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2 Kings 10
Now Ahab had seventy sons in Samaria. And Jehu wrote letters, and sent to Samaria, to the rulers of Jezreel, even the elders, and to them that brought up the sons of Ahab, saying, 2 And now as soon as this letter comes to you, since your master’s sons are with you, and there are with you chariots and horses, a fortified city also, and armor; 3 choose out the best and most worthy of your master’s sons, and set him on his father’s throne, and fight for your master’s house. 4 But they were very much afraid, and said, Behold, the two kings did not 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 they that brought up the children, sent to Jehu, saying, We are your servants, 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 killed 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: behold, I conspired against my master, and killed him; but who killed all these? 10 Know now that there shall fall to the earth nothing of the word of Yahweh, which Yahweh spoke concerning the house of Ahab: for Yahweh has done that which he spoke by his servant EliYah. 11 So Jehu killed all that remained of the house of Ahab in Jezreel, and all his great men, and his familiar friends, and his priests, until he had 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 brethren of Ahaziah king of Judah, and said, Who are you? And they answered, We are the brethren of Ahaziah: and we go down to salute the children of the king and the children of the queen. 14 And he said, Take them alive. And they took them alive, and killed them at the pit of the shearing-house, even forty-two men; neither did he leave any of them.
15 And when he had departed from there, he lighted on 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 killed all that remained to Ahab in Samaria, till he had destroyed him, according to the word of Yahweh, which he spoke to EliYah.
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 came not. 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 wardrobe, 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 that there are here with you none of the servants of Yahweh, but the worshipers of Baal only. 24 And they went in to offer sacrifices and burnt-offerings. Now Jehu had appointed 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 kill them; let none come forth. And they struck them with the edge of the sword; and the guard and the captains cast them out, and went to the city 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 outhouse, to this day. 28 In this manner Jehu destroyed Baal out of Israel.
29 However from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, with which he made Israel to sin, Jehu departed not from them, namely, 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 Elohim of Israel, with all his heart: he departed not 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 struck 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 place. 36 And the time that Jehu reigned over Israel in Samaria was twenty-eight years.
2 Kings 11
Now when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the royal seed. 2 But Jehosheba, the daughter of king Joram, sister of Ahaziah, took Joash the son of Ahaziah, and stole him away from among the king’s sons that were slain, even him and his nurse, and put them in the bedchamber; and they hid him from Athaliah, so that he was not killed. 3 And he was with her hid in the house of Yahweh six years: and Athaliah reigned over the land.
4 And in the seventh year Jehoiada sent and brought the captains over hundreds, of the Carites and of the guard, and brought them to him into the house of Yahweh; and he made a covenant with them, and took an oath of them in the house of Yahweh, and showed them the king’s son. 5 And he commanded them, saying, This is the thing that you shall do: a third part of you, that come in on the sabbath, shall be keepers of the watch of the king’s house; 6 and a third part shall be at the gate Sur; and a third part at the gate behind the guard: so shall you keep the watch of the house, and be a barrier. 7 And the two companies of you, even all that go forth on the sabbath, shall keep the watch of the house of Yahweh for the king. 8 And you shall surround the king, every man with his weapons in his hand; and he that comes inside the ranks, let him be put to death: and you be with the king when he goes out, and when he comes in.
9 And the captains over hundreds did according to all that Jehoiada the priest commanded; and they each took his men, those that were to come in on the sabbath, with those that were to go out on the sabbath, and came to Jehoiada the priest. 10 And the priest delivered to the captains over hundreds the spears and shields that had been king David’s, which were in the house of Yahweh. 11 And the guard stood, every man with his weapons in his hand, from the right side of the house to the left side of the house, along by the altar and the house, by the king all around. 12 Then he brought out the king’s son, and put the crown upon him, and gave him the testimony; and they made him king, and anointed him; and they clapped their hands, and said, Long live the king.
