2 Kings 9–10

CHAPTER 9

Jehu Anointed King over Israel

¹Now Elisha the prophet called one of ^athe sons of the prophets and said to him, “^bGird up your loins, and ^ctake this flask of oil in your hand and go to ^dRamoth-gilead.

²“And you will come there and look there for ^aJehu the son of Jehoshaphat the son of Nimshi. And you will come in and ^1bbid him arise from among his brothers. And you will cause him to come in to an inner room.

³“Then you will take the flask of oil and pour it on his head and say, ‘Thus says Yahweh, “^aI have anointed you king over Israel.” ’ Then open the door and flee and do not wait.”

⁴So ^athe young man—the young man of the prophet—went to Ramoth-gilead.

⁵Then he came, and behold, the commanders of the military were sitting, and he said, “I have a word for you, O commander.” And Jehu said, “¹For which one of us?” And he said, “For you, O commander.”

⁶And he arose and came into the house, and he poured the oil on his head and said to him, “Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, ‘^aI have anointed you king over the people of Yahweh, even over Israel.

⁷‘And you shall strike the house of Ahab your master, ^athat I may avenge ^bthe blood of My slaves the prophets, and the blood of all the slaves of Yahweh, ^cat the hand of Jezebel.

⁸‘For the whole house of Ahab shall perish, and ^aI will cut off from Ahab ^bevery ¹male person ^cboth bond and free in Israel.

⁹‘^aAnd I will make the house of Ahab like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and ^blike the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah.

¹⁰‘^aAnd the dogs shall eat Jezebel in the ¹property of Jezreel, and none shall bury her.’” Then he opened the door and fled.

¹¹Now Jehu came out to the servants of his master, and one said to him, “^aIs all well? Why did this ^bmad fellow come to you?” And he said to them, “You know the man and his talk.”

¹²And they said, “It is a lie, declare it to us now.” And he said, “Thus and thus he said to me, ‘Thus says Yahweh, “I have anointed you king over Israel.” ’ ”

¹³Then ^athey hurried and each man took his garment and placed it under him on the bare steps, and ^bblew the trumpet, saying, “Jehu is king!”

Jehu Deceives Joram

¹⁴So Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat the son of Nimshi conspired against Joram. ^aNow Joram ¹with all Israel was ²guarding Ramoth-gilead against Hazael king of Aram,

¹⁵but ^aKing ¹Joram had returned to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds which the Arameans had struck him with when he fought with Hazael king of Aram. So Jehu said, “If this is your mind, then let no one escape or ²leave the city to go declare it in Jezreel.”

¹⁶Then Jehu rode in a chariot and went to Jezreel, for Joram was lying there. ^aAhaziah king of Judah had come down to see Joram.

¹⁷Now the watchman was standing on the tower in Jezreel and he saw the ¹company of Jehu as he came, and said, “I see a ²company.” And Joram said, “Take a horseman and send him to meet them and let him say, ‘Is it peace?’”

¹⁸So a horseman went to meet him and said, “Thus says the king, ‘Is it peace?’” And Jehu said, “^aWhat have you to do with peace? Turn behind me.” And the watchman declared saying, “The messenger came to them, but he did not return.”

¹⁹Then he sent out a second horseman. And he came to them and said, “Thus says the king, ‘Is it peace?’” And Jehu ¹answered, “What have you to do with peace? Turn behind me.”

²⁰And the watchman declared saying, “He came up to them, but he did not return; and ^athe driving is like the driving of ^bJehu the son of Nimshi, for he drives in madness.”

²¹Then ¹Joram said, “²Get ready.” And they made his chariot ready. ^3aJoram king of Israel and Ahaziah king of Judah went out, each in his chariot, and they went out to meet Jehu and found him in the ^4bproperty of Naboth the Jezreelite.

²²Now it happened that when ¹Joram saw Jehu, he said, “Is it peace, Jehu?” And he ²answered, “What peace, ^aso long as the harlotries of your mother Jezebel and her sorceries are so many?”

²³So ¹Joram ²turned about and fled and said to Ahaziah, “^aThere is deception, O Ahaziah!”

²⁴And ^aJehu ¹drew his bow with his full strength and struck ²Joram between his arms; and the arrow went ³through his heart and he crouched down in his chariot.

²⁵Then Jehu said to Bidkar his officer, “Lift him up and ^acast him into the ¹property of the field of Naboth the Jezreelite, for I remember when ²you and I were riding together after Ahab his father, that ^bYahweh lifted up this ^coracle against him:

²⁶‘Surely ^aI have seen yesterday the blood of Naboth and the blood of his sons,’ says Yahweh, ‘and ^bI will repay you in this ¹property,’ says Yahweh. So now, lift him up and cast him into the ²property, according to the word of Yahweh.”

Jehu Strikes Down Ahaziah

^27aAnd Ahaziah the king of Judah saw this and fled by the way of the garden house. And Jehu pursued him and said, “Strike him down too, in the chariot.” So they struck him down at the ascent of Gur, which is at ^bIbleam. But he fled to Megiddo and died there.

