2 Kings 9:12

2Ki 9:12 And they said, [It is] false; tell us now. And he said, Thus and thus spake he to me, saying, Thus saith the LORD, I have anointed thee king over Israel.

Ver. 12. And they said, It is false.] It is no ordinary errand that he cometh on to thee; and this they might gather by the prophet’s calling Jehu into an inner chamber, and perhaps by Jehu’s troubled thoughts appearing in his countenance.

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.

Verse 12. They said, It is false] Or, as the Chaldee has it, Thou liest. Or, perhaps, it might be thus understood, "We know he has said nothing but folly and lies, nevertheless, let us hear what he has said."

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

(12) It is false.—This is rather too strong, and does not convey the exact force of the reply. The captains reply to Jehu’s “Oh, you know all about it!” with the one word, “trickery!” i.e., “you are pretending!” “mere evasion!” They then assume a tone of persuasion: “Do tell us.” Even if they had really guessed the import of the prophet’s visit, their manner now convinced Jehu that he might safely trust them.

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

12. It is false] In the bluntest way they make Jehu understand that his answer is a mere subterfuge, and that in spite of having called the prophet a madman, they feel that he has not come without some special errand.

Thus saith the Lord, I have anointed thee] It is worthy of notice how constantly the people of the northern kingdom, though it was given up to calf-worship, and Baal-worship, yet attach the highest importance to the messages of God’s prophets, and act upon them without demur. Jehu and his companions, being about the court of Ahab, Ahaziah and Joram, no doubt joined in the idolatry and excesses of the time. But at the voice of the prophet they are prepared to dethrone the house of Ahab and put Jehu in his place.

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.

So Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat the son of Nimshi conspired against Joram,.... He and the captains with him entered into a confederacy to depose Joram, and set him up as king:

now Joram had kept Ramothgilead, he and all Israel, because of Hazael king of Syria; having taken it, he left his army in it, under the command of his captains, of which Jehu was the chief, to keep it from the king of Syria; which gave Jehu a fairer opportunity, having the army at his command, and at a distance from Joram, of forming a conspiracy against him.

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

False. We know not who he was, or what he said; though, from his conduct, we judge that he was one of the prophets. Hence they so readily acquiesced in saluting Jehu king. (Haydock)

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).

It is false: there is something extraordinary and of great importance in his message, as we plainly perceive by his calling thee into an inner chamber, by his great expedition, and by his gesture and carriage.

Tell us now: his concealment of the thing made them more greedy to know it.

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

12. False; tell us now — Though they had contemptuously called him a madman, their better nature told them that this was false, and now, as they notice Jehu’s disposition to evade their question, they insist on knowing the prophet’s mission.

Thus and thus spake he to me — He at once decides to tell them just that part of the prophet’s discourse and action which referred to his being made king, thinking, possibly, that they might consider that declaration further evidence of his being crazy. Of his commission to destroy the house of Ahab he said nothing.

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

And they said, It is false. There was no rudeness in the reply. It merely denied that Jehu"s supposition was correct. There had been no collusion between the spiritual and temporal authorities. The captains had no knowledge of the young prophet"s errand. Tell us now. "Tell us," i.e. , "what the young prophet said, since we are completely in the dark upon the subject." And he said, Thus and thus spoke he to me, saying, Thus saith the Lord, I have anointed thee king over Israel. Jehu declared to them without any reserve all that the young prophet had said to him. He accepted their declaration that they were not in league with him, and then gave them an exact account of all that had occurred. He left it for them to determine what, under the circumstances, they would do.

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

They said, “That is a lie.” [What] you are saying; you are hiding what he said to you.

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.