Verse Lens · Concise explanation
2 Kings 10:21 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 21. 21And Jehu sent through all Israel: and all the worshippers of Baal came, so that there was not a man left that came not. And they came into the house of Baal; and the house of Baal was full from one end to another.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
This verse advances the thought unit through its next reported action, speech, or consequence: “And Jehu sent through all Israel: and all the worshippers of Baal came, so that there was not….” Its responsible meaning belongs to the complete movement “Jehu deceives Baal's worshipers and destroys them.”
Read It With
- 2 Kings 10:18–28
Read 2 Kings 10:21 with 10:18–28. The selected wording supplies one step in the thought unit through its next reported action, speech, or consequence; the surrounding verses supply the causes, responses, and outcome summarized here: Jehu announces a great Baal sacrifice as deception, gathers and identifies worshipers, orders their killing, and destroys the temple and objects.
Why This Verse Appears Here
Within “Jehu deceives Baal's worshipers and destroys them,” 2 Kings 10:21 advances the thought unit through its next reported action, speech, or consequence through the wording “And Jehu sent through all Israel: and all the worshippers of Baal came, so that there was not….” Its placement is governed by this reviewed relationship: 2 Kings 10:15–17 establishes this prior movement: Jehu tests Jehonadab's loyalty, takes him into the chariot, boasts of zeal, and continues killing Ahab's remainder in Samaria. 2 Kings 10:18–28 continues the same royal, prophetic, household, military, reform, or exile movement; that evidenced relationship, rather than database adjacency alone, explains its placement.
Read 2 Kings 10:18–28 together
Why these verses belong together: 2 Kings 10:18–28 forms one scene or regnal notice: Jehu announces a great Baal sacrifice as deception, gathers and identifies worshipers, orders their killing, and destroys the temple and objects.
Verse 18. 18 And Jehu gathered all the people together, and said unto them, Ahab served Baal a little; but Jehu shall serve him much.
Verse 19. 19 Now therefore call unto me all the prophets of Baal, all his servants, and all his priests; let none be wanting: for I have a great sacrifice to do to Baal; whosoever shall be wanting, he shall not live. But Jehu did it in subtilty, to the intent that he might destroy the worshippers of Baal.
Verse 20. 20 And Jehu said, Proclaim a solemn assembly for Baal. And they proclaimed it.
Verse 21. 21 And Jehu sent through all Israel: and all the worshippers of Baal came, so that there was not a man left that came not. And they came into the house of Baal; and the house of Baal was full from one end to another.
Verse 22. 22 And he said unto him that was over the vestry, Bring forth vestments for all the worshippers of Baal. And he brought them forth vestments.
Verse 23. 23 And Jehu went, and Jehonadab the son of Rechab, into the house of Baal, and said unto the worshippers of Baal, Search, and look that there be here with you none of the servants of the LORD, but the worshippers of Baal only.
Verse 24. 24 And when they went in to offer sacrifices and burnt offerings, Jehu appointed fourscore men without, and said, If any of the men whom I have brought into your hands escape, he that letteth him go, his life shall be for the life of him.
Verse 25. 25 And it came to pass, as soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt offering, that Jehu said to the guard and to the captains, Go in, and slay them; let none come forth. And they smote them with the edge of the sword; and the guard and the captains cast them out, and went to the city of the house of Baal.
Verse 26. 26 And they brought forth the images out of the house of Baal, and burned them.
Verse 27. 27 And they brake down the image of Baal, and brake down the house of Baal, and made it a draught house unto this day.
Verse 28. 28 Thus Jehu destroyed Baal out of Israel.
What Remains True
Power remains accountable for every person exposed, coerced, displaced, injured, or killed even when the narrative also reports judgment, fulfillment, or victory. This unit tests that truth through the narrated movement: Jehu announces a great Baal sacrifice as deception, gathers and identifies worshipers, orders their killing, and destroys the temple and objects. In 2 Kings 10:21, the concrete line “And Jehu sent through all Israel: and all the worshippers of Baal came, so that there was not…” keeps that truth accountable to narrated evidence.
How It Can Shape Life
- The evidence to keep visible in this verse is “And Jehu sent through all Israel: and all the worshippers of Baal came, so that there was not….” Separate description, actor justification, narrator evaluation, and fulfillment; document who chose the violence, who bore its cost, and which safeguards prevent imitation. This response follows from the unit's own sequence: Jehu announces a great Baal sacrifice as deception, gathers and identifies worshipers, orders their killing, and destroys the temple and objects.
Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read 2 Kings 10:18–28 — Jehu deceives Baal's worshipers and destroys themSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? strong
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact reader-facing KJV wording, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage for this thought unit.
Exact location: 2 Kings 10:18–28, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: 2 Kings
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Hebrew wording, morphology, names, royal formulas, clause relationships, older-English controls, and translation limits.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/2Kgs.xml, Masoretic words and morphology for 10:18–28
Open source ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible: 2 Kings with translators' notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2006
Supports: A unit-bounded translation comparison plus only the lexical, grammatical, textual, historical, or older-English notes actually printed for these verses; silence is not treated as evidence.
Exact location: NET Bible 2 Kings PDF, printed pp. 642–644, translation and translator notes for 10:18–28
Open source ↗