^28aThen his servants carried him in a chariot to Jerusalem and buried him in his grave with his fathers in the city of David.

²⁹Now in ^athe eleventh year of Joram, the son of Ahab, Ahaziah became king over Judah.

Jezebel Is Eaten by Dogs

³⁰Then Jehu came to Jezreel, and Jezebel heard of it and ^ashe painted her eyes and adorned her head and looked out the window.

³¹As Jehu entered the gate, she said, “^aIs it ¹peace, Zimri, ²your master’s killer?”

³²Then he lifted up his face to the window and said, “Who is on my side? Who?” And two or three officials looked down at him.

³³And 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 trampled her under foot.

³⁴Then he came in and ate and drank. And he said, “Take care now of ^athis cursed woman and bury her, for ^bshe is a king’s daughter.”

³⁵They went to bury her, but they found nothing more of her than the skull and the feet and the palms of her hands.

³⁶Therefore they returned and declared it to him. And he said, “This is the word of Yahweh, which He spoke by His servant Elijah the Tishbite, saying, ‘^aIn the ¹property of Jezreel the dogs shall eat the flesh of Jezebel;

³⁷and ^athe corpse of Jezebel will be as dung on the face of the field in the ¹property of Jezreel, so they cannot say, “This is Jezebel.” ’ ”

CHAPTER 10

The Heads of Ahab’s Sons Sent to Jehu

¹Now Ahab had seventy sons in ^aSamaria. And Jehu wrote letters and sent them to Samaria, to the rulers of Jezreel, the elders, and to the guardians of the children of Ahab, saying,

²“So now, ^awhen this letter comes to you, ¹since your master’s sons are with you, ²as well as the chariots and horses and a fortified city and the weapons,

³look for the best and ¹fittest of your master’s sons, and set him on his father’s throne, and fight for your master’s house.”

⁴But they feared exceedingly greatly and said, “Behold, ^athe two kings did not stand before him; how then can we stand?”

⁵And the one who was over the household, and he who was over the city, the elders, and the guardians of the children, sent word to Jehu, saying, “^aWe are your servants, all that you say to us we will do, we will not make any man king; do what is good in your sight.”

⁶Then he wrote a letter to them a second time saying, “If you are on my side, and you will listen to my voice, take the heads of the men, your master’s sons, and come to me about this time tomorrow at Jezreel.” Now the king’s sons, seventy persons, were with the great men of the city, who were rearing them.

⁷Now it happened that when the letter came to them, they took the king’s sons and ^aslaughtered them, seventy persons, and put their heads in baskets, and sent them to him at Jezreel.

⁸Then the messenger came and told him, saying, “They have brought the heads of the king’s sons.” So he said, “Put them in two heaps at the entrance of the gate until morning.”

⁹Now it happened in the morning that he went out and stood and said to all the people, “You are righteous; behold, ^aI conspired against my master and killed him, but ^bwho struck down all these?

¹⁰“Know then that ^anothing from the word of Yahweh, which Yahweh spoke concerning the house of Ahab, shall fall to the earth. Indeed, Yahweh has done ^bwhat He spoke by the hand of His servant Elijah.”

¹¹So Jehu struck down all who remained of the house of Ahab in ^aJezreel, and all his great men and his acquaintances and his priests, until ¹there was no survivor remaining for him.

¹²Then he arose and came out and went to Samaria. On the way, while he was at ¹Beth-eked of the shepherds,

^13aJehu found the ¹relatives of Ahaziah king of Judah and said, “Who are you?” And they said, “We are the ²relatives of Ahaziah; and we have come down ³to greet the sons of the king and the sons of the queen mother.”

¹⁴Then he said, “Take them alive.” So they took them alive and slaughtered them at the pit of Beth-eked, forty-two men; and he left none of them.

¹⁵Then he went from there and found ^aJehonadab the son of ^bRechab coming to meet him; and he ¹blessed him and said to him, “Is your heart right, as my heart is with your heart?” And Jehonadab ²answered, “It is.” Jehu said, “If it is, ^cgive me your hand.” And he gave him his hand, and he took him up to him into the chariot.

¹⁶Then he said, “Come with me and ^asee my zeal for Yahweh.” So ¹he made him ride in his chariot.

¹⁷And he came to Samaria ^aand struck down all who were left to Ahab in Samaria, until he had destroyed him, ^baccording to the word of Yahweh which He spoke to Elijah.

Jehu Destroys the Slaves of Baal

¹⁸Then Jehu gathered all the people and said to them, “^aAhab served Baal a little; Jehu will serve him much.

¹⁹“So now, ^asummon to me all the prophets of Baal, all his slaves and all his priests; let no one be missing, for I have a great sacrifice for Baal; whoever is missing shall not live.” But Jehu did it in ¹cunning, so that he might cause the slaves of Baal to perish.

²⁰And Jehu said, “^aSanctify a solemn assembly for Baal.” And ^bthey summoned them.

²¹Then Jehu sent ¹throughout Israel,…