2 Kings 9:1-13
English Standard Version
Jehu Anointed King of Israel
9 Then Elisha the prophet called one of (A)the sons of the prophets and said to him, (B)“Tie up your garments, and take this (C)flask of oil in your hand, and go to (D)Ramoth-gilead. 2 And when you arrive, look there for Jehu (E)the son of Jehoshaphat, son of Nimshi. And go in and have him rise from among (F)his fellows, and lead him to an inner chamber. 3 Then take the flask of oil and pour it on his head and say, ‘Thus says the Lord, (G)I anoint you king over Israel.’ Then open the door and flee; do not linger.”
4 So the young man, the servant of the prophet, went to Ramoth-gilead. 5 And when he came, behold, the commanders of the army were in council. And he said, “I have a word for you, O commander.” And Jehu said, “To which of us all?” And he said, “To you, O commander.” 6 So he arose and went into the house. And the young man poured the oil on his head, saying to him, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, (H)I anoint you king over the people of the Lord, over Israel. 7 And you shall strike down the house of Ahab your master, so that I may avenge (I)on Jezebel the blood of my servants the prophets, and the blood of all the servants of the Lord. 8 For the whole house of Ahab shall perish, (J)and I will cut off from Ahab (K)every male, (L)bond or free, in Israel. 9 And I will make the house of Ahab like (M)the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like (N)the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah. 10 (O)And the dogs shall eat Jezebel in the territory of Jezreel, and none shall bury her.” Then he opened the door and fled.
11 When Jehu came out to the servants of his master, they said to him, (P)“Is all well? Why did (Q)this mad fellow come to you?” And he said to them, “You know the fellow and his talk.” 12 And they said, “That is not true; tell us now.” And he said, “Thus and so he spoke to me, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord, I anoint you king over Israel.’” 13 Then in haste (R)every man of them took his garment and put it under him on the bare[a] steps, and they blew the trumpet and proclaimed, (S)“Jehu is king.”
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- 2 Kings 9:13 The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain
2 Kings 9:1-13
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!”
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 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
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