2 Kings 9-10

GOD’S WORD Translation

Jehu Is Anointed King of Israel

9 The prophet Elisha called one of the disciples of the prophets. He said, “Put on your belt. Take this flask of olive oil, and go to Ramoth Gilead. ² When you arrive there, look for Jehu, son of Jehoshaphat and grandson of Nimshi. Go inside, and have him get up and leave his companions. Take him into an inner room. ³ Take the flask of oil, pour it on his head, and say, ‘This is what the Lord says: I have anointed you king of Israel.’ Then open the door and leave immediately.”

⁴ The young man, the servant of the prophet, went to Ramoth Gilead. ⁵ When he arrived there, the army’s generals were sitting together. He said, “I have something to tell you, General.”

Jehu asked, “Which one of us?”

He answered, “You, General!”

⁶ Jehu got up and went into the house. The prophet poured olive oil on his head and told him, “This is what the Lord God of Israel says: I have anointed you king of the Lord’s people, ⌞king⌟ of Israel. ⁷ You will destroy the family of your master Ahab. I will get revenge on Jezebel for shedding the blood of my servants the prophets and all the Lord’s ⌞other⌟ servants. ⁸ Ahab’s entire family will die. I will destroy every male ^[a] from Ahab’s family, whether slave or freeman in Israel. ⁹ I will make Ahab’s family like the family of Jeroboam (Nebat’s son) and like the family of Baasha, son of Ahijah. ¹⁰ Dogs will eat Jezebel inside the walls of Jezreel, and no one will bury her.” Then he opened the door and left.

¹¹ Jehu came out to his master’s officials. One of them asked him, “Is everything alright? Why did this lunatic come to you?”

He answered, “You know the man and the kind of things he says.”

¹² They said, “That’s not an answer. Please tell us.”

Jehu replied, “We talked for a while, and he said to me, ‘This is what the Lord says: I have anointed you king of Israel.’ ”

¹³ Then each one of them immediately took off his coat and laid it on the stairs below him. They blew a ram’s horn and said, “Jehu is king!”

Jehu Kills King Joram, King Ahaziah, and Queen Jezebel^(A)

¹⁴ So Jehu, son of Jehoshaphat and grandson of Nimshi, plotted against Joram. (Joram and all Israel were guarding Ramoth Gilead against King Hazael of Aram. ¹⁵ But King Joram had returned to Jezreel to recover from the wounds he received while fighting King Hazael of Aram.)

Then Jehu said, “If you want me to be king, don’t let anyone escape from the city to take the news to Jezreel.” ¹⁶ So Jehu got on his chariot and drove to Jezreel because Joram was lying in bed there. (King Ahaziah of Judah had come to see Joram.)

¹⁷ The watchman standing on the tower in Jezreel saw Jehu’s troops coming. He said, “I see some troops.”

So Joram said, “Take a chariot driver, send him to meet them, and ask, ‘Is everything alright?’ ”

¹⁸ So a chariot driver rode off, met Jehu, and said, “The king asks, ‘Is everything alright?’ ”

Jehu replied, “Why should that matter to you? Follow me.”

So the watchman announced, “The messenger you sent has reached them, but he isn’t coming back.”

¹⁹ Then Joram sent out a second driver. When he came to them, he said, “The king asks, ‘Is everything alright?’ ”

Jehu replied, “Why should that matter to you? Follow me.”

²⁰ So the watchman announced, “He has reached them, but he isn’t coming back. The troop’s leader is driving like a lunatic, like Jehu, grandson of Nimshi.”

²¹ “Hitch the horses to the chariot,” Joram ordered. When that was done, King Joram of Israel and King Ahaziah of Judah went to meet Jehu, each in his own chariot. They found him in the field that belonged to Naboth from Jezreel.

²² When Joram saw Jehu, he asked, “Is everything alright, Jehu?”

Jehu answered, “How can everything be alright as long as your mother continues her idolatry and witchcraft?”

