2 Kings 10:9
“In the morning, he went out, and stood, and said to all the people, “You are righteous. Behold, I conspired against my master and killed him, but who killed all these?”
What does 2 Kings 10:9 mean?
Jehu is speaking to the people of Israel after orchestrating a violent coup against King Joram. He's making a public statement that acknowledges his own role in the king's death, but then poses a rhetorical question about the massacre of Joram's entire family and supporters that just took place. The question "who killed all these?" is deeply ironic, since Jehu himself ordered or carried out these killings, yet he's trying to distance himself from responsibility by suggesting the people themselves were somehow involved or complicit. This moment reveals how people in power can justify terrible violence by framing it as collective action or divine will, even when the bloodshed was their own decision. It's a sobering reminder of how easily we can rationalize harm and deflect blame, and it shows that political change achieved through cruelty comes with a moral cost that shouldn't be ignored.