2 Kings 8:25–10:14

Judah’s King Ahaziah

²⁵In the twelfth year of Israel’s King Joram son of Ahab, ^uAhaziah son of Jehoram became king of Judah. ^v26Ahaziah was 22 years old when he became king and reigned one year in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Athaliah, granddaughter of Israel’s King Omri. ^w27He walked in the way of the house of Ahab and did what was evil in the Lord’s sight like the house of Ahab, ^xfor he was a son-in-law to Ahab’s family.

²⁸Ahaziah went with Joram son of Ahab to fight against Hazael ^yking of Aram in Ramoth-gilead, ^zand the Arameans wounded Joram. ²⁹So King Joram returned to Jezreel ^ato recover from the wounds that the Arameans had inflicted on him in Ramoth-gilead ^bwhen he fought against Aram’s King Hazael. ^cThen Judah’s King Ahaziah son of Jehoram went down to Jezreel to visit Joram son of Ahab since Joram was ill.

Jehu Anointed as Israel’s King

9The prophet Elisha called one of the sons of the prophets ^dand said, “Tuck your mantle ^eunder your belt, take this flask of oil ^fwith you, and go to Ramoth-gilead. ^g2When you get there, look for Jehu ^hson of Jehoshaphat, son of Nimshi. Go in, get him away from his colleagues, and take him to an inner room. ³Then, take the flask of oil, pour it on his head, and say, ‘This is what the Lord says: “I anoint you king over Israel.” ’ ⁱOpen the door and escape. Don’t wait.” ⁴So the young prophet went to Ramoth-gilead.

⁵When 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.”

⁶So 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. ⁷You 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. ^j8The whole house of Ahab will perish, and I will eliminate all of Ahab’s males, ^kboth slave and free, in Israel. ^l9I will make the house of Ahab like the house of Jeroboam son of Nebat and like the house of Baasha son of Ahijah. ^m10The dogs will eat Jezebel in the plot of land at Jezreel—no one will bury her.’ ” ⁿThen the young prophet opened the door and escaped.

¹¹When Jehu came out to his master’s servants, they asked, “Is everything all right? Why did this crazy person ^ocome to you?”

Then he said to them, “You know the sort and their ranting.”

¹²But they replied, “That’s a lie! Tell us!”

So Jehu said, “He talked to me about this and that and said, ‘This is what the Lord says: I anoint you king over Israel.’ ”

¹³Each man quickly took his garment and put it under Jehu on the bare steps. ^pqThey blew the ram’s horn ^rand proclaimed, “Jehu is king!” ^s

¹⁴Then Jehu son of Jehoshaphat, son of Nimshi, conspired against Joram. ^tJoram and all Israel had been at Ramoth-gilead on guard against Hazael king of Aram. ¹⁵But King Joram had returned to Jezreel to recover from the wounds that the Arameans had inflicted on him when he fought against Aram’s King Hazael. Jehu said, “If you commanders wish to make me king, then don’t let anyone escape from the city to go tell about it in Jezreel.”

Jehu Kills Joram and Ahaziah

¹⁶Jehu got into his chariot and went to Jezreel since Joram was laid up there and Ahaziah king of Judah had gone down to visit Joram. ¹⁷Now the watchman ^uwas standing on the tower in Jezreel. He saw Jehu’s troops approaching and shouted, “I see troops!”

Joram responded, “Choose a rider and send him to meet them and have him ask, ‘Do you come in peace?’ ” ^v

¹⁸So a horseman went to meet Jehu and said, “This is what the king asks: ‘Do you come in peace?’ ”

Jehu replied, “What do you have to do with peace? ^wFall in behind me.”

The watchman reported, “The messenger reached them but hasn’t started back.”

¹⁹So he sent out a second horseman, who went to them and said, “This is what the king asks: ‘Do you come in peace?’ ”

Jehu answered, “What do you have to do with peace? ^xFall in behind me.”

²⁰Again the watchman reported, “He reached them but hasn’t started back. Also, the driving is like that of Jehu son of Nimshi ^y—he drives like a madman.”

²¹“Harness!” Joram shouted, and they harnessed his chariot. Then Joram king of Israel and Ahaziah king of Judah set out, each in his own chariot, and met Jehu at the plot of land of Naboth the Jezreelite. ^z22When Joram saw Jehu he asked, “Do you come in peace, Jehu?”

He answered, “What peace can there be as long as there is so much prostitution and witchcraft from your mother Jezebel?” ^a

²³Joram turned around and fled, shouting to Ahaziah, “It’s treachery, ^bAhaziah!”

