| New Living Translation | NET Bible |
| 1Meanwhile, Elisha the prophet had summoned a member of the group of prophets. “Get ready to travel,” he told him, “and take this flask of olive oil with you. Go to Ramoth-gilead, | 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. |
| 2and find Jehu son of Jehoshaphat, son of Nimshi. Call him into a private room away from his friends, | 2When you arrive there, look for Jehu son of Jehoshaphat son of Nimshi and take him aside into an inner room. |
| 3and pour the oil over his head. Say to him, ‘This is what the LORD says: I anoint you to be the king over Israel.’ Then open the door and run for your life!” | 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!" |
| 4So the young prophet did as he was told and went to Ramoth-gilead. | 4So the young prophet went to Ramoth Gilead. |
| 5When he arrived there, he found Jehu sitting around with the other army officers. “I have a message for you, Commander,” he said. “For which one of us?” Jehu asked. “For you, Commander,” he replied. | 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." |
| 6So Jehu left the others and went into the house. Then the young prophet poured the oil over Jehu’s head and said, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: I anoint you king over the LORD’s people, Israel. | 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. |
| 7You are to destroy the family of Ahab, your master. In this way, I will avenge the murder of my prophets and all the LORD’s servants who were killed by Jezebel. | 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. |
| 8The entire family of Ahab must be wiped out. I will destroy every one of his male descendants, slave and free alike, anywhere in Israel. | 8Ahab's entire family will die. I will cut off every last male belonging to Ahab in Israel, including even the weak and incapacitated. |
| 9I will destroy the family of Ahab as I destroyed the families of Jeroboam son of Nebat and of Baasha son of Ahijah. | 9I will make Ahab's dynasty like those of Jeroboam son of Nebat and Baasha son of Ahijah. |
| 10Dogs will eat Ahab’s wife Jezebel at the plot of land in Jezreel, and no one will bury her.” Then the young prophet opened the door and ran. | 10Dogs will devour Jezebel on the plot of ground in Jezreel; she will not be buried.'" Then he opened the door and ran away. |
| 11Jehu went back to his fellow officers, and one of them asked him, “What did that madman want? Is everything all right?” “You know how a man like that babbles on,” Jehu replied. | 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." |
| 12“You’re hiding something,” they said. “Tell us.” So Jehu told them, “He said to me, ‘This is what the LORD says: I have anointed you to be king over Israel.’” | 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.'" |
| 13Then they quickly spread out their cloaks on the bare steps and blew the ram’s horn, shouting, “Jehu is king!” Jehu Kills Joram and Ahaziah | 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!" |
| 14So Jehu son of Jehoshaphat, son of Nimshi, led a conspiracy against King Joram. (Now Joram had been with the army at Ramoth-gilead, defending Israel against the forces of King Hazael of Aram. | 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. |
| 15But King Joram was wounded in the fighting and returned to Jezreel to recover from his wounds.) So Jehu told the men with him, “If you want me to be king, don’t let anyone leave town and go to Jezreel to report what we have done.” | 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." |
| 16Then Jehu got into a chariot and rode to Jezreel to find King Joram, who was lying there wounded. King Ahaziah of Judah was there, too, for he had gone to visit him. | 16Jehu drove his chariot to Jezreel, for Joram was recuperating there. (Now King Ahaziah of Judah had come down to visit Joram.) |
| 17The watchman on the tower of Jezreel saw Jehu and his company approaching, so he shouted to Joram, “I see a company of troops coming!” “Send out a rider to ask if they are coming in peace,” King Joram ordered. | 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?'" |
| 18So a horseman went out to meet Jehu and said, “The king wants to know if you are coming in peace.” Jehu replied, “What do you know about peace? Fall in behind me!” The watchman called out to the king, “The messenger has met them, but he’s not returning.” | 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." |
| 19So the king sent out a second horseman. He rode up to them and said, “The king wants to know if you come in peace.” Again Jehu answered, “What do you know about peace? Fall in behind me!” | 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." |
| 20The watchman exclaimed, “The messenger has met them, but he isn’t returning either! It must be Jehu son of Nimshi, for he’s driving like a madman.” | 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." |
| 21“Quick! Get my chariot ready!” King Joram commanded. Then King Joram of Israel and King Ahaziah of Judah rode out in their chariots to meet Jehu. They met him at the plot of land that had belonged to Naboth of Jezreel. | 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. |
| 22King Joram demanded, “Do you come in peace, Jehu?” Jehu replied, “How can there be peace as long as the idolatry and witchcraft of your mother, Jezebel, are all around us?” | 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?" |
| 23Then King Joram turned the horses around and fled, shouting to King Ahaziah, “Treason, Ahaziah!” | 23Jehoram turned his chariot around and took off. He said to Ahaziah, "It's a trap, Ahaziah!" |
| 24But Jehu drew his bow and shot Joram between the shoulders. The arrow pierced his heart, and he sank down dead in his chariot. | 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. |
| 25Jehu said to Bidkar, his officer, “Throw him into the plot of land that belonged to Naboth of Jezreel. Do you remember when you and I were riding along behind his father, Ahab? The LORD pronounced this message against him: | 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, |
| 26‘I solemnly swear that I will repay him here on this plot of land, says the LORD, for the murder of Naboth and his sons that I saw yesterday.’ So throw him out on Naboth’s property, just as the LORD said.” | 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." |
| 27When King Ahaziah of Judah saw what was happening, he fled along the road to Beth-haggan. Jehu rode after him, shouting, “Shoot him, too!” So they shot Ahaziah in his chariot at the Ascent of Gur, near Ibleam. He was able to go on as far as Megiddo, but he died there. | 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. |
| 28His servants took him by chariot to Jerusalem, where they buried him with his ancestors in the City of David. | 28His servants took his body back to Jerusalem and buried him in his tomb with his ancestors in the city of David. |
| 29Ahaziah had become king over Judah in the eleventh year of the reign of Joram son of Ahab. The Death of Jezebel | 29Ahaziah had become king over Judah in the eleventh year of Joram son of Ahab. |
| 30When Jezebel, the queen mother, heard that Jehu had come to Jezreel, she painted her eyelids and fixed her hair and sat at a window. | 30Jehu approached Jezreel. When Jezebel heard the news, she put on some eye liner, fixed up her hair, and leaned out the window. |
| 31When Jehu entered the gate of the palace, she shouted at him, “Have you come in peace, you murderer? You’re just like Zimri, who murdered his master!” | 31When Jehu came through the gate, she said, "Is everything all right, Zimri, murderer of his master?" |
| 32Jehu looked up and saw her at the window and shouted, “Who is on my side?” And two or three eunuchs looked out at him. | 32He looked up at the window and said, "Who is on my side? Who?" Two or three eunuchs looked down at him. |
| 33“Throw her down!” Jehu yelled. So they threw her out the window, and her blood spattered against the wall and on the horses. And Jehu trampled her body under his horses’ hooves. | 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. |
| 34Then Jehu went into the palace and ate and drank. Afterward he said, “Someone go and bury this cursed woman, for she is the daughter of a king.” | 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." |
| 35But when they went out to bury her, they found only her skull, her feet, and her hands. | 35But when they went to bury her, they found nothing left but the skull, feet, and palms of the hands. |
| 36When they returned and told Jehu, he stated, “This fulfills the message from the LORD, which he spoke through his servant Elijah from Tishbe: ‘At the plot of land in Jezreel, dogs will eat Jezebel’s body. | 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. |
| 37Her remains will be scattered like dung on the plot of land in Jezreel, so that no one will be able to recognize her.’” | 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.'" |
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