Ahab’s Seventy Sons Killed

10 Now Ahab had seventy sons in Samaria. And Jehu wrote and sent letters to Samaria, to the rulers of ^[a]Jezreel, to the elders, and to ^[b]those who reared Ahab’s sons, saying:

⁴ But they were exceedingly afraid, and said, “Look, ^(A)two kings could not ^[d]stand up to him; how then can we stand?” ⁵ And he who was in charge of the house, and he who was in charge of the city, the elders also, and those who reared the sons, sent to Jehu, saying, “We are your servants, we will do all you tell us; but we will not make anyone king. Do what is good in your sight.” ⁶ Then he wrote a second letter to them, saying:

Now the king’s sons, seventy persons, were with the great men of the city, who were rearing them. ⁷ So it was, when the letter came to them, that they took the king’s sons and ^(B)slaughtered seventy persons, put their heads in baskets and sent them to him at Jezreel.

⁸ Then a messenger came and told him, saying, “They have brought the heads of the king’s sons.”

And he said, “Lay them in two heaps at the entrance of the gate until morning.”

⁹ So it was, in the morning, that he went out and stood, and said to all the people, “You are righteous. Indeed ^(C)I conspired against my master and killed him; but who killed all these? ¹⁰ Know now that nothing shall ^(D)fall to the earth of the word of the Lord which the Lord spoke concerning the house of Ahab; for the Lord has done what He spoke ^(E)by His servant Elijah.” ¹¹ So Jehu killed all who remained of the house of Ahab in Jezreel, and all his great men and his close acquaintances and his priests, until he left him none remaining.

Ahaziah’s Forty-two Brothers Killed

¹² And he arose and departed and went to Samaria. On the way, at ^[e]Beth Eked of the Shepherds, ^13 (F)Jehu met with the brothers of Ahaziah king of Judah, and said, “Who are you?”

So they answered, “We are the brothers of Ahaziah; we have come down to greet the sons of the king and the sons of the queen mother.”

¹⁴ And he said, “Take them alive!” So they took them alive, and ^(G)killed them at the well of ^[f]Beth Eked, forty-two men; and he left none of them.

The Rest of Ahab’s Family Killed

¹⁵ Now when he departed from there, he ^[g]met ^(H)Jehonadab the son of ^(I)Rechab, coming to meet him; and he greeted him and said to him, “Is your heart right, as my heart is toward your heart?”

And Jehonadab answered, “It is.”

Jehu said, “If it is, ^(J)give me your hand.” So he gave him his hand, and he took him up to him into the chariot. ¹⁶ Then he said, “Come with me, and see my ^(K)zeal for the Lord.” So they had him ride in his chariot. ¹⁷ And when he came to Samaria, ^(L)he killed all who remained to Ahab in Samaria, till he had destroyed them, according to the word of the Lord ^(M)which He spoke to Elijah.

Worshipers of Baal Killed

¹⁸ Then Jehu gathered all the people together, and said to them, ^(N)“Ahab served Baal a little, Jehu will serve him much. ¹⁹ Now therefore, call to me all the ^(O)prophets of Baal, all his servants, 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 acted deceptively, with the intent of destroying the worshipers of Baal. ²⁰ And Jehu said, ^[h]“Proclaim a solemn assembly for Baal.” So they proclaimed it. ²¹ Then Jehu sent throughout all Israel; and all the worshipers of Baal came, so that there was not a man left who did not come. So they came into the ^[i]temple of Baal, and the ^(P)temple of Baal was full from one end to the other. ²² And he said to the one in charge of the wardrobe, “Bring out vestments for all the worshipers of Baal.” So he brought out vestments for them. ²³ Then Jehu and Jehonadab the son of Rechab went into the temple of Baal, and said to the worshipers of Baal, “Search and see that no servants of the Lord are here with you, but only the worshipers of Baal.” ²⁴ So they went in to offer sacrifices and burnt offerings. Now Jehu had appointed for himself eighty men on the outside, and had said, “If any of the men whom I have brought into your hands escapes, whoever lets him escape, it shall be ^(Q)his life for the life of the other.”

²⁵ Now it happened, as soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt offering, that Jehu said to the guard and to the captains, “Go in and kill them; let no one come out!” And they killed them with the edge of the sword; then the guards and the officers threw them out, and went into the ^[j]inner room of the temple of Baal. ²⁶ And they brought the ^(R)sacred pillars out of the temple of Baal and burned them. ²⁷ Then they broke down the sacred pillar of Baal, and tore down the ^[k]temple of Baal and ^(S)made it a refuse dump to this day. ²⁸ Thus Jehu destroyed Baal from Israel.

²⁹ However Jehu did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who had made Israel sin, that is, from ^(T)the golden calves that were at Bethel and Dan. ³⁰ And the Lord ^(U)said to Jehu, “Because you have done well in doing what is right in My sight, and have done to the house of Ahab all that was in My heart, ^(V)your sons shall sit on the throne of Israel to the fourth generation.” ³¹ But Jehu ^[l]took no heed to walk in the law of the Lord God of Israel with all his heart; for he did not depart from ^(W)the sins of Jeroboam, who had made Israel sin.

Death of Jehu

³² In those days the Lord began to cut off parts of Israel; and ^(X)Hazael conquered them in all the territory of Israel ³³ from the Jordan eastward: all the land of Gilead—Gad, Reuben, and Manasseh—from ^(Y)Aroer, which is by the River Arnon, including ^(Z)Gilead and Bashan.

³⁴ Now the rest of the acts of Jehu, 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 ^[m]rested with his fathers, and they buried him in Samaria. Then ^(AA)Jehoahaz his son reigned in his place. ³⁶ And the period that Jehu reigned over Israel in Samaria was twenty-eight years.

