The Bible in Basic English BBE
Good News Translation GNT
1 And Elisha the prophet sent for one of the sons of the prophets, and said to him, Make yourself ready for a journey, and take this bottle of oil in your hand, and go to Ramoth-gilead.
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Meanwhile the prophet Elisha called one of the young prophets and said to him, "Get ready and go to Ramoth in Gilead. Take this jar of olive oil with you,
2 And when you get there, go in search of Jehu, the son of Jehoshaphat, the son of Nimshi; and go in and make him get up from among his brothers, and take him to an inner room.
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and when you get there look for Jehu, the son of Jehoshaphat and grandson of Nimshi. Take him to a private room away from his companions,
3 Then take the bottle and put the oil on his head, and say, The Lord says, I have put the holy oil on you to make you king over Israel. Then, opening the door, go in flight, without waiting.
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pour this olive oil on his head, and say, "The Lord proclaims that he anoints you king of Israel.' Then leave there as fast as you can."
4 So the young prophet went to Ramoth-gilead.
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So the young prophet went to Ramoth,
5 And when he came, he saw the captains of the army seated together; and he said, I have something to say to you, O captain. And Jehu said, To which of us? And he said, To you, O captain.
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where he found the army officers in a conference. He said, "Sir, I have a message for you." Jehu asked, "Which one of us are you speaking to?" "To you, sir," he replied.
6 And he got up and went into the house; then he put the holy oil on his head and said to him, The Lord, the God of Israel, says, I have made you king over the people of the Lord, over Israel.
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Then the two of them went indoors, and the young prophet poured the olive oil on Jehu's head and said to him, "The Lord, the God of Israel, proclaims: "I anoint you king of my people Israel.
7 You are to see that the family of Ahab your master is cut off, so that I may take from Jezebel payment for the blood of my servants the prophets, and for the blood of all the servants of the Lord.
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You are to kill your master the king, that son of Ahab, so that I may punish Jezebel for murdering my prophets and my other servants.
8 For the family of Ahab will come to an end; every male of Ahab's family will be cut off, he who is shut up and he who goes free in Israel.
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All of Ahab's family and descendants are to die; I will get rid of every male in his family, young and old alike.
9 I will make the family of Ahab like that of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, and Baasha, the son of Ahijah.
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I will treat his family as I did the families of King Jeroboam of Israel and of King Baasha of Israel.
10 And Jezebel will become food for the dogs in the heritage of Jezreel, and there will be no one to put her body into the earth. Then, opening the door, he went in flight.
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Jezebel will not be buried; her body will be eaten by dogs in the territory of Jezreel.' " After saying this, the young prophet left the room and fled.
11 Then Jehu came out again to the servants of his lord, and one said to him, Is all well? why did this man, who is off his head, come to you? And he said to them, You have knowledge of the man and of his talk.
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Jehu went back to his fellow officers, who asked him, "Is everything all right? What did that crazy fellow want with you?" "You know what he wanted," Jehu answered.
12 And they said, That is not true; now give us his story. Then he said, This is what he said to me: The Lord says, I have made you king over Israel.
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"No we don't!" they replied. "Tell us what he said!" "He told me that the Lord proclaims: "I anoint you king of Israel.' "
13 Then straight away everyone took his robe and put it under him on the top of the steps, and, sounding the horn, they said, Jehu is king.
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At once Jehu's fellow officers spread their cloaks at the top of the steps for Jehu to stand on, blew trumpets, and shouted, "Jehu is king!"
14 So Jehu, the son of Jehoshaphat, the son of Nimshi, made designs against Joram. (Now Joram and all the army of Israel were keeping watch on Ramoth-gilead because of Hazael, king of Aram:
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Then Jehu plotted against King Joram, who was in Jezreel, where he had gone to recover from the wounds which he had received in the battle at Ramoth against King Hazael of Syria. So Jehu said to his fellow officers, "If you are with me, make sure that no one slips out of Ramoth to go and warn the people in Jezreel."
15 But King Joram had gone back to Jezreel to get well from the wounds which the Aramaeans had given him when he was fighting against Hazael, king of Aram.) And Jehu said, If this is your purpose, then let no one get away and go out of the town to give news of it in Jezreel.
16 So Jehu got into his carriage and went to Jezreel, for Joram was ill in bed there; and Ahaziah, king of Judah, had come down to see Joram.
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Then he got into his chariot and set off for Jezreel. Joram had still not recovered, and King Ahaziah of Judah was there, visiting him.
17 And the watchman on the tower in Jezreel saw Jehu and his band coming, and said, I see a band of people. And Joram said, Send out a horseman to them, and let him say, Is it peace?
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A guard on duty in the watchtower at Jezreel saw Jehu and his men approaching. "I see some men riding up!" he called out. Joram replied, "Send a rider to find out if they are friends or enemies."
18 So a horseman went out to them and said, The king says, Is it peace? And Jehu said, What have you to do with peace? come after me. And the watchman gave them word, saying, The horseman went up to them, but has not come back.
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The messenger rode out to Jehu and said to him, "The king wants to know if you come as a friend." "That's none of your business!" Jehu answered. "Fall in behind me." The guard on the watchtower reported that the messenger had reached the group but was not returning.
19 Then he sent out a second horseman, who came up to them and said, The king says, Is it peace? And Jehu said in answer, What have you to do with peace? come after me.
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Another messenger was sent out, who asked Jehu the same question. Again Jehu answered, "That's none of your business! Fall in behind me."
