2 Kings 9
Christian Standard Bible
Jehu Anointed as Israel’s King
9 The prophet Elisha called one of the sons of the prophets(A) and said, “Tuck your mantle(B) under your belt, take this flask of oil(C) with you, and go to Ramoth-gilead.(D) 2 When you get there, look for Jehu(E) son of Jehoshaphat, son of Nimshi. Go in, get him away from his colleagues, and take him to an inner room. 3 Then take the flask of oil, pour it on his head, and say, ‘This is what the Lord says: “I anoint you king over Israel.”’(F) Open the door and escape. Don’t wait.” 4 So the young prophet[a] went to Ramoth-gilead.
5 When he arrived, the army commanders were sitting there, so he said, “I have a message for you, commander.”
Jehu asked, “For which one of us?”
He answered, “For you, commander.”
6 So Jehu got up and went into the house. The young prophet poured the oil on his head and said, “This is what the Lord God of Israel says: ‘I anoint you king over the Lord’s people, Israel. 7 You are to strike down the house of your master Ahab so that I may avenge the blood shed by the hand of Jezebel—the blood of my servants the prophets and of all the servants of the Lord.(G) 8 The whole house of Ahab will perish, and I will wipe out all of Ahab’s males,[b] both slave and free,[c] in Israel.(H) 9 I will make the house of Ahab like the house of Jeroboam son of Nebat and like the house of Baasha son of Ahijah.(I) 10 The dogs will eat Jezebel in the plot of land at Jezreel—no one will bury her.’”(J) Then the young prophet opened the door and escaped.
11 When Jehu came out to his master’s servants, they asked, “Is everything all right? Why did this crazy person(K) come to you?”
Then he said to them, “You know the sort and their ranting.”
12 But they replied, “That’s a lie! Tell us!”
So Jehu said, “He talked to me about this and that and said, ‘This is what the Lord says: I anoint you king over Israel.’”
13 Each man quickly took his garment and put it under Jehu on the bare steps.[d](L) They blew the ram’s horn(M) and proclaimed, “Jehu is king!” (N)
14 Then Jehu son of Jehoshaphat, son of Nimshi, conspired against Joram.(O) Joram and all Israel had been at Ramoth-gilead on guard against King Hazael of Aram. 15 But King Joram had returned to Jezreel to recover from the wounds that the Arameans had inflicted on him when he fought against Aram’s King Hazael. Jehu said, “If you commanders wish to make me king,[e] then don’t let anyone escape from the city to go tell about it in Jezreel.”
Jehu Kills Joram and Ahaziah
16 Jehu got into his chariot and went to Jezreel since Joram was laid up there and King Ahaziah of Judah had gone down to visit Joram. 17 Now the watchman(P) was standing on the tower in Jezreel. He saw Jehu’s mob approaching and shouted, “I see a mob!”
Joram responded, “Choose a rider and send him to meet them and have him ask, ‘Do you come in peace?’” (Q)
18 So a horseman went to meet Jehu and said, “This is what the king asks: ‘Do you come in peace?’”
Jehu replied, “What do you have to do with peace? Fall in behind me.”
The watchman reported, “The messenger reached them but hasn’t started back.”
19 So he sent out a second horseman, who went to them and said, “This is what the king asks: ‘Do you come in peace?’”
Jehu answered, “What do you have to do with peace? Fall in behind me.”
20 Again the watchman reported, “He reached them but hasn’t started back. Also, the driving is like that of Jehu son of Nimshi(R)—he drives like a madman.”
21 “Get the chariot ready!” Joram shouted, and they got it ready. Then King Joram of Israel and King Ahaziah of Judah set out, each in his own chariot, and met Jehu at the plot of land of Naboth the Jezreelite.(S) 22 When Joram saw Jehu he asked, “Do you come in peace, Jehu?”
He answered, “What peace can there be as long as there is so much prostitution and sorcery from your mother Jezebel?” (T)
23 Joram turned around and fled, shouting to Ahaziah, “It’s treachery,(U) Ahaziah!”
24 Then Jehu drew his bow and shot Joram between the shoulders. The arrow went through his heart, and he slumped down in his chariot.(V) 25 Jehu said to Bidkar his aide, “Pick him up and throw him on the plot of ground belonging to Naboth the Jezreelite.(W) For remember when you and I were riding side by side behind his father Ahab, and the Lord uttered this pronouncement against him: 26 ‘As surely as I saw the blood of Naboth and the blood of his sons yesterday’—this is the Lord’s declaration—‘so will I repay you on this plot of land’—this is the Lord’s declaration. So now, according to the word of the Lord, pick him up and throw him on the plot of land.”(X)
27 When King Ahaziah of Judah saw what was happening, he fled up the road toward Beth-haggan. Jehu pursued him, shouting, “Shoot him too!” So they shot him in his chariot[f] at Gur Pass near Ibleam,(Y) but he fled to Megiddo(Z) and died there.(AA) 28 Then his servants carried him to Jerusalem in a chariot and buried him in his ancestors’ tomb in the city of David.(AB) 29 It was in the eleventh year of Joram son of Ahab that Ahaziah had become king over Judah.(AC)
Jehu Kills Jezebel
30 When Jehu came to Jezreel, Jezebel heard about it, so she painted her eyes,(AD) fixed her hair,[g] and looked down from the window. 31 As Jehu entered the city gate, she said, “Do you come in peace, Zimri,(AE) killer of your master?”
32 He looked up toward the window and said, “Who is on my side? Who?” Two or three eunuchs(AF) looked down at him, 33 and he said, “Throw her down!” So they threw her down, and some of her blood splattered on the wall and on the horses, and Jehu rode over her.(AG)
34 Then he went in, ate and drank, and said, “Take care of this cursed(AH) woman and bury her, since she’s a king’s daughter.”(AI) 35 But when they went out to bury her, they did not find anything but the skull, the feet, and the hands. 36 So they went back and told him, and he said, “This fulfills the Lord’s word that he spoke through his servant Elijah the Tishbite: ‘In the plot of land at Jezreel, the dogs will eat Jezebel’s flesh.(AJ) 37 Jezebel’s corpse will be like manure(AK) on the surface of the ground in the plot of land at Jezreel so that no one will be able to say: This is Jezebel.’”
Footnotes
- 9:4 Or the young man, the attendant of the prophet
- 9:8 Lit wipe out Ahab’s one who urinates against a wall
- 9:8 Or males, even the weak and impaired; Hb obscure
- 9:13 Lit on the bones of the steps
- 9:15 Lit “If your desire exists
- 9:27 LXX, Syr, Vg; MT omits So they shot him
- 9:30 Lit made her head pleasing
2 Kings 9
International Standard Version
Jehu Anointed King of Israel
9 Elisha called one of the members of the[a] Guild of Prophets and told him, “Get ready to run,[b] take this flask of oil in your hand, and go to Ramoth-gilead. 2 As soon as you get there, go find Jehoshaphat’s son Jehu, the grandson of Nimshi. When you do,[c] go in, tell him to get up and go apart with you away from his brothers. Lead him into a private chamber, 3 take the flask of oil, and pour it out on his head. Then tell him, ‘This is what the Lord says: I’m anointing you king over Israel.’ Then open the door and leave. Don’t linger there!”
4 So the young man, who was an attendant to the prophet, went to Ramoth-gilead. 5 When he arrived, the army commanders were seated, so he said, “I have a message for you, captain!”
Jehu asked, “For which one of us?”
“For you, captain!” he answered.
6 So Jehu[d] got up and went inside the house, and the young man[e] told him, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: ‘I have anointed you king over the people of the Lord—that is, over Israel. 7 You are to attack the household of your master Ahab, so I may avenge the blood of my servants the prophets, as well as the blood of all of the servants of the Lord that has been spilled[f] at Jezebel’s orders.[g] 8 The entire household of Ahab will die, and I will cut off from Ahab every male person in Israel, whether imprisoned or surviving.[h] 9 I will make the household of Ahab like the household of Nebat’s son Jeroboam and the household of Ahijah’s son Baasha. 10 Furthermore, the dogs will eat Jezebel in the territory of Jezreel. There will be no burial for her.’” Then he opened the door and left.
11 As Jehu was coming out to his master’s attendants, one of them asked him, “Is everything all right? Why did this maniac visit you?”
“You know the man and how he speculates,” Jehu replied.
12 “That’s a lie!” they said. “Tell us what’s going on!”
“He said ‘This and that’ to me,” he responded. “‘This is what the Lord says: “I have anointed you king over Israel.”’”
13 At this, each man quickly grabbed his own garment, placed it under him at the top of the stairs,[i] sounded a trumpet, and announced, “Jehu is king!”
Joram (Also Known as Jehoram) is Assassinated(A)
14 Meanwhile, Jehoshaphat’s son Jehu, the grandson of Nimshi, had been conspiring against Joram while Joram and all the army of[j] Israel had been defending Ramoth-gilead against King Hazael from Aram. (15 But King Joram had returned to Jezreel to recover from wounds he had sustained from the Arameans when he had fought against King Hazael from Aram.) So Jehu concluded, “Since this is what you’ve decided,[k] then let no one get away, leave the city, and go report to Jezreel!” 16 Then Jehu rode by chariot to Jezreel, since Joram was recovering[l] there. King Ahaziah from Judah had come to visit Joram.
17 While the watchman was standing guard in the tower at Jezreel, he watched Jehu’s entourage arrive. So he called out, “I see a group arriving.”
Joram ordered, “Take a horseman, send him out to meet them, and have him ask, ‘Have you come in peace?’”[m]
18 So a horseman went out, greeted Jehu and said, “This is what the king said: ‘Have you come in peace?’”
But Jehu responded, “What do you have to do with peace? Fall in behind me.”
The watchman reported, “The messenger arrived there, but he hasn’t returned.”
19 Then Joram sent out a second horseman, who went out to them and said, “This is what the king said: ‘Have you come in peace?’”
Jehu responded, “What do you have to do with peace? Fall in behind me.”
20 The watchman reported to Joram, “He arrived there, but he hasn’t returned. Also, he drives like Nimshi’s son Jehu drives—irrationally!”
21 Joram replied, “Let’s begin our attack!” As soon as his chariot was prepared, both King Joram of Israel and King Ahaziah of Judah went out, each in his own chariot, to fight against Jehu. They met together in the property that had belonged to Naboth the Jezreelite.[n]
22 As soon as Joram noticed Jehu, he cried out, “Peace, Jehu?”
Jehu[o] replied, “What peace, given[p] your mother Jezebel’s prostitution and all of[q] her witchcraft?”[r]
23 Joram reined his horse[s] around to flee and cried out to Ahaziah, “Ahaziah! Treachery!” 24 But Jehu drew his bow with all of his strength, shooting Joram between his shoulder blades.[t] The arrow pierced his heart, and he collapsed in his chariot.
25 After this, Jehu called out to Bidkar, his third in command, “Pick up Joram’s body and throw it in the field, the property that belonged to Naboth the Jezreelite, because you and I remember how when we were riding together in pursuit of his father Ahab, that the Lord pronounced this oracle[u] against him:
26 ‘This is what the Lord says, “I have certainly observed the blood of Naboth and his sons, and I will repay you on this property,” declares the Lord.’
“Therefore take the body and throw it in the field, just as the Lord said.”
King Ahaziah is Also Killed(B)
27 As soon as King Ahaziah of Judah observed this, he attempted to flee by the garden house road, but Jehu pursued him. At the ascent toward Gur which is near Ibleam, he ordered, “Shoot him in the chariot, too!”
Ahaziah fled to Megiddo, where he died. 28 Ahaziah’s servants transported the king’s body[v] by chariot to Jerusalem and buried it in his own sepulcher near his ancestors in the City of David. 29 Ahaziah had begun to reign over Judah in the eleventh year of the reign of[w] Ahab’s son Joram.
Jezebel is Executed
30 As soon as Jehu arrived at Jezreel, Jezebel adorned her eyes, arranged her hair, and peered out a window. 31 When Jehu had entered through the gate, she asked, “Was Zimri, who murdered his master,[x] received well?”
32 Jehu[y] looked up toward the window and called out, “Who is on my side? Who?” When two or three eunuchs looked out at him, 33 he ordered, “Throw her down!”
So they did, and her blood splashed against the wall and on the horses, while Jehu trampled her underfoot. 34 Later on, after he had come in to eat and drink, he ordered, “Go and see to this cursed woman, and bury her, because she was a king’s daughter.” 35 But when they went out to bury her, they found nothing left of her except her skull, her feet, and the palms of her hands. 36 So they returned and reported to Jehu,[z] and he responded, “This fulfills[aa] this message from the Lord that he spoke through his servant Elijah the foreigner,[ab] who said:
‘Dogs will eat Jezebel’s flesh on the property of Jezreel, 37 and her corpse will lie like dung on the surface of the field on the property in Jezreel, but no one will say, “This is Jezebel.”’”
Footnotes
- 2 Kings 9:1 The Heb. lacks members of the
- 2 Kings 9:1 Lit. Tie up your garments
- 2 Kings 9:2 The Heb. lacks When you do
- 2 Kings 9:6 Lit. he
- 2 Kings 9:6 Lit. and he
- 2 Kings 9:7 The Heb. lacks that has been spilled
- 2 Kings 9:7 Lit. hand
- 2 Kings 9:8 Or whether in servitude or left behind
- 2 Kings 9:13 Or him on the uncovered ascent; i.e. on the roof of the building
- 2 Kings 9:14 The Heb. lacks the army of
- 2 Kings 9:15 Lit. is your soul
- 2 Kings 9:16 Lit. lying
- 2 Kings 9:17 Lit. The peace; i.e. a general inquiry of welfare
- 2 Kings 9:21 Cf. 1 King 21:1-19
- 2 Kings 9:22 Lit. He
- 2 Kings 9:22 The Heb. lacks given
- 2 Kings 9:22 Lit. and many
- 2 Kings 9:22 Or sorcery; i.e. wielding power through demonic spirits
- 2 Kings 9:23 Lit. hands
- 2 Kings 9:24 Lit. his arms
- 2 Kings 9:25 Lit. burden; a prophetic message of solemn import
- 2 Kings 9:28 Lit. transported him
- 2 Kings 9:29 The Heb. lacks the reign of
- 2 Kings 9:31 Cf. 1King 16:9-10
- 2 Kings 9:32 Lit. He
- 2 Kings 9:36 Lit. him
- 2 Kings 9:36 The Heb. lacks fulfills
- 2 Kings 9:36 Lit. Tishbite; or sojourner
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