Jehu Strikes Down the Prophets of Baal

¹⁸ Then Jehu assembled all the people and said to them, ^(A)“Ahab served Baal a little, but Jehu will serve him much. ¹⁹ Now therefore call to me all the ^(B)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, ^(C)“Sanctify ^(D)a solemn assembly for Baal.” So ^(E)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 ^(F)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^[a] 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 ^(G)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, ^(H)“Go in and strike them down; 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 of the house of Baal, ²⁶ and they brought out the ^(I)pillar that was in ^(J)the house of Baal and burned it. ²⁷ And they demolished the ^(K)pillar of Baal, and demolished the house of Baal, and made it ^(L)a latrine to this day.

Jehu Reigns in Israel

²⁸ Thus Jehu wiped out Baal from Israel. ²⁹ But Jehu did not turn aside from ^(M)the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, ^(N)which he made Israel to sin—that is, 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, ^(O)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. ^(P)He did not turn from the sins of Jeroboam, which he made Israel to sin.

³² In those days the Lord ^(Q)began to cut off parts of Israel. ^(R)Hazael defeated them throughout the territory of Israel: ³³ from the Jordan eastward, all the land of Gilead, the Gadites, and the Reubenites, and the Manassites, from ^(S)Aroer, which is by the Valley of the Arnon, that is, ^(T)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 Samaria. And Jehoahaz his son reigned in his place. ³⁶ The time that Jehu reigned over Israel in Samaria was twenty-eight years.

Athaliah Reigns in Judah

11 ^(U)Now when ^(V)Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the royal family. ² But Jehosheba, the daughter of King Joram, sister of Ahaziah, took ^(W)Joash the son of Ahaziah and stole him away from among the king's sons who were being put to death, and she put^[b] him and his nurse in a bedroom. Thus they^[c] hid him from Athaliah, so that he was not put to death. ³ And he remained with her six years, hidden in the house of the Lord, while Athaliah reigned over the land.

Joash Anointed King in Judah

^4 (X)But in the seventh year ^(Y)Jehoiada sent and brought the captains of ^(Z)the Carites and of the guards, and had them come to him in the house of the Lord. And he made a covenant with them and put them under oath in the house of the Lord, and he showed them the king's son. ⁵ And he commanded them, “This is the thing that you shall do: one third of you, ^(AA)those who come off duty on the Sabbath and guard the king's house ⁶ (^(AB)another third being at the gate Sur and a third at the gate behind the guards) shall guard the palace.^{[d] 7} And the two divisions of you, which come on duty in force on the Sabbath and guard the house of the Lord on behalf of the king, ⁸ shall surround the king, each with his weapons in his hand. And whoever approaches the ranks is to be put to death. Be with the king ^(AC)when he goes out and when he comes in.”

⁹ The captains did according to all that Jehoiada the priest commanded, and they each brought his men who were to go off duty on the Sabbath, with those who were to come on duty on the Sabbath, and came to Jehoiada the priest. ¹⁰ And the priest gave to the captains the spears and ^(AD)shields that had been King David's, which were in the house of the Lord. ¹¹ And the guards stood, every man with his weapons in his hand, from the south side of the house to the north side of the house, around the altar and the house on behalf of the king. ¹² Then he brought out the king's son and put ^(AE)the crown on him and gave him ^(AF)the testimony. And they proclaimed him king and anointed him, and they clapped their hands and said, ^(AG)“Long live the king!”

¹³ When Athaliah heard the noise of the guard and of the people, she went into the house of the Lord to the people. ¹⁴ And when she looked, there was the king standing ^(AH)by the pillar, according to the custom, and the captains and the trumpeters beside the king, and all the people of the land rejoicing and ^(AI)blowing trumpets. And Athaliah ^(AJ)tore her clothes and cried, “Treason! Treason!” ¹⁵ Then Jehoiada the priest commanded the captains who were set over the army, “Bring her out between the ranks, and put to death with the sword anyone who follows her.” For the priest said, “Let her not be put to death in the house of the Lord.” ¹⁶ So they laid hands on her; and she went through the horses' entrance to the king's house, and there she was put to death.

¹⁷ And Jehoiada ^(AK)made a covenant between the Lord and the king and people, that they should be the Lord's people, and also ^(AL)between the king and the people. ¹⁸ Then all the people of the land went to ^(AM)the house of Baal and tore it down; ^(AN)his altars and his images they broke in pieces, and they killed Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars. And the priest posted watchmen over the house of the Lord. ¹⁹ And he took the captains, ^(AO)the Carites, the guards, and all the people of the land, and they brought the king down from the house of the Lord, marching through ^(AP)the gate of the guards to the king's house. And he took his seat on the throne of the kings. ²⁰ So all the people of the land rejoiced, and the city was quiet after Athaliah had been put to death with the sword at the king's house.