| NET Bible | International Standard Version |
| 1Now Elisha the prophet summoned a member of the prophetic guild and told him, "Tuck your robes into your belt, take this container of olive oil in your hand, and go to Ramoth Gilead. | 1Elisha called one of the members of the Guild of Prophets and told him, "Get ready to run, take this flask of oil in your hand, and go to Ramoth-gilead. |
| 2When you arrive there, look for Jehu son of Jehoshaphat son of Nimshi and take him aside into an inner room. | 2As soon as you get there, go find Jehoshaphat's son Jehu, the grandson of Nimshi. When you do, go in, tell him to get up and go apart with you away from his brothers. Lead him into a private chamber, |
| 3Take the container of olive oil, pour it over his head, and say, 'This is what the LORD says, "I have designated you as king over Israel."' Then open the door and run away quickly!" | 3take the flask of oil, and pour it out on his head. Then tell him, 'This is what the LORD says: I'm anointing you king over Israel.' Then open the door and leave. Don't linger there!" |
| 4So the young prophet went to Ramoth Gilead. | 4So the young man, who was an attendant to the prophet, went to Ramoth-gilead. |
| 5When he arrived, the officers of the army were sitting there. So he said, "I have a message for you, O officer." Jehu asked, "For which one of us?" He replied, "For you, O officer." | 5When he arrived, the army commanders were seated, so he said, "I have a message for you, captain!" Jehu asked, "For which one of us?" "For you, captain!" he answered. |
| 6So 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. | 6So Jehu got up and went inside the house, and the young man told him, "This is what the LORD, the God of Israel says: 'I have anointed you king over the people of the LORD—that is, over Israel. |
| 7You will destroy the family of your master Ahab. I will get revenge against Jezebel for the shed blood of my servants the prophets and for the shed blood of all the LORD's servants. | 7You are to attack the household of your master Ahab, so I may avenge the blood of my servants the prophets, as well as the blood of all of the servants of the LORD that has been spilled at Jezebel's orders. |
| 8Ahab's entire family will die. I will cut off every last male belonging to Ahab in Israel, including even the weak and incapacitated. | 8The entire household of Ahab will die, and I will cut off from Ahab every male person in Israel, whether imprisoned or surviving. |
| 9I will make Ahab's dynasty like those of Jeroboam son of Nebat and Baasha son of Ahijah. | 9I will make the household of Ahab like the household of Nebat's son Jeroboam and the household of Ahijah's son Baasha. |
| 10Dogs will devour Jezebel on the plot of ground in Jezreel; she will not be buried.'" Then he opened the door and ran away. | 10Furthermore, the dogs will eat Jezebel in the territory of Jezreel. There will be no burial for her.'" Then he opened the door and left. |
| 11When Jehu rejoined his master's servants, they asked him, "Is everything all right? Why did this madman visit you?" He replied, "Ah, it's not important. You know what kind of man he is and the kinds of things he says." | 11As Jehu was coming out to his master's attendants, one of them asked him, "Is everything all right? Why did this maniac visit you?" "You know the man and how he speculates," Jehu replied. |
| 12But they said, "You're lying! Tell us what he said." So he told them what he had said. He also related how he had said, "This is what the LORD says, 'I have designated you as king over Israel.'" | 12"That's a lie!" they said. "Tell us what's going on!" "He said 'This and that' to me," he responded. "'This is what the LORD says: "I have anointed you king over Israel."'" |
| 13Each of them quickly took off his cloak and they spread them out at Jehu's feet on the steps. The trumpet was blown and they shouted, "Jehu is king!" | 13At this, each man quickly grabbed his own garment, placed it under him at the top of the stairs, sounded a trumpet, and announced, "Jehu is king!" |
| 14Then Jehu son of Jehoshaphat son of Nimshi conspired against Joram. Jehu the Assassin Now Joram had been in Ramoth Gilead with the whole Israelite army, guarding against an invasion by King Hazael of Syria. | 14Meanwhile, Jehoshaphat's son Jehu, the grandson of Nimshi, had been conspiring against Joram while Joram and all the army of Israel had been defending Ramoth-gilead against King Hazael from Aram. |
| 15But King Joram had returned to Jezreel to recover from the wounds he received from the Syrians when he fought against King Hazael of Syria. Jehu told his supporters, "If you really want me to be king, then don't let anyone escape from the city to go and warn Jezreel." | 15King Jehoram had returned to Jezreel to recover from wounds he had sustained from the Arameans when he had fought against King Hazael from Aram. So Jehu concluded, "Since this is what you've decided, then let no one get away, leave the city, and go report to Jezreel!" |
| 16Jehu drove his chariot to Jezreel, for Joram was recuperating there. (Now King Ahaziah of Judah had come down to visit Joram.) | 16Then Jehu rode by chariot to Jezreel, since Joram was recovering there. King Ahaziah from Judah had come to visit Joram. |
| 17Now the watchman was standing on the tower in Jezreel and saw Jehu's troops approaching. He said, "I see troops!" Jehoram ordered, "Send a rider out to meet them and have him ask, 'Is everything all right?'" | 17While the watchman was standing guard in the tower at Jezreel, he watched Jehu's entourage arrive. So he called out, "I see a group arriving." Joram ordered, "Take a horseman, send him out to meet them, and have him ask, 'Have you come in peace?'" |
| 18So the horseman went to meet him and said, "This is what the king says, 'Is everything all right?'" Jehu replied, "None of your business! Follow me." The watchman reported, "The messenger reached them, but hasn't started back." | 18So a horseman went out, greeted Jehu and said, "This is what the king said: 'Have you come in peace?'" But Jehu responded, "What do you have to do with peace? Fall in behind me." The watchman reported, "The messenger arrived there, but he hasn't returned." |