20 And the watchman gave them word, saying, He went up to them and has not come back again; and the driving is like the driving of Jehu, son of Nimshi, for he is driving violently.
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Once more the guard reported that the messenger had reached the group but was not returning. And he added, "The leader of the group is driving his chariot like a madman, just like Jehu!"
21 Then Joram said, Make ready. So they made his carriage ready; and Joram, king of Israel, with Ahaziah, king of Judah, went out in their carriages for the purpose of meeting Jehu; and they came face to face with him at the field of Naboth the Jezreelite.
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"Get my chariot ready," King Joram ordered. It was done, and he and King Ahaziah rode out, each in his own chariot, to meet Jehu. They met him at the field which had belonged to Naboth.
22 Now when Joram saw Jehu he said, Is it peace, Jehu? And he said in answer, What peace is possible while all the land is full of the disgusting sins of your mother Jezebel, and her secret arts?
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"Are you coming in peace?" Joram asked him. "How can there be peace," Jehu answered, "when we still have all the witchcraft and idolatry that your mother Jezebel started?"
23 Then Joram, turning his horses in flight, said to Ahaziah, Broken faith, O Ahaziah!
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"It's treason, Ahaziah!" Joram cried out, as he turned his chariot around and fled.
24 Then Jehu took his bow in his hand, and with all his strength sent an arrow, wounding Joram between the arms; and the arrow came out at his heart, and he went down on his face in his carriage.
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Jehu drew his bow, and with all his strength shot an arrow that struck Joram in the back and pierced his heart. Joram fell dead in his chariot,
25 Then Jehu said to Bidkar, his captain, Take him up, and put him in the field of Naboth the Jezreelite: for is not that day in your memory when you and I together on our horses were going after Ahab, his father, and the Lord put this fate on him, saying:
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and Jehu said to his aide Bidkar, "Get his body and throw it in the field that belonged to Naboth. Remember that when you and I were riding together behind King Joram's father Ahab, the Lord spoke these words against Ahab:
26 I saw the blood of Naboth and of his sons yesterday; and I will give you full payment in this field, says the Lord? So now, take him and put him in this field, as the Lord said.
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"I saw the murder of Naboth and his sons yesterday. And I promise that I will punish you here in this same field.' So take Joram's body," Jehu ordered his aide, "and throw it in the field that belonged to Naboth, so as to fulfill the Lord's promise."
27 Now when Ahaziah, king of Judah, saw this, he went in flight by the way of the garden house. And Jehu came after him and said, Put him to death in the same way; and they gave him a death-wound in his carriage, on the slope up to Gur, by Ibleam; and he went in flight to Megiddo, where death came to him.
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King Ahaziah saw what happened, so he fled in his chariot toward the town of Beth Haggan, pursued by Jehu. "Kill him too!" Jehu ordered his men, and they wounded him as he drove his chariot on the road up to Gur, near the town of Ibleam. But he managed to keep on going until he reached the city of Megiddo, where he died.
28 And his servants took him in a carriage to Jerusalem, and put him into the earth with his fathers in the town of David.
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His officials took his body back to Jerusalem in a chariot and buried him in the royal tombs in David's City.
29 (In the eleventh year of the rule of Joram, the son of Ahab, Ahaziah became king over Judah.)
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Ahaziah had become king of Judah in the eleventh year that Joram son of Ahab was king of Israel.
30 And when Jehu came to Jezreel, Jezebel had news of it; and, painting her eyes and dressing her hair with ornaments, she put her head out of the window.
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Jehu arrived in Jezreel. Jezebel, having heard what had happened, put on eye shadow, arranged her hair, and stood looking down at the street from a window in the palace.
31 And when Jehu was coming into the town, she said, Is all well, O Zimri, taker of your master's life?
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As Jehu came through the gate, she called out, "You Zimri! You assassin! Why are you here?"
32 Then, looking up to the window, he said, Who is on my side, who? and two or three unsexed servants put out their heads.
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Jehu looked up and shouted, "Who is on my side?" Two or three palace officials looked down at him from a window,
33 And he said, Take her and put her out of the window. So they sent her down with force, and her blood went in a shower on the wall and on the horses; and she was crushed under their feet.
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and Jehu said to them, "Throw her down!" They threw her down, and her blood spattered on the wall and on the horses. Jehu drove his horses and chariot over her body,
34 And he came in, and took food and drink; then he said, Now see to this cursed woman, and put her body into the earth, for she is a king's daughter.
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entered the palace, and had a meal. Only then did he say, "Take that cursed woman and bury her; after all, she is a king's daughter."
35 And they went out to put her body into the earth, but nothing of her was to be seen, only the bones of her head, and her feet, and parts of her hands.
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But the men who went out to bury her found nothing except her skull and the bones of her hands and feet.
36 So they came back and gave him word of it. And he said, This is what the Lord said by his servant Elijah the Tishbite, saying, In the heritage of Jezreel the flesh of Jezebel will become food for dogs;
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When they reported this to Jehu, he said, "This is what the Lord said would happen, when he spoke through his servant Elijah: "Dogs will eat Jezebel's body in the territory of Jezreel.
37 And the dead body of Jezebel will be like waste dropped on the face of the earth in the heritage of Jezreel; so that they will not be able to say, This is Jezebel.
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Her remains will be scattered there like dung, so that no one will be able to identify them.' "
The Bible in Basic English is in the public domain.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.