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2 Kings 9-10
Common English Bible
2 Kings 9-10
Common English Bible
Jehu rules Israel
9 The prophet Elisha called to a member of the group of prophets, “Get ready, take this jug of oil with you, and go to Ramoth-gilead. 2 When you arrive there, look for Jehu, Jehoshaphat’s son and Nimshi’s grandson. Go to him, then pull him away from his associates, taking him to a private room. 3 Take the jug of oil and pour it on his head. Then say, ‘This is what the Lord has said: I anoint you king of Israel.’ Then open the door, and run out of there without stopping.”
4 So the young prophet went to Ramoth-gilead. 5 He came in, and the military commanders were sitting right there. He said, “Commander, I have a word for you.”
“For which one of us?” Jehu asked.
The young prophet said, “For you, Commander.”
6 So Jehu got up and went inside. The prophet then poured oil on his head and said to him, “This is what the Lord, Israel’s God, says: I anoint you king over the Lord’s people, over Israel. 7 You will strike down your master Ahab’s family. In this way I will take revenge for the violence done by Jezebel to my servants the prophets and to all the Lord’s servants. 8 Ahab’s whole family will die. I will eliminate from Ahab everyone who urinates on a wall, whether slave or free, in Israel. 9 I will make Ahab’s dynasty like the dynasty of Jeroboam, Nebat’s son, and like the dynasty of Baasha, Ahijah’s son. 10 And as for Jezebel: The dogs will devour her in the area of Jezreel. No one will bury her.” Then the young prophet opened the door and ran.
11 Jehu went out to his master’s officers. They said to him, “Is everything okay? Why did this fanatic come to you?”
Jehu said to them, “You know the man and the nonsense he talks.”
12 “That’s a lie!” they said. “Come on, tell us!”
Jehu replied, “This is what he said to me: ‘This is what the Lord says: I anoint you king of Israel.’”
13 Then each man quickly took his cloak and put it beneath Jehu on the paved steps.[a] They blew a trumpet and said, “Jehu has become king!”
Jehu kills his enemies
14 Then Jehu, Jehoshaphat’s son and Nimshi’s grandson, plotted against Joram. Now Joram along with all of Israel had been guarding Ramoth-gilead against Aram’s King Hazael, 15 but King Joram[b] had gone back to Jezreel to recover from wounds that the Arameans had given him when he fought Hazael. So Jehu said, “If this is the way you feel, then don’t let anyone escape from the city to talk about it in Jezreel.” 16 Then Jehu got on a chariot and drove to Jezreel because Joram was resting there. Judah’s King Ahaziah had also come to visit Joram.
17 The guard standing on the tower at Jezreel saw a crowd of people coming with Jehu. He said, “I see a crowd of people.”
Joram said, “Take a chariot driver. Send him out to meet them to ask, ‘Do you come in peace?’”
18 So the driver went to meet him and said, “The king asks, ‘Do you come in peace?’”
Jehu replied, “What do you care about peace? Come around and follow me.”
Meanwhile, the tower guard reported, “The messenger met them, but he isn’t returning.”
19 The king sent a second driver. He came to them and said, “The king asks, ‘Do you come in peace?’”
Jehu said, “What do you care about peace? Come around and follow me.”
20 The tower guard reported, “The messenger met them, but he isn’t returning. And the style of chariot driving is like Jehu, Nimshi’s son. Jehu drives like a madman.”
21 Joram said, “Hitch up the chariot!” So they hitched up his chariot. Then Israel’s King Joram and Judah’s King Ahaziah—each in his own chariot—went out to meet Jehu. They happened to meet him at the plot of ground that belonged to Naboth the Jezreelite.
22 When Joram saw Jehu, he said, “Do you come in peace, Jehu?”
He said, “How can there be peace as long as the immoralities of your mother Jezebel and her many acts of sorcery continue?”
