2 Kings 10

Now Ahab had seventy sons in Samaria. Jehu wrote letters, and sent them to Samaria, to the rulers of Jezreel, even the elders, and to those who brought up the sons of Ahab, saying, ²Now as soon as this letter comes to you, seeing your master's sons are with you, and there are chariots and horses, a fortified city, and weapons with you; ³find the best and worthy of your master's sons, and set him on his father's throne, and fight for your master's house. ⁴But they were very afraid, and said, Behold, if two kings could not stand up to him, then how can we stand? ⁵He who was in charge of the household, and he who was in charge of the city, the elders also, and those who brought up the children, sent to Jehu, saying, We are your servants, and will do all that you shall bid us; we will not make any man king: do that which is good in your eyes. ⁶Then he wrote a second letter to them, saying, If you are on my side, and will listen to my voice, take the heads of the men, your master's sons, and come to me at Jezreel by this time tomorrow. Now the king's sons, being seventy persons, were with the great men of the city, who brought them up. ⁷It 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 Jehu at Jezreel. ⁸There came a messenger, and told him, saying, 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. ⁹It 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 killed all these? ¹⁰Know now that nothing shall fall to the earth of the word of Allah, which Allah spoke concerning the house of Ahab: for Allah has done that which he spoke by his servant Ilyas. ¹¹So Jehu killed all who remained of the house of Ahab in Jezreel, and all his great men, and his close friends, and his priests, until he left him none remaining. ¹²He arose and departed, and went to Samaria. As he was on the way at Beth Eked of the Shepherds, ¹³Jehu met with the brothers of Ahaziah king of Judah, and said, Who are you? They answered, We are the brothers of Ahaziah: and we are going down to greet the children of the king and the children of the queen. ¹⁴He said, Take them alive! They took them alive, and killed them at the well of Beth Eked, forty-two men; none of them were left. ¹⁵When he departed from there, he met Jehonadab Ibn Rechab coming to meet him; and he greeted him, and said to him, Is your heart right, as my heart is with your heart? Jehonadab answered, It is. If it is, give me your hand. He gave him his hand; and Jehu took him up to him into the chariot. ¹⁶He said, Come with me, and see my zeal for Allah. So they made him ride in his chariot. ¹⁷When Jehu came to Samaria, he killed all who remained of Ahab in Samaria, until he had destroyed them, according to the word of Allah, which he spoke to Ilyas. ¹⁸Jehu gathered all the people together, and said to them, Ahab worshiped Baal a little; but Jehu will worship him much. ¹⁹Now therefore call to me all the prophets of Baal, all his worshippers, and all his priests; let no one be missing: for I have a great sacrifice to do to Baal; whoever shall be missing, he shall not live. But Jehu was acting deceptively, with the intent of destroying the worshippers of Baal. ²⁰Jehu said, Proclaim a solemn assembly for Baal. They proclaimed it. ²¹Jehu 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 the other. ²²He said to the one in charge of the wardrobe, Bring out robes for all the worshippers of Baal. He brought out robes for them. ²³Jehu and Jehonadab Ibn Rechab went into the house of Baal; and said to the worshippers of Baal, Search, and see that there be here with you none of the servants of Allah, but the worshippers of Baal only. ²⁴They went in to offer sacrifices and burnt offerings. Now Jehu had appointed eighty men outside, and said, If any of the men whom I bring into your hands escape, he who lets him go, it shall be his life for the life of the other. ²⁵It 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 come out. They struck them with the edge of the sword; and the guard and the captains threw them out, and went to the city of the house of Baal. ²⁶They brought out the pillars that were in the house of Baal, and burned them. ²⁷They broke down the pillar of Baal, and broke down the house of Baal, and made it a latrine, to this day. ²⁸Thus Jehu destroyed Baal out of Israel. ²⁹However Jehu did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam Ibn Nebat, with which he made Israel to sin, that is, the golden calves that were in Bethel and Dan. ³⁰Allah 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 shall sit on the throne of Israel to the fourth generation. ³¹But Jehu took no heed to walk in the Taurat of Allah, the God of Israel, with all his heart: he did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam, with which he made Israel to sin. ³²In those days Allah began to cut off parts of Israel: and Hazael overpowered the Israelites throughout their territory; ³³from 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. ³⁴Now the rest of the acts of Jehu, and all that he did, and all his might, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? ³⁵Jehu slept with his fathers; and they buried him in Samaria. Jehoahaz his son reigned in his place. ³⁶The time that Jehu reigned over Israel in Samaria was twenty-eight years.