Thematic Bible




Thematic Bible



In the twelfth year of Joram the son of Ahab king of Israel, Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah began to reign.

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

Joram turned his hands, and fled, and said to Ahaziah, "There is treason, Ahaziah."

But when Ahaziah the king of Judah saw this, he fled by the way of the garden house. Jehu followed after him, and said, "Strike him also in the chariot." They struck him at the ascent of Gur, which is by Ibleam. He fled to Megiddo, and died there.

Ahaziah was twenty-two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Athalih, the daughter of Omri.

He sought Ahaziah, and they caught him (now he was hiding in Samaria), and they brought him to Jehu, and killed him; and they buried him, for they said, "He is the son of Jehoshaphat, who sought the LORD with all his heart." The house of Ahaziah had no power to hold the kingdom.


In the twelfth year of Joram the son of Ahab king of Israel, Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah began to reign. Twenty-two years old was Ahaziah when he began to reign; and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Athaliah the daughter of Omri king of Israel. He walked in the way of the house of Ahab, and did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, as did the house of Ahab; for he was the son-in-law of the house of Ahab. read more.
He went with Joram the son of Ahab to war against Hazael king of Syria at Ramoth Gilead: and the Syrians wounded Joram. King Joram returned to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds which the Syrians had given him at Ramah, when he fought against Hazael king of Syria. Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah went down to see Joram the son of Ahab in Jezreel, because he was sick.

So Jehu rode in a chariot, and went to Jezreel; for Joram lay there. Ahaziah king of Judah had come down to see Joram. Now the watchman was standing on the tower in Jezreel, and he spied the company of Jehu as he came, and said, "I see a company." 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 said, "Thus says the king, 'Is it peace?'" Jehu said, "What do you have to do with peace? Fall in behind me." The watchman said, "The messenger came to them, but he isn't coming back." read more.
Then he sent out a second on horseback, who came to them, and said, "Thus says the king, 'Is it peace?'" Jehu answered, "What do you have to do with peace? Fall in behind me." The watchman said, "He came to them, and isn't coming back. The driving is like the driving of Jehu the son of Nimshi; for he drives furiously." Joram said, "Get ready." They got his chariot ready. 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 portion of Naboth the Jezreelite. It happened, when Joram saw Jehu, that he said, "Is it peace, Jehu?" He answered, "What peace, so long as the prostitution of your mother Jezebel and her witchcraft abound?" Joram turned his hands, and fled, and said to Ahaziah, "There is treason, Ahaziah." Jehu drew his bow with his full strength, and struck Joram between his arms; and the arrow went out at his heart, and he sunk down in his chariot. Then Jehu said to Bidkar his captain, "Pick him up, and throw him in the plot of the field of Naboth the Jezreelite; for remember how, when you and I rode together after Ahab his father, the LORD laid this burden on him: 'Surely I have seen yesterday 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. Now therefore take and cast him onto the plot of ground, according to the word of the LORD." But when Ahaziah the king of Judah saw this, he fled by the way of the garden house. Jehu followed after him, and said, "Strike him also in the chariot." They struck him at the ascent of Gur, which is by Ibleam. He fled to Megiddo, and died there. His servants carried him in a chariot to Jerusalem, and buried him in his tomb with his fathers in the City of David. In the eleventh year of Joram the son of Ahab began Ahaziah to reign over Judah.


In the twelfth year of Joram the son of Ahab king of Israel, Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah began to reign.

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

Joram turned his hands, and fled, and said to Ahaziah, "There is treason, Ahaziah."

But when Ahaziah the king of Judah saw this, he fled by the way of the garden house. Jehu followed after him, and said, "Strike him also in the chariot." They struck him at the ascent of Gur, which is by Ibleam. He fled to Megiddo, and died there.

Ahaziah was twenty-two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Athalih, the daughter of Omri.

He sought Ahaziah, and they caught him (now he was hiding in Samaria), and they brought him to Jehu, and killed him; and they buried him, for they said, "He is the son of Jehoshaphat, who sought the LORD with all his heart." The house of Ahaziah had no power to hold the kingdom.


Then king Rehoboam sent Adoram, who was over the men subject to forced labor; and all Israel stoned him to death with stones. King Rehoboam made speed to get him up to his chariot, to flee to Jerusalem.

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

and he made him to ride in the second chariot which he had. They cried before him, "Bow the knee." He set him over all the land of Egypt.

Joseph made ready his chariot, and went up to meet Israel, his father, in Goshen. He presented himself to him, and fell on his neck, and wept on his neck a good while.



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

The watchman said, "He came to them, and isn't coming back. The driving is like the driving of Jehu the son of Nimshi; for he drives furiously."


In the seventh year Jehoiada sent and fetched the captains over hundreds of the Carites and of the guard, and brought them to him into the house of the LORD; and he made a covenant with them, and took an oath of them in the house of the LORD, and showed them the king's son. He commanded them, saying, "This is the thing that you shall do: a third part of you, who come in on the Sabbath, shall be keepers of the watch of the king's house; A third part shall be at the gate Sur; and a third part at the gate behind the guard. So you shall keep the watch of the house, and be a barrier. read more.
The two companies of you, even all who go out on the Sabbath, shall keep the watch of the house of the LORD around the king. You shall surround the king, every man with his weapons in his hand; and he who comes within the ranks, let him be slain. Be with the king when he goes out, and when he comes in." The captains over hundreds did according to all that Jehoiada the priest commanded; and they took every man his men, those who were to come in on the Sabbath, with those who were to go out on the Sabbath, and came to Jehoiada the priest. The priest delivered to the captains over hundreds the spears and shields that had been king David's, which were in the house of the LORD. The guard stood, every man with his weapons in his hand, from the right side of the house to the left side of the house, along by the altar and the house, around the king. Then he brought out the king's son, and put the crown on him, and gave him the testimony; and they made him king, and anointed him; and they clapped their hands, and said, "Long live the king."

The LORD said to Samuel, "How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him from being king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go. I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite; for I have provided a king for myself among his sons." Samuel said, "How can I go? If Saul hears it, he will kill me." The LORD said, "Take a heifer with you, and say, I have come to sacrifice to the LORD. Call Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do. You shall anoint to me him whom I name to you." read more.
And Samuel did what the LORD said, and came to Bethlehem. And the elders of the city came to meet him trembling. And they said, "Do you come peaceably?" He said, "Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the LORD. Sanctify yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice." He sanctified Jesse and his sons, and called them to the sacrifice. It happened, when they had come, that he looked at Eliab, and said, "Surely the LORD's anointed is before him." But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not look on his face, or on the height of his stature; because I have rejected him. For man does not see as God sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. He said, "Neither has the LORD chosen this one." Then Jesse made Shammah to pass by. He said, "Neither has the LORD chosen this one." And Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, "The LORD has not chosen these." Samuel said to Jesse, "Are all your children here?" He said, "There remains yet the youngest, and behold, he is keeping the sheep." Samuel said to Jesse, "Send and get him; for we will not sit down until he comes here." And he sent and brought him in. And he was ruddy and had beautiful eyes and was handsome. And the LORD said, "Arise, anoint him, for he is the one." Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brothers: and the Spirit of the LORD came mightily on David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah.

