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2 Kings 10
New English Translation

Jehu Wipes Out Ahab’s Family

10 Ahab had seventy sons living in Samaria. So Jehu wrote letters and sent them to Samaria to the leading officials of Jezreel and to the guardians of Ahab’s dynasty. This is what the letters said,[a] 2 “You have with you the sons of your master, chariots and horses, a fortified city, and weapons. So when this letter arrives,[b] 3 pick the best and most capable[c] of your master’s sons, place him on his father’s throne, and defend[d] your master’s dynasty.”

4 They were absolutely terrified[e] and said, “Look, two kings could not stop him![f] How can we?”[g] 5 So the palace supervisor,[h] the city commissioner,[i] the leaders,[j] and the guardians sent this message to Jehu, “We are your subjects![k] Whatever you say, we will do. We will not make anyone king. Do what you consider proper.”[l]

6 He wrote them a second letter, saying, “If you are really on my side and are willing to obey me,[m] then take the heads of your master’s sons and come to me in Jezreel at this time tomorrow.”[n] Now the king had seventy sons, and the prominent men[o] of the city were raising them. 7 When they received the letter, they seized the king’s sons and executed all seventy of them.[p] They put their heads in baskets and sent them to him in Jezreel. 8 The messenger came and told Jehu,[q] “They have brought the heads of the king’s sons.” Jehu[r] said, “Stack them in two piles at the entrance of the city gate until morning.” 9 In the morning he went out and stood there. Then he said to all the people, “You are innocent. I conspired against my master and killed him. But who struck down all of these men? 10 Therefore take note that not one of the Lord’s words which he pronounced against Ahab’s dynasty[s] will fail to materialize.[t] The Lord has done what he announced through his servant Elijah.”[u] 11 Then Jehu killed all who were left of Ahab’s family in Jezreel, and all his nobles, close friends, and priests. He left no survivors.

12 Jehu then left there and set out for Samaria.[v] While he was traveling through Beth Eked of the Shepherds, 13 Jehu encountered[w] the relatives[x] of King Ahaziah of Judah. He asked, “Who are you?” They replied, “We are Ahaziah’s relatives. We have come down to see how[y] the king’s sons and the queen mother’s sons are doing.” 14 He said, “Capture them alive!” So they captured them alive and then executed all forty-two of them by the cistern at Beth Eked. He left no survivors.

15 When he left there, he met[z] Jehonadab son of Rekab who had been looking for him.[aa] Jehu greeted him and asked,[ab] “Are you as committed to me as I am to you?”[ac] Jehonadab answered, “I am!” Jehu replied, “If so, give me your hand.”[ad] So he offered his hand and Jehu[ae] pulled him up into the chariot. 16 Jehu[af] said, “Come with me and see how zealous I am for the Lord’s cause.”[ag] So he[ah] took him along in his chariot. 17 He went to Samaria and killed each of Ahab’s remaining family members who were in Samaria until he destroyed them,[ai] in keeping with the Lord’s message which he had announced to Elijah.

Jehu Executes the Prophets and Priests of Baal

18 Jehu assembled all the people and said to them, “Ahab worshiped[aj] Baal a little; Jehu will worship[ak] him with great devotion.[al] 19 So now, bring to me all the prophets of Baal, as well as all his servants and priests.[am] None of them must be absent, for I am offering a great sacrifice to Baal. Any of them who fails to appear will lose his life.” But Jehu was tricking them[an] so he could destroy the servants of Baal. 20 Then Jehu ordered, “Make arrangements for[ao] a celebration for Baal.” So they announced it. 21 Jehu sent invitations throughout Israel, and all the servants of Baal came; not one was absent. They arrived at the temple of Baal and filled it up from end to end.[ap] 22 Jehu ordered the one who was in charge of the wardrobe,[aq] “Bring out robes for all the servants of Baal.” So he brought out robes for them. 23 Then Jehu and Jehonadab son of Rekab went to the temple of Baal. Jehu[ar] said to the servants of Baal, “Make sure there are no servants of the Lord here with you; there must be only servants of Baal.”[as] 24 They went inside to offer sacrifices and burnt offerings. Now Jehu had stationed eighty men outside. He had told them, “If any of the men inside gets away, you will pay with your lives!”[at]

25 When he finished offering the burnt sacrifice, Jehu ordered the royal guard[au] and officers, “Come in and strike them down! Don’t let any escape!” So the royal guard and officers struck them down with the sword and left their bodies lying there.[av] Then they entered the inner sanctuary of the temple of Baal.[aw] 26 They hauled out the sacred pillar of the temple of Baal and burned it. 27 They demolished[ax] the sacred pillar of Baal and[ay] the temple of Baal; it is used as[az] a latrine[ba] to this very day. 28 So Jehu eradicated Baal worship[bb] from Israel.

