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2 Kings 10
New American Standard Bible

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, 2 “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, 3 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.” 4 But they feared greatly and said, “Behold, (C)the two kings did not stand firm before him; how then can we stand?” 5 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.” 6 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. 7 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. 8 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.” 9 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.

12 Then he set out and [g]went to Samaria. On the way while he was at [h]Beth-eked of the shepherds, 13 (K)Jehu [i]encountered the relatives of Ahaziah king of Judah, and he said, “Who are you?” And they [j]answered, “We are the relatives of Ahaziah; and we have come down 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 Now when he had gone from there, he [k]encountered (L)Jehonadab the son of (M)Rechab coming to meet him; and he [l]greeted him and said to him, “Is your heart right, just as my heart is with your heart?” And Jehonadab [m]answered, “It is.” Jehu said, “If it is, (N)give me your hand.” And he gave him his hand, and he pulled him up to him into the chariot. 16 Then he said, “Come with me and (O)see my zeal for the Lord.” So [n]he had him ride in his chariot. 17 When he came to Samaria, (P)he [o]killed all who remained to Ahab in Samaria, until he had eliminated [p]them, (Q)in accordance with the word of the Lord which He spoke to Elijah.

Jehu Destroys Baal Worshipers

18 Then Jehu gathered all the people and said to them, “(R)Ahab served Baal a little; Jehu will serve him much. 19 Now, (S)summon to me all the prophets of Baal, all his worshipers and all his priests; let no one go missing, because I have a great sacrifice for Baal; whoever is missing shall not live.” But Jehu did it in deception, in order to eliminate the worshipers of Baal. 20 And Jehu said, “(T)Proclaim a holy assembly for Baal.” And (U)they proclaimed it. 21 Then Jehu sent word [q]throughout Israel, and all the worshipers of Baal came, so that there was not a person left who did not come. And when they entered (V)the house of Baal, the house of Baal was filled from one end to the other. 22 And he said to the one who was [r]in charge of the wardrobe, “Bring out garments for all the worshipers of Baal.” So he brought out the garments for them. 23 Then Jehu entered the house of Baal with Jehonadab the son of Rechab; and he said to the worshipers of Baal, “Search carefully and see to it that there is here with you none of the servants of the Lord, but only the worshipers of Baal.” 24 Then they entered to [s]offer sacrifices and burnt offerings.

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

25 Then it came about, as soon as he had finished [u]offering the burnt offering, that Jehu said to the [v](X)guard and to the royal officers, “(Y)Go in, [w]kill them; let none come out.” So they [x]killed them with the edge of the sword; and the [y]guard and the royal officers threw them out, and went to the [z]sanctuary of the house of Baal. 26 They brought out the (Z)memorial stones of the house of Baal and burned them. 27 They also tore down the memorial stone of Baal and tore down the house of Baal, and (AA)made it a latrine as it is to this day.

28 So Jehu eradicated Baal from Israel. 29 However, (AB)as for the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, into which he misled Israel, from these Jehu did not desist, including the (AC)golden calves that were at Bethel and at Dan. 30 Yet the Lord said to Jehu, “Because you have done well in performing what is right in My eyes, and have done to the house of Ahab in accordance with everything that was in My heart, (AD)your sons to the fourth generation shall sit on the throne of Israel.” 31 But Jehu (AE)was not careful to walk in the Law of the Lord, the God of Israel, with all his heart; (AF)he did not desist from the sins of Jeroboam, into which he misled Israel.

32 In those days the (AG)Lord began to cut off pieces from Israel; and (AH)Hazael [aa]defeated them throughout the territory of Israel: 33 from the Jordan eastward, all the land of Gilead, the Gadites, the Reubenites, and the Manassites; from (AI)Aroer, which is by the Valley of the Arnon, that is, (AJ)Gilead and Bashan.

Jehoahaz Succeeds Jehu

34 Now as for the rest of the acts of Jehu and everything 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 [ab]lay down with his fathers, and they buried him in Samaria. And his son Jehoahaz became king in his place. 36 So the [ac]time which Jehu reigned over Israel in Samaria was twenty-eight years.

Footnotes

  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
  7. 2 Kings 10:12 Lit came in and went
  8. 2 Kings 10:12 I.e., house of binding
  9. 2 Kings 10:13 Lit found
  10. 2 Kings 10:13 Lit said
  11. 2 Kings 10:15 Lit found
  12. 2 Kings 10:15 Lit blessed
  13. 2 Kings 10:15 Lit said
  14. 2 Kings 10:16 Lit they
  15. 2 Kings 10:17 Lit struck
  16. 2 Kings 10:17 Lit him
  17. 2 Kings 10:21 Lit in all
  18. 2 Kings 10:22 Lit over the
  19. 2 Kings 10:24 Lit make
  20. 2 Kings 10:24 Lit his soul for his soul
  21. 2 Kings 10:25 Lit making
  22. 2 Kings 10:25 Lit runners
  23. 2 Kings 10:25 Lit strike
  24. 2 Kings 10:25 Lit struck
  25. 2 Kings 10:25 Lit runners
  26. 2 Kings 10:25 Lit city
  27. 2 Kings 10:32 Lit struck
  28. 2 Kings 10:35 I.e., died
  29. 2 Kings 10:36 Lit days
Close NLT

2 Kings 10
New Living Translation

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, 2 “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, 3 select the best qualified of your master’s sons to be your king, and prepare to fight for Ahab’s dynasty.”

