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2 Kings 10
Legacy Standard Bible

The Heads of Ahab’s Sons Sent to Jehu

10 Now Ahab had seventy sons in (A)Samaria. And Jehu wrote letters and sent them to Samaria, to the rulers of Jezreel, the elders, and to the guardians of the children of Ahab, saying, 2 “So now, (B)when this letter comes to you, [a]since your master’s sons are with you, [b]as well as the chariots and horses and a fortified city and the weapons, 3 look for the best and [c]fittest of your master’s sons, and set him on his father’s throne, and fight for your master’s house.” 4 But they feared exceedingly greatly and said, “Behold, (C)the two kings did not stand before him; how then can we stand?” 5 And the one who was over the household, and he who was over the city, the elders, and the guardians of the children, sent word to Jehu, saying, “(D)We are your servants, all that you say to us we will do, we will not make any man king; do what is good in your sight.” 6 Then he wrote a letter to them a second time saying, “If you are on my side, and you will listen to my voice, take the heads of the men, your master’s sons, and come to me about this time tomorrow at Jezreel.” Now the king’s sons, seventy persons, were with the great men of the city, who were rearing them. 7 Now it happened that when the letter came to them, they took the king’s sons and (E)slaughtered them, seventy persons, and 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.” So he said, “Put them in two heaps at the entrance of the gate until morning.” 9 Now it happened in the morning that he went out and stood and said to all the people, “You are righteous; behold, (F)I conspired against my master and killed him, but (G)who struck down all these? 10 Know then that (H)nothing from the word of Yahweh, which Yahweh spoke concerning the house of Ahab, shall fall to the earth. Indeed, Yahweh has done (I)what He spoke by the hand of His servant Elijah.” 11 So Jehu struck down all who remained of the house of Ahab in (J)Jezreel, and all his great men and his acquaintances and his priests, until [d]there was no survivor remaining for him.

12 Then he arose and came out and went to Samaria. On the way, while he was at [e]Beth-eked of the shepherds, 13 (K)Jehu found the [f]relatives of Ahaziah king of Judah and said, “Who are you?” And they said, “We are the [g]relatives of Ahaziah; and we have come down [h]to greet the sons of the king and the sons of the queen mother.” 14 Then he said, “Take them alive.” So they took them alive and slaughtered them at the pit of Beth-eked, forty-two men; and he left none of them.

15 Then he went from there and found (L)Jehonadab the son of (M)Rechab coming to meet him; and he [i]blessed him and said to him, “Is your heart right, as my heart is with your heart?” And Jehonadab [j]answered, “It is.” Jehu said, “If it is, (N)give me your hand.” And he gave him his hand, and he took him up to him into the chariot. 16 Then he said, “Come with me and (O)see my zeal for Yahweh.” So [k]he made him ride in his chariot. 17 And he came to Samaria (P)and struck down all who were left to Ahab in Samaria, until he had destroyed him, (Q)according to the word of Yahweh which He spoke to Elijah.

Jehu Destroys the Slaves of Baal

18 Then Jehu gathered all the people and said to them, “(R)Ahab served Baal a little; Jehu will serve him much. 19 So now, (S)summon to me all the prophets of Baal, all his slaves and all his priests; let no one be missing, for I have a great sacrifice for Baal; whoever is missing shall not live.” But Jehu did it in [l]cunning, so that he might cause the slaves of Baal to perish. 20 And Jehu said, “(T)Sanctify a solemn assembly for Baal.” And (U)they summoned them. 21 Then Jehu sent [m]throughout Israel, and all the slaves of Baal came, so that there was not a man left who did not come. So they came into (V)the house of Baal, and the house of Baal was filled from one end to the other. 22 Then he said to the one who was [n]in charge of the wardrobe, “Bring out garments for all the slaves of Baal.” So he brought out garments for them. 23 And Jehu came into the house of Baal with Jehonadab the son of Rechab; and he said to the slaves of Baal, “Search and see lest there be here with you any of the slaves of Yahweh, but only the slaves of Baal.” 24 Then they came in to offer sacrifices and burnt offerings.

Now Jehu had placed for himself eighty men outside, and he had said, “(W)The one who permits any of the men whom I cause to come into your hands to escape, [o]shall give up his life in exchange.”

