2 Kings 9:1–10:36
1 Now 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 “When you arrive there, 1search out aJehu the son of Jehoshaphat the son of Nimshi, and go in and 2bbid him arise from among his brothers, and bring him to an inner room.
3 “Then take the flask of oil and pour it on his head and say, ‘Thus says the Lord, “aI have anointed you king over Israel.” ’ Then open the door and flee and do not wait.”
4 So athe young man, the servant of the prophet, went to Ramoth-gilead.
5 When he came, behold, the captains of the army were sitting, and he said, “I have a word for you, O captain.” And Jehu said, “1For which one of us?” And he said, “For you, O captain.”
6 He arose and went into the house, and he poured the oil on his head and said to him, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘aI have anointed you king over the people of the Lord, even over Israel.
7 ‘You shall strike the house of Ahab your master, athat I may avenge bthe blood of My servants the prophets, and the blood of all the servants of the Lord, cat the hand of Jezebel.
8 ‘For the whole house of Ahab shall perish, and aI will cut off from Ahab bevery male person cboth bond and free in Israel.
9 ‘aI 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 ‘aThe dogs shall eat Jezebel in the territory of Jezreel, and none shall bury her.’ ” Then he opened the door and fled.
11 Now 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 very well the man and his talk.”
12 They said, “It is a lie, tell us now.” And he said, “Thus and thus he said to me, ‘Thus says the Lord, “I have anointed you king over Israel.” ’ ”
13 Then 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!”
Jehoram (Joram) Is Assassinated
14 So Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat the son of Nimshi conspired against Joram. aNow Joram 1with all Israel was 2defending Ramoth-gilead against Hazael king of Aram,
15 but aKing 1Joram had returned to Jezreel to be healed of the wounds which the Arameans had 2inflicted on him when he fought with Hazael king of Aram. So Jehu said, “If this is your mind, then let no one escape or 3leave the city to go tell it in Jezreel.”
16 Then Jehu rode in a chariot and went to Jezreel, for Joram was lying there. aAhaziah king of Judah had come down to see Joram.
17 Now the watchman was standing on the tower in Jezreel and he saw the 1company of Jehu as he came, and said, “I see a 1company.” And Joram said, “Take a horseman and send him to meet them and let him say, ‘Is it peace?’ ”
18 So 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 1reported, “The messenger came to them, but he did not return.”
19 Then he sent out a second horseman, who 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.”
20 The watchman 1reported, “He came even to them, and he did not return; and athe driving is like the driving of bJehu the son of Nimshi, for he drives furiously.”
21 Then 1Joram said, “2Get ready.” And they made his chariot ready. 1aJoram 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 3bproperty of Naboth the Jezreelite.
22 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 witchcrafts are so many?”
23 So 1Joram 2reined about and fled and said to Ahaziah, “aThere is treachery, O Ahaziah!”
24 And aJehu 1drew his bow with his full strength and 2shot 3Joram between his arms; and the arrow went 4through his heart and he sank in his chariot.
25 Then Jehu said to Bidkar his officer, “Take 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 the bLord laid this coracle against him:
26 ‘Surely aI have seen yesterday the blood of Naboth and the blood of his sons,’ says the Lord, ‘and bI will repay you in this 1property,’ says the Lord. Now then, take and cast him into the 1property, according to the word of the Lord.”
27 aWhen Ahaziah the king of Judah saw this, he fled by the way of the garden house. And Jehu pursued him and said, “1Shoot him too, in the chariot.” So they shot him at the ascent of Gur, which is at bIbleam. But he fled to Megiddo and died there.
28 aThen his servants carried him in a chariot to Jerusalem and buried him in his grave with his fathers in the city of David.
29 Now in athe eleventh year of Joram, the son of Ahab, Ahaziah became king over Judah.
30 When Jehu came to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it, and ashe painted her eyes and adorned her head and looked out the window.
31 As Jehu entered the gate, she said, “aIs it 1well, Zimri, 2your master’s murderer?”
32 Then 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.
33 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.
34 When he came in, he ate and drank; and he said, “See now to athis cursed woman and bury her, for bshe is a king’s daughter.”
35 They went to bury her, but they found nothing more of her than the skull and the feet and the palms of her hands.
36 Therefore they returned and told him. And he said, “This is the word of the Lord, which He spoke by His servant Elijah the Tishbite, saying, ‘aIn the 1property of Jezreel the dogs shall eat the flesh of Jezebel;
37 and 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.” ’ ”
1 Now 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 “Now, awhen this letter comes to you, since your master’s sons are with you, 1as well as the chariots and horses and a fortified city and the weapons,
3 select the best and 1fittest of your master’s sons, and set him on his father’s throne, and fight for your master’s house.”
4 But they feared greatly and said, “Behold, athe two kings did not stand before him; how then can we stand?”
5 And 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.”
6 Then 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 at Jezreel tomorrow about this time.” Now the king’s sons, seventy persons, were with the great men of the city, who were rearing them.
7 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.
8 When the messenger came and told him, saying, “They have brought the heads of the king’s sons,” he said, “Put them in two heaps at the entrance of the gate until morning.”
9 Now in the morning he went out and stood and said to all the people, “You are 1innocent; behold, aI conspired against my master and killed him, but bwho 2killed all these?
10 “Know then that athere shall fall to the earth nothing of the word of the Lord, which the Lord spoke concerning the house of Ahab, for the Lord has done bwhat He spoke 1through His servant Elijah.”
11 So Jehu 1killed all who remained of the house of Ahab in aJezreel, and all his great men and his acquaintances and his priests, until he left him without a survivor.
12 Then he arose and departed and went to Samaria. On the way while he was at 1Beth-eked of the shepherds,
13 aJehu 1met the 2relatives of Ahaziah king of Judah and said, “Who are you?” And they 3answered, “We are the 2relatives of Ahaziah; and we have come down 4to greet the sons of the king and the sons of the queen mother.”
14 He said, “Take them alive.” So they took them alive and killed them at the pit of Beth-eked, forty-two men; and he left none of them.
15 Now when he had departed from there, he 1met aJehonadab the son of bRechab coming to meet him; and he 2greeted him and said to him, “Is your heart right, as my heart is with your heart?” And Jehonadab 3answered, “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.
16 He said, “Come with me and asee my zeal for the Lord.” So 1he made him ride in his chariot.
17 When he came to Samaria, ahe 1killed all who remained to Ahab in Samaria, until he had destroyed him, baccording to the word of the Lord which He spoke to Elijah.
18 Then Jehu gathered all the people and said to them, “aAhab served Baal a little; Jehu will serve him much.
19 “Now, asummon all the prophets of Baal, all his worshipers 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 destroy the worshipers of Baal.
20 And Jehu said, “aSanctify a solemn assembly for Baal.” And bthey proclaimed it.
21 Then Jehu sent 1throughout Israel and all the worshipers of Baal came, so that there was not a man left who did not come. And when they went into athe house of Baal, the house of Baal was filled from one end to the other.
22 He said to the one who was 1in charge of the wardrobe, “Bring out garments for all the …