13 And when Athaliah heard the noise of the guard and of the people, she came to the people into the house of Yahweh: 14 and she looked, and, behold, the king stood by the pillar, as the manner was, and the captains and the trumpets by the king; and all the people of the land rejoiced, and blew trumpets. Then Athaliah rent her clothes, and cried, Treason! treason! 15 And Jehoiada the priest commanded the captains of hundreds that were set over the host, and said to them, Bring her out to the outside of the ranks; and him that follows her kill with the sword: for the priest said, Let her not be killed in the house of Yahweh. 16 So they made way for her; and she went by the way of the horses’ entry to the king’s house: and there she was killed.
17 And Jehoiada made a covenant between Yahweh and the king and the people, that they should be Yahweh’s people; between the king also and the people. 18 And all the people of the land went to the house of Baal, and broke it down; his altars and his images they broke in pieces thoroughly, and killed Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars. And the priest appointed officers over the house of Yahweh. 19 And he took the captains over hundreds, and the Carites, and the guard, and all the people of the land; and they brought down the king from the house of Yahweh, and came by the way of the gate of the guard to the king’s house. And he sat on the throne of the kings. 20 So all the people of the land rejoiced, and the city was quiet. And Athaliah they had killed with the sword at the king’s house.
21 Joash was seven years old when he began to reign.
2 Kings 12
In the seventh year of Jehu began Jehoash to reign; and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem: and his mother’s name was Zibiah of Beer-sheba. 2 And Jehoash did that which was right in the eyes of Yahweh all his days in which Jehoiada the priest instructed him. 3 However the high places were not taken away; the people still sacrificed and burnt incense in the high places.
4 And Jehoash said to the priests, All the money of the hallowed things that is brought into the house of Yahweh, in current money, the money of the persons for whom each man is rated, and all the money that it comes into any man’s heart to bring into the house of Yahweh, 5 let the priests take it to them, every man from his acquaintance; and they shall repair the breaches of the house, wherever any breach shall be found. 6 But it was so, that in the twenty-third year of king Jehoash the priests had not repaired the breaches of the house. 7 Then king Jehoash called for Jehoiada the priest, and for the other priests, and said to them, Why don’t you repair the breaches of the house? Now therefore take no more money from your acquaintance, but deliver. it for the breaches of the house. 8 And the priests consented that they should take no more money from the people, nor repair the breaches of the house.
9 But Jehoiada the priest took a chest, and bored a hole in the lid of it, and set it beside the altar, on the right side as one comes into the house of Yahweh: and the priests that kept the threshold put in it all the money that was brought into the house of Yahweh. 10 And it was so, when they saw that there was much money in the chest, that the king’s scribe and the high priest came up, and they put up in bags and counted the money that was found in the house of Yahweh. 11 And they gave the money that was weighed out into the hands of them that did the work, that had the supervision of the house of Yahweh: and they paid it out to the carpenters and the builders, that worked upon the house of Yahweh, 12 and to the masons and the hewers of stone, and for buying timber and hewn stone to repair the breaches of the house of Yahweh, and for all that was laid out for the house to repair it. 13 But there were not made for the house of Yahweh cups of silver, snuffers, basins, trumpets, any vessels of gold, or vessels of silver, of the money that was brought into the house of Yahweh; 14 for they gave that to them that did the work, and repaired with it the house of Yahweh. 15 Moreover they did not reckon with the men, into whose hand they delivered the money to give to them that did the work; for they dealt faithfully. 16 The money for the trespass-offerings, and the money for the sin-offerings, was not brought into the house of Yahweh: it was the priests’.
17 Then Hazael king of Syria went up, and fought against Gath, and took it; and Hazael set his face to go up to Jerusalem. 18 And Jehoash king of Judah took all the hallowed things that Jehoshaphat and Jehoram and Ahaziah, his fathers, kings of Judah, had dedicated, and his own hallowed things, and all the gold that was found in the treasures of the house of Yahweh, and of the king’s house, and sent it to Hazael king of Syria: and he went away from Jerusalem.
19 Now the rest of the acts of Joash, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? 20 And his servants arose, and made a conspiracy, and killed Joash at the house of Millo, on the way that goes down to Silla. 21 For Jozacar the son of Shimeath, and Jehozabad the son of Shomer, his servants, killed him, and he died; and they buried him with his fathers in the city of David: and Amaziah his son reigned in his place.
