And 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.2 Kings 21:13 Additional Translations
Clarke's Commentary on the BibleThe 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!
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.
2 Kings 17:6 In the ninth year of Hoshea the king of Assyria took Samaria, and carried Israel away into Assyria...
Isaiah 10:22 For though your people Israel be as the sand of the sea, yet a remnant of them shall return...
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...
Isaiah 34:11 But the cormorant and the bittern shall possess it; the owl also and the raven shall dwell in it...
Lamentations 2:8 The LORD has purposed to destroy the wall of the daughter of Zion: he has stretched out a line...
Ezekiel 23:31-34 You have walked in the way of your sister; therefore will I give her cup into your hand...
Amos 7:7,8 Thus he showed me: and, behold, the LORD stood on a wall made by a plumb line, with a plumb line in his hand...
Zechariah 1:16 Therefore thus said the LORD; I am returned to Jerusalem with mercies: my house shall be built in it, said the LORD of hosts...
the plummet.
2 Kings 10:11 So Jehu slew all that remained of the house of Ahab in Jezreel, and all his great men, and his kinfolks, and his priests...
1 Kings 21:21-24 Behold, I will bring evil on you, and will take away your posterity, and will cut off from Ahab him that urinates against the wall...
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 Therefore, behold, I will bring evil on the house of Jeroboam, and will cut off from Jeroboam him that urinates against the wall...
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...
Jeremiah 25:9 Behold, I will send and take all the families of the north, said the LORD, and Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, my servant...
Ezekiel 24:10,11 Heap on wood, kindle the fire, consume the flesh, and spice it well, and let the bones be burned...
Revelation 18:21-23 And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying...
wiping it, and turning it upside down. Heb. he wipeth and turneth it upon the face thereof.
2 Kings 21:13 Parallel Commentaries
Ahab Clean Dish House Jerusalem Line Measuring Pan Plate Plumb Plummet Samaria Sama'ria Stretch Stretched Turned Turning Upside Used Washed Weight Wipe Wipes Wipeth WipingAhab Clean Dish House Jerusalem Line Measuring Pan Plate Plumb Plummet Samaria Sama'ria Stretch Stretched Turned Turning Upside Used Washed Weight Wipe Wipes Wipeth WipingTHE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica®.2 Kings 21:13 Mobile Bible
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