2 Kings 10:10

Know now that there shall fall unto the earth nothing of the word of the LORD, which the LORD spake concerning the house of Ahab: for the LORD hath done that which he spake by his servant Elijah.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(10) Fall unto the earth.—As a dead thing; man, bird, or beast. (Comp. Matthew 10:29.)

Nothing of the word of the Lord.—No part of Elijah’s prediction shall fail of accomplishment.

For the Lord hath done.—Rather, and Jehovah, He hath done; or, and Jehovah it is who hath done.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

10:1-14 In the most awful events, though attended by the basest crimes of man, the truth and justice of God are to be noticed; and he never did nor can command any thing unjust or unreasonable. Jehu destroyed all that remained of the house of Ahab; all who had been partners in his wickedness. When we think upon the sufferings and miseries of mankind, when we look forward to the resurrection and last judgment, and think upon the vast number of the wicked waiting their awful sentence of everlasting fire; when the whole sum of death and misery has been considered, the solemn question occurs, Who slew all these? The answer is, SIN. Shall we then harbour sin in our bosoms, and seek for happiness from that which is the cause of all misery?

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Shall fall to the earth - i. e., "Shall remain unfulfilled" (compare the marginal reference). Jehu and others were but executing the word of the Lord.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

9-11. said to all the people, Ye be righteous, &c.—A great concourse was assembled to gaze on this novel and ghastly spectacle. The speech which Jehu addressed to the spectators was artfully framed to impress their minds with the idea that so wholesale a massacre was the result of the divine judgments denounced on the house of Ahab; and the effect of it was to prepare the public mind for hearing, without horror, of a similar revolting tragedy which was soon after perpetrated, namely, the extinction of all the influential friends and supporters of the dynasty of Ahab, including those of the royal house of Judah.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

But the truth is, neither I nor they are to be blamed; nor you that assisted and encouraged me herein; for this is not man’s work, but God’s, and done by his command. He mentions

Elijah rather than Elisha; partly because Elijah was now dead, and therefore his name and memory was more sacred than Elisha’s, who was yet alive; this being the common humour and folly of mankind, to value and honour those that are dead, whom they contemned whilst they lived; and partly because Elijah’s prophecy was known, and public, and famous; when Elisha’s was delivered in a corner, and that not from his own mouth, but by one of the sons of the prophets.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

Know now, that there shall fall unto the earth nothing of the word of the Lord, which the Lord spake concerning the house of Ahab,.... He would have them observe, that all this, and what else should follow of the same kind, were and would be brought about by the providence of God, according to divine predictions, and as just punishments on Ahab's family for their sins; and therefore neither he nor others were to be blamed for what was done, since they were only instruments made use of by the Lord, who both foretold all this, and gave orders for the execution of it:

for the Lord hath done that which he spake by his servant Elijah; see 1 Kings 21:21.

Geneva Study Bible

Know now that there shall fall unto the earth nothing of the word of the LORD, which the LORD spake concerning the house of Ahab: for the LORD hath done that which he spake by his servant Elijah.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

10. Know now that there shall fall unto the earth nothing of the word of the Lord] Thus Jehu constitutes himself, in the eyes of the people, the instrument by which the Lord is to avenge the evil doings of the house of Ahab. He also leads them to expect that there is more vengeance yet in store. On the phrase ‘to fall to the earth’ or ‘to the ground’ signifying ‘to be unfulfilled’ or ‘ineffective’, cf. 1 Samuel 3:19.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 10. - Know now that there shall fall unto the earth - i.e. "perish," "come to naught" - nothing of the word of the Lord, which the Lord spake concerning the house of Ahab. As the accomplishment had gone so far, it was safe to predict, or at any rate Jehu felt emboldened to predict, that the entire prophecy of Elijah would be fulfilled to the letter. The whole house of Ahab would perish - it would be made like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah (1 Kings 21:23), and its adherents would share its fate. For the Lord hath done that which he spake by his servant Elijah; i.e. "has requited Ahab in the portion of Jezreel; has caused dogs to eat the flesh of Jezebel; and has begun the destruction of his house. The inchoate fulfillment of prophecy was always felt to be the strongest possible argument for its ultimate complete fulfillment. 2 Kings 10:10

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

When the heads were brought, Jehu had them piled up in two heaps before the city-gate, and spoke the next morning to the assembled people in front of them: "Ye are righteous. Behold I have conspired against my lord, and have slain him, but who has slain all these?" Jehu did not tell the people that the king's sons had been slain by his command, but spake as if this had been done without his interfering by a higher decree, that he might thereby justify his conspiracy in the eyes of the people, and make them believe what he says still further in 2 Kings 10:10 : "See then that of the word of the Lord nothing falls to the ground (i.e., remains unfulfilled) which Jehovah has spoken concerning the house of Ahab; and Jehovah has done what He spake through His servant Elijah."