2 Kings 9
1 Now Elisha the prophet summoned one of the sons of the prophets and said to him, “Tuck your cloak under your belt, take this flask of oil, and go to Ramoth-gilead.
Now the prophet Elisha called one of the sons of the prophets, and he said to him: “Gird your waist, and take this little bottle of oil in your hand, and go to Ramoth Gilead.
2 When you arrive, look for Jehu son of Jehoshaphat, the son of Nimshi. Go in, get him away from his companions, and take him to an inner room.
And when you arrive in that place, you will see Jehu, the son of Jehoshaphat, the son of Nimshi. And upon entering, you shall raise him up from the midst of his brothers, and you shall lead him into an inner room.
3 Then take the flask of oil, pour it on his head, and declare, ‘This is what the LORD says: I anoint you king over Israel.’ Then open the door and run. Do not delay!”
And taking the little bottle of oil, you shall pour it upon his head, and you shall say: ‘Thus says the Lord: I have anointed you as king over Israel.’ And you shall open the door and flee. And you shall not remain in that place.”
4 So the young prophet went to Ramoth-gilead,
Therefore, the young man, a servant of the prophet, went away to Ramoth Gilead.
5 and when he arrived, the army commanders were sitting there. “I have a message for you, commander,” he said. “For which of us?” asked Jehu. “For you, commander,” he replied.
And he entered that place, and behold, the leaders of the army were sitting there, and he said, “I have a word for you, O prince.” And Jehu said, “For which one among us all?” And he said, “For you, O prince.”
6 So Jehu got up and went into the house, where the young prophet poured the oil on his head and declared, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘I anoint you king over the LORD’s people Israel.
And he rose up and entered into the room. And he poured the oil on his head, and he said: “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: ‘I have anointed you as king over Israel, the people of the Lord.
7 And you are to strike down the house of your master Ahab, so that I may avenge the blood of My servants the prophets and the blood of all the servants of the LORD shed by the hand of Jezebel.
And you shall strike down the house of Ahab, your lord. And I will avenge the blood of my servants, the prophets, and the blood of all the servants of the Lord, from the hand of Jezebel.
8 The whole house of Ahab will perish, and I will cut off from Ahab every male, both slave and free, in Israel.
And I will destroy the entire house of Ahab. And I will cause to pass away from Ahab, whatever urinates against a wall, and whatever is lame, and whatever is least in Israel.
9 I will make the house of Ahab like the houses of Jeroboam son of Nebat and Baasha son of Ahijah.
And 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 on the plot of ground at Jezreel the dogs will devour Jezebel, and there will be no one to bury her.’” Then the young prophet opened the door and ran.
Also, the dogs will consume Jezebel, in the field of Jezreel. Neither will there be anyone who may bury her.’” And then he opened the door, and he fled.
11 When Jehu went out to the servants of his master, they asked, “Is everything all right? Why did this madman come to you?” “You know his kind and their babble,” he replied.
Then Jehu went out to the servants of his lord. And they said to him: “Is everything well? Why has this insane man come to you?” And he said to them, “You know the man, and what he said.”
12 “That is a lie!” they said. “Tell us now!” So Jehu answered, “He talked to me about this and that, and he said, ‘This is what the LORD says: I anoint you king over Israel.’”
But they responded, “That is false; instead, you should tell us.” And he said to them, “He said to me these certain things, and he said, ‘Thus says the Lord: I have anointed you as king over Israel.’”
13 Quickly, each man took his garment and put it under Jehu on the bare steps. Then they blew the ram’s horn and proclaimed, “Jehu is king!”
And so they hurried away. And each one, taking his cloak, placed it under his feet, in the manner of a seat for judgment. And they sounded the trumpet, and they said: “Jehu reigns!”
