2 Kings 11 · Verse 5

2 Kings 11:5

And he commanded them, saying, This is the thing that ye shall do; A third part of you that enter in on the sabbath shall even be keepers of the watch of the king’s house;
2 Kings 11:5, King James Version

2 Kings 11:5 in other translations

BSBand commanded them, “This is what you are to do: A third of you who come on duty on the Sabbath shall guard the royal palace,
WEBHe commanded them, saying, “This is what you must do: a third of you, who come in on the Sabbath, shall be keepers of the watch of the king’s house;
ASVAnd he commanded them, saying, This is the thing that ye shall do: a third part of you, that come in on the sabbath, shall be keepers of the watch of the king’s house;
YLTand commandeth them, saying, ‘This is the thing that ye do; The third of you are going in on the sabbath, and keepers of the charge of the house of the king,
DARBYAnd he commanded them saying, This is the thing which ye shall do: a third part of you, that come in on the sabbath, shall be keepers of the watch of the king's house;
BBEAnd he gave them orders, saying, This is what you are to do: the third part of you, who come in on the Sabbath and keep the watch of the king's house,
WebsterAnd he commanded them, saying, This is the thing that ye shall do; A third part of you that enter in on the sabbath shall even be keepers of the watch of the king's house;

What does 2 Kings 11:5 mean?

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 5 That enter in on the Sabbath - It appears that Jehoiada chose the Sabbath day to proclaim the young king, because as that was a day of public concourse, the gathering together of the people who were in this secret would not be noticed; and it is likely that they all came unarmed, and were supplied by Jehoiada with the spears and shields which David had laid up in the temple, 2Kgs 11:10. The priests and Levites were divided into twenty-four classes by David, and each served a week by turns in the temple, and it was on the Sabbath that they began the weekly service, all this favored Jehoiada's design.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on 2 Kings 11:1-12

Athaliah destroyed all she knew to be akin to the crown. Jehoash, one of the king's sons, was hid. Now was the promise made to David bound up in one life only, and yet it did not fail. Thus to the Son of David, the Lord, according to his promise, will secure a spiritual seed, hidden sometimes, and unseen, but hidden in God's pavilion, and unhurt. Six years Athaliah tyrannized. Then the king was brought forward. A…

Read the full comment on 2 Kings 11:1-12 →

2 Kings 11:5 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וַיְצַוֵּ֣םvay.tza.Vemand he commanded themH6680
לֵאמֹ֔רle.Mor<to> sayingH559
זֶ֥הzehthisH2088
הַדָּבָ֖רha.da.Var[is] the thingH1697
אֲשֶׁ֣ר'a.SherwhichH834
תַּעֲשׂ֑וּןta.'a.Sunyou will do !H6213
הַשְּׁלִשִׁ֤יתha.she.li.Shitthe third [part]H7992
מִכֶּם֙mi.Kemof <the> you
בָּאֵ֣יba.'Ei[who] comeH935
הַשַּׁבָּ֔תha.sha.Bat<of> the sabbathH7676
וְשֹׁ֣מְרֵ֔יve.Sho.me.Reiand [who] keepH8104
מִשְׁמֶ֖רֶתmish.Me.ret[the] watch ofH4931
בֵּ֥יתbeit[the] house ofH1004
הַמֶּֽלֶךְ\׃ha.Me.lekhthe kingH4428

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for 2 Kings 11:5

  • 1 Chronicles 9:25

    And their brethren, which were in their villages, were to come after seven days from time to time with them.

  • Ezekiel 46:2-3

    And the prince shall enter by the way of the porch of that gate without, and shall stand by the post of the gate, and the priests shall prepare his burnt offering and his peace offerings, and he shall worship at the threshold of the gate: then he shall go forth; but the gate shall not be shut until the evening. Likewise the people of the land shall worship at the door of this gate before the Lord in the sabbaths and in the new moons.

  • 1 Chronicles 23:32

    And that they should keep the charge of the tabernacle of the congregation, and the charge of the holy place, and the charge of the sons of Aaron their brethren, in the service of the house of the Lord.

