2 Kings 9
1 And Elisha' the prophet called one of the children of the prophets, and said unto him, Gird up thy loins, and take this flask of oil in thy hand, and go to Ramoth-gil'ad:
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.
2 And when thou art come thither, look out there for Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat the son of Nimshi, and go in, and cause him to stand up from the midst of his brethren, and bring him in to the innermost chamber;
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,
3 And thou shalt then take the flask of oil, and pour it on his head, and say, Thus hath said the Lord, I have anointed thee as king over Israel. Then must thou open the door, and flee, and not wait for any thing.
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!”
4 So the young man, the disciple of the prophet, went to Ramoth-gil'ad.
So the young prophet went to Ramoth-gilead.
5 And when he came, behold, the captains of the army were sitting; and he said, I have a word for thee, O captain. And Jehu said, For whom of all of us? And he said, For thee, O captain.
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.
6 And he arose, and went into the house: and he poured the oil on his head, and said unto him, Thus hath said the Lord the God of Israel, I anoint thee as king over the people of the Lord, over Israel.
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.
7 And thou shalt smite the house of Achab thy master, that I may avenge the blood of my servants the prophets, and the blood of all the servants of the Lord, at the hand of Izebel.
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.
8 And the whole house of Achab shall perish: and I will cut off from Achab every male, and the guarded and fortified in Israel;
The whole house of Ahab will be eradicated—I will destroy all the males of Ahab's family in Israel, both slave and free.
9 And I will make the house of Achab like the house of Jerobo'am the son of Nebat, and like the house of Ba'sha the son of Achiyah;
I will make the house of Ahab like the house of Jeroboam, son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha, son of Ahijah.
10 And Izebel shall the dogs eat in the field of Yizre'el, with none to bury her. And he [then] opened the door, and fled.
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.
11 But Jehu came forth to the servants of his Lord: and one said unto him, Is all well? wherefore came this madman to thee? And he said unto them, Ye yourselves know the man, and his talk.
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.
12 And they said, It is false: only tell us, we pray thee. And he said, So and so did he speak to me, saying, Thus hath said the Lord, I anoint thee as king over Israel.
“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.’”
13 Then they hastened, and they took every man his garment, and put it under him on the top of the stairs; and they blew the cornet, saying, Jehu is king.
They quickly grabbed their cloaks and spread them on the bare steps. They blew the trumpet and shouted, “Jehu is king!”
14 So Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat the son of Nimshi conspired against Joram. (Now Joram had kept guard at Ramoth-gil'ad, he and all Israel, because of Chazael the king of Syria.
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.
15 But king Jehoram was returned to be healed in Yizre'el of the wounds which the Syrians had inflicted on him, when he was fighting with Chazael the king of Syria.) And Jehu said, If this be your mind, then let none that escapeth go forth out of the city to go to tell it in Yizre'el.
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.”
16 So Jehu rode in a chariot, and went to Yizre'el; for Joram was lying there. And Achazyah the king of Judah was come down to see Joram.
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.
17 And the watchman stood on the tower in Yizre'el, and he saw the company of Jehu as he came; and he said, A company do I see, And Jehoram said, Take a horseman, and send out to meet them, and let him say, Is it peace?
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?’”
18 So there went one riding on horseback to meet him, and said, Thus hath said the king, Is it peace? And Jehu said, What hast thou to do with peace? turn thee about behind me. And the watchman told, saying, The messenger came up to them, but he hath not returned.
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.”
19 Then sent he out a second rider on horseback, who came to them, and said, Thus hath said the king, Is it peace? And Jehu answered, What hast thou to do with peace? turn thee about behind me.
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.”
20 And the watchman told, saying, He came up to them, but he hath not returned: and the driving is like the driving of Jehu the son of Nimshi; for he driveth as though he were mad.
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!”
21 And Jehoram said, Harness up. And his chariot was harnessed up. And Jehoram the king of Israel and Achazyahu the king of Judah went out, each in his chariot, and they went out to meet Jehu, and found him in the portion of land of Naboth the Yizre'elite.
“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.
22 And it came to pass, when Jehoram saw Jehu, that he said, Is it peace, Jehu? And he said, What peace can there be with the acts of incest of thy mother Izebel and her many witchcrafts?
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.
23 And Jehoram turned about, and fled, and said to Achazyahu, Treachery, Achazyahu.
Joram turned around and raced away, shouting out to Ahaziah, “It's treason, Ahaziah!”
24 And Jehu grasped the bow with his full strength, and struck Jehoram between his arms, and the arrow went out at his heart, and he sunk down in his chariot.
Jehu picked up his bow and shot Joram between the shoulders. The arrow went through his heart and he collapsed dead in his chariot.
25 Then said he to Bidkar his officer, Lift up, [and] cast him down in the part of the field that was Naboth's the Yizre'elite; for remember how that I and thou rode alongside each other after Achab his father, when the Lord pronounced over him this fatal decree:
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:
26 Surely I have seen yesterday the blood of Naboth, and the blood of his sons, saith the Lord; and I will repay thee in this part of the field, saith the Lord. And now lift up, [and] cast him down into the field, according to the word of the Lord.
‘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.”
27 And when Achazyahu the king of Judah saw this, he fled by the way of the garden-house; but Jehu pursued after him, and said, Also him smite in the chariot. [And they did so] on the ascent to Gur, which is by Yible'am. And he fled to Megiddo, and died there.
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.
28 And his servants carried him in a chariot to Jerusalem, and buried him in his sepulchre with his fathers in the city of David.
His servants took him by chariot to Jerusalem and buried him with his forefathers in his tomb in the City of David.
29 And in the eleventh year of Joram the son of Achab became Achazyah king over Judah.
Ahaziah became king of Judah in the eleventh year of the reign of Joram, son of Ahab.
30 And Jehu came to Yizre'el; and when Izebel heard of it, she painted her eyes, and ornamented her head, and looked out at the window.
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.
31 And as Jehu entered in at the gate, she said, Is it peace, O Zimri, who hath slain his master?
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?”
32 And he lifted up his face to the window, and said, Who is on my side? who? And there looked out to him two or three chamberlains.
Jehu looked up at the window and shouted out, “Who is on my side? Anyone?” Two or three eunuchs looked down at him.
33 And he said, Pitch her down. So they pitched her down: and some of her blood was sprinkled on the wall, and on the horses; and he trod her under foot.
“Throw her down!” he shouted. And they threw her down. Her blood spattered on the wall and on the horses which then trampled her.
34 And he came in, and ate and drank; and then said he, Look, I pray you, after this accursed one, and bury her; for she is a king's daughter.
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.”
35 And they went to bury her: but they found nothing of her but the skull, and the feet, and the palms of the hands.
They went out to bury her but all they found were her skull, her feet, and her hands.
36 And they returned, and told him; and he said, It is the word of the Lord, which he spoke by means of his servant Elijah the Tishbite, saying, In the field of Yizre'el shall the dogs eat the flesh of Izebel:
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.
37 And the carcass of Izebel shall be as dung upon the face of the field in the portion of Yizre'el; so that they shall not say, This is Izebel.
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.’”
