2 Kings 9
1 Meanwhile, the prophet Elisha summoned one of the other prophets. He said to him, “Get ready [IDM] and go to Ramoth [city] in [the] Gilead [region]. Take this jar of [olive] oil with you.
Now Elisha the prophet summoned one of the sons of the prophets and said to him, “Tuck your cloak under your belt, take this flask of oil, and go to Ramoth-gilead.
2 When you arrive there, search for a man named Jehu, the son of Jehoshaphat and grandson of Nimshi. Go with him into a room away from his companions,
When you arrive, look for Jehu son of Jehoshaphat, the son of Nimshi. Go in, get him away from his companions, and take him to an inner room.
3 and pour [some of] this oil on his head. Then say to him, ‘Yahweh declares that he is appointing you to be the king of Israel.’ Then open the door and run away as quickly as you can.”
Then take the flask of oil, pour it on his head, and declare, ‘This is what the LORD says: I anoint you king over Israel.’ Then open the door and run. Do not delay!”
4 So the young prophet went to Ramoth.
So the young prophet went to Ramoth-gilead,
5 When he arrived, he saw that the commanders of the army were having a conference. He [looked at Jehu and] said, “Sir, I have a message for [one of] you.” Jehu replied, “Which one of us is the message for?” The young prophet replied, “It is for you, commander/sir.”
and when he arrived, the army commanders were sitting there. “I have a message for you, commander,” he said. “For which of us?” asked Jehu. “For you, commander,” he replied.
6 So Jehu got up and went with the young prophet into a house. There the young prophet poured some [olive] oil on Jehu’s head and said to him, “Yahweh, the God whom we Israelis [worship], declares this: ‘I am appointing you to be the king of my Israeli people.
So Jehu got up and went into the house, where the young prophet poured the oil on his head and declared, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘I anoint you king over the LORD’s people Israel.
7 You must kill your master [King Joram], the son of Ahab, because I want to punish [Ahab’s wife] Jezebel for murdering [MTY] many of my prophets and other people who served me.
And you are to strike down the house of your master Ahab, so that I may avenge the blood of My servants the prophets and the blood of all the servants of the LORD shed by the hand of Jezebel.
8 You must kill [not only Joram but] all of Ahab’s family. I want to get rid of every male in the family, including young ones and old ones.
The whole house of Ahab will perish, and I will cut off from Ahab every male, both slave and free, in Israel.
9 I will get rid of Ahab’s family, like I got rid of the families of two other kings of Israel, Jeroboam and Baasha.
I will make the house of Ahab like the houses of Jeroboam son of Nebat and Baasha son of Ahijah.
10 And [when] Jezebel [dies], her corpse will not be buried. Dogs will eat her corpse there in Jezreel [city].’” After the young prophet said this, he left the room and ran.
And on the plot of ground at Jezreel the dogs will devour Jezebel, and there will be no one to bury her.’” Then the young prophet opened the door and ran.
11 When Jehu came out of the room to where his other commanders were, they said to him, “Is everything all right? Why did that mad fellow come to you?” He replied, “You know what kinds of things young prophets like him say.”
When Jehu went out to the servants of his master, they asked, “Is everything all right? Why did this madman come to you?” “You know his kind and their babble,” he replied.
12 They said, “You are lying! Tell us what he said!” He replied, “He told me that Yahweh said, ‘I am appointing [MTY] you to be the king of Israel.’”
“That is a lie!” they said. “Tell us now!” So Jehu answered, “He talked to me about this and that, and he said, ‘This is what the LORD says: I anoint you king over Israel.’”
13 Then they all spread their cloaks on the steps of the building [for Jehu to walk out on], and they blew trumpets and shouted, “Jehu is now the king!”
Quickly, each man took his garment and put it under Jehu on the bare steps. Then they blew the ram’s horn and proclaimed, “Jehu is king!”
14 King Joram and his army had been defending Ramoth against the attacks by the army of the king of Syria. King Joram had returned to Jezreel [city], to recover from being wounded in the battle against the army of Hazael, the king of Syria. And Jehu made plans to kill Joram. He said to his other commanders, “If helping me is truly what you want, make sure that no one leaves this city to go to warn the people of Jezreel [about what I am planning to do].”
