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] ³pick 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.”

⁴They were absolutely terrified^[e] and said, “Look, two kings could not stop him!^[f] How can we?”^[g] ⁵So 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]

⁶He 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. ⁷When 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. ⁸The 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.” ⁹In 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? ¹⁰Therefore 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] ¹¹Then Jehu killed all who were left of Ahab’s family in Jezreel, and all his nobles, close friends, and priests. He left no survivors.

¹²Jehu then left there and set out for Samaria.^[v] While he was traveling through Beth Eked of the Shepherds, ¹³Jehu 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.” ¹⁴He 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.

¹⁵When 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. ¹⁶Jehu^[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. ¹⁷He 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

¹⁸Jehu assembled all the people and said to them, “Ahab worshiped^[aj] Baal a little; Jehu will worship^[ak] him with great devotion.^[al] ¹⁹So 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. ²⁰Then Jehu ordered, “Make arrangements for^[ao] a celebration for Baal.” So they announced it. ²¹Jehu 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] ²²Jehu 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. ²³Then 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] ²⁴They 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]

²⁵When 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] ²⁶They hauled out the sacred pillar of the temple of Baal and burned it. ²⁷They 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. ²⁸So Jehu eradicated Baal worship^[bb] from Israel.

A Summary of Jehu’s Reign

²⁹However, 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] ³⁰The 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] ³¹But 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]

³²In those days the Lord began to reduce the size of Israel’s territory.^[bg] Hazael attacked their eastern border.^[bh] ³³He 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]

³⁴The 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] ³⁵Jehu passed away^[bk] and was buried in Samaria. His son Jehoahaz replaced him as king. ³⁶Jehu reigned over Israel for twenty-eight years in Samaria.

Footnotes

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 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.”
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.
2 Kings 10:3 tn Or “fight for.”
2 Kings 10:4 tn Heb “they were very, very afraid.” The term מְאֹד (meʾod) “very,” is repeated for emphasis.
2 Kings 10:4 tn Heb “did not stand before him.”
2 Kings 10:4 tn Heb “How can we stand?”
2 Kings 10:5 tn Heb “the one who was over the house.”
2 Kings 10:5 tn Heb “the one who was over the city.”
2 Kings 10:5 tn Or “elders.”
2 Kings 10:5 tn Heb “servants.”
2 Kings 10:5 tn Heb “Do what is good in your eyes.”
2 Kings 10:6 tn Heb “If you are mine and you are listening to my voice.”
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).
2 Kings 10:6 tn Heb “great men,” probably in wealth, position, and prestige.
2 Kings 10:7 tn Heb “and when the letter came to them, they took the sons of the king and slaughtered seventy men.”
2 Kings 10:8 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Jehu) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
2 Kings 10:8 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jehu) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
2 Kings 10:10 tn Heb “the house of Ahab.”
2 Kings 10:10 tn Heb “will fall to the earth.”
2 Kings 10:10 tn Heb “by the hand of his servant Elijah.”
2 Kings 10:12 tn Heb “and he arose and went and came to Samaria.”
2 Kings 10:13 tn Heb “found.”
2 Kings 10:13 tn Or “brothers.”
2 Kings 10:13 tn Heb “for the peace of.”
2 Kings 10:15 tn Heb “found.”
2 Kings 10:15 tn Heb “and he went from there and found Jehonadab son of Rekab [who was coming] to meet him.”
2 Kings 10:15 tn Heb “and he blessed him and said to him.”
2 Kings 10:15 tn Heb “Is there with your heart [what is] right, as my heart [is] with your heart?”
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.
2 Kings 10:15 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jehu) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
2 Kings 10:16 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jehu) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
2 Kings 10:16 tn Heb “and see my zeal for the Lord.”
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.
2 Kings 10:17 tn Heb “him.” The pronoun refers to Ahab who represents his entire family.
2 Kings 10:18 tn Or “served.
2 Kings 10:18 tn Or “serve.”
2 Kings 10:18 tn Heb “much” or “greatly.”
2 Kings 10:19 tn Heb “and now, all the prophets of Baal, all his servants and all his priests summon to me.”
2 Kings 10:19 tn Heb “acted with deception [or, ‘trickery’].”
2 Kings 10:20 tn Heb “set apart”; or “observe as holy.”
2 Kings 10:21 tn Heb “and the house of Baal was filled mouth to mouth.”
2 Kings 10:22 tn Heb “and he said to the one who was over the wardrobe.”
2 Kings 10:23 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jehu) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
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.”
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.”
2 Kings 10:25 tn Heb “runners.”
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.
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 (d^evir) “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.”
2 Kings 10:27 tn Or “pulled down.”
2 Kings 10:27 tn The verb “they demolished” is repeated in the Hebrew text.
2 Kings 10:27 tn Heb “and they made it into.”
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.”
2 Kings 10:28 tn Heb “destroyed Baal.”
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.”
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.
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.”
2 Kings 10:31 tn Heb “He did not turn aside from the sins of Jeroboam which he caused Israel to commit.”
2 Kings 10:32 tn Heb “began to cut off Israel.”
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.
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.”
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?”
2 Kings 10:35 tn Heb “lay down with his fathers.”

