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10 Then Jehu wrote a letter to the city council of Samaria and to the guardians of Ahab’s seventy sons—all of whom were living there.

2-3 “Upon receipt of this letter, select the best one of Ahab’s sons to be your king, and prepare to fight for his throne. For you have chariots and horses and a fortified city and an armory.”

But they were too frightened to do it. “Two kings couldn’t stand against this man! What can we do?” they said.

So the manager of palace affairs and the city manager, together with the city council and the guardians of Ahab’s sons, sent him this message:

“Jehu, we are your servants and will do anything you tell us to. We have decided that you should be our king instead of one of Ahab’s sons.”

Jehu responded with this message: “If you are on my side and are going to obey me, bring the heads of your master’s sons to me at Jezreel at about this time tomorrow.”

(These seventy sons of King Ahab were living in the homes of the chief men of the city, where they had been raised since childhood.) When the letter arrived, all seventy of them were murdered, and their heads were packed into baskets and presented to Jehu at Jezreel. When a messenger told Jehu that the heads of the king’s sons had arrived, he said to pile them in two heaps at the entrance of the city gate, and to leave them there until the next morning.

9-10 In the morning he went out and spoke to the crowd that had gathered around them. “You aren’t to blame,” he told them. “I conspired against my master and killed him, but I didn’t kill his sons! The Lord has done that, for everything he says comes true. He declared through his servant Elijah that this would happen to Ahab’s descendants.”

11 Jehu then killed all the rest of the members of the family of Ahab who were in Jezreel, as well as all of his important officials, personal friends, and private chaplains. Finally, no one was left who had been close to him in any way.[a] 12 Then he set out for Samaria and stayed overnight at a shepherd’s inn along the way. 13 While he was there he met the brothers of King Ahaziah of Judah.

“Who are you?” he asked them.

And they replied, “We are brothers[b] of King Ahaziah. We are going to Samaria to visit the sons of King Ahab and of the Queen Mother, Jezebel.”

14 “Grab them!” Jehu shouted to his men. And he took them out to the cistern and killed all forty-two of them.

15 As he left the inn, he met Jehonadab, the son of Rechab, who was coming to meet him. After they had greeted each other, Jehu said to him, “Are you as loyal to me as I am to you?”

“Yes,” Jehonadab replied.

“Then give me your hand,” Jehu said, and he helped him into the royal chariot.

16 “Now come along with me,” Jehu said, “and see how much I have done for the Lord.” So Jehonadab rode along with him. 17 When he arrived in Samaria he butchered all of Ahab’s friends and relatives, just as Elijah, speaking for the Lord, had predicted.

Then Jehu called a meeting of all the people of the city and said to them, “Ahab hardly worshiped Baal at all in comparison to the way I am going to! 18-19 Summon all the prophets and priests of Baal, and call together all his worshipers. See to it that every one of them comes, for we worshipers of Baal are going to have a great celebration to praise him. Any of Baal’s worshipers who don’t come will be put to death.”

But Jehu’s plan was to exterminate them. 20-21 He sent messengers throughout all Israel summoning those who worshiped Baal; and they all came and filled the temple of Baal from one end to the other. 22 He instructed the head of the robing room, “Be sure that every worshiper wears one of the special robes.”

23 Then Jehu and Jehonadab (son of Rechab) went into the temple to address the people: “Check to be sure that only those who worship Baal are here; don’t let anyone in who worships the Lord!”

24 As the priests of Baal began offering sacrifices and burnt offerings, Jehu surrounded the building with eighty of his men and told them, “If you let anyone escape, you’ll pay for it with your own life.”

25 As soon as he had finished sacrificing the burnt offering, Jehu went out and told his officers and men, “Go in and kill the whole bunch of them. Don’t let a single one escape.”

So they slaughtered them all and dragged their bodies outside. Then Jehu’s men went into the inner temple, 26 dragged out the pillar used for the worship of Baal, and burned it. 27 They wrecked the temple and converted it into a public toilet, which it still is today. 28 Thus Jehu destroyed every trace of Baal from Israel. 29 However, he didn’t destroy the gold calves at Bethel and Dan—this was the great sin of Jeroboam (son of Nebat), for it resulted in all Israel sinning.

30 Afterwards the Lord said to Jehu, “You have done well in following my instructions to destroy the dynasty of Ahab. Because of this I will cause your son, your grandson, and your great-grandson to be the kings of Israel.”

31 But Jehu didn’t follow the Lord God of Israel with all his heart, for he continued to worship Jeroboam’s gold calves that had been the cause of such great sin in Israel.

32-33 At about that time the Lord began to whittle down the size of Israel. King Hazael conquered several sections of the country east of the Jordan River, as well as all of Gilead, Gad, and Reuben; he also conquered parts of Manasseh from the Aroer River in the valley of the Arnon as far as Gilead and Bashan.

34 The rest of Jehu’s activities are recorded in The Annals of the Kings of Israel. 35 When Jehu died, he was buried in Samaria; and his son Jehoahaz became the new king. 36 In all, Jehu reigned as king of Israel, in Samaria, for twenty-eight years.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Kings 10:11 no one was left who had been close to him in any way. Apparently Jehu in his zeal exceeded the Lord’s command in this bloodbath, for he was blamed for it by the prophet Hosea (1:4).
  2. 2 Kings 10:13 brothers, literally, “kinsmen.”

