^10:6He wrote them a second letter, saying, “If you are really on my side and are willing to obey me,¹⁴ then take the heads of your master’s sons and come to me in Jezreel at this time tomorrow.”¹⁵ Now the king had seventy sons, and the prominent¹⁶ men of the city were raising them. ^10:7When they received the letter, they seized the king’s sons and executed all seventy of them.¹⁷ They put their heads in baskets and sent them to him in Jezreel. ^10:8The messenger came and told Jehu,¹⁸ “They have brought the heads of the king’s sons.” Jehu¹⁹ said, “Stack them in two piles at the entrance of the city gate until morning.” ^10:9In the morning he went out and stood there. Then he said to all the people, “You are innocent. I conspired against my master and killed him. But who struck down all of these men? ^10:10Therefore take note that not one of the judgments the Lord announced against Ahab’s dynasty has failed to materialize. The Lord had done what he announced through his servant Elijah.”²⁰^10:11Then Jehu killed all who were left of Ahab’s family in Jezreel, and all his nobles, close friends, and priests. He left no survivors.

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Footnotes

14 Heb “If you are mine and you are listening to my voice.”
15 Jehu’s command is intentionally vague. Does he mean that they should bring the guardians (those who are “heads” over Ahab’s sons) for a meeting, or does he mean that they should bring the literal heads of Ahab’s sons with them? (So , , and some of the ) The city leaders interpret his words in the literal sense, but Jehu’s command is so ambiguous he is able to deny complicity in the executions (see v. 9).
16 Heb “great,” probably in wealth, position, and prestige.
17 Heb “and when the letter came to them, they took the sons of the king and slaughtered seventy men.”
18 Heb “him”; the referent (Jehu) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
19 Heb “he”; the referent (Jehu) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
20 Heb “Know then that there has not fallen from the word of the Lord to the ground that which the Lord spoke against the house of Ahab. The Lord has done that which he spoke by the hand of his servant Elijah.”