April 29

2 Kings 8:16 — 10:17

16 And in the fifth year of Jehoram the son of Ahab the king of Israel, while Jehoshaphat was king of Judah, Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat the king of Judah became king. 17 Thirty-two years old he happened to be when he became king, and for eight years he reigned in Jerusalem. 18 And he went walking in the way of the kings of Israel, just as those of the house of Ahab had done; for it was Ahab’s daughter that became his wife, and he kept doing what was bad in Jehovah’s eyes. 19 And Jehovah did not want to bring Judah to ruin for the sake of David his servant, just as he had promised him to give a lamp to him [and] to his sons always.

20 In his days Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah, and then made a king reign over them. 21 Consequently Jehoram passed over to Zair, also all the chariots with him. And it came about that he himself rose up by night and got to strike down the Edomites that were surrounding him and the chiefs of the chariots; and the people went fleeing to their tents. 22 But Edom kept up its revolt from under the hand of Judah down to this day. It was then that Libnah began to revolt at that time.

23 And the rest of the affairs of Jehoram and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the affairs of the days of the kings of Judah? 24 Finally Jehoram lay down with his forefathers and was buried with his forefathers in the City of David. And Ahaziah his son began to reign in place of him.

25 In the twelfth year of Jehoram the son of Ahab the king of Israel, Ahaziah the son of Jehoram the king of Judah became king. 26 Twenty-two years old was Ahaziah when he began to reign, and for one year he reigned in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Athaliah the granddaughter of Omri the king of Israel. 27 And he went walking in the way of the house of Ahab and kept doing what was bad in Jehovah’s eyes, like the house of Ahab, for he was a relative of the house of Ahab by marriage. 28 Accordingly he went with Jehoram the son of Ahab to the war against Hazael the king of Syria at Ramoth-gilead, but the Syrians struck down Jehoram. 29 So Jehoram the king returned to get healed at Jezreel from the wounds that the Syrians got to inflict upon him at Ramah when he fought Hazael the king of Syria. As for Ahaziah the son of Jehoram the king of Judah, he went down to see Jehoram the son of Ahab in Jezreel, for he was sick.

9 And Elisha the prophet, for his part, called one of the sons of the prophets and then said to him: “Gird up your loins and take this flask of oil in your hand and go to Ramoth-gilead. 2 When you have come in there, see Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat the son of Nimshi there; and you must come in and make him get up from the midst of his brothers and bring him into the innermost chamber. 3 And you must take the flask of oil and pour it out upon his head and say, ‘This is what Jehovah has said: “I do anoint you as king over Israel.”’ And you must open the door and flee and not wait.”

4 And the attendant, the prophet’s attendant, got on his way to Ramoth-gilead. 5 When he came in, why, there the chiefs of the military force were seated. He now said: “There is a word I have for you, O chief.” At this Jehu said: “For which one of all of us?” Then he said: “For you, O chief.” 6 So he got up and came into the house; and he proceeded to pour the oil out upon his head and say to him: “This is what Jehovah the God of Israel has said, ‘I do anoint you as king over Jehovah’s people, that is, over Israel. 7 And you must strike down the house of Ahab your lord, and I must avenge the blood of my servants the prophets and the blood of all the servants of Jehovah at the hand of Jezebel. 8 And the whole house of Ahab must perish; and I must cut off from Ahab anyone urinating against a wall and any helpless and worthless one in Israel. 9 And I must constitute 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 Jezebel the dogs will eat up in the tract of land at Jezreel, and there will be no one burying her.’” With that he opened the door and went fleeing.

11 As for Jehu, he went out to the servants of his lord, and they began to say to him: “Is everything all right? Why did this crazy man come in to you?” But he said to them: “YOU yourselves well know the man and his sort of talk.” 12 But they said: “It is false! Tell us, please.” Then he said: “It was like this and like that that he talked to me, saying, ‘This is what Jehovah has said: “I do anoint you as king over Israel.”’” 13 At this they hurriedly took each one his garment and put it under him upon the bare steps, and they began to blow the horn and say: “Jehu has become king!” 14 And Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat the son of Nimshi proceeded to conspire against Jehoram.

