2 Kings 9

NEW AMERICAN BIBLE	CATHOLIC PUBLIC DOMAIN
1 The prophet Elisha called one of the guild prophets and said to him: "Gird your loins, take this flask of oil with you, and go to Ramoth-gilead.	1 Now the prophet Elisha called one of the sons of the prophets, and he said to him: “Gird your waist, and take this little bottle of oil in your hand, and go to Ramoth Gilead.
2 When you get there, look for Jehu, son of Jehoshaphat, son of Nimshi. Enter and take him away from his companions into an inner chamber.	2 And when you arrive in that place, you will see Jehu, the son of Jehoshaphat, the son of Nimshi. And upon entering, you shall raise him up from the midst of his brothers, and you shall lead him into an inner room.
3 From the flask you have, pour oil on his head, and say, 'Thus says the LORD: I anoint you king over Israel.' Then open the door and flee without delay."	3 And taking the little bottle of oil, you shall pour it upon his head, and you shall say: ‘Thus says the Lord: I have anointed you as king over Israel.’ And you shall open the door and flee. And you shall not remain in that place.”
4 The young man (the guild prophet) went to Ramoth-gilead.	4 Therefore, the young man, a servant of the prophet, went away to Ramoth Gilead.
5 When he arrived, the commanders of the army were in session. "I have a message for you, commander," he said. "For which one of us?" asked Jehu. "For you, commander," he answered.	5 And he entered that place, and behold, the leaders of the army were sitting there, and he said, “I have a word for you, O prince.” And Jehu said, “For which one among us all?” And he said, “For you, O prince.”
6 Jehu got up and went into the house. Then the young man poured the oil on his head and said, "Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: 'I anoint you king over the people of the LORD, over Israel.	6 And he rose up and entered into the room. And he poured the oil on his head, and he said: “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: ‘I have anointed you as king over Israel, the people of the Lord.
7 You shall destroy the house of Ahab your master; thus will I avenge the blood of my servants the prophets, and the blood of all the other servants of the LORD shed by Jezebel,	7 And you will shall strike down the house of Ahab, your lord. And I will avenge the blood of my servants, the prophets, and the blood of all the servants of the Lord, from the hand of Jezebel.
8 and by all the rest of the family of Ahab. I will cut off every male in Ahab's line, whether slave or freeman in Israel.	8 And I will destroy the entire house of Ahab. And I will cause to pass away from Ahab, whatever urinates against a wall, and whatever is lame, and whatever is least in Israel.
9 I will deal with the house of Ahab as I dealt with the house of Jeroboam, son of Nebat, and with the house of Baasha, son of Ahijah.	9 And I will make the house of Ahab like the house of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha, the son of Ahijah.
10 Dogs shall devour Jezebel at the confines of Jezreel, so that no one can bury her.'" Then he opened the door and fled.	10 Also, the dogs will consume Jezebel, in the field of Jezreel. Neither will there be anyone who may bury her.’ ” And then he opened the door, and he fled.
11 When Jehu rejoined his master's servants, they asked him, "Is all well? Why did that madman come to you?" You know that kind of man and his talk, he replied.	11 Then Jehu went out to the servants of his lord. And they said to him: “Is everything well? Why has this insane man come to you?” And he said to them, “You know the man, and what he said.”
12 But they said, "Not at all! Come, tell us." So he told them what the young man had said to him, and finally, "Thus says the LORD: 'I anoint you king over Israel.'"	12 But they responded, “That is false; instead, you should tell us.” And he said to them, “He said to me these certain things, and he said, ‘Thus says the Lord: I have anointed you as king over Israel.’ ”
13 At once each took his garment, spread it under Jehu on the bare steps, blew the trumpet, and cried out, "Jehu is king!"	13 And so they hurried away. And each one, taking his cloak, placed it under his feet, in the manner of a seat for judgment. And they sounded the trumpet, and they said: “Jehu reigns!”