25 Now it happened that as soon as he had finished offering the burnt offering, Jehu said to the [p](X)guard and to the royal officers, “(Y)Come in, strike them down; let none come out.” And they struck them down with the edge of the sword; and the [q]guard and the royal officers threw them out and went to the [r]inner room of the house of Baal. 26 And they brought out the sacred (Z)pillars of the house of Baal and burned them. 27 They also broke down the sacred pillar of Baal and broke down the house of Baal and (AA)made it a latrine to this day.

28 Thus Jehu destroyed Baal out of Israel. 29 However, (AB)as for the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which he made Israel sin, from these Jehu did not depart, even the (AC)golden calves that were at Bethel and that were at Dan. 30 And Yahweh said to Jehu, “Because you have done well in doing what is right in My eyes, and have done to the house of Ahab according to all that was in My heart, (AD)your sons of the fourth generation shall sit on the throne of Israel.” 31 But Jehu [s](AE)was not careful to walk in the law of Yahweh, the God of Israel, with all his heart; (AF)he did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam, which he made Israel sin.

32 In those days (AG)Yahweh began to cut off portions [t]from Israel; and (AH)Hazael struck them throughout the territory of Israel: 33 from the Jordan to the east toward the sunrise, all the land of Gilead, the Gadites and the Reubenites and the Manassites, from (AI)Aroer, which is by the valley of the Arnon, even (AJ)Gilead and Bashan.

Jehoahaz Reigns over Israel

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 And Jehu slept with his fathers, and they buried him in Samaria. And Jehoahaz his son became king in his place. 36 Now the [u]time which Jehu reigned over Israel in Samaria was twenty-eight years.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Kings 10:2 Lit and
  2. 2 Kings 10:2 Lit and with you the
  3. 2 Kings 10:3 Lit most upright
  4. 2 Kings 10:11 Lit he had no survivor
  5. 2 Kings 10:12 Lit house of binding
  6. 2 Kings 10:13 Lit brothers
  7. 2 Kings 10:13 Lit brothers
  8. 2 Kings 10:13 Lit about the peace of
  9. 2 Kings 10:15 Or greeted
  10. 2 Kings 10:15 Lit said
  11. 2 Kings 10:16 Lit they
  12. 2 Kings 10:19 Lit insidiousness
  13. 2 Kings 10:21 Lit in all
  14. 2 Kings 10:22 Lit over the
  15. 2 Kings 10:24 Lit his soul for his soul
  16. 2 Kings 10:25 Lit runners
  17. 2 Kings 10:25 Lit runners
  18. 2 Kings 10:25 Lit city
  19. 2 Kings 10:31 Lit did not watch
  20. 2 Kings 10:32 Lit in
  21. 2 Kings 10:36 Lit days
Close CEB

2 Kings 10
Common English Bible

Jehu kills Ahab’s family

10 Now Ahab had seventy sons in Samaria. So Jehu wrote letters and sent them to Samaria, to the senior officers of the city,[a] the elders, and the guardians of Ahab’s sons.[b] 2 The letters said: “Your master’s sons are in your possession, along with horses and chariots, a fortified city, and weapons. Now when this letter reaches you, 3 look for the best and most capable of your master’s sons. Place him on his father’s throne. Then fight for your master’s family.”

4 But they were frozen with fear. They said, “Not even two kings could resist him! How can we?” 5 So the palace administrator, the mayor, the elders, and the guardians sent a letter back to Jehu that read, “We are your servants. We will do whatever you tell us. We won’t make anyone king. Do whatever seems right to you.”

6 Jehu wrote them a second letter: “If you are loyal to me and ready to obey me, take the heads of your master’s sons and bring them to me at Jezreel at this time tomorrow.”

Now the king’s seventy sons were with the city leaders who were raising them. 7 So when the letter came to them, they took the king’s sons and slaughtered all seventy of them. They placed their heads in baskets and sent them to Jehu at Jezreel.

8 A messenger came and told Jehu, “They have brought the heads of the king’s sons.”

He responded, “Pile them in two stacks at the entrance of the gate where they will stay until morning.” 9 In the morning he went out and stood there to address all the people. “You are innocent. I’m the one who plotted against my master and killed him, but who killed all these people? 10 Know this: Nothing that the Lord has said against Ahab’s dynasty will fail to come true. The Lord has done what he said he would do, speaking through his servant Elijah.” 11 Then Jehu struck down all those belonging to Ahab’s family who were left in Jezreel, so that not one of his leaders, close acquaintances, or priests remained.

