^9:1Now Elisha the prophet summoned a member of the prophetic guild¹ and told him, “Tuck your robes into your belt, take this container² of olive oil in your hand, and go to Ramoth Gilead. ^9:2When you arrive there, look for Jehu son of Jehoshaphat son of Nimshi and take him aside into an inner room.³^9:3Take the container of olive oil, pour it over his head, and say, ‘This is what the Lord says, “I have designated⁴ you as king over Israel.” ’ Then open the door and run away quickly!”⁵

^9:4So the young prophet⁶ went to Ramoth Gilead. ^9:5When he arrived, the officers of the army were sitting there.⁷ So he said, “I have a message for you, O officer.”⁸ Jehu asked, “For which one of us?”⁹ He replied, “For you, O officer.” ^9:6So Jehu¹⁰ got up and went inside. Then the prophet¹¹ poured the olive oil on his head and said to him, “This is what the Lord God of Israel says, ‘I have designated you as king over the Lord’s people Israel. ^9:7You will destroy the family of your master Ahab.¹² I will get revenge against Jezebel for the shed blood of my servants the prophets and for the shed blood of all the Lord’s servants.¹³^9:8Ahab’s entire family will die. I¹⁴ will cut off every last male belonging to Ahab in Israel, including even the weak and incapacitated.¹⁵^9:9I will make Ahab’s dynasty¹⁶ like those of Jeroboam son of Nebat and Baasha son of Ahijah. ^9:10Dogs will devour Jezebel on the plot of ground in Jezreel; she will not be buried.’ ”¹⁷ Then he opened the door and ran away.

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Footnotes

1 Heb “one of the sons of the prophets.”
2 Or “flask.”
3 Heb “and go and set him apart from his brothers and bring him into an inner room in an inner room.”
4 Heb “anointed.”
5 Heb “and open the door and run away and do not delay.”
6 Heb “the young man, the young man, the prophet.” The is probably dittographic, the phrase “the young man” being accidentally repeated. The phrases “the young man” and “the prophet” are appositional, with the latter qualifying more specifically the former.
7 Heb “and he arrived and look, the officers of the army were sitting.”
8 Heb “[there is] a word for me to you, O officer.”
9 Heb “To whom from all of us?”
10 Heb “he”; the referent (Jehu) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
11 Heb “he”; the referent (the prophet) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
12 Or “strike down the house of Ahab your master.”
13 Heb “I will avenge the shed blood of my servants the prophets and the shed blood of all the servants of the Lord from the hand of Jezebel.”
14 The has the second person, “you.”
15 Heb “and I will cut off from Ahab those who urinate against a wall, [including both those who are] restrained and let free [or, ‘abandoned’] in Israel.” On the phrase וְעָצוּר וְעָזוּב (vé’atsur vé’azur, translated here “weak and incapacitated”) see the note at .
16 Heb “house.”
17 Note how the young prophet greatly expands the message Elisha had given to him. In addition to lengthening the introductory formula (by adding “the God of Israel”) and the official declaration that accompanies the act of anointing (by adding “the Lord’s people”), he goes on to tell how Jehu will become king (by a revolt against Ahab’s dynasty), makes it clear that Jehu will be an instrument of divine vengeance, and predicts the utter annihilation of Ahab’s family and the violent death of Jezebel.