II Kings 9

1. And Elisha the prophet called one of the sons of the prophets and said to him,”Bind up your loins and take this box of oil in your hand, and go to Ramoth in Gilead.

2. And you shall go there, and you shall see there Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat, the son of Nimshi. And you shall go in and make him rise up from among his brothers, and take him to an inner room.

3. Then take the box of oil and pour it on his head, and say, ‘Thus says the LORD, “I have anointed you king over Israel.” ’ And you shall open the door, and flee, and shall not wait.”

4. And the young man went, the servant of the prophet, to Ramoth in Gilead.

5. And he came in, and, behold, the commanders of the army were sitting. And he said, “I have a message for you, commander.” And Jehu said, “For which of us?” And he said, “For you, commander.”

6. And he arose and went into the house. And he poured the oil on his head and said to him, “Thus says the LORD God of Israel, ‘I have anointed you king over the people of the LORD, over Israel.

7. And 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,

8. For the whole house of Ahab shall perish. And I will cut off from Ahab everyone that pisses against the wall, both bond and free.

9. And I 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.

10. And the dogs shall eat Jezebel in the vicinity of Jezreel, and none shall be there to bury her.’ ” And he opened the door and fled.

11. And Jehu went out to the servants of his lord. And one said to him, “Well? Why did this mad man come to you?” And he said to them, “You know the man and his babble.”

12. And they said, “It is false. Tell us now!” And he said, “Thus and so he spoke to me, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD, “I have anointed you king over Israel.” ’ ”

13. And they hurried and each man took his garment and put it under him on the top of the stairs, and blew with ram’s horns, saying, “Jehu is king.”

14. And Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat the son of Nimshi plotted against Joram. And Joram was keeping watch at Ramoth in Gilead, he and all Israel before Hazael, king of Syria.

15. And King Joram returned to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds which the Syrians had given him when he fought with Hazael the king of Syria. And Jehu said, “If it is in your minds, then let no one leave or escape to go to tell it in Jezreel.”

16. And Jehu rode in the chariot and went to Jezreel, for Joram lay there. And Ahaziah king of Judah had come down to see Joram.

17. And a watchman stood on the tower in Jezreel. And he saw the company of Jehu as he came, and said, “I see a company.” And Joram said, “Take a horseman and send to meet them, and let him say, ‘Is it peace?’ ”

18. Then the rider on horseback went to meet him and said, “Thus says the king, ‘Is it peace?’ ” And Jehu said, “What do you have to do with peace? Turn behind me!” And the watchman reported, saying, “The messenger came to them, but he does not return.”

19. And he sent a second rider on horseback who came to them and said, “Thus says the king, ‘Is it peace?’ ” And he answered, “What do you have to do with peace? Turn behind me!”

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

21. Then Joram said, “Make ready.” And his chariot was made ready. And Joram king of Israel and Ahaziah king of Judah went out, each in his own chariot, and they went out against Jehu, and met him in the portion of Naboth of Jezreel.

22. Now it came to pass when Joram saw Jehu, he said, “Is it peace, Jehu?” And he answered, “What peace, so long as the harlotries of your mother Jezebel and her witchcrafts are so many?”

23. And Joram turned his hands and fled and said to Ahaziah, “Treachery, Ahaziah!”

24. And Jehu drew a bow and struck Joram between his arms, and the arrow went through his heart, and he sank down in his chariot.

25. And he said to Bidkar his commander, “Take him up and throw him in the portion of the field of Naboth of Jezreel; for, remember, you and I rode together after Ahab his father, and the LORD laid this burden upon him:

26. ‘Surely, yesterday I have seen the blood of Naboth and the blood of his sons,’ says the LORD, ‘and I will repay you in this plot of ground,’ says the LORD. And now, take him and throw him onto the plot of ground, according to the word of the LORD.”

27. And when Ahaziah the king of Judah saw, he fled by the way of the garden house. And Jehu followed after him and said, “Strike him also in the chariot, at the going up to Gur that is near Ibleam.” And he fled to Megiddo and died there.

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

29. And in the eleventh year of Joram the son of Ahab, Ahaziah began to reign over Judah.

30. And Jehu had come to Jezreel. And Jezebel heard this, and had painted her face and adorned her head, and looked out at a window.

31. And Jehu came to the gate. And she said, “Was there peace to Zimri, the slayer of his lord?”

32. And he lifted up his face to the window, and said, “Who is with me? Who?” And two or three officers looked out at him.

33. And he said, “Throw her down!” And they threw her down. And some of her blood was sprinkled on the wall and on the horses. And he trampled her.

34. And when he had come in, he ate and drank, and said, “Go, now see this cursed woman and bury her, for she is a king’s daughter.”

35. Then they went to bury her, but they found no more of her than the skull and the feet and the palms of her hands.

36. And they came again and told him. And he said, “This is the word of the LORD which He spoke by His servant Elijah the Tishbite, saying, ‘In the vicinity of Jezreel the dogs shall eat the flesh of Jezebel.

37. And the dead body of Jezebel shall be as dung upon the face of the field in the vicinity of Jezreel, so that they shall not say, “This is Jezebel.” ’ ”