TRV
Translation
King James Version
And Jehu went, and Jehonadab the son of Rechab, into the house of Baal, and said unto the worshippers of Baal, Search, and look that there be here with you none of the servants of the LORD, but the worshippers of Baal only.
KJV (with Strong's)
And Jehu H3058 went H935, and Jehonadab H3082 the son H1121 of Rechab H7394, into the house H1004 of Baal H1168, and said H559 unto the worshippers H5647 of Baal H1168, Search H2664, and look H7200 that there be H3426 here with you none of the servants H5650 of the LORD H3068, but the worshippers H5647 of Baal H1168 only.
Complete Jewish Bible
Yehu and Y'honadav the son of Rekhav entered the house of Ba'al and said to the worshippers of Ba'al, "Search to see that none of the servants of ADONAI is here with you, only worshippers of Ba'al."
Berean Standard Bible
Next, Jehu and Jehonadab son of Rechab entered the temple of Baal, and Jehu said to the servants of Baal, “Look around to see that there are no servants of the LORD here among you—only servants of Baal.”
American Standard Version
And Jehu went, and Jehonadab the son of Rechab, into the house of Baal; and he said unto the worshippers of Baal, Search, and look that there be here with you none of the servants of Jehovah, but the worshippers of Baal only.
World English Bible Messianic
Jehu went with Jehonadab the son of Rechab into the house of Baal. Then he said to the worshipers of Baal, “Search, and look that there are here with you none of the servants of the LORD, but the worshipers of Baal only.”
Geneva Bible (1599)
And when Iehu went, and Iehonadab the sonne of Rechab into the house of Baal, he sayde vnto the seruants of Baal, Searche diligently, and looke, lest there be here with you any of the seruants of the Lord, but the seruants of Baal only.
Young's Literal Translation
And Jehu goeth in, and Jehonadab son of Rechab, to the house of Baal, and saith to the servants of Baal, `Search and see, lest there be here with you of the servants of Jehovah--but, the servants of Baal by themselves.'
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Commentary on 2 Kings 10 verses 15–28
15 ¶ And when he was departed thence, he lighted on Jehonadab the son of Rechab coming to meet him: and he saluted him, and said to him, Is thine heart right, as my heart is with thy heart? And Jehonadab answered, It is. If it be, give me thine hand. And he gave him his hand; and he took him up to him into the chariot.
16 And he said, Come with me, and see my zeal for the LORD. So they made him ride in his chariot.
17 And when he came to Samaria, he slew all that remained unto Ahab in Samaria, till he had destroyed him, according to the saying of the LORD, which he spake to Elijah.
18 And Jehu gathered all the people together, and said unto them, Ahab served Baal a little; but Jehu shall serve him much.
19 Now therefore call unto me all the prophets of Baal, all his servants, and all his priests; let none be wanting: for I have a great sacrifice to do to Baal; whosoever shall be wanting, he shall not live. But Jehu did it in subtilty, to the intent that he might destroy the worshippers of Baal.
20 And Jehu said, Proclaim a solemn assembly for Baal. And they proclaimed it.
21 And Jehu sent through all Israel: and all the worshippers of Baal came, so that there was not a man left that came not. And they came into the house of Baal; and the house of Baal was full from one end to another.
22 And he said unto him that was over the vestry, Bring forth vestments for all the worshippers of Baal. And he brought them forth vestments.
23 And Jehu went, and Jehonadab the son of Rechab, into the house of Baal, and said unto the worshippers of Baal, Search, and look that there be here with you none of the servants of the LORD, but the worshippers of Baal only.
24 And when they went in to offer sacrifices and burnt offerings, Jehu appointed fourscore men without, and said, If any of the men whom I have brought into your hands escape, he that letteth him go, his life shall be for the life of him.
25 And it came to pass, as soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt offering, that Jehu said to the guard and to the captains, Go in, and slay them; let none come forth. And they smote them with the edge of the sword; and the guard and the captains cast them out, and went to the city of the house of Baal.
