< 2 Kings 10 >
1 Now Ahab had seventy sons in Samaria. So Jehu wrote letters and sent them to Samaria to the officials of Jezreel, to the elders, and to the guardians of the sons of Ahab, saying:
And Achab had seventy sons in Samaria. And Jehu wrote letters and sent them to Samaria, unto the rulers of Yizre'el, the elders, and to those that brought up Achab's children, saying,
2 “When this letter arrives, since your master’s sons are with you and you have chariots and horses, a fortified city and weaponry,
And now as soon as this letter cometh to you, seeing that there are with you your master's sons, and there are with you the chariots and the horses, and the fortified city, and the armor:
3 select the best and most worthy son of your master, set him on his father’s throne, and fight for your master’s house.”
Select then the best and the most fitting of your master's sons, and set him on his father's throne, and fight for your master's house.
4 But they were terrified and reasoned, “If two kings could not stand against him, how can we?”
But they were exceedingly much afraid, and said, Behold, the two kings could not stand before him: how then shall we be able to stand?
5 So the palace administrator, the overseer of the city, the elders, and the guardians sent a message to Jehu: “We are your servants, and we will do whatever you say. We will not make anyone king. Do whatever is good in your sight.”
And the superintendent over the house, and the commander over the city, and the elders, and the bringers up of the children, sent to Jehu, saying, We are thy servants, and all that thou mayest say unto us will we do; we will not set up any one as king: do what is good in thy eyes.
6 Then Jehu wrote them a second letter and said: “If you are on my side, and if you will obey me, then bring the heads of your master’s sons to me at Jezreel by this time tomorrow.” Now the sons of the king, seventy in all, were being brought up by the leading men of the city.
Then wrote he to them a letter the second time, saying, If ye be for me, and if ye will hearken unto my voice, then take the heads of the men, your master's sons, and come to me to Yizre'el by this time tomorrow. Now the king's sons, seventy persons, were with the great men of the city, who brought them up.
7 And when the letter arrived, they took the sons of the king and slaughtered all seventy of them. They put their heads in baskets and sent them to Jehu at Jezreel.
And it came to pass, when the letter came to them, that they took the king's sons and slaughtered them, seventy persons, and put their heads in baskets, and sent them to him to Yizre'el.
8 When the messenger arrived, he told Jehu, “They have brought the heads of the sons of the king.” And Jehu ordered, “Pile them in two heaps at the entrance of the gate until morning.”
And the messenger came, and told him, saying, They have brought the heads of the king's sons. And he said, Place ye them in two heaps at the entrance of the gate until the morning.
9 The next morning, Jehu went out and stood before all the people and said, “You are innocent. It was I who conspired against my master and killed him. But who killed all these?
And it came to pass in the morning, that he went out, and stood, and said to all the people, Ye are righteous: behold, I conspired against my master, and slew him; but who hath killed all these?
10 Know, then, that not a word the LORD has spoken against the house of Ahab will fail, for the LORD has done what He promised through His servant Elijah.”
Know now that there shall not fall of the word of the Lord unto the earth, the least that the Lord hath spoken concerning the house of Achab; and the Lord hath done that which he spoke by means of his servant Elijah.
11 So Jehu killed everyone in Jezreel who remained of the house of Ahab, as well as all his great men and close friends and priests, leaving him without a single survivor.
And Jehu smote all that yet remained of the house of Achab in Yizre'el, and all his great men, and his acquaintance, and his priests, until he had left him none that escaped.
12 Then Jehu set out toward Samaria. At Beth-eked of the Shepherds,
And he arose and departed, and came to Samaria; he was just at the binding-house of the shepherds, on the way:
13 Jehu met some relatives of Ahaziah king of Judah and asked, “Who are you?” “We are relatives of Ahaziah,” they answered, “and we have come down to greet the sons of the king and of the queen mother.”
When Jehu met with the brothers of Achazyahu the king of Judah, and he said, Who are ye? And they said, The brothers of Achazyahu are we; and we are come down to salute the children of the king and the children of the queen.
14 Then Jehu ordered, “Take them alive.” So his men took them alive, then slaughtered them at the well of Beth-eked—forty-two men. He spared none of them.
And he said, Seize them alive. And they seized them alive, and slaughtered them at the pit of the binding-house, two and forty men; and he left not one of them remaining.
15 When he left there, he found Jehonadab son of Rechab, who was coming to meet him. Jehu greeted him and asked, “Is your heart as true to mine as my heart is to yours?” “It is!” Jehonadab replied. “If it is,” said Jehu, “give me your hand.” So he gave him his hand, and Jehu helped him into his chariot,
And he went away thence, and met Yehonadab the son of Rechab coming to meet him: and he saluted him, and said to him, Is all right in thy heart, as my heart is with thy heart? And Yehonadab answered, It is; it is: give me thy hand. And he gave him his hand; and he took him up to him into the chariot.
16 saying, “Come with me and see my zeal for the LORD!” So he had him ride in his chariot.
And he said, Come with me, and behold my zeal for the Lord. So they made him ride in his chariot.
17 When Jehu came to Samaria, he struck down everyone belonging to Ahab who remained there, until he had destroyed them, according to the word that the LORD had spoken to Elijah.
And when he came to Samaria, he smote all that yet remained unto Achab in Samaria, till he had exterminated him, according to the word of the Lord which he had spoken to Elijah.
