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2 Kings 9:14-29
New International Version

Jehu Kills Joram and Ahaziah(A)

14 So Jehu son of Jehoshaphat, the son of Nimshi, conspired against Joram. (Now Joram and all Israel had been defending Ramoth Gilead(B) against Hazael king of Aram, 15 but King Joram[a] had returned to Jezreel to recover(C) from the wounds the Arameans had inflicted on him in the battle with Hazael king of Aram.) Jehu said, “If you desire to make me king, don’t let anyone slip out of the city to go and tell the news in Jezreel.” 16 Then he got into his chariot and rode to Jezreel, because Joram was resting there and Ahaziah(D) king of Judah had gone down to see him.

17 When the lookout(E) standing on the tower in Jezreel saw Jehu’s troops approaching, he called out, “I see some troops coming.”

“Get a horseman,” Joram ordered. “Send him to meet them and ask, ‘Do you come in peace?(F)’”

18 The horseman rode off to meet Jehu and said, “This is what the king says: ‘Do you come in peace?’”

“What do you have to do with peace?” Jehu replied. “Fall in behind me.”

The lookout reported, “The messenger has reached them, but he isn’t coming back.”

19 So the king sent out a second horseman. When he came to them he said, “This is what the king says: ‘Do you come in peace?’”

Jehu replied, “What do you have to do with peace? Fall in behind me.”

20 The lookout reported, “He has reached them, but he isn’t coming back either. The driving is like(G) that of Jehu son of Nimshi—he drives like a maniac.”

21 “Hitch up my chariot,” Joram ordered. And when it was hitched up, Joram king of Israel and Ahaziah king of Judah rode out, each in his own chariot, to meet Jehu. They met him at the plot of ground that had belonged to Naboth(H) the Jezreelite. 22 When Joram saw Jehu he asked, “Have you come in peace, Jehu?”

“How can there be peace,” Jehu replied, “as long as all the idolatry and witchcraft of your mother Jezebel(I) abound?”

23 Joram turned about and fled, calling out to Ahaziah, “Treachery,(J) Ahaziah!”

24 Then Jehu drew his bow(K) and shot Joram between the shoulders. The arrow pierced his heart and he slumped down in his chariot. 25 Jehu said to Bidkar, his chariot officer, “Pick him up and throw him on the field that belonged to Naboth the Jezreelite. Remember how you and I were riding together in chariots behind Ahab his father when the Lord spoke this prophecy(L) against him: 26 ‘Yesterday I saw the blood of Naboth(M) and the blood of his sons, declares the Lord, and I will surely make you pay for it on this plot of ground, declares the Lord.’[b] Now then, pick him up and throw him on that plot, in accordance with the word of the Lord.”(N)

27 When Ahaziah king of Judah saw what had happened, he fled up the road to Beth Haggan.[c] Jehu chased him, shouting, “Kill him too!” They wounded him in his chariot on the way up to Gur near Ibleam,(O) but he escaped to Megiddo(P) and died there. 28 His servants took him by chariot(Q) to Jerusalem and buried him with his ancestors in his tomb in the City of David. 29 (In the eleventh(R) year of Joram son of Ahab, Ahaziah had become king of Judah.)

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Kings 9:15 Hebrew Jehoram, a variant of Joram; also in verses 17 and 21-24
  2. 2 Kings 9:26 See 1 Kings 21:19.
  3. 2 Kings 9:27 Or fled by way of the garden house
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2 Kings 9:14-29
New English Translation

14 Then Jehu son of Jehoshaphat son of Nimshi conspired against Joram.

Jehu the Assassin

Now Joram had been in Ramoth Gilead with the whole Israelite army,[a] guarding against an invasion by King Hazael of Syria. 15 But King Joram had returned to Jezreel to recover from the wounds he received from the Syrians[b] when he fought against King Hazael of Syria.[c] Jehu told his supporters,[d] “If you really want me to be king,[e] then don’t let anyone escape from the city to go and warn Jezreel.” 16 Jehu drove his chariot[f] to Jezreel, for Joram was recuperating[g] there. (Now King Ahaziah of Judah had come down to visit[h] Joram.)

17 Now the watchman was standing on the tower in Jezreel and saw Jehu’s troops approaching.[i] He said, “I see troops!”[j] Joram[k] ordered,[l] “Send a rider out to meet them and have him ask, ‘Is everything all right?’”[m] 18 So the horseman[n] went to meet him and said, “This is what the king says, ‘Is everything all right?’”[o] Jehu replied, “None of your business![p] Follow me.” The watchman reported, “The messenger reached them, but hasn’t started back.” 19 So he sent a second horseman out to them[q] and he said, “This is what the king says, ‘Is everything all right?’”[r] Jehu replied, “None of your business! Follow me.” 20 The watchman reported, “He reached them, but hasn’t started back. The one who drives the lead chariot drives like Jehu son of Nimshi;[s] he drives recklessly.” 21 Joram ordered, “Hitch up my chariot.”[t] When his chariot had been hitched up,[u] King Joram of Israel and King Ahaziah of Judah went out in their respective chariots[v] to meet Jehu. They met up with him[w] in the plot of land that had once belonged to Naboth of Jezreel.

