2 Kings 9
1 Elisha the prophet called one of the sons of the prophets and told him, “Put your cloak into your belt, take this flask of olive oil, and go to Ramoth-gilead.
And Elisha the prophet called one of the sons of the prophets, and said to him, Gird up thy loins, and take this vial of oil in thy hand, and go to Ramoth-gilead.
2 Once you get there, look for Jehu, son of Jehoshaphat, son of Nimshi. Go in, get him away from his companions, and take him to an inner room. Get him to leave his friends, lead him to a private room,
And when thou come there, look out there for Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat the son of Nimshi, and go in, and make him arise up from among his brothers, and carry him to an inner chamber.
3 take the flask of olive oil, and pour it on his head. Tell him, ‘This is what the Lord says: I anoint you king of Israel.’ Then open the door and run away! Don't wait around!”
Then take the vial of oil, and pour it on his head, and say, Thus says Jehovah, I have anointed thee king over Israel. Then open the door, and flee, and delay not.
4 So the young prophet went to Ramoth-gilead.
So the young man, even the young man the prophet, went to Ramoth-gilead.
5 When he arrived, he saw the army commanders sitting around. “I've got a message for you, commander,” he said. “For which one of us?” Jehu asked. “For you, commander,” he replied.
And when he came, behold, the captains of the army were sitting. And he said, I have an errand to thee, O captain. And Jehu said, To which of us all? And he said, To thee, O captain.
6 Jehu got up and went inside, where the young prophet poured the olive oil on his head and announced to him, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘I anoint you king over the Lord's people Israel.
And he arose, and went into the house. And he poured the oil on his head, and said to him, Thus says Jehovah, the God of Israel, I have anointed thee king over the people of Jehovah, even over Israel.
7 You are going to destroy the family of Ahab, your master. You will avenge the blood my prophets and the blood of all the Lord's servants killed by Jezebel.
And thou shall smite the house of Ahab thy master, that I may avenge the blood of my servants the prophets, and the blood of all the servants of Jehovah, at the hand of Jezebel.
8 The whole house of Ahab will be eradicated—I will destroy all the males of Ahab's family in Israel, both slave and free.
For the whole house of Ahab shall perish. And I will cut off from Ahab every man-child, and him who is shut up and him who is left at large in Israel.
9 I will make the house of Ahab like the house of Jeroboam, son of Nebat, and like the house of 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 Dogs will eat Jezebel, Ahab's wife, at the plot of ground in Jezreel, and no one will bury her.” Then the young prophet opened the door and ran away.
And the dogs shall eat Jezebel in the portion of Jezreel, and there shall be none to bury her. And he opened the door, and fled.
11 When Jehu went back out to the other officers of his master, they asked him, “Is everything fine? Why did this crazy man come to you?” “You know what he's like, and how he goes on and on,” he replied.
Then Jehu came forth to the servants of his lord, and one said to him, Is all well? Why did this mad fellow come to thee? And he said to them, Ye know the man and what his talk was.
12 “Liar!” they said. “Please tell us what's going on.” “Well, he talked to me about this and that, and he told me, ‘This is what the Lord says: I anoint you king over Israel.’”
And they said, It is not true; tell us now. And he said, Thus and thus he spoke to me, saying, Thus says Jehovah, I have anointed thee king over Israel.
13 They quickly grabbed their cloaks and spread them on the bare steps. They blew the trumpet and shouted, “Jehu is king!”
Then they hastened, and every man took his garment, and put it under him on the top of the stairs, and blew the trumpet, saying, Jehu is king.
14 So Jehu, son of Jehoshaphat, son of Nimshi, plotted rebellion against Joram. Joram and the whole Israelite army had been defending Ramoth-Gilead against Hazael, king of Aram.
So Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat the son of Nimshi conspired against Joram. (Now Joram was keeping Ramoth-gilead, he and all Israel, because of Hazael king of Syria.
15 But Joram had returned to Jezreel to recover from the wounds he'd received fighting against Hazael, king of Aram. So Jehu said, “If you commanders want to make me king, don't let anyone leave town and go and announce it in Jezreel.”
But king Joram was returned to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds which the Syrians had given him when he fought with Hazael king of Syria.) And Jehu said, If this be your mind, then let none escape and go forth out of the city to go to tell it in Jezreel.
16 Jehu got on his chariot and went to Jezreel, for Joram was recuperating there. Ahaziah, king of Judah, was there too because he had come to visit Joram.
So Jehu rode in a chariot, and went to Jezreel, for Joram lay there. And Ahaziah king of Judah came down to see Joram.
17 The watchman on the tower in Jezreel saw Jehu's soldiers approaching, and he shouted out, “I see a soldiers coming!” “Choose a horseman,” Joram ordered. “Send him out to meet them and ask, ‘Do you come in peace?’”
Now the watchman was standing on the tower in Jezreel, and he spied the company of Jehu as he came, and said, I see a company. And Joram said, Take a horseman, and send to meet them, and let him say, Is it peace?
18 So a horseman rode off to meet Jehu, and said, “This is what the king asks: ‘Do you come in peace?’” “What has peace got to do with you?” Jehu replied. “Turn around and follow me.” The watchman reported, “The messenger has reached them, but he's not returning.”
So one went on horseback to meet him, and said, Thus says the king, Is it peace? And Jehu said, What have thou to do with peace? Turn thee behind me. And the watchman told, saying, The messenger came to them, but he does not come back.
19 The king sent out a second horseman. He went up to them and said, “This is what the king asks: ‘Do you come in peace?’” “What has peace got to do with you?” Jehu replied. “Turn around and follow me.”
