2 Kings 10:1-17

Other Translations of 2 Kings 10:1-17

King James Version

Jehu Destroys the House of Ahab

10¹ And Ahab had seventy sons in Samaria. And Jehu wrote letters, and sent to Samaria, unto the rulers of Jezreel, to the elders, and to them that brought up Ahab's children, saying, ² Now as soon as this letter cometh to you, seeing your master's sons are with you, and there are with you chariots and horses, a fenced city also, and armour; ³ Look even out the best and meetest of your master's sons, and set him on his father's throne, and fight for your master's house. ⁴ But they were exceedingly afraid, and said, Behold, two kings stood not before him: how then shall we stand? ⁵ And he that was over the house, and he that was over the city, the elders also, and the bringers up of the children, sent to Jehu, saying, We are thy servants, and will do all that thou shalt bid us; we will not make any king: do thou that which is good in thine eyes. ⁶ Then he wrote a letter the second time to them, saying, If ye be mine, and if ye will hearken mine: Heb. for me unto my voice, take ye the heads of the men your master's sons, and come to me to Jezreel by to morrow this time. Now the king's sons, being seventy persons, were with the great men of the city, which brought them up. ⁷ And it came to pass, when the letter came to them, that they took the king's sons, and slew seventy persons, and put their heads in baskets, and sent him them to Jezreel. ⁸ And there came a messenger, and told him, saying, They have brought the heads of the king's sons. And he said, Lay ye them in two heaps at the entering in of the gate until the morning. ⁹ And it came to pass in the morning, that he went out, and stood, and said to all the people, Ye be righteous: behold, I conspired against my master, and slew him: but who slew all these? ¹⁰ Know now that there shall fall unto the earth nothing of the word of the Lord, which the Lord spake concerning the house of Ahab: for the Lord hath done that which he spake by by: Heb. by the hand of his servant Elijah. ¹¹ So Jehu slew all that remained of the house of Ahab in Jezreel, and all his great men, and his kinsfolks, kinsfolks: or, acquaintance and his priests, until he left him none remaining. ¹² And he arose and departed, and came to Samaria. And as he was at the shearing shearing...: Heb. house of shepherds binding sheep house in the way, ¹³ Jehu met with the brethren of Ahaziah king of Judah, and said, Who are ye? And they answered, We are the brethren of Ahaziah; and we go down to salute to salute...: Heb. to the peace of, etc the children of the king and the children of the queen. ¹⁴ And he said, Take them alive. And they took them alive, and slew them at the pit of the shearing house, even two and forty men; neither left he any of them.

¹⁵ And when he was departed thence, he lighted on Jehonadab the son of Rechab coming to meet him: and he saluted him, and said to him, Is thine heart right, as my heart is with thy heart? And Jehonadab answered, It is. If it be, give me thine hand. And he gave him his hand; and he took him up to him into the chariot. ¹⁶ And he said, Come with me, and see my zeal for the Lord. So they made him ride in his chariot. ¹⁷ And when he came to Samaria, he slew all that remained unto Ahab in Samaria, till he had destroyed him, according to the saying of the Lord, which he spake to Elijah.

English Standard Version

Jehu Destroys the House of Ahab

10¹ Now Ahab had seventy sons in Samaria. So Jehu wrote letters and sent them to Samaria, to the rulers of the city,Septuagint, Vulgate; Hebrew rulers of Jezreel to the elders, and to the guardians of the sonsHebrew lacks of the sons of Ahab, saying, ² "Now then, as soon as this letter comes to you, seeing your master's sons are with you, and there are with you chariots and horses, fortified cities also, and weapons, ³ select the best and fittest of your master's sons and set him on his father's throne and fight for your master's house." ⁴ But they were exceedingly afraid and said, "Behold, the two kings could not stand before him. How then can we stand?" ⁵ So he who was over the palace, and he who was over the city, together with the elders and the guardians, sent to Jehu, saying, "We are your servants, and we will do all that you tell us. We will not make anyone king. Do whatever is good in your eyes." ⁶ Then he wrote to them a second letter, saying, "If you are on my side, and if you are ready to obey me, take the heads of your master's sons and come to me at Jezreel tomorrow at this time." Now the king's sons, seventy persons, were with the great men of the city, who were bringing them up. ⁷ And as soon as the letter came to them, they took the king's sons and slaughtered them, seventy persons, and put their heads in baskets and sent them to him at Jezreel. ⁸ When the 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." ⁹ Then in the morning, when he went out, he stood and said to all the people, "You are innocent. It was I who conspired against my master and killed him, but who struck down all these? ¹⁰ Know then that there shall fall to the earth nothing of the word of the Lord, which the Lord spoke concerning the house of Ahab, for the Lord has done what he said by his servant Elijah." ¹¹ So Jehu struck down all who remained of the house of Ahab in Jezreel, all his great men and his close friends and his priests, until he left him none remaining. ¹² Then he set out and went to Samaria. On the way, when he was at Beth-eked of the Shepherds, ¹³ Jehu met the relatives of Ahaziah king of Judah, and he said, "Who are you?" And they answered, "We are the relatives of Ahaziah, and we came down to visit the royal princes and the sons of the queen mother." ¹⁴ He said, "Take them alive." And they took them alive and slaughtered them at the pit of Beth-eked, forty-two persons, and he spared none of them.