Elisha the prophet called one of the sons of the prophets, and said to him, "Put your belt on your waist, take this vial of oil in your hand, and go to Ramoth Gilead. When you come there, find Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat the son of Nimshi, and go in, and make him arise up from among his brothers, and carry him to an inner room. Then take the vial of oil, and pour it on his head, and say, 'Thus says the LORD, "I have anointed you king over Israel."' Then open the door, flee, and do not wait." read more.
So the young man, even the young man the prophet, went to Ramoth Gilead. When he came, behold, the captains of the army were sitting. Then he said, "I have a message for you, captain." Jehu said, "To which of us all?" He said, "To you, O captain." He arose, and went into the house. Then he poured the oil on his head, and said to him, "Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, 'I have anointed you king over the people of the LORD, even over Israel. You shall strike the house of Ahab your master, 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. For the whole house of Ahab shall perish. I will cut off from Ahab everyone who urinates against a wall, both him who is shut up and him who is left at large in Israel. 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. The dogs will eat Jezebel on the plot of ground of Jezreel, and there shall be none to bury her.'" He opened the door, and fled. Then Jehu came forth to the servants of his lord: and one said to him, "Is all well? Why did this mad fellow come to you?" He said to them, "You know the man and what his talk was." They said, "That is a lie. Tell us now." He said, "He said to me, 'Thus says the LORD, I have anointed you king over Israel.'" Then they hurried, and took every man his garment, and put it under him on the top of the stairs, and blew the trumpet, saying, "Jehu is king." So Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat the son of Nimshi conspired against Joram. (Now Joram was keeping Ramoth Gilead, he and all Israel, because of Hazael king of Syria; but king Joram was returned to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds which the Syrians had given him, when he fought with Hazael king of Syria.) Jehu said, "If this is your thinking, then let no one escape and go out of the city, to go to tell it in Jezreel." So Jehu rode in a chariot, and went to Jezreel; for Joram lay there. Ahaziah king of Judah had come down to see Joram. Now the watchman was standing on the tower in Jezreel, and he spied the company of Jehu as he came, and said, "I see a company." 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 said, "Thus says the king, 'Is it peace?'" Jehu said, "What do you have to do with peace? Fall in behind me." The watchman said, "The messenger came to them, but he isn't coming back." Then he sent out a second on horseback, who came to them, and said, "Thus says the king, 'Is it peace?'" Jehu answered, "What do you have to do with peace? Fall in behind me." The watchman said, "He came to them, and isn't coming back. The driving is like the driving of Jehu the son of Nimshi; for he drives furiously." Joram said, "Get ready." They got his chariot ready. 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 portion of Naboth the Jezreelite. It happened, when Joram saw Jehu, that he said, "Is it peace, Jehu?" He answered, "What peace, so long as the prostitution of your mother Jezebel and her witchcraft abound?" Joram turned his hands, and fled, and said to Ahaziah, "There is treason, Ahaziah." Jehu drew his bow with his full strength, and struck Joram between his arms; and the arrow went out at his heart, and he sunk down in his chariot. Then Jehu said to Bidkar his captain, "Pick him up, and throw him in the plot of the field of Naboth the Jezreelite; for remember how, when you and I rode together after Ahab his father, the LORD laid this burden on him: 'Surely I have seen yesterday 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. Now therefore take and cast him onto the plot of ground, according to the word of the LORD."


So Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat the son of Nimshi conspired against Joram. (Now Joram was keeping Ramoth Gilead, he and all Israel, because of Hazael king of Syria; but king Joram was returned to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds which the Syrians had given him, when he fought with Hazael king of Syria.) Jehu said, "If this is your thinking, then let no one escape and go out of the city, to go to tell it in Jezreel." So Jehu rode in a chariot, and went to Jezreel; for Joram lay there. Ahaziah king of Judah had come down to see Joram. read more.
Now the watchman was standing on the tower in Jezreel, and he spied the company of Jehu as he came, and said, "I see a company." 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 said, "Thus says the king, 'Is it peace?'" Jehu said, "What do you have to do with peace? Fall in behind me." The watchman said, "The messenger came to them, but he isn't coming back." Then he sent out a second on horseback, who came to them, and said, "Thus says the king, 'Is it peace?'" Jehu answered, "What do you have to do with peace? Fall in behind me." The watchman said, "He came to them, and isn't coming back. The driving is like the driving of Jehu the son of Nimshi; for he drives furiously." Joram said, "Get ready." They got his chariot ready. 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 portion of Naboth the Jezreelite. It happened, when Joram saw Jehu, that he said, "Is it peace, Jehu?" He answered, "What peace, so long as the prostitution of your mother Jezebel and her witchcraft abound?" Joram turned his hands, and fled, and said to Ahaziah, "There is treason, Ahaziah." Jehu drew his bow with his full strength, and struck Joram between his arms; and the arrow went out at his heart, and he sunk down in his chariot. Then Jehu said to Bidkar his captain, "Pick him up, and throw him in the plot of the field of Naboth the Jezreelite; for remember how, when you and I rode together after Ahab his father, the LORD laid this burden on him: 'Surely I have seen yesterday 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. Now therefore take and cast him onto the plot of ground, according to the word of the LORD."


Then Jehu came forth to the servants of his lord: and one said to him, "Is all well? Why did this mad fellow come to you?" He said to them, "You know the man and what his talk was." They said, "That is a lie. Tell us now." He said, "He said to me, 'Thus says the LORD, I have anointed you king over Israel.'" Then they hurried, and took every man his garment, and put it under him on the top of the stairs, and blew the trumpet, saying, "Jehu is king." read more.
So Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat the son of Nimshi conspired against Joram. (Now Joram was keeping Ramoth Gilead, he and all Israel, because of Hazael king of Syria; but king Joram was returned to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds which the Syrians had given him, when he fought with Hazael king of Syria.) Jehu said, "If this is your thinking, then let no one escape and go out of the city, to go to tell it in Jezreel." So Jehu rode in a chariot, and went to Jezreel; for Joram lay there. Ahaziah king of Judah had come down to see Joram. Now the watchman was standing on the tower in Jezreel, and he spied the company of Jehu as he came, and said, "I see a company." 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 said, "Thus says the king, 'Is it peace?'" Jehu said, "What do you have to do with peace? Fall in behind me." The watchman said, "The messenger came to them, but he isn't coming back." Then he sent out a second on horseback, who came to them, and said, "Thus says the king, 'Is it peace?'" Jehu answered, "What do you have to do with peace? Fall in behind me." The watchman said, "He came to them, and isn't coming back. The driving is like the driving of Jehu the son of Nimshi; for he drives furiously." Joram said, "Get ready." They got his chariot ready. 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 portion of Naboth the Jezreelite. It happened, when Joram saw Jehu, that he said, "Is it peace, Jehu?" He answered, "What peace, so long as the prostitution of your mother Jezebel and her witchcraft abound?" Joram turned his hands, and fled, and said to Ahaziah, "There is treason, Ahaziah." Jehu drew his bow with his full strength, and struck Joram between his arms; and the arrow went out at his heart, and he sunk down in his chariot. Then Jehu said to Bidkar his captain, "Pick him up, and throw him in the plot of the field of Naboth the Jezreelite; for remember how, when you and I rode together after Ahab his father, the LORD laid this burden on him: 'Surely I have seen yesterday 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. Now therefore take and cast him onto the plot of ground, according to the word of the LORD." But when Ahaziah the king of Judah saw this, he fled by the way of the garden house. Jehu followed after him, and said, "Strike him also in the chariot." They struck him at the ascent of Gur, which is by Ibleam. He fled to Megiddo, and died there. His servants carried him in a chariot to Jerusalem, and buried him in his tomb with his fathers in the City of David. In the eleventh year of Joram the son of Ahab began Ahaziah to reign over Judah. When Jehu had come to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it; and she painted her eyes, and attired her head, and looked out at the window. As Jehu entered in at the gate, she said, "Do you come in peace, Zimri, you murderer of your master?" He lifted up his face to the window, and said, "Who is on my side? Who?" Two or three eunuchs looked out at him. He said, "Throw her down." So they threw her down; and some of her blood was sprinkled on the wall, and on the horses. Then he trampled her under foot. When he had come in, he ate and drink; and he said, "See now to this cursed woman, and bury her; for she is a king's daughter." They went to bury her; but they found no more of her than the skull, and the feet, and the palms of her hands. Therefore they came back, and told him. He said, "This is the word of the LORD, which he spoke by his servant Elijah the Tishbite, saying, 'The dogs will eat the flesh of Jezebel on the plot of Jezreel, and the body of Jezebel shall be as dung on the face of the field in the portion of Jezreel, so that they shall not say, "This is Jezebel."'"


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

He went with Joram the son of Ahab to war against Hazael king of Syria at Ramoth Gilead: and the Syrians wounded Joram. King Joram returned to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds which the Syrians had given him at Ramah, when he fought against Hazael king of Syria. Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah went down to see Joram the son of Ahab in Jezreel, because he was sick.


