²³ Then King Solomon swore by Yahweh, saying, “Thus may God do to me and thus may he add, if Adonijah hasn’t spoken this thing at the expense of his life. ²⁴ So then, as Yahweh lives,^[a] who has established me and seated me on the throne of my father David and who has established for me a dynasty as he promised, then surely Adonijah will be put to death today.” ²⁵ King Solomon sent through the hand of Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, so he struck him, and he died.

²⁸ When the message came to Joab (now Joab had supported^[a] Adonijah but had not supported^[b] Absalom), he fled to the tent of Yahweh and grasped the horns of the altar. ²⁹ It was told to King Solomon that Joab had fled to the tent of Yahweh and was beside the altar. So Solomon sent word to Benaiah son of Jehoiada, saying, “Go and fall upon him.” ³⁰ So Benaiah went to the tent of Yahweh, and he said to him, “Thus says the king: ‘Come out.’” And he said, “No, for I want to die here.” So Benaiah returned a word to the king, saying, “Thus Joab spoke, and thus he answered me.” ³¹ Then the king said to him, “Do as he spoke; fall upon him and bury him, and so you shall remove the innocent blood that Joab shed from on me and from on the house of my father. ³² Yahweh will return his blood on his head, because he fell upon two men, more righteous and better than he, and he killed them with the sword, even though my father did not know it; namely Abner son of Ner, commander of the army of Israel, and Amasa son of Jether, commander of the army of Judah. ³³ And their blood will return on the head of Joab and on the head of his descendants forever, but for David and his descendants and for his house and his throne, there will be peace forever from Yahweh.” ³⁴ So Benaiah son of Jehoiada went up, and he fell on him and killed him, and he was buried in his house in the wilderness.

³⁶ Then the king sent and summoned Shimei, and he said to him, “Build yourself a house in Jerusalem and live there, but you must not go out anywhere whatsoever^[a] from there. ³⁷ It shall happen that on the day you go out and cross over the Wadi^[b] Kidron, know for certain that you will surely die.^[c] Your blood will be on your head.” ³⁸ Shimei said to the king, “The word is good that my lord the king has spoken to me; thus will your servant do.” So Shimei lived in Jerusalem many days.

³⁹ It happened that at the end of three years, two of Shimei’s slaves fled to Achish, son of Maacah, the king of Gath. They told Shimei, saying, “Your slaves are here in Gath.” ⁴⁰ So Shimei got up and saddled his donkey, and he went to Gath, to Achish, to search for his slaves. So Shimei went and brought his slaves from Gath. ⁴¹ When Solomon was told that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath and had returned, ⁴² the king sent and summoned Shimei, and he said to him, “Did I not make you swear by Yahweh? I warned you, saying, ‘On the day you go out and you go anywhere whatsoever,^[d] know for certain that you will surely die.’^[e] And you said to me, ‘The word is good; I accept.’ ⁴³ Why have you not kept the oath of Yahweh and the command which I commanded you?” ⁴⁴ Then the king said to Shimei, “You know all the evil which your heart knows, what you did to David my father. Now Yahweh will return the evil on your head, ⁴⁵ but King Solomon will be blessed and the throne of David will be established before Yahweh forever.” ⁴⁶ Then the king commanded Benaiah son of Jehoiada, and he went out and fell upon him, and he died. So the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon.

Israel’s Appeal to Rehoboam

12 Then Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all of Israel had come to Shechem to make him king. ² It happened that Jeroboam the son of Nebat heard of it while he was still in Egypt where he had fled from the face of King Solomon, and Jeroboam had lived in Egypt. ³ So they sent and summoned him, and Jeroboam and all the assembly of Israel came. Then they spoke to Rehoboam, saying, ⁴ “Your father made our yoke heavy; now lighten the hard labor of your father and the heavy yoke which he placed on us, and we will serve you.” ⁵ He said, “Go up for three days and then return to me”; so the people went away.