14 Thus Jehu, son of Jehoshaphat, son of Nimshi, formed a conspiracy against Joram. Joram, with all Israel, had been besieging Ramoth-gilead against Hazael, king of Aram,	14 Then Jehu, the son of Jehoshaphat, the son of Nimshi, conspired against Joram. Now Joram had besieged Ramoth Gilead, he and all of Israel, against Hazael, the king of Syria.
15 but had returned to Jezreel to be healed of the wounds the Arameans had inflicted on him in the battle against Hazael, king of Aram. "If you are truly with me," Jehu said, "see that no one escapes from the city to report in Jezreel."	15 And he had returned, so that he might be cured at Jezreel, because of his wounds. For the Syrians had struck him, while he was fighting against Hazael, the king of Syria. And Jehu said, “If it pleases you, let no one depart, fleeing from the city; otherwise he may go and give a report in Jezreel.”
16 Then Jehu mounted his chariot and drove to Jezreel, where Joram lay ill and Ahaziah, king of Judah, had come to visit him.	16 And he climbed up and set out for Jezreel, because Joram was sick there, and Ahaziah, the king of Judah, had gone down to visit Joram.
17 The watchman standing on the tower in Jezreel saw the troop of Jehu coming and reported, "I see chariots." "Get a driver," Joram said, "and send him to meet them and to ask whether all is well."	17 And so the watchman, who was standing upon the tower of Jezreel, saw the crowd of Jehu arriving, and he said, “I see a crowd.” And Joram said: “Take a chariot, and send to meet them. And those who go should say, ‘Is everything well?’ ”
18 So a driver went out to meet him and said, "The king asks whether all is well." "What does it matter to you how things are?" Jehu said. "Get behind me." The watchman reported to the king, "The messenger has reached them, but is not returning."	18 Therefore, he who had climbed into the chariot went away to meet him, and he said, “The king says this: ‘Is everything peaceful?’ ” And Jehu said: “What peace is there for you? Pass by and follow me.” Also the watchman gave a report, saying, “The messenger went to them, but he did not return.”
19 Joram sent a second driver, who went to them and said, "The king asks whether all is well." "What does it matter to you how things are?" Jehu replied. "Get behind me."	19 And then he sent a second chariot of horses. And he went to them, and he said, “The king says this: ‘Is there peace?’ ” And Jehu said: “What peace is there for you? Pass by and follow me.”
20 The watchman reported, "The messenger has reached them, but is not returning. The driving is like that of Jehu, son of Nimshi, in its fury."	20 Then the watchman gave a report, saying: “He went all the way to them, but he did not return. But their advance is like the advance of Jehu, the son of Nimshi. For he advances precipitously.”
21 "Prepare my chariot," said Joram. When they had done so, Joram, king of Israel, and Ahaziah, king of Judah, set out, each in his own chariot, to meet Jehu. They reached him near the field of Naboth the Jezreelite.	21 And Joram said, “Yoke the chariot.” And they yoked his chariot. And Joram, the king of Israel, and Ahaziah, the king of Judah, departed, each in his chariot. And they went out to meet Jehu. And they met him in the field of Naboth, the Jezreelite.
22 When Joram recognized Jehu, he asked, "Is all well, Jehu?" "How can all be well," Jehu replied, "as long as the many fornications and witchcrafts of your mother Jezebel continue?"	22 And when Joram had seen Jehu, he said, “Is there peace, Jehu?” And he responded: “What is peace? For still the fornications of your mother, Jezebel, and her many poisons, are thriving.”
23 Joram reined about and fled, crying to Ahaziah, "Treason, Ahaziah!"	23 Then Joram turned his hand, and, fleeing, he said to Ahaziah, “Treachery, Ahaziah!”
24 But Jehu drew his bow and shot Joram between the shoulders, so that the arrow went through his heart and he collapsed in his chariot.	24 But Jehu bent his bow with his hand, and he struck Joram between the shoulders. And the arrow went through his heart, and immediately he fell in his chariot.
