¹ Now, Elisha the prophet, called one of the sons of the prophets,—and said to him—Gird up thy loins, and take this flask of oil in thy hand, and go to Ramoth-gilead;

² and, when thou art come in thither, then look thee out, there, Jehu son of Jehoshaphat, son of Nimshi; and thou shalt enter and get him to rise up out of the midst of his brethren, and take him into an inner chamber;

³ then shalt thou take the flask of oil, and pour out upon his head, and say—Thus, saith Yahweh, I have anointed thee to be king unto Israel! Then shalt thou open the door and flee, and not tarry.

⁴ So the young man went his way—the young man the prophet—unto Ramoth-gilead.

⁵ And, when he came up, lo! the captains of the force, sitting, and he said—A word, have I, for thee, O captain! And Jehu said—For which, of us all? And he said,—For thee, O captain!

⁶ Then rose he up and went inside, and poured out the oil upon his head, and said unto him—Thus, saith Yahweh, God of Israel, I have anointed thee to be king unto the people of Yahweh, unto Israel;

⁷ and thou shalt smite the house of Ahab thy lord,—so will I avenge the blood of my servants the prophets, and the blood of all the servants of Yahweh, at the hand of Jezebel;

⁸ so shall perish all the house of Ahab,—and I will cut off to Ahab the meanest, both him that is shut up and him that is left at large, in Israel.

⁹ Yea I will deliver up the house of Ahab, like the house of Jeroboam son of Nebat,—and like the house of Baasha son of Ahijah:

¹⁰ And, as for Jezebel, the dogs shall eat [her], in the town-land of Jezreel, there being none to bury her. And he opened the door, and fled.

¹¹ Then, Jehu, came forth unto the servants of his lord, and one said to him—Is all well? why came this madman unto thee? And he said unto them, Ye, know, the man and his message.

¹² And they said—False! pray tell, us. And he said,—Thus and thus, spake he unto me, saying, Thus, saith Yahweh, I have anointed thee to be king unto Israel.

¹³ Then hasted they, and took, every man his garment, and put it under him, upon the very steps,—and blew with a horn, and said, Jehu, is king!

¹⁴ Thus did Jehu son of Jehoshaphat son of Nimshi conspire against Joram,—when, Joram, was watching Ramoth-gilead, he and all Israel, because of Hazael king of Syria.

¹⁵ But Jehoram the king had returned to get himself healed in Jezreel, of the wounds wherewith the Syrians had wounded him, when he fought with Hazael king of Syria. Then said Jehu—If such is your mind, let no fugitive get forth out of the city, to go and tell it in Jezreel.

¹⁶ So Jehu rode in a chariot, and went towards Jezreel, for, Joram, was lying there,—and, Ahaziah king of Judah, had come down to see Joram.

¹⁷ Now, the watchman, was standing upon the tower, in Jezreel, so he saw the great company of Jehu, when he came, and said—A great company, can I see! Then said Jehoram—Take a horseman and send to meet them, that he may say—Is it peace?

¹⁸ So the horseman went to meet him, and said—Thus, saith the king, Is it peace? And Jehu said—What hast thou to do with peace? turn thee behind me. And the watchman told, saying, The messenger came up to them, but hath not turned back.

¹⁹ Then sent he a second horseman, and he came up to them and said, Thus, saith the king, Is it peace? And Jehu said—What hast thou to do with peace? turn thee behind me.

²⁰ And the watchman told, saying, He came up to them, but hath not turned back,—and, the driving, is like the driving of Jehu son of Nimshi; for, with mad haste, doth he drive.

²¹ Then said Jehoram, Harness! So one harnessed his chariot,—and Jehoram king of Israel and Ahaziah king of Judah went forth, each man in his chariot, yea they went forth to meet Jehu, and came upon him in the heritage of Naboth the Jezreelite.

²² And it came to pass, when Jehoram saw Jehu, that he said—Is it peace, Jehu? And he said—What can be the peace, while thy mother Jezebel’s harlotries and her incantations do so abound?

²³ Then Jehoram turned his hands, and fled,—and said unto Ahaziah—Treachery! O Ahaziah!

²⁴ And, Jehu, bent his bow, and smote Jehoram, between his arms,—and the arrow came out at his heart,—and he sank down in his chariot.

²⁵ Then said he unto Bidkar his officer, Take [him] up, [and] cast him forth, into the field-portion of Naboth the Jezreelite,—for remember, when I and thou were riding as a couple together after Ahab his father, that, Yahweh, laid upon him this doom:

²⁶ Surely, the blood of Naboth and the blood of his sons, have I lately seen, declareth Yahweh, therefore will I requite thee in this portion, declareth Yahweh. Now, therefore, take [him] up, [and] cast him forth into the portion, according to the word of Yahweh.

²⁷ And, Ahaziah king of Judah, saw it, and fled by the way of the garden house,—and Jehu pursued him, and said—Him also! smite him in the chariot! It was in the ascent of Gur, which is by Ibleam. And he fled to Mepidgo, and died there.

²⁸ And his servants conveyed him in a chariot and brought him into Jerusalem,—and buried him in his sepulchre, with his fathers, in the city of David.

²⁹ Now it was, in the eleventh year of Joram son of Ahab, that Ahaziah began to reign over Judah.

³⁰ Now, when Jehu entered Jezreel and, Jezebel, heard of it, she set her eyes in stibium, and ornamented her head, and looked forth through the lattice.

³¹ So, when, Jehu, had entered in at the gate, she said, Was it peace, when Zimri slew his lord?

³² And he lifted up his face unto the lattice, and said—Who, is with me? Who? And there looked out unto him, two or three eunuchs.

³³ And he said—Hurl her down. And they hurled her down,—and there was sprinkled of her blood—upon the wall, and upon the horses, and they trode upon her.

³⁴ And, when he had entered and eaten and drunk, he said—Look, I pray you, after this accursed woman, and bury her, for the daughter of a king, she is.

³⁵ So they went to bury her,—but found not of her—save the skull, and the feet, and the palms of the hands.

³⁶ Then came they back, and told him, and he said—The word of Yahweh, it is, which he spake by the hand of his servant, Elijah the Tishbite, saying—In the town-land of Jezreel, shall dogs eat the flesh of Jezebel!

³⁷ So shall the carcass of Jezebel become like heaps of dung on the face of the field, in the town-land of Jezreel: So that they cannot say, This, is Jezebel!