2nd Kings Chapter 9 verse 11 Holy Bible

Pulpit Commentary

Pulpit CommentaryVerses 11-22. - Conspiracy of Jehu against Jehoram. Verse 11. - Then Jehu came forth to the servants of his lord. After the young man the prophet had made his precipitate retreat, Jehu, too, quitted the inner chamber, and "came forth" - returned to the place where he had been sitting with "the servants of his lord" - the other captains of the host (ver. 5) - and rejoined their company. And one said unto him, Is all well? One of the other captains of the host took the word and asked, in the ordinary phraseology of the time, "Is it peace?" (comp. vers. 17,18, 19, 22) - or, in other words, u Is all right?" "Is all well?" The sudden appearance and disappearance of the messenger had evidently created an impression that all was not well. Wherefore came this mad fellow to thee? He did not suppose the man to be actually mad. He calls him "this wild fellow" - "this scatterbrain," on account of the haste and strangeness of his conduct; but he quite expects to hear that there was "method in the madness," and that the communication had some serious import. And he - i.e. Jehu - said unto them, Ye know the man, and his communication. Jehu suspected that the whole scene had been arranged beforehand; that Elisha and the young prophet and the captains of the host were in league, and had concerted a way of offering him the throne. He may have had reason to regard the captains as disaffected towards Jehoram, though this does not appear at all distinctly in the very brief narrative.

Ellicott's Commentary

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(11) The servants of his lord.--Jehoram's captains.And one said.--Many MSS. and all the versions, except the Targum, have "and they said."Is all well?--They dreaded some sinister news.This mad fellow.--They were struck by his wild demeanour and furious haste. Or, perhaps, "this inspired one," in a tone of ridicule. (Comp. Hosea 9:7.)Ye know the man.--There is emphasis on the ye. Jehu apparently implies that the man was sent to him by his fellow-generals--that they had planned the whole thing. His purpose is to find out their disposition. Or, more probably, his reply may simply mean: "Why ask me, when you yourselves must have divined the right answer to your question?"His communication.--Or, his meditation (comp. 1Kings 18:27)--i.e., the thing he had in his mind, his purpose in coming. Corn, a Lapide: "Ye know that he is mad, and accordingly what he says is mad, and therefore neither to be credited nor repeated." LXX., "Ye know the man and his babble;" the Targum, "and his story;" the Syriac, "and his folly;" the Vulg., "and what he said;" the Arabic, "and his news."