For the whole house of Ahab shall perish: and I will cut off from Ahab him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up and left in Israel:
Parallel translations
- WEB For the whole house of Ahab will perish. I will cut off from Ahab everyone who urinates against a wall, both him who is shut up and him who is left at large in Israel.
- BSB The whole house of Ahab will perish, and I will cut off from Ahab every male, both slave and free, in Israel.
- NKJV For the whole house of Ahab shall perish; and I will cut off from Ahab all the males in Israel, both bond and free.
- NASB For the entire house of Ahab shall perish, and I will eliminate from Ahab every male person both slave and free in Israel.
- NLT The entire family of Ahab must be wiped out. I will destroy every one of his male descendants, slave and free alike, anywhere in Israel.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
God declared that the whole house of Ahab would perish, every male cut off, bond and free alike. The judgment against Ahab's line would be total.
Overview
The sweeping language of total destruction echoes God's earlier sentences on the dynasties of Jeroboam and Baasha. The complete cutting off of Ahab's male descendants reflects the gravity of his sustained rebellion and idolatry. It is a solemn picture of how persistent, unrepentant wickedness eventually meets thorough divine judgment.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- 1 Sam 25:22So and more also do God unto the enemies of David, if I leave of all that pertain to him by the morning light any that pisseth against the wall.
- Deut 32:36For the LORD shall judge his people, and repent himself for his servants, when he seeth that their power is gone, and there is none shut up, or left.
- 2 Kgs 14:26For the LORD saw the affliction of Israel, that it was very bitter: for there was not any shut up, nor any left, nor any helper for Israel.
- 2 Kgs 10:17And when he came to Samaria, he slew all that remained unto Ahab in Samaria, till he had destroyed him, according to the saying of the LORD, which he spake to Elijah.
- 1 Kgs 21:21–22Behold, I will bring evil upon thee, and will take away thy posterity, and will cut off from Ahab him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up and left in Israel,
- 1 Kgs 14:10–11Therefore, behold, I will bring evil upon the house of Jeroboam, and will cut off from Jeroboam him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up and left in Israel, and will take away the remnant of the house of Jeroboam, as a man taketh away dung, till it be all gone.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Amid the long decline toward exile, the promise to David's house refuses to die; the flickering lamp kept burning anticipates the coming King who will not fail or be cut off.
How 2 Kings 9:8 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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