2 Kings 9 - New American Standard Bible 1995 (NASB1995)

Jehu Reigns over Israel

9 Now Elisha the prophet called one of ^(A)the sons of the prophets and said to him, “^(B)Gird up your loins, and ^(C)take this flask of oil in your hand and go to ^(D)Ramoth-gilead. ² When you arrive there, ^[a]search out ^(E)Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat the son of Nimshi, and go in and ^[b](F)bid him arise from among his brothers, and bring him to an inner room. ³ Then take the flask of oil and pour it on his head and say, ‘Thus says the Lord, “^(G)I have anointed you king over Israel.”’ Then open the door and flee and do not wait.”

⁴ So ^(H)the young man, the servant of the prophet, went to Ramoth-gilead. ⁵ When he came, behold, the captains of the army were sitting, and he said, “I have a word for you, O captain.” And Jehu said, “^[c]For which one of us?” And he said, “For you, O captain.” ⁶ He arose and went into the house, and he poured the oil on his head and said to him, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘^(I)I have anointed you king over the people of the Lord, even over Israel. ⁷ You shall strike the house of Ahab your master, ^(J)that I may avenge ^(K)the blood of My servants the prophets, and the blood of all the servants of the Lord, ^(L)at the hand of Jezebel. ⁸ For the whole house of Ahab shall perish, and ^(M)I will cut off from Ahab ^(N)every male person ^(O)both bond and free in Israel. ^{9 (P)}I will make the house of Ahab like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and ^(Q)like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah. ^{10 (R)}The dogs shall eat Jezebel in the territory of Jezreel, and none shall bury her.’” Then he opened the door and fled.

¹¹ Now Jehu came out to the servants of his master, and one said to him, “^(S)Is all well? Why did this ^(T)mad fellow come to you?” And he said to them, “You know very well the man and his talk.” ¹² They said, “It is a lie, tell us now.” And he said, “Thus and thus he said to me, ‘Thus says the Lord, “I have anointed you king over Israel.”’” ¹³ Then ^(U)they hurried and each man took his garment and placed it under him on the bare steps, and ^(V)blew the trumpet, saying, “Jehu is king!”

Jehoram (Joram) Is Assassinated

¹⁴ So Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat the son of Nimshi conspired against Joram. ^(W)Now Joram ^[d]with all Israel was ^[e]defending Ramoth-gilead against Hazael king of Aram, ¹⁵ but ^(X)King ^[f]Joram had returned to Jezreel to be healed of the wounds which the Arameans had ^[g]inflicted on him when he fought with Hazael king of Aram. So Jehu said, “If this is your mind, then let no one escape or ^[h]leave the city to go tell it in Jezreel.” ¹⁶ Then Jehu rode in a chariot and went to Jezreel, for Joram was lying there. ^(Y)Ahaziah king of Judah had come down to see Joram.

¹⁷ Now the watchman was standing on the tower in Jezreel and he saw the ^[i]company of Jehu as he came, and said, “I see a ^[j]company.” And Joram said, “Take a horseman and send him to meet them and let him say, ‘Is it peace?’” ¹⁸ So a horseman went to meet him and said, “Thus says the king, ‘Is it peace?’” And Jehu said, “^(Z)What have you to do with peace? Turn behind me.” And the watchman ^[k]reported, “The messenger came to them, but he did not return.” ¹⁹ Then he sent out a second horseman, who came to them and said, “Thus says the king, ‘Is it peace?’” And Jehu ^[l]answered, “What have you to do with peace? Turn behind me.” ²⁰ The watchman ^[m]reported, “He came even to them, and he did not return; and ^(AA)the driving is like the driving of ^(AB)Jehu the son of Nimshi, for he drives furiously.”

