2 Kings 10:1-13 ▼

1 And Ahab has seventy sons in Samaria, and Jehu writes letters, and sends [them] to Samaria, to the heads of Jezreel, the elderly, and to those supporting Ahab, saying,

2 “And now, at the coming in of this letter to you, and sons of your lord [are] with you, and the chariots and the horses, and a fortified city, and the armor, [are] with you,

3 that you have seen the best and the most upright of the sons of your lord, and have set [him] on the throne of his father, and fight for the house of your lord.”

4 And they fear very greatly, and say, “Behold, the two kings have not stood before him, and how do we stand—we?”

5 And he who [is] over the house, and he who [is] over the city, and the elderly, and those supporting, send to Jehu, saying, “We [are] your servants, and all that you say to us we do; we do not make anyone king—do that which [is] good in your eyes.”

6 And he writes a letter to them a second time, saying, “If you [are] for me, and are listening to my voice, take the heads of the men—the sons of your lord, and come to me about this time tomorrow, to Jezreel”; and the sons of the king [are] seventy men, with the great ones of the city—those bringing them up.

7 And it comes to pass, at the coming in of the letter to them, that they take the sons of the king, and slaughter seventy men, and put their heads in baskets, and send [them] to him at Jezreel,

8 and the messenger comes in, and declares [it] to him, saying, “They have brought in the heads of the sons of the king,” and he says, “Make them two heaps at the opening of the gate until the morning.”

9 And it comes to pass in the morning, that he goes out, and stands, and says to all the people, “You are righteous; behold, I have conspired against my lord, and slay him—and who struck all these?

10 Now you know that nothing falls of the word of YHWH to the earth that YHWH spoke against the house of Ahab, and YHWH has done that which He spoke by the hand of His servant Elijah.”

11 And Jehu strikes all those left to the house of Ahab in Jezreel, and all his great men, and his acquaintances, and his priests, until he has not left a remnant to him.

12 And he rises, and comes in and goes to Samaria; he [is] at the shepherds’ shearing-house in the way,

13 and Jehu has found the brothers of Ahaziah king of Judah and says, “Who [are] you?” And they say, “We [are] brothers of Ahaziah, and we go down to greet the sons of the king and the sons of the mistress.”