23 Then Joram turned his chariot around and fled. He shouted to Ahaziah, “It’s a trap, Ahaziah!”
24 Jehu took his bow and shot Joram in the back. The arrow went through his heart, and he fell down in his chariot. 25 Jehu said to Bidkar his chariot officer, “Pick him up, and throw him on the plot of ground belonging to Naboth the Jezreelite. Remember how you and I were driving chariot teams behind his father Ahab when the Lord spoke this prophecy about him: 26 Yesterday I saw Naboth’s blood and his sons’ blood, declares the Lord. I swear that I will pay you back on this very plot of ground, declares the Lord. Now pick him up, and throw him on that plot of ground, in agreement with the Lord’s word.”
27 Judah’s King Ahaziah saw this and fled on the road to Beth-haggan. Jehu chased after him. “Do the same to him!” he commanded. They shot him[c] in his chariot on the way up to Gur, near Ibleam. Ahaziah fled to Megiddo and died there. 28 His servants carried him back in a chariot to Jerusalem. He was buried in his tomb with his ancestors in David’s City. 29 Ahaziah had become Judah’s king in the eleventh year of Ahab’s son Joram.
30 Jehu then went to Jezreel. When Jezebel heard of it, she put on her eye shadow and arranged her hair. She looked down out of the window. 31 When Jehu came through the gate, she said, “Do you come in peace, Zimri, you master murderer?”
32 Jehu looked up to the window and said, “Who’s on my side? Anyone?” Two or three high officials looked down at him. 33 Then he said, “Throw her out!” So they threw her out of the window. Some of her blood splattered against the wall and on the horses, and they trampled her. 34 Jehu then went in to eat and drink. He said, “Deal with this cursed woman and bury her. She was, after all, a king’s daughter.” 35 They went to bury her, but they couldn’t find her body. Only her skull was left, along with her hands and feet. 36 They went back and reported this to Jehu. He said, “This is the Lord’s word spoken through his servant Elijah from Tishbe: Dogs will devour Jezebel’s flesh in the area of Jezreel. 37 Jezebel’s corpse will be like dung spread out in a field in that plot of land in Jezreel, so no one will be able to say, This was Jezebel.”
Jehu kills Ahab’s family
10 Now Ahab had seventy sons in Samaria. So Jehu wrote letters and sent them to Samaria, to the senior officers of the city,[d] the elders, and the guardians of Ahab’s sons.[e] 2 The letters said: “Your master’s sons are in your possession, along with horses and chariots, a fortified city, and weapons. Now when this letter reaches you, 3 look for the best and most capable of your master’s sons. Place him on his father’s throne. Then fight for your master’s family.”
4 But they were frozen with fear. They said, “Not even two kings could resist him! How can we?” 5 So the palace administrator, the mayor, the elders, and the guardians sent a letter back to Jehu that read, “We are your servants. We will do whatever you tell us. We won’t make anyone king. Do whatever seems right to you.”
6 Jehu wrote them a second letter: “If you are loyal to me and ready to obey me, take the heads of your master’s sons and bring them to me at Jezreel at this time tomorrow.”
Now the king’s seventy sons were with the city leaders who were raising them. 7 So when the letter came to them, they took the king’s sons and slaughtered all seventy of them. They placed their heads in baskets and sent them to Jehu at Jezreel.
8 A messenger came and told Jehu, “They have brought the heads of the king’s sons.”
He responded, “Pile them in two stacks at the entrance of the gate where they will stay until morning.” 9 In the morning he went out and stood there to address all the people. “You are innocent. I’m the one who plotted against my master and killed him, but who killed all these people? 10 Know this: Nothing that the Lord has said against Ahab’s dynasty will fail to come true. The Lord has done what he said he would do, speaking through his servant Elijah.” 11 Then Jehu struck down all those belonging to Ahab’s family who were left in Jezreel, so that not one of his leaders, close acquaintances, or priests remained.
12 Next Jehu set out for Samaria. Beth-eked of the Shepherds was on his way. 13 There Jehu met up with the brothers of Judah’s King Ahaziah. “Who are you?” he asked.
“We’re Ahaziah’s relatives,” they replied. “We’ve come down for a visit with the king’s sons and the queen mother’s sons.”
14 Jehu then commanded, “Take them alive!” His soldiers took them alive, then slaughtered them at the well of Beth-eked. There were forty-two of them, but not one was left.
