2 Kings 10-12

Easy-to-Read Version

Jehu Writes the Leaders of Samaria

10 Ahab had 70 sons in Samaria. Jehu wrote letters and sent them to Samaria to the rulers and leaders of Jezreel.^[a] He also sent the letters to the people who raised Ahab’s sons saying, ^2-3 “As soon as you get this letter, choose the one who is the best and most worthy among your master’s sons. You have chariots and horses. And you are living in a strong city. You also have weapons. Put the son you choose on his father’s throne. Then fight for your master’s family.”

⁴ But the rulers and leaders of Jezreel were very afraid. They said, “The two kings could not stop Jehu. So we cannot stop him either!”

⁵ The palace manager, the official in charge of the city, the elders, and the people who raised the king’s children sent a message to Jehu. “We are your servants and we will do whatever you tell us. We will not make anyone king; you may do whatever you think is best.”

Leaders of Samaria Kill Ahab’s Children

⁶ Then Jehu wrote a second letter to these leaders. He said, “If you support me and obey me, cut off the heads of Ahab’s sons. Bring them to me at Jezreel about this time tomorrow.”

Ahab had 70 sons. They were with the leaders of the city who raised them. ⁷ When the leaders of the city received the letter, they took the king’s sons and killed all 70 of them. Then the leaders put the heads of the king’s sons in baskets and sent the baskets to Jehu at Jezreel. ⁸ The messenger came to Jehu and told him, “They have brought the heads of the king’s sons.”

Then Jehu said, “Lay the heads in two piles at the city gate until morning.”

⁹ In the morning Jehu went out and stood before the people. He said to them, “You are innocent. Look, I made plans against my master. I killed him. But who killed all these sons of Ahab? You killed them. ¹⁰ You should know that everything the Lord says will happen. The Lord used Elijah to say these things about Ahab’s family. Now the Lord has done what he said he would do.”

¹¹ So Jehu killed all the people in Ahab’s family living in Jezreel. He killed all the important men, close friends, and priests. None of Ahab’s people were left alive.

Jehu Kills Ahaziah’s Relatives

¹² Jehu left Jezreel and went to Samaria. On the way, he stopped at a place called Shepherd’s Camp. ¹³ There he met with the relatives of King Ahaziah of Judah. Jehu asked, “Who are you?”

They answered, “We are the relatives of King Ahaziah of Judah. We have come down to visit the king’s children and the queen mother’s^[b] children.”

¹⁴ Then Jehu said, “Take them alive!”

Jehu’s men captured Ahaziah’s relatives alive. There were 42 of them. Jehu killed them at the well near Beth Eked. He did not leave anyone alive.

Jehu Meets Jehonadab

¹⁵ After Jehu left there, he met Jehonadab son of Recab. Jehonadab was on his way to meet Jehu. Jehu greeted Jehonadab and said to him, “Are you a faithful friend to me, as I am to you?”^[c]

Jehonadab answered, “Yes, I am a faithful friend to you.”

Jehu said, “If you are, give me your hand.”

Then Jehu reached out and pulled Jehonadab up into the chariot.

¹⁶ Jehu said, “Come with me. You can see how strong my feelings are for the Lord.”

So Jehonadab rode in Jehu’s chariot. ¹⁷ Jehu came to Samaria and killed all Ahab’s family who were still alive in Samaria. He killed them all. He did what the Lord had told Elijah.

Jehu Calls the Worshipers of Baal

¹⁸ Then Jehu gathered all the people together and said to them, “Ahab served Baal a little, but Jehu will serve Baal much. ¹⁹ Now call together all the priests and prophets of Baal. And call together everyone who worships Baal. Don’t let anyone miss this meeting. I have a great sacrifice to give to Baal. I will kill anyone who does not come to this meeting.”

But Jehu was tricking them. He wanted to destroy the worshipers of Baal. ²⁰ Jehu said, “Prepare a holy meeting for Baal.” So the priests announced the meeting. ²¹ Then Jehu sent a message through all the land of Israel. All the worshipers of Baal came. Not one stayed home. The Baal worshipers came into the temple of Baal. The temple was filled with people.

²² Jehu said to the man who kept the robes, “Bring out the robes for all the worshipers of Baal.” So that man brought out the robes for the Baal worshipers.

²³ Then Jehu and Jehonadab son of Recab went into the temple of Baal. Jehu said to the worshipers of Baal, “Look around and be sure that there are no servants of the Lord with you. Be sure there are only people who worship Baal.” ²⁴ The worshipers of Baal went into the temple of Baal to offer sacrifices and burnt offerings.

