitals, with the wasting hand of disease inflicting upon them its awful torments. And, alas, they themselves are not the only sufferers. Look on those who wait on their footsteps, with muffled faces and sable garments. That is a father, and that is a mother, whose grey hairs are coming with sorrow to the grave. To all furious drivers I would say--
I. First, pull up. I have read somewhere, of a horse rushing down a country village, with nostrils distended, and with fire flashing from his heels, yet without driver or hand to guide him. He was dragging behind him a cart, in which was a child, who clung to its side in pale terror. A woman, as it passed, shot from her doorway, like an arrow from its bowstring, and followed in full pursuit, crying, Save that child! save that child! Why did she run and cry thus? Oh, you say, It was her child. No, it was not. She had left her own little ones all safe around her hearth; but she had a heart above that selfishness which would care only for its own. That child had a mother, but she was not there, the good woman would take her place--one of her children might want help some day. Imbued, I trust, with the unselfish spirit of this woman, we seek to-night to check the speed of those fiery passions which are dragging some of you to death. You are probably unknown to us; but have you not a mother who loves you, a mother who prays for you? You have been going ahead bravely of late, you think. You rightly judge life to be short, and you feel that if you are to enjoy life, you had better be quick about it; if you are to get a fortune you had better keep a sharp lookout. Yes, this is all very well, but where will this pleasure-seeking lead you? It may be, in your haste to get money, you do not scruple to be a little dishonest. Anyhow, by hook or by crook, you say, I mean to go ahead. Yes, but where will this furious driving lead you? Perhaps you have never thought of this. You dont know where you are going. I believe more young men are ruined for the want of thought, than aught else.
II. Now I want you to turn round. You feel to-night you have been going ahead on the wrong road. You have determined, as God shall help you, to pull up. But remember, pulling up is only part of the business. You have been on the wrong road; you now want the right. The first thing you need is a new heart. You need the power of the Holy Spirit to convert you. I shall have no faith in your fine resolutions to give up evil habits, evil companions, and pleasure-seeking, unless you have implanted within you new principles. Wind and tide will be against you. In your own strength you may pull until your veins stand like whipcord upon your brow, and you will go down the stream still: And even suppose you should be able to give up the grosset forms of sin, yet, without religion, you must feel when you come to die that, after all, your life has been a failure. Let me urge you, therefore, to seek salvation through Christ.
III. Now, go ahead. I must now assume that you have decided for Christ, united yourself with Christian companions and a Christian Church. At any rate, many young men here have done that; so that the advice I am about to give cannot be deemed impracticable. In common sense, Christian young men, this go-ahead spirit is very desirable; desirable even from a business point of view. We are commanded to be diligent in business. If you are in business for yourself, seek, in every true and honest way, to augment your income. In doing so, you will have Gods blessing upon you. Do not be miserly, do not be covetous; but do seek, by dint of plodding perseverance, and constant attention to business, to rise in the world. (W. Williams.)
Scorchers
The scorcher, as he is commonly understood in bicycle parlance, is a rider who is determined to have his own way and his own good time on the road, though he endanger the happiness and even life and limb of hundreds of other riders. He is certainly a nuisance and a despicable character. Alas! there are scorchers in other departments of life than bicycle riding. The scorcher in business or social or religious circles is just as mean and dangerous a character as when going at breakneck speed down the road on his wheel. The scorcher is such because of his selfishness. It is the work of Christianity to eleminate the scorcher, and bring in the brother in his place. The proverb of the scorcher is, Every man for himself, and the devil take the hindermost. The law of the brother is, Bear ye one anothers burdens and so fulfil the law of Christ. (L. A. Banks, D. D.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v19 Then he sent out a second man on horseback,…
Then he sent out a second man on horseback, who came to them
"Then king Joram sent a second messenger riding a horse, who went out to meet Jehu and his army"
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a second man
Joram had already sent one man. This was the next. AT: "another man" (See: Ordinal Numbers)
What have you to do with peace?
Jehu uses this rhetorical question to tell the messenger that it is none of his concern if he comes in peace or not. This may be written as a statement. See how you translated this question in 2 Kings 9:18. AT: "It is not your concern if I have come in peace!" or "It is not for you to know if I have come in peace!" (See: Rhetorical Question)
For the way that the chariot is being driven is the way that Jehu son of Nimshi drives
This may be stated in active form. AT: "Because the driver of the chariot drives the same way that Jehu son of Nimshi drives" (See: Active or Passive)
translationWords
king
Jehu
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.