Beginning
Chapter 9
Anointing of Jehu. 1 Elisha the prophet summoned one of the sons of the prophets and said to him, “Gird up your loins and carry this flask of oil to Ramoth-gilead.[a] 2 When you arrive there, search for Jehu, the son of Jehoshaphat, the son of Nimshi. Go to him, and separate him from his companions, bringing him to an inner chamber. 3 Take the flask of oil and pour it on his head, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord: I have anointed you as king over Israel.’ Then open the door and flee, do not wait around.”
4 So the young man, the prophet, went to Ramoth-gilead. 5 When he arrived, the commanders of the army were sitting around. He said, “I have a message for you, commander.” Jehu said, “For which of us?” He answered, “For you, commander.”
6 Jehu got up and went into the house. He poured the oil on his head and said, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: ‘I have anointed you as king over the people of the Lord, over Israel. 7 You are to wipe out the house of Ahab, your master, and take vengeance for the blood of my servants, the prophets, and the blood of all of the servants of the Lord that Jezebel has shed. 8 The entire house of Ahab must perish. Everyone who pees against the wall in Israel who belongs to Ahab must be cut off, whether he be slave or free. 9 I will make the house of Ahab like the house of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha, the son of Ahijah. 10 And as for Jezebel, the dogs will devour her on the Jezreel plot of ground. No one will bury her.’ ” Then he opened the door and fled.
11 When Jehu came outside to the servants of his lord, one of them said to him, “Is everything all right? Why did this madman[b] come to visit you?” He answered, “You know the man and the things he says.” 12 They said, “That is not true. Tell us now what he said.” Jehu said, “He said this to me, ‘Thus says the Lord: I have anointed you as king over Israel.’ ”
13 Each of them quickly took his cloak and put it under him upon the stairs. They blew the trumpets and proclaimed, “Jehu is king!”[c]
14 The Murder of Joram. So Jehu, the son of Jehoshaphat, the son of Nimshi, plotted against Joram.
Joram and all of Israel had been defending Ramoth-gilead against Hazael, the king of Aram, 15 but Joram had returned to Jezreel to recover from the wounds he had received from the Arameans when he fought against Hazael, the king of Aram. Jehu said, “If this is what you want, then prevent anyone from leaving the city and going to Jezreel to report it.”
16 Jehu then got in his chariot and rode to Jezreel, for that was where Joram was staying. Ahaziah, the king of Judah, had also gone down to visit Joram.
17 When the watchman upon the tower in Jezreel observed Jehu’s forces arriving, he said, “I see a company.” Joram said, “Get a horseman and send him out to meet them. Let him say, ‘Do you come in peace?’ ” 18 The horseman went to meet them and said, “Thus says the king: ‘Do you come in peace?’ ” Jehu answered, “What do you have to do with peace? Fall in behind me.” The watchman said, “The messenger has reached them, but he is not coming back.”
19 He sent out a second horseman who came to them and said, “Thus says the king: ‘Do you come in peace?’ ” Jehu answered, “What do you have to do with peace? Fall in behind me.”
20 The watchman reported, “He has reached them, but he is not coming back. The one who is driving is driving like Jehu, the son of Nimshi, for he is driving furiously.” 21 Joram said, “Prepare my chariot.”
When his chariot had been made ready, Joram, the king of Israel, and Ahaziah, the king of Judah, each drove out with his chariot against Jehu. They encountered him at the plot of Naboth, the Jezreelite. 22 When Joram saw that it was Jehu, he said, “Do you come in peace?” Jehu answered, “How can there be peace as long as the idolatries and witchcrafts of Jezebel, your mother, continue to multiply?”
23 Joram turned and fled, and he cried out to Ahaziah, “It is treachery, O Ahaziah!” 24 Jehu drew back his bow and struck Joram between his shoulders. The arrow pierced his heart, and he sunk down in his chariot.
25 [d]Jehu said to Bidkar, his captain, “Pick him up and throw him down in the plot that belonged to Naboth, the Jezreelite. Remem-ber how you and I were riding together behind Ahab, his father, when the Lord proclaimed this prophecy against him. 26 ‘As surely as yesterday I saw the blood of Naboth and his sons,’ says the Lord, ‘I will repay you upon this plot,’ says the Lord. Therefore, take him and throw him down upon this plot, in accordance with the word of the Lord.”
27 Death of Ahaziah. When Ahaziah, the king of Judah, saw this, he fled on the road to Beth-haggan. Jehu followed after him, shouting, “Kill him too!” They wounded him on the way up to Gur, which is by Ibleam. He escaped to Megiddo, but he died there. 28 His servants took him by chariot to Jerusalem, and they buried him in the tomb of his fathers in the City of David. 29 Ahaziah had begun to reign over Judah in the eleventh year of the reign of Joram, the son of Ahab.
