Jehu Is King of Israel
4 Kingdoms 9, verse 1. Then Elisha the prophet called one of the sons of the prophets and said to him, “Prepare yourself, take this flask of oil in your hand, and go to Ramoth Gilead. 4 Kingdoms 9, verse 2. Now when you arrive at that place, look there for Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat, the son of Nimshi, and go in and awaken him from among his brethren, and take him to the innermost chamber. 4 Kingdoms 9, verse 3. Then take the flask of oil, pour it on his head, and say, ‘Thus says the Lord: “I have anointed you king over Israel.” Then open the door and flee, and do not delay.” 4 Kingdoms 9, verse 4. So the young man, the prophet, went to Ramoth Gilead. 4 Kingdoms 9, verse 5. When he arrived where the captains of the army were sitting, he said, “I have a message for you, O captain.” Jehu said, “For which one of us?” And he said, “For you, O captain.” 4 Kingdoms 9, verse 6. Then he arose and went into the house. And he poured the oil on his head, and said to him, “Thus says the Lord God of Israel, ‘I have anointed you king over the people of the Lord, over Israel. 4 Kingdoms 9, verse 7. You shall destroy the house of Ahab your master, that I may avenge the blood of My servants the prophets and the blood of all the servants of the Lord at the hand of Jezebel 4 Kingdoms 9, verse 8. and by the hand of all the house of Ahab, and you shall cut off from the house of Ahab every male held captive, those looked after and those in solitary confinement. 4 Kingdoms 9, verse 9. Then I will deliver the house of Ahab, like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah. 4 Kingdoms 9, verse 10. The dogs shall eat Jezebel on the plot of ground at Jezreel, and there shall be no one to bury her.’” And he opened the door and fled. 4 Kingdoms 9, verse 11. Then Jehu came out to the servants of his master, and they said to him, “Peace to you. Why did this possessed man come to you?” And he said to them, “You know the man and his babble.” 4 Kingdoms 9, verse 12. And they said, “Liar! Now you tell us.” And Jehu said to them, “Thus and thus he spoke to me, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord: “I anointed you king over Israel.”’” 4 Kingdoms 9, verse 13. When they heard this, they hastened to take their garments and to place them beneath him on the top of the stairs. And they blew trumpets, saying, “Jehu is king!”
Israel's King Joram Is Killed
4 Kingdoms 9, verse 14. So Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat, the son of Nimshi, conspired against Joram; and Joram was defending Ramoth Gilead, he and all Israel, against Hazael king of Syria; 4 Kingdoms 9, verse 15. and King Joram had returned to Jezreel to recover from the wounds the Syrians had inflicted on him when he fought with Hazael king of Syria. Jehu said, “If your heart is with me, let no one leave or escape from the city to go and tell it in Jezreel.” 4 Kingdoms 9, verse 16. So Jehu rode ahead and came down to Jezreel; for Joram, king of Israel, was being restored to health in Jezreel from the arrow wounds the Syrians inflicted on him with the bow in Ramoth, in the battle with Hazael king of Syria; for he was powerful and a man of strength. And Ahaziah king of Judah came down to see Joram. 4 Kingdoms 9, verse 17. Now a watchman went up on the tower in Jezreel, and saw Jehu's dust as he came, and said, “I see dust.” And Joram said, “Get a horseman and send him to meet them. Let him say, ‘It is a time for peace.’” 4 Kingdoms 9, verse 18. So the horseman went to meet him, and said, “Thus says the king, ‘Let there be peace.’” And Jehu said, “What do you have to do with peace? Turn around and follow me.” So the watchman reported, saying, “The messenger went to them, but is not coming back.” 4 Kingdoms 9, verse 19. Then he sent out a second horseman, who came to them and said, “Thus says the king, ‘It is time for peace!’” And Jehu answered, “What do you have to do with peace? Turn around and follow me.” 4 Kingdoms 9, verse 20. So the watchman reported, saying, “He went up to them and is not coming back. And he brought Jehu the son of Nimshi, for he was in a frenzy!” 4 Kingdoms 9, verse 21. Then Joram exclaimed, “Make ready! Harness a chariot!” Then Joram king of Israel and Ahaziah king of Judah went out, each in his chariot, for a meeting with Jehu. They found him on the property of Naboth the Jezreelite. 4 Kingdoms 9, verse 22. Now it happened when Joram saw Jehu, he said, “Jehu, let there be a time of peace.” And he answered, “How can there be a time of peace? The sexual immorality of Jezebel your mother and her sorceries are still many.” 4 Kingdoms 9, verse 23. Then Joram turned the reigns in his hand to flee, and said to Ahaziah, “This is treachery, Ahaziah!” 4 Kingdoms 9, verse 24. But Jehu drew back on his bow fully and shot Joram with an arrow between his shoulders. The arrow came out through his heart, and he buckled at his knees. 4 Kingdoms 9, verse 25. Then Jehu said to Bidkar his officer, “Cast him into the portion of the field of Naboth the Jezreelite; for I remember when you and I were mounting onto a pair of chariots behind Ahab, Joram's father, and the Lord took upon Himself this promise against Ahab, saying, 4 Kingdoms 9, verse 26. ‘Yesterday,’ says the Lord, ‘I surely saw the blood of Naboth and the blood of his sons. I will recompense to him in this same portion.’ Therefore now, pick him up and cast him into the portion of ground, according to the word of the Lord.”
Judah's King Ahaziah Is Killed
4 Kingdoms 9, verse 27. But when Ahaziah king of Judah saw this, he fled on the road to Beth Haggan. So Jehu pursued after him, saying, “Him, too!” And on the ascent of Gur, one struck him in the chariot, near Ibleam. He then fled to Megiddo and died there. 4 Kingdoms 9, verse 28. From here, his servants carried him in the chariot to Jerusalem, and buried him in his tomb in the City of David. 4 Kingdoms 9, verse 29. And in the eleventh year of Joram king of Israel, Ahaziah became king over Judah.
The Bloody Death of Jezebel
4 Kingdoms 9, verse 30. Now Jehu returned to Jezreel, and Jezebel received the news of it. She put black makeup on her eyes and adorned her head, and she stooped down and peeked through the window. 4 Kingdoms 9, verse 31. As Jehu entered into the city, she said, “Peace, Zimri, the murderer of his master.” 4 Kingdoms 9, verse 32. Jehu raised his eyes upward toward the window and saw her, and said, “Who are you? Come down by me.” Then two eunuchs looked down at him. 4 Kingdoms 9, verse 33. He exclaimed, “Throw her down.” So they threw her down, and her blood splattered against the wall, even on the horses which trampled her. 4 Kingdoms 9, verse 34. Then Jehu went in, and he ate and drank, and said, “Indeed, have care for this cursed woman. Give her a proper burial, as she is the daughter of a king.” 4 Kingdoms 9, verse 35. So they went to bury her, but no more of her was found but the skull, the feet, and the palms of her hands. 4 Kingdoms 9, verse 36. They came back and told Jehu. And he said, “This is the word the Lord spoke by His servant Elijah the Tishbite, saying, ‘On the plot of ground at Jezreel, dogs shall eat the flesh of Jezebel; 4 Kingdoms 9, verse 37. and Jezebel's corpse shall be like dung on the face of the field in the plot at Jezreel, so that they shall not say, “Here lies Jezebel.”’”