2 Kings 9:24–10:11

²⁴And Jehu drew his bow with his full strength, and shot Joram between the shoulders, so that the arrow pierced his heart, and he sank in his chariot. ²⁵Jehu said to Bidkar ^dhis aide, “Take him up and throw him ^bon the plot of ground belonging to Naboth the Jezreelite. For remember, when you and I rode side by side behind Ahab his father, how ^ethe Lord made this ^fpronouncement against him: ²⁶‘As surely as I saw yesterday the blood of Naboth and the blood of his sons—declares the Lord—I will repay you on this plot of ground.’ Now therefore take him up and throw him on the plot of ground, in accordance with the word of the Lord.”

^27gWhen Ahaziah the king of Judah saw this, he fled in the direction of Beth-haggan. And Jehu pursued him and said, “Shoot him also.” And they shot him² in the chariot at the ascent of Gur, which is by ^hIbleam. And he fled to ^hMegiddo and died there. ²⁸ⁱHis servants carried him in a chariot to Jerusalem, and buried him in his tomb with his fathers in the city of David.

²⁹In the ^jeleventh year of Joram the son of Ahab, Ahaziah began to reign over Judah.

Jehu Executes Jezebel

³⁰When Jehu came to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it. And ^kshe painted her eyes and adorned her head and looked out of the window. ³¹And as Jehu entered the gate, she said, ^l“Is it peace, you Zimri, murderer of your master?” ³²And he lifted up his face to the window and said, “Who is on my side? Who?” Two or three eunuchs looked out at him. ³³He said, “Throw her down.” So they threw her down. And some of her blood spattered on the wall and on the horses, and they trampled on her. ³⁴Then he went in and ate and drank. And he said, “See now to this cursed woman and bury her, ^mfor she is a king’s daughter.” ³⁵But when they went to bury her, they found no more of her than the skull and the feet and the palms of her hands. ³⁶When they came back and told him, he said, “This is the word of the Lord, which he spoke by his servant Elijah the Tishbite: ⁿ‘In the territory of Jezreel the dogs shall eat the flesh of Jezebel, ³⁷and the corpse of Jezebel shall be ^oas dung on the face of the field in the territory of Jezreel, so that no one can say, This is Jezebel.’ ”

Jehu Slaughters Ahab’s Descendants

10Now Ahab had seventy sons in ^pSamaria. So Jehu wrote letters and sent them to Samaria, to the rulers of the city,¹ to the elders, and to ^qthe guardians of the sons² of Ahab, saying, ²“Now then, as soon as this letter comes to you, seeing your master’s sons are with you, and there are with you chariots and horses, fortified cities also, and weapons, ³select the best and fittest of your master’s sons and set him on his father’s throne and fight for your master’s house.” ⁴But they were exceedingly afraid and said, “Behold, the two kings could not stand before him. How then can we stand?” ⁵So he who was over the palace, and he who was over the city, together with the elders and the guardians, sent to Jehu, saying, ^r“We are your servants, and we will do all that you tell us. We will not make anyone king. Do whatever is good in your eyes.” ⁶Then he wrote to them a second letter, saying, “If you are on my side, and if you are ready to obey me, take the heads of your master’s sons and come to me at Jezreel tomorrow at this time.” Now the king’s sons, seventy persons, were with the great men of the city, ^qwho were bringing them up. ⁷And as soon as the letter came to them, they took the king’s sons ^sand slaughtered them, seventy persons, and put their heads in baskets and sent them to him at Jezreel. ⁸When the messenger came and told him, “They have brought the heads of the king’s sons,” he said, “Lay them in two heaps at the entrance of the gate until the morning.” ⁹Then in the morning, when he went out, he stood and said to all the people, “You are innocent. ^tIt was I who conspired against my master and killed him, but who struck down all these? ¹⁰Know then that there shall ^ufall to the earth nothing of the word of the Lord, which the Lord spoke concerning the house of Ahab, for the Lord has done ^vwhat he said by his servant Elijah.” ¹¹So Jehu struck down all who remained of the house of Ahab in Jezreel, all his great men and his close friends and his priests, until he left him none remaining.