22 When Joram saw Jehu, he asked, “Is everything all right, Jehu?” He replied, “How can everything be all right as long as your mother Jezebel promotes idolatry and pagan practices?”[x] 23 Joram turned his chariot around and took off.[y] He said to Ahaziah, “It’s a trap,[z] Ahaziah!” 24 Jehu aimed his bow and shot an arrow right between Joram’s shoulders.[aa] The arrow went through[ab] his heart and he fell to his knees in his chariot. 25 Jehu ordered[ac] his officer Bidkar, “Pick him up and throw him into the part of the field that once belonged to Naboth of Jezreel. Remember, you and I were riding together behind his father, Ahab, when the Lord pronounced this oracle against him, 26 ‘“Know for sure that I saw the shed blood of Naboth and his sons yesterday,” says the Lord, “and that I will give you what you deserve[ad] right here in this plot of land,” says the Lord.’ So now pick him up and throw him into this plot of land, just as in the Lord’s message.”

27 When King Ahaziah of Judah saw what happened, he took off[ae] up the road to Beth Haggan. Jehu chased him and ordered, “Shoot him too.” They shot him while he was driving his chariot up the ascent of Gur near Ibleam.[af] He fled to Megiddo and died there. 28 His servants took his body[ag] back to Jerusalem and buried him in his tomb with his ancestors in the City of David. 29 Ahaziah had become king over Judah in the eleventh year of Joram son of Ahab.

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Kings 9:14 tn Heb “he and all Israel.”
  2. 2 Kings 9:15 tn Heb “which the Syrians inflicted [on] him.”
  3. 2 Kings 9:15 sn See 2 Kgs 8:28-29a.
  4. 2 Kings 9:15 tn The words “his supporters” are added for clarification.
  5. 2 Kings 9:15 tn Heb “If this is your desire.” נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) refers here to the seat of the emotions and will. For other examples of this use of the word, see BDB 660-61 s.v.
  6. 2 Kings 9:16 tn Heb “rode [or, ‘mounted’] and went.”
  7. 2 Kings 9:16 tn Heb “lying down.”
  8. 2 Kings 9:16 tn Heb “to see.”
  9. 2 Kings 9:17 tn Heb “the quantity [of the men] of Jehu, when he approached.” Elsewhere שִׁפְעַה (shifʿah), “quantity,” is used of a quantity of camels (Isa 60:6) or horses (Ezek 26:10) and of an abundance of water (Job 22:11; 38:34).
  10. 2 Kings 9:17 tn The term שִׁפְעַת (shifʿat) appears to be a construct form of the noun, but no genitive follows.
  11. 2 Kings 9:17 tn Heb “Jehoram” here and in vv. 21, 22, 23, 24; Joram is a short form of the name Jehoram.
  12. 2 Kings 9:17 tn Heb “said.”
  13. 2 Kings 9:17 tn Heb “Get a rider and send [him] to meet him and let him ask, ‘Is there peace?’”
  14. 2 Kings 9:18 tn Heb “the rider of the horse.”
  15. 2 Kings 9:18 tn Heb “Is there peace?”
  16. 2 Kings 9:18 tn Heb “What concerning you and concerning peace?” That is, “What concern is that to you?”
  17. 2 Kings 9:19 tn Heb “and he came to them.”
  18. 2 Kings 9:19 tc The MT has simply “peace,” omitting the prefixed interrogative particle. It is likely that the particle has been accidentally omitted; several ancient witnesses include it or assume its presence.
  19. 2 Kings 9:20 tn Heb “and the driving is like the driving of Jehu son of Nimshi.”
  20. 2 Kings 9:21 tn The words “my chariot” are added for clarification.
  21. 2 Kings 9:21 tn Heb “and he hitched up his chariot.”
  22. 2 Kings 9:21 tn Heb “each in his chariot and they went out.”
  23. 2 Kings 9:21 tn Heb “they found him.”
  24. 2 Kings 9:22 tn Heb “How [can there be] peace as long as the adulterous acts of Jezebel your mother and her acts of sorcery [are] many?” In this instance “adulterous acts” is employed metaphorically for idolatry. As elsewhere in the OT, worshiping other gods is viewed as spiritual adultery and unfaithfulness to the one true God. The phrase “many acts of sorcery” could be taken literally, for Jezebel undoubtedly utilized pagan divination practices, but the phrase may be metaphorical, pointing to her devotion to pagan customs in general.
  25. 2 Kings 9:23 tn Heb “and Jehoram turned his hands and fled.” The phrase “turned his hands” refers to how he would have pulled on the reins in order to make his horses turn around.
  26. 2 Kings 9:23 tn Heb “Deceit, Ahaziah.”
  27. 2 Kings 9:24 tn Heb “and Jehu filled his hand with the bow and he struck Jehoram between his shoulders.”
  28. 2 Kings 9:24 tn Heb “went out from.”
  29. 2 Kings 9:25 tn Heb “said to.”
  30. 2 Kings 9:26 tn Heb “I will pay you back.”
  31. 2 Kings 9:27 tn Heb “and Ahaziah king of Judah saw and fled.”
  32. 2 Kings 9:27 tn After Jehu’s order (“kill him too”), the MT has simply, “to the chariot in the ascent of Gur which is near Ibleam.” The main verb in the clause, “they shot him” (וַיַּכֻּהוּ, vayyakkuhu), has been accidentally omitted by virtual haplography/homoioteleuton. Note that the immediately preceding form הַכֻּהוּ (hakkuhu), “shoot him,” ends with the same suffix.
  33. 2 Kings 9:28 tn Heb “drove him.”
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