²³ As Joram turned his chariot around and tried to flee, he said to Ahaziah, “It’s a trap, Ahaziah!” ²⁴ But Jehu took his bow and shot Joram between the shoulders. The arrow came out of his chest, and he slumped over in his chariot.

²⁵ Then Jehu said to his attendant Bidkar, “Take him away, and throw him into the field that belonged to Naboth from Jezreel. Remember when you and I were driving our chariots behind his father Ahab? The Lord revealed this prophecy about him: ²⁶ ‘Just as I saw the blood of Naboth and his sons yesterday, I will pay you back in this field,’ declares the Lord. Now take him and throw him into the field as the Lord predicted.”

²⁷ When King Ahaziah of Judah saw this, he fled on the road leading to Beth Haggan. Jehu pursued him and ordered, “Shoot him down in his chariot.” They shot him at Gur Pass, which is near Ibleam. Ahaziah continued to flee until he got to Megiddo, where he died. ²⁸ His servants brought him in a chariot to Jerusalem. They buried him in a tomb with his ancestors in the City of David. ²⁹ (Ahaziah had become king of Judah in the eleventh year that Joram, Ahab’s son, was king of Israel.)

³⁰ When Jehu arrived in Jezreel, Jezebel heard about it. She put on eye shadow, fixed her hair, and looked out of a second-story window. ³¹ When Jehu entered the gateway, she asked, “Is everything alright, Zimri, murderer of your master?”

³² Looking up at the window, he asked, “Is anyone on my side? Anyone?” Then two or three eunuchs looked out at him.

³³ He said, “Throw her down.” They threw her down, and some of her blood splattered on the wall and the horses. The horses trampled her.

³⁴ He went inside, ate, and drank. Then he said, “Take care of this woman who had a curse on her. After all, she was a king’s daughter.” ³⁵ But when they went out to bury her, they couldn’t find any of her body except her skull, feet, and hands. ³⁶ They came back and told him.

Jehu said, “The Lord spoke through his servant Elijah from Tishbe. He said, ‘Dogs will eat Jezebel’s body inside the walls of Jezreel. ³⁷ Jezebel’s corpse will be like manure on the ground in the fields surrounding Jezreel so that no one will be able to say that this is Jezebel.’ ”

Jehu Kills King Ahab’s and King Ahaziah’s Heirs

10 Ahab had 70 male heirs in Samaria. So Jehu wrote letters to the officials of Jezreel, the respected leaders, and the guardians of Ahab’s descendants in Samaria. The letters read, ² “Your master’s heirs are with you, and you have chariots, horses, fortified cities, and weapons. As soon as this letter reaches you, ³ choose the best and most honest of your master’s heirs, and put him on Ahab’s throne. Fight for your master’s family.”

⁴ But they panicked. They said, “If two kings couldn’t stand up to him, how can we stand up to him?” ⁵ So the official in charge of the palace, the mayor of the city, the respected leaders, and the guardians sent this message to Jehu: “We are your servants. We’ll do everything you tell us. We won’t make anyone king. Do what you think is best.”

⁶ So he wrote them a second letter. It read, “If you are on my side and ready to listen to me, bring the heads of your master’s heirs to me in Jezreel about this time tomorrow.”

The 70 male heirs were staying with the city’s most powerful men. These men had raised them. ⁷ When the letter came to the men, they slaughtered all 70 heirs. They put the heads in baskets and sent them to Jehu in Jezreel. ⁸ A messenger told him, “They’ve brought the heads of the king’s heirs.”

Jehu said, “Put them in two piles at the entrance to the gateway until morning.” ⁹ In the morning he stood there. He told the people, “You are innocent. I plotted against my master and killed him. But who killed all these men? ¹⁰ You can be sure that the Lord’s word spoken about Ahab’s family will be fulfilled. The Lord will do what he said through his servant Elijah.”

¹¹ Jehu also killed every member of Ahab’s household who was left in Jezreel: all the most powerful men, friends, and priests. Not one of them was left.

