The Complete Jewish Bible CJB
King James Version KJV
1 There were seventy descendants of Ach'av in Shomron. Yehu wrote letters and sent them to Shomron to the rulers of Yizre'el, to the leaders, and to the guardians of Ach'av's sons. The letters said,
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And Ahab had seventy sons in Samaria. And Jehu wrote letters, and sent to Samaria, unto the rulers of Jezreel, to the elders, and to them that brought up Ahab's children, saying,
2 "You have with you your master's sons, also chariots and horses, as well as fortified cities and armor. So, as soon as this letter reaches you,
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Now as soon as this letter cometh to you, seeing your master's sons are with you, and there are with you chariots and horses, a fenced city also, and armour;
3 choose the best and most suitable of your master's sons, set him on his father's throne and fight for your master's dynasty."
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Look even out the best and meetest of your master's sons, and set him on his father's throne, and fight for your master's house.
4 They were panic-stricken and said, "If the other two kings couldn't withstand him, how will we?"
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But they were exceedingly afraid, and said, Behold, two kings stood not before him: how then shall we stand?
5 So the administrator of the palace, the governor of the city, the leaders and the children's guardians sent this message to Yehu: "We are your servants. We will do everything you ask us to; we won't appoint anyone king. Do as you see fit."
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And he that was over the house, and he that was over the city, the elders also, and the bringers up of the children, sent to Jehu, saying, We are thy servants, and will do all that thou shalt bid us; we will not make any king: do thou that which is good in thine eyes.
6 He wrote a second letter to them, which said, "If you are on my side, and if you are ready to obey my orders, then bring the heads of your master's sons to me in Yizre'el by this time tomorrow." Now the seventy sons of the king were with the prominent men who had raised them.
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Then he wrote a letter the second time to them, saying, If ye be mine, and if ye will hearken unto my voice, take ye the heads of the men your master's sons, and come to me to Jezreel by to morrow this time. Now the king's sons, being seventy persons, were with the great men of the city, which brought them up.
7 When the letter reached them, they seized the king's sons and killed them, all seventy of them, put their heads in baskets and sent them to Yehu in Yizre'el.
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And it came to pass, when the letter came to them, that they took the king's sons, and slew seventy persons, and put their heads in baskets, and sent him them to Jezreel.
8 A messenger came and told him, "They have brought the heads of the king's sons." He said, "Leave them in two piles at the entrance of the city gate until morning."
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And there came a messenger, and told him, saying, They have brought the heads of the king's sons. And he said, Lay ye them in two heaps at the entering in of the gate until the morning.
9 When morning came, he went out, stood before the people and said, "You are not responsible [for the deaths of these men]. Yes, I conspired against my master and killed him. But who killed all these?
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And it came to pass in the morning, that he went out, and stood, and said to all the people, Ye be righteous: behold, I conspired against my master, and slew him: but who slew all these?
10 Understand, then, that no part of ADONAI's word which ADONAI spoke concerning the dynasty of Ach'av falls to the ground; because ADONAI has done what he said through his servant Eliyahu."
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Know now that there shall fall unto the earth nothing of the word of the LORD, which the LORD spake concerning the house of Ahab: for the LORD hath done that which he spake by his servant Elijah.
11 So Yehu killed everyone who remained from the house of Ach'av in Yizre'el, all his leading men, his close friends and his cohanim, until not one of them was left alive.
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So Jehu slew all that remained of the house of Ahab in Jezreel, and all his great men, and his kinsfolks, and his priests, until he left him none remaining.
12 Then he set out and went to Shomron. On the way he reached a shearing shed for shepherds,
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And he arose and departed, and came to Samaria. And as he was at the shearing house in the way,
13 where he encountered relatives of Achazyah king of Y'hudah. "Who are you?" he asked. "We're relatives of Achazyah," they answered, "and we're going down to pay our respects to the families of the king and of the queen mother."
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Jehu met with the brethren of Ahaziah king of Judah, and said, Who are ye? And they answered, We are the brethren of Ahaziah; and we go down to salute the children of the king and the children of the queen.
14 "Take them alive," said Yehu. They took them alive, forty-two men, slaughtered them and threw them into the shearing shed's pit; he spared not one of them.
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And he said, Take them alive. And they took them alive, and slew them at the pit of the shearing house, even two and forty men; neither left he any of them.
15 On leaving there, he happened upon Y'honadav the son of Rekhav coming toward him. He greeted him and said to him, "Are you wholeheartedly with me, as I am with you?" "Yes," answered Y'honadav. "If so, give me your hand." He gave him his hand, and Yehu took him up into the chariot.
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And when he was departed thence, he lighted on Jehonadab the son of Rechab coming to meet him: and he saluted him, and said to him, Is thine heart right, as my heart is with thy heart? And Jehonadab answered, It is. If it be, give me thine hand. And he gave him his hand; and he took him up to him into the chariot.
16 He said, "Come with me, and see how zealous I am for ADONAI." So they had him ride in his chariot.
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And he said, Come with me, and see my zeal for the LORD. So they made him ride in his chariot.
17 On arriving in Shomron he put to death everyone that Ach'av still had in Shomron, until he had destroyed him, in keeping with the word of ADONAI which he had spoken to Eliyahu.
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And when he came to Samaria, he slew all that remained unto Ahab in Samaria, till he had destroyed him, according to the saying of the LORD, which he spake to Elijah.
18 Next, Yehu assembled all the people and said to them, "Ach'av served Ba'al in limited measure, but Yehu will serve him with full zeal.
