Study Desk

When Ahaziah the king of Judah saw this, he fled by way of the garden house. But Jehu pursued him and said, "Shoot him too, in the chariot." So they shot him at the ascent of Gur, which is at Ibleam. But he fled to Megiddo and died there.

When Jehu came to Jezreel, Jezebel heard about it, and she put makeup on her eyes and adorned her head, and looked down through the window.

As Jehu entered the gate, she said, "Is your intention peace, Zimri, his master's murderer?"

Now Ahab had seventy sons in Samaria. And Jehu wrote letters and sent them to Samaria, to the officials of Jezreel, the elders, and to the guardians of the children of Ahab, saying,

And the one who was in charge of the household, and the one who was in charge of the city, and the elders, and the guardians of the children, sent word to Jehu, saying, "We are your servants, and everything that you tell us we will do. We will not appoint any man king; do what is good in your sight."

So Jehu killed all who remained of the house of Ahab in Jezreel, and all his great men, his acquaintances, and his priests, until he left him without a survivor.

Jehu encountered the relatives of Ahaziah king of Judah, and he said, "Who are you?" And they answered, "We are the relatives of Ahaziah; and we have come down to greet the sons of the king and the sons of the queen mother."

Now when he had gone from there, he encountered Jehonadab the son of Rechab coming to meet him; and he greeted him and said to him, "Is your heart right, just as my heart is with your heart?" And Jehonadab answered, "It is." Jehu said, "If it is, give me your hand." And he gave him his hand, and he pulled him up to him into the chariot.

Then Jehu gathered all the people and said to them, "Ahab served Baal a little; Jehu will serve him much.

"Now, summon to me all the prophets of Baal, all his worshipers and all his priests; let no one go missing, because I have a great sacrifice for Baal; whoever is missing shall not live." But Jehu did it in deception, in order to eliminate the worshipers of Baal.

And Jehu said, "Proclaim a holy assembly for Baal." And they proclaimed it.

Then Jehu sent word throughout Israel, and all the worshipers of Baal came, so that there was not a person left who did not come. And when they entered the house of Baal, the house of Baal was filled from one end to the other.

Then Jehu entered the house of Baal with Jehonadab the son of Rechab; and he said to the worshipers of Baal, "Search carefully and see to it that there is here with you none of the servants of the LORD, but only the worshipers of Baal."

Then they entered to offer sacrifices and burnt offerings. Now Jehu had stationed for himself eighty men outside, and he had said, "The one who allows any of the men whom I bring into your hands to escape shall give up his life in exchange."

Then it came about, as soon as he had finished offering the burnt offering, that Jehu said to the guard and to the royal officers, "Go in, kill them; let none come out." So they killed them with the edge of the sword; and the guard and the royal officers threw them out, and went to the sanctuary of the house of Baal.

So Jehu eradicated Baal from Israel.

However, as for the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, into which he misled Israel, from these Jehu did not desist, including the golden calves that were at Bethel and at Dan.

Yet the LORD said to Jehu, "Because you have done well in performing what is right in My eyes, and have done to the house of Ahab in accordance with everything that was in My heart, your sons to the fourth generation shall sit on the throne of Israel."

But Jehu was not careful to walk in the Law of the LORD, the God of Israel, with all his heart; he did not desist from the sins of Jeroboam, into which he misled Israel.

Now as for the rest of the acts of Jehu and everything that he did and all his might, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?