JEHU ANOINTED AS ISRAEL’S KING

9 The prophet Elisha called one of the sons of the prophetsae and said, “Tuck your mantleaf under your belt, take this flask of oilag with you, and go to Ramoth-gilead.ah 2 When you get there, look for Jehuai son of Jehoshaphat, son of Nimshi. Go in, get him away from his colleagues, and take him to an inner room. 3 Then take the flask of oil, pour it on his head, and say, ‘This is what the Lord says: “I anoint you king over Israel.” ’aj Open the door and escape. Don’t wait.” 4 So the young prophetF went to Ramoth-gilead.

5 When he arrived, the army commanders were sitting there, so he said, “I have a message for you, commander.”

Jehu asked, “For which one of us?”

He answered, “For you, commander.”

6 So Jehu got up and went into the house. The young prophet poured the oil on his head and said, “This is what the Lord God of Israel says: ‘I anoint you king over the Lord’s people, Israel. 7 You are to strike down the house of your master Ahab so that I may avenge the blood shed by the hand of Jezebel—the blood of my servants the prophets and of all the servants of the Lord.a 8 The whole house of Ahab will perish, and I will wipe out all of Ahab’s males,A both slave and free,B in Israel.b 9 I will make the house of Ahab like the house of Jeroboam son of Nebat and like the house of Baasha son of Ahijah.c 10 The dogs will eat Jezebel in the plot of land at Jezreel—no one will bury her.’ ”d Then the young prophet opened the door and escaped.