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¹Now Elisha the prophet summoned one of the sons of the prophets and said to him, “Get ready and take this flask of oil in your hand, and go to Ramoth-gilead.

²When you arrive there, then look there for Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat the son of Nimshi, and go in and have him get up from among his brothers, and bring him to an inner room.

³Then take the flask of oil and pour it on his head, and say, ‘This is what the LORD says: “I have anointed you king over Israel.” ’ Then open the door and flee, and do not wait.”

⁴So the young man, the servant of the prophet, went to Ramoth-gilead.

⁵When he arrived, behold, the commanders of the army were sitting, and he said, “I have a word for you, commander.” And Jehu said, “For which one of us?” And he said, “For you, commander.”

⁶He then got up and went into the house, and the prophet’s servant poured the oil on his head and said to him, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel says: ‘I have anointed you king over the people of the LORD, over Israel.

⁷And you shall strike the house of Ahab your master, so that I may avenge the blood of My servants the prophets, and the blood of all the servants of the LORD, at the hand of Jezebel.

⁸For the entire house of Ahab shall perish, and I will eliminate from Ahab every male person both slave and free in Israel.

⁹I will make the house of Ahab like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah.

¹⁰The dogs will eat Jezebel in the territory of Jezreel, and no one will bury her.’ ” Then he opened the door and fled.

¹¹Now Jehu went out to the servants of his master, and one said to him, “Is everything well? Why did this crazy fellow come to you?” And he said to them, “You know very well the man and his talk.”

¹²And they said, “It is a lie; tell us now.” And he said, “Such and such he said to me, saying, ‘This is what the LORD says: “I have anointed you king over Israel.” ’ ”

¹³Then they hurried, and each man took his garment and put it under him on the bare steps, and blew the trumpet, saying, “Jehu is king!”

¹⁴So Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat the son of Nimshi conspired against Joram. Now Joram with all Israel was defending Ramoth-gilead against Hazael king of Aram,

¹⁵but King Joram had returned to Jezreel to have himself healed of the wounds which the Arameans had inflicted on him when he fought Hazael king of Aram. So Jehu said to the other men, “If this is your intent, then let no one escape from the city to go tell about it in Jezreel.”

¹⁶Then Jehu rode in a chariot and went to Jezreel, since Joram was lying there recovering. And Ahaziah the king of Judah had come down to see Joram.

¹⁷Now the watchman was standing on the tower in Jezreel and he saw the company of Jehu as he came, and he said, “I see a company.” And Joram said, “Take a horseman and send him to meet them and have him ask, ‘Is your intention peace?’ ”

¹⁸So a horseman went to meet him and said, “This is what the king says: ‘Is your intention peace?’ ” But Jehu said, “How is peace any business of yours? Turn and follow me.” And the watchman reported, “The messenger came to them, but he did not return.”

¹⁹Then he sent a second horseman, and he came to them and said, “This is what the king says: ‘Is your intention peace?’ ” And Jehu answered, “How is peace any business of yours? Turn and follow me.”

²⁰And the watchman reported, “He came up to them, but he did not return; and the driving is like the driving of Jehu the son of Nimshi, for he drives furiously.”

²¹Then Joram said, “Get ready.” And they made his chariot ready. Then 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 on the property of Naboth the Jezreelite.

²²When Joram saw Jehu, he said, “Is your intention peace, Jehu?” And he answered, “What ‘peace,’ so long as your mother Jezebel’s acts of prostitution and witchcraft are so many?”

²³So Joram turned back and fled, and he said to Ahaziah, “There is treachery, Ahaziah!”

²⁴Then Jehu drew his bow with his full strength and shot Joram between his arms; and the arrow went through his heart, and he sank in his chariot.

²⁵And Jehu said to Bidkar his officer, “Pick him up and throw him on the property of the field of Naboth the Jezreelite; for remember, when you and I were riding together after his father Ahab, that the LORD brought this pronouncement against him:

²⁶‘I have certainly seen yesterday the blood of Naboth and the blood of his sons,’ declares the LORD, ‘and I will repay you on this property,’ declares the LORD. Now then, pick him up and throw him on the property, in accordance with the word of the LORD.”

²⁷When Ahaziah the king of Judah saw this, he fled by way of the garden house. But Jehu pursued him and said, “Shoot him too, in the chariot.” So they shot him at the ascent of Gur, which is at Ibleam. But he fled to Megiddo and died there.

²⁸Then his servants carried him in a chariot to Jerusalem, and buried him in his grave with his fathers in the city of David.

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

³⁰When Jehu came to Jezreel, Jezebel heard about it, and she put makeup on her eyes and adorned her head, and looked down through the window.

³¹As Jehu entered the gate, she said, “Is your intention peace, Zimri, his master’s murderer?”

³²Then he raised his face toward the window and said, “Who is with me, who?” And two or three officials looked down at him.

³³Then he said, “Throw her down.” So they threw her down, and some of her blood spattered on the wall and on the horses, and he trampled her underfoot.

³⁴When he came in, he ate and drank; and he said, “See now to this cursed woman and bury her, for she is a king’s daughter.”

³⁵So they went to bury her, but they found nothing of her except the skull, the feet, and the palms of her hands.