Thus Jehu son of Jehoshaphat, the son of Nimshi, conspired against Joram. (Now Joram and all Israel had been defending Ramoth-gilead against Hazael king of Aram,
but King Joram had returned to Jezreel to recover from the wounds he had suffered at the hands of the Arameans in the battle against Hazael their king.) So Jehu said, “If you commanders wish to make me king, then do not let anyone escape from the city to go and tell it in Jezreel.”
16 Then Jehu and his officers got into their chariots and rode to Jezreel, where Joram was still recovering. And King Ahaziah of Judah was there, visiting Joram.
Then Jehu got into his chariot and went to Jezreel, because Joram was laid up there and Ahaziah king of Judah had gone down to see him.
17 A guard was standing in the watchtower in Jezreel. He saw Jehu and his men approaching. He called out, “I see a lot of men [who are approaching]!” King Joram [heard what the watchman said, so he] said to his soldiers, “Send someone on a horse to go and find out if they are coming to be friendly to us or to attack us.”
Now the watchman standing on the tower in Jezreel saw Jehu’s troops approaching, and he called out, “I see a company of troops!” “Choose a rider,” Joram commanded. “Send him out to meet them and ask, ‘Have you come in peace?’”
18 So a man rode out to meet Jehu and said to him, “The king wants to know [if you are coming to be] friendly to us.” Jehu replied, “This is not the time for you [RHQ] to be concerned about acting friendly! Turn around and come behind me!” So the guard in the watchtower reported that the messenger had reached the group [that was approaching], but that he was not returning [alone].
So a horseman rode off to meet Jehu and said, “This is what the king asks: ‘Have you come in peace?’” “What do you know about peace?” Jehu replied. “Fall in behind me.” And the watchman reported, “The messenger reached them, but he is not coming back.”
19 So King Joram sent another messenger, who asked Jehu the same question. Again Jehu replied, “This is not the time [RHQ] for you to be concerned about acting friendly! Turn around and follow me!”
So the king sent out a second horseman, who went to them and said, “This is what the king asks: ‘Have you come in peace?’” “What do you know about peace?” Jehu replied. “Fall in behind me.”
20 Then the watchman reported again, “That messenger also reached them, but he is not coming back [alone]. And [the leader of the group must be] Jehu, the son of Nimshi, because he is driving [his chariot] furiously, [like Jehu does]!”
Again the watchman reported, “He reached them, but he is not coming back. And the charioteer is driving like Jehu son of Nimshi —he is driving like a madman!”
21 Joram said [to his soldiers], “Get [my chariot] ready!” So they did that. Then King Joram and King Ahaziah both rode toward Jehu, each one in his own chariot. And [it happened that] they met Jehu at the field that had previously belonged to Naboth!
“Harness!” Joram shouted, and they harnessed his chariot. Then Joram king of Israel and Ahaziah king of Judah set out, each in his own chariot, and met Jehu on the property of Naboth the Jezreelite.
22 When Joram met Jehu, he said to him, “Are you coming on a peaceful visit?” Jehu replied, “(How can there be peace while you and your people are prostrating themselves to worship idols and practicing very much (witchcraft/sorcery) like your mother Jezebel did?/There certainly cannot be peace while you and your people are prostrating themselves to worship idols and practicing (witchcraft/sorcery) like your mother Jezebel has been doing!)” [RHQ]
When Joram saw Jehu, he asked, “Have you come in peace, Jehu?” “How can there be peace,” he replied, “as long as the idolatry and witchcraft of your mother Jezebel abound?”
23 Joram cried out, “Ahaziah, they have deceived us! [They want to kill us]!” So Joram turned his chariot around and tried to flee.
Joram turned around and fled, calling out to Ahaziah, “Treachery, Ahaziah!”
24 But Jehu drew his bow mightily and shot [an arrow that pierced] Joram between his shoulder blades. The arrow [went through his body and] pierced his heart, and he slumped down dead in his chariot.
Then Jehu drew his bow and shot Joram between the shoulders. The arrow pierced his heart, and he slumped down in his chariot.
