^9:24Jehu aimed his bow and shot an arrow right between Jehoram’s shoulders.⁵² The arrow went through⁵³ his heart and he fell to his knees in his chariot. ^9:25Jehu ordered⁵⁴ his officer Bidkar, “Pick him up and throw him into the part of the field that once belonged to Naboth of Jezreel. Remember, you and I were riding together behind his father Ahab, when the Lord pronounced this judgment on him, ^9:26‘ “Know for sure that I saw the shed blood of Naboth and his sons yesterday,” says the Lord, “and that I will give you what you deserve right here in this plot of land,”⁵⁵ says the Lord.’ So now pick him up and throw him into this plot of land, just as the Lord said.”⁵⁶

^9:27When King Ahaziah of Judah saw what happened, he took off⁵⁷ up the road to Beth Haggan. Jehu chased him and ordered, “Shoot him too.” They shot him while he was driving his chariot up the ascent of Gur near Ibleam.⁵⁸ He fled to Megiddo⁵⁹ and died there. ^9:28His servants took his body⁶⁰ back to Jerusalem⁶¹ and buried him in his tomb with his ancestors in the city of David. ^9:29Ahaziah had become king over Judah in the eleventh year of Joram son of Ahab.

^9:30Jehu approached Jezreel. When Jezebel heard the news, she put on some eye liner,⁶² fixed up her hair, and leaned out the window. ^9:31When Jehu came through the gate, she said, “Is everything all right, Zimri, murderer of his master?”⁶³^9:32He looked up at the window and said, “Who is on my side? Who?” Two or three⁶⁴ eunuchs looked down at him. ^9:33He said, “Throw her down!” So they threw her down, and when she hit the ground,⁶⁵ her blood splattered against the wall and the horses, and Jehu drove his chariot over her.⁶⁶^9:34He went inside and had a meal.⁶⁷ Then he said, “Dispose of this accursed woman’s corpse. Bury her, for after all, she was a king’s daughter.”⁶⁸^9:35But when they went to bury her, they found nothing left but⁶⁹ the skull, feet, and palms of the hands. ^9:36When they went back and told him, he said, “The Lord’s word through his servant, Elijah the Tishbite, has come to pass. He warned,⁷⁰ ‘In the plot of land at Jezreel, dogs will devour Jezebel’s flesh. ^9:37Jezebel’s corpse will be like manure on the surface of the ground in the plot of land at Jezreel. People will not be able to even recognize her.’ ”⁷¹

Jehu Wipes Out Ahab’s Family

^10:1Ahab had seventy sons living in Samaria.¹ So Jehu wrote letters and sent them to Samaria to the leading officials of Jezreel and to the guardians of Ahab’s dynasty. This is what the letters said,²^10:2“You have with you the sons of your master, chariots and horses, a fortified city, and weapons. So when this letter arrives,³^10:3pick the best and most capable⁴ of your master’s sons, place him on his father’s throne, and defend⁵ your master’s dynasty.”

^10:4They were absolutely terrified⁶ and said, “Look, two kings could not stop him!⁷ How can we?”⁸^10:5So the palace supervisor,⁹ the city commissioner,¹⁰ the leaders,¹¹ and the guardians sent this message to Jehu, “We are your subjects!¹² Whatever you say, we will do. We will not make anyone king. Do what you consider proper.”¹³

^10:6He wrote them a second letter, saying, “If you are really on my side and are willing to obey me,¹⁴ then take the heads of your master’s sons and come to me in Jezreel at this time tomorrow.”¹⁵ Now the king had seventy sons, and the prominent¹⁶ men of the city were raising them. ^10:7When they received the letter, they seized the king’s sons and executed all seventy of them.¹⁷ They put their heads in baskets and sent them to him in Jezreel. ^10:8The messenger came and told Jehu,¹⁸ “They have brought the heads of the king’s sons.” Jehu¹⁹ said, “Stack them in two piles at the entrance of the city gate until morning.” ^10:9In the morning he went out and stood there. Then he said to all the people, “You are innocent. I conspired against my master and killed him. But who struck down all of these men? ^10:10Therefore take note that not one of the judgments the Lord announced against Ahab’s dynasty has failed to materialize. The Lord had done what he announced through his servant Elijah.”²⁰^10:11Then Jehu killed all who were left of Ahab’s family in Jezreel, and all his nobles, close friends, and priests. He left no survivors.

