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 In את־לבבך הישׁ, “is with regard to thy heart honourable or upright?” את is used to subordinate the noun to the clause, in the sense of quoad (see Ewald, §277, a.). לאחאב כּל־הנּשׁארים, “all that remained to Ahab,” i.e., all the remaining members of Ahab’s house.

Verses 18-20
Extermination of the Prophets and Priests of Baal and of the Baal-Worship. - 2Ki 10:28. Under the pretence of wishing to serve Baal even more than Ahab had done, Jehu appointed a great sacrificial festival for this idol, and had all the worshippers of Baal throughout all the land summoned to attend it; he then placed eighty of his guards around the temple of Baal in which they were assembled, and after the sacrifice was offered, had the priests and worshippers of Baal cut down by them with the sword. Objectively considered, the slaying of the worshippers of Baal was in accordance with the law, and, according to the theocratical principle, was perfectly right; but the subjective motives which impelled Jehu, apart from the artifice, were thoroughly selfish, as Seb. Schmidt has correctly observed. For since the priests and prophets of Baal throughout the Israelitish kingdom were bound up with the dynasty of Ahab, with all their interests and with their whole existence, they might be very dangerous to Jehu, if on any political grounds he should happen not to promote their objects, whereas by their extermination he might hope to draw to his side the whole of the very numerous supporters of the Jehovah-worship, which had formerly been legally established in Israel, and thereby establish his throne more firmly. The very fact that Jehu allowed the calf-worship to continue, is a proof that he simply used religion as the means of securing his own ends (2Ki 10:29). עצרה קדּשׁוּ (2Ki 10:20), “sanctify a festal assembly,” i.e., proclaim in the land a festal assembly for Baal (compare Isa 1:13; and for עצרה = עצרת, see at Lev 23:36). ויּקראוּ, and they proclaimed, sc. the festal meeting.

Verse 21
The temple of Baal was filled לפה פּה,