Jehu kills Baal worshippers
15 Jehu departed from there and encountered Rechab’s son Jehonadab. Jehu greeted him, and asked, “Are you as committed to me as I am to you?”
Jehonadab responded, “Yes, I am.”
“If so,” said Jehu, “then give me your hand.” So Jehonadab put out his hand, and Jehu pulled him up into the chariot.
16 Jehu said, “Come with me and see my zeal for the Lord.” So Jehu had Jehonadab ride with him in his chariot. 17 When Jehu arrived in Samaria, he killed all those belonging to Ahab who were left in Samaria until they were completely wiped out, in agreement with the Lord’s word that was spoken to Elijah.
18 Then Jehu gathered all the people, saying to them, “Ahab served Baal a little. Jehu will serve him a great deal! 19 So invite all of Baal’s prophets, all his worshippers, and all his priests to come to me. Don’t leave anyone out, because I have a great sacrifice planned for Baal. Anyone who doesn’t show up won’t survive.” But Jehu was lying so that he could wipe out Baal’s worshippers. 20 Jehu called for a holy assembly for Baal, and it was done. 21 Jehu then sent word throughout Israel. All Baal’s worshippers came. No one stayed away. They entered Baal’s temple until it was packed from one end to the other. 22 Then Jehu said to the person in charge of the vestments, “Bring out the special clothes for all Baal’s worshippers.” So he brought out robes for them. 23 Then Jehu and Jehonadab, Rechab’s son, entered Baal’s temple. They said to Baal’s worshippers, “Make sure there are no worshippers of the Lord here with you. There should be only Baal worshippers.” 24 Then they went in to offer sacrifices and entirely burned offerings. But Jehu had stationed eighty soldiers outside and told them, “I’m handing these people over to you. Whoever lets even one of them escape will pay for it with his life.” 25 So when Jehu finished offering the entirely burned offering, he said to the guards and the officers, “Go in and kill everyone! Don’t let anyone escape!” They killed the Baal worshippers without mercy. The guards and the officers then disposed of the bodies and entered the inner part of Baal’s temple. 26 They brought the sacred pillar[f] out of Baal’s temple and burned it. 27 They tore down Baal’s sacred pillar and destroyed Baal’s temple, turning it into a public restroom, which is what it still is today.
28 This is how Jehu eliminated Baal from Israel. 29 However, Jehu didn’t deviate from the sins that Jeroboam, Nebat’s son, had caused Israel to commit—specifically, the gold calves that were in Bethel and Dan.
Jehu rules Israel
30 The Lord said to Jehu: Because you’ve done well by doing what is right in my eyes, treating Ahab’s family as I wished, your descendants will sit on Israel’s throne for four generations. 31 But Jehu wasn’t careful to keep the Lord God of Israel’s Instruction with all his heart. He didn’t deviate from the sins that Jeroboam had caused Israel to commit.
32 In those days the Lord began to reduce Israel’s size. Hazael struck them down in every region of Israel: 33 from the Jordan River eastward, throughout the land of Gilead (Gad, Reuben, and Manasseh), and from Aroer by the Arnon Valley (that is, Gilead) and Bashan.
34 The rest of Jehu’s deeds, all that he accomplished, and all his powerful acts, aren’t they written in the official records of Israel’s kings? 35 Jehu lay down with his ancestors. He was buried in Samaria. His son Jehoahaz succeeded him as king. 36 Jehu had ruled over Israel for twenty-eight years in Samaria.
Footnotes
- 2 Kings 9:13 Heb uncertain
- 2 Kings 9:15 Heb Jehoram (also in 9:17, 21-24); the king’s name is variously spelled in either long Jehoram or short Joram form.
- 2 Kings 9:27 LXX, Vulg; MT lacks They shot him.
- 2 Kings 10:1 Vulg, LXX; MT Jezreel
- 2 Kings 10:1 LXX; MT lacks sons.