Now Ahab had seventy sons in Samaria. Jehu wrote letters, and sent to Samaria, to the rulers of Jezreel, even the elders, and to those who brought up the sons of Ahab, saying, "Now as soon as this letter comes to you, since your master's sons are with you, and there are with you chariots and horses, a fortified city also, and armor. Select the best and fittest of your master's sons, set him on his father's throne, and fight for your master's house." read more.
But they were exceedingly afraid, and said, "Behold, the two kings did not stand before him. How then shall we stand?" He who was over the household, and he who was over the city, the elders also, and those who raised the children, sent to Jehu, saying, "We are your servants, and will do all that you ask us. We will not make any man king. You do that which is good in your eyes." Then he wrote a letter the second time to them, saying, "If you are on my side, and if you will listen to my voice, take the heads of the men your master's sons, and come to me to Jezreel by tomorrow this time." Now the king's sons, being seventy persons, were with the great men of the city, who brought them up. It happened, when the letter came to them, that they took the king's sons, and killed them, even seventy persons, and put their heads in baskets, and sent them to him to Jezreel. A messenger came, and told him, "They have brought the heads of the king's sons." He said, "Lay them in two heaps at the entrance of the gate until the morning." It happened in the morning, that he went out, and stood, and said to all the people, "You are righteous. Behold, I conspired against my master, and killed him; but who struck all these? Know now that nothing shall fall to the earth of the word of the LORD, which the LORD spoke concerning the house of Ahab. For the LORD has done that which he spoke by his servant Elijah." So Jehu struck all that remained of the house of Ahab in Jezreel, with all his great men, his familiar friends, and his priests, until he left him none remaining. He arose and departed, and went to Samaria. As he was at the shearing house of the shepherds on the way, Jehu met with the brothers of Ahaziah king of Judah, and said, "Who are you?" They answered, "We are the brothers of Ahaziah. We are going down to greet the children of the king and the children of the queen." He said, "Take them alive." They took them alive, and killed them at the pit of the shearing house, even forty-two men. He did not leave any of them. When he had departed from there, he met Jehonadab the son of Rechab coming to meet him. He greeted him, and said to him, "Is your heart right, as my heart is with your heart?" Jehonadab answered, "It is" And Jehu said, "If it is, give me your hand." He gave him his hand; and he took him up to him into the chariot. He said, "Come with me, and see my zeal for the LORD." So he made him ride in his chariot. When he came to Samaria, he struck all who remained to Ahab in Samaria, until he had destroyed him, according to the word of the LORD, which he spoke to Elijah. Jehu gathered all the people together, and said to them, "Ahab served Baal a little; but Jehu will serve him much. Now therefore call to me all the prophets of Baal, all of his worshippers, and all of his priests. Let none be absent; for I have a great sacrifice to Baal. Whoever is absent, he shall not live." But Jehu did it in subtlety, intending that he might destroy the worshippers of Baal. Jehu said, "Sanctify a solemn assembly for Baal." They proclaimed it. Jehu sent through all Israel; and all the worshippers of Baal came, so that there was not a man left that did not come. They came into the house of Baal; and the house of Baal was filled from one end to another. He said to him who was over the vestry, "Bring out robes for all the worshippers of Baal." He brought robes out to them. Jehu went with Jehonadab the son of Rechab into the house of Baal. Then he said to the worshippers of Baal, "Search, and look that there are here with you none of the servants of the LORD, but the worshippers of Baal only." They went in to offer sacrifices and burnt offerings. Now Jehu had appointed him eighty men outside, and said, "If any of the men whom I bring into your hands escape, he who lets him go, his life shall be for the life of him." It happened, as soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt offering, that Jehu said to the guard and to the captains, "Go in, and kill them. Let none escape." They struck them with the edge of the sword; and the guard and the captains cast them out, and went to the city of the house of Baal. They brought out the pillars that were in the house of Baal, and burned them. They broke down the pillar of Baal, and broke down the house of Baal, and made it a latrine, to this day. Thus Jehu destroyed Baal out of Israel.

It happened, when Jehu was executing judgment on the house of Ahab, that he found the princes of Judah, and the sons of the brothers of Ahaziah, ministering to Ahaziah, and killed them. He sought Ahaziah, and they caught him (now he was hiding in Samaria), and they brought him to Jehu, and killed him; and they buried him, for they said, "He is the son of Jehoshaphat, who sought the LORD with all his heart." The house of Ahaziah had no power to hold the kingdom.

So Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat the son of Nimshi conspired against Joram. (Now Joram was keeping Ramoth Gilead, he and all Israel, because of Hazael king of Syria; but king Joram was returned to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds which the Syrians had given him, when he fought with Hazael king of Syria.) Jehu said, "If this is your thinking, then let no one escape and go out of the city, to go to tell it in Jezreel." So Jehu rode in a chariot, and went to Jezreel; for Joram lay there. Ahaziah king of Judah had come down to see Joram. read more.
Now the watchman was standing on the tower in Jezreel, and he spied the company of Jehu as he came, and said, "I see a company." 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 said, "Thus says the king, 'Is it peace?'" Jehu said, "What do you have to do with peace? Fall in behind me." The watchman said, "The messenger came to them, but he isn't coming back." Then he sent out a second on horseback, who came to them, and said, "Thus says the king, 'Is it peace?'" Jehu answered, "What do you have to do with peace? Fall in behind me." The watchman said, "He came to them, and isn't coming back. The driving is like the driving of Jehu the son of Nimshi; for he drives furiously." Joram said, "Get ready." They got his chariot ready. 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 portion of Naboth the Jezreelite. It happened, when Joram saw Jehu, that he said, "Is it peace, Jehu?" He answered, "What peace, so long as the prostitution of your mother Jezebel and her witchcraft abound?" Joram turned his hands, and fled, and said to Ahaziah, "There is treason, Ahaziah." Jehu drew his bow with his full strength, and struck Joram between his arms; and the arrow went out at his heart, and he sunk down in his chariot. Then Jehu said to Bidkar his captain, "Pick him up, and throw him in the plot of the field of Naboth the Jezreelite; for remember how, when you and I rode together after Ahab his father, the LORD laid this burden on him: 'Surely I have seen yesterday 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. Now therefore take and cast him onto the plot of ground, according to the word of the LORD." But when Ahaziah the king of Judah saw this, he fled by the way of the garden house. Jehu followed after him, and said, "Strike him also in the chariot." They struck him at the ascent of Gur, which is by Ibleam. He fled to Megiddo, and died there. His servants carried him in a chariot to Jerusalem, and buried him in his tomb with his fathers in the City of David. In the eleventh year of Joram the son of Ahab began Ahaziah to reign over Judah. When Jehu had come to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it; and she painted her eyes, and attired her head, and looked out at the window. As Jehu entered in at the gate, she said, "Do you come in peace, Zimri, you murderer of your master?" He lifted up his face to the window, and said, "Who is on my side? Who?" Two or three eunuchs looked out at him. He said, "Throw her down." So they threw her down; and some of her blood was sprinkled on the wall, and on the horses. Then he trampled her under foot. When he had come in, he ate and drink; and he said, "See now to this cursed woman, and bury her; for she is a king's daughter." They went to bury her; but they found no more of her than the skull, and the feet, and the palms of her hands. Therefore they came back, and told him. He said, "This is the word of the LORD, which he spoke by his servant Elijah the Tishbite, saying, 'The dogs will eat the flesh of Jezebel on the plot of Jezreel, and the body of Jezebel shall be as dung on the face of the field in the portion of Jezreel, so that they shall not say, "This is Jezebel."'"


So Jehu struck all that remained of the house of Ahab in Jezreel, with all his great men, his familiar friends, and his priests, until he left him none remaining.

