2 Kings 11:15

2Ki 11:15 But Jehoiada the priest commanded the captains of the hundreds, the officers of the host, and said unto them, Have her forth without the ranges: and him that followeth her kill with the sword. For the priest had said, Let her not be slain in the house of the LORD.

Ver. 15. And him that followeth her,] sc., To defend her and adhere to her; which none did, for they were all weary of her tyrannical government, and glad to be rid of her.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

2Ki 11:15. Jehoiada commanded the officers of the host — Of those companies of Levites, who are elsewhere called the Lord’s host, and now were the king’s host. Have her forth without the ranges — Through which they had suffered her to come. If she will not go out of them of her own accord, force her out of them. And him that followeth her, kill with the sword — If any of the people that shall come hither on this occasion, shall stand up for her help, let them be slain. Let her not be slain in the house of the Lord — That is, in the court of the temple, lest it be polluted with her blood.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

To take her part.

Or, out of the Temple.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

without the ranges--that is, fences, that the sacred place might not be stained with human blood.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 15. Have her forth] She had pressed in among the guards into the temple.

And him that followeth] The person who takes her part, let him instantly be slain.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(15) The captains of the hundreds, the officers of the host.—The centurions of the royal guard are called “the officers of the host” (comp. Num_31:14) to signify that it was they who gave effect to the high priest’s orders by communicating them to their troops.

Have her forth without the ranges.—Rather, Cause her to go out between the ranks—i.e., escort her out of the sacred precincts with a guard on both sides.

Him that followeth her—i.e., whoever shows any sympathy with her, or attempts to take her part. There might have been some of her partisans in the large gathering in the Temple court.

For the priest had said.—This is a parenthetic statement accounting for the order just given; and “had said” may mean “thought.”

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

15. But [R.V. And] Jehoiada the priest commanded the captains of the [R.V. omits the] hundreds, the officers of the host] R.V. that were set over the host. The changes bring the version into close agreement with 2 Chron. By the ‘host’ is meant the combined body who had been gathered by Jehoiada, and put under the direction of the five captains.

Have her forth without the ranges] R.V. between the ranks. That the meaning is ‘within’ and not ‘without’ the ranks is manifest from Lev_16:15 where the same prepositional form is found and cannot be otherwise translated than ‘within’. The object of Jehoiada’s order is plain. He would keep Athaliah surrounded by his own guards, but get her removed beyond the precincts of the temple. This harmonizes with the order recorded at the end of this verse, that she should not be slain in the house of the Lord.

and him that followeth her kill [R.V. slay] with the sword] The verb is the same as in the next clause. The persons who might perhaps be expected lo follow her, when she was led away guarded from the temple, would be those of her own attendants, who had not been allowed to come between the lines of the guard, yet now might think it their duty to try and rescue their mistress.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And they laid hands on her,.... Or rather,"set a place for her'',as the Targum; so Jarchi and Kimchi; made a space, opened a way for her to come out of the temple into their ranks, that she might be there taken and slain, and not in the temple:

and she went by the way by the which the horses came into the king's house; either the high road in which the horses and carriages went to the palace, or the way to the king's stables near the palace: and there was she slain; they let her go so far, which was far enough from the temple, and then they slew her.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Have her forth without the ranges - Rather, “Conduct her out between your ranks.” Guard her, i. e., on all sides, that the people may not fall upon her and kill her as she passes through the court, thereby polluting the temple.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Precinct. Hebrew sederoth, (untranslated by the Septuagint and (Haydock) improperly supposed by Josephus to be the torrent Cedron) means, "the ranks" of the guards, (Calmet) or, "ranges" of the sacred buildings, which her impure blood must not defile. (Haydock) --- Follow her, as an accomplice. (Menochius)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

The officers of the host; of these companies of Levites, who are elsewhere called the Lord’s host, and now were the king’s host.

Without the ranges; of which see above, 2Ki 11:8. If she will not go out of them of her own accord, force her out of them.

Him that followeth her; if any of the people, come hither upon this occasion, shall stand up for her help.

In the house of the Lord, i.e. in the court of the temple, lest it bc polluted with her blood.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

15. Without the ranges — See 2Ki_11:8.

Him that followeth her — That is, him that presumes to take her part and defend her.

Not be slain in… house of the Lord — The high priest would not have the temple stained with human blood.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

But Jehoiada the priest commanded the captains literally, princesof the hundreds, the officers of the host the commanders, i.e. , of the small "army" assembled in the temple courtand said unto them, Have her forth without the ranges; rather, have her forth, or conduct her out between your ranks. The object was probably to preserve her from suffering violence at the hands of any of the people within the temple precincts, which Jehoiada desired to preserve free from pollution. And him that followeth her kill with the sword; i.e. if any come after her out of the temple, to attempt a rescue, slay them with the sword. The order, given aloud, was sufficient to deter persons from making the attempt. For the priest had said, Let her not be slain in the house of the Lord. Jehoiada had previously given an order that her execution should take place outside the temple.

Vers. 15-17. God"s judgments not infrequently fall in this life, though sometimes they are deferred to the life beyond the grave.