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

5 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.”

6 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. 7 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.

8 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.”

9 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.

12 Then Jehu set out for Samaria. Along the way, while he was at Beth-eked of the Shepherds, 13 he met some relatives of King Ahaziah of Judah. “Who are you?” he asked them.

And they replied, “We are relatives of King Ahaziah. We are going to visit the sons of King Ahab and the sons of the queen mother.”

14 “Take them alive!” Jehu shouted to his men. And they captured all forty-two of them and killed them at the well of Beth-eked. None of them escaped.

15 When Jehu left there, he met Jehonadab son of Recab, who was coming to meet him. After they had greeted each other, Jehu said to him, “Are you as loyal to me as I am to you?”

“Yes, I am,” Jehonadab replied.

“If you are,” Jehu said, “then give me your hand.” So Jehonadab put out his hand, and Jehu helped him into the chariot. 16 Then Jehu said, “Now come with me, and see how devoted I am to the Lord.” So Jehonadab rode along with him.

17 When Jehu arrived in Samaria, he killed everyone who was left there from Ahab’s family, just as the Lord had promised through Elijah.

Jehu Kills the Priests of Baal

18 Then Jehu called a meeting of all the people of the city and said to them, “Ahab’s worship of Baal was nothing compared to the way I will worship him! 19 Therefore, summon all the prophets and worshipers of Baal, and call together all his priests. See to it that every one of them comes, for I am going to offer a great sacrifice to Baal. Anyone who fails to come will be put to death.” But Jehu’s cunning plan was to destroy all the worshipers of Baal.

20 Then Jehu ordered, “Prepare a solemn assembly to worship Baal!” So they did. 21 He sent messengers throughout all Israel summoning those who worshiped Baal. They all came—not a single one remained behind—and they filled the temple of Baal from one end to the other. 22 And Jehu instructed the keeper of the wardrobe, “Be sure that every worshiper of Baal wears one of these robes.” So robes were given to them.

23 Then Jehu went into the temple of Baal with Jehonadab son of Recab. Jehu said to the worshipers of Baal, “Make sure no one who worships the Lord is here—only those who worship Baal.” 24 So they were all inside the temple to offer sacrifices and burnt offerings. Now Jehu had stationed eighty of his men outside the building and had warned them, “If you let anyone escape, you will pay for it with your own life.”

25 As soon as Jehu had finished sacrificing the burnt offering, he commanded his guards and officers, “Go in and kill all of them. Don’t let a single one escape!” So they killed them all with their swords, and the guards and officers dragged their bodies outside.[b] Then Jehu’s men went into the innermost fortress[c] of the temple of Baal. 26 They dragged out the sacred pillar[d] used in the worship of Baal and burned it. 27 They smashed the sacred pillar and wrecked the temple of Baal, converting it into a public toilet, as it remains to this day.

28 In this way, Jehu destroyed every trace of Baal worship from Israel. 29 He did not, however, destroy the gold calves at Bethel and Dan, with which Jeroboam son of Nebat had caused Israel to sin.

30 Nonetheless the Lord said to Jehu, “You have done well in following my instructions to destroy the family of Ahab. Therefore, your descendants will be kings of Israel down to the fourth generation.” 31 But Jehu did not obey the Law of the Lord, the God of Israel, with all his heart. He refused to turn from the sins that Jeroboam had led Israel to commit.

The Death of Jehu

32 At about that time the Lord began to cut down the size of Israel’s territory. King Hazael conquered several sections of the country 33 east of the Jordan River, including all of Gilead, Gad, Reuben, and Manasseh. He conquered the area from the town of Aroer by the Arnon Gorge to as far north as Gilead and Bashan.

34 The rest of the events in Jehu’s reign—everything he did and all his achievements—are recorded in The Book of the History of the Kings of Israel.

35 When Jehu died, he was buried in Samaria. Then his son Jehoahaz became the next king. 36 In all, Jehu reigned over Israel from Samaria for twenty-eight years.

Footnotes

  1. 10:1 As in some Greek manuscripts and Latin Vulgate (see also 10:6); Hebrew reads of Jezreel.
  2. 10:25a Or and they left their bodies lying there; or and they threw them out into the outermost court.
  3. 10:25b Hebrew city.
  4. 10:26 As in Greek and Syriac versions and Latin Vulgate; Hebrew reads sacred pillars.
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Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.