2 Kings 9-10

Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition

Anointing of Jehu

9 Then Eli′sha the prophet called one of the sons of the prophets and said to him, “Gird up your loins, and take this flask of oil in your hand, and go to Ra′moth-gil′ead. ² And when you arrive, look there for Jehu the son of Jehosh′aphat, son of Nimshi; and go in and bid him rise from among 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, I anoint you king over Israel.’ Then open the door and flee; do not tarry.”

⁴ So the young man, the prophet,^[a] went to Ra′moth-gil′ead. ⁵ And when he came, behold, the commanders of the army were in council; and he said, “I have an errand to 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, I anoint you king over the people of the Lord, over Israel. ⁷ And you shall strike down the house of Ahab your master, that I may avenge on Jez′ebel 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; and I will cut off from Ahab every male, bond or free, in Israel. ⁹ And I will make the house of Ahab like the house of Jerobo′am the son of Nebat, and like the house of Ba′asha the son of Ahi′jah. ¹⁰ And the dogs shall eat Jez′ebel in the territory of Jezre′el, 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, “Is all well? Why did 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 every man of them took his garment, and put it under him on the bare^[b] steps, and they blew the trumpet, and proclaimed, “Jehu is king.”

Joram of Israel Killed

¹⁴ Thus Jehu the son of Jehosh′aphat the son of Nimshi conspired against Joram. (Now Joram with all Israel had been on guard at Ra′moth-gil′ead against Haz′ael king of Syria; ¹⁵ but King Joram had returned to be healed in Jezre′el of the wounds which the Syrians had given him, when he fought with Haz′ael king of Syria.) So Jehu said, “If this is your mind, then let no one slip out of the city to go and tell the news in Jezre′el.” ¹⁶ Then Jehu mounted his chariot, and went to Jezre′el, for Joram lay there. And Ahazi′ah king of Judah had come down to visit Joram.

¹⁷ Now the watchman was standing on the tower in Jezre′el, and he spied 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 have you to do with peace? Turn round 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 have you to do with peace? Turn round and ride behind me.” ²⁰ Again the watchman reported, “He reached them, but he is not coming back. And the driving is like the driving of Jehu the son of Nimshi; for he drives furiously.”

²¹ Joram said, “Make ready.” And they made ready his chariot. Then Joram king of Israel and Ahazi′ah king of Judah set out, each in his chariot, and went to meet Jehu, and met him at the property of Naboth the Jezre′elite. ²² And when Joram saw Jehu, he said, “Is it peace, Jehu?” He answered, “What peace can there be, so long as the harlotries and the sorceries of your mother Jez′ebel are so many?” ²³ Then Joram reined about and fled, saying to Ahazi′ah, “Treachery, O Ahazi′ah!” 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.^{[c] 25} Jehu said to Bidkar his aide, “Take him up, and cast him on the plot of ground belonging to Naboth the Jezre′elite; for remember, when you and I rode side by side behind Ahab his father, how the Lord uttered this oracle against him: ²⁶ ‘As surely as I saw yesterday the blood of Naboth and the blood of his sons—says the Lord—I will requite you on this plot of ground.’ Now therefore take him up and cast him on the plot of ground, in accordance with the word of the Lord.”

Ahaziah of Judah Killed

²⁷ When Ahazi′ah 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 Ibleam. And he fled to Megid′do, and died there. ²⁸ 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 eleventh year of Joram the son of Ahab, Ahazi′ah began to reign over Judah.

Jezebel’s Violent Death

³⁰ When Jehu came to Jezre′el, Jez′ebel heard of it; and she painted her eyes, and adorned her head, and looked out of the window. ³¹ And as Jehu entered the gate, she said, “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; 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 Eli′jah the Tishbite, ‘In the territory of Jezre′el the dogs shall eat the flesh of Jez′ebel; ³⁷ and the corpse of Jez′ebel shall be as dung upon the face of the field in the territory of Jezre′el, so that no one can say, This is Jez′ebel.’”