25 Then Jehu said to his assistant Bidkar, “Take his corpse and throw it here into the field that belonged to Naboth. [I am sure that] you remember that when you and I were riding together [in chariots] behind King Joram’s father Ahab, that Yahweh said this about Ahab:
And Jehu said to Bidkar his officer, “Pick him up and throw him into the field of Naboth the Jezreelite. For remember that when you and I were riding together behind his father Ahab, the LORD lifted up this burden against him:
26 ‘Yesterday I saw Ahab murder [MTY] Naboth and his sons here. And I solemnly promise that I will punish him right here in this same field!’ So take Joram’s corpse and throw it into that field! That will fulfill what Yahweh said would happen.”
‘As surely as I saw the blood of Naboth and the blood of his sons yesterday, declares the LORD, so will I repay you on this plot of ground, declares the LORD.’ Now then, according to the word of the LORD, pick him up and throw him on the plot of ground.”
27 When King Ahaziah saw what happened, he fled [in his chariot] toward Beth-Haggan [town]. But Jehu pursued him and said [to his other commanders], “Shoot him, also!” So they shot him [with arrows] while he was riding in his chariot on the road up to Gur, near Ibleam [town]. He continued going in his chariot until he reached Megiddo [city], where he died.
When King Ahaziah of Judah saw this, he fled up the road toward Beth-haggan. And Jehu pursued him, shouting, “Shoot him too!” So they shot Ahaziah in his chariot on the Ascent of Gur, near Ibleam, and he fled to Megiddo and died there.
28 His officials took his corpse back to Jerusalem and buried it in the tombs in the [part of Jerusalem called] ‘The City of David’, where his ancestors had been buried.
Then his servants carried him by chariot to Jerusalem and buried him with his fathers in his tomb in the City of David.
29 Ahaziah had become the king of Judah when Joram had been ruling Israel for almost eleven years.
(In the eleventh year of Joram son of Ahab, Ahaziah had become king over Judah.)
30 Then Jehu went to Jezreel. When [Ahab’s widow] Jezebel heard what had happened, she put paint/makeup on her eyelids, and combed her hair to make it beautiful, and looked out the window [of the palace toward the street below].
Now when Jehu arrived in Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it. So she painted her eyes, adorned her head, and looked down from a window.
31 While Jehu was entering the city gate, she called out to him, “You [are like] Zimri! You are a murderer! [I think] you are certainly not [RHQ] coming on a peaceful visit!”
And as Jehu entered the gate, she asked, “Have you come in peace, O Zimri, murderer of your master?”
32 Jehu looked up toward the window, and then he said, “Who is (on my side/wants to help me)? Anyone?” Two or three palace officials looked down at him [from a window and pointed to themselves].
He looked up at the window and called out, “Who is on my side? Who?” And two or three eunuchs looked down at him.
33 Jehu said to them, “Throw her down here!” So they threw her down, and [when she hit the ground and died], some of her blood splattered on the city wall and on the horses [that were pulling the chariots].
“Throw her down!” yelled Jehu. So they threw her down, and her blood splattered on the wall and on the horses as they trampled her underfoot.
34 Then Jehu went into the palace and ate and drank. Then he said [to some of his men], “Take the corpse of that women whom Yahweh has cursed and bury it, because she is a king’s daughter [and therefore should be buried properly].”
Then Jehu went in and ate and drank. “Take care of this cursed woman,” he said, “and bury her, for she was the daughter of a king.”
35 But when they went to get her corpse to bury it, all that was left was only her skull and [the bones of] her feet and her hands. Everything else was gone.
But when they went out to bury her, they found nothing but her skull, her feet, and the palms of her hands.
36 When they reported this to Jehu, he said, “That is what Yahweh said would happen! He told his servant/prophet Elijah, ‘In [the city of] Jezreel, dogs will eat the flesh of Jezebel’s corpse.
So they went back and told Jehu, who replied, “This is the word of the LORD, which He spoke through His servant Elijah the Tishbite: ‘On the plot of ground at Jezreel the dogs will devour the flesh of Jezebel.
37 Her bones will be scattered there in Jezreel like dung, with the result that no one will be able to [recognize them and] say, “These are Jezebel’s bones.”’”
And Jezebel’s body will lie like dung in the field on the plot of ground at Jezreel, so that no one can say: This is Jezebel.’”
