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.

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