2 Kings 9; 2 Kings 10; 2 Kings 11

2 Kings 9

1 At the same time, Elisha the prophet called a man from the groups of prophets. Elisha said, "Get ready, and take this small bottle of olive oil in your hand. Go to Ramoth in Gilead.

2 When you arrive, find Jehu son of Jehoshaphat, the son of Nimshi. Go in and make Jehu get up from among his brothers, and take him to an inner room.

3 Then take the bottle and pour the oil on Jehu's head and say, 'This is what the Lord says: I have appointed you king over Israel.' Then open the door and run away. Don't wait!"

4 So the young man, the prophet, went to Ramoth in Gilead.

5 When he arrived, he saw the officers of the army sitting together. He said, "Commander, I have a message for you." Jehu asked, "For which one of us?" The young man said, "For you, commander."

6 Jehu got up and went into the house. Then the young prophet poured the olive oil on Jehu's head and said to him, "This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: 'I have appointed you king over the Lord's people Israel.

7 You must destroy the family of Ahab your master. I will punish Jezebel for the deaths of my servants the prophets and for all the Lord's servants who were murdered.

8 All of Ahab's family must die. I will not let any male child in Ahab's family live in Israel, whether slave or free.

9 I will make Ahab's family like the family of Jeroboam son of Nebat and like the family of Baasha son of Ahijah.

10 The dogs will eat Jezebel at Jezreel, and no one will bury her.'" Then the young prophet opened the door and ran away.

11 When Jehu went back to his master's officers, one of them said to Jehu, "Is everything all right? Why did this crazy man come to you?" Jehu answered, "You know the man and how he talks."

12 They answered, "That's not true. Tell us." Jehu said, "He said to me, 'This is what the Lord says: I have appointed you to be king over Israel.'"

13 Then the officers hurried, and each man took off his own coat and put it on the stairs for Jehu. They blew the trumpet and shouted, "Jehu is king!"

14 So Jehu son of Jehoshaphat, the son of Nimshi, made plans against Joram. Now Joram and all Israel had been defending Ramoth in Gilead from Hazael king of Aram.

15 But King Joram had to return to Jezreel to heal from the injuries the Arameans had given him when he fought against Hazael king of Aram. Jehu said, "If you agree with this, don't let anyone leave the city. They might tell the news in Jezreel."

16 Then he got into his chariot and set out for Jezreel, where Joram was resting. Ahaziah king of Judah had gone down to see him.

17 The lookout was standing on the watchtower in Jezreel when he saw Jehu's troops coming. He said, "I see some soldiers!" Joram said, "Take a horseman and send him to meet them. Tell him to ask, 'Is all in order?'"

18 The horseman rode out to meet Jehu, and he said, "This is what the king says: 'Is all in order?'" Jehu said, "Why bother yourself with order? Come along behind me." The lookout reported, "The messenger reached them, but he is not coming back."

19 Then Joram sent out a second horseman. This rider came to Jehu's group and said, "This is what the king says: 'Is all in order?'" Jehu answered, "Why bother yourself with order? Come along behind me."

20 The lookout reported, "The second man reached them, but he is not coming back. The man in the chariot is driving like Jehu son of Nimshi. He drives as if he were crazy!"

21 Joram said, "Get my chariot ready." Then the servant got Joram's chariot ready. Joram king of Israel and Ahaziah king of Judah went out, each in his own chariot, to meet Jehu at the property of Naboth the Jezreelite.

22 When Joram saw Jehu, he said, "Is all in order, Jehu?" Jehu answered, "There will never be any order as long as your mother Jezebel worships idols and uses witchcraft."

23 Joram turned the horses to run away and yelled to Ahaziah, "It's a trick, Ahaziah!"

24 Then Jehu drew his bow and shot Joram between his shoulders. The arrow went through Joram's heart, and he fell down in his chariot.

25 Jehu ordered Bidkar, his chariot officer, "Pick up Joram's body, and throw it into the field of Naboth the Jezreelite. Remember when you and I rode together with Joram's father Ahab. The Lord made this prophecy against him:

26 'Yesterday I saw the blood of Naboth and his sons, says the Lord, so I will punish Ahab in his field, says the Lord.' Take Joram's body and throw it into the field, as the Lord has said."

27 When Ahaziah king of Judah saw this, he ran away toward Beth Haggan. Jehu chased him, saying, "Shoot Ahaziah, too!" Ahaziah was wounded in his chariot on the way up to Gur near Ibleam. He got as far as Megiddo but died there.

28 Ahaziah's servants carried his body in a chariot to Jerusalem and buried him with his ancestors in his tomb in Jerusalem.

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

30 When Jehu came to Jezreel, Jezebel heard about it. She put on her eye makeup and fixed her hair. Then she looked out the window.