but king Joram was returned to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds which the Syrians had given him, when he fought with Hazael king of Syria.) Jehu said, "If this is your thinking, then let no one escape and go out of the city, to go to tell it in Jezreel." So Jehu rode in a chariot, and went to Jezreel; for Joram lay there. Ahaziah king of Judah had come down to see Joram. Now the watchman was standing on the tower in Jezreel, and he spied the company of Jehu as he came, and said, "I see a company." Joram said, "Take a horseman, and send to meet them, and let him say, 'Is it peace?'" read more.
So there went one on horseback to meet him, and said, "Thus says the king, 'Is it peace?'" Jehu said, "What do you have to do with peace? Fall in behind me." The watchman said, "The messenger came to them, but he isn't coming back." Then he sent out a second on horseback, who came to them, and said, "Thus says the king, 'Is it peace?'" Jehu answered, "What do you have to do with peace? Fall in behind me." The watchman said, "He came to them, and isn't coming back. The driving is like the driving of Jehu the son of Nimshi; for he drives furiously." Joram said, "Get ready." They got his chariot ready. 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 portion of Naboth the Jezreelite. It happened, when Joram saw Jehu, that he said, "Is it peace, Jehu?" He answered, "What peace, so long as the prostitution of your mother Jezebel and her witchcraft abound?" Joram turned his hands, and fled, and said to Ahaziah, "There is treason, Ahaziah." Jehu drew his bow with his full strength, and struck Joram between his arms; and the arrow went out at his heart, and he sunk down in his chariot. Then Jehu said to Bidkar his captain, "Pick him up, and throw him in the plot of the field of Naboth the Jezreelite; for remember how, when you and I rode together after Ahab his father, the LORD laid this burden on him: 'Surely I have seen yesterday 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. Now therefore take and cast him onto the plot of ground, according to the word of the LORD." But when Ahaziah the king of Judah saw this, he fled by the way of the garden house. Jehu followed after him, and said, "Strike him also in the chariot." They struck him at the ascent of Gur, which is by Ibleam. He fled to Megiddo, and died there. His servants carried him in a chariot to Jerusalem, and buried him in his tomb with his fathers in the City of David. In the eleventh year of Joram the son of Ahab began Ahaziah to reign over Judah. When Jehu had come to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it; and she painted her eyes, and attired her head, and looked out at the window. As Jehu entered in at the gate, she said, "Do you come in peace, Zimri, you murderer of your master?" He lifted up his face to the window, and said, "Who is on my side? Who?" Two or three eunuchs looked out at him. He said, "Throw her down." So they threw her down; and some of her blood was sprinkled on the wall, and on the horses. Then he trampled her under foot. When he had come in, he ate and drink; and he said, "See now to this cursed woman, and bury her; for she is a king's daughter." They went to bury her; but they found no more of her than the skull, and the feet, and the palms of her hands. Therefore they came back, and told him. He said, "This is the word of the LORD, which he spoke by his servant Elijah the Tishbite, saying, 'The dogs will eat the flesh of Jezebel on the plot of Jezreel, and the body of Jezebel shall be as dung on the face of the field in the portion of Jezreel, so that they shall not say, "This is Jezebel."'"


So Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat the son of Nimshi conspired against Joram. (Now Joram was keeping Ramoth Gilead, he and all Israel, because of Hazael king of Syria; but king Joram was returned to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds which the Syrians had given him, when he fought with Hazael king of Syria.) Jehu said, "If this is your thinking, then let no one escape and go out of the city, to go to tell it in Jezreel." So Jehu rode in a chariot, and went to Jezreel; for Joram lay there. Ahaziah king of Judah had come down to see Joram. read more.
Now the watchman was standing on the tower in Jezreel, and he spied the company of Jehu as he came, and said, "I see a company." 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 said, "Thus says the king, 'Is it peace?'" Jehu said, "What do you have to do with peace? Fall in behind me." The watchman said, "The messenger came to them, but he isn't coming back." Then he sent out a second on horseback, who came to them, and said, "Thus says the king, 'Is it peace?'" Jehu answered, "What do you have to do with peace? Fall in behind me." The watchman said, "He came to them, and isn't coming back. The driving is like the driving of Jehu the son of Nimshi; for he drives furiously." Joram said, "Get ready." They got his chariot ready. 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 portion of Naboth the Jezreelite. It happened, when Joram saw Jehu, that he said, "Is it peace, Jehu?" He answered, "What peace, so long as the prostitution of your mother Jezebel and her witchcraft abound?" Joram turned his hands, and fled, and said to Ahaziah, "There is treason, Ahaziah." Jehu drew his bow with his full strength, and struck Joram between his arms; and the arrow went out at his heart, and he sunk down in his chariot. Then Jehu said to Bidkar his captain, "Pick him up, and throw him in the plot of the field of Naboth the Jezreelite; for remember how, when you and I rode together after Ahab his father, the LORD laid this burden on him: 'Surely I have seen yesterday 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. Now therefore take and cast him onto the plot of ground, according to the word of the LORD."


In the twelfth year of Joram the son of Ahab king of Israel, Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah began to reign. Twenty-two years old was Ahaziah when he began to reign; and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Athaliah the daughter of Omri king of Israel. He walked in the way of the house of Ahab, and did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, as did the house of Ahab; for he was the son-in-law of the house of Ahab. read more.
He went with Joram the son of Ahab to war against Hazael king of Syria at Ramoth Gilead: and the Syrians wounded Joram. King Joram returned to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds which the Syrians had given him at Ramah, when he fought against Hazael king of Syria. Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah went down to see Joram the son of Ahab in Jezreel, because he was sick.

So Jehu rode in a chariot, and went to Jezreel; for Joram lay there. Ahaziah king of Judah had come down to see Joram. Now the watchman was standing on the tower in Jezreel, and he spied the company of Jehu as he came, and said, "I see a company." 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 said, "Thus says the king, 'Is it peace?'" Jehu said, "What do you have to do with peace? Fall in behind me." The watchman said, "The messenger came to them, but he isn't coming back." read more.
Then he sent out a second on horseback, who came to them, and said, "Thus says the king, 'Is it peace?'" Jehu answered, "What do you have to do with peace? Fall in behind me." The watchman said, "He came to them, and isn't coming back. The driving is like the driving of Jehu the son of Nimshi; for he drives furiously." Joram said, "Get ready." They got his chariot ready. 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 portion of Naboth the Jezreelite. It happened, when Joram saw Jehu, that he said, "Is it peace, Jehu?" He answered, "What peace, so long as the prostitution of your mother Jezebel and her witchcraft abound?" Joram turned his hands, and fled, and said to Ahaziah, "There is treason, Ahaziah." Jehu drew his bow with his full strength, and struck Joram between his arms; and the arrow went out at his heart, and he sunk down in his chariot. Then Jehu said to Bidkar his captain, "Pick him up, and throw him in the plot of the field of Naboth the Jezreelite; for remember how, when you and I rode together after Ahab his father, the LORD laid this burden on him: 'Surely I have seen yesterday 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. Now therefore take and cast him onto the plot of ground, according to the word of the LORD." But when Ahaziah the king of Judah saw this, he fled by the way of the garden house. Jehu followed after him, and said, "Strike him also in the chariot." They struck him at the ascent of Gur, which is by Ibleam. He fled to Megiddo, and died there. His servants carried him in a chariot to Jerusalem, and buried him in his tomb with his fathers in the City of David. In the eleventh year of Joram the son of Ahab began Ahaziah to reign over Judah.

The inhabitants of Jerusalem made Ahaziah his youngest son king in his place; for the band of men who came with the Arabians to the camp had slain all the eldest. So Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah reigned. Ahaziah was twenty-two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Athalih, the daughter of Omri. He also walked in the ways of the house of Ahab; for his mother was his counselor to do wickedly. read more.
He did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, as did the house of Ahab; for they were his counselors after the death of his father, to his destruction. He walked also after their counsel, and went with Jehoram the son of Ahab king of Israel to war against Hazael king of Syria at Ramoth Gilead: and the Syrians wounded Joram. He returned to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds which they had given him at Ramah, when he fought against Hazael king of Syria. Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah went down to see Jehoram the son of Ahab in Jezreel, because he was sick. Now the destruction of Ahaziah was of God, in that he went to Joram: for when he had come, he went out with Jehoram against Jehu the son of Nimshi, whom the LORD had anointed to cut off the house of Ahab. It happened, when Jehu was executing judgment on the house of Ahab, that he found the princes of Judah, and the sons of the brothers of Ahaziah, ministering to Ahaziah, and killed them. He sought Ahaziah, and they caught him (now he was hiding in Samaria), and they brought him to Jehu, and killed him; and they buried him, for they said, "He is the son of Jehoshaphat, who sought the LORD with all his heart." The house of Ahaziah had no power to hold the kingdom.