¹⁵ And when he departed from there, he met Jehonadab the son of Rechab coming to meet him. And he greeted him and said to him, "Is your heart true to my heart as mine is to yours?" And Jehonadab answered, "It is." Jehu said,Septuagint; Hebrew lacks Jehu said"If it is, give me your hand." So he gave him his hand. And Jehu took him up with him into the chariot. ¹⁶ And he said, "Come with me, and see my zeal for the Lord." So heSeptuagint, Syriac, Targum; Hebrew they had him ride in his chariot. ¹⁷ And when he came to Samaria, he struck down all who remained to Ahab in Samaria, till he had wiped them out, according to the word of the Lord that he spoke to Elijah.

The Message

Jehu Destroys the House of Ahab

10¹ Ahab had seventy sons still living in Samaria. Jehu wrote letters addressed to the officers of Jezreel, the city elders, and those in charge of Ahab's sons, and posted them to Samaria. ² The letters read: ³ Pick the best and most capable of your master's sons and put him on the throne. Prepare to fight for your master's position. ⁴ They were absolutely terrified at the letter. They said, "Two kings have already been wiped out by him; what hope do we have?" ⁵ So they sent the warden of the palace, the mayor of the city, the elders, and the guardians to Jehu with this message: "We are your servants. Whatever you say, we'll do. We're not making anyone king here. You're in charge - do what you think best." ⁶ Then Jehu wrote a second letter: If you are on my side and are willing to follow my orders, here's what you do: Decapitate the sons of your master and bring the heads to me by this time tomorrow in Jezreel. ⁷ When they got the letter, they took the king's sons and killed all seventy. Then they put the heads in baskets and sent them to Jehu in Jezreel. ⁸ A messenger reported to Jehu: "They've delivered the heads of the king's sons." He said, "Stack them in two piles at the city gate until morning." ⁹ In the morning Jehu came out, stood before the people, and addressed them formally: "Do you realize that this very day you are participants in God's righteous workings? True, I am the one who conspired against my master and assassinated him. But who, do you suppose, is responsible for this pile of skulls? ¹⁰ Know this for certain: Not a single syllable that God spoke in judgment on the family of Ahab is canceled; you're seeing it with your own eyes - God doing what, through Elijah, he said he'd do." ¹¹ Then Jehu proceeded to kill everyone who had anything to do with Ahab's family in Jezreel - leaders, friends, priests. He wiped out the entire lot. ¹² That done, he brushed himself off and set out for Samaria. Along the way, at Beth Eked (Binding House) of the Shepherds, ¹³ he met up with some relatives of Ahaziah king of Judah. Jehu said, "Who are you?" They said, "We're relatives of Ahaziah and we've come down to a reunion of the royal family." ¹⁴ "Grab them!" ordered Jehu. They were taken and then massacred at the well of Beth Eked. Forty-two of them - no survivors.

¹⁵ He went on from there and came upon Jehonadab the Recabite who was on his way to meet him. Greeting him, he said, "Are we together and of one mind in this?" Jehonadab said, "We are - count on me." "Then give me your hand," said Jehu. They shook hands on it and Jehonadab stepped up into the chariot with Jehu. ¹⁶ "Come along with me," said Jehu, "and witness my zeal for God." Together they proceeded in the chariot. ¹⁷ When they arrived in Samaria, Jehu massacred everyone left in Samaria who was in any way connected with Ahab - a mass execution, just as God had told Elijah.

