2 Kings 9

1 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, 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 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-gilead,

5 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 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 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 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 make the house of Ahab like the houses of Jeroboam son of Nebat and Baasha son of Ahijah.

10 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 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 “That is a lie!” they said. “Tell us now!” So Jehu answered, “He talked to me about this and that, saying, ‘This is what the LORD says: I anoint you king over Israel.’”

13 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 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,

15 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 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 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 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 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 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 “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 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 turned around and fled, calling out to Ahaziah, “Treachery, Ahaziah!”

24 Then Jehu drew his bow and shot Joram between the shoulders. The arrow pierced his heart, and he slumped down in his chariot.

25 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 ‘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 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 Then his servants carried him by chariot to Jerusalem and buried him with his fathers in his tomb in the City of David.

29 (In the eleventh year of Joram son of Ahab, Ahaziah had become king over Judah.)

30 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 And as Jehu entered the gate, she asked, “Have you come in peace, O Zimri, murderer of your master?”

32 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 “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 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 out to bury her, they found nothing but her skull, her feet, and the palms of her hands.

36 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 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.’”

1 ¶ And Elisha the prophet called one of the children of the prophets, and said unto him, Gird up thy loins, and take this box of oil in thine hand, and go to Ramothgilead:

2 And when thou comest thither, look out there Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat the son of Nimshi, and go in, and make him arise up from among his brethren, and carry him to an inner chamber;

3 Then take the box of oil, and pour [it] on his head, and say, Thus saith the LORD, I have anointed thee king over Israel. Then open the door, and flee, and tarry not.

4 So the young man, [even] the young man the prophet, went to Ramothgilead.

5 And when he came, behold, the captains of the host [were] sitting; and he said, I have an errand to thee, O captain. And Jehu said, Unto which of all us? And he said, To thee, O captain.

6 And he arose, and went into the house; and he poured the oil on his head, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I have anointed thee king over the people of the LORD, [even] over Israel.

7 And thou shalt smite the house of Ahab 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 Jezebel.

8 For the whole house of Ahab shall perish: and I will cut off from Ahab him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up and left in Israel:

9 And I will make the house of Ahab like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah:

10 And the dogs shall eat Jezebel in the portion of Jezreel, and [there shall be] none to bury [her]. And he opened the door, and fled.

11 ¶ Then Jehu came forth to the servants of his lord: and [one] said unto him, [Is] all well? wherefore came this mad [fellow] to thee? And he said unto them, Ye know the man, and his communication.

12 And they said, [It is] false; tell us now. And he said, Thus and thus spake he to me, saying, Thus saith the LORD, I have anointed thee king over Israel.

13 Then they hasted, and took every man his garment, and put [it] under him on the top of the stairs, and blew with trumpets, saying, Jehu is king.

14 So Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat the son of Nimshi conspired against Joram. (Now Joram had kept Ramothgilead, he and all Israel, because of Hazael king of Syria.

15 But king Joram was returned to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds which the Syrians had given him, when he fought with Hazael king of Syria.) And Jehu said, If it be your minds, [then] let none go forth [nor] escape out of the city to go to tell [it] in Jezreel.

16 ¶ So Jehu rode in a chariot, and went to Jezreel; for Joram lay there. And Ahaziah king of Judah was come down to see Joram.

17 And there stood a watchman on the tower in Jezreel, and he spied the company of Jehu as he came, and said, I see a company. And Joram said, Take an horseman, and send to meet them, and let him say, [Is it] peace?

18 So there went one on horseback to meet him, and 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, but he cometh not again.

19 Then he sent out a second on horseback, which came to them, and said, Thus saith the king, [Is it] peace? And Jehu answered, What hast thou to do with peace? turn thee behind me.

20 And the watchman told, saying, He came even unto them, and cometh not again: and the driving [is] like the driving of Jehu the son of Nimshi; for he driveth furiously.

