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.
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 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,
And when thou art come thither, look out there Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat, son of Nimshi, and go in, and make him rise up from among his brethren, and bring him to an inner chamber;
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 vial of oil, and pour it on his head and say, Thus saith Jehovah: I have anointed thee king over Israel; and open the door, and flee, and tarry not.
4 So the young prophet went to Ramoth.
And the young man, 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 came, behold, the captains of the host were sitting. And he said, I have an errand to thee, captain. And Jehu said, To which of all of us? And he said, To thee, captain.
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.
And he rose up and went into the house; and he poured the oil on his head, and said to him, Thus saith Jehovah the God of Israel: I have anointed thee king over the people of Jehovah, over 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 thou shalt smite the house of Ahab thy master; and I will avenge the blood of my servants the prophets, and the blood of all the servants of Jehovah at 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.
And the whole house of Ahab shall perish, and I will cut off from Ahab every male, and him that is shut up and left 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.
And I will make the house of Ahab as the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and as the house of Baasha the 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 the dogs shall eat Jezebel in the plot of Jizreel, and none shall bury her. And he opened the door and fled.
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.”
And Jehu came forth to the servants of his lord. And one said to him, Is all well? why came this madman to thee? And he said to them, Ye know the man, and his mind.
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.’”
And they said, It is false! tell us now. And he said, Thus and thus spoke he to me saying, Thus saith Jehovah: I have anointed thee 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!”
Then they hasted and took every man his garment, and put it under him on the very stairs, and blew with trumpets, and said, 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].”
And Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat, son of Nimshi, conspired against Joram. (Now Joram kept Ramoth-Gilead, he and all Israel, because of Hazael king of Syria;
and king Joram had returned to be healed in Jizreel of the wounds that the Syrians had given him, when he fought against Hazael king of Syria.) And Jehu said, If it be your will, let not a fugitive escape out of the city to go to tell [it] in Jizreel.
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.
And Jehu rode in a chariot and went to Jizreel; for Joram lay there. And Ahaziah king of Judah had come down to see Joram.
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.”
And the watchman stood on the tower in Jizreel, and saw Jehu's company 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 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 there went one on horseback to meet him; and he said, Thus saith the king: Is it peace? And Jehu said, What hast thou to do with peace? turn thee behind me. And the watchman told saying, The messenger came to them, and he does not return.
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!”
And he sent out a second on horseback; and he came to them and said, Thus saith the king: Is it peace? And Jehu said, What hast thou to do with peace? turn thee 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]!”
And the watchman told saying, He came to them, and does not return. And the driving is like the driving of Jehu the son of Nimshi; for he drives furiously.
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!
Then Joram said, Make ready! And they made ready his chariot. And Joram king of Israel and Ahaziah king of Judah went out, each in his chariot; and they went out to meet Jehu, and met him in the plot of Naboth the Jizreelite.
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]
And it came to pass when Joram saw Jehu, that he said, Is it peace, Jehu? And he said, What peace, so long as the fornications of thy mother Jezebel and her sorceries are so many?
23 Joram cried out, “Ahaziah, they have deceived us! [They want to kill us]!” So Joram turned his chariot around and tried to flee.
Then Joram turned his hand, and fled, and said 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.
And Jehu took his bow in his hand, and smote Jehoram between his arms, and the arrow went out through his heart; and he sank 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 he said to Bidkar his captain, Take him up [and] cast him in the plot of the field of Naboth the Jizreelite. For remember how, when I and thou rode together after Ahab his father, that Jehovah laid this burden upon 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.”
Certainly I have seen yesterday the blood of Naboth, and the blood of his sons, saith Jehovah; and I will requite thee in this plot, saith Jehovah. And now, take [and] cast him into the plot, according to the word of Jehovah.
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 Ahaziah king of Judah saw [that], he fled by the way of the garden-house. And Jehu followed after him, and said, Smite him also in his chariot. It was on the ascent of Gur, which is by Jibleam. 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.
And his servants carried him in a chariot to Jerusalem, and buried him in his sepulchre with his fathers in the city of David.
29 Ahaziah had become the king of Judah when Joram had been ruling Israel for almost eleven years.
(And in the eleventh year of Joram the son of Ahab had Ahaziah begun to reign 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].
And Jehu came to Jizreel; and Jezebel heard of it, and she put paint to her eyes, and decked her head, and looked out at the 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 when Jehu came in at the gate, she said, Is it peace, Zimri, murderer of his 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].
And he lifted up his face to the window, and said, Who is on my side? who? And two or three chamberlains looked out to 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].
And he said, Throw her down! And they threw her down; and some of her blood was sprinkled on the wall, and on the horses; and he trampled on her.
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].”
And he came in, and ate and drank; and he said, Go, look, I pray you, after this cursed [woman], and bury her; for she is a king's daughter.
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.
And they went to bury her; but they found no more of her than the skull, and the feet, and the palms of the 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.
And they came back and told him. And he said, This is the word of Jehovah, which he spoke through his servant Elijah the Tishbite saying, In the plot of Jizreel shall dogs eat 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 the carcase of Jezebel shall be as dung upon the open field in the plot of Jizreel, so that they shall not say, This is Jezebel.