Then take the vial of oil, and pour it on his head, and say, 'Thus says the LORD, "I have anointed you king over Israel."' Then open the door, flee, and do not wait." So the young man, even the young man the prophet, went to Ramoth Gilead. When he came, behold, the captains of the army were sitting. Then he said, "I have a message for you, captain." Jehu said, "To which of us all?" He said, "To you, O captain." read more.
He arose, and went into the house. Then he poured the oil on his head, and said to him, "Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, 'I have anointed you king over the people of the LORD, even over Israel. You shall strike the house of Ahab your master, 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. For the whole house of Ahab shall perish. I will cut off from Ahab everyone who urinates against a wall, both him who is shut up and him who is left at large in Israel. 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. The dogs will eat Jezebel on the plot of ground of Jezreel, and there shall be none to bury her.'" He opened the door, and fled. Then Jehu came forth to the servants of his lord: and one said to him, "Is all well? Why did this mad fellow come to you?" He said to them, "You know the man and what his talk was." They said, "That is a lie. Tell us now." He said, "He said to me, 'Thus says the LORD, I have anointed you king over Israel.'" Then they hurried, and took every man his garment, and put it under him on the top of the stairs, and blew the trumpet, saying, "Jehu is king." So Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat the son of Nimshi conspired against Joram. (Now Joram was keeping Ramoth Gilead, he and all Israel, because of Hazael king of Syria; but king Joram was returned to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds which the Syrians had given him, when he fought with Hazael king of Syria.) Jehu said, "If this is your thinking, then let no one escape and go out of the city, to go to tell it in Jezreel." So Jehu rode in a chariot, and went to Jezreel; for Joram lay there. Ahaziah king of Judah had come down to see Joram. Now the watchman was standing on the tower in Jezreel, and he spied the company of Jehu as he came, and said, "I see a company." 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 said, "Thus says the king, 'Is it peace?'" Jehu said, "What do you have to do with peace? Fall in behind me." The watchman said, "The messenger came to them, but he isn't coming back." Then he sent out a second on horseback, who came to them, and said, "Thus says the king, 'Is it peace?'" Jehu answered, "What do you have to do with peace? Fall in behind me." The watchman said, "He came to them, and isn't coming back. The driving is like the driving of Jehu the son of Nimshi; for he drives furiously." Joram said, "Get ready." They got his chariot ready. 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 portion of Naboth the Jezreelite. It happened, when Joram saw Jehu, that he said, "Is it peace, Jehu?" He answered, "What peace, so long as the prostitution of your mother Jezebel and her witchcraft abound?" Joram turned his hands, and fled, and said to Ahaziah, "There is treason, Ahaziah." Jehu drew his bow with his full strength, and struck Joram between his arms; and the arrow went out at his heart, and he sunk down in his chariot. Then Jehu said to Bidkar his captain, "Pick him up, and throw him in the plot of the field of Naboth the Jezreelite; for remember how, when you and I rode together after Ahab his father, the LORD laid this burden on him: 'Surely I have seen yesterday 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. Now therefore take and cast him onto the plot of ground, according to the word of the LORD." But when Ahaziah the king of Judah saw this, he fled by the way of the garden house. Jehu followed after him, and said, "Strike him also in the chariot." They struck him at the ascent of Gur, which is by Ibleam. He fled to Megiddo, and died there. His servants carried him in a chariot to Jerusalem, and buried him in his tomb with his fathers in the City of David. In the eleventh year of Joram the son of Ahab began Ahaziah to reign over Judah. When Jehu had come to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it; and she painted her eyes, and attired her head, and looked out at the window. As Jehu entered in at the gate, she said, "Do you come in peace, Zimri, you murderer of your master?" He lifted up his face to the window, and said, "Who is on my side? Who?" Two or three eunuchs looked out at him. He said, "Throw her down." So they threw her down; and some of her blood was sprinkled on the wall, and on the horses. Then he trampled her under foot. When he had come in, he ate and drink; and he said, "See now to this cursed woman, and bury her; for she is a king's daughter." They went to bury her; but they found no more of her than the skull, and the feet, and the palms of her hands. Therefore they came back, and told him. He said, "This is the word of the LORD, which he spoke by his servant Elijah the Tishbite, saying, 'The dogs will eat the flesh of Jezebel on the plot of Jezreel, and the body of Jezebel shall be as dung on the face of the field in the portion of Jezreel, so that they shall not say, "This is Jezebel."'" Now Ahab had seventy sons in Samaria. Jehu wrote letters, and sent to Samaria, to the rulers of Jezreel, even the elders, and to those who brought up the sons of Ahab, saying, "Now as soon as this letter comes to you, since your master's sons are with you, and there are with you chariots and horses, a fortified city also, and armor. Select the best and fittest of your master's sons, set him on his father's throne, and fight for your master's house." But they were exceedingly afraid, and said, "Behold, the two kings did not stand before him. How then shall we stand?" He who was over the household, and he who was over the city, the elders also, and those who raised the children, sent to Jehu, saying, "We are your servants, and will do all that you ask us. We will not make any man king. You do that which is good in your eyes." Then he wrote a letter the second time to them, saying, "If you are on my side, and if you will listen to my voice, take the heads of the men your master's sons, and come to me to Jezreel by tomorrow this time." Now the king's sons, being seventy persons, were with the great men of the city, who brought them up. It happened, when the letter came to them, that they took the king's sons, and killed them, even seventy persons, and put their heads in baskets, and sent them to him to Jezreel. A messenger came, and told him, "They have brought the heads of the king's sons." He said, "Lay them in two heaps at the entrance of the gate until the morning." It happened in the morning, that he went out, and stood, and said to all the people, "You are righteous. Behold, I conspired against my master, and killed him; but who struck all these? Know now that nothing shall fall to the earth of the word of the LORD, which the LORD spoke concerning the house of Ahab. For the LORD has done that which he spoke by his servant Elijah." So Jehu struck all that remained of the house of Ahab in Jezreel, with all his great men, his familiar friends, and his priests, until he left him none remaining. He arose and departed, and went to Samaria. As he was at the shearing house of the shepherds on the way, Jehu met with the brothers of Ahaziah king of Judah, and said, "Who are you?" They answered, "We are the brothers of Ahaziah. We are going down to greet the children of the king and the children of the queen." He said, "Take them alive." They took them alive, and killed them at the pit of the shearing house, even forty-two men. He did not leave any of them. When he had departed from there, he met Jehonadab the son of Rechab coming to meet him. He greeted him, and said to him, "Is your heart right, as my heart is with your heart?" Jehonadab answered, "It is" And Jehu said, "If it is, give me your hand." He gave him his hand; and he took him up to him into the chariot. He said, "Come with me, and see my zeal for the LORD." So he made him ride in his chariot. When he came to Samaria, he struck all who remained to Ahab in Samaria, until he had destroyed him, according to the word of the LORD, which he spoke to Elijah. Jehu gathered all the people together, and said to them, "Ahab served Baal a little; but Jehu will serve him much. Now therefore call to me all the prophets of Baal, all of his worshippers, and all of his priests. Let none be absent; for I have a great sacrifice to Baal. Whoever is absent, he shall not live." But Jehu did it in subtlety, intending that he might destroy the worshippers of Baal. Jehu said, "Sanctify a solemn assembly for Baal." They proclaimed it. Jehu sent through all Israel; and all the worshippers of Baal came, so that there was not a man left that did not come. They came into the house of Baal; and the house of Baal was filled from one end to another. He said to him who was over the vestry, "Bring out robes for all the worshippers of Baal." He brought robes out to them. Jehu went with Jehonadab the son of Rechab into the house of Baal. Then he said to the worshippers of Baal, "Search, and look that there are here with you none of the servants of the LORD, but the worshippers of Baal only." They went in to offer sacrifices and burnt offerings. Now Jehu had appointed him eighty men outside, and said, "If any of the men whom I bring into your hands escape, he who lets him go, his life shall be for the life of him." It happened, as soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt offering, that Jehu said to the guard and to the captains, "Go in, and kill them. Let none escape." They struck them with the edge of the sword; and the guard and the captains cast them out, and went to the city of the house of Baal. They brought out the pillars that were in the house of Baal, and burned them. They broke down the pillar of Baal, and broke down the house of Baal, and made it a latrine, to this day. Thus Jehu destroyed Baal out of Israel. However from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, with which he made Israel to sin, Jehu did not depart from after them, the golden calves that were in Bethel, and that were in Dan. The LORD said to Jehu, "Because you have done well in executing that which is right in my eyes, and have done to the house of Ahab according to all that was in my heart, your sons of the fourth generation shall sit on the throne of Israel." But Jehu took no heed to walk in the law of the LORD, the God of Israel, with all his heart. He did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam, with which he made Israel to sin. In those days the LORD began to cut off from Israel; and Hazael struck them in all the borders of Israel; from the Jordan eastward, all the land of Gilead, the Gadites, and the Reubenites, and the Manassites, from Aroer, which is by the valley of the Arnon, even Gilead and Bashan. Now the rest of the acts of Jehu, and all that he did, and all his might, aren't they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? Jehu slept with his fathers; and they buried him in Samaria. Jehoahaz his son reigned in his place. The time that Jehu reigned over Israel in Samaria was twenty-eight years.