The Athaliahs and Mattans of history seldom come to a good end. Though the wicked man be often seen in prosperity, though he "flourishes as a green bay tree," yet it is not often that he continues flourishing to the close of his days, or dies in comfort, peace, and happiness. The psalmist was satisfied when he saw "the end" of the man whose long-continued prosperity had vexed and grieved him. (Psa_73:2-22) Heathen wisdom bade men never to pronounce any one happy before his death," since in human life changes were of continual occurrence, and the higher a man"s exaltation above his fellows at a given time, the lower was likely to be his depression and degradation at another. The rationale of the matter seems to be

I GOD HAS ATTACHED PENALTIES TO VICE IN THE WAY OF NATURAL CONSEQUENCE, WHICH TAKE EFFECT IF TIME BE ALLOWED. Tyrants lay up for themselves a constantly increasing amount of hatred and resentment, which naturally bursts forth and sweeps them away after a while; e.g. Hipparchus, Tarquin, Dionysius, Caligula, Nero. Drunkards, gluttons, and profligate persons destroy their health. Reckless spendthrifts reduce themselves to poverty and want. Unfaithfulness strips men of their friends, and leaves them weak and defenseless against their adversaries. The prosperity of the wicked is naturally but for a time give them the full term of human life, and, before they die, their sin will, to a certainty, find them out, and they will cease to prosper.

II GOD DOES, ON OCCASION, VISIT HIGH-PLACED, PROSPEROUS SINNERS WITH SUDDEN, SIGNAL PUNISHMENTS DEALT BY HIS OWN HAND. Scripture gives us a certain number of examples, as those of the Pharaoh of the Exodus, Saul, Jezebel, Sennacherib, Nebuchadnezzar, Herod Agrippa, and the like, whose afflictions are distinctly declared to have been sent upon them by God himself in the way of punishment. While, no doubt, great caution is necessary in applying the principle thus indicated to other persons in history, and especially to living persons, we need not shrink from some application of it. God speaks to us in history, not only in his Word. When selfish usurpers, who have deluged whole continents in blood, and sacrificed tens or hundreds of thousands of lives to gratify their ambition, are cast down from their thrones, and die in exile or banishment, it is almost impossible not to see his hand in the occurrences, executing judgment. When an Arius, bent on the disruption of the Church, and seemingly at the point of triumph, expires silently in the night, or a Galerius, the most cruel of persecutors, perishes in most horrible agonies, there is no want of charity or of reverence in once more recognizing his finger interposed to save has Church or to avenge his martyred ones. "Some men"s sins are open beforehand, going before to judgment"; (1Ti_5:24) and, when the judgment falls, it would be willful blindness on our part not to recognize it. We must be cautious, and remember that those on whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, were not sinners above the other dwellers in Jerusalem; (Luk_13:4) but, if it was God"s vengeance that destroyed the cities of the plain, and that visited Nadab and Abihu, Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, Sihon and Og, Balaam, Adonizedek and his brother kings, Eglon, Sisera, Zebah, Zalmunna, Abimelech, Agag, Doeg, Shimei, Jezebel, Haman, Ananias, Sapphira, Herod Agrippa, Elymas, so we may be sure that it has fallen on hundreds of others whose names do not occur in Scripture, coming suddenly upon them, and cutting them off in their iniquities, generally when neither they nor others were in the least expecting it. God is still, as he has ever been, "the great, the mighty God, the Lord of hosts, great in counsel and mighty in work; his eyes are open upon all the ways of the sons of men, to give every one according to his ways and according to the fruit of his doings". (Jer_32:18, Jer_32:19) Either m this life or in the life to come he will execute vengeance upon evil-doers. Well for them if it is in this life, and if they so escape the dreadful lot of those "to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever". (Jud_1:13)

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Host - Of these companies of Levites, who are elsewhere called the Lord's host, and now were the king's host.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

the commanders of hundreds

The phrase "commander of hundreds" is probably an official title for a military officer. Possible meanings are 1) the word "hundreds" represents the exact amount of soldiers that each of these commanders led. AT: "the commanders of 100 soldiers" or 2) the word translated as "hundreds" does not represent an exact number, but is the name of a military division. AT: "the commanders of military divisions" See how you translated this in 2 Kings 11:4. (See: Numbers)

Bring her out between the ranks

"Take her away between two rows of guards" or "Lead her away with a row of soldiers on each side of her." Ranks are lines or rows of soldiers.

Anyone who follows her

It is implied that a person who followed her would be trying to help her. AT: "Anyone who follows to try to rescue her" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)

they seized her as she reached the place where the horses enter the palace grounds

Some versions translate this as "the guards seized her and took her to the palace, to the place where horses enter the courtyard."

translationWords

priest

sword

house of God

horse

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

“Remove her.” Out of the Beis Hamikdosh to the ranks [=שְׂדֵרוֹת] [i.e.,] and bring her by way of the שְׂדֵרוֹת to the king’s palace, but do not allow her to leave through the exit of the Temple court through the city, where she might find allies who will join her.

And anyone who follows her. To help her.

Kill with the sword. To slay with a sword.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.