Jehu in the Bible

Then came the word of Yahweh unto Jehu

Moreover also, through Jehu son of Hanani the prophet, the word of Yahweh, came against Baasha and against his house, even because of all the wickedness that he had done in the eyes of Yahweh, provoking him to anger with the work of his hands, becoming like the house of Jeroboam, - notwithstanding that he smote him.

Thus did Zimri destroy all the house of Baasha, - according to the word of Yahweh which he spake unto Baasha, through Jehu the prophet;

and Jehu the son of Nimshi shalt thou anoint king over Israel; and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah shalt thou anoint prophet in thy stead.

And it shall come to pass, that him that escapeth the sword of Hazael shall Jehu slay; and him that escapeth the sword of Jehu shall Elisha slay.

And when thou art come thither, look out there Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat, son of Nimshi, and go in, and make him rise up from among his brethren, and bring him to an inner chamber;

And when he came, behold, the captains of the host were sitting. And he said, I have an errand to thee, captain. And Jehu said, To which of all of us? And he said, To thee, captain.

So Jehu got up and went inside. Then the prophet poured the olive oil on his head and said to him, "This is what the Lord God of Israel says, 'I have designated you as king over the Lord's people Israel.

And Jehu came forth to the servants of his lord. And one said to him, Is all well? why came this madman to thee? And he said to them, Ye know the man, and his mind.

But they replied, “That’s a lie! Tell us!”

So Jehu said, “He talked to me about this and that and said, ‘This is what the Lord says: I anoint you king over Israel.’”

Then they hasted and took every man his garment, and put it under him on the very stairs, and blew with trumpets, and said, Jehu is king!

And Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat, son of Nimshi, conspired against Joram. (Now Joram kept Ramoth-Gilead, he and all Israel, because of Hazael king of Syria;

and king Joram had returned to be healed in Jizreel of the wounds that the Syrians had given him, when he fought against Hazael king of Syria.) And Jehu said, If it be your will, let not a fugitive escape out of the city to go to tell it in Jizreel.

And Jehu rode in a chariot and went to Jizreel; for Joram lay there. And Ahaziah king of Judah had come down to see Joram.

And the watchman stood on the tower in Jizreel, and saw Jehu's company 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?

So there went one on horseback to meet him; and he said, Thus saith the king: Is it peace? And Jehu said, What hast thou to do with peace? turn thee behind me. And the watchman told saying, The messenger came to them, and he does not return.

And he sent out a second on horseback; and he came to them and said, Thus saith the king: Is it peace? And Jehu said, What hast thou to do with peace? turn thee behind me.

And the watchman told saying, He came to them, and does not return. And the driving is like the driving of Jehu the son of Nimshi; for he drives furiously.

Then Joram said, Make ready! And they made ready his chariot. And Joram king of Israel and Ahaziah king of Judah went out, each in his chariot; and they went out to meet Jehu, and met him in the plot of Naboth the Jizreelite.

And it came to pass when Joram saw Jehu, that he said, Is it peace, Jehu? And he said, What peace, so long as the fornications of thy mother Jezebel and her sorceries are so many?

And Jehu took his bow in his hand, and smote Jehoram between his arms, and the arrow went out through his heart; and he sank down in his chariot.

Then said Jehu to Bidkar his captain, Take up, and cast him in the portion of the field of Naboth the Jezreelite: for remember how that, when I and thou rode together after Ahab his father, the LORD laid this burden upon him;

When Ahaziah king of Judah saw that, he fled by the way of the garden-house. And Jehu followed after him, and said, Smite him also in his chariot. It was on the ascent of Gur, which is by Jibleam. And he fled to Megiddo, and died there.

And Jehu came to Jizreel; and Jezebel heard of it, and she put paint to her eyes, and decked her head, and looked out at the window.

And when Jehu came in at the gate, she said, Is it peace, Zimri, murderer of his master?

Then Jehu raised his face toward the window and said, “Who is on my side? Who?” And two or three officials looked down at him.

He said, "Throw her down!" So they threw her down, and when she hit the ground, her blood splattered against the wall and the horses, and Jehu drove his chariot over her.

So they did, and her blood splashed against the wall and on the horses, while Jehu trampled her underfoot. Later on, after he had come in to eat and drink, he ordered, "Go and see to this cursed woman, and bury her, because she was a king's daughter."

So they returned and told Jehu. Then he said, “This is the word of the Lord, which He spoke through His servant Elijah the Tishbite, saying, ‘In the property of Jezreel the dogs shall eat the flesh of Jezebel.

Now Ahab had seventy sons in Samaria. And Jehu wrote letters, and sent to Samaria, to the princes of Jizreel, to the elders, and to Ahab's guardians, saying,

But they were extremely afraid and said, “Look, the two kings did not stand before Jehu; so how can we stand?”

And he that was over the house, and he that was over the city, and the elders, and the guardians sent to Jehu, saying, We are thy servants, and will do all that thou shalt bid us; we will not make any one king; do what is good in thy sight.

Then Jehu wrote a second letter to them, saying, “If you are with me and will obey me, take the heads of your master’s sons, and come to me at Jezreel tomorrow about this time.” Now the [dead] king’s sons, seventy persons, were with the great men of the city, who were rearing them.

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

The messenger came and told Jehu, "They have brought the heads of the king's sons." Jehu said, "Stack them in two piles at the entrance of the city gate until morning."

Jehu replied, "Put them in two piles at the entrance of the city gate until morning." The next morning, Jehu went out, stood still, and announced to all the people: "Are you righteous? I conspired against my master and killed him, but who slaughtered all of these?