Ahab’s Family Killed

10 Now there were in Samaria(A) seventy sons(B) of the house of Ahab. So Jehu wrote letters and sent them to Samaria: to the officials of Jezreel,[a](C) to the elders and to the guardians(D) of Ahab’s children. He said, “You have your master’s sons with you and you have chariots and horses, a fortified city and weapons. Now as soon as this letter reaches you, choose the best and most worthy of your master’s sons and set him on his father’s throne. Then fight for your master’s house.”

But they were terrified and said, “If two kings could not resist him, how can we?”

So the palace administrator, the city governor, the elders and the guardians sent this message to Jehu: “We are your servants(E) and we will do anything you say. We will not appoint anyone as king; you do whatever you think best.”

Then Jehu wrote them a second letter, saying, “If you are on my side and will obey me, take the heads of your master’s sons and come to me in Jezreel by this time tomorrow.”

Now the royal princes, seventy of them, were with the leading men of the city, who were rearing them. When the letter arrived, these men took the princes and slaughtered all seventy(F) of them. They put their heads(G) in baskets and sent them to Jehu in Jezreel. When the messenger arrived, he told Jehu, “They have brought the heads of the princes.”

Then Jehu ordered, “Put them in two piles at the entrance of the city gate until morning.”

The next morning Jehu went out. He stood before all the people and said, “You are innocent. It was I who conspired against my master and killed him, but who killed all these? 10 Know, then, that not a word the Lord has spoken against the house of Ahab will fail. The Lord has done what he announced(H) through his servant Elijah.”(I) 11 So Jehu(J) killed everyone in Jezreel who remained of the house of Ahab, as well as all his chief men, his close friends and his priests, leaving him no survivor.(K)

12 Jehu then set out and went toward Samaria. At Beth Eked of the Shepherds, 13 he met some relatives of Ahaziah king of Judah and asked, “Who are you?”

They said, “We are relatives of Ahaziah,(L) and we have come down to greet the families of the king and of the queen mother.(M)

14 “Take them alive!” he ordered. So they took them alive and slaughtered them by the well of Beth Eked—forty-two of them. He left no survivor.(N)

15 After he left there, he came upon Jehonadab(O) son of Rekab,(P) who was on his way to meet him. Jehu greeted him and said, “Are you in accord with me, as I am with you?”

“I am,” Jehonadab answered.

“If so,” said Jehu, “give me your hand.”(Q) So he did, and Jehu helped him up into the chariot. 16 Jehu said, “Come with me and see my zeal(R) for the Lord.” Then he had him ride along in his chariot.

17 When Jehu came to Samaria, he killed all who were left there of Ahab’s family;(S) he destroyed them, according to the word of the Lord spoken to Elijah.

Servants of Baal Killed

18 Then Jehu brought all the people together and said to them, “Ahab served(T) Baal a little; Jehu will serve him much. 19 Now summon(U) all the prophets of Baal, all his servants and all his priests. See that no one is missing, because I am going to hold a great sacrifice for Baal. Anyone who fails to come will no longer live.” But Jehu was acting deceptively in order to destroy the servants of Baal.

20 Jehu said, “Call an assembly(V) in honor of Baal.” So they proclaimed it. 21 Then he sent word throughout Israel, and all the servants of Baal came; not one stayed away. They crowded into the temple of Baal until it was full from one end to the other. 22 And Jehu said to the keeper of the wardrobe, “Bring robes for all the servants of Baal.” So he brought out robes for them.

23 Then Jehu and Jehonadab son of Rekab went into the temple of Baal. Jehu said to the servants of Baal, “Look around and see that no one who serves the Lord is here with you—only servants of Baal.” 24 So they went in to make sacrifices and burnt offerings. Now Jehu had posted eighty men outside with this warning: “If one of you lets any of the men I am placing in your hands escape, it will be your life for his life.”(W)

25 As soon as Jehu had finished making the burnt offering, he ordered the guards and officers: “Go in and kill(X) them; let no one escape.”(Y) So they cut them down with the sword. The guards and officers threw the bodies out and then entered the inner shrine of the temple of Baal. 26 They brought the sacred stone(Z) out of the temple of Baal and burned it. 27 They demolished the sacred stone of Baal and tore down the temple(AA) of Baal, and people have used it for a latrine to this day.

28 So Jehu(AB) destroyed Baal worship in Israel. 29 However, he did not turn away from the sins(AC) of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit—the worship of the golden calves(AD) at Bethel(AE) and Dan.

30 The Lord said to Jehu, “Because you have done well in accomplishing what is right in my eyes and have done to the house of Ahab all I had in mind to do, your descendants will sit on the throne of Israel to the fourth generation.”(AF) 31 Yet Jehu was not careful(AG) to keep the law of the Lord, the God of Israel, with all his heart. He did not turn away from the sins(AH) of Jeroboam, which he had caused Israel to commit.

32 In those days the Lord began to reduce(AI) the size of Israel. Hazael(AJ) overpowered the Israelites throughout their territory 33 east of the Jordan in all the land of Gilead (the region of Gad, Reuben and Manasseh), from Aroer(AK) by the Arnon(AL) Gorge through Gilead to Bashan.

34 As for the other events of Jehu’s reign, all he did, and all his achievements, are they not written in the book of the annals(AM) of the kings of Israel?

35 Jehu rested with his ancestors and was buried in Samaria. And Jehoahaz his son succeeded him as king. 36 The time that Jehu reigned over Israel in Samaria was twenty-eight years.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Kings 10:1 Hebrew; some Septuagint manuscripts and Vulgate of the city