2 Kings 9:24–10:11

²⁴Now Jehu ⁸drew his bow with full strength and shot Jehoram between his arms; and the arrow came out at his heart, and he sank down in his chariot. ²⁵Then Jehu said to Bidkar his captain, “Pick him up, and throw him into the tract of the field of Naboth the Jezreelite; for remember, when you and I were riding together behind Ahab his father, that ^vthe Lord laid this ^wburden upon him: ²⁶‘Surely I saw yesterday the blood of Naboth and the blood of his sons,’ says the Lord, ^x‘and I will repay you ⁹in this plot,’ says the Lord. Now therefore, take and throw him on the plot of ground, according to the word of the Lord.”

Ahaziah of Judah Killed

²⁷But when Ahaziah king of Judah saw this, he fled by the road to ¹Beth Haggan. So Jehu pursued him, and said, ²“Shoot him also in the chariot.” And they shot him at the Ascent of Gur, which is by Ibleam. Then he fled to ^yMegiddo, and died there. ²⁸And his servants carried him in the chariot to Jerusalem, and buried him in his tomb with his fathers in the City of David. ²⁹In the eleventh year of Joram the son of Ahab, Ahaziah had become king over Judah.

Jezebel’s Violent Death

³⁰Now when Jehu had come to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it; ^zand she put paint on her eyes and adorned her head, and looked through a window. ³¹Then, as Jehu entered at the gate, she said, ^a“Is it peace, Zimri, murderer of your master?”

³²And he looked up at the window, and said, “Who is on my side? Who?” So two or three eunuchs looked out at him. ³³Then he said, “Throw her down.” So they threw her down, and some of her blood spattered on the wall and on the horses; and he trampled her underfoot. ³⁴And when he had gone in, he ate and drank. Then he said, “Go now, see to this accursed woman, and bury her, for ^bshe was a king’s daughter.” ³⁵So they went to bury her, but they found no more of her than the skull and the feet and the palms of her hands. ³⁶Therefore they came back and told him. And he said, “This is the word of the Lord, which He spoke by His servant Elijah the Tishbite, saying, ^c‘On the plot of ground at Jezreel dogs shall eat the flesh of Jezebel; ³⁷and the corpse of Jezebel shall be ^das refuse on the surface of the field, in the plot at Jezreel, so that they shall not say, “Here lies Jezebel.” ’ ”

Ahab’s Seventy Sons Killed

10Now Ahab had seventy sons in Samaria. And Jehu wrote and sent letters to Samaria, to the rulers of ¹Jezreel, to the elders, and to ²those who reared Ahab’s sons, saying:

²Now as soon as this letter comes to you, since your master’s sons are with you, and you have chariots and horses, a fortified city also, and weapons, ³choose the ³best qualified of your master’s sons, set him on his father’s throne, and fight for your master’s house.

⁴But they were exceedingly afraid, and said, “Look, ^atwo kings could not ⁴stand up to him; how then can we stand?” ⁵And he who was in charge of the house, and he who was in charge of the city, the elders also, and those who reared the sons, sent to Jehu, saying, “We are your servants, we will do all you tell us; but we will not make anyone king. Do what is good in your sight.” ⁶Then he wrote a second letter to them, saying:

If you are for me and will obey my voice, take the heads of the men, your master’s sons, and come to me at Jezreel by this time tomorrow.

Now the king’s sons, seventy persons, were with the great men of the city, who were rearing them. ⁷So it was, when the letter came to them, that they took the king’s sons and ^bslaughtered seventy persons, put their heads in baskets and sent them to him at Jezreel.

⁸Then a messenger came and told him, saying, “They have brought the heads of the king’s sons.”

And he said, “Lay them in two heaps at the entrance of the gate until morning.”

⁹So it was, in the morning, that he went out and stood, and said to all the people, “You are righteous. Indeed ^cI conspired against my master and killed him; but who killed all these? ¹⁰Know now that nothing shall ^dfall to the earth of the word of the Lord which the Lord spoke concerning the house of Ahab; for the Lord has done what He spoke ^eby His servant Elijah.” ¹¹So Jehu killed all who remained of the house of Ahab in Jezreel, and all his great men and his close acquaintances and his priests, until he left him none remaining.