2 Kings 10:1–14

Judgment upon Ahab’s House

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“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,

³select 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 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 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.

⁷When 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.

⁸When 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.”

⁹Now 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.”

¹¹So 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.

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

^13aJehu ¹met the ²relatives of Ahaziah king of Judah and said, “Who are you?” And they ³answered, “We are the relatives of Ahaziah; and we have come down ⁴to greet the sons of the king and the sons of the queen mother.”

¹⁴He 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.