2 Kings 8:16-10:24

English Standard Version

Jehoram Reigns in Judah

¹⁶ In the fifth year of ^(A)Joram the son of Ahab, king of Israel, when Jehoshaphat was king of Judah,^[a] Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, began to reign. ¹⁷ He was ^(B)thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. ¹⁸ And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, as the house of Ahab had done, for ^(C)the daughter of Ahab was his wife. And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. ¹⁹ Yet the Lord was not willing to destroy Judah, for the sake of David his servant, ^(D)since he promised to give ^(E)a lamp to him and to his sons forever.

²⁰ In his days Edom revolted from the rule of Judah and set up ^(F)a king of their own. ²¹ Then Joram^[b] passed over to Zair with all his chariots and rose by night, and he and his chariot commanders struck the Edomites who had surrounded him, but his army ^(G)fled home. ^22 (H)So Edom revolted from the rule of Judah to this day. Then ^(I)Libnah revolted at the same time. ²³ Now 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 So Joram slept with his fathers and was buried ^(J)with his fathers in the city of David, and ^(K)Ahaziah his son reigned in his place.

Ahaziah Reigns in Judah

^25 (L)In the ^(M)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 ^(N)twenty-two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Athaliah; she was ^(O)a granddaughter of Omri king of Israel. ²⁷ He also walked in the way of the house of Ahab and did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, as the house of Ahab had done, for he was son-in-law to the house of Ahab.

²⁸ He went with Joram the son of Ahab to make war against ^(P)Hazael king of Syria at ^(Q)Ramoth-gilead, and the Syrians wounded Joram. ^29 (R)And King Joram returned to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds that the Syrians had given him at ^(S)Ramah, when he fought against Hazael king of Syria. And ^(T)Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah went down to see Joram the son of Ahab in Jezreel, because he was sick.

Jehu Anointed King of Israel

9 Then Elisha the prophet called one of ^(U)the sons of the prophets and said to him, ^(V)“Tie up your garments, and take this ^(W)flask of oil in your hand, and go to ^(X)Ramoth-gilead. ² And when you arrive, look there for Jehu ^(Y)the son of Jehoshaphat, son of Nimshi. And go in and have him rise from among ^(Z)his fellows, and lead him to an inner chamber. ³ Then take the flask of oil and pour it on his head and say, ‘Thus says the Lord, ^(AA)I anoint you king over Israel.’ Then open the door and flee; do not linger.”

⁴ So the young man, the servant of the prophet, went to Ramoth-gilead. ⁵ And when he came, behold, the commanders of the army were in council. And he said, “I have a word for you, O commander.” And Jehu said, “To which of us all?” And he said, “To you, O commander.” ⁶ So he arose and went into the house. And the young man poured the oil on his head, saying to him, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ^(AB)I anoint you king over the people of the Lord, over Israel. ⁷ And you shall strike down the house of Ahab your master, so that I may avenge ^(AC)on Jezebel the blood of my servants the prophets, and the blood of all the servants of the Lord. ⁸ For the whole house of Ahab shall perish, ^(AD)and I will cut off from Ahab ^(AE)every male, ^(AF)bond or free, in Israel. ⁹ And I will make the house of Ahab like ^(AG)the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like ^(AH)the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah. ^10 (AI)And the dogs shall eat Jezebel in the territory of Jezreel, and none shall bury her.” Then he opened the door and fled.

¹¹ When Jehu came out to the servants of his master, they said to him, ^(AJ)“Is all well? Why did ^(AK)this mad fellow come to you?” And he said to them, “You know the fellow and his talk.” ¹² And they said, “That is not true; tell us now.” And he said, “Thus and so he spoke to me, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord, I anoint you king over Israel.’” ¹³ Then in haste ^(AL)every man of them took his garment and put it under him on the bare^[c] steps, and they blew the trumpet and proclaimed, ^(AM)“Jehu is king.”

Jehu Assassinates Joram and Ahaziah

¹⁴ Thus Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat the son of Nimshi conspired against Joram. (^(AN)Now Joram with all Israel had been on guard at Ramoth-gilead against ^(AO)Hazael king of Syria, ^15 (AP)but King Joram had returned to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds that the Syrians had given him, when he fought with Hazael king of Syria.) So Jehu said, “If this is your decision, then let no one slip out of the city to go and tell the news in Jezreel.” ¹⁶ Then Jehu mounted his chariot and went to Jezreel, for Joram lay there. And Ahaziah king of Judah had come down to visit Joram.