But outside, Jehu had 80 men waiting. He told them, “Don’t let anyone escape. If any man lets one person escape, that man must pay with his own life.”

²⁵ Quickly after Jehu had finished offering the burnt offering, he said to the guards and to the captains, “Go in and kill the worshipers of Baal! Don’t let anyone come out of the temple alive!”

So the captains used thin swords and killed the worshipers of Baal. They threw the bodies of the worshipers of Baal out. Then the guards and the captains went to the inner room^[d] of the temple of Baal. ²⁶ They brought out the memorial stones that were in the temple of Baal and burned that temple. ²⁷ Then they smashed the memorial stones of Baal. They also smashed the temple of Baal. They made the temple of Baal into a public toilet, which is still used today.

²⁸ So Jehu destroyed Baal worship in Israel, ²⁹ but he did not completely turn away from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat that caused Israel to sin. Jehu did not destroy the golden calves in Bethel and in Dan.

Jehu’s Rule Over Israel

³⁰ The Lord said to Jehu, “You have done well. You have done what I say is good. You destroyed Ahab’s family the way I wanted you to, so your descendants will rule Israel for four generations.”

³¹ But Jehu was not careful to follow the law of the Lord with all his heart. Jehu did not stop committing the sins of Jeroboam that caused Israel to sin.

Hazael Defeats Israel

³² At that time the Lord began to cut away sections of Israel and give them to other nations. King Hazael of Aram defeated the Israelites on every border of Israel. ³³ He won the land east of the Jordan River—all the land of Gilead, including the land that belonged to the tribes of Gad, Reuben, and Manasseh. He won all the land from Aroer by the Arnon Valley to Gilead and Bashan.

The Death of Jehu

³⁴ All the other great things that Jehu did are written in the book, The History of the Kings of Israel. ³⁵ Jehu died and was buried with his ancestors. The people buried him in Samaria. His son Jehoahaz became the new king of Israel after him. ³⁶ Jehu ruled over Israel in Samaria for 28 years.

Athaliah Kills the King’s Sons in Judah

11 Athaliah was Ahaziah’s mother. She saw that her son was dead, so she got up and killed all the king’s family.

² Jehosheba was King Joram’s daughter and Ahaziah’s sister. Joash was one of the king’s sons. While the other children were being killed, Jehosheba took Joash and hid him. She put him and his nurse in her bedroom, so Jehosheba and the nurse hid Joash from Athaliah. That way Joash was not killed.

³ Then Joash and Jehosheba hid in the Lord’s Temple. Joash hid there for six years. During that time Athaliah ruled over the land of Judah.

⁴ In the seventh year Jehoiada the high priest sent for the captains of the Carites^[e] and guards.^[f] He brought them together in the Lord’s Temple and made an agreement with them. There in the Temple of the Lord he forced them to make a promise. Then he showed the king’s son to them.

⁵ Then Jehoiada gave them a command. He said, “This is what you must do. One-third of you, from those who go on duty on the Sabbath day, must stand guard at the royal palace. ⁶ Another third will be at the Sur Gate, and the other third will be at the gate behind the guard. This way you will stand guard over the palace on all sides. ⁷ Your two divisions who go off duty on the Sabbath day will stand guard at the Lord’s Temple and protect King Joash. ⁸ You must stay with him wherever he goes. The whole group must surround the king. Each guard must have his weapon in his hand, and you must kill anyone who comes too close to you.”

⁹ The captains obeyed everything that Jehoiada the priest commanded. Each captain took his men, both those who were going on duty on the Sabbath day and those who were going off duty. All these men went to Jehoiada the priest, ¹⁰ and he gave spears and shields to the captains. These were the spears and shields David put in the Lord’s Temple. ¹¹ These guards stood with their weapons in their hands from the right corner of the Temple to the left corner. They stood around the altar and the Temple and around the king when he went to the Temple. ¹² These men brought out Joash. They put the crown on him and gave him a copy of the agreement.^[g] Then they anointed him and made him the new king. They clapped their hands and shouted, “Long live the king!”

¹³ Queen Athaliah heard the noise from the guards and the people, so she went to them at the Lord’s Temple. ¹⁴ Athaliah saw the king by the column where new kings usually stood. She also saw the leaders and men playing the trumpets for him. She saw that all the people were very happy. She heard the trumpets, and she tore her clothes to show she was upset. Then Athaliah shouted, “Treason! Treason!”