25 Then Jehu said to his adjutant Bidkar, "Take him and throw him into the field of Naboth the Jezreelite. For I remember that when we were driving teams behind his father Ahab, the LORD delivered this oracle against him:	25 And Jehu said to Bidkar, his commander: “Take and cast him into the field of Naboth, the Jezreelite. For I remember, when you and I, sitting in a chariot, were following Ahab, this man’s father, that the Lord lifted this burden upon him, saying:
26 'As surely as I saw yesterday the blood of Naboth and the blood of his sons,' says the LORD, 'I will repay you for it in that very plot of ground, says the LORD.' So now take him into this plot of ground, in keeping with the word of the LORD."	26 ‘Certainly, I will repay you in this field, says the Lord, for the blood of Naboth, and for the blood of his sons, which I saw yesterday, says the Lord.’ Therefore, take him now, and cast him into the field, in accord with the word of the Lord.”
27 Seeing what was happening, Ahaziah, king of Judah, fled toward Beth-haggan. Jehu pursued him, shouting, "Kill him too!" And they pierced him as he rode through the pass of Gur near Ibleam. He continued his flight as far as Megiddo and died there.	27 But Ahaziah, the king of Judah, seeing this, fled along the way of the garden house. And Jehu pursued him, and he said, “Strike this one also in his chariot.” And they struck him on the ascent to Gur, which is beside Ibleam. But he fled into Megiddo, and he died there.
28 His servants brought him in a chariot to Jerusalem and buried him in the tomb of his ancestors in the City of David.	28 And his servants placed him upon his chariot, and they took him to Jerusalem. And they buried him in the sepulcher with his fathers, in the city of David.
29 Ahaziah had become king of Judah in the eleventh year of Joram, son of Ahab.	29 In the eleventh year of Joram, the son of Ahab, Ahaziah reigned over Judah.
30 When Jezebel learned that Jehu had arrived in Jezreel, she shadowed her eyes, adorned her hair, and looked down from her window.	30 And Jehu went into Jezreel. But Jezebel, hearing of his arrival, painted her eyes with cosmetics, and adorned her head. And she watched through a window,
31 As Jehu came through the gate, she cried out, "Is all well, Zimri, murderer of your master?"	31 as Jehu was entering through the gate. And she said, “Is it possible for there to be peace for Zimri, who killed his lord?”
32 Jehu looked up to the window and shouted, "Who is on my side? Anyone?" At this, two or three eunuchs looked down toward him.	32 And Jehu lifted up his face to the window, and he said, “Who is this woman?” And two or three eunuchs bowed down before him.
33 "Throw her down," he ordered. They threw her down, and some of her blood spurted against the wall and against the horses. Jehu rode in over her body	33 And he said to them, “Throw her down with force.” And they threw her forcefully, and the wall was splattered with her blood, and the hoofs of the horses trampled her.
34 and, after eating and drinking, he said: "Attend to that accursed woman and bury her; after all, she was a king's daughter."	34 And when he had entered, so that he might eat and drink, he said: “Go, and see to that cursed woman, and bury her. For she is the daughter of a king.”
35 But when they went to bury her, they found nothing of her but the skull, the feet, and the hands.	35 But when they had gone, so that they might bury her, they found nothing but the skull, and the feet, and the ends of her hands.
36 They returned to Jehu, and when they told him, he said, "This is the sentence which the LORD pronounced through his servant Elijah the Tishbite: 'In the confines of Jezreel dogs shall eat the flesh of Jezebel.	36 And returning, they reported to him. And Jehu said: “It is the word of the Lord, which he spoke though his servant, Elijah the Tishbite, saying: ‘In the field of Jezreel, the dogs will consume the flesh of Jezebel.
37 The corpse of Jezebel shall be like dung in the field in the confines of Jezreel, so that no one can say: This was Jezebel.'"	37 And the flesh of Jezebel will be like dung upon the face of the earth, in the field of Jezreel, so that those who pass by may say: Is this that same Jezebel?’ ”