¹⁷ Now the watchman was standing on the tower in Jezreel, and he saw the company of Jehu 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 a man on horseback went to meet him and said, “Thus says the king, ‘Is it peace?’” And Jehu said, “What do you have to do with peace? Turn around and ride behind me.” And the watchman reported, saying, “The messenger reached them, but he is not coming back.” ¹⁹ Then he sent out a second horseman, who came to them and said, “Thus the king has said, ‘Is it peace?’” And Jehu answered, “What do you have to do with peace? Turn around and ride behind me.” ²⁰ Again the watchman reported, “He reached them, but he is not coming back. And the driving ^(AQ)is like the driving of Jehu ^(AR)the son of Nimshi, for he drives furiously.”

²¹ Joram said, ^(AS)“Make ready.” And they made ready his chariot. ^(AT)Then Joram king of Israel and Ahaziah king of Judah set out, each in his chariot, and went to meet Jehu, and met him ^(AU)at the property of Naboth the Jezreelite. ²² And when Joram saw Jehu, he said, “Is it peace, Jehu?” He answered, “What peace can there be, so long as ^(AV)the whorings and the sorceries of your mother Jezebel are so many?” ²³ Then Joram reined about and fled, saying to Ahaziah, “Treachery, O Ahaziah!” ²⁴ And Jehu drew his bow with his full strength, and shot Joram between the shoulders, so that the arrow pierced his heart, and he sank in his chariot. ²⁵ Jehu said to Bidkar ^(AW)his aide, “Take him up and throw him ^(AX)on the plot of ground belonging to Naboth the Jezreelite. For remember, when you and I rode side by side behind Ahab his father, how ^(AY)the Lord made this ^(AZ)pronouncement against him: ²⁶ ‘As surely as I saw yesterday the blood of Naboth and the blood of his sons—declares the Lord—I will repay you on this plot of ground.’ Now therefore take him up and throw him on the plot of ground, in accordance with the word of the Lord.”

^27 (BA)When Ahaziah the king of Judah saw this, he fled in the direction of Beth-haggan. And Jehu pursued him and said, “Shoot him also.” And they shot him^[d] in the chariot at the ascent of Gur, which is by ^(BB)Ibleam. And he fled to ^(BC)Megiddo and died there. ^28 (BD)His servants carried him in a chariot to Jerusalem, and buried him in his tomb with his fathers in the city of David.

²⁹ In the ^(BE)eleventh year of Joram the son of Ahab, Ahaziah began to reign over Judah.

Jehu Executes Jezebel

³⁰ When Jehu came to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it. And ^(BF)she painted her eyes and adorned her head and looked out of the window. ³¹ And as Jehu entered the gate, she said, ^(BG)“Is it peace, you Zimri, murderer of your master?” ³² And he lifted up his face to the window and said, “Who is on my side? Who?” Two or three eunuchs looked out at him. ³³ He said, “Throw her down.” So they threw her down. And some of her blood spattered on the wall and on the horses, and they trampled on her. ³⁴ Then he went in and ate and drank. And he said, “See now to this cursed woman and bury her, ^(BH)for she is a king's daughter.” ³⁵ But when they went to bury her, they found no more of her than the skull and the feet and the palms of her hands. ³⁶ When they came back and told him, he said, “This is the word of the Lord, which he spoke by his servant Elijah the Tishbite: ^(BI)‘In the territory of Jezreel the dogs shall eat the flesh of Jezebel, ³⁷ and the corpse of Jezebel shall be ^(BJ)as dung on the face of the field in the territory of Jezreel, so that no one can say, This is Jezebel.’”

