Jehu Reigns over Israel

9 Now Elisha the prophet called one of ^(A)the sons of the prophets and said to him, “^(B)Gird up your loins, and ^(C)take this flask of oil in your hand and go to ^(D)Ramoth-gilead. ² When you arrive there, ^[a]search out ^(E)Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat the son of Nimshi, and go in and ^[b](F)bid him arise from among his brothers, and bring him to an inner room. ³ Then take the flask of oil and pour it on his head and say, ‘Thus says the Lord, “^(G)I have anointed you king over Israel.”’ Then open the door and flee and do not wait.”

⁴ So ^(H)the young man, the servant of the prophet, went to Ramoth-gilead. ⁵ When he came, behold, the captains of the army were sitting, and he said, “I have a word for you, O captain.” And Jehu said, “^[c]For which one of us?” And he said, “For you, O captain.” ⁶ He arose and went into the house, and he poured the oil on his head and said to him, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘^(I)I have anointed you king over the people of the Lord, even over Israel. ⁷ You shall strike the house of Ahab your master, ^(J)that I may avenge ^(K)the blood of My servants the prophets, and the blood of all the servants of the Lord, ^(L)at the hand of Jezebel. ⁸ For the whole house of Ahab shall perish, and ^(M)I will cut off from Ahab ^(N)every male person ^(O)both bond and free in Israel. ^9 (P)I will make the house of Ahab like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and ^(Q)like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah. ^10 (R)The dogs shall eat Jezebel in the territory of Jezreel, and none shall bury her.’” Then he opened the door and fled.

¹¹ Now Jehu came out to the servants of his master, and one said to him, “^(S)Is all well? Why did this ^(T)mad fellow come to you?” And he said to them, “You know very well the man and his talk.” ¹² They said, “It is a lie, tell us now.” And he said, “Thus and thus he said to me, ‘Thus says the Lord, “I have anointed you king over Israel.”’” ¹³ Then ^(U)they hurried and each man took his garment and placed it under him on the bare steps, and ^(V)blew the trumpet, saying, “Jehu is king!”

Jehoram (Joram) Is Assassinated

¹⁴ So Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat the son of Nimshi conspired against Joram. ^(W)Now Joram ^[d]with all Israel was ^[e]defending Ramoth-gilead against Hazael king of Aram, ¹⁵ but ^(X)King ^[f]Joram had returned to Jezreel to be healed of the wounds which the Arameans had ^[g]inflicted on him when he fought with Hazael king of Aram. So Jehu said, “If this is your mind, then let no one escape or ^[h]leave the city to go tell it in Jezreel.” ¹⁶ Then Jehu rode in a chariot and went to Jezreel, for Joram was lying there. ^(Y)Ahaziah king of Judah had come down to see Joram.

¹⁷ Now the watchman was standing on the tower in Jezreel and he saw the ^[i]company of Jehu as he came, and said, “I see a ^[j]company.” And Joram said, “Take a horseman and send him to meet them and let him say, ‘Is it peace?’” ¹⁸ So a horseman went to meet him and said, “Thus says the king, ‘Is it peace?’” And Jehu said, “^(Z)What have you to do with peace? Turn behind me.” And the watchman ^[k]reported, “The messenger came to them, but he did not return.” ¹⁹ Then he sent out a second horseman, who came to them and said, “Thus says the king, ‘Is it peace?’” And Jehu ^[l]answered, “What have you to do with peace? Turn behind me.” ²⁰ The watchman ^[m]reported, “He came even to them, and he did not return; and ^(AA)the driving is like the driving of ^(AB)Jehu the son of Nimshi, for he drives furiously.”

²¹ Then ^[n]Joram said, “^[o]Get ready.” And they made his chariot ready. ^[p](AC)Joram king of Israel and Ahaziah king of Judah went out, each in his chariot, and they went out to meet Jehu and found him in the ^[q](AD)property of Naboth the Jezreelite. ²² When ^[r]Joram saw Jehu, he said, “Is it peace, Jehu?” And he ^[s]answered, “What peace, ^(AE)so long as the harlotries of your mother Jezebel and her witchcrafts are so many?” ²³ So ^[t]Joram ^[u]reined about and fled and said to Ahaziah, “^(AF)There is treachery, O Ahaziah!” ²⁴ And ^(AG)Jehu ^[v]drew his bow with his full strength and ^[w]shot ^[x]Joram between his arms; and the arrow went ^[y]through his heart and he sank in his chariot. ²⁵ Then Jehu said to Bidkar his officer, “Take him up and ^(AH)cast him into the ^[z]property of the field of Naboth the Jezreelite, for I remember when ^[aa]you and I were riding together after Ahab his father, that the ^(AI)Lord laid this ^(AJ)oracle against him: ²⁶ ‘Surely ^(AK)I have seen yesterday the blood of Naboth and the blood of his sons,’ says the Lord, ‘and ^(AL)I will repay you in this ^[ab]property,’ says the Lord. Now then, take and cast him into the ^[ac]property, according to the word of the Lord.”

