SECOND
KINGS
2 Kings Chapter 10
1
¶ Now Ahab had seventy sons in
2
As soon as this letter reaches you, seeing your master’s sons are with
you, as well as chariots, horses, armor and also a fortified city;
3
Select the best and fittest of your master’s sons, and sit him on his
father’s throne, and fight for your master’s house.
4
But they were in a panic, and said, Look, two kings
could not stand before him: how then can we stand?
5
And he who was in charge of the palace, and he who was in charge
of the city, the elders, and the guardians of the children, sent to Jehu, saying, We are your servants, and will do all
that you tell us; we will not make any man king: do what is good in your
eyes.
6
Then he wrote a second letter to them, saying, If you are
with me, and if you will listen to my voice, take the heads of your
master Joram’s sons, and come to me in Jezreel by tomorrow this time. Now the king’s sons, seventy
princes, were with the important men of the city, who brought them up.
7
And when the letter reached them, they took the king’s sons, and killed all
seventy, and put their heads in baskets, and sent them to Jehu in Jezreel.
8
And a messenger came, and told him, saying, They have
brought the heads of the king’s sons. And he said, Lay
them in two heaps at the entrance of the gate until morning.
9
Then in the morning, he went out, and stood, and said to all the people, You are innocent: look, I conspired against my
master, and killed him: but who killed all these?
10
Know now that no part of the word of the LORD, which LORD spoke
concerning the house of Ahab, will fall to the earth unfilled: for the
LORD has done what he said through his servant Elijah.
11
So Jehu slew all who remained of the house of Ahab in
Jezreel, and all his great men, and his friends, and
his priests, until none of them was left.
12
And he arose and started out for
13
Jehu met the brethren of Ahaziah
king of
14
And he said, Take them alive. And they took them alive, and killed them at the
cistern of the shearing house, forty-two men; and he did not leave any of them.
15
¶ After he left there, he met Jehonadab
the son of Rechab coming to meet him: and he
greeted him, and asked him, Is your heart true to me, as mine is to you? And Jehonadab answered, It is. And Jehu said, If it is, give me
your hand. And he gave him his hand; and Jehu
took him up into his chariot.
16
And he said, Come with me, and see how zealous I am
for the LORD. So he had him ride in his chariot.
17
And when he got to
18
Then Jehu gathered all the people together, and said
to them, Ahab served Baal a little; but Jehu
will serve him much.
19
So now call all the prophets of Baal, all his worshippers, and all his priests
to me; let none be missing: for I have a great sacrifice to make to Baal;
whoever stays away, will not live. But Jehu did it
deceitfully, to the intent that he might destroy the worshippers of Baal.
20
And Jehu said, Proclaim a solemn assembly for Baal.
And they proclaimed it.
21
And Jehu sent through all
22
And he said to him who was in charge of the wardrobe, Bring out garments
for all the worshippers of Baal. And he brought out garments for them.
23
Then Jehu went into the house of Baal, with Jehonadab the son of Rechab, and
said to the worshippers of Baal, Search, and see that none of the servants of
the LORD are here with you, but only worshippers of Baal.
24
And when they went in to offer sacrifices and burnt offerings, Jehu stationed eighty of his men outside, and said, If any of the men whom I am putting in your hands
escape, he who lets him go, will forfeit his own life for his life.
25
And as soon as he had finished offering the burnt offering, Jehu
said to the guard and to the captains, Go in, and slay them; do not let
any get out. And they struck them down with the edge of the sword; and the
guard and the officers threw their bodies out, and went into the inner
sanctuary of the
26
And they brought the pillars out of the
27
And they destroyed the image of Baal, and tore down the temple of Baal, and
made it into a latrine, as it is to this day.
28
Thus Jehu rooted Baal out of Israel.
29
¶ However Jehu did not give up the sins of Jeroboam
the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin, that is,
the golden calves that were in Bethel, and that were in Dan.
30
And the LORD said to Jehu, Because
you have done well in carrying out what is right in my eyes, and
have done to the house of Ahab all that I wanted done, your children will sit
on the throne of Israel for four generations.
31
But Jehu was not careful to live according to the law
of the LORD God of Israel with all his heart: for he did not give up the sins
of Jeroboam, who made Israel to sin.
32
So in those days the LORD began to cut away parts of Israel: and Hazael defeated them throughout the territory of Israel;
33
From the Jordan eastward, all the land of Gilead, the Gadites,
and the Reubenites, and the Manassites,
from Aroer, which is by the
river Arnon, even Gilead and Bashan.
34
Now the rest of the acts of Jehu, and all that he did, and all his might, are they not
written in the book of the records of the kings of Israel?
35
And Jehu slept with his fathers: and they buried him
in Samaria. And Jehoahaz his son reigned in his
stead.
36
And the time that Jehu reigned over Israel in Samaria
was twenty-eight years.