¹² Then Jehu left for Samaria. When he came to Beth Eked of the Shepherds, ¹³ he found some relatives of King Ahaziah of Judah. “Who are you?” he asked.

They answered, “We’re Ahaziah’s relatives. We’ve come to greet the families of the king and the queen mother.”

¹⁴ Jehu ordered, “Capture them!”

⌞Jehu’s men⌟ captured and slaughtered 42 of them at a cistern near Beth Eked. They didn’t leave any survivors.

¹⁵ When he left that place, he met Jehonadab, son of Rechab, who was coming to meet him. Jehu greeted him and asked, “Are you as loyal to me as I am to you?”

“I am,” Jehonadab answered.

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

When he gave Jehu his hand, Jehu helped him up into the chariot. ¹⁶ Jehu said, “Come with me. See how devoted I am to the Lord.” So he had Jehonadab ride on his chariot. ¹⁷ When they arrived in Samaria, Jehu killed the rest of Ahab’s family, every member who was left in Samaria. He wiped them out, as the Lord had told Elijah.

Jehu Kills Baal’s Prophets

¹⁸ Then Jehu brought all the people together. He said, “Ahab served Baal a little, but Jehu will serve him a lot. ¹⁹ Summon all the prophets, servants, and priests of Baal. Make sure no one is missing because I have a great sacrifice to offer Baal. Whoever is missing will not live.” (Jehu was deceiving ⌞them⌟. He actually wanted to destroy those who worshiped Baal.)

²⁰ Jehu said, “Call a holy assembly to honor Baal.” So they did. ²¹ Jehu sent messengers to all the Israelites. All the worshipers of Baal came, and there wasn’t one who didn’t come. They went into the temple of Baal and filled it from one end to the other.

²² Then Jehu told the man in charge of the priests’ robes, “Bring out the robes for all the worshipers of Baal.” So he brought out robes for them. ²³ Jehu and Jehonadab, son of Rechab, went into the temple of Baal and said to the worshipers of Baal, “Make sure that there are no worshipers of the Lord here with you. Only the worshipers of Baal should be here.” ²⁴ So they went in to offer sacrifices and burnt offerings. But Jehu had stationed 80 of his men outside. He said ⌞to them⌟, “If any of the people I’m putting in your hands escape, you will pay for their lives with yours.”

²⁵ When the burnt offerings had been made, Jehu said to the guards and attendants, “Kill them. Don’t let anyone get away.” So they used swords to kill the Baal worshipers and threw out the bodies until the guards and attendants came to the stronghold in the temple of Baal. ²⁶ Then they brought out the large sacred stone of the temple of Baal and burned it. ²⁷ They destroyed the sacred stone of Baal and the temple of Baal and made it into a latrine. It is still a latrine today.

²⁸ So Jehu got rid of Baal worship throughout Israel. ²⁹ But Jehu did not turn away from the sins that Jeroboam (Nebat’s son) led Israel to commit—⌞the worship of⌟ the golden calves that were at Bethel and Dan.

³⁰ The Lord said to Jehu, “You did what I consider right, and you did it well. You did everything I wanted done to Ahab’s family. That is why four generations of your descendants will sit on the throne of Israel.”

³¹ But Jehu didn’t wholeheartedly obey the teachings of the Lord God of Israel. He didn’t turn away from the sins that Jeroboam led Israel to commit. ³² So in those days the Lord began to take away some of Israel’s territory. Hazael defeated Jehu’s army throughout Israel’s territory ³³ east of the Jordan River: the entire region of Gilead (the territory belonging to Gad, Reuben, and Manasseh) from Aroer, which is near the Arnon River, to Gilead and Bashan.

³⁴ Isn’t everything else about Jehu—everything he did, all his heroic acts—written in the official records of the kings of Israel? ³⁵ Jehu lay down in death with his ancestors and was buried in Samaria. His son Jehoahaz succeeded him as king. ³⁶ Jehu ruled as king of Israel in Samaria for 28 years.