2 Kings 10

1 Now there were in Samaria seventy of Ahab's sons. And Jehu sent letters to Samaria, to the rulers of the town, and to the responsible men, and to those who had the care of the sons of Ahab, saying,

And Achab had seventy sons in Samaria: so Jehu wrote letters, and sent to Samaria, to the chief men of the city, and to the ancients, and to them that brought up Achab’s children, saying:

2 Straight away, when you get this letter, seeing that your master's sons are with you, and that you have carriages and horses and a walled town and arms;

As soon as you receive these letters, ye that have your master’s sons, and chariots, and horses, and fenced cities, and armour,

3 Take the best and most upright of your master's sons, and make him king in his father's place, and put up a fight for your master's family.

Choose the best, and him that shall please you most of your master’s sons, and set him on his father’s throne, and fight for the house of your master.

4 But they were full of fear, and said, The two kings have gone down before him: how may we keep our place?

But they were exceedingly afraid, and said: Behold two kings could not stand before him, and how shall we be able to resist?

5 So the controller of the king's house, with the ruler of the town, and the responsible men, and those who had the care of Ahab's sons, sent to Jehu, saying, We are your servants and will do all your orders; we will not make any man king; do whatever seems best to you.

Therefore the overseers of the house, and the rulers of the city, and the ancients, and the tutors sent to Jehu, saying: We are thy servants, whatsoever thou shalt command us we will do, neither will we make us a king: do thou all that pleaseth thee.

6 Then he sent them a second letter, saying, If you are on my side, and if you will do my orders, come to me at Jezreel by this time tomorrow, with the heads of your master's sons. Now the king's seventy sons were with the great men of the town, who had the care of them.

And he wrote letters the second time to them, saying: If you be mine, and will obey me, take the heads of the sons of your master, and come to me to Jezrahel by tomorrow this time. Now the king’s sons, being seventy men, were brought up with the chief men of the city.

7 And when the letter came to them, they took the king's sons and put them to death, all the seventy, and put their heads in baskets and sent them to him at Jezreel.

And when the letters came to them, they took the king’s sons, and slew seventy persons, and put their heads in baskets, and sent them to him to Jezrahel.

8 And a man came and said to him, They have come with the heads of the king's sons. And he said, Put them down in two masses at the doorway of the town till the morning.

And a messenger came, and told him, saying: They have brought the heads of the king’s sons. And he said: Lay ye them in two heaps by the entering in of the gate until the morning.

9 And in the morning he went out and, stopping, said to all the people there, You are upright men: it is true that I made designs against my master, and put him to death; but who is responsible for the death of all these?

And when it was light, he went out, and standing said to all the people: You are just: if I conspired against my master, and slew him, who hath slain all these?

10 You may be certain that nothing which the Lord has said about the family of Ahab will be without effect; for the Lord has done what he said by his servant Elijah.

See therefore now that there hath not fallen to the ground any of the words of the Lord, which the Lord spoke concerning the house of Achab, and the Lord hath done that which he spoke in the hand of his servant Elias.

11 So Jehu put to death all the rest of the seed of Ahab in Jezreel, and all his relations and his near friends and his priests, till there were no more of them.

So Jehu slew all that were left of the house of Achab in Jezrahel, and all his chief men, and his friends, and his priests, till there were no remains left of him.

12 Then he got up and came to Samaria. And he was at the meeting-place of the keepers of sheep, by the way,

And he arose, and went to Samaria: and when he was come to the shepherds’ cabin in the way,

13 When he came across the brothers of Ahaziah, king of Judah, and said, Who are you? And they said, We are the brothers of Ahaziah, king of Judah; we are going down to see the children of the king and of the queen.

He met with the brethren of Ochozias king of Juda, and he said to them: Who are you? And they answered: We are the brethren of Ochozias, and are come down to salute the sons of the king, and the sons of the queen.

14 And he said, Take them living. So they took them living, and put them to death in the water-hole of Beth-eked; of the forty-two men he put every one to death;

And he said: Take them alive. And they took them alive, and killed them at the pit by the cabin, two and forty men, and he left not any of them.

15 And when he had gone away from there, he came across Jehonadab, the son of Rechab: and he said good-day to him, and said to him, Is your heart true to mine, as mine is to yours? And Jehonadab in answer said, It is; and Jehu said, If it is, give me your hand. And he gave him his hand, and he made him come up into his carriage.

And when he was departed thence, he found Jonadab the son of Rechab coming to meet him, and he blessed him. And he said to him: Is thy heart right as my heart is with thy heart? And Jonadab said: It is. If it be, said he, give me thy hand. He gave him his hand. And he lifted him up to him into the chariot,

16 And he said, Come with me and see how I am on fire for the Lord's cause. So he made him go with him in his carriage.

And he said to him: Come with me, and see my zeal for the Lord. So he made him ride in his chariot,

17 And when he came to Samaria, he put to death all those of Ahab's family who were still in Samaria, till there were no more of them, as the Lord had said to Elijah.

And brought him into Samaria. And he slew all that were left of Achab in Samaria, to a man, according to the word of the Lord, which he spoke by Elias.

