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Jehu Is Anointed King of Israel

The prophet Elisha called one of the disciples of the prophets. He said, “Put on your belt. Take this flask of olive oil, and go to Ramoth Gilead. When you arrive there, look for Jehu, son of Jehoshaphat and grandson of Nimshi. Go inside, and have him get up and leave his companions. Take him into an inner room. Take the flask of oil, pour it on his head, and say, ‘This is what Yahweh says: I have anointed you king of Israel.’ Then open the door and leave immediately.”

The young man, the servant of the prophet, went to Ramoth Gilead. When he arrived there, the army’s generals were sitting together. He said, “I have something to tell you, General.”

Jehu asked, “Which one of us?”

He answered, “You, General!”

Jehu got up and went into the house. The prophet poured olive oil on his head and told him, “This is what Yahweh Elohim of Israel says: I have anointed you king of Yahweh’s people, king of Israel. You will destroy the family of your master Ahab. I will get revenge on Jezebel for shedding the blood of my servants the prophets and all Yahweh’s other servants. Ahab’s entire family will die. I will destroy every male[a] from Ahab’s family, whether slave or freeman in Israel. I will make Ahab’s family like the family of Jeroboam (Nebat’s son) and like the family of Baasha, son of Ahijah. 10 Dogs will eat Jezebel inside the walls of Jezreel, and no one will bury her.” Then he opened the door and left.

11 Jehu came out to his master’s officials. One of them asked him, “Is everything alright? Why did this lunatic come to you?”

He answered, “You know the man and the kind of things he says.”

12 They said, “That’s not an answer. Please tell us.”

Jehu replied, “We talked for a while, and he said to me, ‘This is what Yahweh says: I have anointed you king of Israel.’”

13 Then each one of them immediately took off his coat and laid it on the stairs below him. They blew a ram’s horn and said, “Jehu is king!”

Jehu Kills King Joram, King Ahaziah, and Queen Jezebel(A)

14 So Jehu, son of Jehoshaphat and grandson of Nimshi, plotted against Joram. (Joram and all Israel were guarding Ramoth Gilead against King Hazael of Aram. 15 But King Joram had returned to Jezreel to recover from the wounds he received while fighting King Hazael of Aram.)

Then Jehu said, “If you want me to be king, don’t let anyone escape from the city to take the news to Jezreel.” 16 So Jehu got on his chariot and drove to Jezreel because Joram was lying in bed there. (King Ahaziah of Judah had come to see Joram.)

17 The watchman standing on the tower in Jezreel saw Jehu’s troops coming. He said, “I see some troops.”

So Joram said, “Take a chariot driver, send him to meet them, and ask, ‘Is everything alright?’”

18 So a chariot driver rode off, met Jehu, and said, “The king asks, ‘Is everything alright?’”

Jehu replied, “Why should that matter to you? Follow me.”

So the watchman announced, “The messenger you sent has reached them, but he isn’t coming back.”

19 Then Joram sent out a second driver. When he came to them, he said, “The king asks, ‘Is everything alright?’”

Jehu replied, “Why should that matter to you? Follow me.”

20 So the watchman announced, “He has reached them, but he isn’t coming back. The troop’s leader is driving like a lunatic, like Jehu, grandson of Nimshi.”

21 “Hitch the horses to the chariot,” Joram ordered. When that was done, King Joram of Israel and King Ahaziah of Judah went to meet Jehu, each in his own chariot. They found him in the field that belonged to Naboth from Jezreel.

22 When Joram saw Jehu, he asked, “Is everything alright, Jehu?”

Jehu answered, “How can everything be alright as long as your mother continues her idolatry and witchcraft?”

23 As Joram turned his chariot around and tried to flee, he said to Ahaziah, “It’s a trap, Ahaziah!” 24 But Jehu took his bow and shot Joram between the shoulders. The arrow came out of his chest, and he slumped over in his chariot.

25 Then Jehu said to his attendant Bidkar, “Take him away, and throw him into the field that belonged to Naboth from Jezreel. Remember when you and I were driving our chariots behind his father Ahab? Yahweh revealed this prophecy about him: 26 ‘Just as I saw the blood of Naboth and his sons yesterday, I will pay you back in this field,’ declares Yahweh. Now take him and throw him into the field as Yahweh predicted.”