30 Death of Jezebel. Jehu then went to Jezreel. When Jezebel heard, she painted her face and fixed her hair, and she leaned out the window. 31 When Jehu entered the gate, she said, “Do you come in peace, Zimri, you murderer of your master?”
32 He looked up at the window and said, “Who is on my side? Who?” Two or three eunuchs looked down to him. 33 He said, “Throw her down!” They threw her down so that her blood sprinkled on the wall and on the horses as they trampled her down.
34 He went in and ate and drank and said, “Go now, and bury that accursed woman, for she is the daughter of a king.” 35 When they went out to bury her, all they found was her skull, her feet, and the palms of her hands. 36 They went back and told him. He said, “This is the word of the Lord which he spoke through his servant, Elijah, the Tishbite, when he said, ‘The dogs will eat the flesh of Jezebel on the plot in Jezreel. 37 Jezebel’s body will be like dung spread over the surface of the field on the plot in Jezreel so that no one will be able to say: This is Jezebel.’ ”
Chapter 10
The Killing of Ahab’s Descendants. 1 Now there were seventy sons of Ahab in Samaria, so Jehu wrote letters that he sent to Samaria, to the officials of Jezreel, to the elders and the guardians of Ahab’s children, saying,[e] 2 “As soon as you receive this letter, for your master’s sons are with you and you have chariots and horses and a fortified city and armor, 3 choose the best and most worthy of your master’s sons and set him upon his father’s throne, and fight for your master.”
4 They were terrified and said, “If two kings could not resist him, then how could we resist him?” 5 The major-domo of the palace who was in charge of the city, the elders, and the guardians sent to Jehu, saying, “We are your servants. We will do whatever you tell us. We will not appoint anyone as king; we will do as you see fit.”
6 He wrote them a second letter, saying, “If you are with me and willing to obey me, then take off the heads[f] of these men, the sons of Ahab, and bring them to me in Jezreel by this time tomorrow.”
There were seventy sons of the king who were being raised by the leading citizens of the city. 7 When they received the letter, they slew the king’s sons, seventy of them, and they put their heads in baskets and sent them to Jezreel.
8 When the messenger arrived, he told him, “We have brought the heads of the king’s sons.” He said, “Put them in two piles at the entrance to the gates until the morning.”
9 The next morning, he went out and stood before all the people and said to them, “You are innocent! I plotted against my master and killed him, but who killed all of these? 10 Know then that not a word of the Lord which the Lord spoke against the house of Ahab will fall to the ground. The Lord has fulfilled what he said through his servant Elijah.”
11 So Jehu killed all of those who remained from the house of Ahab in Jezreel, all his chief men, all of his relatives, and all of his priests, so that none of them were left alive.
12 Ahaziah’s Kinsmen. He then rose up and left and went to Samaria. On the way, at Beth-eked of the shepherds, 13 Jehu met the brothers of Ahaziah, the king of Judah. He said, “Who are you?” They answered, “We are the brothers of Ahaziah. We are going down to greet the sons of the king and the sons of the queen mother.” 14 He said, “Take them alive!” They took them alive and they slew them at the well of Beth-eked, forty-two of them. He did not leave any of them alive.
15 When he left there, he encountered Jehonadab, the son of Rechab, who came out to meet him. He greeted him and said, “Is your heart right? Is your heart with my heart?” Jehonadab answered, “It is.” He said, “If it is, give me your hand.” He gave him his hand, and he took him up into his chariot. 16 He said, “Come with me, and see my zeal for the Lord.” So they had him ride in his chariot. 17 When he arrived in Samaria, he killed all of those who were left of Ahab in Samaria until he had wiped them out, fulfilling what the Lord had said when he spoke through Elijah.
18 Baal’s Temple Destroyed. Jehu then gathered together all of the people and said to them, “Ahab only served Baal a little, but Jehu will serve him a lot. 19 Summon all of the prophets of Baal to me, all of his servants, and all of his priests. Let no one be missing, for I am going to offer a great sacrifice to Baal. Whoever is missing will not live.” Jehu did this as a trick so that he might put to death those who worshiped Baal. 20 Jehu said, “Proclaim a solemn assembly for Baal.” And they proclaimed it.
21 Jehu sent throughout all of Israel, and all of the worshipers of Baal came. There was not a single one of them who did not come. The temple of Baal was full from one end to the other. 22 He said to the person who was in charge of the wardrobe, “Bring forth the vestments for all of the worshipers of Baal.” So he brought forth vestments for them.[g]
23 Then Jehu and Jehonadab, the son of Rechab, went to the temple of Baal. He said to the worshipers of Baal, “Look around and see that there are no servants of the Lord here, only worshipers of Baal.” 24 They went in to offer sacrifices and burnt offerings.