A Summary of Jehu’s Reign

29 However, Jehu did not repudiate the sins that Jeroboam son of Nebat had encouraged Israel to commit; the golden calves remained in Bethel and Dan.[bc] 30 The Lord said to Jehu, “You have done well. You have accomplished my will and carried out my wishes with regard to Ahab’s dynasty. Therefore four generations of your descendants will rule over Israel.”[bd] 31 But Jehu did not carefully and wholeheartedly obey the law of the Lord God of Israel.[be] He did not repudiate the sins which Jeroboam had encouraged Israel to commit.[bf]

32 In those days the Lord began to reduce the size of Israel’s territory.[bg] Hazael attacked their eastern border.[bh] 33 He conquered all the land of Gilead, including the territory of Gad, Reuben, and Manasseh, extending all the way from the Aroer in the Arnon Valley through Gilead to Bashan.[bi]

34 The rest of the events of Jehu’s reign, including all his accomplishments and successes, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Israel.[bj] 35 Jehu passed away[bk] and was buried in Samaria. His son Jehoahaz replaced him as king. 36 Jehu reigned over Israel for twenty-eight years in Samaria.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Kings 10:1 tn Heb “to the officers of Jezreel, the elders, and to the guardians of Ahab, saying.” It is not certain why the officials of Jezreel would be in Samaria. They may have fled there after they heard what happened to Joram and before Jehu entered the city. They would have had time to flee while Jehu was pursuing Ahaziah.
  2. 2 Kings 10:2 tn Heb “And now when this letter comes to you—with you are the sons of your master and with you are chariots and horses and a fortified city and weapons.”
  3. 2 Kings 10:3 tn Hebrew יָשָׁר (yashar) does not have its normal moral/ethical nuance here (“upright”), but a more neutral sense of “proper, right, suitable.” For the gloss “capable,” see HALOT 450 s.v. יָשָׁר.
  4. 2 Kings 10:3 tn Or “fight for.”
  5. 2 Kings 10:4 tn Heb “they were very, very afraid.” The term מְאֹד (meʾod) “very,” is repeated for emphasis.
  6. 2 Kings 10:4 tn Heb “did not stand before him.”
  7. 2 Kings 10:4 tn Heb “How can we stand?”
  8. 2 Kings 10:5 tn Heb “the one who was over the house.”
  9. 2 Kings 10:5 tn Heb “the one who was over the city.”
  10. 2 Kings 10:5 tn Or “elders.”
  11. 2 Kings 10:5 tn Heb “servants.”
  12. 2 Kings 10:5 tn Heb “Do what is good in your eyes.”
  13. 2 Kings 10:6 tn Heb “If you are mine and you are listening to my voice.”
  14. 2 Kings 10:6 sn Jehu’s command is intentionally vague. Does he mean that they should bring the guardians (those who are “heads” over Ahab’s sons) for a meeting, or does he mean that they should bring the literal heads of Ahab’s sons with them (so reads Lucian’s Greek translation, the Syriac Peshitta, and some mss of the Targum)? The city leaders interpret his words in the literal sense, but Jehu’s command is so ambiguous he is able to deny complicity in the executions (see v. 9).
  15. 2 Kings 10:6 tn Heb “great men,” probably in wealth, position, and prestige.
  16. 2 Kings 10:7 tn Heb “and when the letter came to them, they took the sons of the king and slaughtered seventy men.”
  17. 2 Kings 10:8 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Jehu) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  18. 2 Kings 10:8 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jehu) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  19. 2 Kings 10:10 tn Heb “the house of Ahab.”
  20. 2 Kings 10:10 tn Heb “will fall to the earth.”
  21. 2 Kings 10:10 tn Heb “by the hand of his servant Elijah.”
  22. 2 Kings 10:12 tn Heb “and he arose and went and came to Samaria.”
  23. 2 Kings 10:13 tn Heb “found.”
  24. 2 Kings 10:13 tn Or “brothers.”
  25. 2 Kings 10:13 tn Heb “for the peace of.”
  26. 2 Kings 10:15 tn Heb “found.”
  27. 2 Kings 10:15 tn Heb “and he went from there and found Jehonadab son of Rekab [who was coming] to meet him.”
  28. 2 Kings 10:15 tn Heb “and he blessed him and said to him.”
  29. 2 Kings 10:15 tn Heb “Is there with your heart [what is] right, as my heart [is] with your heart?”
  30. 2 Kings 10:15 tc Heb “Jehonadab said, ‘There is and there is. Give your hand.’” If the text is allowed to stand, there are two possible ways to understand the syntax of וָיֵשׁ (vayesh), “and there is”: (1) The repetition of יֵשׁ (yesh, “there is and there is”) could be taken as emphatic, “indeed I am.” In this case, the entire statement could be taken as Jehonadab’s words or one could understand the words “give your hand” as Jehu’s. In the latter case the change in speakers is unmarked. (2) וָיֵשׁ begins Jehu’s response and has a conditional force, “if you are.” In this case, the transition in speakers is unmarked. However, it is possible that וַיֹּאמֶר (vayyoʾmer), “and he said,” or וַיֹּאמֶר יֵהוּא (vayyoʾmer yehu), “and Jehu said,” originally appeared between יֵשׁ and וָיֵשׁ and has accidentally dropped from the text by homoioarcton (note that both the proposed וַיֹּאמֶר and וָיֵשׁ begin with vav, ו). The present translation assumes such a textual reconstruction; it is supported by the LXX, Syriac Peshitta, and Vulgate.