12 Next Jehu set out for Samaria. Beth-eked of the Shepherds was on his way. 13 There Jehu met up with the brothers of Judah’s King Ahaziah. “Who are you?” he asked.

“We’re Ahaziah’s relatives,” they replied. “We’ve come down for a visit with the king’s sons and the queen mother’s sons.”

14 Jehu then commanded, “Take them alive!” His soldiers took them alive, then slaughtered them at the well of Beth-eked. There were forty-two of them, but not one was left.

Jehu kills Baal worshippers

15 Jehu departed from there and encountered Rechab’s son Jehonadab. Jehu greeted him, and asked, “Are you as committed to me as I am to you?”

Jehonadab responded, “Yes, I am.”

“If so,” said Jehu, “then give me your hand.” So Jehonadab put out his hand, and Jehu pulled him up into the chariot.

16 Jehu said, “Come with me and see my zeal for the Lord.” So Jehu had Jehonadab ride with him in his chariot. 17 When Jehu arrived in Samaria, he killed all those belonging to Ahab who were left in Samaria until they were completely wiped out, in agreement with the Lord’s word that was spoken to Elijah.

18 Then Jehu gathered all the people, saying to them, “Ahab served Baal a little. Jehu will serve him a great deal! 19 So invite all of Baal’s prophets, all his worshippers, and all his priests to come to me. Don’t leave anyone out, because I have a great sacrifice planned for Baal. Anyone who doesn’t show up won’t survive.” But Jehu was lying so that he could wipe out Baal’s worshippers. 20 Jehu called for a holy assembly for Baal, and it was done. 21 Jehu then sent word throughout Israel. All Baal’s worshippers came. No one stayed away. They entered Baal’s temple until it was packed from one end to the other. 22 Then Jehu said to the person in charge of the vestments, “Bring out the special clothes for all Baal’s worshippers.” So he brought out robes for them. 23 Then Jehu and Jehonadab, Rechab’s son, entered Baal’s temple. They said to Baal’s worshippers, “Make sure there are no worshippers of the Lord here with you. There should be only Baal worshippers.” 24 Then they went in to offer sacrifices and entirely burned offerings. But Jehu had stationed eighty soldiers outside and told them, “I’m handing these people over to you. Whoever lets even one of them escape will pay for it with his life.” 25 So when Jehu finished offering the entirely burned offering, he said to the guards and the officers, “Go in and kill everyone! Don’t let anyone escape!” They killed the Baal worshippers without mercy. The guards and the officers then disposed of the bodies and entered the inner part of Baal’s temple. 26 They brought the sacred pillar[c] out of Baal’s temple and burned it. 27 They tore down Baal’s sacred pillar and destroyed Baal’s temple, turning it into a public restroom, which is what it still is today.

28 This is how Jehu eliminated Baal from Israel. 29 However, Jehu didn’t deviate from the sins that Jeroboam, Nebat’s son, had caused Israel to commit—specifically, the gold calves that were in Bethel and Dan.

Jehu rules Israel

30 The Lord said to Jehu: Because you’ve done well by doing what is right in my eyes, treating Ahab’s family as I wished, your descendants will sit on Israel’s throne for four generations. 31 But Jehu wasn’t careful to keep the Lord God of Israel’s Instruction with all his heart. He didn’t deviate from the sins that Jeroboam had caused Israel to commit.

32 In those days the Lord began to reduce Israel’s size. Hazael struck them down in every region of Israel: 33 from the Jordan River eastward, throughout the land of Gilead (Gad, Reuben, and Manasseh), and from Aroer by the Arnon Valley (that is, Gilead) and Bashan.

34 The rest of Jehu’s deeds, all that he accomplished, and all his powerful acts, aren’t they written in the official records of Israel’s kings? 35 Jehu lay down with his ancestors. He was buried in Samaria. His son Jehoahaz succeeded him as king. 36 Jehu had ruled over Israel for twenty-eight years in Samaria.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Kings 10:1 Vulg, LXX; MT Jezreel
  2. 2 Kings 10:1 LXX; MT lacks sons.
  3. 2 Kings 10:26 LXX, Syr, Vulg; MT pillars
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