- 2 Kings 10:26 LXX, Syr, Vulg; MT pillars
2 Kings 9-10
New International Version
2 Kings 9-10
New International Version
Jehu Anointed King of Israel
9 The prophet Elisha summoned a man from the company(A) of the prophets and said to him, “Tuck your cloak into your belt,(B) take this flask of olive oil(C) with you and go to Ramoth Gilead.(D) 2 When you get there, look for Jehu son of Jehoshaphat, the son of Nimshi. Go to him, get him away from his companions and take him into an inner room. 3 Then take the flask and pour the oil(E) on his head and declare, ‘This is what the Lord says: I anoint you king over Israel.’ Then open the door and run; don’t delay!”
4 So the young prophet went to Ramoth Gilead. 5 When he arrived, he found the army officers sitting together. “I have a message for you, commander,” he said.
“For which of us?” asked Jehu.
“For you, commander,” he replied.
6 Jehu got up and went into the house. Then the prophet poured the oil(F) on Jehu’s head and declared, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘I anoint you king over the Lord’s people Israel. 7 You are to destroy the house of Ahab your master, and I will avenge(G) the blood of my servants(H) the prophets and the blood of all the Lord’s servants shed by Jezebel.(I) 8 The whole house(J) of Ahab will perish. I will cut off from Ahab every last male(K) in Israel—slave or free.[a] 9 I will make the house of Ahab like the house of Jeroboam(L) son of Nebat and like the house of Baasha(M) son of Ahijah. 10 As for Jezebel, dogs(N) will devour her on the plot of ground at Jezreel, and no one will bury her.’” Then he opened the door and ran.
11 When Jehu went out to his fellow officers, one of them asked him, “Is everything all right? Why did this maniac(O) come to you?”
“You know the man and the sort of things he says,” Jehu replied.
12 “That’s not true!” they said. “Tell us.”
Jehu said, “Here is what he told me: ‘This is what the Lord says: I anoint you king over Israel.’”
13 They quickly took their cloaks and spread(P) them under him on the bare steps. Then they blew the trumpet(Q) and shouted, “Jehu is king!”
Jehu Kills Joram and Ahaziah(R)
14 So Jehu son of Jehoshaphat, the son of Nimshi, conspired against Joram. (Now Joram and all Israel had been defending Ramoth Gilead(S) against Hazael king of Aram, 15 but King Joram[b] had returned to Jezreel to recover(T) from the wounds the Arameans had inflicted on him in the battle with Hazael king of Aram.) Jehu said, “If you desire to make me king, don’t let anyone slip out of the city to go and tell the news in Jezreel.” 16 Then he got into his chariot and rode to Jezreel, because Joram was resting there and Ahaziah(U) king of Judah had gone down to see him.
17 When the lookout(V) standing on the tower in Jezreel saw Jehu’s troops approaching, he called out, “I see some troops coming.”
“Get a horseman,” Joram ordered. “Send him to meet them and ask, ‘Do you come in peace?(W)’”
18 The horseman rode off to meet Jehu and said, “This is what the king says: ‘Do you come in peace?’”
“What do you have to do with peace?” Jehu replied. “Fall in behind me.”
The lookout reported, “The messenger has reached them, but he isn’t coming back.”
19 So the king sent out a second horseman. When he came to them he said, “This is what the king says: ‘Do you come in peace?’”
Jehu replied, “What do you have to do with peace? Fall in behind me.”
20 The lookout reported, “He has reached them, but he isn’t coming back either. The driving is like(X) that of Jehu son of Nimshi—he drives like a maniac.”
21 “Hitch up my chariot,” Joram ordered. And when it was hitched up, Joram king of Israel and Ahaziah king of Judah rode out, each in his own chariot, to meet Jehu. They met him at the plot of ground that had belonged to Naboth(Y) the Jezreelite. 22 When Joram saw Jehu he asked, “Have you come in peace, Jehu?”
“How can there be peace,” Jehu replied, “as long as all the idolatry and witchcraft of your mother Jezebel(Z) abound?”