And Jehu slew all that remained of the house of Ahab in Jizreel, and all his great men, and his acquaintances, and his priests, until he left him none remaining.

Jehu then left there and set out for Samaria. While he was traveling through Beth Eked of the Shepherds,

Jehu found the brethren of Ahaziah king of Judah, and said, Who are ye? And they said, We are the brethren of Ahaziah; and have come down to salute the children of the king, and the children of the queen.

Then Jehu ordered, “Take them alive.” So they took them alive and then slaughtered them at the pit of Beth-eked—42 men. He didn’t spare any of them.

And he departed thence, and found Jehonadab the son of Rechab coming to meet him; and he greeted him, and said to him, Is thy heart right, as my heart is with thy heart? And Jehonadab said, It is. If it be, give me thy hand. And he gave him his hand; and Jehu took him up to him into the chariot,

Jehu said, "Come with me and see how zealous I am for the Lord's cause." So he took him along in his chariot.

When Jehu came to Samaria, he killed everyone who remained of Ahab’s family in Samaria, until he had destroyed all of them, in accordance with the word of the Lord which He spoke to Elijah.

And Jehu gathered all the people together, and said to them, Ahab served Baal a little: Jehu will serve him much.

And now call me all the prophets of Baal, all his servants, and all his priests: let none be wanting; for I have a great sacrifice to do to Baal; whoever shall be wanting shall not live. But Jehu did it in subtilty, in order that he might bring destruction upon the servants of Baal.

And Jehu said, Hallow a solemn assembly for Baal. And they proclaimed it.

And Jehu sent into all Israel; and all the servants of Baal came, so that there was not a man left that came not: and they entered into the house of Baal; and the house of Baal was full from one end to the other.

Jehu ordered the one who was in charge of the wardrobe, "Bring out robes for all the servants of Baal." So he brought out robes for them.

And Jehu and Jehonadab the son of Rechab entered into the house of Baal, and said to the servants of Baal, Search, and see that there be here with you none of the servants of Jehovah, but the servants of Baal only.

And they entered in to offer sacrifices and burnt-offerings. Now Jehu appointed eighty men without, and said, He that allows any of the men to escape that I have brought into your hands, his life shall be for the life of him.

And it came to pass as soon as they had ended offering up the burnt-offering, that Jehu said to the couriers and to the captains, Go in, slay them; let none come forth. And they smote them with the edge of the sword; and the couriers and the captains cast them there. And they went to the city of the house of Baal,

Thus Jehu extirpated Baal out of Israel.

Only, the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin, from them Jehu departed not: from the golden calves that were in Bethel, and that were in Dan.

And Jehovah said to Jehu, Because thou hast executed well that which is right in my sight, and hast done unto the house of Ahab according to all that was in my heart, thy children of the fourth generation shall sit on the throne of Israel.

But Jehu took no heed to walk in the law of Jehovah the God of Israel with all his heart; he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam, who made Israel to sin.

And the rest of the acts of Jehu, and all that he did, and all his might, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?

And Jehu slept with his fathers, and they buried him in Samaria: and Jehoahaz his son reigned in his stead.

Now the time that Jehu reigned over Israel in Samaria was twenty-eight years.

In the seventh year of Jehu, began Jehoash to reign, and, forty years, reigned he in Jerusalem, - and, the name of his mother, was Zibiah of Beer-sheba.

In the twenty-third year of Joash son of Ahaziah king of Judah, began Jehoahaz, son of Jehu, to reign over Israel, in Samaria, and he reigned seventeen years.

Then, sent Amaziah messengers unto Jehoash son of Jehoahaz son of Jehu, king of Israel, saying, - Come now, let us look one another in the face.

That, was the word of Yahweh, which he spake unto Jehu, saying, Thy sons, to four generations, shall sit on the throne of Israel. And it was so!

and, Obed, begat Jehu, and, Jehu, begat Azariah;

and Jehu begat Azariah, and Azariah begat Helez, and Helez begat Eleasah,

and Joel, and Jehu the son of Josibiah, the son of Seraiah, the son of Asiel,

the chief, Ahiezer, and Joash, sons of Shemaah the Gibeathite, and Jeziel and Pelet, sons of Azmaveth, - and Beracah, and Jehu the Anathothite;

And there came out to meet him, Jehu son of Hanani, the seer, who said unto King Jehoshaphat, Unto the lawless, was it right to give help? and, on them who hate Yahweh, to bestow thy love? For this cause, therefore, is there wrath against thee, from before Yahweh;

And the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, first and last, behold, they are written in the words of Jehu the son of Hanani, which are inserted in the book of the kings of Israel.

But his coming to Joram was from God the complete ruin of Ahaziah. And when he had come, he went out with Jehoram against Jehu the son of Nimshi, whom Jehovah had anointed to cut off the house of Ahab.

And it came to pass when Jehu was executing judgment upon the house of Ahab, that he found the princes of Judah, and the sons of the brethren of Ahaziah, that attended upon Ahaziah, and he slew them.

And he sought Ahaziah; and they caught him (for he had hid himself in Samaria), and brought him to Jehu, and slew him; and they buried him, for they said, He is a son of Jehoshaphat, who sought Jehovah with all his heart. And in the house of Ahaziah there was no one who was able to hold the kingdom.

And Amaziah king of Judah took counsel, and sent to Joash the son of Jehoahaz, the son of Jehu, king of Israel, saying, Come, let us look one another in the face.

Then said Yahweh unto him, Call his name Jezreel: for, yet a little, and I will visit the bloodshed of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu, and will cause to cease the kingdom of the house of Israel.