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And Jehu gathered all the people together, and said unto them, Ahab served Baal a little; but Jehu shall serve him much.
19 Therefore summon all the prophets of Ba'al to me, all his worshippers and all his priests. None of them is to be missing, because I am going to offer a great sacrifice to Ba'al; whoever is missing will not remain alive." But Yehu was setting a trap, in order to destroy the worshippers of Ba'al.
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Now therefore call unto me all the prophets of Baal, all his servants, and all his priests; let none be wanting: for I have a great sacrifice to do to Baal; whosoever shall be wanting, he shall not live. But Jehu did it in subtilty, to the intent that he might destroy the worshippers of Baal.
20 Yehu said, "Proclaim a solemn assembly for Ba'al," and they did so.
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And Jehu said, Proclaim a solemn assembly for Baal. And they proclaimed it.
21 Yehu sent throughout all Isra'el, and all the worshippers of Ba'al came, so that there was not one man left that didn't come. They entered the temple of Ba'al, and the temple of Ba'al was filled from one end to the other.
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And Jehu sent through all Israel: and all the worshippers of Baal came, so that there was not a man left that came not. And they came into the house of Baal; and the house of Baal was full from one end to another.
22 To the man in charge of the wardrobe he said, "Bring out robes for all the worshippers of Ba'al"; and he brought them clothes.
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And he said unto him that was over the vestry, Bring forth vestments for all the worshippers of Baal. And he brought them forth vestments.
23 Yehu and Y'honadav the son of Rekhav entered the house of Ba'al and said to the worshippers of Ba'al, "Search to see that none of the servants of ADONAI is here with you, only worshippers of Ba'al."
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And Jehu went, and Jehonadab the son of Rechab, into the house of Baal, and said unto the worshippers of Baal, Search, and look that there be here with you none of the servants of the LORD, but the worshippers of Baal only.
24 Then they went in to offer sacrifices and burnt offerings. But Yehu had chosen eighty men to remain outside. He said, "If any of the men I am about to put in your hands escapes, it will be your life for his."
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And when they went in to offer sacrifices and burnt offerings, Jehu appointed fourscore men without, and said, If any of the men whom I have brought into your hands escape, he that letteth him go, his life shall be for the life of him.
25 As soon as he had finished offering the burnt offering, Yehu said to the guards and officers, "Go in, and kill them; don't let one of them get out." So they killed them with the sword; then, after the guards and officers had thrown their bodies outside, they went into the temple of Ba'al's inner shrine,
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And it came to pass, as soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt offering, that Jehu said to the guard and to the captains, Go in, and slay them; let none come forth. And they smote them with the edge of the sword; and the guard and the captains cast them out, and went to the city of the house of Baal.
26 brought out the pillars in the temple of Ba'al and burned them.
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And they brought forth the images out of the house of Baal, and burned them.
27 Finally, they broke down Ba'al's standing-stone and demolished the temple of Ba'al, converting it into a latrine, which it still is today.
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And they brake down the image of Baal, and brake down the house of Baal, and made it a draught house unto this day.
28 Thus Yehu rid Isra'el of Ba'al.
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Thus Jehu destroyed Baal out of Israel.
29 However, Yehu did not turn away from the sins of Yarov'am the son of N'vat, with which he had led Isra'el into sin, the gold calves that were in Beit-El and Dan.
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Howbeit from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin, Jehu departed not from after them, to wit, the golden calves that were in Bethel, and that were in Dan.
30 ADONAI said to Yehu, "Because you did well in accomplishing what is right from my perspective, and have done to the house of Ach'av everything that was in my heart, your descendants down to the fourth generation will sit on the throne of Isra'el."
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And the LORD said unto Jehu, Because thou hast done well in executing that which is right in mine eyes, and hast done unto the house of Ahab according to all that was in mine heart, thy children of the fourth generation shall sit on the throne of Israel.
31 But Yehu made no effort to live wholeheartedly according to the Torah of ADONAI the God of Isra'el and did not turn away from the sins of Yarov'am, with which he had led Isra'el into sin.
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But Jehu took no heed to walk in the law of the LORD God of Israel with all his heart: for he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam, which made Israel to sin.
32 It was during that period that ADONAI began to dismember Isra'el. Haza'el attacked them throughout the territory of Isra'el
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In those days the LORD began to cut Israel short: and Hazael smote them in all the coasts of Israel;
33 east of the Yarden - all the land of Gil'ad, the Gadi, Re'uveni and M'nashi, from 'Aro'er by the Arnon River, including Gil'ad and Bashan.
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From Jordan eastward, all the land of Gilead, the Gadites, and the Reubenites, and the Manassites, from Aroer, which is by the river Arnon, even Gilead and Bashan.
34 Other activities of Yehu, all his accomplishments and all his power are recorded in the Annals of the Kings of Isra'el.
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Now the rest of the acts of Jehu, and all that he did, and all his might, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?
35 Yehu slept with his ancestors, and they buried him in Shomron. Then Y'ho'achaz his son became king in his place.
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And Jehu slept with his fathers: and they buried him in Samaria. And Jehoahaz his son reigned in his stead.
36 Yehu ruled over Isra'el in Shomron for twenty-eight years.
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And the time that Jehu reigned over Israel in Samaria was twenty and eight years.
Complete Jewish Bible Copyright 1998 by David H. Stern. Published by Jewish New Testament Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
The King James Version is in the public domain.