23 Joram turned about and fled, calling out to Ahaziah, “Treachery,(AA) Ahaziah!”
24 Then Jehu drew his bow(AB) and shot Joram between the shoulders. The arrow pierced his heart and he slumped down in his chariot. 25 Jehu said to Bidkar, his chariot officer, “Pick him up and throw him on the field that belonged to Naboth the Jezreelite. Remember how you and I were riding together in chariots behind Ahab his father when the Lord spoke this prophecy(AC) against him: 26 ‘Yesterday I saw the blood of Naboth(AD) and the blood of his sons, declares the Lord, and I will surely make you pay for it on this plot of ground, declares the Lord.’[c] Now then, pick him up and throw him on that plot, in accordance with the word of the Lord.”(AE)
27 When Ahaziah king of Judah saw what had happened, he fled up the road to Beth Haggan.[d] Jehu chased him, shouting, “Kill him too!” They wounded him in his chariot on the way up to Gur near Ibleam,(AF) but he escaped to Megiddo(AG) and died there. 28 His servants took him by chariot(AH) to Jerusalem and buried him with his ancestors in his tomb in the City of David. 29 (In the eleventh(AI) year of Joram son of Ahab, Ahaziah had become king of Judah.)
Jezebel Killed
30 Then Jehu went to Jezreel. When Jezebel heard about it, she put on eye makeup,(AJ) arranged her hair and looked out of a window. 31 As Jehu entered the gate, she asked, “Have you come in peace, you Zimri,(AK) you murderer of your master?”[e]
32 He looked up at the window and called out, “Who is on my side? Who?” Two or three eunuchs looked down at him. 33 “Throw her down!” Jehu said. So they threw her down, and some of her blood spattered the wall and the horses as they trampled her underfoot.(AL)
34 Jehu went in and ate and drank. “Take care of that cursed woman,” he said, “and bury her, for she was a king’s daughter.”(AM) 35 But when they went out to bury her, they found nothing except her skull, her feet and her hands. 36 They went back and told Jehu, who said, “This is the word of the Lord that he spoke through his servant Elijah the Tishbite: On the plot of ground at Jezreel dogs(AN) will devour Jezebel’s flesh.[f](AO) 37 Jezebel’s body will be like dung(AP) on the ground in the plot at Jezreel, so that no one will be able to say, ‘This is Jezebel.’”
Ahab’s Family Killed
10 Now there were in Samaria(AQ) seventy sons(AR) of the house of Ahab. So Jehu wrote letters and sent them to Samaria: to the officials of Jezreel,[g](AS) to the elders and to the guardians(AT) of Ahab’s children. He said, 2 “You have your master’s sons with you and you have chariots and horses, a fortified city and weapons. Now as soon as this letter reaches you, 3 choose the best and most worthy of your master’s sons and set him on his father’s throne. Then fight for your master’s house.”
4 But they were terrified and said, “If two kings could not resist him, how can we?”
5 So the palace administrator, the city governor, the elders and the guardians sent this message to Jehu: “We are your servants(AU) and we will do anything you say. We will not appoint anyone as king; you do whatever you think best.”
6 Then Jehu wrote them a second letter, saying, “If you are on my side and will obey me, take the heads of your master’s sons and come to me in Jezreel by this time tomorrow.”
Now the royal princes, seventy of them, were with the leading men of the city, who were rearing them. 7 When the letter arrived, these men took the princes and slaughtered all seventy(AV) of them. They put their heads(AW) in baskets and sent them to Jehu in Jezreel. 8 When the messenger arrived, he told Jehu, “They have brought the heads of the princes.”
Then Jehu ordered, “Put them in two piles at the entrance of the city gate until morning.”
9 The next morning Jehu went out. He stood before all the people and said, “You are innocent. It was I who conspired against my master and killed him, but who killed all these? 10 Know, then, that not a word the Lord has spoken against the house of Ahab will fail. The Lord has done what he announced(AX) through his servant Elijah.”(AY) 11 So Jehu(AZ) killed everyone in Jezreel who remained of the house of Ahab, as well as all his chief men, his close friends and his priests, leaving him no survivor.(BA)
12 Jehu then set out and went toward Samaria. At Beth Eked of the Shepherds, 13 he met some relatives of Ahaziah king of Judah and asked, “Who are you?”
