2 Chronicles 18:33

However, a certain man drew his bow without taking special aim, and he struck the king of Israel between the joints of his armor. So the king said to his charioteer, “Turn around and take me out of the battle, for I am badly wounded!”

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — The narrator reports the moment an unnamed archer wounds King Ahab of Israel during the battle, prompting the king to command his charioteer to withdraw him from the fighting.

The words — The phrase לְתֻמּוֹ (le-tummo) translates literally as "to innocence," indicating the arrow was released without deliberate targeting. The verb וַיִּךְ (va-yiakh) means "and he struck," marking the sudden impact that breaches the king’s armor.

The thread — This event parallels the identical account in 1 Kings 22:34, where the same unaimed shot fulfills a prophetic warning. It also mirrors the fatal wounding of King Josiah in 2 Chronicles 35:23, where a monarch similarly orders his servants to remove him from combat after being struck.

Why it lands — The text records an uncalculated strike that ends a king’s life, demanding recognition that human strategy cannot override the moment of divine judgment.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

King James Version

And a certain man drew a bow at a venture, and smote the king of Israel between the joints of the harness: therefore he said to his chariot man, Turn thine hand, that thou mayest carry me out of the host; for I am wounded.

Cross-references

2 Samuel 15:11 Two hundred men from Jerusalem accompanied Absalom. They had been invited as guests and they went along innocently, for they knew nothing about the matter.
1 Kings 22:34 However, a certain man drew his bow without taking special aim, and he struck the king of Israel between the joints of his armor. So the king said to his charioteer, “Turn around and take me out of the battle, for I am badly wounded!”
2 Chronicles 35:23 There the archers shot King Josiah, who said to his servants, “Take me away, for I am badly wounded!”