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 Eliseus the prophet called one of the sons of the prophets, slid said to him: Gird up thy loins, and take this little bottle of oil in thy hand, and go to Ramoth Galaad.
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, thou shalt see Jehu the son of Josaphat the son of Namsi: and going in thou shalt make him rise up from amongst his brethren, and carry him into 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 taking the little bottle of oil, thou shalt pour it on his head, and shalt say: Thus saith the Lord: I have anointed thee king over Israel. And thou shalt open the door and flee, and shalt not stay there.
4 So the young prophet went to Ramoth.
So the young man, the servant of the prophet, went awry to Ramoth Galaad,
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 went in thither: and behold the captains of the army were sitting: and he said: I have a word to thee, O prince. And Jehu said: Unto whom of us all? And he said: To thee, O prince.
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 arose, and went into the chamber: and he poured the oil upon his head, and said: Thus saith the Lord God of Israel: I have anointed thee king over Israel, the people of the Lord.
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 cut off the house of Achab thy master, and I will revenge the blood of my servants the prophets, and the blood of all the servants of the Lord at the hand of Jezabel.
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 I will destroy all the house of Achab, and I will cut off from Achab him that pisseth against the well, and him that is shut up, and the meanest 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 Achab like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nabat, and like the house of Baasa the son of Ahias.
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 Jezabel in the field of Jezrahel, and there shall be no one to 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.”
Then Jehu went forth to the servants of his lord: and they said to him: Are all things well? why came this mad man to thee? And he said to them: You know the man, and what he said.
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.’”
But they answered: It is false, but rather do thou tell us. And he said to them: Thus and thus did he speak to me: and he said: Thus saith the Lord: 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 made haste and taking every man his garment laid it under his feet, after the manner of a judgment seat, and they sounded the trumpet, 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].”
So Jehu the son of Josaphat the son of Namsi conspired against Joram. Now Joram had besieged Ramoth Galaad, he and all Israel fighting with Hazael king of Syria:
And was returned to be healed in Jezrahel of his wounds, for the Syrians had wounded him, when he fought with Hazael king of Syria. And Jehu said: If it please you, let no mall go forth or flee out of the city, lest he go, and tell in Jezrahel.
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 he got up, and went into Jezrahel: for Joram was sick there, and Ochozias king of Juda was come down to visit 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.”
The watchmen therefore, that stood upon the tower of Jezrahel, saw the troop of Jehu coming, and said: I see a troop. And Joram said: Take a chariot, and send to meet them, and let him that goeth say: Is all well?
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 in a chariot to meet him, and said: Thus saith the king: Are all things peaceable? And Jehu said: What hast thou to do with peace? go behind and follow me. And the watchman told, saying: The messenger came to them, but he returneth not.
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 a second chariot of horses: and he came to them, and said: Thus saith the king: Is there peace? And Jehu said: What hast thou to do with peace? pass, and follow 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 even to them, but returneth not: and the driving is like the driving of Jehu the son of Namsi, 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!
And Joram said: Make ready the chariot. And they made ready his chariot, and Joram king of Israel, and Ochozias king of Juda went out, each in his chariot, and they went out to meet Jehu, and met him in the field of Naboth the Jezrahelite.
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 when Joram saw Jehu, he said: Is there peace, Jehu? And he answered: What peace? so long as the fornications of Jezabel thy mother, and her many sorceries are in their vigour.
23 Joram cried out, “Ahaziah, they have deceived us! [They want to kill us]!” So Joram turned his chariot around and tried to flee.
And Joram turned his hand, and fleeing, said to Ochozias: There is treachery, Ochozias.
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.
But Jehu bent Iris bow with his hand, and shot Joram between the shoulders: and the arrow went out through his heart, and immediately he fell 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 Badacer his captain: Take him, and cast him into the field of Naboth the Jezrahelite: for I remember when I and thou sitting in a chariot followed Achab this man’s father, that the Lord laid this burden upon him, saying:
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.”
If I do not requite thee in this field, saith the Lord, for the blood of Naboth, and for the blood of his children, which I saw yesterday, saith the Lord. So now take him, and cast him into the field, according to the word of the Lord.
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.
But Ochozias king of Juda seeing this, fled by the way of the garden house: and Jehu pursued him, and said: Strike him also in his chariot. And they struck him in the going up to Gaver, which is by Jeblaam: and he fled into Mageddo, 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 laid him upon his chariot, and carried him to Jerusalem: and they 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.
In the eleventh year of Joram the son of Achab, Ochozias reigned over Juda,
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 into Jezrahel. But Jezabel hearing of his coming in, painted her face with stibic stone, and adorned her head, and looked out of 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!”
At Jehu coming in at the gate, and said: Can there be peace for Zambri, that hath killed 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 Jehu lifted up his face to the window, and said: Who is this? And two or three eunuchs bowed down 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 to them: Throw her down headlong: and they threw her down, and the wall was sprinkled with her blood, and the hoofs of the horses trod upon 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 when he was come in, to eat, and to drink, he said: Go, and see after that cursed woman, and bury her: because 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 when they went to bury her, they found nothing but the skull, and the feet, and the extremities 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.
And coming back they told him. And Jehu said: It is the word of the Lord, which he spoke by his servant Elias the Thesbite, saying: In the field of Jezrahel the dogs shall eat the flesh of Jezabel,
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 flesh of Jezabel shall be as dung upon the face of the earth in the field of Jezrahel, so that they who pass by shall say: Is this that same Jezabel?