Rehoboam Seeks Counsel to Respond

⁶ Then King Rehoboam consulted with the old men who had been serving^[a] before Solomon his father when he was alive, saying, “How are you advising me to answer this people?”^{[b] 7} They said to him, “If you will be a servant today to this people, then you will serve them; and if you answer them and speak good words to them, they will always be your servants.” ⁸ But he rejected the advice of the old men, which they gave him, and he consulted with the youngsters who had grown up with him, who were serving^[c] before him. ⁹ He said to them, “What are you advising that we should reply to this people who spoke to me by saying, ‘Lighten the yoke your father put on us.’” ¹⁰ Then the youngsters who had grown up with him spoke to him, saying, “Thus you shall say to this people who spoke to you: ‘Your father made our yoke heavy, but you lighten it for us,’ you shall say to them, ‘My little finger is thicker than my father’s loins. ¹¹ So then, my father loaded a heavy yoke on all of you, but I will add to your yoke; my father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions!’”

Rehoboam Responds Unwisely with Disastrous Results

¹² Jeroboam and all of the people came to Rehoboam on the third day, as the king had spoken: “Return to me on the third day.” ¹³ Then the king answered all the people harshly, as he had rejected the advice of the old men that they had offered. ¹⁴ He spoke to them according to the advice of the youngsters, saying, “My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add onto your yoke; my father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions.” ¹⁵ So the king did not listen to the people, for it was a turning of events from Yahweh in order to fulfill his word which Yahweh had spoken through the hand of Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat. ¹⁶ When all of Israel saw that the king would not listen to them, the people answered the king, saying, “What share do we have in David?^[d] There is no inheritance in the son of Jesse. To your tents, Israel! Now look to your house, David!” Then Israel went to their^[e] tents.

⁷ Jezebel his wife said to him, “Now, you rule^[a] over Israel. Get up, eat food, and let your heart be cheerful.^[b] I myself will give you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.”

⁸ So she wrote letters in the name of Ahab and sealed them with his seal. She sent the letters to the elders and the nobles who were dwelling with Naboth in his city. ⁹ She had written in the letters, saying, “Call a fast and seat Naboth at the head of the people. ¹⁰ Seat two men, scoundrels,^[c] opposite him. Let them witness against him saying, ‘You cursed God and the king.’ Then you shall bring him out and stone him so that he dies.” ¹¹ The men of his city and the elders and nobles who were living in his city did according to what Jezebel had sent to them, as was written in the letters which she had sent to them. ¹² They called a fast, and they seated Naboth at the head of the people. ¹³ Then the two men, scoundrels,^[d] came, sat opposite him, and the scoundrels^[e] witnessed against Naboth before the people, saying, “Naboth cursed God and the king,” so they brought him outside of the city and stoned him with stones, and he died.

¹⁴ They sent to Jezebel saying, “Naboth has been stoned, and he is dead.” ¹⁵ It happened at the moment Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned and died, Jezebel said to Ahab, “Get up, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite which he had refused to give to you for money, for Naboth is not alive, but dead.” ¹⁶ When Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, he got up to go down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite to take possession of it.

Jehu Continues Purging the House of Ahab

10 Ahab had seventy sons in Samaria, and Jehu wrote letters, and he sent them to Samaria to the officials of Jezreel, to the elders and to the guardians of Ahab, saying, ² “Now, when this letter comes to you and your master’s sons are with you, the chariots are with you, the horses, a fortified city, and weapons, ³ then you must select the best and the most suitable from the sons of your master, and you must place him on the throne of his father, and they must fight for the house of your masters.” ⁴ But they were very afraid, and they said, “Look, two kings could not stand before him; how can we stand?” ⁵ So whoever was over the house, and whoever was over the city, and the elders and the guardians sent to Jehu, saying, “We are your servants; all that you say to us, we shall do. We shall not make anyone a king. Do what is good in your eyes.”

⁶ Then he wrote to them a second letter, saying, “If you are for me, and you are listening to my voice, take the heads of the men of the sons of your master and come to me at this time tomorrow at Jezreel.” Now the sons of the king, seventy men, were with the leaders of the city who were raising them. ⁷ When the letter came to them, they took the sons of the king, and they killed seventy men. Then they put their heads in baskets and sent them to him at Jezreel. ⁸ Then the messenger came and told him, saying, “They have brought the heads of the king’s sons,” and he said, “Put them in two piles at the entrance of the gate until morning.” ⁹ It happened in the morning that he went out, stood, and said to all of the people, “You are righteous. Look, I conspired against my master and killed him. But who killed all of these? ¹⁰ Know then that the word of Yahweh will not fail^[a] which Yahweh spoke concerning the house of Ahab; Yahweh has done what he spoke by the hand of his servant Elijah. ¹¹ Then Jehu killed all of the remainder of the house of Ahab in Jezreel, all of his leaders, his close friends, and his priests, until there was no survivor left for him.

