The Daily Audio Bible

Joram of Israel Killed^(A)

¹⁴ So Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat, the son of Nimshi, conspired against Joram. Joram had been guarding Ramoth Gilead, he and all Israel, because of Hazael king of Aram. ¹⁵ But King Joram had returned to be healed in Jezreel from the wounds with which the Arameans had stricken him when he fought with Hazael king of Aram. So Jehu said, “If this be your minds, let no fugitive exit the city to go tell Jezreel.” ¹⁶ Then Jehu rode in a chariot and went to Jezreel, for Joram lay there. Ahaziah king of Judah had come down to see Joram.

¹⁷ A watchman was standing on the tower in Jezreel, and he saw the company of Jehu as he was coming and said, “I see a company.”

And Joram said, “Take a horseman and send him to meet them, and let him say, ‘Is it peace?’ ”

¹⁸ So the horseman went to meet him and said, “Thus says the king, ‘Is it peace?’ ”

But Jehu said, “What have you to do with peace? Circle in behind me.”

So the watchman reported, “The messenger came to them, but he is not returning.”

¹⁹ Then he sent out a second horseman, who came to them and said, “Thus says the king, ‘Is it peace?’ ”

Again, Jehu said, “What have you to do with peace? Circle in behind me.”

²⁰ The watchman reported, “He came to them, but he is not returning. The driving is like the driving of Jehu the son of Nimshi, for he drives furiously.”

²¹ Then Joram said, “Hitch my chariot.” So his chariot was hitched, and Joram king of Israel and Ahaziah king of Judah went out, each in his chariot. They went out to meet Jehu and found him on the property of Naboth the Jezreelite. ²² When Joram saw Jehu he said, “Is it peace, Jehu?”

And he said, “What peace, so long as the harlotries of your mother Jezebel and her sorceries are so many?”

²³ Then Joram turned the reins, fled, and said to Ahaziah, “There is treachery, Ahaziah.”

²⁴ Jehu drew a bow with his full strength and shot Joram between his shoulder blades. The arrow went out at his heart, and he kneeled down in his chariot. ²⁵ Then Jehu said to Bidkar his officer, “Lift him up and throw him on the property of the field of Naboth the Jezreelite. Remember when you and I were riding together after Ahab his father and the Lord pronounced this oracle about him: ²⁶ ‘Surely I have seen yesterday the blood of Naboth and his sons, declares the Lord, and I will pay you back on this property, declares the Lord.’ Now lift him up and throw him onto the property, according to the word of the Lord.”

Ahaziah of Judah Killed

²⁷ But when Ahaziah the king of Judah saw this, he fled on the path to the garden house. Jehu chased after him and said, “Shoot him too.” So they shot him on the ascent to Gur, which is by Ibleam. And he fled to Megiddo and died there. ²⁸ His servants carried him in a chariot to Jerusalem and buried him in his tomb with his fathers in the City of David. ²⁹ In the eleventh year of Joram the son of Ahab, Ahaziah became king over Judah.

Jezebel Executed

³⁰ When Jehu came to Jezreel, Jezebel heard about it. She put black paint on her eyes, adorned her head, and looked down through the window. ³¹ As Jehu entered in at the gate, she said, “Is everything all right, Zimri, murderer of his master?”

³² And he lifted up his face toward the window and said, “Who is on my side? Who?” And two or three eunuchs looked down to him. ³³ He said, “Drop her down.” So they dropped her down and some of her blood splattered on the wall and on the horses. Then he trampled her.

³⁴ Then he entered, ate and drank, and said, “Attend to that cursed woman and bury her, for she is a king’s daughter.” ³⁵ So they went to bury her, but they found nothing of her except a skull, the feet, and the palms of her hands. ³⁶ They returned and told Jehu, and he said, “This is the word of the Lord, which He spoke by His servant Elijah the Tishbite, saying, ‘On the property of Jezreel dogs will eat the flesh of Jezebel. ³⁷ The corpse of Jezebel will be like dung in the field on the property of Jezreel, so that they cannot say, This is Jezebel.’ ”

Ahab’s Seventy Sons Killed

10 Now Ahab had seventy sons in Samaria. So Jehu wrote letters and sent them to Samaria to the captains of Jezreel, to the elders, and to the guardians of the sons of Ahab, saying, ² “Now as soon as this letter comes to you—since you are with your master’s sons, chariots, horses, a fortified city, and weapons— ³ select the best and most fitting of your master’s sons, put him on his father’s throne, and fight for your master’s house.”

