7 And Elisha said, Hear the word of Jehovah. Thus saith Jehovah: To-morrow about this time shall the measure of fine flour be at a shekel, and two measures of barley at a shekel, in the gate of Samaria.

² And the captain on whose hand the king leaned answered the man of God and said, Behold, if Jehovah should make windows in the heavens, would this thing be? And he said, Behold, thou shalt see it with thine eyes, but shalt not eat thereof.

³ And there were four leprous men at the entrance of the gate, and they said one to another, Why do we abide here until we die?

⁴ If we say, Let us enter into the city, the famine is in the city, and we shall die there; and if we abide here, we shall die. And now come, let us fall away to the camp of the Syrians: if they save us alive, we shall live; and if they put us to death, we shall but die.

⁵ And they rose up in the dusk to go to the camp of the Syrians; and they came to the extremity of the camp of the Syrians; and behold, there was no man there.

⁶ For the Lord had made the army of the Syrians to hear a noise of chariots, and a noise of horses, a noise of a great host; and they said one to another, Behold, the king of Israel has hired against us the kings of the Hittites, and the kings of the Egyptians, to come upon us.

⁷ And they rose up and fled in the dusk, and left their tents, and their horses, and their asses, the camp as it was, and fled for their life.

⁸ And those lepers came to the extremity of the camp; and they went into one tent, and ate and drank, and carried thence silver and gold, and garments, and went and hid it; and they came again, and entered into another tent, and carried thence, and went and hid [it].

⁹ And they said one to another, We are not doing right; this day is a day of good tidings, and we hold our peace: if we tarry till the morning light, the iniquity will find us out; and now come, let us go and tell the king's household.

¹⁰ And they came and called to the porters of the city, and told them saying, We came to the camp of the Syrians, and behold, there was no one there, no sound of man, but the horses tied, and the asses tied, and the tents as they were.

¹¹ And the porters cried [it] and told [it] to the king's house within.

¹² And the king rose up in the night and said to his servants, Let me tell you what the Syrians have done to us. They know that we are hungry, and they have gone out of the camp to hide themselves in the field, saying, When they come out of the city, we shall catch them alive, and get into the city.

¹³ And one of his servants answered and said, Let some one take, I pray thee, five of the horses that remain, which are left in the city (behold, they are as all the multitude of Israel that are left in it: behold, they are even as all the multitude of the Israelites that have perished), and let us send and see.

¹⁴ And they took two chariots with their horses; and the king sent after the army of the Syrians, saying, Go and see.

¹⁵ And they went after them to the Jordan; and behold, all the way was full of garments and materials, which the Syrians had cast away in their haste. And the messengers returned and told the king.

¹⁶ And the people went out and plundered the camp of the Syrians; and the measure of fine flour was at a shekel, and two measures of barley at a shekel, according to the word of Jehovah.

¹⁷ And the king had appointed the captain on whose hand he leaned to have the charge of the gate; and the people trampled upon him in the gate, and he died, according to what the man of God had said,—what he had said when the king came down to him.

¹⁸ And it came to pass as the man of God had spoken to the king saying, Two measures of barley shall be at a shekel, and the measure of fine flour at a shekel, to-morrow about this time in the gate of Samaria.

¹⁹ And the captain answered the man of God and said, Behold, if Jehovah should make windows in the heavens, would such a thing be? And he said, Behold, thou shalt see it with thine eyes, but shalt not eat thereof.

²⁰ And so it happened to him; and the people trampled upon him in the gate, and he died.

8 And Elisha had spoken to the woman whose son he had restored to life, saying, Rise up and go, thou and thy household, and sojourn wheresoever thou canst sojourn; for Jehovah has called for a famine, and it shall also come upon the land for seven years.

² And the woman rose up, and did according to the saying of the man of God, and went, she and her household, and sojourned in the land of the Philistines seven years.

³ And it came to pass at the seven years' end, that the woman returned out of the land of the Philistines; and she went forth to cry to the king for her house and for her land.

⁴ And the king was talking with Gehazi, the servant of the man of God, saying, Tell me, I pray thee, all the great things that Elisha has done.

⁵ And it came to pass as he was telling the king how he had restored a dead body to life, that behold, the woman whose son he had restored to life cried to the king for her house and for her land. And Gehazi said, My lord, O king, this is the woman, and this is her son, whom Elisha restored to life.

⁶ And the king asked the woman, and she told him. And the king appointed a certain chamberlain, saying, Restore all that was hers, and all the revenue of the land since the day that she left the country even until now.

⁷ And Elisha came to Damascus; and Ben-Hadad the king of Syria was sick; and it was told him saying, The man of God is come hither.