26 And they brought forth the images out of the house of Baal, and burned them.
27 And they brake down the image of Baal, and brake down the house of Baal, and made it a draught house unto this day.
28 Thus Jehu destroyed Baal out of Israel.
Jehu, pushing on his work, is here,
I. Courting the friendship of a good man, Jehonadab the son of Rechab, Kg2 10:15, Kg2 10:16. This Jehonadab, though mortified to the world and meddling little with the business of it (as appears by his charge to his posterity, which they religiously observed 300 years after, not to drink wine nor dwell in cities, Jer 35:6, etc.), yet, upon this occasion, went to meet Jehu, that he might encourage him in the work to which God had called him. The countenance of good men is a thing which great men, if they be wise, will value, and value themselves by. David prayed, Let those that fear thee turn to me, Psa 119:79. This Jehonadab, though no prophet, priest, or Levite, no prince or ruler, was, we may suppose, very eminent for prudence and piety, and generally respected for that life of self-denial and devotion which he lived: Jehu, though a soldier, knew him and honoured him. He did not indeed think of sending for him, but when he met him (though it is likely he drove now as furiously as ever) he stopped to speak to him; and we are here told what passed between them. 1. Jehu saluted him; he blessed him (so the word is), paid him the respect and showed him the good-will that were due to so great an example of serious godliness. 2. Jehonadab assured him that he was sincerely in his interest and a hearty well-wisher to his cause. Jehu professed that his heart was right with him, that he had a true affection for his person and a veneration for the crown of his Nazariteship, and desired to know whether he had the same affection for him and satisfaction in that crown of royal dignity which God had put upon his head: Is thy heart right? a question we should often put to ourselves. "I make a plausible profession, have gained a reputation among men, but is my heart right? Am I sincere and inward with God?" Jehonadab gave him his word (It is), and gave him his hand as a pledge of his heart, yielded to him (so giving the hand is rendered, Ch2 30:8), concurred and covenanted with him, and owned him in the work both of revenge and of reformation he was now about. 3. Jehu took him up into his chariot and took him along with him to Samaria. He put some honour upon him, by taking him into the chariot with him (Jehonadab was not accustomed to ride in a chariot, much less with a king); but he received more honour from him, and from the countenance he gave to his present work. All sober people would think the better of Jehu when they saw Jehonadab in the chariot with him. This was not the only time in which the piety of some has been made to serve the policy of others, and designing men have strengthened themselves by drawing good men into their interests. Jehonadab is a stranger to the arts of fleshly wisdom, and has his conversation in simplicity and godly sincerity; and therefore, if Jehu be a servant of God and an enemy to Ball, he will be his faithful friend. "Come then" (says Jehu), "come with me, and see my zeal for the Lord; and then thou wilt see reason to espouse my cause." This is commonly taken as not well said by Jehu, and as giving cause to suspect that his heart was not right with God in what he did, and that the zeal he pretended for the Lord was really zeal for himself and his own advancement. For, (1.) He boasted of it, and spoke as if God and man were mightily indebted to him for it. (2.) He desired it might be seen and taken notice of, like the Pharisees, who did all to be seen of men. An upright heart approves itself to God and covets no more than his acceptance. If we aim at the applause of men, and make their praise our highest end, we are upon a false bottom. Whether Jehu looked any further we cannot judge; however Jehonadab went with him, and, it is likely, animated and assisted him in the further execution of his commission (Kg2 10:17), destroying all Ahab's friends in Samaria. A man may hate cruelty and yet love justice, may be far from thirsting after blood and yet may wash his feet in the blood of the wicked, Psa 58:10.
II. Contriving the destruction of all the worshippers of Baal. The service of Baal was the crying sin of the house of Ahab: that root of this idolatry was plucked up, but multitudes yet remained that were infected with it, and would be in danger of infecting others. The law of God was express, that they were to be put to death; but they were so numerous, and so dispersed throughout all parts of the kingdom, and perhaps so alarmed with Jehu's beginnings, that it would be a hard matter to find them all out and an endless task to prosecute and execute them one by one. Jehu's project therefore is to cut them all off together. 