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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.”
Close NLT

2 Kings 9:14-29
New Living Translation

Jehu Kills Joram and Ahaziah

14 So Jehu son of Jehoshaphat, son of Nimshi, led a conspiracy against King Joram. (Now Joram had been with the army at Ramoth-gilead, defending Israel against the forces of King Hazael of Aram. 15 But King Joram[a] was wounded in the fighting and returned to Jezreel to recover from his wounds.) So Jehu told the men with him, “If you want me to be king, don’t let anyone leave town and go to Jezreel to report what we have done.”

16 Then Jehu got into a chariot and rode to Jezreel to find King Joram, who was lying there wounded. King Ahaziah of Judah was there, too, for he had gone to visit him. 17 The watchman on the tower of Jezreel saw Jehu and his company approaching, so he shouted to Joram, “I see a company of troops coming!”

“Send out a rider to ask if they are coming in peace,” King Joram ordered.

18 So a horseman went out to meet Jehu and said, “The king wants to know if you are coming in peace.”

Jehu replied, “What do you know about peace? Fall in behind me!”

The watchman called out to the king, “The messenger has met them, but he’s not returning.”

19 So the king sent out a second horseman. He rode up to them and said, “The king wants to know if you come in peace.”

Again Jehu answered, “What do you know about peace? Fall in behind me!”

20 The watchman exclaimed, “The messenger has met them, but he isn’t returning either! It must be Jehu son of Nimshi, for he’s driving like a madman.”

21 “Quick! Get my chariot ready!” King Joram commanded.

Then King Joram of Israel and King Ahaziah of Judah rode out in their chariots to meet Jehu. They met him at the plot of land that had belonged to Naboth of Jezreel. 22 King Joram demanded, “Do you come in peace, Jehu?”

Jehu replied, “How can there be peace as long as the idolatry and witchcraft of your mother, Jezebel, are all around us?”

23 Then King Joram turned the horses around[b] and fled, shouting to King Ahaziah, “Treason, Ahaziah!” 24 But Jehu drew his bow and shot Joram between the shoulders. The arrow pierced his heart, and he sank down dead in his chariot.

25 Jehu said to Bidkar, his officer, “Throw him into the plot of land that belonged to Naboth of Jezreel. Do you remember when you and I were riding along behind his father, Ahab? The Lord pronounced this message against him: 26 ‘I solemnly swear that I will repay him here on this plot of land, says the Lord, for the murder of Naboth and his sons that I saw yesterday.’ So throw him out on Naboth’s property, just as the Lord said.”

27 When King Ahaziah of Judah saw what was happening, he fled along the road to Beth-haggan. Jehu rode after him, shouting, “Shoot him, too!” So they shot Ahaziah[c] in his chariot at the Ascent of Gur, near Ibleam. He was able to go on as far as Megiddo, but he died there. 28 His servants took him by chariot to Jerusalem, where they buried him with his ancestors in the City of David. 29 Ahaziah had become king over Judah in the eleventh year of the reign of Joram son of Ahab.

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Footnotes

  1. 9:15 Hebrew Jehoram, a variant spelling of Joram; also in 9:17, 21, 22, 23, 24.
  2. 9:23 Hebrew turned his hands.
  3. 9:27 As in Greek and Syriac versions; Hebrew lacks So they shot Ahaziah.
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