31 When Jehu entered the city gate, Jezebel said, "Have you come in peace, you Zimri, you who killed your master?"

32 Jehu looked up at the window and said, "Who is on my side? Who?" Two or three servants looked out the window at Jehu.

33 He said to them, "Throw her down." So they threw Jezebel down, and the horses ran over her. Some of her blood splashed on the wall and on the horses.

34 Jehu went into the house and ate and drank. Then he said, "Now see about this cursed woman. Bury her, because she is a king's daughter."

35 The men went to bury Jezebel, but they could not find her. They found only her skull, feet, and the palms of her hands.

36 When they came back and told Jehu, he said, "The Lord said this through his servant Elijah the Tishbite: 'The dogs will eat Jezebel at Jezreel.

37 Her body will be like manure on the field in the land at Jezreel. No one will be able to say that this is Jezebel.'"

2 Kings 10

1 Ahab had seventy sons in Samaria. Jehu wrote letters and sent them to Samaria to the officers and older leaders of Jezreel and to the guardians of the sons of Ahab. Jehu said,

2 "You have your master's sons with you, and you have chariots, horses, a city with strong walls, and weapons. When you get this letter,

3 choose the best and most worthy person among your master's sons, and make him king. Then fight for your master's family."

4 But the officers and leaders of Jezreel were frightened. They said, "Two kings could not stand up to Jehu, so how can we?"

5 The palace manager, the city governor, the leaders, and the guardians sent a message to Jehu. "We are your servants," they said. "We will do everything you tell us to do. We won't make any man king, so do whatever you think is best."

6 Then Jehu wrote a second letter, saying, "If you are on my side and will obey me, cut off the heads of your master's sons and come to me at Jezreel tomorrow about this time." Now the seventy sons of the king's family were with the leading men of the city who were their guardians.

7 When the leaders received the letter, they took the king's sons and killed all seventy of them. They put their heads in baskets and sent them to Jehu at Jezreel.

8 The messenger came to Jehu and told him, "They have brought the heads of the king's sons." Then Jehu said, "Lay the heads in two piles at the city gate until morning."

9 In the morning, Jehu went out and stood before the people and said to them, "You are innocent. Look, I made plans against my master and killed him. But who killed all these?

10 You should know that everything the Lord said about Ahab's family will come true. The Lord has spoken through his servant Elijah, and the Lord has done what he said."

11 So Jehu killed everyone of Ahab's family in Jezreel who was still alive. He also killed all Ahab's leading men, close friends, and priests. No one who had helped Ahab was left alive.

12 Then Jehu left and went to Samaria by way of the road to Beth Eked of the Shepherds.

13 There Jehu met some relatives of Ahaziah king of Judah. Jehu asked, "Who are you?" They answered, "We are relatives of Ahaziah. We have come down to get revenge for the families of the king and the king's mother."

14 Then Jehu said, "Take them alive!" So they captured Ahaziah's relatives alive and killed them at the well near Beth Eked -- forty-two of them. Jehu did not leave anyone alive.

15 After Jehu left there, he met Jehonadab son of Recab, who was also on his way to meet Jehu. Jehu greeted him and said, "Are you as good a friend to me as I am to you?" Jehonadab answered, "Yes, I am." Jehu said, "If you are, then give me your hand." So Jehonadab gave him his hand, and Jehu pulled him into the chariot.

16 "Come with me," Jehu said. "You can see how strong my feelings are for the Lord." So Jehu had Jehonadab ride in his chariot.

17 When Jehu came to Samaria, he killed all of Ahab's family in Samaria. He destroyed all those who were left, just as the Lord had told Elijah it would happen.

18 Then Jehu gathered all the people together and said to them, "Ahab served Baal a little, but Jehu will serve Baal much.

19 Now call for me all Baal's prophets and priests and all the people who worship Baal. Don't let anyone miss this meeting, because I have a great sacrifice for Baal. Anyone who is not there will not live." But Jehu was tricking them so he could destroy the worshipers of Baal.

20 He said, "Prepare a holy meeting for Baal." So they announced the meeting.

21 Then Jehu sent word through all Israel, and all the worshipers of Baal came; not one stayed home. They came into the temple of Baal, and the temple was filled from one side to the other.

22 Jehu said to the man who kept the robes, "Bring out robes for all the worshipers of Baal." After he brought out robes for them,

23 Jehu and Jehonadab son of Recab went into the temple of Baal. Jehu said to the worshipers of Baal, "Look around, and make sure there are no servants of the Lord with you. Be sure there are only worshipers of Baal."

24 Then the worshipers of Baal went in to offer sacrifices and burnt offerings. Jehu had eighty men waiting outside. He had told them, "Don't let anyone escape. If you do, you must pay with your own life."