  31. 2 Kings 10:15 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jehu) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  32. 2 Kings 10:16 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jehu) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  33. 2 Kings 10:16 tn Heb “and see my zeal for the Lord.”
  34. 2 Kings 10:16 tc The MT has a plural form, but this is most likely an error. The LXX, Syriac Peshitta, and Vulgate all have the singular.
  35. 2 Kings 10:17 tn Heb “him.” The pronoun refers to Ahab who represents his entire family.
  36. 2 Kings 10:18 tn Or “served.
  37. 2 Kings 10:18 tn Or “serve.”
  38. 2 Kings 10:18 tn Heb “much” or “greatly.”
  39. 2 Kings 10:19 tn Heb “and now, all the prophets of Baal, all his servants and all his priests summon to me.”
  40. 2 Kings 10:19 tn Heb “acted with deception [or, ‘trickery’].”
  41. 2 Kings 10:20 tn Heb “set apart”; or “observe as holy.”
  42. 2 Kings 10:21 tn Heb “and the house of Baal was filled mouth to mouth.”
  43. 2 Kings 10:22 tn Heb “and he said to the one who was over the wardrobe.”
  44. 2 Kings 10:23 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jehu) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  45. 2 Kings 10:23 tn Heb “Search carefully and observe so that there are not here with you any servants of the Lord, but only the servants of Baal.”
  46. 2 Kings 10:24 tn Heb “The man who escapes from the men whom I am bringing into your hands, [it will be] his life in place of his life.”
  47. 2 Kings 10:25 tn Heb “runners.”
  48. 2 Kings 10:25 tn Heb “and they threw.” No object appears. According to M. Cogan and H. Tadmor (II Kings [AB], 116), this is an idiom for leaving a corpse unburied.
  49. 2 Kings 10:25 tn Heb “and they came to the city of the house of Baal.” It seems unlikely that a literal city is meant. Some emend עִיר (ʿir), “city,” to דְּבִיר (devir) “holy place,” or suggest that עִיר is due to dittography of the immediately preceding עַד (ʿad) “to.” Perhaps עִיר is here a technical term meaning “fortress” or, more likely, “inner room.”
  50. 2 Kings 10:27 tn Or “pulled down.”
  51. 2 Kings 10:27 tn The verb “they demolished” is repeated in the Hebrew text.
  52. 2 Kings 10:27 tn Heb “and they made it into.”
  53. 2 Kings 10:27 tn The consonantal text (Kethib) has the hapax legomenon מַחֲרָאוֹת (makharaʾot), “places to defecate” or “dung houses” (note the related noun חֶרֶא (khereʾ)/חֲרִי (khari), “dung,” HALOT 348-49 s.v. *חֲרָאִים). The marginal reading (Qere) glosses this, perhaps euphemistically, מוֹצָאוֹת (motsaʾot), “outhouses.”
  54. 2 Kings 10:28 tn Heb “destroyed Baal.”
  55. 2 Kings 10:29 tn Heb “Except the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat which he caused Israel to commit, Jehu did not turn aside from after them—the golden calves which [were in] Bethel and which [were] in Dan.”
  56. 2 Kings 10:30 tn Heb “Because you have done well by doing what is proper in my eyes—according to all which was in my heart you have done to the house of Ahab—sons of four generations will sit for you on the throne of Israel.” In the Hebrew text the Lord’s statement is one long sentence (with a parenthesis). The translation above divides it into shorter sentences for stylistic reasons.sn Jehu ruled over Israel from approximately 841-814 b.c. Four of his descendants (Jehoahaz, Jehoash, Jeroboam II, and Zechariah) ruled from approximately 814-753 b.c. The dynasty came to an end when Shallum assassinated Zechariah in 753 b.c. See 2 Kgs 15:8-12.
  57. 2 Kings 10:31 tn Heb “But Jehu was not careful to walk in the law of the Lord God of Israel with all his heart.”
  58. 2 Kings 10:31 tn Heb “He did not turn aside from the sins of Jeroboam which he caused Israel to commit.”
  59. 2 Kings 10:32 tn Heb “began to cut off Israel.”
  60. 2 Kings 10:32 tn Heb “Hazael struck them down in all the territory of Israel, from the Jordan on the east.” In the Hebrew text the phrase “from the Jordan on the east” begins v. 33.
  61. 2 Kings 10:33 tn Heb “all the land of Gilead, the Gadites, and the Reubenites, and the Manassehites, from Aroer which is near the Arnon Valley, and Gilead, and Bashan.”
  62. 2 Kings 10:34 tn Heb “As for the rest of the events of Jehu, and all which he did and all his strength, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Israel?”
  63. 2 Kings 10:35 tn Heb “lay down with his fathers.”
Close EXB