Jehu Slaughters Ahab's Descendants

10 Now Ahab had seventy sons in ^(BK)Samaria. So Jehu wrote letters and sent them to Samaria, to the rulers of the city,^[e] to the elders, and to ^(BL)the guardians of the sons^[f] of Ahab, saying, ² “Now then, as soon as this letter comes to you, seeing your master's sons are with you, and there are with you chariots and horses, fortified cities also, and weapons, ³ select the best and fittest of your master's sons and set him on his father's throne and fight for your master's house.” ⁴ But they were exceedingly afraid and said, “Behold, the two kings could not stand before him. How then can we stand?” ⁵ So he who was over the palace, and he who was over the city, together with the elders and the guardians, sent to Jehu, saying, ^(BM)“We are your servants, and we will do all that you tell us. We will not make anyone king. Do whatever is good in your eyes.” ⁶ Then he wrote to them a second letter, saying, “If you are on my side, and if you are ready to obey me, take the heads of your master's sons and come to me at Jezreel tomorrow at this time.” Now the king's sons, seventy persons, were with the great men of the city, ^(BN)who were bringing them up. ⁷ And as soon as the letter came to them, they took the king's sons ^(BO)and slaughtered them, seventy persons, and put their heads in baskets and sent them to him at Jezreel. ⁸ When the messenger came and told him, “They have brought the heads of the king's sons,” he said, “Lay them in two heaps at the entrance of the gate until the morning.” ⁹ Then in the morning, when he went out, he stood and said to all the people, “You are innocent. ^(BP)It was I who conspired against my master and killed him, but who struck down all these? ¹⁰ Know then that there shall ^(BQ)fall to the earth nothing of the word of the Lord, which the Lord spoke concerning the house of Ahab, for the Lord has done ^(BR)what he said by his servant Elijah.” ¹¹ So Jehu struck down all who remained of the house of Ahab in Jezreel, all his great men and his close friends and his priests, until he left him none remaining.

¹² Then he set out and went to Samaria. On the way, when he was at Beth-eked of the Shepherds, ¹³ Jehu met ^(BS)the relatives of Ahaziah king of Judah, and he said, “Who are you?” And they answered, “We are the relatives of Ahaziah, and we came down to visit the royal princes and the sons of the queen mother.” ¹⁴ He said, “Take them alive.” And they took them alive and slaughtered them at the pit of Beth-eked, forty-two persons, and he spared none of them.

¹⁵ And when he departed from there, he met ^(BT)Jehonadab the son of ^(BU)Rechab coming to meet him. And he greeted him and said to him, “Is your heart true to my heart as mine is to yours?” And Jehonadab answered, “It is.” Jehu said,^[g] “If it is, ^(BV)give me your hand.” So he gave him his hand. And Jehu took him up with him into the chariot. ¹⁶ And he said, “Come with me, and see ^(BW)my zeal for the Lord.” So he^[h] had him ride in his chariot. ¹⁷ And when he came to Samaria, ^(BX)he struck down all who remained to Ahab in Samaria, till he had wiped them out, according to the word of the Lord ^(BY)that he spoke to Elijah.

Jehu Strikes Down the Prophets of Baal

¹⁸ Then Jehu assembled all the people and said to them, ^(BZ)“Ahab served Baal a little, but Jehu will serve him much. ¹⁹ Now therefore call to me all the ^(CA)prophets of Baal, all his worshipers and all his priests. Let none be missing, for I have a great sacrifice to offer to Baal. Whoever is missing shall not live.” But Jehu did it with cunning in order to destroy the worshipers of Baal. ²⁰ And Jehu ordered, ^(CB)“Sanctify ^(CC)a solemn assembly for Baal.” So ^(CD)they proclaimed it. ²¹ And Jehu sent throughout all Israel, and all the worshipers of Baal came, so that there was not a man left who did not come. And they entered ^(CE)the house of Baal, and the house of Baal was filled from one end to the other. ²² He said to him who was in charge of the wardrobe, “Bring out the vestments for all the worshipers of Baal.” So he brought out the vestments for them. ²³ Then Jehu went into the house of Baal with Jehonadab the son of Rechab, and he said to the worshipers of Baal, “Search, and see that there is no servant of the Lord here among you, but only the worshipers of Baal.” ²⁴ Then they^[i] went in to offer sacrifices and burnt offerings.

Now Jehu had stationed eighty men outside and said, “The man who allows any of those whom I give into your hands to escape ^(CF)shall forfeit his life.”