27 When King Ahaziah of Judah saw this, he fled on the road leading to Beth Haggan. Jehu pursued him and ordered, “Shoot him down in his chariot.” They shot him at Gur Pass, which is near Ibleam. Ahaziah continued to flee until he got to Megiddo, where he died. 28 His servants brought him in a chariot to Jerusalem. They buried him in a tomb with his ancestors in the City of David. 29 (Ahaziah had become king of Judah in the eleventh year that Joram, Ahab’s son, was king of Israel.)

30 When Jehu arrived in Jezreel, Jezebel heard about it. She put on eye shadow, fixed her hair, and looked out of a second-story window. 31 When Jehu entered the gateway, she asked, “Is everything alright, Zimri, murderer of your master?”

32 Looking up at the window, he asked, “Is anyone on my side? Anyone?” Then two or three eunuchs looked out at him.

33 He said, “Throw her down.” They threw her down, and some of her blood splattered on the wall and the horses. The horses trampled her.

34 He went inside, ate, and drank. Then he said, “Take care of this woman who had a curse on her. After all, she was a king’s daughter.” 35 But when they went out to bury her, they couldn’t find any of her body except her skull, feet, and hands. 36 They came back and told him.

Jehu said, “Yahweh spoke through his servant Elijah from Tishbe. He said, ‘Dogs will eat Jezebel’s body inside the walls of Jezreel. 37 Jezebel’s corpse will be like manure on the ground in the fields surrounding Jezreel so that no one will be able to say that this is Jezebel.’”

Footnotes

  1. 2 Kings 9:8 Hebrew uses a coarse term for “male” here.

Jehu Anointed King of Israel

The prophet Elisha summoned a man from the company(A) of the prophets and said to him, “Tuck your cloak into your belt,(B) take this flask of olive oil(C) with you and go to Ramoth Gilead.(D) When you get there, look for Jehu son of Jehoshaphat, the son of Nimshi. Go to him, get him away from his companions and take him into an inner room. Then take the flask and pour the oil(E) on his head and declare, ‘This is what the Lord says: I anoint you king over Israel.’ Then open the door and run; don’t delay!”

So the young prophet went to Ramoth Gilead. When he arrived, he found the army officers sitting together. “I have a message for you, commander,” he said.

“For which of us?” asked Jehu.

“For you, commander,” he replied.

Jehu got up and went into the house. Then the prophet poured the oil(F) on Jehu’s head and declared, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘I anoint you king over the Lord’s people Israel. You are to destroy the house of Ahab your master, and I will avenge(G) the blood of my servants(H) the prophets and the blood of all the Lord’s servants shed by Jezebel.(I) The whole house(J) of Ahab will perish. I will cut off from Ahab every last male(K) in Israel—slave or free.[a] I will make the house of Ahab like the house of Jeroboam(L) son of Nebat and like the house of Baasha(M) son of Ahijah. 10 As for Jezebel, dogs(N) will devour her on the plot of ground at Jezreel, and no one will bury her.’” Then he opened the door and ran.

11 When Jehu went out to his fellow officers, one of them asked him, “Is everything all right? Why did this maniac(O) come to you?”

“You know the man and the sort of things he says,” Jehu replied.

12 “That’s not true!” they said. “Tell us.”

Jehu said, “Here is what he told me: ‘This is what the Lord says: I anoint you king over Israel.’”

13 They quickly took their cloaks and spread(P) them under him on the bare steps. Then they blew the trumpet(Q) and shouted, “Jehu is king!”

Jehu Kills Joram and Ahaziah(R)

14 So Jehu son of Jehoshaphat, the son of Nimshi, conspired against Joram. (Now Joram and all Israel had been defending Ramoth Gilead(S) against Hazael king of Aram, 15 but King Joram[b] had returned to Jezreel to recover(T) from the wounds the Arameans had inflicted on him in the battle with Hazael king of Aram.) Jehu said, “If you desire to make me king, don’t let anyone slip out of the city to go and tell the news in Jezreel.” 16 Then he got into his chariot and rode to Jezreel, because Joram was resting there and Ahaziah(U) king of Judah had gone down to see him.