25 As soon as Jehu finished offering the burnt offering, he ordered the guards and the captains, "Go in and kill the worshipers of Baal. Don't let anyone come out." So the guards and captains killed the worshipers of Baal with the sword and threw their bodies out. Then they went to the inner rooms of the temple

26 and brought out the pillars of the temple of Baal and burned them.

27 They tore down the stone pillar of Baal, as well as the temple of Baal. And they made it into a sewage pit, as it is today.

28 So Jehu destroyed Baal worship in Israel,

29 but he did not stop doing the sins Jeroboam son of Nebat had done. Jeroboam had led Israel to sin by worshiping the golden calves in Bethel and Dan.

30 The Lord said to Jehu, "You have done well in obeying what I said was right. You have done to the family of Ahab as I wanted. Because of this, your descendants as far as your great-great-grandchildren will be kings of Israel."

31 But Jehu was not careful to follow the teachings of the Lord, the God of Israel, with all his heart. He did not stop doing the same sins Jeroboam had done, by which he had led Israel to sin.

32 At that time the Lord began to make Israel smaller. Hazael defeated the Israelites in all the land of Israel,

33 taking all the land of the Jordan known as the land of Gilead. (It was the region of Gad, Reuben, and Manasseh.) He took land from Aroer by the Arnon Ravine through Gilead to Bashan.

34 The other things Jehu did -- everything he did and all his victories -- are recorded in the book of the history of the kings of Israel.

35 Jehu died and was buried in Samaria, and his son Jehoahaz became king in his place.

36 Jehu was king over Israel in Samaria for twenty-eight years.

2 Kings 11

1 When Ahaziah's mother, Athaliah, saw that her son was dead, she killed all the royal family.

2 But Jehosheba, King Jehoram's daughter and Ahaziah's sister, took Joash, Ahaziah's son. She stole him from among the other sons of the king who were about to be murdered. She put Joash and his nurse in a bedroom to hide him from Athaliah, so he was not killed.

3 He hid with her in the Temple of the Lord for six years. During that time Athaliah ruled the land.

4 In the seventh year Jehoiada sent for the commanders of groups of a hundred men, as well as the Carites. He brought them together in the Temple of the Lord and made an agreement with them. There, in the Temple of the Lord, he made them promise loyalty, and then he showed them the king's son.

5 He commanded them, "This is what you must do. A third of you who go on duty on the Sabbath will guard the king's palace.

6 A third of you will be at the Sur Gate, and another third will be at the gate behind the guard. This way you will guard the Temple.

7 The two groups who go off duty on the Sabbath must protect the Temple of the Lord for the king.

8 All of you must stand around the king, each man with his weapons in his hand. If anyone comes near, kill him. Stay close to the king when he goes out and when he comes in."

9 The commanders over a hundred men obeyed everything Jehoiada the priest had commanded. Each one took his men who came on duty on the Sabbath and those who went off duty on the Sabbath, and they came to Jehoiada the priest.

10 He gave the commanders the spears and shields that had belonged to King David and that were kept in the Temple of the Lord.

11 Then each guard took his place with his weapons in his hand. There were guards from the south side of the Temple to the north side. They stood by the altar and the Temple and around the king.

12 Jehoiada brought out the king's son and put the crown on him and gave him a copy of the agreement. They appointed him king and poured olive oil on him. Then they clapped their hands and said, "Long live the king!"

13 When Athaliah heard the noise of the guards and the people, she went to them at the Temple of the Lord.

14 She looked, and there was the king, standing by the pillar, as the custom was. The officers and trumpeters were standing beside him, and all the people of the land were very happy and were blowing trumpets. Then Athaliah tore her clothes and screamed, "Traitors! Traitors!"

15 Jehoiada the priest gave orders to the commanders of a hundred men, who led the army. He said, "Surround her with soldiers and kill with a sword anyone who follows her." He commanded this because he had said, "Don't put Athaliah to death in the Temple of the Lord."

16 So they caught her when she came to the horses' entrance near the palace. There she was put to death.

17 Then Jehoiada made an agreement between the Lord and the king and the people that they would be the Lord's special people. He also made an agreement between the king and the people.

18 All the people of the land went to the temple of Baal and tore it down, smashing the altars and idols. They also killed Mattan, the priest of Baal, in front of the altars. Then Jehoiada the priest placed guards at the Temple of the Lord.

19 He took with him the commanders of a hundred men and the Carites, the royal bodyguards, as well as the guards and all the people of the land. Together they took the king out of the Temple of the Lord and went into the palace through the gate of the guards. Then the king sat on the royal throne.

20 So all the people of the land were very happy, and Jerusalem had peace, because Athaliah had been put to death with the sword at the palace.

21 Joash was seven years old when he became king.