2 Kings 10
Expanded Bible

Families of Ahab and Ahaziah Killed

10 Ahab had seventy sons in Samaria [C the city, not the region]. Jehu wrote letters and sent them to Samaria—to the officers of the city[a] and elders—and to the guardians of the sons of Ahab. Jehu said, 2 “You have your ·master’s [lord’s] sons with you, and you have chariots, horses, a ·city with strong walls [fortified city], and weapons. When you get this letter, 3 choose the best and most worthy person among your ·master’s [lord’s] sons, and make him king. Then fight for your ·master’s [lord’s] ·family [L house].”

4 But the officers and leaders of Jezreel were ·frightened [utterly terrified]. They said, “Two kings could not ·stand up to [resist] Jehu, so how can we?”

5 The ·palace manager [steward of the house], the city ·governor [administrator], the ·leaders [elders], and the guardians sent a message to Jehu. “We are your servants,” they said. “We will do everything you tell us to do. We won’t make any man king, so do whatever ·you think is best [L is good in your eyes/sight].”

6 Then Jehu wrote a second letter, saying, “If you are on my side and will obey me, cut off the heads of your ·master’s [lord’s] sons and come to me at Jezreel tomorrow about this time.”

Now the seventy sons of the king’s ·family [L house] were with the leading men of the city who were ·their guardians [raising them]. 7 When the leaders received the letter, they took the king’s sons and ·killed [slaughtered] all seventy of them. They put their heads in baskets and sent them 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 [Pile] the heads in two ·piles [heaps] at the city gate until morning.”

9 In the morning, Jehu went out and stood before the people and said to them, “You are innocent. Look, I ·made plans [conspired; plotted] against my ·master [lord] and killed him. But who killed all these [C Jehu might have been blaming the Samaritan officials, or perhaps was implying that God ordered the killing]? 10 You should know that ·everything [L nothing] the Lord said about Ahab’s ·family [L house] will ·come true [L fall to the ground/earth]. The Lord ·has spoken [spoke his word] through his servant Elijah, and the Lord has done what he said.” 11 So Jehu killed everyone of Ahab’s ·family [L house] in Jezreel who was still alive. He also killed all Ahab’s ·leading men [important officials], ·close [personal] friends, and priests. ·No one who had helped Ahab was left alive [He left no one to survive him].

The Killing of Ahaziah’s Relatives(A)

12 Then Jehu left and went to Samaria by way of the road to Beth Eked of the Shepherds. 13 There Jehu met some relatives of Ahaziah king of Judah. Jehu asked, “Who are you?”

They answered, “We are relatives of Ahaziah. We have come down to ·get revenge for [or greet; visit] the families of the king and the king’s mother.”

14 Then Jehu said, “Take them alive!” So they captured Ahaziah’s relatives alive and killed them at the ·well [pit] near Beth Eked—forty-two of them. Jehu ·did not leave anyone alive [spared no one].

15 After Jehu left there, he met Jehonadab son of Recab [Jer. 35], who was also on his way to meet Jehu. Jehu greeted him and said, “·Are you as good a friend to me as I am to you [Are you as loyal to me as I am to you; L Is your heart right, as my heart is with your heart]?”

