2 Kings 9 14-2 Kings 10 25
So Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat the son of Nimshi conspired against Joram.( Now Joram had kept Ramothgilead, he and all Israel, because of Hazael king of Syria.But king Joram was returned to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds which the Syrians had given him, when he fought with Hazael king of Syria.) And Jehu said, If it be your minds,[ then] let none go forth[ nor] escape out of the city to go to tell[ it] in Jezreel.So Jehu rode in a chariot, and went to Jezreel; for Joram lay there. And Ahaziah king of Judah was come down to see Joram.And there stood a watchman on the tower in Jezreel, and he spied the company of Jehu as he came, and said, I see a company. And Joram said, Take an horseman, and send to meet them, and let him say,[ Is it] peace?So there went one on horseback to meet him, and said, Thus saith the king,[ Is it] peace? And Jehu said, What hast thou to do with peace? turn thee behind me. And the watchman told, saying, The messenger came to them, but he cometh not again.Then he sent out a second on horseback, which came to them, and said, Thus saith the king,[ Is it] peace? And Jehu answered, What hast thou to do with peace? turn thee behind me.And the watchman told, saying, He came even unto them, and cometh not again: and the driving[ is] like the driving of Jehu the son of Nimshi; for he driveth furiously.And Joram said, Make ready. And his chariot was made ready. And Joram king of Israel and Ahaziah king of Judah went out, each in his chariot, and they went out against Jehu, and met him in the portion of Naboth the Jezreelite.And it came to pass, when Joram saw Jehu, that he said,[ Is it] peace, Jehu? And he answered, What peace, so long as the whoredoms of thy mother Jezebel and her witchcrafts[ are so] many?And Joram turned his hands, and fled, and said to Ahaziah,[ There is] treachery, O Ahaziah.And Jehu drew a bow with his full strength, and smote Jehoram between his arms, and the arrow went out at his heart, and he sunk down in his chariot.Then said[ Jehu] to Bidkar his captain, Take up,[ and] cast him in the portion of the field of Naboth the Jezreelite: for remember how that, when I and thou rode together after Ahab his father, the LORD laid this burden upon him;Surely I have seen yesterday the blood of Naboth, and the blood of his sons, saith the LORD; and I will requite thee in this plat, saith the LORD. Now therefore take[ and] cast him into the plat[ of ground], according to the word of the LORD.But when Ahaziah the king of Judah saw[ this], he fled by the way of the garden house. And Jehu followed after him, and said, Smite him also in the chariot.[ And they did so] at the going up to Gur, which[ is] by Ibleam. And he fled to Megiddo, and died there.And his servants carried him in a chariot to Jerusalem, and buried him in his sepulchre with his fathers in the city of David.And in the eleventh year of Joram the son of Ahab began Ahaziah to reign over Judah.And when Jehu was come to Jezreel, Jezebel heard[ of it]; and she painted her face, and tired her head, and looked out at a window.And as Jehu entered in at the gate, she said,[ Had] Zimri peace, who slew his master?And he lifted up his face to the window, and said, Who[ is] on my side? who? And there looked out to him two[ or] three eunuchs.And 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 trode her under foot.And when he was come in, he did eat and drink, and said, Go, see now this cursed[ woman], and bury her: for she[ is] a king’s daughter.And they went to bury her: but they found no more of her than the skull, and the feet, and the palms of[ her] hands.Wherefore they came again, and told him. And he said, This[ is] the word of the LORD, which he spake by his servant Elijah the Tishbite, saying, In the portion of Jezreel shall dogs eat the flesh of Jezebel:And the carcase of Jezebel shall be as dung upon the face of the field in the portion of Jezreel;[ so] that they shall not say, This[ is] Jezebel.And Ahab had seventy sons in Samaria. And Jehu wrote letters, and sent to Samaria, unto the rulers of Jezreel, to the elders, and to them that brought up Ahab’s[ children], saying,Now as soon as this letter cometh to you, seeing your master’s sons[ are] with you, and[ there are] with you chariots and horses, a fenced city also, and armour;Look even out the