2 Kings 9–11

9 *And Elisha the prophet called one of athe children of the prophets, and said unto him, bGird up thy loins, and take this cbox of oil in thine hand, and go to dRamoth-gilead: 2 And when thou comest thither, look out there eJehu the son of Jehoshaphat the son of Nimshi, and go in, and make him arise up from among fhis brethren, and carry him to an †inner chamber; 3 Then take the cbox of oil, and pour it on his head, and say, Thus saith the Lord, I have anointed thee king over Israel. Then open the door, and flee, and tarry not. 4 So the young man, even the young man athe prophet, went to Ramoth-gilead. 5 And when he came, behold, the captains of the host were sitting; and he said, I have an errand to thee, O captain. And Jehu said, Unto which of all us? And he said, To thee, O captain. 6 And he arose, and went into the house; and he poured the oil on his head, and said unto him, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, I have anointed thee king over the people of the Lord, even over Israel. 7 And thou shalt smite the house of Ahab thy master, that I may avenge the blood of my servants the prophets, and the blood of all the servants of the Lord, gat the hand of Jezebel. 8 For the whole house of Ahab shall perish: and hI will cut off from Ahab ihim that pisseth against the wall, and khim that is shut up and left in Israel: 9 And I will make the house of Ahab like the house of lJeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of mBaasha the son of Ahijah: 10 nAnd the dogs shall eat Jezebel in the portion of oJezreel, and there shall be none to bury her. And he opened the door, and fled.

11 Then Jehu came forth to the servants of his lord: and one said unto him, pIs all well? wherefore came qthis mad fellow to thee? And he said unto them, Ye know the man, and his rcommunication. 12 And they said, It is false; tell us now. And he said, Thus and thus spake he to me, saying, Thus saith the Lord, I have anointed thee king over Israel. 13 Then they hasted, and stook every man his garment, and put it under him on the top of the stairs, and tblew with trumpets, saying, Jehu †is king. 14 So Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat the son of Nimshi conspired against Joram. u(Now Joram had kept Ramoth-gilead, he and all Israel, because of xHazael king of Syria. 15 But yking †Joram was returned to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds which the Syrians †had given him, when he fought with Hazael king of Syria.) And Jehu said, If it be your minds, then †let none go forth nor escape out of the city to go to tell it in oJezreel. 16 So Jehu rode in a chariot, and went to Jezreel; for Joram lay there. yAnd Ahaziah king of Judah was come down to see Joram. 17 And there stood a watchman on the tower in Jezreel, and he spied the company of Jehu as he came, and said, I see a company. And Joram said, Take an horseman, and send to meet them, and let him say, Is it peace? 18 So there went one on horseback to meet him, and said, Thus saith the king, Is it peace? And Jehu said, What hast thou to do with peace? turn thee behind me. And the watchman told, saying, The messenger came to them, but he cometh not again. 19 Then he sent out a second on horseback, which came to them, and said, Thus saith the king, Is it peace? And Jehu answered, What hast thou to do with peace? turn thee behind me. 20 And the watchman told, saying, He came even unto them, and cometh not again: and the ||driving is zlike the driving of Jehu athe son of Nimshi; for he driveth †furiously. 21 And Joram said, †Make ready. And his chariot was made ready. And bJoram king of Israel and Ahaziah king of Judah went out, each in his chariot, and they went out against Jehu, and †met him cin the portion of Naboth the Jezreelite. 22 And it came to pass, when Joram saw Jehu, that he said, Is it peace, Jehu? And he answered, What peace, so long as the dwhoredoms of thy mother Jezebel and her dwitchcrafts are so many? 23 And Joram turned his hands, and fled, and said to Ahaziah, There is treachery, O Ahaziah. 24 And Jehu †drew a bow with his full strength, and smote Jehoram between his arms, and the arrow went out at his heart, and he †sunk down in his chariot. 25 Then said Jehu to Bidkar his ecaptain, Take up, and cast him in the portion of the field of Naboth the Jezreelite: for remember how that, when I and thou rode ftogether after Ahab his father, gthe Lord laid this hburden upon him; 26 Surely I have seen yesterday the †blood of Naboth, and the †blood of his sons, saith the Lord; and gI will requite thee in this ||plat, saith the Lord. Now therefore take and cast him into the ||plat of ground, according to the word of the Lord.

27 But when Ahaziah the king of Judah saw this, he fled by the way of the garden house. And Jehu followed after him, and said, Smite him also in the chariot. iAnd they did so at the going up to Gur, which is by iIbleam. *And he fled to ||Megiddo, and died there. 28 And his servants jcarried him in a chariot to Jerusalem, and buried him in his sepulchre with his fathers in the city of David. 29 And in the eleventh year of Joram the son of Ahab began ||Ahaziah to reign over Judah.