They said, “We are relatives of Ahaziah,(BB) and we have come down to greet the families of the king and of the queen mother.(BC)”
14 “Take them alive!” he ordered. So they took them alive and slaughtered them by the well of Beth Eked—forty-two of them. He left no survivor.(BD)
15 After he left there, he came upon Jehonadab(BE) son of Rekab,(BF) who was on his way to meet him. Jehu greeted him and said, “Are you in accord with me, as I am with you?”
“I am,” Jehonadab answered.
“If so,” said Jehu, “give me your hand.”(BG) So he did, and Jehu helped him up into the chariot. 16 Jehu said, “Come with me and see my zeal(BH) for the Lord.” Then he had him ride along in his chariot.
17 When Jehu came to Samaria, he killed all who were left there of Ahab’s family;(BI) he destroyed them, according to the word of the Lord spoken to Elijah.
Servants of Baal Killed
18 Then Jehu brought all the people together and said to them, “Ahab served(BJ) Baal a little; Jehu will serve him much. 19 Now summon(BK) all the prophets of Baal, all his servants and all his priests. See that no one is missing, because I am going to hold a great sacrifice for Baal. Anyone who fails to come will no longer live.” But Jehu was acting deceptively in order to destroy the servants of Baal.
20 Jehu said, “Call an assembly(BL) in honor of Baal.” So they proclaimed it. 21 Then he sent word throughout Israel, and all the servants of Baal came; not one stayed away. They crowded into the temple of Baal until it was full from one end to the other. 22 And Jehu said to the keeper of the wardrobe, “Bring robes for all the servants of Baal.” So he brought out robes for them.
23 Then Jehu and Jehonadab son of Rekab went into the temple of Baal. Jehu said to the servants of Baal, “Look around and see that no one who serves the Lord is here with you—only servants of Baal.” 24 So they went in to make sacrifices and burnt offerings. Now Jehu had posted eighty men outside with this warning: “If one of you lets any of the men I am placing in your hands escape, it will be your life for his life.”(BM)
25 As soon as Jehu had finished making the burnt offering, he ordered the guards and officers: “Go in and kill(BN) them; let no one escape.”(BO) So they cut them down with the sword. The guards and officers threw the bodies out and then entered the inner shrine of the temple of Baal. 26 They brought the sacred stone(BP) out of the temple of Baal and burned it. 27 They demolished the sacred stone of Baal and tore down the temple(BQ) of Baal, and people have used it for a latrine to this day.
28 So Jehu(BR) destroyed Baal worship in Israel. 29 However, he did not turn away from the sins(BS) of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit—the worship of the golden calves(BT) at Bethel(BU) and Dan.
30 The Lord said to Jehu, “Because you have done well in accomplishing what is right in my eyes and have done to the house of Ahab all I had in mind to do, your descendants will sit on the throne of Israel to the fourth generation.”(BV) 31 Yet Jehu was not careful(BW) to keep the law of the Lord, the God of Israel, with all his heart. He did not turn away from the sins(BX) of Jeroboam, which he had caused Israel to commit.
32 In those days the Lord began to reduce(BY) the size of Israel. Hazael(BZ) overpowered the Israelites throughout their territory 33 east of the Jordan in all the land of Gilead (the region of Gad, Reuben and Manasseh), from Aroer(CA) by the Arnon(CB) Gorge through Gilead to Bashan.
34 As for the other events of Jehu’s reign, all he did, and all his achievements, are they not written in the book of the annals(CC) of the kings of Israel?
35 Jehu rested with his ancestors and was buried in Samaria. And Jehoahaz his son succeeded him as king. 36 The time that Jehu reigned over Israel in Samaria was twenty-eight years.
Footnotes
- 2 Kings 9:8 Or Israel—every ruler or leader
- 2 Kings 9:15 Hebrew Jehoram, a variant of Joram; also in verses 17 and 21-24
- 2 Kings 9:26 See 1 Kings 21:19.
- 2 Kings 9:27 Or fled by way of the garden house
- 2 Kings 9:31 Or “Was there peace for Zimri, who murdered his master?”
- 2 Kings 9:36 See 1 Kings 21:23.
- 2 Kings 10:1 Hebrew; some Septuagint manuscripts and Vulgate of the city
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