best and meetest of your master’s sons, and set[ him] on his father’s throne, and fight for your master’s house.But they were exceedingly afraid, and said, Behold, two kings stood not before him: how then shall we stand?And he that[ was] over the house, and he that[ was] over the city, the elders also, and the bringers up[ of the children], sent to Jehu, saying, We[ are] thy servants, and will do all that thou shalt bid us; we will not make any king: do thou[ that which is] good in thine eyes.Then he wrote a letter the second time to them, saying, If ye[ be] mine, and[ if] ye will hearken unto my voice, take ye the heads of the men your master’s sons, and come to me to Jezreel by tomorrow this time. Now the king’s sons,[ being] seventy persons,[ were] with the great men of the city, which brought them up.And it came to pass, when the letter came to them, that they took the king’s sons, and slew seventy persons, and put their heads in baskets, and sent him[ them] to Jezreel.And there came a messenger, and told him, saying, They have brought the heads of the king’s sons. And he said, Lay ye them in two heaps at the entering in of the gate until the morning.And it came to pass in the morning, that he went out, and stood, and said to all the people, Ye[ be] righteous: behold, I conspired against my master, and slew him: but who slew all these?Know now that there shall fall unto the earth nothing of the word of the LORD, which the LORD spake concerning the house of Ahab: for the LORD hath done[ that] which he spake by his servant Elijah.So Jehu slew all that remained of the house of Ahab in Jezreel, and all his great men, and his kinsfolks, and his priests, until he left him none remaining.And he arose and departed, and came to Samaria.[ And] as he[ was] at the shearing house in the way,Jehu met with the brethren of Ahaziah king of Judah, and said, Who[ are] ye? And they answered, We[ are] the brethren of Ahaziah; and we go down to salute the children of the king and the children of the queen.And he said, Take them alive. And they took them alive, and slew them at the pit of the shearing house,[ even] two and forty men; neither left he any of them.And when he was departed thence, he lighted on Jehonadab the son of Rechab[ coming] to meet him: and he saluted him, and said to him, Is thine heart right, as my heart[ is] with thy heart? And Jehonadab answered, It is. If it be, give[ me] thine hand. And he gave[ him] his hand; and he took him up to him into the chariot.And he said, Come with me, and see my zeal for the LORD. So they made him ride in his chariot.And when he came to Samaria, he slew all that remained unto Ahab in Samaria, till he had destroyed him, according to the saying of the LORD, which he spake to Elijah.And Jehu gathered all the people together, and said unto them, Ahab served Baal a little;[ but] Jehu shall serve him much.Now therefore call unto me all the prophets of Baal, all his servants, and all his priests; let none be wanting: for I have a great sacrifice[ to do] to Baal; whosoever shall be wanting, he shall not live. But Jehu did[ it] in subtilty, to the intent that he might destroy the worshippers of Baal.And Jehu said, Proclaim a solemn assembly for Baal. And they proclaimed[ it].And Jehu sent through all Israel: and all the worshippers of Baal came, so that there was not a man left that came not. And they came into the house of Baal; and the house of Baal was full from one end to another.And he said unto him that[ was] over the vestry, Bring forth vestments for all the worshippers of Baal. And he brought them forth vestments.And Jehu went, and Jehonadab the son of Rechab, into the house of Baal, and said unto the worshippers of Baal, Search, and look that there be here with you none of the servants of the LORD, but the worshippers of Baal only.And when they went in to offer sacrifices and burnt offerings, Jehu appointed fourscore men without, and said,[ If] any of the men whom I have brought into your hands escape,[ he that letteth him go], his life[ shall be] for the life of him.And it came to pass, as soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt offering, that Jehu said to the guard and to the captains, Go in,[ and] slay them; let none come forth. And they smote them with the edge of the sword; and the guard and the captains cast[ them] out, and went to the city of the house of Baal.