Now Jehoram the son of Ahab began to reign over Israel in Samaria in the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and reigned twelve years. He did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, but not like his father, and like his mother; for he put away the pillar of Baal that his father had made. Nevertheless he held to the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, with which he made Israel to sin; he did not depart from it. read more.
Now Mesha king of Moab was a sheep breeder; and he rendered to the king of Israel the wool of one hundred thousand lambs, and of one hundred thousand rams. But it happened, when Ahab was dead, that the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel. King Jehoram went out of Samaria at that time, and mustered all Israel. He went and sent to Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, saying, "The king of Moab has rebelled against me. Will you go with me against Moab to battle?" He said, "I will go up. I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses." He said, "Which way shall we go up?" He answered, "The way of the wilderness of Edom." So the king of Israel went, and the king of Judah, and the king of Edom; and they made a circuit of seven days' journey. There was no water for the army, nor for the animals that followed them. The king of Israel said, "Alas. For the LORD has called these three kings together to deliver them into the hand of Moab." But Jehoshaphat said, "Isn't there here a prophet of the LORD, that we may inquire of the LORD by him?" One of the king of Israel's servants answered, "Elisha the son of Shaphat is here, who poured water on the hands of Elijah." Jehoshaphat said, "The word of the LORD is with him." So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom went down to him. Elisha said to the king of Israel, "What have I to do with you? Go to the prophets of your father, and to the prophets of your mother." The king of Israel said to him, "No; for the LORD has called these three kings together to deliver them into the hand of Moab." Elisha said, "As the LORD of hosts lives, before whom I stand, surely, were it not that I respect the presence of Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, I would not look toward you, nor see you. But now bring me a minstrel." It happened, when the minstrel played, that the hand of the LORD came on him. He said, "Thus says the LORD, 'Make this valley full of trenches.' For thus says the LORD, 'You will not see wind, neither will you see rain; yet that valley shall be filled with water, and you will drink, both you and your livestock and your animals. This is but a light thing in the sight of the LORD. He will also deliver the Moabites into your hand. You shall strike every fortified city, and every choice city, and shall fell every good tree, and stop all springs of water, and mar every good piece of land with stones.'" It happened in the morning, about the time of offering the offering, that behold, water came by the way of Edom, and the country was filled with water. Now when all the Moabites heard that the kings had come up to fight against them, they gathered themselves together, all who were able to put on armor, and upward, and stood on the border. They rose up early in the morning, and the sun shone on the water, and the Moabites saw the water over against them as red as blood. They said, "This is blood. The kings are surely destroyed, and they have struck each other. Now therefore, Moab, to the spoil." When they came to the camp of Israel, the Israelites rose up and struck the Moabites, so that they fled before them; and they went forward into the land smiting the Moabites. They beat down the cities; and on every good piece of land they cast every man his stone, and filled it; and they stopped all the springs of water, and felled all the good trees, until in Kir Hareseth only they left its stones; however the men armed with slings went about it, and struck it. When the king of Moab saw that the battle was too severe for him, he took with him seven hundred men who drew sword, to break through to the king of Edom; but they could not. Then he took his eldest son who would have reigned in his place, and offered him for a burnt offering on the wall. There was great wrath against Israel: and they departed from him, and returned to their own land. Now there cried a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets to Elisha, saying, "Your servant my husband is dead. You know that your servant feared the LORD. Now the creditor has come to take for himself my two children to be slaves." Elisha said to her, "What shall I do for you? Tell me: what do you have in the house?" She said, "Your handmaid has nothing in the house, except a pot of oil." Then he said, "Go, borrow containers from of all your neighbors, even empty containers. Do not borrow just a few. You shall go in, and shut the door on you and on your sons, and pour out into all those containers; and you shall set aside that which is full." So she went from him, and shut the door on her and on her sons; they brought the containers to her, and she poured out. It happened, when the containers were full, that she said to her son, "Bring me another container." He said to her, "There isn't another container." The oil stopped flowing. Then she came and told the man of God. He said, "Go, sell the oil, and pay your debt; and you and your sons live on the rest." It fell on a day, that Elisha passed to Shunem, where there was a prominent woman; and she persuaded him to eat bread. So it was, that as often as he passed by, he turned in there to eat bread. She said to her husband, "See now, I perceive that this is a holy man of God, that passes by us continually. Please let us make a little room on the wall. Let us set for him there a bed, a table, a chair, and a lamp stand. It shall be, when he comes to us, that he shall turn in there." One day he came there, and he turned into the room and lay there. He said to Gehazi his servant, "Call this Shunammite." When he had called her, she stood before him. He said to him, "Say now to her, 'Behold, you have cared for us with all this care. What is to be done for you? Would you like to be spoken for to the king, or to the captain of the army?'" She answered, "I dwell among my own people." He said, "What then is to be done for her?" Gehazi answered, "Most certainly she has no son, and her husband is old." He said, "Call her." When he had called her, she stood in the door. He said, "At this season, when the time comes around, you will embrace a son." She said, "No, my lord, you man of God, do not lie to your handmaid." The woman conceived, and bore a son at that season, when the time came around, as Elisha had said to her. When the child was grown, it happened one day that he went out to his father to the reapers. He said to his father, "My head. My head." He said to his servant, "Carry him to his mother." When he had taken him, and brought him to his mother, he sat on her knees until noon, and then died. She went up and laid him on the bed of the man of God, and shut the door on him, and went out. She called to her husband, and said, "Please send me one of the servants, and one of the donkeys, that I may run to the man of God, and come again." He said, "Why would you want to go to him today? It is neither new moon nor Sabbath." She said, "It's alright." Then she saddled a donkey, and said to her servant, "Drive, and go forward. Do not slow down for me, unless I ask you to." So she went, and came to the man of God to Mount Carmel. It happened, when the man of God saw her afar off, that he said to Gehazi his servant, "Behold, there is the Shunammite. Please run now to meet her, and ask her, 'Is it well with you? Is it well with your husband? Is it well with the child?'" She answered, "It is well." When she came to the man of God to the hill, she caught hold of his feet. Gehazi came near to thrust her away; but the man of God said, "Leave her alone; for her soul is troubled within her; and the LORD has hidden it from me, and has not told me." Then she said, "Did I ask a son from my lord? Did I not say, Do not deceive me?" Then he said to Gehazi, "Tuck your cloak into your belt, take my staff in your hand, and go your way. If you meet any man, do not greet him; and if anyone greets you, do not answer him again. Then lay my staff on the face of the child." The mother of the child said, "As the LORD lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you." He arose, and followed her. Gehazi passed on before them, and laid the staff on the face of the child; but there was neither voice, nor hearing. Therefore he returned to meet him, and told him, saying, "The child has not awakened." When Elisha had come into the house, behold, the child was dead, and lay on his bed. He went in therefore, and shut the door on them both, and prayed to the LORD. He went up, and lay on the child, and put his mouth on his mouth, and his eyes on his eyes, and his hands on his hands. He stretched himself on him; and the flesh of the child grew warm. Then he returned, and walked in the house once back and forth; and went up, and stretched himself on him. Then the child sneezed seven times, and the child opened his eyes. He called Gehazi, and said, "Call this Shunammite." So he called her. When she had come in to him, he said, "Take up your son." Then she went in, and fell at his feet, and bowed herself to the ground; and she took up her son, and went out. Elisha came again to Gilgal. There was a famine in the land; and the sons of the prophets were sitting before him; and he said to his servant, "Set on the great pot, and boil stew for the sons of the prophets." One went out into the field to gather herbs, and found a wild vine, and gathered of it wild gourds his lap full, and came and shred them into the pot of stew; for they did not recognize them. So they poured out for the men to eat. It happened, as they were eating of the stew, that they cried out, and said, "Man of God, there is death in the pot." They could not eat of it. But he said, "Then bring meal." He cast it into the pot; and he said, "Pour out for the people, that they may eat." There was no harm in the pot. A man from Baal Shalishah came, and brought the man of God bread of the first fruits, twenty loaves of barley, and fresh ears of grain in his sack. He said, "Give to the people, that they may eat." His servant said, "What, should I set this before a hundred men?" But he said, "Give the people, that they may eat; for thus says the LORD, 'They will eat, and will have some left over.'" So he set it before them, and they ate, and left some of it, according to the word of the LORD. Now Naaman, captain of the army of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master, and honorable, because by him the LORD had given victory to Syria: he was also a mighty man of valor, but he was a leper. The Syrians had gone out in bands, and had brought away captive out of the land of Israel a little maiden; and she waited on Naaman's wife. She said to her mistress, "I wish that my lord were with the prophet who is in Samaria. Then he would heal him of his leprosy." Someone went in, and told his lord, saying, "The maiden who is from the land of Israel said this." The king of Syria said, "Go now, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel." He departed, and took with him ten talents of silver, and six thousand pieces of gold, and ten changes of clothing. He brought the letter to the king of Israel, saying, "Now when this letter has come to you, behold, I have sent Naaman my servant to you, that you may heal him of his leprosy." It happened, when the king of Israel had read the letter, that he tore his clothes, and said, "Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man sends to me to heal a man of his leprosy? But please consider and see how he seeks a quarrel against me." It was so, when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, that he sent to the king, saying, "Why have you torn your clothes? Let him come now to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel." So Naaman came with his horses and with his chariots, and stood at the door of the house of Elisha. Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, "Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall come again to you, and you shall be clean." But Naaman was angry, and went away, and said, "Behold, I thought, 'He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the LORD his God, and wave his hand over the place, and heal the leper.' Aren't Abanah and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Couldn't I wash in them, and be clean?" So he turned and went away in a rage. His servants came near, and spoke to him, and said, "My father, if the prophet had asked you do some great thing, wouldn't you have done it? How much rather then, when he says to you, 'Wash, and be clean?'" Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God; and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean. He returned to the man of God, he and all his company, and came, and stood before him; and he said, "See now, I know that there is no God in all the earth, but in Israel. Now therefore, please take a gift from your servant." But he said, "As the LORD lives, before whom I stand, I will receive none." He urged him to take it; but he refused. Naaman said, "If not, then, please let two mules' burden of earth be given to your servant; for your servant will from now on offer neither burnt offering nor sacrifice to other gods, but to the LORD. In this thing may the LORD pardon your servant: when my master goes into the house of Rimmon to worship there, and he leans on my hand, and I bow myself in the house of Rimmon. When I bow myself in the house of Rimmon, may the LORD pardon your servant in this thing." He said to him, "Go in peace." So he departed from him a little way. But Gehazi the servant of Elisha the man of God, said, "Behold, my master has spared this Naaman the Syrian, in not receiving at his hands that which he brought. As the LORD lives, I will run after him, and take something from him." So Gehazi followed after Naaman. When Naaman saw one running after him, he came down from the chariot to meet him, and said, "Is all well?" He said, "All is well. My master has sent me, saying, 'Behold, even now two young men of the sons of the prophets have come to me from the hill country of Ephraim. Please give them a talent of silver and two changes of clothing.'" Naaman said, "Be pleased to take two talents." He urged him, and bound two talents of silver in two bags, with two changes of clothing, and laid them on two of his servants; and they carried them before him. When he came to the hill, he took them from their hand, and stored them in the house. Then he let the men go, and they departed. But he went in, and stood before his master. Elisha said to him, "Where did you come from, Gehazi?" He said, "Your servant went nowhere." He said to him, "Did not my heart go with you, when the man turned from his chariot to meet you? Is it a time to receive money, and to receive garments, and olive groves and vineyards, and sheep and cattle, and male servants and female servants? Therefore the leprosy of Naaman will cling to you and to your seed forever." He went out from his presence a leper, as white as snow. The sons of the prophets said to Elisha, "See now, the place where we dwell before you is too small for us. Please let us go to the Jordan, and every man take a beam from there, and let us make us a place there, where we may dwell." He answered, "Go." One said, "Please be pleased to go with your servants." He answered, "I will go." So he went with them. When they came to the Jordan, they cut down wood. But as one was felling a beam, the axe head fell into the water. Then he cried, and said, "Alas, my master. For it was borrowed." The man of God asked, "Where did it fall?" He showed him the place. He cut down a stick, threw it in there, and made the iron float. He said, "Take it." So he put out his hand and took it. Now the king of Syria was warring against Israel; and he took counsel with his servants, saying, "My camp will be in such and such a place." The man of God sent to the king of Israel, saying, "Beware that you not pass such a place; for the Syrians are coming down there." The king of Israel sent to the place which the man of God told him and warned him of; and he saved himself there, not once nor twice. The heart of the king of Syria was very troubled about this. He called his servants, and said to them, "Won't you show me which of us is for the king of Israel?" One of his servants said, "No, my lord, O king; but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the words that you speak in your bedroom." He said, "Go and see where he is, that I may send and get him." It was told him, saying, "Behold, he is in Dothan." Therefore he sent horses, chariots, and a great army there. They came by night, and surrounded the city. When the servant of the man of God had risen early, and gone out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was around the city. His servant said to him, "Alas, my master. What shall we do?" He answered, "Do not be afraid; for those who are with us are more than those who are with them." Then Elisha prayed and said, "LORD, please open his eyes, that he may see." The LORD opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire around Elisha. When they came down to him, Elisha prayed to the LORD, and said, "Please strike this people with blindness." He struck them with blindness according to the word of Elisha. Elisha said to them, "This is not the way, neither is this the city. Follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom you seek." He led them to Samaria. It happened, when they had come into Samaria, that Elisha said, "LORD, open the eyes of these men, that they may see." The LORD opened their eyes, and they saw; and behold, they were in the midst of Samaria. The king of Israel said to Elisha, when he saw them, "My father, shall I strike them? Shall I strike them?" He answered, "You shall not strike them. Would you strike those whom you have taken captive with your sword and with your bow? Set bread and water before them, that they may eat and drink, and go to their master." He prepared great feast for them. When they had eaten and drunk, he sent them away, and they went to their master. The bands of Syria stopped raiding the land of Israel. It happened after this, that Benhadad king of Syria gathered all his army, and went up and besieged Samaria. There was a great famine in Samaria. Behold, they besieged it, until a donkey's head was sold for eighty pieces of silver, and the fourth part of a kab of dove's dung for five pieces of silver. As the king of Israel was passing by on the wall, a woman cried to him, saying, "Help, my lord, O king." He said, "If the LORD doesn't help you, from where could I help you? From of the threshing floor, or from the winepress?" The king said to her, "What ails you?" She answered, "This woman said to me, 'Give your son, that we may eat him today, and we will eat my son tomorrow.' So we boiled my son, and ate him: and I said to her on the next day, 'Give your son, that we may eat him;' and she has hidden her son." It happened, when the king heard the words of the woman, that he tore his clothes (now he was passing by on the wall); and the people looked, and behold, he had sackcloth underneath on his flesh. Then he said, "God do so to me, and more also, if the head of Elisha the son of Shaphat shall stay on him this day." But Elisha was sitting in his house, and the elders were sitting with him. Then the king sent a man from before him; but before the messenger came to him, he said to the elders, "Do you see how this son of a murderer has sent to take away my head? Behold, when the messenger comes, shut the door, and hold the door shut against him. Isn't the sound of his master's feet behind him?" While he was still talking with them, behold, the messenger came down to him. Then he said, "Behold, this disaster is from the LORD. Why should I wait for the LORD any longer?" Elisha said, "Hear the word of the LORD. Thus says the LORD, 'Tomorrow about this time a measure of fine flour will be sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, in the gate of Samaria.'" Then the captain on whose hand the king leaned answered the man of God, and said, "Behold, if the LORD made windows in heaven, could this thing be?" He said, "Behold, you shall see it with your eyes, but shall not eat of it." Now there were four leprous men at the entrance of the gate. They said one to another, "Why do we sit here until we die? If we say, 'We will enter into the city,' then the famine is in the city, and we shall die there. If we sit still here, we also die. Now therefore come, and let us surrender to the army of the Syrians. If they save us alive, we will live; and if they kill us, we will only die." They rose up in the twilight, to go to the camp of the Syrians. When they had come to the outermost part of the camp of the Syrians, behold, there was no man there. For the Lord had made the army of the Syrians to hear a noise of chariots, and a noise of horses, even the noise of a great army: and they said one to another, Behold, the king of Israel has hired against us the kings of the Hittites, and the kings of the Egyptians, to come on us. Therefore they arose and fled in the twilight, and left their tents, and their horses, and their donkeys, even the camp as it was, and fled for their life. When these lepers came to the outermost part of the camp, they went into one tent, and ate and drink, and carried there silver, and gold, and clothing, and went and hid it. Then they came back, and entered into another tent, and carried there also, and went and hid it. Then they said one to another, "We aren't doing right. This day is a day of good news, and we keep silent. If we wait until the morning light, punishment will overtake us. Now therefore