2 Kings 10

Modern English Version

Ahab’s Seventy Sons Killed

10 Now Ahab had seventy sons in Samaria. So Jehu wrote letters and sent them to Samaria to the captains of Jezreel, to the elders, and to the guardians of the sons of Ahab, saying, ²“Now as soon as this letter comes to you—since you are with your master’s sons, chariots, horses, a fortified city, and weapons— ³select the best and most fitting of your master’s sons, put him on his father’s throne, and fight for your master’s house.”

⁴But they were extremely afraid and said, “Two kings could not stand before him. How can we stand?”

⁵So he who was over the house, and he who was over the city, the elders, and the guardians sent word to Jehu, saying, “We are your servants, and everything you say to us we will do. We will not appoint a man king. Do what is good in your eyes.”

⁶Then he wrote a second letter to them, saying, “If you belong to me and will obey me, take the heads of your master’s sons and come to me at Jezreel at this time tomorrow.”

Now the king’s sons, seventy men, were with the great men of the city who brought them up. ⁷When the letter came to them, they took the king’s sons, slaughtered all seventy, put their heads in baskets, and sent them to him in Jezreel. ⁸So the messenger came and told him, saying, “They have brought the heads of the king’s sons.”

Then he said, “Put them in two heaps at the entry of the gate until morning.”

⁹When morning came, he went out and stood and said to all the people, “You are innocent. I conspired against my master and killed him, but who struck all these? ¹⁰Know then that the words of the Lord which He spoke about the house of Ahab will not fall to the ground. The Lord has done that which He spoke by His servant Elijah.” ¹¹So Jehu struck all that remained of the house of Ahab in Jezreel and all his great men, his confidants, and his priests, until he left him no survivor.

Ahaziah’s Forty-Two Brothers Killed

¹²Then he got up and went to Samaria. When he was at Beth Eked of the Shepherds on the way, ¹³Jehu found the brothers of Ahaziah king of Judah and said, “Who are you?”

And they said, “We are brothers of Ahaziah, and we have come down to visit the sons of the king and the sons of the queen mother.”

¹⁴He said, “Capture them alive.” So they took them alive and slaughtered them at the pit of Beth Eked, forty-two men. Not a man of them remained.

¹⁵Then he left there and found Jehonadab son of Rekab coming to meet him. He greeted him and said to him, “Is your heart right with me, as my heart is with yours?”

And Jehonadab said, “It is.”

“If it is, give me your hand.” So he gave him his hand, and he pulled him up to him into the chariot. ¹⁶He said, “Come with me, and see my zeal for the Lord.” So he made him ride in his chariot.

¹⁷Then he came to Samaria and struck all that remained to Ahab in Samaria until he exterminated them, according to the word of the Lord which He spoke to Elijah.

Worshippers of Baal Killed

¹⁸Then Jehu gathered all the people and said to them, “Ahab served Baal a little, but Jehu will serve him much. ¹⁹Now call to me all the prophets of Baal, all his worshippers, and all his priests. Let none go unaccounted for, because I have a great sacrifice for Baal. All who are not accounted for will not live.” But Jehu did it with cunning in order to destroy the servants of Baal.

²⁰Jehu said, “Sanctify a festive assembly for Baal.” So they proclaimed it. ²¹Jehu sent word through all Israel, and all the worshippers of Baal came. Not a man remained who did not come. They came into the house of Baal, and the house of Baal was full from one end to the other. ²²He said to the one in charge of the wardrobe, “Bring out garments for all the worshippers of Baal.” So he brought them garments.

²³Then Jehu and Jehonadab the son of Rekab went into the house of Baal and said to the worshippers of Baal, “Search and see that there are no worshippers of the Lord here with you and only worshippers of Baal.” ²⁴Then they went to offer sacrifices and burnt offerings, but Jehu put eighty men outside and said, “If any of the men whom I have brought into your hands escapes, the one who lets him go will die in his place.”

²⁵As soon as he had finished making the burnt offering, Jehu said to the guards and the officers, “Go in. Kill them. No one comes out.” So they struck them with the edge of the sword. The guards and the officers threw them out and went to the city of the house of Baal. ²⁶They brought out the sacred pillar from the house of Baal and burned it. ²⁷They broke down the sacred pillar of Baal, and tore down the house of Baal and made it a latrine to this day.

²⁸So Jehu exterminated Baal from Israel. ²⁹But from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, who caused Israel to sin, Jehu did not turn aside (that is, the golden calves that were in Bethel and Dan).

³⁰And the Lord said to Jehu, “Because you have done well by doing what is right in My sight, and have done to the house of Ahab all that was in My heart, four generations of your sons will sit on the throne of Israel.” ³¹But Jehu was not careful to walk in the law of the Lord God of Israel with all his heart. He did not turn aside from the sins of Jeroboam, who caused Israel to sin.

The Death of Jehu

³²In those days the Lord began to trim off parts of Israel, and Hazael struck them in all the territory of Israel: ³³from the Jordan eastward, all the land of Gilead, the Gadites, the Reubenites, the Manassites from Aroer, which is by the River Arnon, even Gilead and Bashan.

³⁴Now the rest of the deeds of Jehu, all he did and all his power, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel?

³⁵So Jehu slept with his fathers, and they buried him in Samaria. Jehoahaz his son became king in his place. ³⁶The days that Jehu reigned over Israel in Samaria were twenty-eight years.

New English Translation (NET)

Modern English Version (MEV)

2 Kings 10 New English Translation