Jehu Assassinates Ahaziah

^27 (AM)When Ahaziah the king of Judah saw this, he fled by the way of the garden house. And Jehu pursued him and said, “^[ad]Shoot him too, in the chariot.” So they shot him at the ascent of Gur, which is at ^(AN)Ibleam. But he fled to Megiddo and died there. ^28 (AO)Then his servants carried him in a chariot to Jerusalem and buried him in his grave with his fathers in the city of David.

²⁹ Now in ^(AP)the eleventh year of Joram, the son of Ahab, Ahaziah became king over Judah.

³⁰ When Jehu came to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it, and ^(AQ)she painted her eyes and adorned her head and looked out the window. ³¹ As Jehu entered the gate, she said, “^(AR)Is it ^[ae]well, Zimri, ^[af]your master’s murderer?” ³² Then he lifted up his face to the window and said, “Who is on my side? Who?” And two or three officials looked down at him.

Jezebel Is Slain

³³ He said, “Throw her down.” So they threw her down, and some of her blood was sprinkled on the wall and on the horses, and he trampled her under foot. ³⁴ When he came in, he ate and drank; and he said, “See now to ^(AS)this cursed woman and bury her, for ^(AT)she is a king’s daughter.” ³⁵ They went to bury her, but they found nothing more of her than the skull and the feet and the palms of her hands. ³⁶ Therefore they returned and told him. And he said, “This is the word of the Lord, which He spoke by His servant Elijah the Tishbite, saying, ‘^(AU)In the ^[ag]property of Jezreel the dogs shall eat the flesh of Jezebel; ³⁷ and ^(AV)the corpse of Jezebel will be as dung on the face of the field in the ^[ah]property of Jezreel, so they cannot say, “This is Jezebel.”’”

Judgment upon Ahab’s House

10 Now Ahab had seventy sons in ^(AW)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 “Now, ^(AX)when this letter comes to you, since your master’s sons are with you, ^[ai]as well as the chariots and horses and a fortified city and the weapons, ³ select the best and ^[aj]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 greatly and said, “Behold, ^(AY)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, “^(AZ)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 at Jezreel tomorrow about this time.” Now the king’s sons, seventy persons, were with the great men of the city, who were rearing them. ⁷ When the letter came to them, they took the king’s sons and ^(BA)slaughtered them, seventy persons, and put their heads in baskets, and sent them to him at Jezreel. ⁸ When the messenger came and told 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 ^[ak]innocent; behold, ^(BB)I conspired against my master and killed him, but ^(BC)who ^[al]killed all these? ¹⁰ Know then that ^(BD)there shall fall to the earth nothing of the word of the Lord, which the Lord spoke concerning the house of Ahab, for the Lord has done ^(BE)what He spoke ^[am]through His servant Elijah.” ¹¹ So Jehu ^[an]killed all who remained of the house of Ahab in ^(BF)Jezreel, and all his great men and his acquaintances and his priests, until he left him without a survivor.

¹² Then he arose and departed and went to Samaria. On the way while he was at ^[ao]Beth-eked of the shepherds, ^13 (BG)Jehu ^[ap]met the ^[aq]relatives of Ahaziah king of Judah and said, “Who are you?” And they ^[ar]answered, “We are the ^[as]relatives of Ahaziah; and we have come down ^[at]to greet the sons of the king and the sons of the queen mother.” ¹⁴ He said, “Take them alive.” So they took them alive and killed them at the pit of Beth-eked, forty-two men; and he left none of them.