Massacre of Ahab’s Descendants

10 Now Ahab had seventy sons in Samar′ia. So Jehu wrote letters, and sent them to Samar′ia, to the rulers of the city,^[e] to the elders, and to the guardians of the sons 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, “We are your servants, and we will do all that you bid us. We will not make any one 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 Jezre′el tomorrow at this time.” Now the king’s sons, seventy persons, were with the great men of the city, who were bringing them up. ⁷ And when the letter came to them, they took the king’s sons, and slew them, seventy persons, and put their heads in baskets, and sent them to him at Jezre′el. 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. It was I who conspired against my master, and slew him; but who struck down all these? ¹⁰ Know then that there shall 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 what he said by his servant Eli′jah.” ¹¹ So Jehu slew all that remained of the house of Ahab in Jezre′el, all his great men, and his familiar friends, and his priests, until he left him none remaining.

¹² Then he set out and went to Samar′ia. On the way, when he was at Beth-eked of the Shepherds, ¹³ Jehu met the kinsmen of Ahazi′ah king of Judah, and he said, “Who are you?” And they answered, “We are the kinsmen of Ahazi′ah, 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 slew 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 Jehon′adab the son of 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?”^[f] And Jehon′adab answered, “It is.” Jehu said,^[g] “If it is, 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 my zeal for the Lord.” So he^[h] had him ride in his chariot. ¹⁷ And when he came to Samar′ia, he slew all that remained to Ahab in Samar′ia, till he had wiped them out, according to the word of the Lord which he spoke to Eli′jah.

Slaughter of Worshipers of Baal

¹⁸ Then Jehu assembled all the people, and said to them, “Ahab served Ba′al a little; but Jehu will serve him much. ¹⁹ Now therefore call to me all the prophets of Ba′al, all his worshipers and all his priests; let none be missing, for I have a great sacrifice to offer to Ba′al; whoever is missing shall not live.” But Jehu did it with cunning in order to destroy the worshipers of Ba′al. ²⁰ And Jehu ordered, “Sanctify a solemn assembly for Ba′al.” So they proclaimed it. ²¹ And Jehu sent throughout all Israel; and all the worshipers of Ba′al came, so that there was not a man left who did not come. And they entered the house of Ba′al, and the house of Ba′al 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 Ba′al.” So he brought out the vestments for them. ²³ Then Jehu went into the house of Ba′al with Jehon′adab the son of Rechab; and he said to the worshipers of Ba′al, “Search, and see that there is no servant of the Lord here among you, but only the worshipers of Ba′al.” ²⁴ Then he^[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 shall forfeit his life.” ²⁵ So as soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt offering, Jehu said to the guard and to the officers, “Go in and slay them; let not a man escape.” So when they put them to the sword, the guard and the officers cast them out and went into the inner room^[j] of the house of Ba′al ²⁶ and they brought out the pillar that was in the house of Ba′al, and burned it. ²⁷ And they demolished the pillar of Ba′al, and demolished the house of Ba′al, and made it a latrine to this day.

²⁸ Thus Jehu wiped out Ba′al from Israel. ²⁹ But Jehu did not turn aside from the sins of Jerobo′am the son of Nebat, which he made Israel to sin, the golden calves that were in Bethel, and in Dan. ³⁰ And the Lord said to Jehu, “Because you have done well in carrying out what is right in my eyes, and have done to the house of Ahab according to all that was in my heart, your sons of the fourth generation shall sit on the throne of Israel.” ³¹ But Jehu was not careful to walk in the law of the Lord the God of Israel with all his heart; he did not turn from the sins of Jerobo′am, which he made Israel to sin.

Death of Jehu

³² In those days the Lord began to cut off parts of Israel. Haz′ael defeated them throughout the territory of Israel: ³³ from the Jordan eastward, all the land of Gilead, the Gadites, and the Reubenites, and the Manas′sites, from Aro′er, which is by the valley of the Arnon, that is, Gilead and Bashan. ³⁴ Now 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 So Jehu slept with his fathers, and they buried him in Samar′ia. And Jeho′ahaz his son reigned in his stead. ³⁶ The time that Jehu reigned over Israel in Samar′ia was twenty-eight years.