1. By a wile, by a fraud, he brought them together to the temple of Baal. He pretended he would worship Baal more than ever Ahab had done, Kg2 10:18. Perhaps he spoke this ironically, or to try the body of the people whether they would oppose such a resolution as this, and would resent his threatening to increase his predecessor's exactions, and say, "If it be so, we have no part in Jehu, nor inheritance in the son of Nimshi." But it rather seems to have been spoken purposely to deceive the worshippers of Baal, and then it cannot be justified. The truth of God needs not any man's lie. He issued a proclamation, requiring the attendance of all the worshippers of Baal to join with him in a sacrifice to Baal (Kg2 10:19, Kg2 10:20), not only the prophets and priests, but all, throughout the kingdom, who worshipped Baal, who were not nearly so many as they had been in Elijah's time. Jehu's friends, we may suppose, were aware of what he designed, and were not offended at it; but the bigoted besotted Baalites began to think themselves very happy, and that now they should see golden days again. Joram had put away the image of Baal, Kg2 3:2. If Jehu will restore it, they have what they would have, and come up to Samaria with joy from all parts to celebrate the solemnity; and they are pleased to see the house of Baal crowded (Kg2 10:21), to see his priests in their vestments (Kg2 10:22), and themselves perhaps with some badges or other to notify their relation to Baal, for there were vestments for all his worshippers. 2. He took care that none of the servants of the Lord should be among them, Kg2 10:23. This they took as a provision to preserve the worship of Baal from being profaned by strangers; but it was a wonder that they did not, by this, see themselves brought into a snare and discern a design upon them. No marvel if those that suffer themselves to be deceived by Baal (as all idolaters were by their idols), are deceived by Jehu to their destruction. 3. He gave order for the cutting of them all off, and Jehonadab joined with him therein, Kg2 10:23. When a strict search was made lest any of the servants of God should, either for company or curiosity, have got among them - lest any wheat should be mixed with those tares, and when eighty men were set to stand guard at all the avenues to Baal's temple, that none might escape (Kg2 10:24), then the guards were sent in to put them all to the sword and to mingle their blood with their sacrifices, in a way of just revenge, as they themselves had sometimes done, when, in their blind devotion, they cut themselves with knives and lancets till the blood gushed out, Kg1 18:28. This was accordingly done, and the doing of it, though seemingly barbarous, was, considering the nature of their crime, really righteous. The Lord, whose name is jealous, is a jealous God. 4. The idolaters being thus destroyed, the idolatry itself was utterly abolished. The buildings about the house of Baal (which were so many and so stately that they are here called a city), where Baal's priests and their families lived, were destroyed; all the little images, statues, pictures, or shrines, which beautified Baal's temple, with the great image of Baal himself, were brought out and burnt (Kg2 10:26, Kg2 10:27), and the temple of Baal was broken down, and made a dunghill, the common sink, or sewer, of the city, that the remembrance of it might be blotted out or made infamous. Thus was the worship of Baal quite destroyed, at least for the present, out of Israel, though it had once prevailed so far that there were but 7000 of all the thousands of Israel that had not bowed the knee to Baal, and those concealed. Thus will God destroy all the gods of the heathen, and, sooner or later, triumph over them all.
Matthew Henry (1662–1714) — Commentary on the Whole Bible. This section covers verses 15–28. Public domain.
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Theodoret of CyrusAD 458
QUESTION 34, ON 2 KINGS
“Then Jehu assembled all the people and said to them, ‘Ahab offered Baal small service; but Jehu will offer much more.’ ” We need to examine the purpose of words and actions. And this must be done here too. In fact, since he did not want anyone to escape his revenge, Jehu used these words, so that all the priests of Baal might come confidently. In addition, in order that no priest of God might share with them the same punishment, he ordered that they be driven away as though they were not worthy of that celebration, and so he killed only [the idolatrous priests]. He also burned the statue of Baal, cut down its sacred groves and freed the whole land of Israel from other idols. However, he continued to worship the two golden calves and gave the name of Baalim to the sanctuary of Baal.
Source: Quotations drawn from early Church Fathers and historical Christian theologians (AD 100–1500). Some quotes address the surrounding passage context rather than this verse alone.
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SUMMARY
Second Kings 10:23 marks a chilling and pivotal moment in Jehu's divinely commissioned purge of Baal worship from Israel. Having meticulously orchestrated a deceptive gathering of all Baal's prophets, priests, and devotees under the guise of a grand sacrifice, Jehu, accompanied by the unwavering monotheist Jehonadab, enters the very sanctuary of Baal to ensure that only those exclusively dedicated to the Canaanite deity are present, thereby setting the stage for a dramatic and decisive act of judgment that would effectively dismantle the state-sponsored idolatry.