18 Then Jehu brought all the people together and said, “Ahab served Baal a little, but Jehu will serve him a lot.
And Jehu assembled all the people, and said unto them, Achab hath served Ba'al a little: Jehu will serve him much.
19 Now, therefore, summon to me all the prophets of Baal, all his servants, and all his priests. See that no one is missing, for I have a great sacrifice for Baal. Whoever is missing will not live.” But Jehu was acting deceptively in order to destroy the servants of Baal.
And now call unto me all the prophets of Ba'al, all his worshippers, and all his priests: let no one be missing; for I have a great sacrifice to make for Ba'al; whosoever will be missing, shall not live. But Jehu did it in subtilty, in order to destroy the worshippers of Ba'al.
20 And Jehu commanded, “Proclaim a solemn assembly for Baal.” So they announced it.
And Jehu said, Sanctify a solemn assembly for Ba'al. And they proclaimed it.
21 Then Jehu sent word throughout Israel, and all the servants of Baal came; there was not a man who failed to show. They entered the temple of Baal, and it was filled from end to end.
And Jehu sent throughout all Israel: and there came all the worshippers of Ba'al, so that there was not a man remaining that came not; and they came into the house of Ba'al; and the house of Ba'al was full from one end to another.
22 And Jehu said to the keeper of the wardrobe, “Bring out garments for all the servants of Baal.” So he brought out garments for them.
And he said unto him that was over the wardrobe, Bring forth vestments for all the worshippers of Ba'al. And he brought forth for them the vestments.
23 Next, Jehu and Jehonadab son of Rechab entered the temple of Baal, and Jehu said to the servants of Baal, “Look around to see that there are no servants of the LORD here among you—only servants of Baal.”
And Jehu went, with Yehonadab the son of Rechab, into the house of Ba'al, and he said unto the worshippers of Ba'al, Search, and look that there be not here with you any of the servants of the Lord, but the worshippers of Ba'al entirely alone.
24 And they went in to offer sacrifices and burnt offerings. Now Jehu had stationed eighty men outside and warned them, “If anyone allows one of the men I am delivering into your hands to escape, he will forfeit his life for theirs.”
And they went in to prepare sacrifices and burnt-offerings; but Jehu had set for himself without eighty men, and said, [If there be] a man that escapeth from the men whom I deliver into your hands, [there shall be given] life for his life.
25 When he had finished making the burnt offering, Jehu said to the guards and officers, “Go in and kill them. Do not let anyone out.” So the guards and officers put them to the sword, threw the bodies out, and went into the inner room of the temple of Baal.
And it came to pass, as soon as they had made an end of preparing the burnt-offering, that Jehu said to the runners and to the officers, Go in, smite them: let none come forth. And they smote them with the edge of the sword; and the runners and the captains cast them out, and went as far as the city of the house of Ba'al.
26 They brought out the sacred pillar of the temple of Baal and burned it.
And they brought forth the statues out of the house of Ba'al, and burnt every one of them.
27 They also demolished the sacred pillar of Baal. Then they tore down the temple of Baal and made it into a latrine, which it is to this day.
And they broke down the statue of Ba'al, and broke down the house of Ba'al, and made it a common sewer unto this day.
28 Thus Jehu eradicated Baal from Israel,
Thus Jehu exterminated Ba'al out of Israel.
29 but he did not turn away from the sins that Jeroboam son of Nebat had caused Israel to commit—the worship of the golden calves at Bethel and Dan.
Nevertheless the sins of Jerobo'am the son of Nebat, who induced Israel to sin, Jehu departed not from in following them, [namely, ] the golden calves that were in Beth-el, and that were in Dan.
30 Nevertheless, the LORD said to Jehu, “Because you have done well in carrying out 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.”
And the Lord said unto Jehu, Forasmuch as thou hast acted well in doing what is right in my eyes, and hast done in accordance with all that was in my heart unto the house of Achab: children of the fourth generation after thee shall sit upon the throne of Israel.
31 Yet Jehu was not careful to follow the instruction of the LORD, the God of Israel, with all his heart. He did not turn away from the sins that Jeroboam had caused Israel to commit.
But Jehu took no heed to walk in the law of the Lord the God of Israel with all his heart: he departed not from the sins of Jerobo'am, who induced Israel to sin.
32 In those days the LORD began to reduce the size of Israel. Hazael defeated the Israelites throughout their territory
In those days the Lord began to cut Israel short; and Chazael smote them in all the boundary of Israel;
33 from the Jordan eastward through all the land of Gilead (the region of Gad, Reuben, and Manasseh), and from Aroer by the Arnon Valley through Gilead to Bashan.
From the Jordan to the rising of the sun, all the land of Gil'ad, the Gadites, and the Reubenites, and the Menassites, from 'Aro'er which is by the river Arnon, both Gil'ad and Bashan.
34 As for the rest of the acts of Jehu, along with all his accomplishments and all his might, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?
Now the rest of the acts of Jehu, and all that he did, and all his mighty deeds, behold, they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel.
35 And Jehu rested with his fathers and was buried in Samaria, and his son Jehoahaz reigned in his place.
And Jehu slept with his fathers, and they buried him in Samaria. And Jehoachaz his son became king in his stead.
36 So the duration of Jehu’s reign over Israel in Samaria was twenty-eight years.
And the time that Jehu reigned over Israel in Samaria was twenty and eight years.