2 Kings 10
1NOW Achab had seventy sons in Samaria, therefore Jehu wrote a letter and sent it to Samaria to the chiefs of Samaria and to the elders and to them who had the charge of bringing up Achab’s sons, saying,
2Soon as this letter shall reach you, as you have with you your master’s sons and there are with you chariots and horses and strong cities and arms,
3look out the best and fittest of your master’s sons and set him on the throne of his father and fight for the house of your master.
4Upon which they were greatly terrified and said, Behold the two kings were not able to stand before him, and how can we?
5Therefore the officers of the household and the chiefs of the city and the elders and they who had the charge of bringing up the children sent to Jehu saying, We are thy servants and will do whatever thou shalt order us. We will not make any man king. We will do what is good in thy eyes.
6Thereupon Jehu wrote them a second letter saying, If you are for me and will hearken to my voice, take the heads of the men—the sons of your lord and bring them to me about this time to-morrow to Jezrael. Now the king’s sons were seventy men and the nobles of that city brought them up.
7So when this letter reached them, they took the king’s sons and slew them, the seventy men, and put their heads in baskets, and sent them to him at Jezrael.
8And when a messenger came and told him saying, They have brought the heads of the king’s sons; he said, Pile them up in two heaps at the gate of the city till the morning.
9And in the morning he went out, and standing up, said to all the people, Ye righteous men! behold I conspired against my master and slew him; but who hath slain all these?
10You see now that there shall not fall to the ground any part of the word of the Lord which he spake against the house of Achab. For the Lord hath executed all that he spoke by the ministry of his servant Elias.
11Then Jehu slew all that were left of the house of Achab in Jezrael, and all his nobles and his acquaintance, and his priests, so that there was not a remnant of him left.
12Then he arose and set out on his march to Samaria; and coming to the shepherd’s pit on the way,
13he met the brothers of Ochozias king of Juda, and said, Who are ye? And when they said, We are the brothers of Ochozias and are come down to salute the children of the king and the children of the queen,
14he said, Take them alive. So they slew them at that pit. Of forty-two men he did not leave a man of them.
15And going thence he met Jonadab son of Rechab, coming to meet him. And when he had saluted him, Jehu said to him, Is thy heart right with my heart, as my heart is with thine? And when Jonadab said, It is: Jehu said to him: Give me thy hand. So he gave him his hand. Then he caused him to come up to him into the chariot,
16and said, Come with me and see my zeal for the Lord. So he caused him to take a seat in the chariot.
17And when he arrived at Samaria, he slew all that were left of Achab in Samaria until he had utterly destroyed him, according to the word of the Lord which he spoke to Elias.
18Then Jehu assembled all the people and said to them, Achab served Baal a little, Jehu will serve him much.
19Now therefore all ye, the prophets of Baal, call before me all his servants and his priests. Let not a man be wanting; for I have a great sacrifice for Baal. Whoever is missing shall not live. This Jehu did in subtilty, that he might destroy all the servants of Baal.
20Then Jehu said, Hallow a solemnity for Baal. And when they had proclaimed it,
21Jehu sent to all Israel, saying, Now let all his servants and all his priests and all his prophets attend. Let none be missing. For I am going to make a great sacrifice; whoever is missing shall not live. So all the servants of Baal came, with all his priests and all his prophets. There was not a man left who did not attend. And when they came to the house of Baal the house was filled from door to door.
22Jehu said to the keeper of the wardrobe, Bring out vestments for all the servants of Baal.
23And when the keeper of the wardrobe had brought them out, Jehu went with Jonadab son of Rechab into the house of Baal, and said to the servants of Baal, Search and see whether there be with you any of the servants of the Lord; for there must be none but only the servants of Baal.
24Then he went in to offer incense and whole burnt offerings. Now Jehu had stationed for himself eighty men without, and said to them, If any of these men escape whom I deliver into your hands, the life of him who letteth him escape shall answer for his life.
25So when he had finished offering the whole burnt offering, Jehu said to the guards and to the officers, Go in and smite them; let not a man of them get out.
26So the guards and the officers smote them with the edge of the sword; and having thrown them out, they went to the city of the house of Baal, and brought out the pillar of Baal and burned it.
27And having pulled down the pillars of Baal they made it a jakes even to this day.
28Thus Jehu destroyed Baal out of Israel.
29But he did not refrain from following the sins of Jeroboam son of Nabat, who had caused Israel to sin. The golden calves continued in Baithel and in Dan.
30Though the Lord said to Jehu, Because thou hast taken a pleasure in doing what is right in My sight, and hast done to the house of Achab according to all that was in My heart, thy children of the fourth generation shall sit on the throne of Israel,
31yet Jehu was not careful to walk in the law of the Lord God of Israel with his whole heart. He did not refrain from following the sins of Jeroboam who had caused Israel to sin.
32In those days the Lord began to lop off Israel; and Azael smote them all along the border of Israel,
33from the Jordan towards the rising of the sun—all the land of Galaad belonging to the Gadites and the Reubenites and the Manassites from Aroer, which is on the bank of the brook Arnon, including Galaad and Basan.
34Now the rest of the acts of Jehu and all that he did and all his power, and the connexions which he formed, are they not written in the journal of the kings of Israel?
35When Jehu slept with his fathers, they buried him in Samaria, and Joachas his son reigned in his stead.
36The time which Jehu reigned over Israel in Samaria was twenty-eight years.