2 Kings 9:14-29

Living Bible

¹⁴ That is how Jehu (son of Jehoshaphat, son of Nimshi) rebelled against King Joram. (King Joram had been with the army at Ramoth-gilead, defending Israel against the forces of King Hazael of Syria. ¹⁵ But he had returned to Jezreel to recover from his wounds.)

“Since you want me to be king,” Jehu told the men who were with him, “don’t let anyone escape to Jezreel to report what we have done.”

¹⁶ Then Jehu jumped into a chariot and rode to Jezreel himself to find King Joram, who was lying there wounded. (King Ahaziah of Judah was there too, for he had gone to visit him.) ¹⁷ The watchman on the Tower of Jezreel saw Jehu and his company approaching and shouted, “Someone is coming.”

“Send out a rider and find out if he is friend or foe,” King Joram shouted back. ¹⁸ So a soldier rode out to meet Jehu.

“The king wants to know whether you are friend or foe,” he demanded. “Do you come in peace?”

Jehu replied, “What do you know about peace? Get behind me!”

The watchman called out to the king that the messenger had met them but was not returning. ¹⁹ So the king sent out a second rider. He rode up to them and demanded in the name of the king to know whether their intentions were friendly or not.

Jehu answered, “What do you know about friendliness? Get behind me!”

²⁰ “He isn’t returning either!” the watchman exclaimed. “It must be Jehu, for he is driving so furiously.”

²¹ “Quick! Get my chariot ready!” King Joram commanded.

Then he and King Ahaziah of Judah rode out to meet Jehu. They met him at the field of Naboth, ²² and King Joram demanded, “Do you come as a friend, Jehu?”

Jehu replied, “How can there be friendship as long as the evils of your mother Jezebel are all around us?”

²³ Then King Joram reined the chariot horses around and fled, shouting to King Ahaziah, “There is treachery, Ahaziah! Treason!”

²⁴ Then Jehu drew his bow with his full strength and shot Joram between the shoulders; and the arrow pierced his heart, and he sank down dead in his chariot.

²⁵ Jehu said to Bidkar, his assistant, “Throw him into the field of Naboth, for once when you and I were riding along behind his father Ahab, the Lord revealed this prophecy to me: ²⁶ ‘I will repay him here on Naboth’s property for the murder of Naboth and his sons.’ So throw him out on Naboth’s field, just as the Lord said.”

²⁷ Meanwhile, King Ahaziah of Judah had fled along the road to Beth-haggan. Jehu rode after him, shouting, “Shoot him too.”

So they shot him in his chariot at the place where the road climbs to Gur, near Ibleam. He was able to go on as far as Megiddo, but died there. ²⁸ His officials took him by chariot to Jerusalem where they buried him in the royal cemetery. ²⁹ (Ahaziah’s reign over Judah had begun in the twelfth year^[a] of the reign of King Joram of Israel.)