2 Kings 10

1 And Ahab had seventy sons in Samaria. And Jehu wrote letters, and sent to Samaria, unto the rulers of Jezreel, to the elders, and to them that brought up Ahab’s children, saying,

There were seventy descendants of King Ahab who were living there in Samaria. Jehu wrote a letter [and made copies of it] and sent them to the rulers of the city, to the elders, and to those who raised and tutored Ahab’s children.

2 Now as soon as this letter cometh to you, seeing your master’s sons are with you, and there are with you chariots and horses, a fenced city also, and armour;

[This is what he wrote]: “You are the ones who are [taking care of] the king’s descendants. You have chariots and horses and weapons, and you live in cities that have walls around them. So as soon as you receive this letter,

3 Look even out the best and meetest of your master’s sons, and set him on his father’s throne, and fight for your master’s house.

choose one of the king’s sons, the one who is the best qualified, and appoint him to be your king. Then [prepare to] fight to defend him.”

4 But they were exceedingly afraid, and said, Behold, two kings stood not before him: how then shall we stand?

But [when they got those letters from Jehu and read them], they became very afraid. They said, “King Joram and King Ahaziah could not resist him; (how can we resist him?/we cannot possibly resist him!)” [RHQ]

5 And he that was over the house, and he that was over the city, the elders also, and the bringers up of the children, sent to Jehu, saying, We are thy servants, and will do all that thou shalt bid us; we will not make any king: do thou that which is good in thine eyes.

So the officer who was in charge of the palace and the mayor of the city sent a message to Jehu saying, “We want to serve you, and we are ready to do whatever you tell us to do. We will not appoint anyone to become our king. You do whatever you think is best.”

6 Then he wrote a letter the second time to them, saying, If ye be mine, and if ye will hearken unto my voice, take ye the heads of the men your master’s sons, and come to me to Jezreel by to morrow this time. Now the king’s sons, being seventy persons, were with the great men of the city, which brought them up.

So Jehu sent a second letter to them, writing this: “If you (are on my side/want to help me), and if you are ready to obey me, [kill] King Ahab’s descendants [and cut off their heads and] bring their heads to me here in Jezreel at this time tomorrow.” The seventy descendants of King Ahab were being brought up and supervised by the leaders of [Samaria] city.

7 And it came to pass, when the letter came to them, that they took the king’s sons, and slew seventy persons, and put their heads in baskets, and sent him them to Jezreel.

When they received the letter from Jehu, they killed all seventy of Ahab’s descendants and [cut off their heads]. They put their heads in baskets and sent them to Jehu at Jezreel.

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

A messenger came to Jehu and told him, “They have brought the heads of Ahab’s descendants.” So Jehu commanded that the heads should be put in two piles at the city gate and that the heads should stay there until the next morning.

9 And it came to pass in the morning, that he went out, and stood, and said to all the people, Ye be righteous: behold, I conspired against my master, and slew him: but who slew all these?

The next morning he went out [to the city gate] and said to all the people, “I am the one who plotted against King Joram and killed him. You are not guilty of doing that. But [it was Yahweh, not I] [RHQ] who [commanded that] all these [descendants of Ahab should be] killed.

10 Know now that there shall fall unto the earth nothing of the word of Yhwh, which Yhwh spake concerning the house of Ahab: for Yhwh hath done that which he spake by his servant Elijah.

So you need to know that everything that Yahweh said would happen has happened. He has caused to happen what he told the prophet Elijah would happen.”

11 So Jehu slew all that remained of the house of Ahab in Jezreel, and all his great men, and his kinsfolks, and his priests, until he left him none remaining.

Then Jehu executed all the other relatives of Ahab in Jezreel, and all Ahab’s officers, and close friends, and his priests. He did not allow any of them to remain alive.

12 And he arose and departed, and came to Samaria. And as he was at the shearing house in the way,

Then Jehu left [Jezreel] and went toward Samaria. While he was going there, at a place called ‘Shepherds’ Camp’,

13 Jehu met with the brethren of Ahaziah king of Judah, and said, Who are ye? And they answered, We are the brethren of Ahaziah; and we go down to salute the children of the king and the children of the queen.

he met some relatives of King Ahaziah of Judah. He asked them, “Who are you?” They replied, “We are relatives of King Ahaziah. We are going to Jezreel to visit the children of Queen Jezebel and the other members of King [Joram’s] family.”

14 And he said, Take them alive. And they took them alive, and slew them at the pit of the shearing house, even two and forty men; neither left he any of them.

Jehu said to his men, “Seize them!” So they seized them and killed all of them at the pit named Beth-Eked. There were 42 people whom they killed; they did not allow any of them to remain alive.

15 And when he was departed thence, he lighted on Jehonadab the son of Rechab coming to meet him: and he saluted him, and said to him, Is thine heart right, as my heart is with thy heart? And Jehonadab answered, It is. If it be, give me thine hand. And he gave him his hand; and he took him up to him into the chariot.

Then Jehu [continued to travel toward Samaria]. Along the road, he was met by Jonadab, a leader of the Rechab clan. Jehu greeted him and said to him, “Are you as devoted to me [IDM] as I am devoted to you?” Jonadab replied, “Yes, I am.” Jehu said, “If you are, shake hands with me.” So Jonadab shook hands with him, and Jehu helped him to get into his chariot.

16 And he said, Come with me, and see my zeal for Yhwh. So they made him ride in his chariot.

Jehu said to him, “Come with me, and you will see that I am very devoted to Yahweh.” So they rode together to Samaria.

17 And when he came to Samaria, he slew all that remained unto Ahab in Samaria, till he had destroyed him, according to the saying of Yhwh, which he spake to Elijah.