17 When the lookout(V) standing on the tower in Jezreel saw Jehu’s troops approaching, he called out, “I see some troops coming.”

“Get a horseman,” Joram ordered. “Send him to meet them and ask, ‘Do you come in peace?(W)’”

18 The horseman rode off to meet Jehu and said, “This is what the king says: ‘Do you come in peace?’”

“What do you have to do with peace?” Jehu replied. “Fall in behind me.”

The lookout reported, “The messenger has reached them, but he isn’t coming back.”

19 So the king sent out a second horseman. When he came to them he said, “This is what the king says: ‘Do you come in peace?’”

Jehu replied, “What do you have to do with peace? Fall in behind me.”

20 The lookout reported, “He has reached them, but he isn’t coming back either. The driving is like(X) that of Jehu son of Nimshi—he drives like a maniac.”

21 “Hitch up my chariot,” Joram ordered. And when it was hitched up, Joram king of Israel and Ahaziah king of Judah rode out, each in his own chariot, to meet Jehu. They met him at the plot of ground that had belonged to Naboth(Y) the Jezreelite. 22 When Joram saw Jehu he asked, “Have you come in peace, Jehu?”

“How can there be peace,” Jehu replied, “as long as all the idolatry and witchcraft of your mother Jezebel(Z) abound?”

23 Joram turned about and fled, calling out to Ahaziah, “Treachery,(AA) Ahaziah!”

24 Then Jehu drew his bow(AB) and shot Joram between the shoulders. The arrow pierced his heart and he slumped down in his chariot. 25 Jehu said to Bidkar, his chariot officer, “Pick him up and throw him on the field that belonged to Naboth the Jezreelite. Remember how you and I were riding together in chariots behind Ahab his father when the Lord spoke this prophecy(AC) against him: 26 ‘Yesterday I saw the blood of Naboth(AD) and the blood of his sons, declares the Lord, and I will surely make you pay for it on this plot of ground, declares the Lord.’[c] Now then, pick him up and throw him on that plot, in accordance with the word of the Lord.”(AE)

27 When Ahaziah king of Judah saw what had happened, he fled up the road to Beth Haggan.[d] Jehu chased him, shouting, “Kill him too!” They wounded him in his chariot on the way up to Gur near Ibleam,(AF) but he escaped to Megiddo(AG) and died there. 28 His servants took him by chariot(AH) to Jerusalem and buried him with his ancestors in his tomb in the City of David. 29 (In the eleventh(AI) year of Joram son of Ahab, Ahaziah had become king of Judah.)

Jezebel Killed

30 Then Jehu went to Jezreel. When Jezebel heard about it, she put on eye makeup,(AJ) arranged her hair and looked out of a window. 31 As Jehu entered the gate, she asked, “Have you come in peace, you Zimri,(AK) you murderer of your master?”[e]

32 He looked up at the window and called out, “Who is on my side? Who?” Two or three eunuchs looked down at him. 33 “Throw her down!” Jehu said. So they threw her down, and some of her blood spattered the wall and the horses as they trampled her underfoot.(AL)

34 Jehu went in and ate and drank. “Take care of that cursed woman,” he said, “and bury her, for she was a king’s daughter.”(AM) 35 But when they went out to bury her, they found nothing except her skull, her feet and her hands. 36 They went back and told Jehu, who said, “This is the word of the Lord that he spoke through his servant Elijah the Tishbite: On the plot of ground at Jezreel dogs(AN) will devour Jezebel’s flesh.[f](AO) 37 Jezebel’s body will be like dung(AP) on the ground in the plot at Jezreel, so that no one will be able to say, ‘This is Jezebel.’”

Footnotes

  1. 2 Kings 9:8 Or Israel—every ruler or leader
  2. 2 Kings 9:15 Hebrew Jehoram, a variant of Joram; also in verses 17 and 21-24
  3. 2 Kings 9:26 See 1 Kings 21:19.
  4. 2 Kings 9:27 Or fled by way of the garden house
  5. 2 Kings 9:31 Or “Was there peace for Zimri, who murdered his master?”
  6. 2 Kings 9:36 See 1 Kings 21:23.