30 *And when Jehu was come to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it; and she k†painted her face, and tired her head, and llooked out at a window. 31 And as Jehu entered in at the gate, she said, Had mZimri peace, who slew his master? 32 And he lifted up his face to the window, and said, Who is on my side? who? And there looked out to him two or three ||eunuchs. 33 And he said, Throw her down. So they threw her down: and some of her blood was sprinkled on the wall, and on the horses: and he trode her under foot. 34 And when he was come in, he did eat and drink, and said, Go, see now this cursed woman, and bury her: for nshe is a king’s daughter. 35 And they went to bury her: but they found no more of her than the skull, and the feet, and the palms of her hands. 36 Wherefore they came again, and told him. And he said, This is the word of the Lord, which he spake †by his servant Elijah the Tishbite, saying, oIn the portion of Jezreel shall dogs eat the flesh of Jezebel: 37 And the carcase of Jezebel shall be pas dung upon the face of the field in the portion of Jezreel; so that they shall not say, This is Jezebel.

10 *And Ahab had seventy sons in aSamaria. And Jehu wrote letters, and sent to Samaria, unto the rulers of Jezreel, to the elders, and to †them that brought up Ahab’s children, saying, 2 Now as soon as this letter cometh to you, seeing your master’s sons are with you, and there are with you chariots and horses, a fenced city also, and armour; 3 Look even out the best and meetest of your master’s sons, and set him on his father’s throne, and fight for your master’s house. 4 But they were exceedingly afraid, and said, Behold, two kings stood not before him: how then shall we stand? 5 And he that was over the house, and he that was over the city, the elders also, and the bringers up of the children, sent to Jehu, saying, bWe are thy servants, and will do all that thou shalt bid us; we will not make any king: do thou that which is good in thine eyes. 6 Then he wrote a letter the second time to them, saying, If ye be †mine, and if ye will hearken unto my voice, take ye the heads of the men your master’s sons, and come to me to Jezreel by to morrow this time. Now the king’s sons, being seventy persons, were with the great men of the city, which brought them up. 7 And it came to pass, when the letter came to them, that they took the king’s sons, and slew seventy persons, and put their heads in cbaskets, and sent him them to Jezreel. 8 And there came a messenger, and told him, saying, They have brought the heads of the king’s sons. And he said, Lay ye them in two heaps at the entering in of the gate until the morning. 9 And it came to pass in the morning, that he went out, and stood, and said to all the people, Ye be righteous: behold, dI conspired against my master, and slew him: but who slew all these? 10 Know now that there shall efall unto the earth nothing of the word of the Lord, which the Lord spake concerning the house of Ahab: for the Lord hath done that which he spake f†by his servant Elijah. 11 So Jehu slew all that remained of the house of Ahab in Jezreel, and all his great men, and his ||kinsfolks, and his gpriests, until hhe left him none remaining.

12 And he arose and departed, and came to Samaria. And as he was at the †shearing house in the way, 13 Jehu †met with the ibrethren of Ahaziah king of Judah, and said, Who are ye? And they answered, We are the brethren of Ahaziah; and we go down †to salute the children of the king and the children of the kqueen. 14 And he said, Take them alive. And they took them alive, and slew them at the pit of the shearing house, even two and forty men; neither left he any of them. 15 And when he was departed thence, he †lighted on lJehonadab the son of mRechab coming to meet him: and he †saluted him, and said to him, Is thine heart right, as my heart is with thy heart? And Jehonadab answered, It is. If it be, ngive me thine hand. And he gave him his hand; and he took him up to him into the chariot. 16 And he said, Come with me, and see omy zeal for the Lord. So they made him ride in his chariot. 17 And when he came to Samaria, he slew pall that remained unto Ahab in Samaria, till he had destroyed him, according to the saying of the Lord, qwhich he spake to Elijah.

18 And Jehu gathered all the people together, and said unto them, rAhab served Baal a little; but Jehu shall serve him much. 19 Now therefore call unto me all the sprophets of Baal, all his servants, and all his priests; let none be wanting: for I have a great sacrifice to do to Baal; whosoever shall be wanting, he shall not live. But Jehu did it in subtilty, to the intent that he might destroy the worshippers of Baal. 20 And Jehu said, †Proclaim a tsolemn assembly for Baal. And they uproclaimed it. 21 And Jehu sent through all Israel: and all the worshippers of Baal came, so that there was not a man left …