²⁴Then Jehu drew his bow and shot Joram between the shoulders. The arrow went through his heart, and he slumped down in his chariot. ^c25Jehu said to Bidkar his aide, “Pick him up and throw him on the plot of ground belonging to Naboth the Jezreelite. ^dFor remember when you and I were riding side by side behind his father Ahab, and the Lord uttered this oracle against him: ²⁶‘As surely as I saw the blood of Naboth and the blood of his sons yesterday’—this is the Lord’s declaration—‘so will I repay you on this plot of land’—this is the Lord’s declaration. So now, according to the word of the Lord, pick him up and throw him on the plot of land.” ^e

²⁷When King Ahaziah of Judah saw what was happening, he fled up the road toward Beth-haggan. Jehu pursued him, shouting, “Shoot him too!” So they shot him in his chariot ^fat Gur Pass near Ibleam, ^gbut he fled to Megiddo ^hand died there. ⁱ²⁸Then his servants carried him to Jerusalem in a chariot and buried him in his fathers’ tomb in the city of David. ^j29It was in the eleventh year of Joram son of Ahab that Ahaziah had become king over Judah. ^k

Jehu Kills Jezebel

³⁰When Jehu came to Jezreel, Jezebel heard about it, so she painted her eyes, ^ladorned her head, and looked down from the window. ³¹As Jehu entered the gate, she said, “Do you come in peace, Zimri, ^mnkiller of your master?”

³²He looked up toward the window and said, “Who is on my side? Who?” Two or three eunuchs ^olooked down at him, ³³and he said, “Throw her down!” So they threw her down, and some of her blood splattered on the wall and on the horses, and Jehu rode over her. ^p

³⁴Then he went in, ate and drank, and said, “Take care of this cursed ^qwoman and bury her, since she’s a king’s daughter.” ^r35But when they went out to bury her, they did not find anything but her skull, her feet, and the palms of her hands. ³⁶So they went back and told him, and he said, “This fulfills the Lord’s word that He spoke through His servant Elijah the Tishbite: ‘In the plot of land at Jezreel, the dogs will eat Jezebel’s flesh. ^s37Jezebel’s corpse will be like manure ^ton the surface of the field in the plot of land at Jezreel so that no one will be able to say: This is Jezebel.’ ”

Jehu Kills the House of Ahab

10Since Ahab had 70 sons in Samaria, ^uJehu wrote letters and sent them to Samaria to the rulers of Jezreel, ^vto the elders, and to the guardians of Ahab’s sons, ^wsaying:

²When this letter ^xarrives, since your master’s sons are with you and you have chariots, horses, a fortified city, and weaponry, ³select the most qualified ^yof your master’s sons, set him on his father’s throne, and fight for your master’s house.

⁴However, they were terrified and reasoned, “Look, two kings ^zcouldn’t stand against him; how can we?”

⁵So the overseer of the palace, the overseer of the city, the elders, and the guardians sent a message to Jehu: “We are your servants, and we will do whatever you tell us. We will not make anyone king. Do whatever you think is right.” ^ab

⁶Then Jehu wrote them a second letter, saying:

If you are on my side, and if you will obey me, bring me the heads of your master’s sons at this time tomorrow at Jezreel.

All 70 of the king’s sons were being cared for by the city’s prominent men. ⁷When the letter came to them, they took the king’s sons and slaughtered all 70, put their heads in baskets, and sent them to Jehu at Jezreel. ⁸When the messenger came and told him, “They have brought the heads of the king’s sons,” the king said, “Pile them in two heaps at the entrance of the gate until morning.”

⁹The next morning when he went out and stood at the gate, he said to all the people, “You are innocent. It was I who conspired against my master and killed him. ^cBut who struck down all these? ¹⁰Know, then, that not a word the Lord spoke against the house of Ahab will fail, ^dfor the Lord has done what He promised through His servant Elijah.” ^e11So Jehu killed all who remained of the house of Ahab in Jezreel—all his great men, close friends, and priests—leaving him no survivors.

¹²Then he set out and went on his way to Samaria. On the way, while he was at Beth-eked of the Shepherds, ¹³Jehu met the relatives of Ahaziah king of Judah and asked, “Who are you?”

They answered, “We’re Ahaziah’s ^frelatives. We’ve come down to greet the king’s sons and the queen mother’s ^gsons.”

¹⁴Then Jehu ordered, “Take them alive.” So they took them alive and then slaughtered them at the pit of Beth-eked—42 men. He didn’t spare any of them. ^h