2 Kings 10:9

9 In the morning he went out to the gate and said to the people who were there, "I was the one who plotted against King Joram and killed him; you are not responsible for that. But who killed all these?

2 Kings 10:9 Meaning and Commentary

2 Kings 10:9

And it came to pass in the morning, that he went out, and
stood, and said to all the people
Who were gathered together to this shocking sight, or on the above accounts:

ye be righteous;
having had no concern in taking off the heads of those men:

behold, I conspired against my master, and slew him;
I own it, and some may blame me for it, and charge me with treason and murder:

but who slew all these?
not he, but the chief men of Samaria, and therefore must be more guilty than he, having shed the blood of so many persons, who had not offended against God and man to so great a degree as Joram; this he said to lessen his own sin, and wipe off the reproach of it, that his character might appear fairer in the eyes of the people, concealing, at the same time, his orders for the slaying of them.

2 Kings 10:9 In-Context

7 When Jehu's letter was received, the leaders of Samaria killed all seventy of Ahab's descendants, put their heads in baskets, and sent them to Jehu at Jezreel.

8 When Jehu was told that the heads of Ahab's descendants had been brought, he ordered them to be piled up in two heaps at the city gate and to be left there until the following morning.

9 In the morning he went out to the gate and said to the people who were there, "I was the one who plotted against King Joram and killed him; you are not responsible for that. But who killed all these?

10 This proves that everything that the Lord said about the descendants of Ahab will come true. The Lord has done what he promised through his prophet Elijah."

11 Then Jehu put to death all the other relatives of Ahab living in Jezreel, and all his officers, close friends, and priests; not one of them was left alive.