2 Kings 21 · Verse 13

2 Kings 21:13

And I will stretch over Jerusalem the line of Samaria, and the plummet of the house of Ahab: and I will wipe Jerusalem as a man wipeth a dish, wiping it, and turning it upside down.
2 Kings 21:13, King James Version

2 Kings 21:13 in other translations

BSBI will stretch out over Jerusalem the measuring line used against Samaria and the plumb line used against the house of Ahab, and I will wipe out Jerusalem as one wipes out a bowl—wiping it and turning it upside down.
WEBI will stretch over Jerusalem the line of Samaria, and the plumb line of Ahab’s house; and I will wipe Jerusalem as a man wipes a dish, wiping it and turning it upside down.
ASVAnd I will stretch over Jerusalem the line of Samaria, and the plummet of the house of Ahab; and I will wipe Jerusalem as a man wipeth a dish, wiping it and turning it upside down.
YLTAnd I have stretched out over Jerusalem the line of Samaria, and the plummet of the house of Ahab, and wiped Jerusalem as one wipeth the dish--he hath wiped, and hath turned it on its face.
DARBYAnd I will stretch over Jerusalem the line of Samaria, and the plummet of the house of Ahab, and I will wipe Jerusalem as one wipeth a pan, wiping it and turning it upside down.
BBEAnd over Jerusalem will be stretched the line of Samaria and the weight of Ahab; Jerusalem will be washed clean as a plate is washed, and turned over on its face.
WebsterAnd I will stretch over Jerusalem the line of Samaria, and the plummet of the house of Ahab: and I will wipe Jerusalem as a man wipeth a dish, wiping it, and turning it upside down.

What does 2 Kings 21:13 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 2 Kings 21:10-17

10-17. And the Lord spake by his servants the prophets--These were Hosea, Joel, Nahum, Habakkuk, and Isaiah. Their counsels, admonitions, and prophetic warnings, were put on record in the national chronicles (2Ch 33:18) and now form part of the sacred canon.

Read the full comment on 2 Kings 21:10-17 →

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 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!

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on 2 Kings 21:10-18

Here is the doom of Judah and Jerusalem. The words used represent the city emptied and utterly desolate, yet not destroyed thereby, but cleansed, and to be kept for the future dwelling of the Jews: forsaken, yet not finally, and only as to outward privileges, for individual believers were preserved in that visitation. The Lord will cast off any professing people who dishonour him by their crimes, but never will…

Read the full comment on 2 Kings 21:10-18 →

2 Kings 21:13 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.

וְנָטִ֣יתִיve.na.Ti.tiand I will stretch outH5186
עַל\־'al-overH5921
יְרוּשָׁלִַ֗םye.ru.sha.LimJerusalemH3389
אֵ֚ת'et<obj.>H853
קָ֣וkav[the] measuring-line ofH6957
שֹֽׁמְר֔וֹןsho.me.RonSamariaH8111
וְאֶת\־ve.'Etand <obj.>H853
מִשְׁקֹ֖לֶתmish.Ko.let[the] leveling tool ofH4949
בֵּ֣יתbeit[the] house ofH1004
אַחְאָ֑ב'ach.'AvAhabH256
וּמָחִ֨יתִיu.ma.Chi.tiand I will wipe cleanH4229
אֶת\־'et-<obj.>H853
יְרוּשָׁלִַ֜םye.ru.sha.LimJerusalemH3389
כַּֽאֲשֶׁר\־ka.'a.Sher-just asH834
יִמְחֶ֤הyim.Chehsomeone wipes cleanH4229
אֶת\־'et-<obj.>H853
הַצַּלַּ֙חַת֙ha.tza.La.chatthe bowlH6747
מָחָ֔הma.Chahhe wipes [it] cleanH4229
וְהָפַ֖ךְve.ha.Fakhand he turns [it] overH2015
עַל\־'al-onH5921
פָּנֶֽיהָ\׃pa.Nei.haface itsH6440

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

Cross references for 2 Kings 21:13

  • Amos 7:7-8

    Thus he shewed me: and, behold, the Lord stood upon a wall made by a plumbline, with a plumbline in his hand. And the Lord said unto me, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A plumbline. Then said the Lord, Behold, I will set a plumbline in the midst of my people Israel: I will not again pass by them any more:

  • Lamentations 2:8

    The Lord hath purposed to destroy the wall of the daughter of Zion: he hath stretched out a line, he hath not withdrawn his hand from destroying: therefore he made the rampart and the wall to lament; they languished together.