⁸ And the king said to Hazael, Take a present in thy hand, and go, meet the man of God, and inquire of Jehovah by him, saying, Shall I recover from this disease?

⁹ And Hazael went to meet him, and took with him a present, even of every good thing of Damascus, forty camels' burden; and he came and stood before him, and said, Thy son Ben-Hadad king of Syria has sent me to thee, saying, Shall I recover from this disease?

¹⁰ And Elisha said to him, Go, say to him, Thou wilt certainly recover. But Jehovah has shewn me that he shall certainly die.

¹¹ And he settled his countenance stedfastly, until he was ashamed; and the man of God wept.

¹² And Hazael said, Why does my lord weep? And he said, Because I know the evil that thou wilt do to the children of Israel: their strongholds wilt thou set on fire, and their young men wilt thou kill with the sword, and wilt dash in pieces their children, and rip up their women with child.

¹³ And Hazael said, But what, is thy servant a dog, that he should do this great thing? And Elisha said, Jehovah has shewn me that thou wilt be king over Syria.

¹⁴ And he departed from Elisha, and came to his master, who said to him, What did Elisha say to thee? And he said, He told me [that] thou wouldest certainly recover.

¹⁵ And it came to pass the next day, that he took the coverlet and dipped [it] in water, and spread it over his face, so that he died; and Hazael reigned in his stead.

¹⁶ And in the fifth year of Joram the son of Ahab, king of Israel, Jehoshaphat being then king of Judah, Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, began to reign.

¹⁷ He was thirty-two years old when he began to reign; and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem.

¹⁸ And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, as did the house of Ahab, for the daughter of Ahab was his wife; and he did evil in the sight of Jehovah.

¹⁹ But Jehovah would not destroy Judah, for David his servant's sake, as he had promised him to give him always a lamp for his sons.

²⁰ In his days Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah, and they set a king over themselves.

²¹ And Joram went over to Zair, and all the chariots with him; and he rose up by night, and smote the Edomites who had surrounded him, and the captains of the chariots; and the people fled into their tents.

²² But the Edomites revolted from under the hand of Judah unto this day. Then Libnah revolted at the same time.

²³ And the rest of the acts of Joram and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?

²⁴ And Joram slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David; and Ahaziah his son reigned in his stead.

²⁵ In the twelfth year of Joram the son of Ahab, king of Israel, Ahaziah the son of Jehoram, king of Judah, began to reign.

²⁶ Ahaziah was twenty-two years old when he began to reign; and he reigned one year in Jerusalem; and his mother's name was Athaliah, the daughter of Omri king of Israel.

²⁷ And he walked in the way of the house of Ahab, and did evil in the sight of Jehovah, like the house of Ahab; for he was the son-in-law of the house of Ahab.

²⁸ And he went with Joram the son of Ahab to the war against Hazael the king of Syria at Ramoth-Gilead; and the Syrians wounded Joram.

²⁹ And king Joram returned to be healed in Jizreel of the wounds that the Syrians had given him at Ramah, when he fought with Hazael king of Syria. And Ahaziah the son of Jehoram, king of Judah, went down to see Joram the son of Ahab at Jizreel, for he was sick.

9 And Elisha the prophet called one of the sons of the prophets, and said to him, Gird up thy loins, and take this vial of oil in thy hand, and go to Ramoth-Gilead.

² And when thou art come thither, look out there Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat, son of Nimshi, and go in, and make him rise up from among his brethren, and bring him to an inner chamber;

³ then take the vial of oil, and pour it on his head and say, Thus saith Jehovah: I have anointed thee king over Israel; and open the door, and flee, and tarry not.

⁴ And the young man, the young prophet, went to Ramoth-Gilead.

⁵ And when he came, behold, the captains of the host were sitting. And he said, I have an errand to thee, captain. And Jehu said, To which of all of us? And he said, To thee, captain.

⁶ And he rose up and went into the house; and he poured the oil on his head, and said to him, Thus saith Jehovah the God of Israel: I have anointed thee king over the people of Jehovah, over Israel.

⁷ And thou shalt smite the house of Ahab thy master; and I will avenge the blood of my servants the prophets, and the blood of all the servants of Jehovah at the hand of Jezebel.

⁸ And the whole house of Ahab shall perish, and I will cut off from Ahab every male, and him that is shut up and left in Israel.

⁹ And I will make the house of Ahab as the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and as the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah.

¹⁰ And the dogs shall eat Jezebel in the plot of Jizreel, and none shall bury her. And he opened the door and fled.

¹¹ And Jehu came forth to the servants of his lord. And one said to him, Is all well? why came this madman to thee? And he said to them, Ye know the man, and his mind.

¹² And they said, It is false! tell us now. And he said, Thus and thus spoke he to me saying, Thus saith Jehovah: I have anointed thee king over Israel.