⁴ But they were extremely afraid and said, “Two kings could not stand before him. How can we stand?”

⁵ So he who was over the house, and he who was over the city, the elders, and the guardians sent word to Jehu, saying, “We are your servants, and everything you say to us we will do. We will not appoint a man king. Do what is good in your eyes.”

⁶ Then he wrote a second letter to them, saying, “If you belong to me and will obey me, take the heads of your master’s sons and come to me at Jezreel at this time tomorrow.”

Now the king’s sons, seventy men, were with the great men of the city who brought them up. ⁷ When the letter came to them, they took the king’s sons, slaughtered all seventy, put their heads in baskets, and sent them to him in Jezreel. ⁸ So the messenger came and told him, saying, “They have brought the heads of the king’s sons.”

Then he said, “Put them in two heaps at the entry of the gate until morning.”

⁹ When morning came, he went out and stood and said to all the people, “You are innocent. I conspired against my master and killed him, but who struck all these? ¹⁰ Know then that the words of the Lord which He spoke about the house of Ahab will not fall to the ground. The Lord has done that which He spoke by His servant Elijah.” ¹¹ So Jehu struck all that remained of the house of Ahab in Jezreel and all his great men, his confidants, and his priests, until he left him no survivor.

Ahaziah’s Forty-Two Brothers Killed

¹² Then he got up and went to Samaria. When he was at Beth Eked of the Shepherds on the way, ¹³ Jehu found the brothers of Ahaziah king of Judah and said, “Who are you?”

And they said, “We are brothers of Ahaziah, and we have come down to visit the sons of the king and the sons of the queen mother.”

¹⁴ He said, “Capture them alive.” So they took them alive and slaughtered them at the pit of Beth Eked, forty-two men. Not a man of them remained.

¹⁵ Then he left there and found Jehonadab son of Rekab coming to meet him. He greeted him and said to him, “Is your heart right with me, as my heart is with yours?”

And Jehonadab said, “It is.”

“If it is, give me your hand.” So he gave him his hand, and he pulled him up to him into the chariot. ¹⁶ He said, “Come with me, and see my zeal for the Lord.” So he made him ride in his chariot.

¹⁷ Then he came to Samaria and struck all that remained to Ahab in Samaria until he exterminated them, according to the word of the Lord which He spoke to Elijah.

Worshippers of Baal Killed

¹⁸ Then Jehu gathered all the people and said to them, “Ahab served Baal a little, but Jehu will serve him much. ¹⁹ Now call to me all the prophets of Baal, all his worshippers, and all his priests. Let none go unaccounted for, because I have a great sacrifice for Baal. All who are not accounted for will not live.” But Jehu did it with cunning in order to destroy the servants of Baal.

²⁰ Jehu said, “Sanctify a festive assembly for Baal.” So they proclaimed it. ²¹ Jehu sent word through all Israel, and all the worshippers of Baal came. Not a man remained who did not come. They came into the house of Baal, and the house of Baal was full from one end to the other. ²² He said to the one in charge of the wardrobe, “Bring out garments for all the worshippers of Baal.” So he brought them garments.

²³ Then Jehu and Jehonadab the son of Rekab went into the house of Baal and said to the worshippers of Baal, “Search and see that there are no worshippers of the Lord here with you and only worshippers of Baal.” ²⁴ Then they went to offer sacrifices and burnt offerings, but Jehu put eighty men outside and said, “If any of the men whom I have brought into your hands escapes, the one who lets him go will die in his place.”

²⁵ As soon as he had finished making the burnt offering, Jehu said to the guards and the officers, “Go in. Kill them. No one comes out.” So they struck them with the edge of the sword. The guards and the officers threw them out and went to the city of the house of Baal. ²⁶ They brought out the sacred pillar from the house of Baal and burned it. ²⁷ They broke down the sacred pillar of Baal, and tore down the house of Baal and made it a latrine to this day.

