2 KingsChapter 10

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¹Ahab had seventy sons in Samaria. So Jehu wrote letters and sent them to Samaria. He sent them to the officials of Jezreel, to the elders, and to the men who raised Ahab's sons. The letters said, ²"Your master's sons are with you. You have chariots and horses. You have a walled city and weapons. So when this letter reaches you, ³choose the best and most fit of your master's sons. Put him on his father's throne. Then fight for your master's family." ⁴But they were terrified. They said, "If two kings couldn't stand against him, how can we?" ⁵So the man in charge of the palace, the governor of the city, the elders, and the men who raised the sons sent a message to Jehu. It said, "We are your servants. We'll do whatever you say. We won't make anyone king. Do whatever you think is best." ⁶Then Jehu wrote them a second letter. It said, "If you're on my side, and if you will obey me, then bring me the heads of your master's sons. Bring them to me at Jezreel by this time tomorrow." The king's sons, seventy of them, were being raised by the leading men of the city. ⁷When the letter came, these men took the king's sons and killed all seventy of them. They put their heads in baskets. They sent them to Jehu at Jezreel. ⁸A messenger came and told Jehu, "They've brought the heads of the king's sons." Jehu ordered, "Pile them in two heaps at the entrance of the city gate. Leave them there until morning." ⁹The next morning Jehu went out. He stood in front of all the people and said, "You are innocent. I'm the one who plotted against my master and killed him. But who killed all these? ¹⁰So you know that every word the LORD spoke against Ahab's family will come true. Not one will fail. The LORD has done what he promised through his servant Elijah." ¹¹So Jehu killed everyone in Jezreel who was left from Ahab's family. He also killed all Ahab's important men, his close friends, and his priests. He left no one alive. ¹²Then Jehu set out for Samaria. On the way, at Beth-eked of the Shepherds, ¹³Jehu met some relatives of Ahaziah king of Judah. He asked, "Who are you?" "We're relatives of Ahaziah," they answered. "We've come down to visit the sons of the king and the sons of the queen mother." ¹⁴Jehu ordered, "Take them alive!" So his men took them alive. Then they killed them at the well of Beth-eked. There were forty-two men. Jehu didn't leave any of them alive. ¹⁵When Jehu left there, he met Jehonadab son of Rechab. Jehonadab was coming to meet him. Jehu greeted him and asked, "Is your heart loyal to me, as my heart is loyal to you?" "It is!" Jehonadab answered. "If it is," Jehu said, "give me your hand." So he gave him his hand. Jehu helped him up into his chariot. ¹⁶Jehu said, "Come with me. See my zeal for the LORD!" So Jehu had him ride along in his chariot. ¹⁷Jehu came to Samaria. There he killed everyone left from Ahab's family. He wiped them all out, just as the LORD had told Elijah. ¹⁸Then Jehu brought all the people together. He said, "Ahab served Baal a little. But Jehu will serve him a lot. ¹⁹So call all the prophets of Baal to me. Call all who serve him and all his priests. Make sure no one is missing. I'm going to offer a great sacrifice to Baal. Anyone who is missing will not live." But Jehu was tricking them. He planned to destroy those who served Baal. ²⁰Jehu ordered, "Call a holy gathering for Baal." So they announced it. ²¹Then Jehu sent word all through Israel. All who served Baal came. Not one man stayed away. They went into the temple of Baal. It was filled from one end to the other. ²²Jehu said to the man in charge of the robes, "Bring out robes for all who serve Baal." So he brought out robes for them. ²³Then Jehu and Jehonadab son of Rechab went into the temple of Baal. Jehu said to those who served Baal, "Look around. Make sure no one here serves the LORD. Only those who serve Baal should be here." ²⁴Then they went in to offer sacrifices and burnt offerings. Jehu had placed eighty men outside. He had warned them, "I'm handing these men over to you. If anyone lets one of them escape, he will pay with his own life." ²⁵As soon as Jehu finished offering the burnt offering, he spoke to the guards and officers. "Go in and kill them," he said. "Don't let anyone get out." So the guards and officers killed them with the sword. They threw the bodies out. Then they went into the inner room of the temple of Baal. ²⁶They brought out the sacred pillar from the temple of Baal and burned it. ²⁷They also smashed the sacred pillar of Baal. They tore down the temple of Baal. They made it into a toilet. It is still used that way today. ²⁸So Jehu wiped out the worship of Baal from Israel. ²⁹But he did not turn away from the sins that Jeroboam son of Nebat had led Israel to commit. He kept the worship of the golden calves at Bethel and Dan. ³⁰Still, the LORD said to Jehu, "You have done well. You have done what is right in my eyes. You have done to Ahab's family all that I had planned. So four generations of your sons will sit on the throne of Israel." ³¹But Jehu was not careful to follow the law of the LORD, the God of Israel, with all his heart. He did not turn away from the sins that Jeroboam had led Israel to commit. ³²In those days the LORD began to make Israel smaller. Hazael defeated the Israelites in all their land. ³³He took the land east of the Jordan, all the land of Gilead. That was the land of Gad, Reuben, and Manasseh. He took land from Aroer by the Arnon Valley, through Gilead, all the way to Bashan. ³⁴The rest of what Jehu did, all he achieved, and all his power, is written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel. ³⁵Jehu died and joined his ancestors. He was buried in Samaria. His son Jehoahaz became king in his place. ³⁶Jehu ruled over Israel in Samaria for twenty-eight years.