14 Thus Jehu son of Jehoshaphat, the son of Nimshi, conspired against Joram. (Now Joram and all Israel had been defending Ramoth-gilead against Hazael king of Aram,
Then Jehu, the son of Jehoshaphat, the son of Nimshi, conspired against Joram. Now Joram had besieged Ramoth Gilead, he and all of Israel, against Hazael, the king of Syria.
15 but King Joram had returned to Jezreel to recover from the wounds he had suffered at the hands of the Arameans in the battle against Hazael their king.) So Jehu said, “If you commanders wish to make me king, then do not let anyone escape from the city to go and tell it in Jezreel.”
And he had returned, so that he might be cured at Jezreel, because of his wounds. For the Syrians had struck him, while he was fighting against Hazael, the king of Syria. And Jehu said, “If it pleases you, let no one depart, fleeing from the city; otherwise he may go and give a report in Jezreel.”
16 Then Jehu got into his chariot and went to Jezreel, because Joram was laid up there and Ahaziah king of Judah had gone down to see him.
And he climbed up and set out for Jezreel, because Joram was sick there, and Ahaziah, the king of Judah, had gone down to visit Joram.
17 Now the watchman standing on the tower in Jezreel saw Jehu’s troops approaching, and he called out, “I see a company of troops!” “Choose a rider,” Joram commanded. “Send him out to meet them and ask, ‘Have you come in peace?’”
And so the watchman, who was standing upon the tower of Jezreel, saw the crowd of Jehu arriving, and he said, “I see a crowd.” And Joram said: “Take a chariot, and send to meet them. And those who go should say, ‘Is everything well?’”
18 So a horseman rode off to meet Jehu and said, “This is what the king asks: ‘Have you come in peace?’” “What do you know about peace?” Jehu replied. “Fall in behind me.” And the watchman reported, “The messenger reached them, but he is not coming back.”
Therefore, he who had climbed into the chariot went away to meet him, and he said, “The king says this: ‘Is everything peaceful?’” And Jehu said: “What peace is there for you? Pass by and follow me.” Also the watchman gave a report, saying, “The messenger went to them, but he did not return.”
19 So the king sent out a second horseman, who went to them and said, “This is what the king asks: ‘Have you come in peace?’” “What do you know about peace?” Jehu replied. “Fall in behind me.”
And then he sent a second chariot of horses. And he went to them, and he said, “The king says this: ‘Is there peace?’” And Jehu said: “What peace is there for you? Pass by and follow me.”
20 Again the watchman reported, “He reached them, but he is not coming back. And the charioteer is driving like Jehu son of Nimshi —he is driving like a madman!”
Then the watchman gave a report, saying: “He went all the way to them, but he did not return. But their advance is like the advance of Jehu, the son of Nimshi. For he advances precipitously.”
21 “Harness!” Joram shouted, and they harnessed his chariot. Then Joram king of Israel and Ahaziah king of Judah set out, each in his own chariot, and met Jehu on the property of Naboth the Jezreelite.
And Joram said, “Yoke the chariot.” And they yoked his chariot. And Joram, the king of Israel, and Ahaziah, the king of Judah, departed, each in his chariot. And they went out to meet Jehu. And they met him in the field of Naboth, the Jezreelite.
22 When Joram saw Jehu, he asked, “Have you come in peace, Jehu?” “How can there be peace,” he replied, “as long as the idolatry and witchcraft of your mother Jezebel abound?”
And when Joram had seen Jehu, he said, “Is there peace, Jehu?” And he responded: “What is peace? For still the fornications of your mother, Jezebel, and her many poisons, are thriving.”
23 Joram turned around and fled, calling out to Ahaziah, “Treachery, Ahaziah!”
Then Joram turned his hand, and, fleeing, he said to Ahaziah, “Treachery, Ahaziah!”
24 Then Jehu drew his bow and shot Joram between the shoulders. The arrow pierced his heart, and he slumped down in his chariot.
But Jehu bent his bow with his hand, and he struck Joram between the shoulders. And the arrow went through his heart, and immediately he fell in his chariot.