| 19So he sent a second horseman out to them and he said, "This is what the king says, 'Is everything all right?'" Jehu replied, "None of your business! Follow me." | 19Then Joram sent out a second horseman, who went out to them and said, "This is what the king said: 'Have you come in peace?'" Jehu responded, "What do you have to do with peace? Fall in behind me." |
| 20The watchman reported, "He reached them, but hasn't started back. The one who drives the lead chariot drives like Jehu son of Nimshi; he drives recklessly." | 20The watchman reported to Joram, "He arrived there, but he hasn't returned. Also, he drives like Nimshi's son Jehu drives—irrationally!" |
| 21Jehoram ordered, "Hitch up my chariot." When his chariot had been hitched up, King Jehoram of Israel and King Ahaziah of Judah went out in their respective chariots to meet Jehu. They met up with him in the plot of land that had once belonged to Naboth of Jezreel. | 21Joram replied, "Let's begin our attack!" As soon as his chariot was prepared, both King Joram of Israel and King Ahaziah of Judah went out, each in his own chariot, to fight against Jehu. They met together in the property that had belonged to Naboth the Jezreelite. |
| 22When Jehoram saw Jehu, he asked, "Is everything all right, Jehu?" He replied, "How can everything be all right as long as your mother Jezebel promotes idolatry and pagan practices?" | 22As soon as Joram noticed Jehu, he cried out, "Peace, Jehu?" Jehu replied, "What peace, given your mother Jezebel's prostitution and all of her witchcraft?" |
| 23Jehoram turned his chariot around and took off. He said to Ahaziah, "It's a trap, Ahaziah!" | 23Joram reined his horse around to flee and cried out to Ahaziah, "Ahaziah! Treachery!" |
| 24Jehu aimed his bow and shot an arrow right between Jehoram's shoulders. The arrow went through his heart and he fell to his knees in his chariot. | 24But Jehu drew his bow with all of his strength, shooting Joram between his shoulder blades. The arrow pierced his heart, and he collapsed in his chariot. |
| 25Jehu ordered his officer Bidkar, "Pick him up and throw him into the part of the field that once belonged to Naboth of Jezreel. Remember, you and I were riding together behind his father Ahab, when the LORD pronounced this judgment on him, | 25After this, Jehu called out to Bidkar, his third in command, "Pick up Joram's body and throw it in the field, the property that belonged to Naboth the Jezreelite, because you and I remember how when we were riding together in pursuit of his father Ahab, that the LORD pronounced this oracle against him: |
| 26"Know for sure that I saw the shed blood of Naboth and his sons yesterday," says the LORD, "and that I will give you what you deserve right here in this plot of land," says the LORD.' So now pick him up and throw him into this plot of land, just as the LORD said." | 26This is what the LORD says, "I have certainly observed the blood of Naboth and his sons, and I will repay you on this property," declares the LORD.' "Therefore take the body and throw it in the field, just as the LORD said." |
| 27When King Ahaziah of Judah saw what happened, he took off up the road to Beth Haggan. Jehu chased him and ordered, "Shoot him too." They shot him while he was driving his chariot up the ascent of Gur near Ibleam. He fled to Megiddo and died there. | 27As soon as King Ahaziah of Judah observed this, he attempted to flee by the garden house road, but Jehu pursued him. At the ascent toward Gur which is near Ibleam, he ordered, "Shoot him in the chariot, too!" Ahaziah fled to Megiddo, where he died. |
| 28His servants took his body back to Jerusalem and buried him in his tomb with his ancestors in the city of David. | 28Ahaziah's servants transported the king's body by chariot to Jerusalem and buried it in his own sepulcher near his ancestors in the City of David. |
| 29Ahaziah had become king over Judah in the eleventh year of Joram son of Ahab. | 29Ahaziah had begun to reign over Judah in the eleventh year of the reign of Ahab's son Joram. |
| 30Jehu approached Jezreel. When Jezebel heard the news, she put on some eye liner, fixed up her hair, and leaned out the window. | 30As soon as Jehu arrived at Jezreel, Jezebel adorned her eyes, arranged her hair, and peered out a window. |
| 31When Jehu came through the gate, she said, "Is everything all right, Zimri, murderer of his master?" | 31When Jehu had entered through the gate, she asked, "Was Zimri, who murdered his master, received well?" |
| 32He looked up at the window and said, "Who is on my side? Who?" Two or three eunuchs looked down at him. | 32Jehu looked up toward the window and called out, "Who is on my side? Who?" When two or three eunuchs looked out at him, |
| 33He 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. | 33he ordered, "Throw her down!" So they did, and her blood splashed against the wall and on the horses, while Jehu trampled her underfoot. |
| 34He went inside and had a meal. Then he said, "Dispose of this accursed woman's corpse. Bury her, for after all, she was a king's daughter." | 34Later 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." |
| 35But when they went to bury her, they found nothing left but the skull, feet, and palms of the hands. | 35But when they went out to bury her, they found nothing left of her except her skull, her feet, and the palms of her hands. |
| 36When they went back and told him, he said, "The LORD's word through his servant, Elijah the Tishbite, has come to pass. He warned, 'In the plot of land at Jezreel, dogs will devour Jezebel's flesh. | 36So they returned and reported to Jehu, and he responded, "This fulfills this message from the LORD that he spoke through his servant Elijah the foreigner, who said: 'Dogs will eat Jezebel's flesh on the property of Jezreel, |
| 37Jezebel's corpse will be like manure on the surface of the ground in the plot of land at Jezreel. People will not be able to even recognize her.'" | 37and her corpse will lie like dung on the surface of the field on the property in Jezreel, but no one will say, "This is Jezebel."'" |
|