come, let us go and tell the king's household." So they came and called to the gatekeepers of the city; and they told them, saying, "We came to the camp of the Syrians, and, behold, there was no man there, neither voice of man, but the horses tied, and the donkeys tied, and the tents as they were." The gatekeepers called out, and it was reported to the king's household within. The king arose in the night, and said to his servants, "I will now show you what the Syrians have done to us. They know that we are hungry. Therefore are they gone out of the camp to hide themselves in the field, saying, 'When they come out of the city, we shall take them alive, and get into the city.'" One of his servants answered, "Please let some take five of the horses that remain, which are left in the city. Behold, they are like all the multitude of Israel who are left in it. Behold, they are like all the multitude of Israel who are consumed. Let us send and see." They took therefore two chariots with horses; and the king sent after the army of the Syrians, saying, "Go and see." They went after them to the Jordan; and behold, all the way was full of garments and vessels, which the Syrians had cast away in their haste. The messengers returned, and told the king. The people went out, and plundered the camp of the Syrians. So a measure of fine flour was sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, according to the word of the LORD. The king appointed the captain on whose hand he leaned to be in charge of the gate: and the people trod on him in the gate, and he died as the man of God had said, who spoke when the king came down to him. It happened, as the man of God had spoken to the king, saying, "Two measures of barley for a shekel, and a measure of fine flour for a shekel, shall be tomorrow about this time in the gate of Samaria"; and that captain answered the man of God, and said, "Now, behold, if the LORD should make windows in heaven, might such a thing be?" and he said, "Behold, you shall see it with your eyes, but shall not eat of it." It happened like that to him; for the people trod on him in the gate, and he died. Now Elisha had spoken to the woman, whose son he had restored to life, saying, "Arise, and go, you and your household, and stay for a while wherever you can; for the LORD has called for a famine. It shall also come on the land seven years." The woman arose, and did according to the word of the man of God. She went with her household, and lived in the land of the Philistines seven years. It happened at the seven years' end, that the woman returned out of the land of the Philistines. Then she went forth to cry to the king for her house and for her land. Now the king was talking with Gehazi the servant of the man of God, saying, "Please tell me all the great things that Elisha has done." It happened, as he was telling the king how he had restored to life him who was dead, that behold, the woman, whose son he had restored to life, cried to the king for her house and for her land. Gehazi said, "My lord, O king, this is the woman, and this is her son, whom Elisha restored to life." When the king asked the woman, she told him. So the king appointed to her a certain officer, saying, "Restore all that was hers, and all the fruits of the field since the day that she left the land, even until now." Elisha came to Damascus; and Benhadad the king of Syria was sick. It was told him, saying, "The man of God has come here." The king said to Hazael, "Take a present in your hand, and go, meet the man of God, and inquire of the LORD by him, saying, 'Will I recover from this sickness?'" So Hazael went to meet him, and took a present with him, even of every good thing of Damascus, forty camels' burden, and came and stood before him, and said, "Your son Benhadad king of Syria has sent me to you, saying, 'Will I recover from this sickness?'" Elisha said to him, "Go, tell him, 'You shall surely recover;' however the LORD has shown me that he shall surely die." He settled his gaze steadfastly on him, until he was ashamed. Then the man of God wept. Hazael said, "Why do you weep, my lord?" He answered, "Because I know the evil that you will do to the children of Israel. You will set their strongholds on fire, and you will kill their young men with the sword, and will dash in pieces their little ones, and rip up their women with child." Hazael said, "But what is your servant, who is but a dog, that he should do this great thing?" Elisha answered, "The LORD has shown me that you will be king over Syria." Then he departed from Elisha, and came to his master, who said to him, "What did Elisha say to you?" He answered, "He told me that you would surely recover." It happened on the next day, that he took a thick cloth, dipped it in water, and spread it on his face, so that he died. Then Hazael reigned in his place. In the fifth year of Joram the son of Ahab king of Israel, Jehoshaphat being king of Judah then, Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah began to reign. He was thirty-two years old when he began to reign. He reigned eight years in Jerusalem. He walked in the way of the kings of Israel, as did the house of Ahab; for he had the daughter of Ahab as wife. He did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD. However the LORD would not destroy Judah, for David his servant's sake, as he promised him to give to him a lamp for his children always. In his days Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah, and made a king over themselves. Then Joram passed over to Zair, and all his chariots with him: and he rose up by night, and struck the Edomites who surrounded him, and the captains of the chariots; and the people fled to their tents. So Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah to this day. Then Libnah revolted at the same time. The rest of the acts of Joram, and all that he did, aren't they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? Joram slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the City of David; and Ahaziah his son reigned in his place. In the twelfth year of Joram the son of Ahab king of Israel, Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah began to reign. Twenty-two years old was Ahaziah when he began to reign; and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Athaliah the daughter of Omri king of Israel. He walked in the way of the house of Ahab, and did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, as did the house of Ahab; for he was the son-in-law of the house of Ahab. He went with Joram the son of Ahab to war against Hazael king of Syria at Ramoth Gilead: and the Syrians wounded Joram. King Joram returned to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds which the Syrians had given him at Ramah, when he fought against Hazael king of Syria. Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah went down to see Joram the son of Ahab in Jezreel, because he was sick. Elisha the prophet called one of the sons of the prophets, and said to him, "Put your belt on your waist, take this vial of oil in your hand, and go to Ramoth Gilead. When you come there, find Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat the son of Nimshi, and go in, and make him arise up from among his brothers, and carry him to an inner room. Then take the vial of oil, and pour it on his head, and say, 'Thus says the LORD, "I have anointed you king over Israel."' Then open the door, flee, and do not wait." So the young man, even the young man the prophet, went to Ramoth Gilead. When he came, behold, the captains of the army were sitting. Then he said, "I have a message for you, captain." Jehu said, "To which of us all?" He said, "To you, O captain." He arose, and went into the house. Then he poured the oil on his head, and said to him, "Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, 'I have anointed you king over the people of the LORD, even over Israel. You shall strike the house of Ahab your master, 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. For the whole house of Ahab shall perish. I will cut off from Ahab everyone who urinates against a wall, both him who is shut up and him who is left at large in Israel. 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. The dogs will eat Jezebel on the plot of ground of Jezreel, and there shall be none to bury her.'" He opened the door, and fled. Then Jehu came forth to the servants of his lord: and one said to him, "Is all well? Why did this mad fellow come to you?" He said to them, "You know the man and what his talk was." They said, "That is a lie. Tell us now." He said, "He said to me, 'Thus says the LORD, I have anointed you king over Israel.'" Then they hurried, and took every man his garment, and put it under him on the top of the stairs, and blew the trumpet, saying, "Jehu is king." So Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat the son of Nimshi conspired against Joram. (Now Joram was keeping Ramoth Gilead, he and all Israel, because of Hazael king of Syria; but king Joram was returned to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds which the Syrians had given him, when he fought with Hazael king of Syria.) Jehu said, "If this is your thinking, then let no one escape and go out of the city, to go to tell it in Jezreel." So Jehu rode in a chariot, and went to Jezreel; for Joram lay there. Ahaziah king of Judah had come down to see Joram. Now the watchman was standing on the tower in Jezreel, and he spied the company of Jehu as he came, and said, "I see a company." 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 said, "Thus says the king, 'Is it peace?'" Jehu said, "What do you have to do with peace? Fall in behind me." The watchman said, "The messenger came to them, but he isn't coming back." Then he sent out a second on horseback, who came to them, and said, "Thus says the king, 'Is it peace?'" Jehu answered, "What do you have to do with peace? Fall in behind me." The watchman said, "He came to them, and isn't coming back. The driving is like the driving of Jehu the son of Nimshi; for he drives furiously." Joram said, "Get ready." They got his chariot ready. 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 portion of Naboth the Jezreelite. It happened, when Joram saw Jehu, that he said, "Is it peace, Jehu?" He answered, "What peace, so long as the prostitution of your mother Jezebel and her witchcraft abound?" Joram turned his hands, and fled, and said to Ahaziah, "There is treason, Ahaziah." Jehu drew his bow with his full strength, and struck Joram between his arms; and the arrow went out at his heart, and he sunk down in his chariot. Then Jehu said to Bidkar his captain, "Pick him up, and throw him in the plot of the field of Naboth the Jezreelite; for remember how, when you and I rode together after Ahab his father, the LORD laid this burden on him: 'Surely I have seen yesterday 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. Now therefore take and cast him onto the plot of ground, according to the word of the LORD."