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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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2 Kings 9:14-29
Common English Bible

Jehu kills his enemies

14 Then Jehu, Jehoshaphat’s son and Nimshi’s grandson, plotted against Joram. Now Joram along with all of Israel had been guarding Ramoth-gilead against Aram’s King Hazael, 15 but King Joram[a] had gone back to Jezreel to recover from wounds that the Arameans had given him when he fought Hazael. So Jehu said, “If this is the way you feel, then don’t let anyone escape from the city to talk about it in Jezreel.” 16 Then Jehu got on a chariot and drove to Jezreel because Joram was resting there. Judah’s King Ahaziah had also come to visit Joram.

17 The guard standing on the tower at Jezreel saw a crowd of people coming with Jehu. He said, “I see a crowd of people.”

Joram said, “Take a chariot driver. Send him out to meet them to ask, ‘Do you come in peace?’”

18 So the driver went to meet him and said, “The king asks, ‘Do you come in peace?’”

Jehu replied, “What do you care about peace? Come around and follow me.”

Meanwhile, the tower guard reported, “The messenger met them, but he isn’t returning.”

19 The king sent a second driver. He came to them and said, “The king asks, ‘Do you come in peace?’”

Jehu said, “What do you care about peace? Come around and follow me.”

20 The tower guard reported, “The messenger met them, but he isn’t returning. And the style of chariot driving is like Jehu, Nimshi’s son. Jehu drives like a madman.”

21 Joram said, “Hitch up the chariot!” So they hitched up his chariot. Then Israel’s King Joram and Judah’s King Ahaziah—each in his own chariot—went out to meet Jehu. They happened to meet him at the plot of ground that belonged to Naboth the Jezreelite.

22 When Joram saw Jehu, he said, “Do you come in peace, Jehu?”

He said, “How can there be peace as long as the immoralities of your mother Jezebel and her many acts of sorcery continue?”

23 Then Joram turned his chariot around and fled. He shouted to Ahaziah, “It’s a trap, Ahaziah!”

24 Jehu took his bow and shot Joram in the back. The arrow went through his heart, and he fell down in his chariot. 25 Jehu said to Bidkar his chariot officer, “Pick him up, and throw him on the plot of ground belonging to Naboth the Jezreelite. Remember how you and I were driving chariot teams behind his father Ahab when the Lord spoke this prophecy about him: 26 Yesterday I saw Naboth’s blood and his sons’ blood, declares the Lord. I swear that I will pay you back on this very plot of ground, declares the Lord. Now pick him up, and throw him on that plot of ground, in agreement with the Lord’s word.”

27 Judah’s King Ahaziah saw this and fled on the road to Beth-haggan. Jehu chased after him. “Do the same to him!” he commanded. They shot him[b] in his chariot on the way up to Gur, near Ibleam. Ahaziah fled to Megiddo and died there. 28 His servants carried him back in a chariot to Jerusalem. He was buried in his tomb with his ancestors in David’s City. 29 Ahaziah had become Judah’s king in the eleventh year of Ahab’s son Joram.

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Kings 9:15 Heb Jehoram (also in 9:17, 21-24); the king’s name is variously spelled in either long Jehoram or short Joram form.
  2. 2 Kings 9:27 LXX, Vulg; MT lacks They shot him.
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