2 Kings 8:25–10:14

King Ahaziah of Judah—2 Chronicles 22:2–6

²⁵Joram (Ahab’s son) was in his twelfth year as king of Israel when Jehoram’s son Ahaziah became king of Judah. ²⁶Ahaziah was 22 years old when he began to rule, and he ruled for one year in Jerusalem. His mother was Athaliah, the granddaughter of King Omri of Israel. ²⁷Ahaziah followed the ways of Ahab’s family. He did what the Lord considered evil, as Ahab’s family had done, because he was related to Ahab’s family by marriage. 

²⁸Ahaziah went with Ahab’s son Joram to fight against King Hazael of Aram at Ramoth Gilead. There the Arameans wounded Joram. ²⁹King Joram returned to Jezreel to let his wounds heal. (He had been wounded by the Arameans at Ramah when he fought against King Hazael of Aram.) Then Jehoram’s son Ahaziah went to Jezreel to see Ahab’s son Joram, who was sick. 

9TH CHAPTER

Jehu Is Anointed King of Israel

¹The prophet Elisha called one of the disciples of the prophets. He said, “Put on your belt. Take this flask of olive oil, and go to Ramoth Gilead. ²When you arrive there, look for Jehu, son of Jehoshaphat and grandson of Nimshi. Go inside, and have him get up and leave his companions. Take him into an inner room. ³Take the flask of oil, pour it on his head, and say, ‘This is what the Lord says: I have anointed you king of Israel.’ Then open the door and leave immediately.” 

⁴The young man, the servant of the prophet, went to Ramoth Gilead. ⁵When he arrived there, the army’s generals were sitting together. He said, “I have something to tell you, General.” 

Jehu asked, “Which one of us?” 

He answered, “You, General!” 

⁶Jehu got up and went into the house. The prophet poured olive oil on his head and told him, “This is what the Lord God of Israel says: I have anointed you king of the Lord’s people, ⸤king⸥ of Israel. ⁷You will destroy the family of your master Ahab. I will get revenge on Jezebel for shedding the blood of my servants the prophets and all the Lord’s ⸤other⸥ servants. ⁸Ahab’s entire family will die. I will destroy every male^afrom Ahab’s family, whether slave or freeman in Israel. ⁹I will make Ahab’s family like the family of Jeroboam (Nebat’s son) and like the family of Baasha, son of Ahijah. ¹⁰Dogs will eat Jezebel inside the walls of Jezreel, and no one will bury her.” Then he opened the door and left. 

¹¹Jehu came out to his master’s officials. One of them asked him, “Is everything alright? Why did this lunatic come to you?” 

He answered, “You know the man and the kind of things he says.” 

¹²They said, “That’s not an answer. Please tell us.” 

Jehu replied, “We talked for a while, and he said to me, ‘This is what the Lord says: I have anointed you king of Israel.’ ” 

¹³Then each one of them immediately took off his coat and laid it on the stairs below him. They blew a ram’s horn and said, “Jehu is king!” 

Jehu Kills King Joram, King Ahaziah, and Queen Jezebel—2 Chronicles 22:7–9

¹⁴So Jehu, son of Jehoshaphat and grandson of Nimshi, plotted against Joram. (Joram and all Israel were guarding Ramoth Gilead against King Hazael of Aram. ¹⁵But King Joram had returned to Jezreel to recover from the wounds he received while fighting King Hazael of Aram.) 

Then Jehu said, “If you want me to be king, don’t let anyone escape from the city to take the news to Jezreel.” ¹⁶So Jehu got on his chariot and drove to Jezreel because Joram was lying in bed there. (King Ahaziah of Judah had come to see Joram.) 

¹⁷The watchman standing on the tower in Jezreel saw Jehu’s troops coming. He said, “I see some troops.” 

So Joram said, “Take a chariot driver, send him to meet them, and ask, ‘Is everything alright?’ ” 

¹⁸So a chariot driver rode off, met Jehu, and said, “The king asks, ‘Is everything alright?’ ” 

Jehu replied, “Why should that matter to you? Follow me.” 

So the watchman announced, “The messenger you sent has reached them, but he isn’t coming back.” 

¹⁹Then Joram sent out a second driver. When he came to them, he said, “The king asks, ‘Is everything alright?’ ” 

Jehu replied, “Why should that matter to you? Follow me.” 

²⁰So the watchman announced, “He has reached them, but he isn’t coming back. The troop’s leader is driving like a lunatic, like Jehu, grandson of Nimshi.” 

²¹“Hitch the horses to the chariot,” Joram ordered. When that was done, King Joram of Israel and King Ahaziah of Judah went to meet Jehu, each in his own chariot. They found him in the field that belonged to Naboth from Jezreel. 

