2 Kings 9:24

2Ki 9:24 And Jehu drew a bow with his full strength, and smote Jehoram between his arms, and the arrow went out at his heart, and he sunk down in his chariot.

Ver. 24. And the arrow went out at his heart.] Jehu was an excellent marksman; but it was God that guided his hand, strengthened his arm, {Eze 30:24} and ordered his arrow. {Jer 50:9}

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_9:24

And Jehu drew a bow with his full strength.

Aimlessness

The frivolous, purposeless lives of this world are like ships at the mercy of the wind and tide. Hail one of them, and ask, Whither are you bound? and the answer will be, I dont know. What cargo do you carry? Nothing. Well, what are you doing out here on the ocean of life? Only drifting. Ah! but you dont know what a sorry spectacle you make only drifting when there is so much to be done. It is said that Carlyle, on one of his daily walks, met a young man, and, falling into conversation with him, inquired about his purpose in life. I havent any particular purpose, came the reply. Then get one, exclaimed the stern old man, striking his cane on the pavement--get one quick. (Homiletic Review.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Verse 24. Drew a bow with his full strength] The marginal reading is correct: He filled his hand with a bow. That is, "He immediately took up his bow, set his arrow, and let fly." This is the only meaning of the passage.

Between his arms] That is, between his shoulders; for he was now turned, and was flying from Jehu.

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

(24) And Jehu drew . . . strength.—See margin, which, however, is not quite accurate. Rather it should be, And Jehu had filled his hand (with an arrow) on the bow—i.e., had meanwhile put an arrow on his bow ready to shoot. Keil explains, “filled his hand with the bow,” i.e., seized the bow. The phrase “to fill a bow” means to stretch it, both in Hebrew (Zec_9:13) and in Syriac (Psa_11:2). In Psa_64:4. Symmachus renders the Hebrew, “they have aimed their arrow,” by the Greek, ἐπλήρωσαν τὸ τόξον, “they have filled the bow.”

Between his arms—i.e., between the shoulders, as he was flying; Vulg., “inter scapulas.”

The arrow went out at his heart.—Or, came out from his heart. It struck him obliquely between the shoulders, and went right through the heart. (The word for “arrow” is hĕçî, an ancient form, occurring thrice in 1Sa_20:36-38.) Ewald, on this account, refers both passages to the oldest narrator of the history of the kings.

Sunk down.—See margin (Isa_46:1).

In his chariot.—LXX., “on his knees,” owing to a partial obliteration of one letter in their Hebrew text.

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

24. drew a [R.V. his] bow with his full strength] Literally as on margin of R.V. ‘filled his hand with the bow’, which expresses the attitude of a bowman as he shoots.

between his arms] As he was in flight, the arrow passed between his shoulders and so went through the breast. He was mortally wounded and could not be stayed up in his chariot, but died at once. Instead of ‘in his chariot’ the LXX. renders ‘upon his knees, reading the preposition in ברככו as a part of the root and treating the word as if it had been ברכיו.

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.

But when Ahaziah the king of Judah saw this,.... That Joram was slain:

he fled by the way of the garden house, which perhaps stood upon the spot where Naboth's vineyard was, turned into a garden by Ahab:

and Jehu followed after him; as far as Samaria, where he was hid, Ch2 22:9,

and said, smite him also in the chariot; this order he gave to his soldiers, to do to him as he had done to Joram: and they did so:

at the going up to Gur, which is by Ibleam; a city in the tribe of Manasseh, Jos 17:11,

and he fled to Megiddo; after he was wounded; another city in the same tribe, Jos 17:11,

and died there; at Megiddo; though some think that from thence he was had by his servants to Samaria, and there hid, and, being found, was brought from thence to Jezreel, where he was slain, and died. Jehu was ordered to destroy the whole house of Ahab, and Ahaziah was of that house by his mother's side, and walked in the way of it, and was in conjunction with it, and perished therewith; this, though here recorded, was after the death of Jezebel, and of the seventy sons of Ahab, and of the brethren of Ahaziah.

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

Jehu drew a bow ... - literally, as in the margin, i. e., “Jehu took a bow in his hand.” The arrow struck Jehoram’s back, between his two shoulders, as he fled.

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

Between his arms; between his shoulders, when he was turned or turning back, the chariot being probably open behind, as many times they were.

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

And Jehu drew a bow with his full strength. This meaning is scarcely contained in the Hebrew, which merely says that Jehu "filled his hand with his bow," that is to say, took his bow into his hands for the purpose of using it. And smote Jehoram between his arms; i.e. directed an arrow against Jehoram with so true an aim, that it struck him in the middle of the back between his shoulders. And the arrow went out at his heart. This was quite possible, for the heart lies towards the center of the chest, not wholly on the left side. It is not necessary to suppose an oblique wound. And he sank down in his chariot. Jehoram fell into the "well," or body, of the chariot, and there lay, the chariot being brought to a stand.

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

The arrow - It was one of God's arrows, which he ordained against the persecutor.

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