And Jehoram himself had happened to be keeping guard at Ramoth-gilead, he with all Israel, because of Hazael the king of Syria. 15 Later Jehoram the king returned to get healed at Jezreel from the wounds that the Syrians got to inflict upon him when he fought Hazael the king of Syria.

Jehu now said: “If YOUR soul agrees, do not let anyone go out in escape from the city to go and make report in Jezreel.” 16 And Jehu began to ride and go to Jezreel; for Jehoram was lying there, and Ahaziah the king of Judah himself had gone down to see Jehoram. 17 And the watchman was standing upon the tower in Jezreel, and he got to see the heaving mass of Jehu’s [men] as he was coming, and he at once said: “There is a heaving mass [of men] that I am seeing.” At that Jehoram said: “Take a cavalryman and send him to meet them, and let him say, ‘Is there peace?’” 18 Accordingly a rider on a horse went to meet him and said: “This is what the king has said, ‘Is there peace?’” But Jehu said: “What do you have to do with ‘peace’? Get around to my rear!”

And the watchman went on to report, saying: “The messenger came as far as to them, but he has not returned.” 19 So he sent out a second rider on a horse, who, when he came to them, proceeded to say: “This is what the king has said, ‘Is there peace?’” But Jehu said: “What do you have to do with ‘peace’? Get around to my rear!”

20 And the watchman went on to report, saying: “He came as far as to them, but he has not returned; and the driving is like the driving of Jehu the grandson of Nimshi, for it is with madness that he drives.” 21 At that Jehoram said: “Hitch up!” So his war chariot was hitched up and Jehoram the king of Israel and Ahaziah the king of Judah went out, each in his own war chariot. As they continued on out to meet Jehu, they got to find him in the tract of land of Naboth the Jezreelite.

22 And it came about that as soon as Jehoram saw Jehu, he immediately said: “Is there peace, Jehu?” But he said: “What peace could there be as long as there are the fornications of Jezebel your mother and her many sorceries?” 23 At once Jehoram made a turn with his hands, that he might flee, and said to Ahaziah: “There is trickery, Ahaziah!” 24 And Jehu himself filled his hand with a bow and proceeded to shoot Jehoram between the arms, so that the arrow came out at his heart, and he collapsed in his war chariot. 25 He now said to Bidkar his adjutant: “Lift him up; throw him into the tract of the field of Naboth the Jezreelite; for remember: I and you were riding teams behind Ahab his father, and Jehovah himself lifted up this pronouncement against him: 26 ‘“Certainly the blood of Naboth and the blood of his sons I saw yesterday,” is the utterance of Jehovah, “and I shall certainly repay you in this tract of land,” is the utterance of Jehovah.’ So now, lift him up; throw him into the tract of land according to the word of Jehovah.”

27 And Ahaziah the king of Judah himself saw it and took to flight by the way of the garden house. (Later Jehu went in pursuit of him and said: “Him also! STRIKE him down!” So they struck him down while in the chariot on the way up to Gur, which is by Ibleam. And he continued his flight to Megiddo and got to die there. 28 Then his servants carried him in a chariot to Jerusalem, and so they buried him in his grave with his forefathers in the City of David. 29 And it was in the eleventh year of Jehoram the son of Ahab that Ahaziah had become king over Judah.)