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Footnotes

52 Heb “and Jehu filled his hand with the bow and he struck Jehoram between his shoulders.”
53 Heb “went out from.”
54 Heb “said to.”
55 Heb “and I will repay you in this plot of land.”
56 Heb “according to the word of the Lord.”
57 Heb “and Ahaziah king of Judah saw and fled.”
58 After Jehu’s order (“kill him too”), the has simply, “to the chariot in the ascent of Gur which is near Ibleam.” The main verb in the clause, “they shot him” (וַיִּכְהוּ, vayyikhhu), has been accidentally omitted by virtual haplography/homoioteleuton. Note that the immediately preceding form הַכֻּהוּ (hakkuhu), “shoot him,” ends with the same suffix.
59 For location see ; ; ; ; .
60 Heb “drove him.”
61 For location see ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; .
62 Heb “she fixed her eyes with antimony.” Antimony (פּוּךְ, pukh) was used as a cosmetic. The narrator portrays her as a prostitute (see Jer 4:30), a role she has played in the spiritual realm (see the note at v. ).
63 Jezebel associates Jehu with another assassin, Zimri, who approximately 44 years before had murdered King Elah, only to meet a violent death just a few days later (1 Kgs 16:9–20). On the surface Jezebel’s actions seem contradictory. On the one hand, she beautifies herself as if to seduce Jehu, but on the other hand, she insults and indirectly threatens him with this comparison to Zimri. Upon further reflection, however, her actions reveal a clear underlying motive. She wants to retain her power, not to mention her life. By beautifying herself, she appeals to Jehu’s sexual impulses; by threatening him, she reminds him that he is in the same precarious position as Zimri. But, if he makes Jezebel his queen, he can consolidate his power. In other words through her actions and words Jezebel is saying to Jehu, “You desire me, don’t you? And you need me!”
64 Heb “two, three.” The narrator may be intentionally vague or uncertain here, or the two numbers may represent alternate traditions.
65 The words “when she hit the ground” are added for stylistic reasons.
66 Heb “and he trampled her.”
67 Heb “and he went and ate and drank.”
68 Heb “Attend to this accursed woman and bury her for she was the daughter of a king.”
69 Heb “they did not find her, except for.”
70 Heb “It is the word of the Lord, which he spoke by the hand of his servant, Elijah the Tishbite, saying.”
71 Heb “so that they will not say, ‘This is Jezebel.’ ”
1 For location see ; ; ; ; .
2 Heb “to the officers of Jezreel, the elders, and to the guardians of Ahab, saying.” It is not certain why the officials of Jezreel would be in Samaria. They may have fled there after they heard what happened to Joram and before Jehu entered the city. They would have had time to flee while Jehu was pursuing Ahaziah.
3 Heb “And now when this letter comes to you—with you are the sons of your master and with you are chariots and horses and a fortified city and weapons.”
4 Hebrew יָשָׁר (yashar) does not have its normal moral/ethical nuance here (“upright”), but a more neutral sense of “proper, right, suitable.” For the gloss “capable,” see יָשָׁר.
5 Or “fight for.”
6 Heb “they were very, very afraid.” The term מְאֹד (me’od) “very,” is repeated for emphasis.
7 Heb “did not stand before him.”
8 Heb “How can we stand?”
9 Heb “the one who was over the house.”
10 Heb “the one who was over the city.”
11 Or “elders.”
12 Heb “servants.”
13 Heb “Do what is good in your eyes.”
14 Heb “If you are mine and you are listening to my voice.”
15 Jehu’s command is intentionally vague. Does he mean that they should bring the guardians (those who are “heads” over Ahab’s sons) for a meeting, or does he mean that they should bring the literal heads of Ahab’s sons with them? (So , , and some of the ) The city leaders interpret his words in the literal sense, but Jehu’s command is so ambiguous he is able to deny complicity in the executions (see v. 9).
16 Heb “great,” probably in wealth, position, and prestige.
17 Heb “and when the letter came to them, they took the sons of the king and slaughtered seventy men.”
18 Heb “him”; the referent (Jehu) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
19 Heb “he”; the referent (Jehu) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
20 Heb “Know then that there has not fallen from the word of the Lord to the ground that which the Lord spoke against the house of Ahab. The Lord has done that which he spoke by the hand of his servant Elijah.”