Jehu posted eighty men and said, “If any of the men whom I have placed in your hands escapes, it will be your life for his life.” 25 As soon as he had finished offering up the burnt offerings, Jehu said to the guards and the captains, “Go in and slay them. Let no one escape.” They put them to the sword. The guards and the captains then cast them out, and they entered the inner shrine of the temple of Baal. 26 They brought the sacred pillars out from the temple of Baal and they burned them. 27 They smashed the idol of Baal, and they tore down the temple of Baal and made it into a refuse dump, which it is up to the present. 28 Thus, Jehu destroyed Baal throughout Israel.
29 Death of Jehu. However, Jehu did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, who caused Israel to sin, that is, following the golden calves in Bethel and Dan.
30 The Lord said to Jehu, “Because you have done what was right in my sight, doing everything that was in my heart to the house of Ahab, your sons to the fourth generation will sit upon the throne of Israel.”
31 But Jehu did not take heed to walk in the ways of the Lord, the God of Israel, with all his heart, nor did he turn away from the sins of Jeroboam who caused Israel to sin. 32 Therefore, the Lord began to cut off parts of Israel, and Hazael conquered them throughout all of the territory of Israel 33 to the east of the Jordan: all of the land of Gilead, that is, Gad, Reuben, and Manasseh, from Aroer which is near the Arnon River, including Gilead and Bashan.
34 Now the rest of the deeds of Jehu, and all that he did, and his accomplishments, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?
35 Jehu slept with his fathers and they buried him in Samaria. Jehoahaz, his son, then reigned in his stead. 36 Jehu reigned over Israel in Samaria for a period of twenty-eight years.
Chapter 11
The Rule of Athaliah. 1 When Athaliah, the mother of Ahaziah, saw that her son was dead, she killed all of the royal heirs. 2 But Jehosheba, the daughter of King Joram, the sister of Ahaziah, took Joash, the son of Ahaziah, and secreted him away from the king’s sons who were being murdered. They hid him and his nurse from Athaliah in the bed chamber so that he might not die.
3 He was hidden with her for six years in the temple of the Lord, and Athaliah reigned over the land. 4 In the seventh year, Jehoiada sent for and summoned the captains of the hundreds, the Carites,[h] and the guards. He brought them to the temple of the Lord. He made a covenant with them and took an oath from them in the temple of the Lord. Then he showed them the king’s son.
5 He commanded them, “This is what you are to do: for the one-third of you who come on duty on the Sabbath: a third of you are to guard the king’s palace; 6 a third of you are to be at the Sur Gate; and a third at the gate behind the guard. Guard the palace. 7 For the other two-thirds of you who come off duty on the Sabbath and who keep guard in the temple of the Lord and the king’s palace, 8 surround the king, each man with his weapons in his hand. Whoever approaches the ranks is to be put to death. Be with the king when he goes out and when he comes in.”
9 The captains of the hundreds did everything that Jehoiada, the priest, had commanded. Each of them brought the men who were coming on duty on the Sabbath as well as those who were going off duty on the Sabbath and they came to Jehoiada the priest.
10 The priest gave the captains of the hundreds the spears and the shields that had belonged to King David and that were kept in the temple of the Lord. 11 The guards stood with their weapons in their hands from the southern side of the temple to the northern side of the temple by the altar and the temple, surrounding the king.
12 He brought the king’s son out and put a crown on him. He gave him the testimony, and they proclaimed him as king and anointed him, clapping their hands and proclaiming, “Long live the king!”
13 When Athaliah heard the noise from the guard and the people, she came to the people in the temple of the Lord. 14 She looked out and behold, the king was standing by a pillar,[i] as was the custom, with the princes and the trumpeters standing by the king. All the people of the land rejoiced and blew the trumpets.
Athaliah tore her clothes and cried out, “Treason! Treason!” 15 Jehoiada the priest commanded the captains of the hundreds and the commanders of the army and said to them, “Bring her out between the ranks, and put to the sword anyone who follows her.” (This was because the priest had said that she was not to be killed in the temple of the Lord.)
16 They seized her as she passed by the place where the horses enter the king’s palace. She was put to death there.
17 Jehoiada made a covenant[j] between the Lord and the king and the people that they would be the Lord’s people. He also made one between the king and the people.
18 All of the people went into the temple of Baal. They smashed to pieces his altars and his images. They killed Mattan, the priest of Baal, in front of the altars.
The priest then appointed guards for the temple of the Lord. 19 He took the captains of the hundreds, the Carites, the guards, and the people of the land with him and they brought down the king from the temple of the Lord and entered the royal palace by way of the guards’ gate. He then took his place on the royal throne.
20 All of the people of the land rejoiced, and the city was quiet, for Athaliah had been put to the sword in the royal palace.
21 Joash was seven years old when he began to reign.
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