When they arrived in Samaria, Jehu killed all of Ahab’s relatives who were still alive. He did not (spare any of them/allow any of them to remain alive). That was what Yahweh told Elijah would happen.

18 And Jehu gathered all the people together, and said unto them, Ahab served Baal a little; but Jehu shall serve him much.

Then Jehu summoned all the people [of Samaria], and said to them, “King Ahab was devoted to [your god] Baal a little bit, but I will serve him much more.

19 Now therefore call unto me all the prophets of Baal, all his servants, and all his priests; let none be wanting: for I have a great sacrifice to do to Baal; whosoever shall be wanting, he shall not live. But Jehu did it in subtilty, to the intent that he might destroy the worshippers of Baal.

So now summon all the prophets of Baal, all of Baal’s priests, and all the others who worship Baal. I am going to make a great sacrifice to Baal. I want all of them to be there. Any of them who is not there will be executed.” But Jehu was planning to trick them; he was planning to kill all those who worshiped Baal.

20 And Jehu said, Proclaim a solemn assembly for Baal. And they proclaimed it.

Then Jehu commanded, “Announce that we are going to set aside a day to honor Baal.” So they did that.

21 And Jehu sent through all Israel: and all the worshippers of Baal came, so that there was not a man left that came not. And they came into the house of Baal; and the house of Baal was full from one end to another.

Jehu [decided what day they would gather and] sent messages throughout Israel [telling everyone what day to gather on], and on that day, everyone who worshiped Baal came. No one stayed at home. They all went into the huge temple of Baal and filled it from one end to the other.

22 And he said unto him that was over the vestry, Bring forth vestments for all the worshippers of Baal. And he brought them forth vestments.

Jehu told the priest who took care of the sacred robes to bring them out and give them to the people who worshiped Baal. So the priest did that.

23 And Jehu went, and Jehonadab the son of Rechab, into the house of Baal, and said unto the worshippers of Baal, Search, and look that there be here with you none of the servants of Yhwh, but the worshippers of Baal only.

Then Jehu went into the temple of Baal with Jonadab, and he said to the people who were there to worship Baal, “Be sure that only those who worship Baal are here. Be sure that no one who worships Yahweh has come in.”

24 And when they went in to offer sacrifices and burnt offerings, Jehu appointed fourscore men without, and said, If any of the men whom I have brought into your hands escape, he that letteth him go, his life shall be for the life of him.

Then he and Jonadab prepared to offer sacrifices and other offerings to Baal that would be completely burned [on the altar that was there in Samaria]. But Jehu had stationed eighty of his men outside the temple, and had said to them, “I want you to kill all the people [who are in the temple]. Anyone who allows one of them to escape will be executed!”

25 And it came to pass, as soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt offering, that Jehu said to the guard and to the captains, Go in, and slay them; let none come forth. And they smote them with the edge of the sword; and the guard and the captains cast them out, and went to the city of the house of Baal.

As soon as Jehu [and Jonadab] had finished killing the animals that would be completely burned to be an offering to Baal, they [went outside and] said to the guards and officers, “Go in and kill all of them! Do not allow any of them to escape!” So the guards and officers went in and killed them all with their swords. Then they dragged their corpses outside the temple. Then they went into the inner room of the temple,

26 And they brought forth the images out of the house of Baal, and burned them.

and they carried out the sacred pillar of Baal that was there, and they burned it.

27 And they brake down the image of Baal, and brake down the house of Baal, and made it a draught house unto this day.

So they destroyed that pillar that honored Baal, and then they burned down the temple, and made it a public toilet. And it is still a toilet!

28 Thus Jehu destroyed Baal out of Israel.

That is how Jehu got rid of the worship of Baal in Israel.

29 Howbeit from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin, Jehu departed not from after them, to wit, the golden calves that were in Beth–el, and that were in Dan.

But Jehu did not quit committing the kinds of sins that Jeroboam had committed, sins that led the people of Israel to sin by worshiping the gold [statues of] calves in Bethel and Dan [cities].

30 And Yhwh said unto Jehu, Because thou hast done well in executing that which is right in mine eyes, and hast done unto the house of Ahab according to all that was in mine heart, thy children of the fourth generation shall sit on the throne of Israel.

Then Yahweh said to Jehu, “You have done what pleased me by getting rid of all of Ahab’s descendants. So I promise you that your son and grandson and great-grandson and great-great-grandson will all be kings of Israel.”

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

But Jehu did not obey all the laws of Yahweh, the God of the Israeli people. He did not stop committing the sins that Jeroboam had committed, sins that led the Israeli people to sin.

32 In those days Yhwh began to cut Israel short: and Hazael smote them in all the coasts of Israel;

At that time, Yahweh began to cause the territory controlled by Israel to become smaller. [The army of] King Hazael [of Syria] conquered much of the Israeli territory.

33 From Jordan eastward, all the land of Gilead, the Gadites, and the Reubenites, and the Manassites, from Aroer, which is by the river Arnon, even Gilead and Bashan.

He conquered the parts east of the Jordan [River], as far south as Aroer [town] on the Arnon [River]. That included [the] Gilead and Bashan [regions], where the tribes of Gad, Reuben, and half of the tribe of Manasseh lived.

34 Now the rest of the acts 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?

[If you want to read more] about all the other things that Jehu did [RHQ], they are written in the scroll called ‘The History of the Kings of Israel’.

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

Jehu died [EUP], and was buried in Samaria. His son Jehoahaz became the king in place of his father.

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

Jehu had ruled in Samaria as the king of Israel for twenty-eight years.