25 And Jehu said to Bidkar his officer, “Pick him up and throw him into the field of Naboth the Jezreelite. For remember that when you and I were riding together behind his father Ahab, the LORD lifted up this burden against him:
And Jehu said to Bidkar, his commander: “Take and cast him into the field of Naboth, the Jezreelite. For I remember, when you and I, sitting in a chariot, were following Ahab, this man’s father, that the Lord lifted this burden upon him, saying:
26 ‘As surely as I saw the blood of Naboth and the blood of his sons yesterday, declares the LORD, so will I repay you on this plot of ground, declares the LORD.’ Now then, according to the word of the LORD, pick him up and throw him on the plot of ground.”
‘Certainly, I will repay you in this field, says the Lord, for the blood of Naboth, and for the blood of his sons, which I saw yesterday, says the Lord.’ Therefore, take him now, and cast him into the field, in accord with the word of the Lord.”
27 When King Ahaziah of Judah saw this, he fled up the road toward Beth-haggan. And Jehu pursued him, shouting, “Shoot him too!” So they shot Ahaziah in his chariot on the Ascent of Gur, near Ibleam, and he fled to Megiddo and died there.
But Ahaziah, the king of Judah, seeing this, fled along the way of the garden house. And Jehu pursued him, and he said, “Strike this one also in his chariot.” And they struck him on the ascent to Gur, which is beside Ibleam. But he fled into Megiddo, and he died there.
28 Then his servants carried him by chariot to Jerusalem and buried him with his fathers in his tomb in the City of David.
And his servants placed him upon his chariot, and they took him to Jerusalem. And they buried him in the sepulcher with his fathers, in the city of David.
29 (In the eleventh year of Joram son of Ahab, Ahaziah had become king over Judah.)
In the eleventh year of Joram, the son of Ahab, Ahaziah reigned over Judah.
30 Now when Jehu arrived in Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it. So she painted her eyes, adorned her head, and looked down from a window.
And Jehu went into Jezreel. But Jezebel, hearing of his arrival, painted her eyes with cosmetics, and adorned her head. And she watched through a window,
31 And as Jehu entered the gate, she asked, “Have you come in peace, O Zimri, murderer of your master?”
as Jehu was entering through the gate. And she said, “Is it possible for there to be peace for Zimri, who killed his lord?”
32 He looked up at the window and called out, “Who is on my side? Who?” And two or three eunuchs looked down at him.
And Jehu lifted up his face to the window, and he said, “Who is this woman?” And two or three eunuchs bowed down before him.
33 “Throw her down!” yelled Jehu. So they threw her down, and her blood splattered on the wall and on the horses as they trampled her underfoot.
And he said to them, “Throw her down with force.” And they threw her forcefully, and the wall was splattered with her blood, and the hoofs of the horses trampled her.
34 Then Jehu went in and ate and drank. “Take care of this cursed woman,” he said, “and bury her, for she was the daughter of a king.”
And when he had entered, so that he might eat and drink, he said: “Go, and see to that cursed woman, and bury her. For she is the daughter of a king.”
35 But when they went out to bury her, they found nothing but her skull, her feet, and the palms of her hands.
But when they had gone, so that they might bury her, they found nothing but the skull, and the feet, and the ends of her hands.
36 So they went back and told Jehu, who replied, “This is the word of the LORD, which He spoke through His servant Elijah the Tishbite: ‘On the plot of ground at Jezreel the dogs will devour the flesh of Jezebel.
And returning, they reported to him. And Jehu said: “It is the word of the Lord, which he spoke through his servant, Elijah the Tishbite, saying: ‘In the field of Jezreel, the dogs will consume the flesh of Jezebel.
37 And Jezebel’s body will lie like dung in the field on the plot of ground at Jezreel, so that no one can say: This is Jezebel.’”
And the flesh of Jezebel will be like dung upon the face of the earth, in the field of Jezreel, so that those who pass by may say: Is this that same Jezebel?’”