30 At length Jehu came to Jezreel, and Jezebel herself heard of it. And she proceeded to paint her eyes with black paint and do her head up beautifully and to look down through the window. 31 And Jehu himself came in by the gate. She now said: “Did it go all right with Zimri the killer of his lord?” 32 At that he raised his face toward the window and said: “Who is with me? Who?” Immediately two or three court officials looked down at him. 33 So he said: “Let her drop!” Then they let her drop, and some of her blood went spattering upon the wall and upon the horses; and he now trampled upon her. 34 After that he came on in and ate and drank and then said: “YOU men, please, take care of this accursed one and bury her, for she is the daughter of a king.” 35 When they went to bury her, they did not find anything of her but the skull and the feet and the palms of the hands. 36 When they returned and told him, he went on to say: “It is the word of Jehovah that he spoke by means of his servant Elijah the Tishbite, saying, ‘In the tract of land of Jezreel the dogs will eat the flesh of Jezebel. 37 And the dead body of Jezebel will certainly become as manure upon the face of the field in the tract of land of Jezreel, that they may not say: “This is Jezebel.”’”

10 Now Ahab had seventy sons in Samaria. Therefore Jehu wrote letters and sent them to Samaria to the princes of Jezreel, the older men and the caretakers of Ahab, saying: 2 “Now, then, at the very time that this letter comes to YOU there are with YOU the sons of YOUR lord, and there are with YOU the war chariots and the horses and a fortified city and the armor. 3 And YOU must see which is the best and most upright of the sons of YOUR lord and put him upon the throne of his father. Then fight for the house of YOUR lord.”

4 And they became very greatly afraid and began to say: “Look! Two kings themselves did not stand before him, and how shall we ourselves stand?” 5 Consequently the one who was over the house and the one who was over the city and the older men and the caretakers sent to Jehu, saying: “We are your servants, and everything that you say to us we shall do. We shall not make anyone king. What is good in your own eyes do.”

6 At that he wrote them a second letter, saying: “If YOU belong to me, and it is my voice that YOU are obeying, take the heads of the men that are sons of YOUR lord and come to me tomorrow at this time at Jezreel.”

Now the sons of the king, seventy men, were with the distinguished men of the city that were bringing them up. 7 And it came about that as soon as the letter came to them, they went taking the sons of the king and slaughtering [them], seventy men, after which they put their heads in baskets and sent them to him at Jezreel. 8 Then the messenger came in and told him, saying: “They have brought the heads of the sons of the king.” So he said: “PUT them in two heaps at the entrance of the gate until morning.” 9 And it came about in the morning that he proceeded to go out. Then he stood still and said to all the people: “YOU are righteous. Here I myself conspired against my lord, and I got to kill him; but who struck down all these? 10 Know, then, that nothing of Jehovah’s word will fall [unfulfilled] to the earth that Jehovah has spoken against the house of Ahab; and Jehovah himself has done what he spoke by means of his servant Elijah.” 11 Moreover, Jehu went on to strike down all who were left over of the house of Ahab in Jezreel and all his distinguished men and his acquaintances and his priests, until he had let no survivor of his remain.

12 And he proceeded to rise and come in, then get on his way to Samaria. The binding house of the shepherds was on the way. 13 And Jehu himself encountered the brothers of Ahaziah the king of Judah. When he said to them, “Who are YOU?” then they said: “We are the brothers of Ahaziah, and we are on our way down to ask if all is well with the sons of the king and the sons of the lady.” 14 Immediately he said: “Seize them alive, YOU men!” So they seized them alive and slaughtered them at the cistern of the binding house, forty-two men, and he did not let a single one of them remain.

15 As he was going along from there he got to encounter Jehonadab the son of Rechab [coming] to meet him. When he blessed him, he accordingly said to him: “Is your heart upright with me, just as my own heart is with your heart?”

To this Jehonadab said: “It is.”

“If it is, do give me your hand.”

So he gave him his hand. At that he made him get up into the chariot with him. 16 Then he said: “Do go along with me and look upon my toleration of no rivalry toward Jehovah.” And they kept him riding with him in his war chariot. 17 Finally he came to Samaria. Now he went striking down all who were left over of Ahab’s in Samaria, until he had annihilated them, according to Jehovah’s word that he had spoken to Elijah.