Athaliah Reigns in Judah^(A)

11 When ^(B)Athaliah ^(C)the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was ^(D)dead, she arose and destroyed all the royal heirs. ² But ^[a]Jehosheba, the daughter of King Joram, sister of ^(E)Ahaziah, took ^[b]Joash the son of Ahaziah, and stole him away from among the king’s sons who were being murdered; and they hid him and his nurse in the bedroom, from Athaliah, so that he was not killed. ³ So he was hidden with her in the house of the Lord for six years, while Athaliah reigned over the land.

Joash Crowned King of Judah^(F)

⁴ In ^(G)the seventh year Jehoiada sent and brought the captains of hundreds—of the bodyguards and the ^[c]escorts—and brought them into the house of the Lord to him. And he made a covenant with them and took an oath from them in the house of the Lord, and showed them the king’s son. ⁵ Then he commanded them, saying, “This is what you shall do: One-third of you who ^[d]come on duty ^(H)on the Sabbath shall be keeping watch over the king’s house, ⁶ one-third shall be at the gate of Sur, and one-third at the gate behind the escorts. You shall keep the watch of the house, lest it be broken down. ⁷ The two ^[e]contingents of you who go off duty on the Sabbath shall keep the watch of the house of the Lord for the king. ⁸ But you shall surround the king on all sides, every man with his weapons in his hand; and whoever comes within range, let him be put to death. You are to be with the king as he goes out and as he comes in.”

^9 (I)So the captains of the hundreds did according to all that Jehoiada the priest commanded. Each of them took his men who were to be on duty on the Sabbath, with those who were going off duty on the Sabbath, and came to Jehoiada the priest. ¹⁰ And the priest gave the captains of hundreds the spears and shields which had belonged to King David, ^(J)that were in the temple of the Lord. ¹¹ Then the escorts stood, every man with his weapons in his hand, all around the king, from the right ^[f]side of the temple to the left side of the temple, by the altar and the house. ¹² And he brought out the king’s son, put the crown on him, and gave him the ^(K)Testimony;^[g] they made him king and anointed him, and they clapped their hands and said, ^(L)“Long live the king!”

Death of Athaliah^(M)

^13 (N)Now when Athaliah heard the noise of the escorts and the people, she came to the people in the temple of the Lord. ¹⁴ When she looked, there was the king standing by ^(O)a pillar according to custom; and the leaders and the trumpeters were by the king. All the people of the land were rejoicing and blowing trumpets. So Athaliah tore her clothes and cried out, “Treason! Treason!”

¹⁵ And Jehoiada the priest commanded the captains of the hundreds, the officers of the army, and said to them, “Take her outside ^[h]under guard, and slay with the sword whoever follows her.” For the priest had said, “Do not let her be killed in the house of the Lord.” ¹⁶ So they seized her; and she went by way of the horses’ entrance into the king’s house, and there she was killed.

^17 (P)Then Jehoiada ^(Q)made a covenant between the Lord, the king, and the people, that they should be the Lord’s people, and also ^(R)between the king and the people. ¹⁸ And all the people of the land went to the ^(S)temple of Baal, and tore it down. They thoroughly ^(T)broke in pieces its altars and ^[i]images, and ^(U)killed Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars. And ^(V)the priest appointed ^[j]officers over the house of the Lord. ¹⁹ Then he took the captains of hundreds, the bodyguards, the escorts, and all the people of the land; and they brought the king down from the house of the Lord, and went by way of the gate of the escorts to the king’s house. Then he sat on the throne of the kings. ²⁰ So all the people of the land rejoiced; and the city was quiet, for they had slain Athaliah with the sword in the king’s house. ²¹ Jehoash was ^(W)seven years old when he became king.

Greeting

1 Paul, an apostle of ^[a]Jesus Christ by the will of God, according to the ^(A)promise of life which is in Christ Jesus,

² To Timothy, a ^(B)beloved son:

Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

Timothy’s Faith and Heritage

³ I thank God, whom I serve with a pure conscience, as my ^(C)forefathers did, as without ceasing I remember you in my prayers night and day, ⁴ greatly desiring to see you, being mindful of your tears, that I may be filled with joy, ⁵ when I call to remembrance ^(D)the ^[b]genuine faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and ^(E)your mother Eunice, and I am persuaded is in you also. ⁶ Therefore I remind you ^(F)to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. ⁷ For ^(G)God has not given us a spirit of fear, ^(H)but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

Not Ashamed of the Gospel

^8 (I)Therefore do not be ashamed of ^(J)the testimony of our Lord, nor of me ^(K)His prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God, ⁹ who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, ^(L)not according to our works, but ^(M)according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus ^(N)before time began, ¹⁰ but ^(O)has now been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, ^11 (P)to which I was appointed a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher ^[c]of the Gentiles. ¹² For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, ^(Q)for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day.

Be Loyal to the Faith

^13 (R)Hold fast ^(S)the pattern of ^(T)sound words which you have heard from me, in faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. ¹⁴ That good thing which was committed to you, keep by the Holy Spirit who dwells in us.

¹⁵ This you know, that all those in Asia have turned away from me, among whom are Phygellus and Hermogenes. ¹⁶ The Lord grant mercy to the ^(U)household of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chain; ¹⁷ but when he arrived in Rome, he sought me out very zealously and found me. ¹⁸ The Lord ^(V)grant to him that he may find mercy from the Lord ^(W)in that Day—and you know very well how many ways he ^(X)ministered ^[d]to me at Ephesus.

The Lord’s Love for His Unfaithful People

God’s Unfaithful People

God’s Mercy on His People

מ MEM

נ NUN

ס SAMEK