¹⁵ Jehoiada the priest gave a command to the captains who were in charge of the soldiers. Jehoiada told them, “Take Athaliah outside of the Temple area. Kill any of her followers, but don’t kill them in the Lord’s Temple.”

¹⁶ So the soldiers grabbed Athaliah and killed her as soon as she went through the horse’s entrance to the palace.

¹⁷ Then Jehoiada made the agreement between the Lord and the king and the people. This agreement showed that the king and the people belonged to the Lord. Jehoiada also made the agreement between the king and the people.

¹⁸ Then all the people went to the temple of Baal. They destroyed the statue of Baal and his altars. They broke them into many pieces. They also killed Baal’s priest, Mattan, in front of the altars.

So Jehoiada the priest put men in charge of maintaining the Lord’s Temple. ¹⁹ The priest led all the people. They went from the Lord’s Temple to the king’s palace. The king’s special guards and the captains went with the king, and all the other people followed them. They went to the entrance to the king’s palace. Then King Joash sat on the throne. ²⁰ All the people were happy, and the city was peaceful. And Queen Athaliah was killed with a sword near the king’s palace.

²¹ Joash was seven years old when he became king.

Joash Begins His Rule

12 Joash began to rule during Jehu’s seventh year as king of Israel. Joash ruled 40 years in Jerusalem. His mother was named Zibiah of Beersheba. ² For as long as he lived, Joash did what the Lord considered right. He did what Jehoiada the priest taught him. ³ But he did not destroy the high places. The people still made sacrifices and burned incense at those places of worship.

Joash Orders the Temple Repaired

^4-5 Joash said to the priests, “There is much money in the Lord’s Temple. People have given things to the Temple and have paid the Temple tax when they were counted. And they have given money simply because they wanted to. You priests should take that money and repair the Lord’s Temple. Each priest should use the money he gets from the people he serves. He should use that money to repair the damage to the Temple.”

⁶ In the 23rd year that Joash was king, the priests still had not repaired the Temple, ⁷ so King Joash called for Jehoiada the priest and the other priests. Joash said to them, “Why haven’t you repaired the Temple? Stop taking money from the people you serve. That money must be used to repair the Temple.”

⁸ The priests agreed to stop taking money from the people, but they also decided not to repair the Temple. ⁹ So Jehoiada the priest took a box and made a hole in the top of it. Then he put the box on the south side of the altar. This box was by the door where people came into the Lord’s Temple. Some of the priests were there to guard this doorway.^[h] They took the money that people brought for the Lord’s temple and put it into this box.

¹⁰ Whenever the king’s secretary and the high priest saw that the box was full, they counted all the money that had been given for the Lord’s Temple and put it in bags. ¹¹ Then they paid the men who were in charge of the work on the Lord’s Temple. They paid the carpenters and other builders who worked on the Lord’s Temple. ¹² They used that money to pay the stoneworkers and stonecutters, and they used it to buy timber, cut stone, and everything else to repair the Lord’s Temple.

^13-14 People gave money for the Lord’s Temple, but the priests could not use this money to make silver cups, snuffers, basins, trumpets, or any of the gold and silver dishes that were to be used inside the Lord’s temple. This money was used only to pay the workers who repaired the Lord’s Temple. ¹⁵ Those who were in charge of paying the workers did not have to give a report of how they spent the money, because they could be trusted.

¹⁶ People gave money when they offered guilt offerings and sin offerings, but that money was not used for the Lord’s temple. It belonged to the priests.

Joash Saves Jerusalem From Hazael

¹⁷ Hazael was the king of Aram. He went to fight against the city of Gath and defeated it. Then he made plans to go fight against Jerusalem.

¹⁸ Joash^[i] and his ancestors—Jehoshaphat, Jehoram, and Ahaziah—had all been kings of Judah. They had given many things to the Lord that were kept in his Temple. Joash gathered all these things and all the gold that was stored in the Temple and in his palace. He sent all this treasure to King Hazael of Aram, who then commanded his army to leave Jerusalem.

The Death of Joash

¹⁹ All the great things that Joash did are written in the book, The History of the Kings of Judah.

²⁰ Joash’s officers made plans against him. They killed Joash at the house of Millo on the road that goes down to Silla. ²¹ Jozabad son of Shimeath and Jehozabad son of Shomer were Joash’s officers. These men killed Joash.

The people buried Joash with his ancestors in the City of David. His son Amaziah became the new king after him.