¹⁵ Now when he had departed from there, he ^[au]met ^(BH)Jehonadab the son of ^(BI)Rechab coming to meet him; and he ^[av]greeted him and said to him, “Is your heart right, as my heart is with your heart?” And Jehonadab ^[aw]answered, “It is.” Jehu said, “If it is, ^(BJ)give me your hand.” And he gave him his hand, and he took him up to him into the chariot. ¹⁶ He said, “Come with me and ^(BK)see my zeal for the Lord.” So ^[ax]he made him ride in his chariot. ¹⁷ When he came to Samaria, ^(BL)he ^[ay]killed all who remained to Ahab in Samaria, until he had destroyed him, ^(BM)according to 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, “^(BN)Ahab served Baal a little; Jehu will serve him much. ¹⁹ Now, ^(BO)summon all the prophets of Baal, all his worshipers 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 ^[az]cunning, so that he might destroy the worshipers of Baal. ²⁰ And Jehu said, “^(BP)Sanctify a solemn assembly for Baal.” And ^(BQ)they proclaimed it. ²¹ Then Jehu sent ^[ba]throughout Israel and all the worshipers of Baal came, so that there was not a man left who did not come. And when they went into ^(BR)the house of Baal, the house of Baal was filled from one end to the other. ²² He said to the one who was ^[bb]in charge of the wardrobe, “Bring out garments for all the worshipers of Baal.” So he brought out garments for them. ²³ Jehu went into the house of Baal with Jehonadab the son of Rechab; and he said to the worshipers of Baal, “Search and see that there is here with you none of the servants of the Lord, but only the worshipers of Baal.” ²⁴ Then they went in to offer sacrifices and burnt offerings.

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

²⁵ Then it came about, as soon as he had finished offering the burnt offering, that Jehu said to the ^[bd](BT)guard and to the royal officers, “^(BU)Go in, ^[be]kill them; let none come out.” And they ^[bf]killed them with the edge of the sword; and the ^[bg]guard and the royal officers threw them out, and went to the ^[bh]inner room of the house of Baal. ²⁶ They brought out the sacred ^(BV)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 ^(BW)made it a latrine to this day.

²⁸ Thus Jehu eradicated Baal out of Israel. ²⁹ However, ^(BX)as for the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which he made Israel sin, from these Jehu did not depart, even the ^(BY)golden calves that were at Bethel and that were at Dan. ³⁰ The Lord said to Jehu, “Because you have done well in executing what is right in My eyes, and have done to the house of Ahab according to all that was in My heart, ^(BZ)your sons of the fourth generation shall sit on the throne of Israel.” ³¹ But Jehu ^[bi](CA)was not careful to walk in the law of the Lord, the God of Israel, with all his heart; ^(CB)he did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam, which he made Israel sin.

³² In those days the ^(CC)Lord began to cut off portions ^[bj]from Israel; and ^(CD)Hazael ^[bk]defeated them throughout the territory of Israel: ³³ from the Jordan eastward, all the land of Gilead, the Gadites and the Reubenites and the Manassites, from ^(CE)Aroer, which is by the valley of the Arnon, even ^(CF)Gilead and Bashan.

Jehoahaz Succeeds Jehu

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 ^[bl]time which Jehu reigned over Israel in Samaria was twenty-eight years.

The Folly of Trusting in Riches.

For the choir director. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.

Judging Others

7 “^(A)Do not judge so that you will not be judged. ² For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and ^[a](B)by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you. ³ Why do you ^(C)look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? ^4 (D)Or how ^[b]can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and behold, the log is in your own eye? ⁵ You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.

⁶ “^(E)Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.

Prayer and the Golden Rule

⁷ “^[c](F)Ask, and ^(G)it will be given to you; ^[d]seek, and you will find; ^[e]knock, and it will be opened to you. ⁸ For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. ⁹ Or what man is there among you ^[f]who, when his son asks for a loaf, ^[g]will give him a stone? ¹⁰ Or ^[h]if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he? ¹¹ If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, ^(H)how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!

¹² “In everything, ^(I)therefore, ^[i]treat people the same way you want ^[j]them to treat you, for ^(J)this is the Law and the Prophets.

The Narrow and Wide Gates

¹³ “^(K)Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. ¹⁴ For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.

A Tree and Its Fruit

¹⁵ “Beware of the ^(L)false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ^(M)ravenous wolves. ¹⁶ You will ^[k](N)know them by their fruits. ^[l]Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? ¹⁷ So ^(O)every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. ¹⁸ A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. ^19 (P)Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. ²⁰ So then, you will ^[m]know them ^(Q)by their fruits.

²¹ “^(R)Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. ^22 (S)Many will say to Me on ^(T)that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many ^[n]miracles?’ ²³ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; ^(U)depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’

The Two Foundations

²⁴ “Therefore ^(V)everyone who hears these words of Mine and ^[o]acts on them, ^[p]may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. ²⁵ And the rain fell, and the ^[q]floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. ²⁶ Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not ^[r]act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. ²⁷ The rain fell, and the ^[s]floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell—and great was its fall.”

^28 [t](W)When Jesus had finished these words, ^(X)the crowds were amazed at His teaching; ²⁹ for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as their scribes.