1   Now seventy sons of Ahab were left in Samaria. Jehu therefore sent a letter to Samaria, to the elders, the rulers of the city, ^note and to the tutors

Elisha and the end of the house of Ahab of Ahab's children, ^note in which he wrote: 2   ‘Now, when this letter reaches you, since you have in your care your master's family as well as his chariots and horses, 3   fortified cities ^note and weapons, choose the best and the most suitable of your master's family, set him on his father's throne, and fight for your master's house.’ 4   They were panic-stricken and said, ‘The two kings could not stand against him; what hope is there that we can?’ 5   Therefore the comptroller of the household and the governor of the city, with the elders and the tutors, sent this message to Jehu: ‘We are your servants. Whatever you tell us we will do; but we will not make anyone king. 6   Do as you think fit.’ Then he wrote them a second letter: ‘If you are on my side and will obey my orders, then bring the heads of ^note your master's sons to me at Jezreel by this time tomorrow.’ Now the royal princes, seventy in all, were with the nobles of the city who were bringing them up. 7   When the letter reached them, they took the royal princes and killed all seventy; they put their heads in baskets and sent them to Jehu in Jezreel. 8   When the messenger came to him and reported that they had brought the heads of the royal princes, he ordered them to be put in two heaps and left at the entrance of the city gate till morning. 9   In the morning he went out, stood there and said to all the people, ‘You are fair judges. If I conspired against my master and killed him, who put all these to death? 10   Be sure then that every word which the Lord has spoken against the house of Ahab shall be fulfilled, and that the Lord has now done what he spoke through his servant Elijah.’ 11   So Jehu put to death all who were left of the house of Ahab in Jezreel, as well as all his nobles, his close friends, and his priests, until he had left not one survivor.

12   Then he set out for Samaria, and on the way there, when he had reached a shepherds' shelter, ^note 13   he came upon the kinsmen of Ahaziah king of Judah and said, ‘Who are you?’ ‘We are kinsmen of Ahaziah,’ they replied; ‘and we have come down to greet the families of the king and of the queen mother.’ 14   ‘Take them alive’, he said. So they took them alive; then they slew them and flung them into the pit that was there, forty-two of them; they did not leave a single survivor.

15   When he had left that place, he found Jehonadab son of Rechab coming to meet him. He greeted him and said, ‘Are you with me heart and soul, as I am with you?’ ‘I am’, said Jehonadab. ‘Then if you are,’ said Jehu, ^note ‘give me your hand.’ He gave him his hand and Jehu helped him up into his chariot. 16   ‘Come with me,’ he said, ‘and you will see my zeal for the Lord.’ So he ^note took him with him in his chariot. 17   When he came to Samaria, he put to death all of Ahab's house who were

Elisha and the end of the house of Ahab left there and so blotted it out, in fulfilment of the word which the Lord had spoken to Elijah. 18   Then Jehu called all the people together and said to them, ‘Ahab served the Baal a little; Jehu will serve him much. 19   Now, summon all the prophets of Baal, all his ministers and priests; not one must be missing. For I am holding a great sacrifice to Baal, and no one who is missing from it shall live.’ In this way Jehu outwitted the ministers of Baal in order to destroy them. 20   So Jehu said, ‘Let a sacred ceremony for Baal be held.’ 21   They did so, and Jehu himself sent word throughout Israel, and all the ministers of Baal came; there was not a man left who did not come. They went into the temple of Baal and it was filled from end to end. 22   Then he said to the person who had charge of the wardrobe, ‘Bring out robes for all the ministers of Baal’; and he brought them out. 23   Then Jehu and Jehonadab son of Rechab went into the temple of Baal and said to the ministers of Baal, ‘Look carefully and make sure that there are no servants of the Lord here with you, but only the ministers of Baal.’ 24   Then they went in to offer sacrifices and whole-offerings. Now Jehu had stationed eighty men outside and said to them, ‘I am putting these men in your charge, and any man who lets one escape shall answer for it with his life.’ 25   When he had finished offering the whole-offering, Jehu ordered the guards and the lieutenants to go and cut them all down, and let not one of them escape; so they slew them without quarter. The escort and the lieutenants then rushed 26   into the keep of the temple of Baal and brought out the sacred pole ^note from the temple of Baal and burnt it; 27   and they pulled down the sacred pillar of the Baal and the temple itself and made a privy of it—as it is today. 28    29   Thus Jehu stamped out the worship of Baal in Israel. He did not however abandon the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat who led Israel into sin, but he maintained the worship of the golden calves of Bethel and Dan.

30   Then the Lord said to Jehu, ‘You have done well what is right in my eyes and have done to the house of Ahab all that it was in my mind to do. Therefore your sons to the fourth generation shall sit on the throne of Israel.’ 31   But Jehu was not careful to follow the law of the Lord the God of Israel with all his heart; he did not abandon the sins of Jeroboam who led Israel into sin.

32   In those days the Lord began to work havoc on Israel, and Hazael 33   struck at them in every corner of their territory eastwards from the Jordan: all the land of Gilead, Gad, Reuben, and Manasseh, from Aroer which is by the gorge of the Arnon, including Gilead and Bashan.

34   The other events of Jehu's reign, his achievements and his exploits, are recorded in the annals of the kings of Israel. 35   So Jehu rested with his forefathers and was buried in Samaria; and he was succeeded by his son Jehoahaz. 36   Jehu reigned over Israel in Samaria for twenty-eight years.

Previous section

Next section