²¹ Then ^[n]Joram said, “^[o]Get ready.” And they made his chariot ready. ^[p](AC)Joram king of Israel and Ahaziah king of Judah went out, each in his chariot, and they went out to meet Jehu and found him in the ^[q](AD)property of Naboth the Jezreelite. ²² When ^[r]Joram saw Jehu, he said, “Is it peace, Jehu?” And he ^[s]answered, “What peace, ^(AE)so long as the harlotries of your mother Jezebel and her witchcrafts are so many?” ²³ So ^[t]Joram ^[u]reined about and fled and said to Ahaziah, “^(AF)There is treachery, O Ahaziah!” ²⁴ And ^(AG)Jehu ^[v]drew his bow with his full strength and ^[w]shot ^[x]Joram between his arms; and the arrow went ^[y]through his heart and he sank in his chariot. ²⁵ Then Jehu said to Bidkar his officer, “Take him up and ^(AH)cast him into the ^[z]property of the field of Naboth the Jezreelite, for I remember when ^[aa]you and I were riding together after Ahab his father, that the ^(AI)Lord laid this ^(AJ)oracle against him: ²⁶ ‘Surely ^(AK)I have seen yesterday the blood of Naboth and the blood of his sons,’ says the Lord, ‘and ^(AL)I will repay you in this ^[ab]property,’ says the Lord. Now then, take and cast him into the ^[ac]property, according to the word of the Lord.”

Jehu Assassinates Ahaziah

^{27 (AM)}When Ahaziah the king of Judah saw this, he fled by the way of the garden house. And Jehu pursued him and said, “^[ad]Shoot him too, in the chariot.” So they shot him at the ascent of Gur, which is at ^(AN)Ibleam. But he fled to Megiddo and died there. ^{28 (AO)}Then his servants carried him in a chariot to Jerusalem and buried him in his grave with his fathers in the city of David.

²⁹ Now in ^(AP)the eleventh year of Joram, the son of Ahab, Ahaziah became king over Judah.

³⁰ When Jehu came to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it, and ^(AQ)she painted her eyes and adorned her head and looked out the window. ³¹ As Jehu entered the gate, she said, “^(AR)Is it ^[ae]well, Zimri, ^[af]your master’s murderer?” ³² Then he lifted up his face to the window and said, “Who is on my side? Who?” And two or three officials looked down at him.

Jezebel Is Slain

³³ He said, “Throw her down.” So they threw her down, and some of her blood was sprinkled on the wall and on the horses, and he trampled her under foot. ³⁴ When he came in, he ate and drank; and he said, “See now to ^(AS)this cursed woman and bury her, for ^(AT)she is a king’s daughter.” ³⁵ They went to bury her, but they found nothing more of her than the skull and the feet and the palms of her hands. ³⁶ Therefore they returned and told him. And he said, “This is the word of the Lord, which He spoke by His servant Elijah the Tishbite, saying, ‘^(AU)In the ^[ag]property of Jezreel the dogs shall eat the flesh of Jezebel; ³⁷ and ^(AV)the corpse of Jezebel will be as dung on the face of the field in the ^[ah]property of Jezreel, so they cannot say, “This is Jezebel.”’”

Footnotes

1. 2 Kings 9:2 Lit and look there for
2. 2 Kings 9:2 Lit cause him to
3. 2 Kings 9:5 Lit To whom of us all?
4. 2 Kings 9:14 Lit he and
5. 2 Kings 9:14 Lit keeping
6. 2 Kings 9:15 Heb Jehoram
7. 2 Kings 9:15 Lit struck
8. 2 Kings 9:15 Lit go out from
9. 2 Kings 9:17 Lit multitude
10. 2 Kings 9:17 Lit multitude
11. 2 Kings 9:18 Lit told, saying
12. 2 Kings 9:19 Lit said
13. 2 Kings 9:20 Lit told, saying
14. 2 Kings 9:21 Heb Jehoram
15. 2 Kings 9:21 Lit Yoke the chariot
16. 2 Kings 9:21 Heb Jehoram
17. 2 Kings 9:21 Lit portion
18. 2 Kings 9:22 Heb Jehoram
19. 2 Kings 9:22 Lit said
20. 2 Kings 9:23 Heb Jehoram
21. 2 Kings 9:23 Lit turned his hands
22. 2 Kings 9:24 Lit filled his hand with the bow
23. 2 Kings 9:24 Lit smote
24. 2 Kings 9:24 Heb Jehoram
25. 2 Kings 9:24 Lit out at
26. 2 Kings 9:25 Lit portion
27. 2 Kings 9:25 Lit I and you
28. 2 Kings 9:26 Lit portion
29. 2 Kings 9:26 Lit portion
30. 2 Kings 9:27 Lit smite
31. 2 Kings 9:31 Lit peace
32. 2 Kings 9:31 Lit his
33. 2 Kings 9:36 Lit portion
34. 2 Kings 9:37 Lit portion