CONTEXT
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
The verse employs several potent literary devices to heighten its dramatic and theological impact. Irony is profoundly prominent, as Jehu, the divinely appointed agent of Yahweh's judgment, enters the house of Baal under the guise of a devout worshipper, skillfully using the very religious fervor and exclusivity of his victims against them. His call for exclusive attendance is a perverse mirroring of Yahweh's own demand for exclusive worship, turning the idolaters' own principle against them in a devastating manner. Deception serves as the primary strategic device, meticulously crafted by Jehu to efficiently gather and isolate the Baal worshippers. This calculated cunning highlights Jehu's ruthless efficiency and unwavering resolve in executing his divine commission. Furthermore, the stark Contrast between "servants of the LORD" and "worshippers of Baal" powerfully emphasizes the absolute spiritual divide and the uncompromising nature of God's demand for exclusive devotion. Finally, the meticulous command to "Search, and look" functions as a form of Foreshadowing, subtly hinting at the thorough, inescapable, and devastating judgment that is about to befall those who remain within the house of Baal.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
This verse profoundly illustrates God's unyielding demand for exclusive worship and His severe judgment against idolatry. The meticulous separation of worshippers underscores the absolute incompatibility of Yahwism with any form of syncretism. God's holiness requires complete and undivided devotion, and the worship of false gods is not merely an alternative belief system but a direct affront to His sovereignty, His unique identity, and His covenant fidelity. While Jehu's methods are specific to his historical context as an instrument of divine judgment within the Old Covenant, the underlying theological principle remains timeless: God will not share His glory with another, and spiritual compromise ultimately leads to devastating consequences. This passage serves as a stark reminder of the seriousness with which God views spiritual adultery and the absolute necessity of wholehearted allegiance to Him alone.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
In our contemporary world, while we do not engage in physical purges of idolaters or execute God's judgment in the same manner as Jehu, the spiritual principles embedded in 2 Kings 10:23 remain profoundly relevant and convicting. This passage calls us to a radical self-examination of our own allegiances. Are there "Baals" in our lives today—anything that competes for the ultimate devotion due to God alone? These modern idols may not be carved images of wood or stone, but they can manifest as insatiable desires for wealth, power, comfort, social approval, technological distraction, or even the worship of self and personal autonomy. The meticulous separation Jehu enforced challenges us to cultivate profound spiritual discernment, to "search and look" within our own hearts and lives, identifying and ruthlessly rooting out anything that compromises our exclusive devotion to Christ. It reminds us that God demands wholehearted worship, not a divided heart or a syncretistic faith. This passage is a powerful call to spiritual purity, urging us to recognize the severe consequences of spiritual compromise and to cultivate an unyielding zeal for the Lord in every aspect of our lives, ensuring that our worship is truly "only" for Him.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
Why did Jehu use deception to gather the worshippers of Baal?
Answer: Jehu's use of deception, presenting the gathering as a "great sacrifice to Baal," was a highly strategic maneuver to achieve his divinely appointed mission of eradicating Baal worship in Israel. By feigning zealous devotion to Baal, he ensured that all the prophets, priests, and worshippers of Baal would assemble in one confined place, making it possible to eliminate them comprehensively and efficiently. This calculated tactic prevented them from scattering or organizing resistance, allowing for a decisive and complete purge as mandated by God's commission to him in 2 Kings 9:6-10. While deception is generally condemned in scripture, in this specific historical and theological context, it is presented as a divinely permitted means by which God's severe judgment against a deeply entrenched and idolatrous system was executed.
What is the significance of Jehonadab the son of Rechab being present with Jehu?
Answer: Jehonadab's presence with Jehu, as noted in 2 Kings 10:15, is highly significant and serves multiple purposes. The Rechabites were a distinct group known for their strict adherence to a nomadic, austere lifestyle and their unwavering loyalty to Yahweh, explicitly rejecting the settled agricultural practices and associated idolatry common in Canaan. Jehonadab's presence therefore served as a powerful endorsement of Jehu's actions from a perspective of pure, uncompromising Yahwism. It underscored that Jehu's purge was not merely a political coup or an act of personal ambition, but a righteous, divinely sanctioned act of religious purification. Jehonadab's acknowledged zeal for the Lord, highlighted in 2 Kings 10:16, aligned perfectly with Jehu's mission, lending crucial moral and spiritual authority to the severe judgment being executed against Baal worship.
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
While Jehu's actions represent a violent, historical purge of idolatry executed under the Old Covenant, they powerfully foreshadow the spiritual purification brought about by Jesus Christ. Jehu's meticulous separation of "servants of the LORD" from "worshippers of Baal" finds its ultimate and perfect fulfillment in Christ's redemptive work of establishing a people exclusively devoted to God. Jesus, the true Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, came not to destroy physical temples or execute physical purges, but to cleanse the spiritual temple of the human heart, calling for worship in spirit and truth. He confronted and cast out the spiritual "Baals" of sin, death, and the dominion of the devil, demanding undivided allegiance to God the Father. Through His atoning sacrifice on the cross, Christ makes it possible for us to be truly separated from the dominion of spiritual idolatry and to become a holy nation, a people for God's own possession, zealous for good works. His glorious return will bring the final and complete judgment against all forms of spiritual rebellion and idolatry, establishing His eternal kingdom where every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, ensuring that only true worshippers remain in His presence forever.