2 Kings 9:24-10:17

New American Standard Bible 1995

²⁴ And ^(A)Jehu ^[a]drew his bow with his full strength and ^[b]shot ^[c]Joram between his arms; and the arrow went ^[d]through his heart and he sank in his chariot. ²⁵ Then Jehu said to Bidkar his officer, “Take him up and ^(B)cast him into the ^[e]property of the field of Naboth the Jezreelite, for I remember when ^[f]you and I were riding together after Ahab his father, that the ^(C)Lord laid this ^(D)oracle against him: ²⁶ ‘Surely ^(E)I have seen yesterday the blood of Naboth and the blood of his sons,’ says the Lord, ‘and ^(F)I will repay you in this ^[g]property,’ says the Lord. Now then, take and cast him into the ^[h]property, according to the word of the Lord.”

Jehu Assassinates Ahaziah

^27 (G)When Ahaziah the king of Judah saw this, he fled by the way of the garden house. And Jehu pursued him and said, “^[i]Shoot him too, in the chariot.” So they shot him at the ascent of Gur, which is at ^(H)Ibleam. But he fled to Megiddo and died there. ^28 (I)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 ^(J)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 ^(K)she painted her eyes and adorned her head and looked out the window. ³¹ As Jehu entered the gate, she said, “^(L)Is it ^[j]well, Zimri, ^[k]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 ^(M)this cursed woman and bury her, for ^(N)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, ‘^(O)In the ^[l]property of Jezreel the dogs shall eat the flesh of Jezebel; ³⁷ and ^(P)the corpse of Jezebel will be as dung on the face of the field in the ^[m]property of Jezreel, so they cannot say, “This is Jezebel.”’”

Judgment upon Ahab’s House

10 Now Ahab had seventy sons in ^(Q)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, ^(R)when this letter comes to you, since your master’s sons are with you, ^[n]as well as the chariots and horses and a fortified city and the weapons, ³ select the best and ^[o]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, ^(S)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, “^(T)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 ^(U)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 ^[p]innocent; behold, ^(V)I conspired against my master and killed him, but ^(W)who ^[q]killed all these? ¹⁰ Know then that ^(X)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 ^(Y)what He spoke ^[r]through His servant Elijah.” ¹¹ So Jehu ^[s]killed all who remained of the house of Ahab in ^(Z)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 ^[t]Beth-eked of the shepherds, ^13 (AA)Jehu ^[u]met the ^[v]relatives of Ahaziah king of Judah and said, “Who are you?” And they ^[w]answered, “We are the ^[x]relatives of Ahaziah; and we have come down ^[y]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 ^[z]met ^(AB)Jehonadab the son of ^(AC)Rechab coming to meet him; and he ^[aa]greeted him and said to him, “Is your heart right, as my heart is with your heart?” And Jehonadab ^[ab]answered, “It is.” Jehu said, “If it is, ^(AD)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 ^(AE)see my zeal for the Lord.” So ^[ac]he made him ride in his chariot. ¹⁷ When he came to Samaria, ^(AF)he ^[ad]killed all who remained to Ahab in Samaria, until he had destroyed him, ^(AG)according to the word of the Lord which He spoke to Elijah.