Cross references

1. 2 Kings 9:1 : 2 Kin 2:3
2. 2 Kings 9:1 : 2 Kin 4:29
3. 2 Kings 9:1 : 1 Sam 10:1; 16:1; 1 Kin 1:39
4. 2 Kings 9:1 : 2 Kin 8:28, 29
5. 2 Kings 9:2 : 1 Kin 19:16, 17; 2 Kin 9:14, 20
6. 2 Kings 9:2 : 2 Kin 9:5, 11
7. 2 Kings 9:3 : 2 Chr 22:7
8. 2 Kings 9:4 : 2 Kin 9:1
9. 2 Kings 9:6 : 1 Sam 2:7, 8; 1 Kin 19:16; 2 Kin 9:3; 2 Chr 22:7
10. 2 Kings 9:7 : Deut 32:35, 43
11. 2 Kings 9:7 : 1 Kin 18:4; 21:15, 21, 25
12. 2 Kings 9:7 : 2 Kin 9:32-37
13. 2 Kings 9:8 : 1 Kin 21:21; 2 Kin 10:17
14. 2 Kings 9:8 : 1 Sam 25:22
15. 2 Kings 9:8 : Deut 32:36; 2 Kin 14:26
16. 2 Kings 9:9 : 1 Kin 14:10, 11; 15:29
17. 2 Kings 9:9 : 1 Kin 16:3-5, 11, 12
18. 2 Kings 9:10 : 1 Kin 21:23; 2 Kin 9:35, 36
19. 2 Kings 9:11 : 2 Kin 9:17, 19, 22
20. 2 Kings 9:11 : Jer 29:26; Hos 9:7; Mark 3:21
21. 2 Kings 9:13 : Matt 21:7, 8; Mark 11:7, 8
22. 2 Kings 9:13 : 2 Sam 15:10; 1 Kin 1:34, 39
23. 2 Kings 9:14 : 1 Kin 22:3; 2 Kin 8:28
24. 2 Kings 9:15 : 2 Kin 8:29
25. 2 Kings 9:16 : 2 Kin 8:29
26. 2 Kings 9:18 : 2 Kin 9:19, 22
27. 2 Kings 9:20 : 2 Sam 18:27
28. 2 Kings 9:20 : 1 Kin 19:17
29. 2 Kings 9:21 : 2 Chr 22:7
30. 2 Kings 9:21 : 1 Kin 21:1-7, 15-19; 2 Kin 9:26
31. 2 Kings 9:22 : 1 Kin 16:30-33; 18:19; 2 Chr 21:13
32. 2 Kings 9:23 : 2 Kin 11:14
33. 2 Kings 9:24 : 1 Kin 22:34
34. 2 Kings 9:25 : 1 Kin 21:1
35. 2 Kings 9:25 : 1 Kin 21:19, 24-29
36. 2 Kings 9:25 : Is 13:1
37. 2 Kings 9:26 : 1 Kin 21:13, 19
38. 2 Kings 9:26 : 2 Kin 9:21, 25
39. 2 Kings 9:27 : 2 Chr 22:7, 9
40. 2 Kings 9:27 : Josh 17:11; Judg 1:27
41. 2 Kings 9:28 : 2 Kin 23:30
42. 2 Kings 9:29 : 2 Kin 8:25
43. 2 Kings 9:30 : Jer 4:30; Ezek 23:40
44. 2 Kings 9:31 : 1 Kin 16:9-20; 2 Kin 9:18-22
45. 2 Kings 9:34 : 1 Kin 21:25
46. 2 Kings 9:34 : 1 Kin 16:31
47. 2 Kings 9:36 : 1 Kin 21:23
48. 2 Kings 9:37 : Jer 8:1-3