¹³ Then they hasted and took every man his garment, and put it under him on the very stairs, and blew with trumpets, and said, Jehu is king!

¹⁴ And Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat, son of Nimshi, conspired against Joram. (Now Joram kept Ramoth-Gilead, he and all Israel, because of Hazael king of Syria;

¹⁵ and king Joram had returned to be healed in Jizreel of the wounds that the Syrians had given him, when he fought against Hazael king of Syria.) And Jehu said, If it be your will, let not a fugitive escape out of the city to go to tell [it] in Jizreel.

¹⁶ And Jehu rode in a chariot and went to Jizreel; for Joram lay there. And Ahaziah king of Judah had come down to see Joram.

¹⁷ And the watchman stood on the tower in Jizreel, and saw Jehu's company as he came, and said, I see a company. And Joram said, Take a horseman, and send to meet them, and let him say, Is it peace?

¹⁸ So there went one on horseback to meet him; and he said, Thus saith the king: Is it peace? And Jehu said, What hast thou to do with peace? turn thee behind me. And the watchman told saying, The messenger came to them, and he does not return.

¹⁹ And he sent out a second on horseback; and he came to them and said, Thus saith the king: Is it peace? And Jehu said, What hast thou to do with peace? turn thee behind me.

²⁰ And the watchman told saying, He came to them, and does not return. And the driving is like the driving of Jehu the son of Nimshi; for he drives furiously.

²¹ Then Joram said, Make ready! And they made ready his chariot. And Joram king of Israel and Ahaziah king of Judah went out, each in his chariot; and they went out to meet Jehu, and met him in the plot of Naboth the Jizreelite.

²² And it came to pass when Joram saw Jehu, that he said, Is it peace, Jehu? And he said, What peace, so long as the fornications of thy mother Jezebel and her sorceries are so many?

²³ Then Joram turned his hand, and fled, and said to Ahaziah, Treachery, Ahaziah!

²⁴ And Jehu took his bow in his hand, and smote Jehoram between his arms, and the arrow went out through his heart; and he sank down in his chariot.

²⁵ And he said to Bidkar his captain, Take him up [and] cast him in the plot of the field of Naboth the Jizreelite. For remember how, when I and thou rode together after Ahab his father, that Jehovah laid this burden upon him:

²⁶ Certainly I have seen yesterday the blood of Naboth, and the blood of his sons, saith Jehovah; and I will requite thee in this plot, saith Jehovah. And now, take [and] cast him into the plot, according to the word of Jehovah.

²⁷ When Ahaziah king of Judah saw [that], he fled by the way of the garden-house. And Jehu followed after him, and said, Smite him also in his chariot. It was on the ascent of Gur, which is by Jibleam. And he fled to Megiddo, and died there.

²⁸ And his servants carried him in a chariot to Jerusalem, and buried him in his sepulchre with his fathers in the city of David.

²⁹ (And in the eleventh year of Joram the son of Ahab had Ahaziah begun to reign over Judah.)

³⁰ And Jehu came to Jizreel; and Jezebel heard of it, and she put paint to her eyes, and decked her head, and looked out at the window.

³¹ And when Jehu came in at the gate, she said, Is it peace, Zimri, murderer of his master?

³² And he lifted up his face to the window, and said, Who is on my side? who? And two or three chamberlains looked out to him.

³³ And he said, Throw her down! And they threw her down; and some of her blood was sprinkled on the wall, and on the horses; and he trampled on her.

³⁴ And he came in, and ate and drank; and he said, Go, look, I pray you, after this cursed [woman], and bury her; for she is a king's daughter.

³⁵ And they went to bury her; but they found no more of her than the skull, and the feet, and the palms of the hands.

³⁶ And they came back and told him. And he said, This is the word of Jehovah, which he spoke through his servant Elijah the Tishbite saying, In the plot of Jizreel shall dogs eat the flesh of Jezebel;

³⁷ and the carcase of Jezebel shall be as dung upon the open field in the plot of Jizreel, so that they shall not say, This is Jezebel.

10 Now Ahab had seventy sons in Samaria. And Jehu wrote letters, and sent to Samaria, to the princes of Jizreel, to the elders, and to Ahab's guardians, saying,

² And now, when this letter comes to you, seeing your master's sons are with you, and there are with you chariots, and horses, and a fortified city, and armour,

³ look out the best and worthiest of your master's sons, and set him on his father's throne, and fight for your master's house.

⁴ And they were exceedingly afraid, and said, Behold, the two kings stood not before him; and how shall we stand?

⁵ And he that was over the house, and he that was over the city, and the elders, and the guardians sent to Jehu, saying, We are thy servants, and will do all that thou shalt bid us; we will not make any one king; do what is good in thy sight.