²⁸ So Jehu exterminated Baal from Israel. ²⁹ But from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, who caused Israel to sin, Jehu did not turn aside (that is, the golden calves that were in Bethel and Dan).

³⁰ And the Lord said to Jehu, “Because you have done well by doing what is right in My sight, and have done to the house of Ahab all that was in My heart, four generations of your sons will sit on the throne of Israel.” ³¹ But Jehu was not careful to walk in the law of the Lord God of Israel with all his heart. He did not turn aside from the sins of Jeroboam, who caused Israel to sin.

The Uproar in Thessalonica

17 When they had traveled through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. ² According to his custom, Paul went in, and on three Sabbaths he lectured to them from the Scriptures, ³ explaining and proving that the Christ had to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus, whom I preach to you, is the Christ.” ⁴ Some of them were persuaded and joined with Paul and Silas, including a great crowd of devout Greeks and many leading women.

⁵ But the Jews who did not believe became jealous and, taking some evil men from the marketplace, gathered a crowd, stirred up the city, and attacked the house of Jason, trying to bring them out to the mob. ⁶ But when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some brothers to the city officials, crying out, “These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also, ⁷ and Jason has received them. They are all acting contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus.” ⁸ They troubled the crowd and the city officials when they heard these things. ⁹ When they had taken a bail payment from Jason and the rest, they released them.

The Apostles in Berea

¹⁰ The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea. When they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. ¹¹ These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with all eagerness, daily examining the Scriptures, to find out if these things were so. ¹² Therefore many of them believed, including honorable Greek women and many Greek men.

¹³ But when the Jews of Thessalonica learned that the word of God was preached by Paul at Berea, they came there also, stirring up the crowds. ¹⁴ The brothers immediately sent Paul away to the sea. But Silas and Timothy remained there. ¹⁵ Those who escorted Paul brought him to Athens and departed with instructions for Silas and Timothy to come to him quickly.

Paul in Athens

¹⁶ While Paul waited for them in Athens, his spirit was provoked within him as he saw that the city was full of idols. ¹⁷ Therefore he disputed in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons, and in the marketplace daily with those who happened to there. ¹⁸ Then some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers encountered him. And some said, “What will this babbler say?” Others said, “He seems to be a proclaimer of foreign gods,” because he preached Jesus and the resurrection to them. ¹⁹ They took hold of him and led him to the Areopagus, saying, “May we know what this new doctrine is of which you speak? ²⁰ For you are bringing strange things to our ears. Therefore we want to know what these things mean.” ²¹ For all the Athenians and foreigners who lived there spent their time in nothing else, but either telling or hearing something new.

²² Then Paul stood in the middle of the Areopagus, and said: “Men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are very religious. ²³ For as I passed by and looked up at your objects of worship, I found an altar with this inscription:

TO THE UNKNOWN GOD.

Whom you therefore unknowingly worship, Him I proclaim to you.

²⁴ “God who made the world and all things in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by hands. ²⁵ Nor is He served by men’s hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives all men life and breath and all things. ²⁶ He has made from one blood every nation of men to live on the entire face of the earth, having appointed fixed times and the boundaries of their habitation, ²⁷ that they should seek the Lord so perhaps they might reach for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us. ²⁸ ‘For in Him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are His offspring.’

²⁹ “Therefore since we are the offspring of God, we ought not to suppose that the Deity is like gold or silver or stone or an engraved work of art or an image of the reflection of man. ³⁰ God overlooked the times of ignorance, but now He commands all men everywhere to repent. ³¹ For He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by a Man whom He has appointed, having given assurance of this to all men by raising Him from the dead.”

³² When they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some scoffed. But others said, “We will hear you again concerning this matter.” ³³ So Paul departed from them. ³⁴ However, some men joined him and believed. Among them were Dionysius the Areopagite, and a woman named Damaris, and others with them.

Psalm 144

A Psalm of David.