¹² Then he arose and went and came to Samaria. On the way, he was at Beth-Eked of the shepherds, ¹³ and Jehu met the brothers of Ahaziah king of Judah. He asked, “Who are you?” They said, “We are the brothers of Ahaziah; we came down for the peace of the king’s children and the children of the queen.” ¹⁴ Then he said, “Seize them alive!” So they seized them alive but then slaughtered them at the cistern of Beth-Eked, forty-two men. He did not allow any of them to survive.

¹⁵ Next he went from there and found Jehonadab the son of Recab to meet him. He greeted him and asked him, “Is your heart right with me as my heart is with you?”^[b] Then Jehonadab said, “Yes, it is. Give your hand!” And he gave his hand and took him up to him on the chariot. ¹⁶ Then he said, “Come with me! Look at my zeal for Yahweh!” So he let him ride in his chariot. ¹⁷ Then he came to Samaria and killed all who remained to Ahab in Samaria until he wiped them out according to the word of Yahweh which he had spoken to Elijah.

Jehu Purges the Baal Worshipers

¹⁸ Then Jehu assembled all of the people and said to them, “Ahab served Baal a little, but Jehu will worship him greatly. ¹⁹ So then, summon to me all of the prophets of Baal and all of his servants and his priests; no man should fail to come, for I have a great sacrifice for Baal. Anyone who fails to come shall not live!” Now Jehu was acting with cunning in order to destroy the servants of Baal. ²⁰ Then Jehu said, “Sanctify a solemn assembly for Baal!” So they proclaimed it. ²¹ Jehu sent word through all of Israel, and all of the servants of Baal came; there did not remain a man who did not come. They came to the house of Baal so that the house of Baal was filled from wall to wall.^{[c] 22} He said to the one who was over the wardrobe, “Bring out clothing for all of the servants of Baal.” So he brought the clothing out for them. ²³ Then Jehu and Jehonadab the son of Recab came to the temple of Baal, and he said to the servants of Baal, “Search and see that there is none of the servants of Yahweh here with you; only those who serve Baal.” ²⁴ They came to offer sacrifices and burnt offerings. Now Jehu had stationed for himself eighty men outside, and he said, “The man who lets anyone escape from the men who I am entrusting to you,^[d] he will pay with his life!”^[e]

²⁵ It happened that when he finished offering the burnt offering, Jehu said to the royal guard and to the officers, “Come and kill them; let no man go free!” So they put them to the sword,^[f] and the royal guard and the officers threw them out, then they went up to the citadel of the temple of Baal. ²⁶ They brought out the stone pillars of the temple of Baal and burned them.^{[g] 27} So they broke down the stone pillars of Baal and destroyed the temple of Baal and made it into a latrine until this day. ²⁸ So Jehu wiped out Baal from Israel.

²⁹ Only Jehu did not turn aside from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat by which he caused Israel to sin; namely, the calf-shaped idols of gold which were in Bethel and Dan. ³⁰ Yahweh said to Jehu, “Because you have done well by doing right in my eyes and you have done to the house of Ahab according to all that was in my heart; therefore, sons of the fourth generation will sit for you on the throne of Israel.” ³¹ But Jehu was not careful to walk in the law of Yahweh God of Israel with all his heart; he did not turn from the sins of Jeroboam by which he caused Israel to sin.

³² In those days, Yahweh began to reduce Israel, so Hazael defeated them in every territory of Israel, ³³ from the Jordan eastward: all of the land of Gilead, the Gadites, the Reubenites, and the Manassites, from Aroer which is on the Wadi Arnon and Gilead and Bashan. ³⁴ Now the remainder of the acts of Jehu and all that he did and all of his powerful deeds, are they not written in the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Israel? ³⁵ So Jehu slept with his ancestors,^[h] and they buried him in Samaria, and Jehoahaz his son became king in his place. ³⁶ Now the days which Jehu had reigned over Israel were twenty-eight years in Samaria.