18 Then Jehu got all the people together and said to them, Ahab was Baal's servant in a small way, but Jehu will be his servant on a great scale.

And Jehu gathered together all the people, and said to them: Achab worshipped Baal a little, but I will worship him more.

19 Now send for all the prophets of Baal and all his servants and all his priests, to come to me; let no one keep away: for I have a great offering to make to Baal; anyone who is not present, will be put to death. This Jehu did with deceit, his purpose being the destruction of the servants of Baal.

Now therefore call to me all the prophets of Baal, and all his servants, and all his priests: let none be wanting, for I have a great sacrifice to offer to Baal: whosoever shall be wanting shall not live. Now Jehu did this craftily, that he might destroy the worshippers of Baal.

20 And Jehu said, Let there be a special holy meeting for the worship of Baal. So a public statement was made.

And he said: Proclaim a festival for Baal. And he called,

21 And Jehu sent out through all Israel; and all the servants of Baal came, not one kept away. And they came into the house of Baal, so that it was full from end to end.

And he sent into all the borders of Israel, and all the servants of Baal came: there was not one left that did not come. And they went into the temple of Baal: and the house of Baal was filled, from one end to the other.

22 And Jehu said to him who kept the robes, Get out robes for all the servants of Baal. So he got out robes for them.

And he said to them that were over the wardrobe: Bring forth garments for all the servants of Baal. And they brought them forth garments.

23 And Jehu, with Jehonadab, the son of Rechab, went into the house of Baal; and he said to the servants of Baal, Make a search with care, to see that no servant of the Lord is with you, but only servants of Baal.

And Jehu and Jonadab the son of Rechab went to the temple of Baal, and said to the worshippers of Baal: Search, and see that there be not any with you of the servants of the Lord, but that there be the servants of Baal only.

24 Then they went in to make offerings and burned offerings. Now Jehu had put eighty men outside, and said to them, If any man whom I give into your hands gets away, the life of him who lets him go will be the price of his life.

And they went in to offer sacrifices and burnt offerings: but Jehu had prepared him fourscore men without, and said to them: If any of the men escape, whom I have brought into your hands, he that letteth him go shall answer life for life.

25 Then when the burned offering was ended, straight away Jehu said to the armed men and the captains, Go in and put them to death; let not one come out. So they put them to the sword; and, pulling the images to the earth, they went into the holy place of the house of Baal.

And it came to pass, when the burnt offering was ended, that Jehu commanded his soldiers and captains, saying: Go in, and kill them, let none escape. And the soldiers and captains slew them with the edge of the sword, and cast them out: and they went into the city of the temple of Baal,

26 And they took out the image of Asherah from the house of Baal, and had it burned.

And brought the statue out of Baal’s temple, and burnt it,

27 The altar of Baal was pulled down and the house of Baal was broken up and made an unclean place, as it is to this day.

And broke it in pieces. They destroyed also the temple of Baal, and made a jakes in its place unto this day.

28 So Jehu put an end to the worship of Baal in Israel.

So Jehu destroyed Baal out of Israel:

29 But Jehu did not keep himself from all the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, and the evil he made Israel do; the gold oxen were still in Beth-el and in Dan.

But yet he departed not from the sills of Jeroboam the son of Nabat, who made Israel to sin, nor did he forsake the golden calves that were in Bethel and Dan.

30 And the Lord said to Jehu, Because you have done well in doing what is right in my eyes and effecting all my purpose for the family of Ahab, your sons will be kings of Israel to the fourth generation.

And the Lord said to Jehu: Because thou hast diligently executed that which was right and pleasing in my eyes, and hast done to the house of Achab according to all that was in my heart: thy children shall sit upon the throne of Israel to the fourth Generation.

31 But Jehu did not take care to keep the law of the Lord with all his heart: he did not keep himself from the sin which Jeroboam did and made Israel do.

But Jehu took no heed to walk in the law of the Lord the God of Israel with all his heart: for he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam, who had made Israel to sin.

32 In those days the Lord was angry first with Israel; and Hazael made attacks on all the land of Israel,

In those days the Lord began to he weary of Israel: and Hazael ravaged them in all the coasts of Israel,

33 East of Jordan, in all the land of Gilead, the Gadites and the Reubenites and the Manassites, from Aroer by the valley of the Arnon, all Gilead and Bashan.

From the Jordan eastward, all the land of Galaad, and Gad, and Ruben, and Manasses, from Aroer, which is upon the torrent Amen, and Galaad, and Basan.

34 Now the rest of the acts of Jehu, and all he did, and his great power, are they not recorded in the book of the history of the kings of Israel?

But the rest of the acts of Jehu, and all that he did, and his strength, are they not written in the book of the words of the days of the kings of Israel?

35 And Jehu went to rest with his fathers, and was put into the earth in Samaria. And Jehoahaz his son became king in his place.

And Jehu slept with his fathers, and they buried him in Samaria: and Joachaz his son reigned in his stead.

36 And the time of Jehu's rule over Israel in Samaria was twenty-eight years.

And the time that Jehu reigned over Israel, in Samaria, was eight and twenty years.