2 Kings 9:23
“And Joram turned his hands, and fled, and said to Ahaziah, There is treachery, O Ahaziah.”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →Recognizing his danger, Joram turns his chariot and attempts to flee, crying out to Ahaziah that he is being betrayed.
Context
Turned his hands is a Hebrew idiom meaning to turn the chariot, to flee. Joram's cry of treachery shows his realization that Jehu, whom he may have known as a fellow officer, has turned against the dynasty.
What Does 2 Kings 9:23 Mean?
In that instant when the truth is finally, irrevocably clear, Joram acts. He wheels his chariot around, abandoning the confrontation, crying out to Ahaziah. The king is fleeing now, and the formality of his position has shattered like pottery. What was once the authority of the throne has become a man desperate to escape, to save his life. The word treachery carries the bitterness of betrayal, though it is Jehu who sees the matter differently: not betrayal, but the execution of a sentence long pronounced.
Yet even as Joram flees, he is still within the reach of judgment. His chariot carries him, but not away from what is coming. In his flight we see the futility of the powerful who have turned from the LORD, now unable to save themselves by speed or rank or the remnants of authority.
In the Original Language
Mishlahat (משלחת), turned his hands -- an idiom for turning the chariot sharply to flee
Application
There are moments when we finally see that the way we have chosen has brought us to a place of true danger. The impulse to flee, to reverse course, comes too late if we do not understand that escape is not the answer, but repentance. Joram runs, but there is nowhere to go.