  • Luke 1:8-9

    And it came to pass, that while he executed the priest’s office before God in the order of his course, According to the custom of the priest’s office, his lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord.

  • Jeremiah 26:10

    When the princes of Judah heard these things, then they came up from the king’s house unto the house of the Lord, and sat down in the entry of the new gate of the Lord’s house.

  • 2 Kings 16:18

    And the covert for the sabbath that they had built in the house, and the king’s entry without, turned he from the house of the Lord for the king of Assyria.

  • Ezekiel 44:2-3

    Then said the Lord unto me; This gate shall be shut, it shall not be opened, and no man shall enter in by it; because the Lord, the God of Israel, hath entered in by it, therefore it shall be shut. It is for the prince; the prince, he shall sit in it to eat bread before the Lord; he shall enter by the way of the porch of that gate, and shall go out by the way of the same.

  • 1 Chronicles 24:3-6

    And David distributed them, both Zadok of the sons of Eleazar, and Ahimelech of the sons of Ithamar, according to their offices in their service. And there were more chief men found of the sons of Eleazar than of the sons of Ithamar; and thus were they divided. Among the sons of Eleazar there were sixteen chief men of the house of their fathers, and eight among the sons of Ithamar according to the house of their fathers. Thus were they divided by lot, one sort with another; for the governors of the sanctuary, and governors of the house of God, were of the sons of Eleazar, and of the sons of Ithamar. And Shemaiah the son of Nethaneel the scribe, one of the Levites, wrote them before the king, and the princes, and Zadok the priest, and Ahimelech the son of Abiathar, and before the chief of the fathers of the priests and Levites: one principal household being taken for Eleazar, and one taken for Ithamar.

  • 2 Kings 11:19

    And he took the rulers over hundreds, and the captains, and the guard, and all the people of the land; and they brought down the king from the house of the Lord, and came by the way of the gate of the guard to the king’s house. And he sat on the throne of the kings.

  • 1 Kings 10:5

    And the meat of his table, and the sitting of his servants, and the attendance of his ministers, and their apparel, and his cupbearers, and his ascent by which he went up unto the house of the Lord; there was no more spirit in her.

  • 1 Chronicles 23:3-6

    Now the Levites were numbered from the age of thirty years and upward: and their number by their polls, man by man, was thirty and eight thousand. Of which, twenty and four thousand were to set forward the work of the house of the Lord; and six thousand were officers and judges: Moreover four thousand were porters; and four thousand praised the Lord with the instruments which I made, said David, to praise therewith. And David divided them into courses among the sons of Levi, namely, Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
that enter.
1Ch 9:25; 23:3-6,32; 24:3-6; Lu 1:8,9
the watch.
19; 16:18; 1Ki 10:5; Jer 26:10; Eze 44:2,3; 46:2,3

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • 2 Kings 11:4

    And the seventh year Jehoiada sent and fetched the rulers over hundreds, with the captains and the guard, and brought them to him into the house of the Lord, and made a covenant with them, and took an oath of them in the house of the Lord, and shewed them the king’s son.

  • 2 Kings 11:5

    And he commanded them, saying, This is the thing that ye shall do; A third part of you that enter in on the sabbath shall even be keepers of the watch of the king’s house;

  • 2 Kings 11:6

    And a third part shall be at the gate of Sur; and a third part at the gate behind the guard: so shall ye keep the watch of the house, that it be not broken down.

Read all of 2 Kings 11

2 Kings 11:5 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909
Y mandóles, diciendo: Esto es lo que habéis de hacer: la tercera parte de vosotros, los que entrarán el sábado, tendrán la guardia de la casa del rey;
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885
Et il leur commanda, disant: C’est ici ce que vous ferez: un tiers d’entre vous qui entrez le jour du sabbat, fera la garde de la maison du roi;
German
Elberfelder 1871
Und er gebot ihnen und sprach: Dies ist es, was ihr tun sollt: Ein Drittel von euch, die ihr am Sabbath antretet, soll Wache halten im Hause des Königs,
Latin
Clementine Vulgate
et præcepit illis, dicens: Iste est sermo, quem facere debetis: