2 Kings 10
1599 Geneva Bible
10 6 Jehu causeth the seventy sons of Ahab to be slain, 14 And after that forty and two of Ahaziah’s brethren. 25 He killeth also all the Priests of Baal. 35 After his death his son reigneth in his stead.
1 Ahab had now seventy [a]sons in Samaria. And Jehu wrote letters, and sent to Samaria unto the rulers of Jezreel, and to the Elders, and to the bringers up of Ahab’s children, to this effect,
2 Now when this letter cometh to you, (for ye have with you your master’s sons, ye have with you both chariots and horses, and a defensed city, and armor)
3 Consider therefore which of your master’s sons is best and most meet, and [b]set him on his father’s throne, and fight for your master’s house.
4 But they were exceedingly afraid, and said, Behold two kings could not stand before him, how shall we then stand?
5 And he that was governor of Ahab’s house, and he that ruled the city, and the Elders, and the bringers up of the children sent to Jehu, saying, We are thy servants, and will do all that thou shalt bid us: we will make no king: do what seemeth good to thee.
6 ¶ Then he wrote another letter to them, saying, If ye be mine, and will obey my voice, [c]take the heads of the men that are your master’s sons, and come to me to Jezreel by tomorrow this time. (Now the king’s sons, even seventy persons were with the great men of the city, which brought them up)
7 And when the letter came to them, they took the King’s sons, and slew the seventy persons, and laid their heads in baskets, and sent them unto him to Jezreel.
8 ¶ Then there came a messenger and told him, saying, They have brought the heads of the King’s sons. And he said, Let them lay them on two heaps at the entering in of the gate until the morning.
9 And when it was day he went out, and stood and said to all the people, Ye be [d]righteous: behold, I conspired against my master, and slew him: but who slew all these?
10 Know now that there shall fall unto the earth nothing of the word of the Lord, which the Lord spake concerning the house of Ahab: for the Lord hath brought to pass the things that he spake [e]by his servant (A)Elijah.
11 So Jehu slew all that remained of the house of Ahab in Jezreel, and all that were great with him, and his familiars, and his [f]priests, so that he let none of his remain.
12 ¶ And he arose, and departed, and came to Samaria. And as Jehu was in the way by an house where the shepherds did shear,
13 He met with the brethren of Ahaziah king of Judah, and said, Who are ye? And they answered, We are the brethren of Ahaziah, and go down to salute the children of the King and the children of the Queen.
14 And he said, Take them alive. And they took them alive, and slew them at the well beside the house where the sheep are shorn, even two and forty men, and he [g]left not one of them.
15 ¶ And when he was departed thence, he met with Jehonadab the son of Rechab coming to meet him, and he [h][i]blessed him, and said to him, Is thine heart upright, as mine heart is toward thine? And Jehonadab answered, Yea, doubtless. Then give me thine hand. And when he had given him his hand, he took him up to him into the chariot.
16 And he said, Come with me, and see the zeal that I have for the Lord: so they made him ride in his chariot.
17 And when he came to Samaria, he slew all that remained unto Ahab in Samaria, till he had destroyed him, according to the word of the Lord, which he spake to Elijah.
18 Then Jehu assembled all the people, and said unto them, Ahab served [j]Baal a little, but Jehu shall serve him much more.
19 Now therefore call unto me all ye prophets of Baal, all his servants, and all his priests, and let not a man be lacking: for I have a great sacrifice for Baal: whosoever is lacking, he shall not live. But Jehu did it by a subtlety to destroy the servants of Baal.
20 And Jehu said, [k]Proclaim a solemn assembly for Baal. And they proclaimed it.
21 So Jehu sent unto all Israel, and all the servants of Baal came, and there was not a man left that came not. And they came into the house of Baal, and the house of Baal was full from end to end.
22 Then he said unto him that had the charge of the vestry, Bring forth vestments for all the servants of Baal. And he brought them out vestments.
23 And when Jehu went, and Jehonadab the son of Rechab into the house of Baal, he said unto the servants of Baal, Search diligently, and look, lest there be here with you any of the [l]servants of the Lord, but the servants of Baal only.
24 And when they went in to make sacrifice and burnt offering, Jehu appointed four score men without, and said, If any of the men whom I have brought into your hands, escape, [m]his soul shall be for his soul.
25 And when he had made an end of the burnt offering, Jehu said to the guard, and to the captains, Go in, slay them, let not a man come out. And they smote them with the edge of the sword. And the guard, and the captains cast them out, and went unto the [n]city, where was the temple of Baal.
26 And they brought out the images of the temple of Baal, and burnt them.
27 And they destroyed the image of Baal, and threw down the house of Baal, and made a jakes of it unto this day.
28 So Jehu destroyed Baal out of Israel.
29 But from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat which made Israel to sin, Jehu departed not from them, neither from the golden calves that were in Bethel and that were in Dan.
30 ¶ And the Lord said unto Jehu, Because thou hast diligently executed that which was right in mine eyes, and hast done unto the house of Ahab according to all things that were in mine heart, therefore shall thy [o]sons unto the fourth generation sit on the throne of Israel.
31 But Jehu regarded not to walk in the law of the Lord God of Israel with all his heart: for he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam, which made Israel to sin.
32 In those days the Lord began to [p]loathe Israel, and Hazael smote them in all the coasts of Israel,
33 From Jordan Eastward, even all the land of Gilead, the Gadites, and the Reubenites, and them that were of Manasseh, from Aroer (which is by the river Arnon) and Gilead and Bashan.
34 Concerning the rest of the acts of Jehu, and all that he did, and all his valiant deeds, 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 reigned in his stead.
36 And the time that Jehu reigned over Israel in Samaria is eight and twenty years.
Footnotes
- 2 Kings 10:1 The Scripture useth to call them sons, which are either children or nephews.
- 2 Kings 10:3 He wrote this, to prove them whether they would take his part or no.
- 2 Kings 10:6 God as a just judge punisheth the wicked children of wicked parents unto the third and fourth generation.
- 2 Kings 10:9 Ye cannot justly condemn me for the king’s death, seeing ye have done the like to his posterity: for the Lord commanded me, and moved you to execute this his judgment.
- 2 Kings 10:10 Hebrew, by the hand of.
- 2 Kings 10:11 Meaning, which were the idolatrous priests.
- 2 Kings 10:14 Thus God’s vengeance is upon them that have any part or familiarity with the wicked.
- 2 Kings 10:15 For he feared God, and lamented the wickedness of those times: therefore Jehu was glad to join with him: of Rechab read Jer. 35:2.
- 2 Kings 10:15 Or, praised God for him.
- 2 Kings 10:18 Here Baal is taken for Ashtoreth the idol of the Sidonians, which Jezebel caused to be worshipped, as it is also so used, 1 Kings 16 and 22:53.
- 2 Kings 10:20 Hebrew, sanctify.
- 2 Kings 10:23 Thus God would have his servants preserved, and idolaters destroyed, as in his law he giveth express commandment, Deut. 13.
- 2 Kings 10:24 Or, he shall die for him.
- 2 Kings 10:25 Which city was near to Samaria.
- 2 Kings 10:30 Thus God approveth and rewardeth his zeal, in executing God’s judgment, albeit his wickedness was afterward punished.
- 2 Kings 10:32 Or, to cut them off.
2 Kings 10
International Children’s Bible
Families of Ahab and Ahaziah Killed
10 Ahab’s family had 70 sons in Samaria. Jehu wrote letters and sent them to Samaria. He sent them to the officers and elders of Jezreel. He also sent them to the guardians of the sons of Ahab. Jehu said, 2 “You have chariots, horses and a city with strong walls. You also have weapons. When you get this letter, 3 choose the best and most worthy person among your master’s sons. Make him king. Then fight for your master’s family.”
4 But the officers and elders of Jezreel were very frightened. They said, “The two kings could not stop Jehu. So, surely we can’t either.”
5 The palace manager, the city governor, the elders and the guardians sent a message to Jehu. They said, “We are your servants. We will do everything you tell us to do. We won’t make any man king. Do whatever you think is best.”
6 Then Jehu wrote a second letter. It said, “If you are on my side and will obey me, cut off the heads of your master’s sons. And come to me at Jezreel tomorrow about this time.”
Now there were 70 sons of the king’s family. They were with the leading men of the city who were their guardians. 7 The leaders received the letter. Then they took the king’s sons and killed all 70 of them. They put their heads in baskets. And they sent them to Jehu at Jezreel. 8 The messenger came to Jehu. He told Jehu, “They have brought the heads of the king’s sons!”
Then Jehu said, “Lay the heads in two piles at the city gate until morning.”
9 In the morning, Jehu went out and stood before the people. He said to them, “You are innocent. Look, I made plans against my master. I killed him. But who killed all these? 10 You should know that nothing the Lord said will fail. Everything the Lord said about Ahab’s family will come true. The Lord has spoken through his servant Elijah. And the Lord has done what he said.” 11 So Jehu killed everyone of Ahab’s family in Jezreel who was still alive. He also killed all Ahab’s leading men, close friends and priests. No one was left alive who had helped Ahab.
12 Then Jehu left and went to Samaria. He went on the road to Beth Eked of the Shepherds. 13 There Jehu met some relatives of Ahaziah king of Judah. Jehu said, “Who are you?”
They answered, “We are relatives of Ahaziah. We have come down to visit the families of the king and the king’s mother.”
14 Then Jehu said, “Take them alive!” So they captured Ahaziah’s relatives alive. But they killed them at the well near Beth Eked. There were 42 of them. Jehu did not leave anyone alive.
15 After Jehu left there, he met Jehonadab son of Recab. He was also on his way to meet Jehu. Jehu greeted him and said, “Are you as good a friend to me as I am to you?”
Jehonadab answered, “Yes, I am.”
Jehu said, “If you are, then give me your hand.” So Jehonadab gave him his hand, and Jehu pulled him into the chariot. 16 Jehu said, “Come with me. You can see how strong my feelings are for the Lord.” So Jehu had Jehonadab ride in his chariot.
17 When Jehu came to Samaria, he killed all of Ahab’s family. He did this until he had destroyed all of those who were left. Jehu did what the Lord had told Elijah would happen.
Baal Worshipers Killed
18 Then Jehu gathered all the people together. He said to them, “Ahab served Baal a little. But Jehu will serve Baal much. 19 Now call for me all Baal’s prophets and priests. Call all the people who worship Baal. Don’t let anyone miss this meeting. I have a great sacrifice for Baal. Anyone who is not there will not remain alive.” But Jehu was tricking them so he could destroy the worshipers of Baal. 20 He said, “Prepare a holy meeting for Baal.” So they announced the meeting. 21 Then Jehu sent word through all Israel. All the worshipers of Baal came. Not one stayed home. They came into the temple of Baal. The temple was filled from one side to the other.
22 Jehu spoke to the man who kept the robes. He said, “Bring out robes for all the worshipers of Baal.” So he brought out robes for them. 23 Then Jehu and Jehonadab son of Recab went into the temple of Baal. Jehu said to the worshipers of Baal, “Look around. Be sure there are no servants of the Lord with you. Be sure there are only people here who worship Baal.” 24 So the worshipers of Baal went in to offer sacrifices and burnt offerings.
But Jehu had 80 men waiting outside. He told them, “Don’t let anyone escape. If you let anyone escape, you must pay with your own life.”
25 Jehu finished offering the burnt offering. Then he spoke to the guards and the captains. He said, “Go in and kill the worshipers of Baal! Don’t let anyone come out.” So the guards and captains killed the worshipers of Baal with the sword. They threw the bodies of the worshipers of Baal out. Then they went to the inner rooms of the temple. 26 They brought out the pillars of the temple of Baal and burned them. 27 Then they tore down the stone pillar of Baal. They also tore down the temple of Baal. They made it into a sewage pit, and it is still one today.
28 So Jehu destroyed Baal worship in Israel. 29 But he did not stop doing the sins Jeroboam son of Nebat had done. Jeroboam had caused Israel to sin. They worshiped the golden calves in Bethel and Dan.
30 The Lord said to Jehu, “You have done well. You have done what I said was right. You have done to the family of Ahab as I wanted. Your descendants as far as your great-great-grandchildren will be kings of Israel.” 31 But Jehu was not careful to keep the teachings of the Lord with all his heart. He did not stop doing the same sins Jeroboam had done. Jeroboam had caused Israel to sin.
32 At that time the Lord began to make Israel smaller. Hazael defeated the Israelites in all the land of Israel. 33 He took all the land on the east side of the Jordan. This was the land of Gilead. (It was the region of Gad, Reuben and Manasseh.) He took land from Aroer by the Arnon Ravine through Gilead to Bashan.
34 The other things Jehu did are written down. Everything he did and all his victories are recorded. They are in the book of the history of the kings of Israel. 35 Jehu died and was buried in Samaria. Jehu’s son Jehoahaz became king in his place. 36 Jehu was king over Israel in Samaria for 28 years.
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