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,

Now, Ahab, had seventy sons in Samaria, —so Jehu wrote letters, and sent to Samaria, unto the rulers of Jezreel—the elders, and unto them who had been foster-parents for Ahab, 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;

Now, therefore, when this letter cometh in unto you, there being, with you, the sons of your lord, —and, with you, the chariots and the homes, and a fortified city, and the 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.

ye shall look out the goodliest and fittest of the sons of your lord, and set on the throne of his father, and ye shall do battle for the house of your lord.

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

Then feared they very greatly, and said, Lo! two kings, stood not before him; how then, should, we, stand?

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.

So he that was over the house, and he that was over the city, and the elders, and the foster-parents sent unto Jehu, saying—Thy servants, we are! and, all that thou shalt say unto us, will we do, —we will make no man king, whatsoever is good in thine own eyes, do!

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.

Then wrote he unto them a second letter, saying—If, mine, ye are, and, unto my voice, ye intend to hearken, take ye the heads of the men who are sons of your lord, and come in unto me about this time to-morrow, in Jezreel. Now, the sons of the king, seventy persons, were with the great men of the city, who had been bringing them up.

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 it came to pass, when the letter reached them, that they took the sons of the king, and slew them, seventy persons, —and put their heads in baskets, and sent unto him to Jezreel.

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 there came in a messenger and told him, saying, They have brought in the heads of the sons of the king. And he said—Lay ye them in two heaps, at the entrance 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 it came to pass, in the morning, that he went out and took his stand, and said unto all the people, Righteous, are, ye! Lo! I, conspired against my lord, and slew him, but, who, smote, 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.

Know ye, then, that there shall fall nought of the word of Yahweh, to the ground, which Yahweh spake concerning the house of Ahab, —but, Yahweh, hath done that which he spake through his servant Elijah.

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.

Then Jehu smote all that were left remaining unto the house of Ahab, in Jezreel, and all his great men, and his acquaintances and his priests, —until there was not left remaining to him, a survivor.

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

Then arose he, and came in, and departed for Samaria, —the sheep-shearing house itself being on the road;

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.

so, Jehu, lighted upon the brethren of Ahaziah king of Judah, and said, Who are, ye? And they said—Brethren of Ahaziah, are, we; so we came 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;

Then said he, —Take them alive. So they took them alive, and slew them [casting them] into the pit of the shearing house, —forty-two men, neither left he remaining a man 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.

Then departed he from thence, and lighted on Jehonadab son of Rechab coming to meet him, and he blessed him, and said unto him—Is thy heart, right, as my heart is with thy heart? And Jehonadab said—It is. Then, if it is, give me thy hand. So he gave him his hand. And he took 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 said—Do come with me, and see my jealousy for Yahweh. 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, when he came into Samaria, he smote all that were left remaining unto Ahab, in Samaria, until he had destroyed him, —according to the word of Yahweh, which he had spoken unto Elijah.

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.

Then Jehu gathered together all the people, and said unto them, —Ahab, served Baal, a little, —Jehu, will serve him, much.

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, all the prophets of Baal, all his servants and all his priests, call ye for me; do not let, a man, be missing; for, a great sacrifice, have I, to Baal, no one that is missing, shall live. But, Jehu, acted, craftily, to the end he might destroy the servants 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 Jehu said—Hallow ye a solemn festival unto Baal. And they made proclamation.

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 Jehu sent throughout all Israel, and all the servants of Baal came in, so that there was not left remaining a man, who had not come in, —and they entered the house of Baal, and the house of Baal was filled, from door to door.

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.

Then said he to him who was over the wardrobe chamber, Bring forth vestments for all the servants of Baal. And he brought forth for them the vestments.

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.

Then entered Jehu, with Jehonadab son of Rechab, into the house of Baal, —and he said unto the servants of Baal—Search ye and see, that there be not here, with you, any of the servants of Yahweh, none but the servants of Baal, alone.

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, when they entered to offer sacrifices and ascending-offerings, Jehu, set him, outside, eighty men, and said—The man who shall escape, of the men whom I am bringing into your power, his own life, shall be for, his 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, as soon as he had made an end of offering the ascending-sacrifice, that Jehu said to the runners and to the officers—Enter, smite them, let not, a man, get out. So they smote them, with the edge of the sword, —and the runners and the officers cast them out, and then went as far as the city of the house of Baal,

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

and brought forth the idolatrous pillars that were in the house of Baal, and then burned 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 they brake down the pillars of Baal, —and brake down the house of Baal, and appointed it for a sewer-house—until this day.

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

Thus 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.

Nevertheless, as for the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he caused, Israel, to commit, Jehu turned not away from following them, —the calves of gold, one being in Bethel, and the other in 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 Yahweh said unto Jehu: Because thou hast done well, by doing that which was right in mine eyes—according to all that was in my heart, hast done to the house of Ahab, sons, of thine, unto the fourth generation, shall sit upon the throne of Israel.

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 not heed to walk in the law of Yahweh God of Israel, with all his heart, —he turned not away from the sins of Jeroboam, which he caused, Israel, to commit.

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

In those days, began Yahweh to make inroads in Israel, —and Hazael smote them in all the boundaries 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, towards sunrise, all the land of Gilead, the Gadites, and the Reubenites, and the Manassites, —from Aroer, which is by the torrent of Arnon, both Gilead and Bashan.

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?

Now, the rest of the story of Jehu, and all that he did, and all his might, are they not written in the book of the Chronicles 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, Jehoahaz his son, reigned, in his stead.

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

Now, the days that Jehu reigned over Israel, were twenty-eight years, in Samaria.