Judgment upon Ahab’s House

10 Now Ahab had seventy sons in (A)Samaria. And Jehu wrote letters and sent them to Samaria, to the officials of Jezreel, the elders, and to the guardians of the children of Ahab, saying, “And now, (B)when this letter comes to you, since your master’s sons are with you, [a]as well as the chariots and horses, and a fortified city and the weapons, select the best and most capable of your master’s sons and seat him on his father’s throne, and fight for your master’s house.” But they feared greatly and said, “Behold, (C)the two kings did not stand firm before him; how then can we stand?” And the one who was in charge of the household, and the one who was in charge of the city, and the elders, and the guardians of the children, sent word to Jehu, saying, “(D)We are your servants, and everything that you tell us we will do. We will not appoint any man king; do what is good in your sight.” Then he wrote them a letter a second time, saying, “If you are on my side, and will listen to my voice, take the heads of the men, your master’s sons, and come to me at Jezreel about this time tomorrow.” Now the king’s sons, seventy men, were with the great people of the city, who were raising them. When the letter came to them, they took the king’s sons and (E)slaughtered them, seventy men, and put their heads in baskets, and sent them to him at Jezreel. When the messenger came and informed him, saying, “They have brought the heads of the king’s sons,” he said, “Put them in two heaps at the entrance of the gate until morning.” Now in the morning he went out and stood and said to all the people, “You are [b]innocent; behold, (F)I conspired against my master and killed him, but (G)who [c]killed all these? 10 Know then that (H)nothing of the word of the Lord, which the Lord spoke concerning the house of Ahab, shall [d]fall to the earth, for the Lord has done (I)what He spoke [e]through His servant Elijah.” 11 So Jehu [f]killed all who remained of the house of Ahab in (J)Jezreel, and all his great men, his acquaintances, and his priests, until he left him without a survivor.

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Notas al pie

  1. 2 Kings 10:2 Lit and with you the
  2. 2 Kings 10:9 Lit righteous
  3. 2 Kings 10:9 Lit struck
  4. 2 Kings 10:10 I.e., fail to come true
  5. 2 Kings 10:10 Lit by the hand of
  6. 2 Kings 10:11 Lit struck

Jehu Kills Ahab’s Family

10 Ahab had seventy sons living in the city of Samaria. So Jehu wrote letters and sent them to Samaria, to the elders and officials of the city,[a] and to the guardians of King Ahab’s sons. He said, “The king’s sons are with you, and you have at your disposal chariots, horses, a fortified city, and weapons. As soon as you receive this letter, select the best qualified of your master’s sons to be your king, and prepare to fight for Ahab’s dynasty.”

But they were paralyzed with fear and said, “We’ve seen that two kings couldn’t stand against this man! What can we do?”

So the palace and city administrators, together with the elders and the guardians of the king’s sons, sent this message to Jehu: “We are your servants and will do anything you tell us. We will not make anyone king; do whatever you think is best.”

Jehu responded with a second letter: “If you are on my side and are going to obey me, bring the heads of your master’s sons to me at Jezreel by this time tomorrow.” Now the seventy sons of the king were being cared for by the leaders of Samaria, where they had been raised since childhood. When the letter arrived, the leaders killed all seventy of the king’s sons. They placed their heads in baskets and presented them to Jehu at Jezreel.

A messenger went to Jehu and said, “They have brought the heads of the king’s sons.”

So Jehu ordered, “Pile them in two heaps at the entrance of the city gate, and leave them there until morning.”

In the morning he went out and spoke to the crowd that had gathered around them. “You are not to blame,” he told them. “I am the one who conspired against my master and killed him. But who killed all these? 10 You can be sure that the message of the Lord that was spoken concerning Ahab’s family will not fail. The Lord declared through his servant Elijah that this would happen.” 11 Then Jehu killed all who were left of Ahab’s relatives living in Jezreel and all his important officials, his personal friends, and his priests. So Ahab was left without a single survivor.

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Notas al pie

  1. 10:1 As in some Greek manuscripts and Latin Vulgate (see also 10:6); Hebrew reads of Jezreel.