Then he wrote a letter the second time to them, saying, If ye be mine, and if ye will hearken unto my voice, take ye the heads of the men your master's sons, and come to me to Jezreel by to morrow this time. Now the king's sons, being seventy persons, were with the great men of the city, which brought them up.

2 KINGS 10:6KJV
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2 Kings 10:6 (KJV)

What does 2 Kings 10:6 mean?

2 Kings 10:6 describes Jehu’s demand that the leaders caring for King Ahab’s sons prove their loyalty to him by killing them. Jehu orders the leaders to bring the sons’ heads to him at Jezreel by the next day.

Jehu’s second letter follows the leaders’ surrender to him in verse 5. The sons are in the care of the city’s prominent men, who have brought them up. Jehu turns that responsibility into a test of whether the men will obey his orders.

The Hebrew behind 2 Kings 10:6

  • “hearken” — שָׁמַע (shamaʿ): This word can mean “hear” or “listen,” and it can also carry the sense of obeying. Here, listening to Jehu’s “voice” means doing what his letter commands.
  • “brought them up” — גָּדַל (gadal): This word can describe growing up or raising someone. The phrase shows that the city’s leading men had a role in the sons’ upbringing, not merely that the sons were staying with them.

Why 2 Kings 10:6 matters

  • Jehu’s demand makes loyalty visible through an act. “If ye be mine” is followed by a command that would place the leaders on Jehu’s side against their former master’s family.
  • The mention of seventy sons shows the scale of the order. The “great men of the city” are being told to act against a whole group entrusted to their care.
  • The deadline makes the demand urgent. Jehu expects the men to reach Jezreel “by to morrow this time,” leaving little room for delay.

Where else these words appear

“Jezreel” Hebrew H3157 · used in 32 verses

  • Joshua 15:56 And Jezreel, and Jokdeam, and Zanoah,
  • 1 Kings 18:45 And it came to pass in the mean while, that the heaven was black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Ahab rode, and went to Jezreel.
  • 2 Kings 9:36 Wherefore they came again, and told him. And he said, This is the word of the LORD, which he spake by his servant Elijah the Tishbite, saying, In the portion of Jezreel shall dogs eat the flesh of Jezebel:

“morrow” Hebrew H4279 · used in 52 verses

  • Genesis 30:33 So shall my righteousness answer for me in time to come, when it shall come for my hire before thy face: every one that is not speckled and spotted among the goats, and brown among the sheep, that shall be counted stolen with me.
  • Joshua 3:5 And Joshua said unto the people, Sanctify yourselves: for to morrow the LORD will do wonders among you.
  • 1 Samuel 20:18 Then Jonathan said to David, To morrow is the new moon: and thou shalt be missed, because thy seat will be empty.

“seventy” Hebrew H7657 · used in 90 verses

  • Genesis 4:24 If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, truly Lamech seventy and sevenfold.
  • Numbers 7:73 His offering was one silver charger, the weight whereof was an hundred and thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them full of fine flour mingled with oil for a meat offering:
  • 2 Chronicles 2:2 And Solomon told out threescore and ten thousand men to bear burdens, and fourscore thousand to hew in the mountain, and three thousand and six hundred to oversee them.

“up” Hebrew H1431 · used in 112 verses

  • Genesis 12:2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
  • 1 Chronicles 22:5 And David said, Solomon my son is young and tender, and the house that is to be builded for the LORD must be exceeding magnifical, of fame and of glory throughout all countries: I will therefore now make preparation for it. So David prepared abundantly before his death.
  • Isaiah 23:4 Be thou ashamed, O Zidon: for the sea hath spoken, even the strength of the sea, saying, I travail not, nor bring forth children, neither do I nourish up young men, nor bring up virgins.