2 Kings 21:13

Contextual Overview

¹⁰ Then the Lord said through his servants the prophets: ¹⁰ And the LORD spake by his servants the prophets, saying, ¹⁰ And Yahweh spoke by his slaves the prophets, saying, ¹⁰ The Lord said through his servants the prophets, ¹⁰ So the Lord announced through his servants the prophets: ¹⁰ And the LORD spoke by his servants the prophets, saying, ¹⁰ Yahweh spoke by his servants the prophets, saying, ¹⁰Now the LORD spoke through His servants the prophets, saying, ¹⁰ And the Lord said by his servants the prophets, ¹⁰ And the Lord spak in the hond of his seruauntis prophetis, and seide,

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

I will stretch: This metaphor is taken from the custom of using a line in measuring land, and in dividing portions of it among several persons. Samaria was taken, pillaged, and ruined, and its inhabitants carried into captivity: Jerusalem shall have the same measure. 2 Kings 17:6, Isaiah 10:22, Isaiah 28:17, Isaiah 34:11, Lamentations 2:8, Ezekiel 23:31-34, Amos 7:7, Amos 7:8, Zechariah 1:16

the plummet: 2 Kings 10:11, 1 Kings 21:21-24

I will wipe: I will empty Jerusalem of all its wealth and inhabitants, as truly as a dish turned up and wiped is emptied of its contents. 1 Kings 14:10, Isaiah 14:23, Jeremiah 25:9, Ezekiel 24:10, Ezekiel 24:11, Revelation 18:21-23

wiping it, and turning it upside down: Heb. he wipeth and turneth it upon the face thereof

Reciprocal: 2 Kings 8:18 - the house 2 Kings 22:16 - Behold 2 Kings 23:27 - I will remove Isaiah 24:1 - turneth it upside down Jeremiah 19:3 - his ears Jeremiah 44:2 - a desolation Ezekiel 7:5 - General Zephaniah 1:4 - stretch

Cross-References

Genesis 16:10
The angel of the Lord also said to her, "I will surely multiply your offspring so that they cannot be numbered for multitude."

Genesis 16:10
And the angel of Yahweh said to her, I will greatly multiply your seed, it shall be too many to count.

Genesis 16:10
The angel also said, "I will give you so many descendants they cannot be counted."

Genesis 16:10
I will greatly multiply your descendants," the Lord 's angel added, "so that they will be too numerous to count."

Genesis 16:10
And the angel of the LORD said to her, I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude.

Genesis 16:10
The angel of Yahweh said to her, "I will greatly multiply your seed, that they will not be numbered for multitude."

Genesis 16:10
Then the Angel of the LORD said to her, "I will greatly multiply your descendants so that they will be too many to count."

Genesis 16:10
And eft he seide, Y multipliynge schal multiplie thi seed, and it schal not be noumbrid for multitude.

Genesis 16:10
and the messenger of Jehovah saith to her, `Multiplying I multiply thy seed, and it is not numbered from multitude;'

Genesis 16:10
Then the Angel added, "I will greatly multiply your offspring so that they will be too numerous to count."

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And I will stretch over Jerusalem the line of Samaria,.... The Targum is, the line of destruction; and the sense is, that the same measure should be measured to Jerusalem as was to Samaria; that is, the same lot and portion should befall one as the other, that is, be utterly destroyed:

and the plummet of the house of Ahab; the Targum is, the weight or plummet of tribulation; signifying, that the same calamities should come upon the families of Jerusalem, and especially on the family of Manasseh as came upon the family of Ahab. It is a metaphor from builders that take down as well as raise up buildings by rule and measure, see 2 Samuel 8:2

and I will wipe Jerusalem, as a man wipeth a dish, wiping it, and turning it upside down; as when one takes a dish or cup that has broth in it, or any liquid, as oil; and the Septuagint render it alabaster, in which ointment used to be put; and wipes it clean, that nothing may appear in it; and then turns it with its mouth downward, that, if any thing should remain, it might drain out; signifying hereby the emptying o Jerusalem of its palaces and houses, wealth and riches and of all its inhabitants; and yet the empty dish being preserved, seems to denote the restoration of Jerusalem after the seventy years' captivity. According to the Vulgate Latin version, the metaphor is taken from the blotting out of writing tables, and turning and rubbing the style upon them till the writing is no more seen.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The general meaning is plain, but the exact force of the metaphor used is not so clear. If the “line” and the “plummet” be “symbols of rule” or law, the meaning will be - “I will apply exactly the same measure and rule to Jerusalem as to Samaria - I will treat both alike with strict and even justice.”

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 2 Kings 21:13. The line of Samaria — I will treat Jerusalem as I have treated Samaria. Samaria was taken, pillaged, ruined, and its inhabitants led into captivity; Jerusalem shall have the same measure.

And the plummet of the house of Ahab — The house of Ahab was totally destroyed, and not a man of his race left to sit upon the throne of Israel: so shall it be done to the house or royal family of Judah; they shall be all finally destroyed, and not a man of their race shall any more sit on the throne of Judah; nor shall Judah have a throne to sit on. Thus Jerusalem shall have the same weight as well as the same measure as Samaria, because it has copied all the abominations which brought that kingdom to total destruction.

I will wipe Jerusalem as a man wipeth a dish — The Vulgate translates this clause as follows: Delebo Jerusalem, sicut deleri solent tabulae; "I will blot out Jerusalem as tablets are wont to be blotted out." This is a metaphor taken from the ancient method of writing: they traced their letters with a stile on boards thinly spread over with wax; for this purpose one end of the stile was sharp, the other end blunt and smooth, with which they could rub out what they had written, and so smooth the place and spread back the wax, as to render it capable of receiving any other word. Thus the Lord had written down Jerusalem, never intending that its name or its memorial should be blotted out. It was written down The Holy City, The City of the Great King; but now God turns the stile and blots this out; and the Holy Jerusalem, the City of the Great King, is no longer to be found! This double use of the stile is pointed out in this ancient enigma: -

De summo planus; sed non ego planus in imo:

Versor utrinque manu, diverso et munere fungor:

Altera pars revocat, quicquid pars altera fecit.

"I am flat at the top, but sharp at the bottom;

I turn either end, and perform a double function:

One end destroys what the other end has made."

But the idea of emptying out and wiping a dish expresses the same meaning equally well. Jerusalem shall be emptied of all its wealth, and of all its inhabitants, as truly as a dish turned up is emptied of all its contents; and it shall be turned upside down, never to be filled again. This is true from that time to the present hour. Jerusalem is the dish turned upside down, the tablet blotted out to the present day! How great are God's mercies! and how terrible his judgments!