  • Isaiah 34:11

    But the cormorant and the bittern shall possess it; the owl also and the raven shall dwell in it: and he shall stretch out upon it the line of confusion, and the stones of emptiness.

  • Isaiah 10:22

    For though thy people Israel be as the sand of the sea, yet a remnant of them shall return: the consumption decreed shall overflow with righteousness.

  • Ezekiel 23:31-34

    Thou hast walked in the way of thy sister; therefore will I give her cup into thine hand. Thus saith the Lord God; Thou shalt drink of thy sister’s cup deep and large: thou shalt be laughed to scorn and had in derision; it containeth much. Thou shalt be filled with drunkenness and sorrow, with the cup of astonishment and desolation, with the cup of thy sister Samaria. Thou shalt even drink it and suck it out, and thou shalt break the sherds thereof, and pluck off thine own breasts: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord God.

  • Jeremiah 25:9

    Behold, I will send and take all the families of the north, saith the Lord, and Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and will bring them against this land, and against the inhabitants thereof, and against all these nations round about, and will utterly destroy them, and make them an astonishment, and an hissing, and perpetual desolations.

  • Isaiah 28:17

    Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place.

  • 2 Kings 10:11

    So Jehu slew all that remained of the house of Ahab in Jezreel, and all his great men, and his kinsfolks, and his priests, until he left him none remaining.

  • 1 Kings 14:10

    Therefore, behold, I will bring evil upon the house of Jeroboam, and will cut off from Jeroboam him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up and left in Israel, and will take away the remnant of the house of Jeroboam, as a man taketh away dung, till it be all gone.

  • Isaiah 14:23

    I will also make it a possession for the bittern, and pools of water: and I will sweep it with the besom of destruction, saith the Lord of hosts.

  • Ezekiel 24:10-11

    Heap on wood, kindle the fire, consume the flesh, and spice it well, and let the bones be burned. Then set it empty upon the coals thereof, that the brass of it may be hot, and may burn, and that the filthiness of it may be molten in it, that the scum of it may be consumed.

  • Revelation 18:21-23

    And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all. And the voice of harpers, and musicians, and of pipers, and trumpeters, shall be heard no more at all in thee; and no craftsman, of whatsoever craft he be, shall be found any more in thee; and the sound of a millstone shall be heard no more at all in thee; And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived.

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

Treasury of Scripture 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.
17:6; Isa 10:22; 28:17; 34:11; La 2:8; Eze 23:31-34; Am 7:7,8
Zec 1:16
the plummet.
10:11; 1Ki 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.
1Ki 14:10; Isa 14:23; Jer 25:9; Eze 24:10,11; Re 18:21-23
wiping it, and turning it upside down. Heb. he wipeth andturneth it upon the face thereof.

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

Context

  • 2 Kings 21:12

    Therefore thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Behold, I am bringing such evil upon Jerusalem and Judah, that whosoever heareth of it, both his ears shall tingle.

  • 2 Kings 21:13

    And I will stretch over Jerusalem the line of Samaria, and the plummet of the house of Ahab: and I will wipe Jerusalem as a man wipeth a dish, wiping it, and turning it upside down.

  • 2 Kings 21:14

    And I will forsake the remnant of mine inheritance, and deliver them into the hand of their enemies; and they shall become a prey and a spoil to all their enemies;

Read all of 2 Kings 21

2 Kings 21:13 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909
Y extenderé sobre Jerusalem el cordel de Samaria, y el plomo de la casa de Achâb: y yo limpiaré á Jerusalem como se limpia una escudilla, que después que la han limpiado, la vuelven sobre su haz.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885
et j’étendrai sur Jérusalem le cordeau de Samarie et le plomb de la maison d’Achab, et j’écurerai Jérusalem comme on écure un plat: on l’écure et on le tourne sens dessus dessous.
German
Elberfelder 1871
Und ich werde über Jerusalem die Meßschnur Samarias ziehen und das Senkblei des Hauses Ahabs, und ich werde Jerusalem auswischen, wie man eine Schüssel auswischt: hat man sie ausgewischt, so kehrt man sie um auf ihre Oberseite.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate
Et extendam super Jerusalem funiculum Samariæ, et pondus domus Achab: et delebo Jerusalem, sicut deleri solent tabulæ: et delens vertam, et ducam crebrius stylum super faciem ejus.