Bible Strands
2 Kings 9:34
Then Jehu went in and ate and drank. “Take care of this cursed woman,” he said, “and bury her, for she was the daughter of a king.”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Jehu addresses his attendants inside the palace courtyard immediately after Jezebel is thrown from the window. He commands them to dispose of her body while acknowledging her royal lineage.
The words — The Hebrew פִּקְדוּ (pikdu) literally means "attend to" or "take care of," paired with הָ/אֲרוּרָ֤ה (ha'arurah), "the accursed one," to mark her condemned status. The consecutive verbs וַ/יָּבֹ֖א, וַ/יֹּ֣אכַל, וַ/יֵּ֑שְׁתְּ (va/i.ya.vo, va/i.Yo.khal, va/i.Ye.shet) simply record him entering, eating, and drinking before giving the burial order.
The thread — Jehu’s immediate meal parallels Elijah’s directive to Ahab in 1 Kings 18:41 before a divine sign. Her identification as a king’s daughter recalls the royal marriage recorded in 1 Kings 16:31.
Why it lands — The text notes Jehu’s swift return to routine dining after ordering an execution, then commands burial only to preserve royal dignity. It asks the reader to observe how political calculation dictates the handling of a fallen ruler’s remains.
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 when he was come in, he did eat and drink, and said, Go, see now this cursed woman, and bury her: for she is a king’s daughter.
Cross-references
- 1 Kings 16:31 And as if it were not enough for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, he even married Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and he then proceeded to serve and worship Baal.
- 1 Kings 21:25 (Surely there was never one like Ahab, who sold himself to do evil in the sight of the LORD, incited by his wife Jezebel.
- 1 Kings 18:41 And Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink, for there is the sound of a heavy rain.”
- Esther 3:15 The couriers left, spurred on by the king’s command, and the edict was issued in the citadel of Susa. Then the king and Haman sat down to drink, but the city of Susa was in confusion.
- Proverbs 10:7 The memory of the righteous is a blessing, but the name of the wicked will rot.
- Isaiah 65:15 You will leave behind your name as a curse for My chosen ones, and the Lord GOD will slay you; but to His servants He will give another name.
- Matthew 25:41 Then He will say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
- Amos 6:4 You lie on beds inlaid with ivory, and lounge upon your couches. You dine on lambs from the flock and calves from the stall.