Jehonadab answered, “·Yes, I am [L It is].”

Jehu said, “If you are, then give me your hand.” So Jehonadab gave him his hand, and Jehu pulled him into the chariot. 16 “Come with me,” Jehu said. “You can see ·how strong my feelings are [my zeal/devotion] for the Lord.” So Jehu had Jehonadab ride in his chariot.

17 When Jehu came to Samaria, he killed all of Ahab’s ·family [L house] in Samaria. He destroyed all those who were left, ·just as the Lord had told Elijah it would happen [L in accordance with the word of the Lord spoken to Elijah].

Baal Worshipers Killed

18 Then Jehu gathered all the people together and said to them, “Ahab served Baal a little, but Jehu will serve Baal ·much [greatly]. 19 Now ·call for me [summon; assemble] all Baal’s prophets and priests and all the people who ·worship [serve] Baal. Don’t let anyone miss this meeting, because I have a great sacrifice for Baal. Anyone who is not there will not live.” But Jehu was ·tricking them [deceiving them; L acting cunningly] so he could destroy ·the worshipers of [those who served] Baal. 20 He said, “Prepare a ·holy [sacred; solemn] meeting for Baal.” So they ·announced [proclaimed] the meeting. 21 Then Jehu sent word through all Israel, and all ·the worshipers of [who served] Baal came; not one stayed ·home [behind]. They came into the ·temple [L house] of Baal, and the ·temple [L house] was filled from one side to the other.

22 Jehu said to the man who kept the robes, “Bring out ·robes [garments; vestments] for all ·the worshipers of [those who serve] Baal.” After he brought out ·robes [garments; vestments] for them, 23 Jehu and Jehonadab son of Recab went into the ·temple [L house] of Baal. Jehu said to ·the worshipers of [those who served] Baal, “Look around, and make sure there are no servants of the Lord with you. Be sure there are only ·worshipers of [those who serve] Baal.” 24 Then they went in to offer sacrifices and burnt offerings.

Jehu had eighty men waiting outside. He had told them, “·Don’t let anyone escape. If you do, you [The one who allows any of these men who I have put in your hands to escape] must ·pay with [exchange] your own life.”

25 As soon as Jehu finished offering the burnt offering, he ordered the guards and the ·captains [officers], “Go in and kill ·the worshipers of [those who serve] Baal. Don’t let anyone ·come out [escape].” So the guards and ·captains [officers] killed ·the worshipers of [those who served] Baal with the sword and threw their bodies out. Then they went to the inner rooms of the ·temple [L house of Baal] 26 and brought out the ·pillars [sacred poles/stone; C used in worship] of the ·temple [L house] of Baal and burned them. 27 They ·tore down [smashed] the stone pillar of Baal, as well as the ·temple [L house] of Baal. And they made it into a ·sewage pit [public toilet; latrine], as it is today.

28 So Jehu destroyed Baal worship in Israel, 29 but he did not ·stop doing [turn/depart from] the sins Jeroboam son of Nebat had done. Jeroboam had led Israel to sin by worshiping the golden calves at Bethel and Dan.

30 The Lord said to Jehu, “You have done well in ·obeying what I said was right [L doing what was right in my eyes/sight]. You have done to the ·family [L house] of Ahab ·as I wanted [L all that was in my heart/mind]. Because of this, your ·descendants as far as your great-great-grandchildren [sons to the fourth generation] will ·be kings [L sit on the throne] of Israel.” 31 But Jehu was not careful to follow the ·teachings [law; L torah] of the Lord, the God of Israel, with all his heart. He did not ·stop doing [turn/depart from] the same sins Jeroboam had done, by which he had led Israel to sin.

32 At that time the Lord began to ·make Israel smaller [cut/trim off parts of Israel]. Hazael defeated the Israelites ·in all the land [throughout the territory] of Israel, 33 taking all the land east of the Jordan known as the land of Gilead. (It was the region of Gad, Reuben, and Manasseh.) He took land from Aroer by the Arnon Ravine through Gilead to Bashan.

34 The other things Jehu did—everything he did and all his ·victories [achievements; power]—·are [L are they not…?] recorded in the book of the ·history [chronicles; annals; 1:18] of the kings of Israel. 35 Jehu ·died [L lay down/T slept with his fathers/ancestors] and was buried in Samaria, and his son Jehoahaz became king in his place. 36 Jehu ·was king [reigned] over Israel in Samaria for twenty-eight years.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Kings 10:1 the city Greek copies read “the city.” Hebrew copies read “Jezreel.”
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