New King James Version

Jehu Destroys the House of Ahab

10¹ Now Ahab had seventy sons in Samaria. And Jehu wrote and sent letters to Samaria, to the rulers of Jezreel, to the elders, and to those who reared Ahab's sons, saying: ² Now as soon as this letter comes to you, since your master's sons are with you, and you have chariots and horses, a fortified city also, and weapons, ³ choose the best qualified of your master's sons, set him on his father's throne, and fight for your master's house. ⁴ But they were exceedingly afraid, and said, "Look, two kings could not stand up to him; how then can we stand?" ⁵ And he who was in charge of the house, and he who was in charge of the city, the elders also, and those who reared the sons, sent to Jehu, saying, "We are your servants, we will do all you tell us; but we will not make anyone king. Do what is good in your sight." ⁶ Then he wrote a second letter to them, saying: If you are for me and will obey 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, seventy persons, were with the great men of the city, who were rearing them. ⁷ So it was, when the letter came to them, that they took the king's sons and slaughtered seventy persons, put their heads in baskets and sent them to him at Jezreel. ⁸ Then a messenger came and told him, saying, "They have brought the heads of the king's sons." And he said, "Lay them in two heaps at the entrance of the gate until morning." ⁹ So it was, in the morning, that he went out and stood, and said to all the people, "You are righteous. Indeed I conspired against my master and killed him; but who killed all these? ¹⁰ "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 what He spoke by His servant Elijah." ¹¹ So Jehu killed all who remained of the house of Ahab in Jezreel, and all his great men and his close acquaintances and his priests, until he left him none remaining. ¹² And he arose and departed and went to Samaria. On the way, at Beth Eked of the Shepherds, ¹³ Jehu met with the brothers of Ahaziah king of Judah, and said, "Who are you?" So they answered, "We are the brothers of Ahaziah; we have come down to greet the sons of the king and the sons of the queen mother." ¹⁴ And he said, "Take them alive!" So they took them alive, and killed them at the well of Beth Eked, forty-two men; and he left none of them.

¹⁵ Now when he departed from there, he met Jehonadab the son of Rechab, coming to meet him; and he greeted him and said to him, "Is your heart right, as my heart is toward your heart?" And Jehonadab answered, "It is." Jehu said, "If it is, give me your hand." So he gave him his hand, and he took him up to him into the chariot. ¹⁶ Then he said, "Come with me, and see my zeal for the Lord." So they had him ride in his chariot. ¹⁷ And when he came to Samaria, he killed all who remained to Ahab in Samaria, till he had destroyed them, according to the word of the Lord which He spoke to Elijah.

New Living Translation

Jehu Destroys the House of Ahab

10¹ Ahab had seventy sons living in the city of Samaria. So Jehu wrote letters and sent them to Samaria, to the elders and officials of the city, and to the guardians of King Ahab's sons. He said, ² "The king's sons are with you, and you have at your disposal chariots, horses, a fortified city, and weapons. As soon as you receive this letter, ³ select the best qualified of your master's sons to be your king, and prepare to fight for Ahab's dynasty." ⁴ But they were paralyzed with fear and said, "We've seen that two kings couldn't stand against this man! What can we do?" ⁵ So the palace and city administrators, together with the elders and the guardians of the king's sons, sent this message to Jehu: "We are your servants and will do anything you tell us. We will not make anyone king; do whatever you think is best." ⁶ Jehu responded with a second letter: "If you are on my side and are going to obey me, bring the heads of your master's sons to me at Jezreel by this time tomorrow." Now the seventy sons of the king were being cared for by the leaders of Samaria, where they had been raised since childhood. ⁷ When the letter arrived, the leaders killed all seventy of the king's sons. They placed their heads in baskets and presented them to Jehu at Jezreel. ⁸ A messenger went to Jehu and said, "They have brought the heads of the king's sons." So Jehu ordered, "Pile them in two heaps at the entrance of the city gate, and leave them there until morning." ⁹ In the morning he went out and spoke to the crowd that had gathered around them. "You are not to blame," he told them. "I am the one who conspired against my master and killed him. But who killed all these? ¹⁰ You can be sure that the message of the Lord that was spoken concerning Ahab's family will not fail. The Lord declared through his servant Elijah that this would happen." ¹¹ Then Jehu killed all who were left of Ahab's relatives living in Jezreel and all his important officials, his personal friends, and his priests. So Ahab was left without a single survivor. ¹² Then Jehu set out for Samaria. Along the way, while he was at Beth-eked of the Shepherds, ¹³ he met some relatives of King Ahaziah of Judah. "Who are you?" he asked them. And they replied, "We are relatives of King Ahaziah. We are going to visit the sons of King Ahab and the sons of the queen mother." ¹⁴ "Take them alive!" Jehu shouted to his men. And they captured all forty-two of them and killed them at the well of Beth-eked. None of them escaped.

¹⁵ When Jehu left there, he met Jehonadab son of Recab, who was coming to meet him. After they had greeted each other, Jehu said to him, "Are you as loyal to me as I am to you?" "Yes, I am," Jehonadab replied. "If you are," Jehu said, "then give me your hand." So Jehonadab put out his hand, and Jehu helped him into the chariot. ¹⁶ Then Jehu said, "Now come with me, and see how devoted I am to the Lord ." So Jehonadab rode along with him. ¹⁷ When Jehu arrived in Samaria, he killed everyone who was left there from Ahab's family, just as the Lord had promised through Elijah.