21 And Joram said, Make ready. And his chariot was made ready. And Joram king of Israel and Ahaziah king of Judah went out, each in his chariot, and they went out against Jehu, and met him in the portion of Naboth the Jezreelite.

22 And it came to pass, when Joram saw Jehu, that he said, [Is it] peace, Jehu? And he answered, What peace, so long as the whoredoms of thy mother Jezebel and her witchcrafts [are so] many?

23 And Joram turned his hands, and fled, and said to Ahaziah, [There is] treachery, O Ahaziah.

24 And Jehu drew a bow with his full strength, and smote Jehoram between his arms, and the arrow went out at his heart, and he sunk down in his chariot.

25 Then said [Jehu] to Bidkar his captain, Take up, [and] cast him in the portion of the field of Naboth the Jezreelite: for remember how that, when I and thou rode together after Ahab his father, the LORD laid this burden upon him;

26 Surely I have seen yesterday the blood of Naboth, and the blood of his sons, saith the LORD; and I will requite thee in this plat, saith the LORD. Now therefore take [and] cast him into the plat [of ground], according to the word of the LORD.

27 But when Ahaziah the king of Judah saw [this], he fled by the way of the garden house. And Jehu followed after him, and said, Smite him also in the chariot. [And they did so] at the going up to Gur, which [is] by Ibleam. And he fled to Megiddo, and 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.

29 And in the eleventh year of Joram the son of Ahab began Ahaziah to reign over Judah.

30 ¶ And when Jehu was come to Jezreel, Jezebel heard [of it]; and she painted her face, and tired her head, and looked out at a window.

31 And as Jehu entered in at the gate, she said, [Had] Zimri peace, who slew his 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 eunuchs.

33 And he said, Throw her down. So they threw her down: and [some] of her blood was sprinkled on the wall, and on the horses: and he trode her under foot.

34 And when he was come in, he did eat and drink, and said, Go, see now this cursed [woman], and bury her: for she [is] a king's daughter.

35 And they went to bury her: but they found no more of her than the skull, and the feet, and the palms of [her] hands.

36 Wherefore they came again, and told him. And he said, This [is] the word of the LORD, which he spake by his servant Elijah the Tishbite, saying, In the portion of Jezreel shall dogs eat the flesh of Jezebel:

37 And the carcase of Jezebel shall be as dung upon the face of the field in the portion of Jezreel; [so] that they shall not say, This [is] Jezebel.

1 And Elisha the prophet called one of the children of the prophets, and said unto him, Gird up thy loins, and take this pitcher of oil with thee, and go to Ramoth in Gilead.

2 And when thou comest thither, thou shalt see there Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat the son of Nimshi. And go in, and raise him up among his brethren, and bring him into the innermost chamber.

3 And take the pitcher of oil, and pour it upon his head, and say, Thus saith the LORD, I have anointed thee king over Israel. And thou shalt open the door, and flee, and not be pardoned.

4 And the young man of the prophet, the lad, went to Ramoth in Gilead.

5 And when he was come in, behold, the captains of the host sat there. And he said: I have something to say to thee, captain. And Jehu said, To whom of us all? And he said, To thee, O captain.

6 And he arose, and went in. And he poured the oil upon his head, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I have anointed thee king over the LORD'S people Israel.

7 And thou shalt smite the house of Ahab thy master, to avenge the blood of the prophets my servants, and the blood of all the servants of the LORD, from the hand of Jezebel,

8 And all the house of Ahab shall perish. And I will cut off from Ahab him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up, and him that is left in Israel.

9 And I will make the house of Ahab like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah.

10 And the dogs shall eat Jezebel in the field at Jezreel, and none shall bury her. And he opened the door, and fled.

11 And when Jehu was come out unto the servants of his lord, they said unto him, Is it well? Why is this frenzied man come unto thee? And he said unto them: Ye know the man well, and what he saith.