³⁶Therefore they returned and informed him. And he said, “This is the word of the LORD, which He spoke by His servant Elijah the Tishbite, saying, ‘On the property of Jezreel the dogs shall eat the flesh of Jezebel;

³⁷and the corpse of Jezebel will be like dung on the face of the field in the property of Jezreel, so they cannot say, “This is Jezebel.” ’ ”

¹Now Ahab had seventy sons in Samaria. And Jehu wrote letters and sent them to Samaria, to the officials of Jezreel, the elders, and to the guardians of the children of Ahab, saying,

²“And now, when this letter comes to you, since your master’s sons are with you, as well as the chariots and horses, and a fortified city and the weapons,

³select the best and most capable of your master’s sons and seat him on his father’s throne, and fight for your master’s house.”

⁴But they feared greatly and said, “Behold, the two kings did not stand firm before him; how then can we stand?”

⁵And the one who was in charge of the household, and the one who was in charge of the city, and the elders, and the guardians of the children, sent word to Jehu, saying, “We are your servants, and everything that you tell us we will do. We will not appoint any man king; do what is good in your sight.”

⁶Then he wrote them a letter a second time, saying, “If you are on my side, and will listen to my voice, take the heads of the men, your master’s sons, and come to me at Jezreel about this time tomorrow.” Now the king’s sons, seventy men, were with the great people of the city, who were raising them.

⁷When the letter came to them, they took the king’s sons and slaughtered them, seventy men, and put their heads in baskets, and sent them to him at Jezreel.

⁸When the messenger came and informed him, saying, “They have brought the heads of the king’s sons,” he said, “Put them in two heaps at the entrance of the gate until morning.”

⁹Now in the morning he went out and stood and said to all the people, “You are innocent; behold, I conspired against my master and killed him, but who killed all these?

¹⁰Know then that nothing of the word of the LORD, which the LORD spoke concerning the house of Ahab, shall fall to the earth, for the LORD has done what He spoke through His servant Elijah.”

¹¹So Jehu killed all who remained of the house of Ahab in Jezreel, and all his great men, his acquaintances, and his priests, until he left him without a survivor.

¹²Then he set out and went to Samaria. On the way while he was at Beth-eked of the shepherds,

¹³Jehu encountered the relatives of Ahaziah king of Judah, and he said, “Who are you?” And they answered, “We are the relatives of Ahaziah; and we have come down to greet the sons of the king and the sons of the queen mother.”

¹⁴Then he said, “Take them alive.” So they took them alive, and slaughtered them at the pit of Beth-eked, forty-two men; and he left none of them.

¹⁵Now when he had gone from there, he encountered Jehonadab the son of Rechab coming to meet him; and he greeted him and said to him, “Is your heart right, just as my heart is with your heart?” And Jehonadab answered, “It is.” Jehu said, “If it is, give me your hand.” And he gave him his hand, and he pulled him up to him into the chariot.

¹⁶Then he said, “Come with me and see my zeal for the LORD.” So he had him ride in his chariot.

¹⁷When he came to Samaria, he killed all who remained to Ahab in Samaria, until he had eliminated them, in accordance with the word of the LORD which He spoke to Elijah.

¹⁸Then Jehu gathered all the people and said to them, “Ahab served Baal a little; Jehu will serve him much.

¹⁹Now, summon to me all the prophets of Baal, all his worshipers and all his priests; let no one go missing, because I have a great sacrifice for Baal; whoever is missing shall not live.” But Jehu did it in deception, in order to eliminate the worshipers of Baal.

²⁰And Jehu said, “Proclaim a holy assembly for Baal.” And they proclaimed it.

²¹Then Jehu sent word throughout Israel, and all the worshipers of Baal came, so that there was not a person left who did not come. And when they entered the house of Baal, the house of Baal was filled from one end to the other.

²²And he said to the one who was in charge of the wardrobe, “Bring out garments for all the worshipers of Baal.” So he brought out the garments for them.

²³Then Jehu entered the house of Baal with Jehonadab the son of Rechab; and he said to the worshipers of Baal, “Search carefully and see to it that there is here with you none of the servants of the LORD, but only the worshipers of Baal.”

²⁴Then they entered to offer sacrifices and burnt offerings. Now Jehu had stationed for himself eighty men outside, and he had said, “The one who allows any of the men whom I bring into your hands to escape shall give up his life in exchange.”

²⁵Then it came about, as soon as he had finished offering the burnt offering, that Jehu said to the guard and to the royal officers, “Go in, kill them; let none come out.” So they killed them with the edge of the sword; and the guard and the royal officers threw them out, and went to the sanctuary of the house of Baal.

²⁶They brought out the memorial stones of the house of Baal and burned them.

²⁷They also tore down the memorial stone of Baal and tore down the house of Baal, and made it a latrine as it is to this day.

²⁸So Jehu eradicated Baal from Israel.

²⁹However, as for the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, into which he misled Israel, from these Jehu did not desist, including the golden calves that were at Bethel and at Dan.

³⁰Yet the LORD said to Jehu, “Because you have done well in performing what is right in My eyes, and have done to the house of Ahab in accordance with everything that was in My heart, your sons to the fourth generation shall sit on the throne of Israel.”

³¹But Jehu was not careful to walk in the Law of the LORD, the God of Israel, with all his heart; he did not desist from the sins of Jeroboam, into which he misled Israel.

³²In those days the LORD began to cut off pieces from Israel; and Hazael defeated them throughout the territory of Israel:

³³from the Jordan eastward, all the land of Gilead, the Gadites, the Reubenites, and the Manassites; from Aroer, which is by the Valley of the Arnon, that is, Gilead and Bashan.

³⁴Now as for the rest of the acts of Jehu and everything that he did and all his might, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?

³⁵And Jehu lay down with his fathers, and they buried him in Samaria. And his son Jehoahaz became king in his place.

³⁶So the time which Jehu reigned over Israel in Samaria was twenty-eight years.