2 Kings 4:3

4:3 He said, “Go and ask all your neighbors for empty containers. ¹  Get as many as you can. ² 

2 Kings 6:3

6:3 One of them said, “Please come along with your servants.” He replied, “All right, I’ll come.”

2 Kings 9:31

9:31 When Jehu came through the gate, she said, “Is everything all right, Zimri, murderer of his master?” ³ 

2 Kings 17:39

17:39 Instead you must worship the Lord your God; then he will rescue you from the power of all your enemies.”

2 Kings 18:15

18:15 Hezekiah gave him all the silver in ⁴  the Lord’s temple and in the treasuries of the royal palace.

2 Kings 21:5

21:5 In the two courtyards of the Lord’s temple he built altars for all the stars in the sky.

2 Kings 24:3

24:3 Just as the Lord had announced, he rejected Judah because of all the sins which Manasseh had committed. ⁵ 

2 Kings 25:14

25:14 They also took the pots, shovels, ⁶  trimming shears, ⁷  pans, and all the bronze utensils used by the priests. ⁸ 

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¹ tn Heb “Go, ask for containers from outside, from all your neighbors, empty containers.”

² tn Heb “Do not borrow just a few.”

³ sn Jezebel associates Jehu with another assassin, Zimri, who approximately 44 years before had murdered King Elah, only to meet a violent death just a few days later (1 Kgs 16:9-20). On the surface Jezebel’s actions seem contradictory. On the one hand, she beautifies herself as if to seduce Jehu, but on the other hand, she insults and indirectly threatens him with this comparison to Zimri. Upon further reflection, however, her actions reveal a clear underlying motive. She wants to retain her power, not to mention her life. By beautifying herself, she appeals to Jehu’s sexual impulses; by threatening him, she reminds him that he is in the same precarious position as Zimri. But, if he makes Jezebel his queen, he can consolidate his power. In other words through her actions and words Jezebel is saying to Jehu, “You desire me, don’t you? And you need me!”

⁴ tn Heb “that was found.”

⁵ tn Heb “Certainly according to the word of the Lord this happened against Judah, to remove [them] from his face because of the sins of Manasseh according to all which he did.”

⁶ sn These shovels were used to clean the altar.

⁷ sn These were used to trim the wicks.

⁸ tn Heb “with which they served [or, ‘fulfilled their duty’].”