2 Kings 10
Jehu Destroys the
House of Ahab |
1 |
And Ahab had seventy sons in Samaria. And
Jehu wrote letters, and sent to Samaria, unto the rulers of Jezreel,
to the elders, and to them that brought up Ahab's children, saying,
|
2 |
Now as soon as this letter cometh to you,
seeing your master's sons are with you, and there are with you chariots and horses, a fenced city also, and
armor;
|
3 |
look even out the best and meetest of
your master's sons, and set him on his father's throne, and
fight for your master's house.
|
4 |
But they were exceedingly afraid, and
said, Behold, two kings stood not before him: how then shall we
stand?
|
5 |
And he that was over the house,
and he that was over the city, the elders also, and the
bringers up of the children, sent to Jehu, saying, We are thy servants, and will do all that thou shalt bid us; we
will not make any king: do thou that which is good in thine
eyes.
|
6 |
Then he wrote a letter the second time to
them, saying, If ye be mine, and if ye will hearken
unto my voice, take ye the heads of the men your master's sons, and
come to me to Jezreel by tomorrow this time. Now the king's sons, being seventy persons, were with the great men of the
city, which brought them up.
|
7 |
And it came to pass, when the letter came
to them, that they took the king's sons, and slew seventy persons,
and put their heads in baskets, and sent him them to
Jezreel.
|
8 |
And there came a messenger, and told him,
saying, They have brought the heads of the king's sons. And he said,
Lay ye them in two heaps at the entering in of the gate until the
morning.
|
9 |
And it came to pass in the morning, that
he went out, and stood, and said to all the people, Ye be righteous: behold, I conspired against my master, and slew him: but
who slew all these?
|
10 |
Know now that there shall fall unto the
earth nothing of the word of the LORD, which
the LORD spake concerning the house of Ahab:
for the LORD hath done that which he
spake by his servant Eli'jah.
|
11 |
So Jehu slew all that remained of the
house of Ahab in Jezreel, Hos. 1.4 and all his great men, and his kinsfolk, and his priests,
until he left him none remaining.
|
12 |
And he arose and departed, and came to
Samaria. And as he was at the shearing house in the
way,
|
13 |
Jehu met with the brethren of Ahazi'ah
king of Judah, and said, Who are ye? And they answered, We are the brethren of Ahazi'ah; and we go down to salute the
children of the king and the children of the queen.
|
14 |
And he said, Take them alive. And they
took them alive, and slew them at the pit of the shearing house, even two and forty men; neither left he any of
them.
|
15 |
And when he was departed thence, he
lighted on Jehon'adab the son of Rechab coming to meet him:
and he saluted him, and said to him, Is thine heart right, as my
heart is with thy heart? And Jehon'adab answered, It is. If
it be, give me thine hand. And he gave him his hand;
and he took him up to him into the chariot.
|
16 |
And he said, Come with me, and see my
zeal for the LORD. So they made him ride in his
chariot.
|
17 |
And when he came to Samaria, he slew all
that remained unto Ahab in Samaria, till he had destroyed him,
according to the saying of the LORD, which he
spake to Eli'jah.
|
Jehu Wipes Out the
Worship of Baal |
18 |
And Jehu gathered all the people
together, and said unto them, Ahab served Ba'al a little; but Jehu shall serve him much.
|
19 |
Now therefore call unto me all the
prophets of Ba'al, all his servants, and all his priests; let none
be wanting: for I have a great sacrifice to do to Ba'al;
whosoever shall be wanting, he shall not live. But Jehu did it in subtilty, to the intent that he might destroy the
worshippers of Ba'al.
|
20 |
And Jehu said, Proclaim a solemn assembly
for Ba'al. And they proclaimed it.
|
21 |
And Jehu sent through all Israel: and all
the worshippers of Ba'al came, so that there was not a man left that
came not. And they came into the house of Ba'al; and the house of
Ba'al was full from one end to another.
|
22 |
And he said unto him that was over
the vestry, Bring forth vestments for all the worshippers of Ba'al.
And he brought them forth vestments.
|
23 |
And Jehu went, and Jehon'adab the son of
Rechab, into the house of Ba'al, and said unto the worshippers of
Ba'al, Search, and look that there be here with you none of the
servants of the LORD, but the worshippers of
Ba'al only.
|
24 |
And when they went in to offer sacrifices
and burnt offerings, Jehu appointed fourscore men without, and said, If any of the men whom I have brought into your hands escape, he that letteth him go, his life shall be for the life
of him.
|
25 |
And it came to pass, as soon as he had
made an end of offering the burnt offering, that Jehu said to the
guard and to the captains, Go in, and slay them; let none
come forth. And they smote them with the edge of the sword; and the
guard and the captains cast them out, and went to the city of
the house of Ba'al.
|
26 |
And they brought forth the images out of
the house of Ba'al, and burned them.
|
27 |
And they brake down the image of Ba'al,
and brake down the house of Ba'al, and made it a draught house unto
this day.
|
28 |
Thus Jehu destroyed Ba'al out of
Israel.
|
29 |
Howbeit, from the sins of
Jerobo'am the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin, Jehu departed
not from after them, to wit, the golden calves that were in Beth-el, and that were in Dan. 1 Kgs. 12.28-30
|
30 |
And the LORD said
unto Jehu, Because thou hast done well in executing that which
is right in mine eyes, and hast done unto the house of
Ahab according to all that was in mine heart, thy children of
the fourth generation shall sit on the throne of
Israel.
|
31 |
But Jehu took no heed to walk in the law
of the LORD God of Israel with all his heart:
for he departed not from the sins of Jerobo'am, which made Israel to
sin.
|
32 |
In those days the LORD began to cut Israel short: and Haz'a-el smote
them in all the coasts of Israel;
|
33 |
from Jordan eastward, all the land of
Gil'e-ad, the Gadites, and the Reubenites, and the Manas'sites, from
Aro'er, which is by the river Arnon, even Gil'e-ad 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 Chronicles of the kings of Israel?
|
35 |
And Jehu slept with his fathers: and they
buried him in Samaria. And Jeho'ahaz his son reigned in his
stead.
|
36 |
And the time that Jehu reigned over
Israel in Samaria was twenty and eight
years.
|