12 And they said: This is not true; but declare it unto us. And he said, Thus and thus hath he spoken unto me, saying, Thus saith the LORD, I have anointed thee king over Israel.

13 And they hasted, and took every man his garment, and laid it under him upon the high stairs, and blew with the trumpet, and said: Jehu is become king!

14 So Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat the son of Nimshi made a covenant against Joram. And Jehoram lay before Ramoth in Gilead, and all Israel, against Hazael king of Syria.

15 And Jehoram the king returned to be healed in Jezreel of the blows which the Syrians had smitten him, when he fought with Hazael king of Syria. And Jehu said: If it be your mind, let no man escape out of the city, that he may go and prophesy in Jezreel.

16 And he was led, and went to Jezreel, because Jehoram was there: so Ahaziah king of Judah went down to see Jehoram.

17 And the watchman that stood in the tower of Jezreel saw the company of Jehu coming, and said: I see a company. And Jehoram said, Take a horseman, and send against them, and say, Is it peace?

18 And the horseman went to meet him, and said, Thus saith the king, Is it peace? And Jehu said, What is peace to thee? Turn thee behind me. And the watchman declared, and said, The messenger is come to them, and will not return.

19 And he sent another horseman. And when he came to him, he said, Thus saith the king, Is it peace? And Jehu said, What is peace to thee? Turn thee behind me.

20 And the watchman declared it, saying, He is come unto them, and will not return. And it is a driving as the driving of Jehu the son of Nimshi: for he driveth as he would be foolish.

21 And Joram said, Hitch up your chariots. And they harnessed his chariot; and they went out, Jehoram king of Israel, and Ahaziah king of Judah, every man in his chariot, to meet Jehu: and they met him in the field of Naboth the Jezreelite.

22 And when Jehoram saw Jehu, he said, Jehu, is it peace? And he said, What peace? Thy mother Jezebel's whoredoms and sorceries increase.

23 And Joram turned his hand, and fled, and said unto Ahaziah, It is treachery, Ahaziah.

24 But Jehu took the bow, and shot Jehoram between the arms, so that the arrow went out through his heart; and he fell into his chariot.

25 And he said unto Bidekar the knight, Take thee, and cast him into the field of Naboth the Jezreelite. For I remember that thou wentest with me in a chariot after Ahab his father, that the LORD laid such a burden upon him.

26 What is the matter, said the LORD, I will recompense thee the blood of Naboth, and of his children, which I saw yesterday, upon this field? Now therefore take, and cast it into the field, according to the word of the LORD.

27 And when Ahaziah king of Judah saw it, he fled by the way unto the house of the garden. And Jehu pursued after him, and caused him to go up in the chariot unto Gur, which is by Jeblaam. And he fled to Megiddo, and died there.

28 And his servants brought him to Jerusalem, and buried him in his sepulchre with his fathers in the city of David.

29 And Ahaziah reigned over Judah in the eleventh year of Jehoram the son of Ahab.

30 And it came to pass, when Jehu was come to Jezreel, that when Jezebel heard of it, she made up her face, and decked her head, and looked out at the window.

31 And when Jehu was come under the gate, she said: Is Zimri well, who slew his master?

32 And he lifted up his face to the window, and said, Who is here with me? and two or three eunuchs turned unto him.

33 And he said, Cast her down. And they cast her down, and the wall and the horses were sprinkled with her blood: and she was trodden down.

34 And when he was come in, and had eaten and drunk, he said, Behold the accursed woman, and bury her: for she is a king's daughter.

35 And when they went to bury her, they found nothing of her but the skull, and the feet, and the palms of her hands.

36 And they came again, and told him. And he said, It is this that the LORD spake by Elijah his servant the Hibite, saying, In the field of Jezreel shall the dogs of Jezebel eat flesh.

37 So the carcase of Jezebel was as the dung of the field in the field of Jezreel, that it could not be said: This is Jezebel.