Bible Strands
2 Kings 9:19
So the king sent out a second horseman, who went to them and said, “This is what the king asks: ‘Have you come in peace?’” “What do you know about peace?” Jehu replied. “Fall in behind me.”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The king of Israel sends a second messenger to Jehu and his company. The rider delivers an official inquiry asking whether their approach is hostile or peaceful.
The words — וַ/יִּשְלַח (va/i.yish.Lach) means "and he sent," and שֵׁנִי (she.Ni) means "second," marking a deliberate escalation in royal communication. כֹּֽה־ (koh-) translates literally to "thus," framing the king's question as a formal decree rather than a casual greeting.
The thread — This verse extends the royal surveillance sequence initiated in 2 Kings 9:18. The repeated dispatch of riders and the watchman's follow-up report in 2 Kings 9:20 track the shifting dynamic between the established court and Jehu's advancing force.
Why it lands — It requires the reader to note how official inquiries function as military reconnaissance. The text presents diplomacy as a temporary measure that immediately yields to the reality of armed confrontation.
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
Then he sent out a second on horseback, which came to them, and said, Thus saith the king, Is it peace? And Jehu answered, What hast thou to do with peace? turn thee behind me.