2 Kings 9

Jehu Anointed King of Israel

1Now 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.

1And Elisha the prophet called one of the sons of the prophets and said to him, “Gird up your loins and take this flask of oil in your hand, and go to Ramoth-gilead.

2When 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.

2And you will come to there and see there Jehu son of Jehoshaphat son of Nimshi, and you will come and make him rise up from the midst of his brothers. And bring him to an inner chamber.

3Then 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!”

3And take the flask of the oil, and pour it on his head and say, ‘Thus says YHWH: I have anointed you king over Israel.’ And open the door and flee, and do not delay.”

4So the young prophet went to Ramoth-gilead,

4And the young man, the servant of the prophet, went to Ramoth-gilead.

5and 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.

5And he arrived, and behold, the captains of the army were sitting, and he said, “A word from me is to you, commander.” And Jehu said, “For that of all of us?” And he said, “To you, commander.”

6So 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.

6And he arose and went into the house, and he poured the oil on his head and said to him, “Thus says YHWH, God of Israel: ‘I have anointed you as king over the people of YHWH, over Israel.

7And 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.

7And you shall strike the house of Ahab your master, that I may avenge the blood of My servants the prophets and the blood of all the servants of YHWH from the hand of Jezebel.

8The whole house of Ahab will perish, and I will cut off from Ahab every male, both slave and free, in Israel.

8And all the house of Ahab will perish, and I will cut off from Ahab the one who urinates against the wall, and the one who is restrained, and the one who is free in Israel.

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

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

10And 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.

10And the dogs shall eat Jezebel in the portion of Jezreel, and there is none to bury her.’” And he opened the door and fled.

11When 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.

11And Jehu went out to the servants of his master, and one said to him, “Peace? Why did this madman come to you?” And he said to them, “You know the man and his babble.”

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.’”

12And they said, “False! Declare now to us.” And he said, “Like this and like this he spoke to me, saying, ‘Thus says YHWH: I have anointed you as king over Israel.’”

13Quickly, 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!”

13And they hurried, and each man took his garment and put it under him on the top of the steps, and they blew with the shofar and said, “Jehu is king.”

Jehu Kills Joram and Ahaziah

14Thus 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,

14And Jehu son of Jehoshaphat son of Nimshi conspired against Jehoram. (And Jehoram had been defending Ramoth-gilead, he and all Israel, from the presence of Hazael king of Aram.

15but 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.”

15And king Jehoram had returned to recover in Jezreel from the wounds that the Aramaeans had inflicted on him when he fought with Hazael king of Aram.) And Jehu said, “If it is your mind, do not let a fugitive go out from the city to go and tell it in Jezreel.”

16Then 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.

16And Jehu rode in a chariot and went to Jezreel, because Jehoram was laid up there. And Ahaziah king of Judah had come down to see Jehoram.

17Now 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?’”

17And the watchman stood on the tower in Jezreel, and he saw the company of Jehu in his coming, and said, “A company I see.” And Jehoram said, “Take a rider and send him to meet them, and let him say, ‘Is it peace?’”

18So 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.”

18And the rider on the horse went to meet him and said, “Thus says the king, ‘Is it peace?’” And Jehu said, “And what is for you regarding peace? Turn around to after me.” And the watchman declared, saying, “The messenger went to them, and he is not coming back.”

19So 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.”

19And he sent out a second rider on a horse, and he went in to them and said, “Thus says the king, ‘Is peace?’” And Jehu answered, “And what to you with peace? Turn around to behind me.”

20Again 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!”

20And the watchman declared, saying, “He went up even to them and is not coming back. And the driving is like the driving of Jehu son of Nimshi, for he drives with madness!”

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.

21And Jehoram said, “Harness!” And his chariot was harnessed. And Jehoram king of Israel went out, and Ahaziah king of Judah, each man in his chariot, and they went out to meet Jehu and they found him in the portion of Naboth the Jezreelite.

22When 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?”

22And it came to pass, when Jehoram saw Jehu, that he said, “Is it peace, Jehu?” And he said, “What peace is, during the prostitution of Jezebel your mother and her many witchcrafts?”

23Joram turned around and fled, calling out to Ahaziah, “Treachery, Ahaziah!”

23And Jehoram turned his hands and fled, and he said to Ahaziah, “Treachery, Ahaziah.”

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

24And Jehu filled his hand with a bow and struck Jehoram between his arms, and the arrow came out from his heart, and he sank down in his chariot.

25And 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:

25And he said to Bidkar his captain, “Lift up and throw him into the portion of the field of Naboth the Jezreelite, for remember that I and you were riding together behind Ahab his father, and YHWH lifted up upon him this burden:

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.”

26‘If not the blood of Naboth and the blood of his sons I saw yesterday, declares YHWH, and I will repay to you in this portion, declares YHWH.’ And now take and throw him into the portion, according to the word of YHWH.”

27When 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.

27And Ahaziah king of Judah saw, and he fled up the road toward Beth-haggan, and Jehu pursued him and said, “Shoot him also.” So they shot Ahaziah in the chariot on the Ascent of Gur, which is by Ibleam. And he fled to Megiddo and died there.

28Then his servants carried him by chariot to Jerusalem and buried him with his fathers in his tomb in the City of David.

28And his servants carried him in the chariot to Jerusalem, and they buried him in his tomb with his fathers in the City of David.

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

29(And in the eleventh year of Jehoram son of Ahab, Ahaziah had become king over Judah.)

Jezebel’s Violent Death

30Now when Jehu arrived in Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it. So she painted her eyes, adorned her head, and looked down from a window.

30And Jehu had come to Jezreel, and Jezebel heard and put her eyes in paint and adorned her head, and she looked down through the window.

31And as Jehu entered the gate, she asked, “Have you come in peace, O Zimri, murderer of your master?”

31And Jehu entered into the gate, and she said, “Is it peace, O Zimri, manslayer of his master?”

32He looked up at the window and called out, “Who is on my side? Who?”

And two or three eunuchs looked down at him.

32And he lifted up his face to the window and said, “Who is is with me? Who?” And two or three eunuchs looked out 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.

33And he said, “Drop her!” And they dropped her, and her blood splattered on the wall and on the horses, and he trampled her underfoot.

34Then 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.”

34And he came in and ate and drank and said, “Look after now this accursed woman and bury her, for she was a daughter of a king.”

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

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

36So 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.

36And they turned back and reported to him, and he said, “The word of YHWH it is, which He spoke by His servant Elijah the Tishbite, saying, ‘In the portion of Jezreel the dogs shall eat the flesh of Jezebel.

37And 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.’”

37And the corpse of Jezebel shall be as dung on the face of the field in the portion of Jezreel, so that they cannot say: This is Jezebel.’”