²²When Joram saw Jehu, he asked, “Is everything alright, Jehu?” 

Jehu answered, “How can everything be alright as long as your mother continues her idolatry and witchcraft?” 

²³As Joram turned his chariot around and tried to flee, he said to Ahaziah, “It’s a trap, Ahaziah!” ²⁴But Jehu took his bow and shot Joram between the shoulders. The arrow came out of his chest, and he slumped over in his chariot. 

²⁵Then Jehu said to his attendant Bidkar, “Take him away, and throw him into the field that belonged to Naboth from Jezreel. Remember when you and I were driving our chariots behind his father Ahab? The Lord revealed this prophecy about him: ²⁶‘Just as I saw the blood of Naboth and his sons yesterday, I will pay you back in this field,’ declares the Lord. Now take him and throw him into the field as the Lord predicted.” 

²⁷When King Ahaziah of Judah saw this, he fled on the road leading to Beth Haggan. Jehu pursued him and ordered, “Shoot him down in his chariot.” They shot him at Gur Pass, which is near Ibleam. Ahaziah continued to flee until he got to Megiddo, where he died. ²⁸His servants brought him in a chariot to Jerusalem. They buried him in a tomb with his ancestors in the City of David. ²⁹(Ahaziah had become king of Judah in the eleventh year that Joram, Ahab’s son, was king of Israel.) 

³⁰When Jehu arrived in Jezreel, Jezebel heard about it. She put on eye shadow, fixed her hair, and looked out of a second-story window. ³¹When Jehu entered the gateway, she asked, “Is everything alright, Zimri, murderer of your master?” 

³²Looking up at the window, he asked, “Is anyone on my side? Anyone?” Then two or three eunuchs looked out at him. 

³³He said, “Throw her down.” They threw her down, and some of her blood splattered on the wall and the horses. The horses trampled her. 

³⁴He went inside, ate, and drank. Then he said, “Take care of this woman who had a curse on her. After all, she was a king’s daughter.” ³⁵But when they went out to bury her, they couldn’t find any of her body except her skull, feet, and hands. ³⁶They came back and told him. 

Jehu said, “The Lord spoke through his servant Elijah from Tishbe. He said, ‘Dogs will eat Jezebel’s body inside the walls of Jezreel. ³⁷Jezebel’s corpse will be like manure on the ground in the fields surrounding Jezreel so that no one will be able to say that this is Jezebel.’ ” 

10TH CHAPTER

Jehu Kills King Ahab’s and King Ahaziah’s Heirs

¹Ahab had 70 male heirs in Samaria. So Jehu wrote letters to the officials of Jezreel, the respected leaders, and the guardians of Ahab’s descendants in Samaria. The letters read, ²“Your master’s heirs are with you, and you have chariots, horses, fortified cities, and weapons. As soon as this letter reaches you, ³choose the best and most honest of your master’s heirs, and put him on Ahab’s throne. Fight for your master’s family.” 

⁴But they panicked. They said, “If two kings couldn’t stand up to him, how can we stand up to him?” ⁵So the official in charge of the palace, the mayor of the city, the respected leaders, and the guardians sent this message to Jehu: “We are your servants. We’ll do everything you tell us. We won’t make anyone king. Do what you think is best.” 

⁶So he wrote them a second letter. It read, “If you are on my side and ready to listen to me, bring the heads of your master’s heirs to me in Jezreel about this time tomorrow.” 

The 70 male heirs were staying with the city’s most powerful men. These men had raised them. ⁷When the letter came to the men, they slaughtered all 70 heirs. They put the heads in baskets and sent them to Jehu in Jezreel. ⁸A messenger told him, “They’ve brought the heads of the king’s heirs.” 

Jehu said, “Put them in two piles at the entrance to the gateway until morning.” ⁹In the morning he stood there. He told the people, “You are innocent. I plotted against my master and killed him. But who killed all these men? ¹⁰You can be sure that the Lord’s word spoken about Ahab’s family will be fulfilled. The Lord will do what he said through his servant Elijah.” 

¹¹Jehu also killed every member of Ahab’s household who was left in Jezreel: all the most powerful men, friends, and priests. Not one of them was left. 

¹²Then Jehu left for Samaria. When he came to Beth Eked of the Shepherds, ¹³he found some relatives of King Ahaziah of Judah. “Who are you?” he asked. 

They answered, “We’re Ahaziah’s relatives. We’ve come to greet the families of the king and the queen mother.” 

¹⁴Jehu ordered, “Capture them!” 

⸤Jehu’s men⸥ captured and slaughtered 42 of them at a cistern near Beth Eked. They didn’t leave any survivors.