2 Kings 9

Jehu becomes Israel’s king

Then Elisha the prophet called someone from the prophets guild and told him,

“Hike up your robe and bring this jar of oil to Ramoth-gilead. When you get there, look for Jehu (Jehoshaphat’s son and Nimshi’s grandson). Bring him into a private room and pour the oil on his head saying,

‘The Existing One anoints you king over Israel.’

Then open the door and get out of there; don’t stick around.”

So the young man went to Ramoth-gilead.

When he got there, the military commanders were having a meeting, and he said,

“Commander, I have a word for you.”

And Jehu said,

“For who?”

And he said,

“To you, sir.”

So Jehu got up and went inside where the young man poured oil on his head, saying,

“Here’s what Israel’s God the Existing One says:

‘I anoint you as king over Israel, the Existing One’s people. You will strike down the line of your superior (Ahab) so that I may avenge all of my servants and prophets whose blood is on Jezebel’s hands. Ahab’s entire lineage will come to and end, and I’ll sever Ahab’s name from every male in Israel, both slave and free. I’ll make Ahab’s lineage like that of Jeroboam (Nebat’s son) and of Baasha (Ahijah’s son). The dogs will eat Jezebel in the territory of Jezreel, and no one will bury her.’”

Then the young man opened the door and ran out.

When Jehu came out of the room, everyone asked him,

“Is everything okay? What did that crazy guy want?”

And he just said,

“You know, just typical crazy guy talk.”

But they said,

“You’re hiding something; tell us what he really said.”

So Jehu said,

“He told me that the Existing One anoints me as king over Israel.”

Then scrambling, every single one of them laid their shirts on the ground before him and they blew the trumpet proclaiming, “Jehu is king!”

Jehu plots against Israel’s former king

So Jehu (Jehoshaphat’s son and Nimshi’s grandson) plotted against the former king Joram. (Joram had been on guard against Syria’s King Hazael at Ramoth-gilead, but Joram returned to Jezreel for medical attention when he fought Syria’s King Hazael.) So Jehu said,

“If this is what you’ve decided, then don’t let anyone leave the city and bring the news to Jezreel.”

Then Jehu mounted his chariot and went to Jezreel, the place where Joram was recovering. Judah’s King Ahaziah was also there visiting Joram as he recovered.

In Jezreel, a watchman standing in the tower saw Jehu and his squad approaching. He notified Joram, of an approaching squad, and Joram ordered, him to send a horseman to find out if they came in peace. So a horseman approached them and said,

“On behalf of the king, do you come in peace?”

And Jehu replied,

“What do you know about peace? Turn around and ride behind me.”

The watchman reported, saying,

“The horseman reached them, but he isn’t coming back.”

So they sent out a second horseman who came to them and asked,

“On behalf of the king, do you come in peace?”

And Jehu replied,

“What do you know about peace? Turn around and ride behind me.”

Again the watchman reported,

“He reached them, but he’s not coming back. The driver moves like Jehu (Nimshi’s son). I can tell by how furiously he drives.”

Jehu kills former king, prophecy fulfilled

So Israel’s King Joram told everyone to get ready for battle, so they prepared the chariots. Then Israel’s King Joram and Judah’s King Ahaziah went out, each in their own chariot, and met Jehu at the property of Naboth the Jezreelite. When Joram reached Jehu, he asked,

“Do you come in peace, Jehu?”

He answered,

“How can there be any peace with all the whoring and sorceries going on from your mother Jezebel?”

Then Joram tightened his grip and sped away, exclaiming to Ahaziah, “This is such a treachery!” And Jehu drew his bow and with all his might, shot Joram right between the shoulders, piercing his heart, causing him to slump over in his chariot. Jehu said to Bidkar his helper,

“Get his body and throw it on the plot of land belonging to Naboth the Jezreelite. Remember when we rode side by side behind his father Ahab? The Existing One proclaimed against him:

‘As surely as I saw the blood of Naboth and his sons yesterday, I will repay you on the that same plot of land.’

So bring his body there just like in the Existing One’s message.”

Jehu kills Judah’s King Ahaziah

When Judah’s King Ahaziah saw this, he sped away in the direction of beth-haggan. And Jehu chased after him, ordering for him to be shot too. And they shot him in his chariot at the ascent of Gur, which is near Ibleam. And he fled to Megiddo and died there. In a chariot his servants carried his body to Jerusalem and buried him in his tomb with his fathers in the city of David.

Ahaziah becomes Judah’s King

In the eleventh year of Joram (Ahab’s son), Ahaziah began to reign over Judah.

Jehu kills Jezebel, prophecy fulfilled

When Jehu arrived at Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it, so she put on makeup, did her hair, and looked out the window. As Jehu entered the gate, she said,

“Do you come in peace, you Zimri, murderer of your superior?”

And put his face right up to the window and said,

“Who is on my side? Who??”

A few celibate monks looked at him, and he said, “Throw her down,” so they threw her down, and her blood spattered on the wall and on the nearby horses which then trampled her. Then he went in and ate and drank, saying,

“Tend to this wretched woman and bury her, for she is the daughter of a king.”

But when they went to bury her, the only remains they could only find were her skull, her feet, and the palms of her hands. When they reported back to him, he said,

“This is the Existing One’s message that was delivered by his servant Elijah the Tishbite:

‘Dogs will eat the body of Jezebel in Jezreel, and her corpse will be smeared across that field like feces so that no one will be able to say This is Jezebel’s body.’”