Then he sent out a second on horseback who came to them, and said, Thus says the king, Is it peace? And Jehu answered, What have thou to do with peace? Turn thee behind me.
20 The watchman reported, “The messenger has reached them, but he's not returning. The driving looks like the driving of Jehu, son of Nimshi—he's a crazy driver!”
And the watchman told, saying, He came to them, and does not come back. And the driving is like the driving of Jehu the son of Nimshi, for he drives furiously.
21 “Prepare my chariot!” Joram shouted, and they had his chariot ready. Then Joram, king of Israel, and Ahaziah, king of Judah, set off in their separate chariots, and met Jehu on the plot of ground that was previously owned by Naboth from Jezreel.
And Joram said, Make ready. And they made his chariot ready. And Joram king of Israel and Ahaziah king of Judah went out, each in his chariot, and they went out to meet Jehu, and found him in the portion of Naboth the Jezreelite.
22 When Joram saw Jehu, he asked him, “Do you come in peace, Jehu?” “What peace can there be with so much prostitution and witchcraft caused by your mother Jezebel?” Jehu replied.
And it came to pass, when Joram saw Jehu, that he said, Is it peace, Jehu? And he answered, What peace, so long as the whoredoms of thy mother Jezebel and her witchcrafts are so many?
23 Joram turned around and raced away, shouting out to Ahaziah, “It's treason, Ahaziah!”
And Joram turned his hands, and fled, and said to Ahaziah, There is treachery, O Ahaziah.
24 Jehu picked up his bow and shot Joram between the shoulders. The arrow went through his heart and he collapsed dead in his chariot.
And Jehu drew his bow with his full strength, and smote Joram between his arms. And the arrow went out at his heart, and he sank down in his chariot.
25 Jehu said to Bidkar his officer, “Pick him up and throw him into the field of Naboth from Jezreel. Remember when you and I were riding together behind his father Ahab how the Lord made this prophecy against him:
Then Jehu said to Bidkar his captain, Take up, and cast him in the portion of the field of Naboth the Jezreelite. For remember how that, when I and thou rode together after Ahab his father, Jehovah laid this burden upon him:
26 ‘In the same way as I saw the blood of Naboth and the blood of his sons yesterday, says the Lord, so I will certainly repay you on this same plot of ground, says the Lord.’ Now then, following what the Lord has said, pick him up and throw him on the plot of ground.”
Surely I have seen yesterday the blood of Naboth, and the blood of his sons, says Jehovah, and I will requite thee in this plot, says Jehovah. Now therefore take and cast him into the plot of ground, according to the word of Jehovah.
27 When Ahaziah, king of Judah, saw what happened, he raced up the road toward Beth-haggan. But Jehu chased after him, shouting, “Shoot him too!” So they shot Ahaziah in his chariot on the way up to Gur, near Ibleam. He managed to escape to Megiddo but he died there.
But when Ahaziah the king of Judah saw this, he fled by the way of the garden-house. And Jehu followed after him, and said, Smite him also in the chariot. And they smote him at the ascent of Gur, which is by Ibleam. And he fled to Megiddo, and died there.
28 His servants took him by chariot to Jerusalem and buried him with his forefathers in his tomb in the City of David.
And his servants carried him in a chariot to Jerusalem, and buried him in his sepulcher with his fathers in the city of David.
29 Ahaziah became king of Judah in the eleventh year of the reign of Joram, son of Ahab.
(And it was in the eleventh year of Joram the son of Ahab Ahaziah began to reign over Judah.)
30 When Jezebel heard that Jehu had arrived in Jezreel, she put on her black eye-shadow, placed jewelry in her hair, and watched from a window.
And when Jehu came to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it. And she painted her eyes, and attired her head, and looked out at the window.
31 As Jehu came in through the gate, she shouted down, “Do you come in peace? Or are you like Zimri, a murderer of your master?”
And as Jehu entered in at the gate, she said, Is it peace, thou Zimri, thy master's murderer?
32 Jehu looked up at the window and shouted out, “Who is on my side? Anyone?” Two or three eunuchs looked down at him.
And he lifted up his face to the window, and said, Who is on my side? Who? And two or three eunuchs looked out to him.
33 “Throw her down!” he shouted. And they threw her down. Her blood spattered on the wall and on the horses which then trampled her.
And he said, Throw her down. So they threw her down. And some of her blood was sprinkled on the wall, and on the horses. And he trampled her under foot.
34 Jehu went inside and ate and drank. Then he said, “Please deal with that cursed woman and bury her, for she was a king's daughter.”
And when he came in, he ate and drank, and he said, Now see to this cursed woman, and bury her, for she is a king's daughter.
35 They went out to bury her but all they found were her skull, her feet, and her hands.
And they went to bury her, but they found no more of her than the skull, and the feet, and the palms of her hands.
36 They went back and told Jehu, who said, “This is what the Lord said through his servant Elijah the Tishbite: ‘Dogs will eat Jezebel's flesh on the plot of ground at Jezreel.
Therefore they came back, and told him. And he said, This is the word of Jehovah, which he spoke by his servant Elijah the Tishbite, saying, In the portion of Jezreel shall the dogs eat the flesh of Jezebel,
37 Jezebel's body will lie like manure in the field on the plot of ground at Jezreel, so that no one can say: This is where Jezebel is buried.’”
and the body of Jezebel shall be as dung upon the face of the field in the portion of Jezreel, so that they shall not say, This is Jezebel.
