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2 KINGS 11
page 337
crowd that had gathered around them. “You are
not to blame,” he told them. “I am the one who
conspired against my master and killed him.
But who killed all these? 10 You can be sure that
the message of the Lord that was spoken concerning Ahab’s family will not fail. The Lord declared through his servant Elijah that this would
happen.” 11 Then Jehu killed all who were left
of Ahab’s relatives living in Jezreel and all his
important officials, his personal friends, and
his priests. So Ahab was left without a single
survivor.
12 Then Jehu set out for Samaria. Along the
way, while he was at Beth-eked of the Shepherds, 13 he met some relatives of King Ahaziah
of Judah. “Who are you?” he asked them.
And they replied, “We are relatives of King
Ahaziah. We are going to visit the sons of King
Ahab and the sons of the queen mother.”
14 “Take them alive!” Jehu shouted to his
men. And they captured all forty-two of them
and killed them at the well of Beth-eked. None
of them escaped.
15 When Jehu left there, he met Jehonadab son
of Recab, who was coming to meet him. After
they had greeted each other, Jehu said to him,
“Are you as loyal to me as I am to you?”
“Yes, I am,” Jehonadab replied.
“If you are,” Jehu said, “then give me your
hand.” So Jehonadab put out his hand, and
Jehu helped him into the chariot. 16 Then Jehu
said, “Now come with me, and see how devoted
I am to the Lord.” So Jehonadab rode along
with him.
17 When Jehu arrived in Samaria, he killed
everyone who was left there from Ahab’s family,
just as the Lord had promised through Elijah.
Jehu Kills the Priests of Baal
18 Then Jehu called a meeting of all the people
of the city and said to them, “Ahab’s worship
of Baal was nothing compared to the way I
will worship him! 19 Therefore, summon all the
prophets and worshipers of Baal, and call together all his priests. See to it that every one of
them comes, for I am going to offer a great sacrifice to Baal. Anyone who fails to come will be
put to death.” But Jehu’s cunning plan was to
destroy all the worshipers of Baal.
20 Then Jehu ordered, “Prepare a solemn assembly to worship Baal!” So they did. 21 He sent
messengers throughout all Israel summoning
those who worshiped Baal. They all came—not
a single one remained behind—and they filled
the temple of Baal from one end to the other.
22 And Jehu instructed the keeper of the wardrobe, “Be sure that every worshiper of Baal
10:25a Or and they left their bodies lying there; or and they
threw them out into the outermost court. 10:25b Hebrew city.
10:26 As in Greek and Syriac versions and Latin Vulgate;
Hebrew reads sacred pillars. 11:2 Hebrew Joram, a variant
spelling of Jehoram.
wears one of these robes.” So robes were given
to them.
23 Then Jehu went into the temple of Baal with
Jehonadab son of Recab. Jehu said to the worshipers of Baal, “Make sure no one who worships
the Lord is here—only those who worship Baal.”
24 So they were all inside the temple to offer sacrifices and burnt offerings. Now Jehu had stationed eighty of his men outside the building and
had warned them, “If you let anyone escape, you
will pay for it with your own life.”
25 As soon as Jehu had finished sacrificing
the burnt offering, he commanded his guards
and officers, “Go in and kill all of them. Don’t
let a single one escape!” So they killed them all
with their swords, and the guards and officers
dragged their bodies outside.* Then Jehu’s men
went into the innermost fortress* of the temple
of Baal. 26 They dragged out the sacred pillar*
used in the worship of Baal and burned it.
27 They smashed the sacred pillar and wrecked
the temple of Baal, converting it into a public
toilet, as it remains to this day.
28 In this way, Jehu destroyed every trace of
Baal worship from Israel. 29 He did not, however,
destroy the gold calves at Bethel and Dan, with
which Jeroboam son of Nebat had caused Israel
to sin.
30 Nonetheless the Lord said to Jehu, “You
have done well in following my instructions
to destroy the family of Ahab. Therefore, your
descendants will be kings of Israel down to the
fourth generation.” 31 But Jehu did not obey the
Law of the Lord, the God of Israel, with all his
heart. He refused to turn from the sins that Jeroboam had led Israel to commit.
The Death of Jehu
32 At about that time the Lord began to cut
down the size of Israel’s territory. King Hazael
conquered several sections of the country 33 east
of the Jordan River, including all of Gilead, Gad,
Reuben, and Manasseh. He conquered the area
from the town of Aroer by the Arnon Gorge to as
far north as Gilead and Bashan.
34 The rest of the events in Jehu’s reign—
everything he did and all his achievements—are
recorded in The Book of the History of the Kings
of Israel.
35 When Jehu died, he was buried in Samaria.
Then his son Jehoahaz became the next king.
36 In all, Jehu reigned over Israel from Samaria
for twenty-eight years.
Queen Athaliah Rules in Judah
When Athaliah, the mother of King Ahaziah of Judah, learned that her son was
dead, she began to destroy the rest of the royal
family. 2 But Ahaziah’s sister Jehosheba, the
daughter of King Jehoram,* took Ahaziah’s infant son, Joash, and stole him away from among
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