2 Kings 10:16

10:16 Jehu 1  said, “Come with me and see how zealous I am for the Lord’s cause.” 2  So he 3  took him along in his chariot.

2 Kings 10:30-31

10:30 The Lord said to Jehu, “You have done well. You have accomplished my will and carried out my wishes with regard to Ahab’s dynasty. Therefore four generations of your descendants will rule over Israel.” 4  10:31 But Jehu did not carefully and wholeheartedly obey the law of the Lord God of Israel. 5  He did not repudiate the sins which Jeroboam had encouraged Israel to commit. 6 

1 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jehu) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

2 tn Heb “and see my zeal for the Lord.”

3 tc The MT has a plural form, but this is most likely an error. The LXX, Syriac Peshitta, and Vulgate all have the singular.

4 tn Heb “Because you have done well by doing what is proper in my eyes – according to all which was in my heart you have done to the house of Ahab – sons of four generations will sit for you on the throne of Israel.” In the Hebrew text the Lord’s statement is one long sentence (with a parenthesis). The translation above divides it into shorter sentences for stylistic reasons.

sn Jehu ruled over Israel from approximately 841-814 b.c. Four of his descendants (Jehoahaz, Jehoash, Jeroboam II, and Zechariah) ruled from approximately 814-753 b.c. The dynasty came to an end when Shallum assassinated Zechariah in 753 b.c. See 2 Kgs 15:8-12.

5 tn Heb “But Jehu was not careful to walk in the law of the Lord God of Israel with all his heart.”

6 tn Heb “He did not turn aside from the sins of Jeroboam which he caused Israel to commit.”