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¹ Now Ahab had seventy sons in Samaria. And Jehu wrote letters to the rulers of Samaria, to the elders of Jezreel, and to the tutors [appointed by] Ahab, saying,² And now as soon as this letter comes to you, seeing your master's sons are with you, and there are with you chariots and horses, and a fortified city, and armor;³ look for the best and meet 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, Look, the two kings didn't stand before him: how then shall we stand?⁵ And he that was over the household, and he that was over the city, the elders also, and those that brought up [the children], sent to Jehu, saying, We are your slaves, and will do all that you shall bid us; we will not make any man king: do that which is good in your eyes.⁶ Then he wrote a letter the second time to them, saying, If you are on my side, and if you will listen to my voice, take the heads of the men your master's sons, and come to me to Jezreel by tomorrow this time. Now the king's sons, being seventy persons, were with the great men of the city, who brought them up.⁷ And it came to pass, when the letter came to them, that they took the king's sons, and slew them, even seventy persons, and put their heads in baskets, and sent them to him 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 them in two heaps at the entrance 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, You are righteous: look, I conspired against my master, and slew him; but who smote all these?¹⁰ Now know that nothing shall fall to the earth of the word of Yahweh, which Yahweh spoke concerning the house of Ahab: for Yahweh has done that which he spoke by his slave Elijah.¹¹ So Jehu smote all that remained of the house of Ahab in Jezreel, and all his great men, and his familiar friends, and his priests, until he left him none remaining.¹² And he arose and departed, and went to Samaria. And as he was at the shearing-house of the shepherds in the way,¹³ Jehu met with the brothers of Ahaziah king of Judah, and said, Who are you? And they answered, We are the brothers of Ahaziah: and we go down to salute the sons of the king and the sons 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 did he leave any of them.

¹⁵ And when he had departed from there, he found Jehonadab the son of Rechab coming to meet him; and he saluted him, and said to him, Is your heart right, as my heart is with your heart? And Jehonadab answered, It is. If it is, give me your 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 Yahweh. So they made him ride in his chariot.¹⁷ And when he came to Samaria, he smote all that remained to Ahab in Samaria, until he had destroyed him, according to the word of Yahweh, which he spoke to Elijah.¹⁸ And Jehu gathered all the people together, and said to them, Ahab served Baal a little; but Jehu will serve him much.¹⁹ Now therefore call to me all the prophets of Baal, all his worshipers, and all his priests; let none be wanting: for I have a great sacrifice [to do] to Baal; whoever shall be wanting, he shall not live. But Jehu did it in subtlety, to the intent that he might destroy the worshipers of Baal.²⁰ And Jehu said, Sanctify a solemn assembly for Baal. And they proclaimed it.²¹ And Jehu sent through all Israel: and all the worshipers of Baal came, so that there was not a man left that didn't come. And they came into the house of Baal; and the house of Baal was filled from one end to another.²² And he said to him that was over the vestry, Bring forth vestments for all the worshipers of Baal. And he brought them forth vestments.²³ And Jehu went, and Jehonadab the son of Rechab, into the house of Baal; and he said to the worshipers of Baal, Search and look, in case there are here with you any of the slaves of Yahweh, but only the worshipers of Baal themselves [should be here].²⁴ And they went in to offer sacrifices and burnt-offerings. Now Jehu had appointed himself eighty men outside, and said, If any of the men whom I bring into your hands escape, [he that lets him go], his life shall be for the life of him.²⁵ And it came to pass, as soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt-offering, that Jehu said to the guard and to the captains, Go in, and slay them; let none come forth. And they smote them with the edge of the sword; and the guard and the captains cast them out, and went to the citadel of the house of Baal.²⁶ And they brought forth the pillars that were in the house of Baal, and burned them.²⁷ And they broke down the pillar of Baal, and broke down the house of Baal, and made it an outside toilet, to this day.²⁸ Thus Jehu destroyed Baal out of Israel.

²⁹ Nevertheless from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, with which he made Israel to sin, Jehu didn't depart from after them, [to wit], the golden calves that were in Beth-el, and that were in Dan.³⁰ And Yahweh said to Jehu, Because you have done well in executing that which is right in my eyes, [and] have done to the house of Ahab according to all that was in my heart, your sons of the fourth generation shall sit on the throne of Israel.³¹ But Jehu took no heed to walk in the law of Yahweh, the God of Israel, with all his heart: he did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam, with which he made Israel to sin.³² In those days Yahweh began to cut off from Israel: and Hazael smote them in all the borders of Israel;³³ from the Jordan eastward, all the land of Gilead, the Gadites, and the Reubenites, and the Manassites, from Aroer, which is by the valley of the Arnon, even Gilead and Bashan.³⁴ Now the rest of the acts of Jehu, and all that he did, and all his might, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?³⁵ And Jehu slept with his fathers; and they buried him in Samaria. And Jehoahaz his son reigned in his stead.³⁶ And the time that Jehu reigned over Israel in Samaria was twenty and eight years.