⁶ And he wrote a letter the second time to them saying, If ye are mine, and will hearken to my voice, take the heads of the men your master's sons, and come to me to Jizreel to-morrow at this time. Now the king's sons, seventy persons, were with the great men of the city, who brought them up.

⁷ And it came to pass when the letter came to them, that they took the king's sons, and slaughtered seventy persons, and put their heads in baskets, and sent them to him to Jizreel.

⁸ And 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 the morning.

⁹ And it came to pass in the morning that he went out; and he stood, and said to all the people, Ye are righteous! behold, I conspired against my master and killed him; but who smote all these?

¹⁰ Know now that nothing shall fall to the earth of the word of Jehovah, which Jehovah spoke concerning the house of Ahab; for Jehovah has done that which he said through his servant Elijah.

¹¹ And Jehu slew all that remained of the house of Ahab in Jizreel, and all his great men, and his acquaintances, and his priests, until he left him none remaining.

¹² And he rose up and departed, and came to Samaria. And as he was at the shepherds' meeting-place on the way,

¹³ Jehu found the brethren of Ahaziah king of Judah, and said, Who are ye? And they said, We are the brethren of Ahaziah; and have come down to salute the children of the king, and the children of the queen.

¹⁴ And he said, Take them alive! And they took them alive, and slew them at the well of the meeting-place, forty-two men; and he left not one of them remaining.

¹⁵ And he departed thence, and found Jehonadab the son of Rechab [coming] to meet him; and he greeted him, and said to him, Is thy heart right, as my heart is with thy heart? And Jehonadab said, It is.—If it be, give [me] thy hand.—And he gave [him] his hand; and [Jehu] took him up to him into the chariot,

¹⁶ and said, Come with me, and see my zeal for Jehovah. So they made him ride in his chariot.

¹⁷ And he came to Samaria, and smote all that remained to Ahab in Samaria, until he had destroyed him, according to the word of Jehovah which he spoke to Elijah.

¹⁸ And Jehu gathered all the people together, and said to them, Ahab served Baal a little: Jehu will serve him much.

¹⁹ And now call me all the prophets of Baal, all his servants, and all his priests: let none be wanting; for I have a great sacrifice [to do] to Baal; whoever shall be wanting shall not live. But Jehu did it in subtilty, in order that he might bring destruction upon the servants of Baal.

²⁰ And Jehu said, Hallow a solemn assembly for Baal. And they proclaimed [it].

²¹ And Jehu sent into all Israel; and all the servants of Baal came, so that there was not a man left that came not: and they entered into the house of Baal; and the house of Baal was full from one end to the other.

²² And he said to him that was over the wardrobe, Bring forth vestments for all the servants of Baal. And he brought them forth vestments.

²³ And Jehu and Jehonadab the son of Rechab entered into the house of Baal, and said to the servants of Baal, Search, and see that there be here with you none of the servants of Jehovah, but the servants of Baal only.

²⁴ And they entered in to offer sacrifices and burnt-offerings. Now Jehu appointed eighty men without, and said, He that allows any of the men to escape that I have brought into your hands, his life shall be for the life of him.

²⁵ And it came to pass as soon as they had ended offering up the burnt-offering, that Jehu said to the couriers and to the captains, Go in, slay them; let none come forth. And they smote them with the edge of the sword; and the couriers and the captains cast [them] there. And they went to the city of the house of Baal,

²⁶ and brought forth the columns out of the house of Baal, and burned them;

²⁷ and they broke down the column of Baal, and broke down the house of Baal, and made it a draught-house to this day.

²⁸ Thus Jehu extirpated Baal out of Israel.

²⁹ Only, the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin, from them Jehu departed not: [from] the golden calves that were in Bethel, and that were in Dan.

³⁰ And Jehovah said to Jehu, Because thou hast executed well that which is right in my sight, [and] hast done unto the house of Ahab according to all that was in my heart, thy children of the fourth [generation] shall sit on the throne of Israel.

³¹ But Jehu took no heed to walk in the law of Jehovah the God of Israel with all his heart; he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam, who made Israel to sin.

³² In those days Jehovah began to cut Israel short; and Hazael smote them in all the borders of Israel;

³³ from the Jordan eastward, all the land of Gilead, the Gadites, and the Reubenites, and the Manassites, from Aroer, which is by the river Arnon, both Gilead and Bashan.

³⁴ And the rest of the acts of Jehu, and all that he did, and all his might, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?

³⁵ And Jehu slept with his fathers, and they buried him in Samaria: and Jehoahaz his son reigned in his stead.

³⁶ Now the time that Jehu reigned over Israel in Samaria was twenty-eight years.