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prophet Elisha summoned one of the sons of the prophets and said to him, “Tuck your mantle under your belt, take this flask of oil with you, and go to Ramoth-gilead. 2 When you arrive there, look for Jehu son of Jehoshaphat, son of Nimshi. Go in, get him away from his companions, and lead him into an inner chamber. 3 Then take the flask of oil, pour it on his head, and say, ‘This is what the Lord says, “I anoint you king over Israel”. Then open the door and flee and do not delay.”
4 So the young man, the prophet, went to Ramoth-gilead. 5 When he arrived, the commanders of the army were sitting together, and he said, “I have a message for you, commander.”
Jehu asked, “For which of us?”
He answered, “For you, commander.”
6 So Jehu got up and went into the house. The young prophet poured the oil on his head, and said to him, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says, ‘I anoint you king over the people of the Lord, over Israel. 7 You shall strike down the house of Ahab your master, so that I may avenge the blood of My servants the prophets, and the blood of all the servants of the Lord shed by the hand of Jezebel. 8 The whole house of Ahab will perish, and I will cut off from Ahab every male in Israel, both slave and free. 9 I will make the house of Ahab like the house of Jeroboam son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha son of Ahijah. 10 As for Jezebel, dogs will devour her on the plot of ground at Jezreel, and no one shall bury her’.”
Then the young prophet opened the door and fled.
11 When Jehu came back to the other commanders of his master, they asked, “Is everything all right 11, 17, 18, 19, 22, and? Why did this madman come to you?”
Jehu replied, “You know that sort of man and his babble.”
12 “That’s not true!” they said. “Tell us!”
So Jehu said, “He talked to me about this and that and said, ‘This is what the Lord says: “I anoint you king over Israel” ’.”
13 Then each man quickly took his cloak and spread them under Jehu on the bare steps. Then they blew the trumpet and shouted, “Jehu is king!”
14 So Jehu son of Jehoshaphat, the son of Nimshi conspired against Joram. Joram and all Israel had been defending Ramoth-gilead against Hazael king of Aram, 15 but King Joram had returned to Jezreel to recover from the wounds which the Arameans had inflicted on him, when he had been in battle against Hazael king of Aram. Jehu said, “If such is your wish, then don’t let anyone escape from the city to go and tell the news in Jezreel.” 16 Then Jehu got into his chariot and went to Jezreel, because Joram was laid up there and Ahaziah king of Judah had gone down to visit him.
17 When the watchman standing on the tower in Jezreel saw the company of Jehu approaching, he called out, “I see some troops coming!”
Joram said, “Get a horseman, and send him to meet them and ask, ‘Do you come in peace?’ ”
18 So a horseman went to meet Jehu and said, “This is what the king says: ‘Do you come in peace?’ ”
Jehu replied, “What do you have to do with peace? Fall in behind me.”
The watchman reported, “The messenger has reached them, but he hasn’t started back.”
19 So the king sent out a second horseman. When he came to them he said, “This is what the king asks: ‘Do you come in peace?’ ”
Jehu answered, “What do you have to do with peace? Fall in behind me.”
20 Again the watchman reported, “He reached them, but he is not coming back. And the chariot is being driven like the driving of Jeru son of Nimshi, for he drives like a maniac.”
21 Joram ordered, “Hitch up my chariot.” And his chariot was made ready. Then Joram king of Israel and Ahaziah king of Judah set out, each in his own chariot, and to meet Jehu. They met at the plot of ground that belonged to Naboth the Jezreelite. 22 When Joram saw Jehu he asked, “Have you come in peace, Jehu?”
But Jehu replied, “How can there be peace as long as all the idolatrous prostitution and witchcraft of your mother Jezebel continues?”
23 Then Joram turned around and fled, calling out to Ahaziah, “Treachery, Ahaziah!”
24 Then Jehu drew his bow and shot Joram between the shoulders. The arrow pierced Joram’s heart, and he slumped down in his chariot. 25 Then Jehu said to Bidkar his officer, “Pick him up and throw him on the plot of ground that belongs to Naboth the Jezreelite. For remember when you and I were riding side by side behind his father Ahab and the Lord spoke this prophecy about him: 26 ‘I saw the blood of Naboth and the blood of his sons yesterday’, declares the Lord, ‘and I will certainly make you pay for it on this plot of ground’, declares the Lord. So pick him up and throw him on this plot of ground, in accordance with the word of the Lord.”
27 When Ahaziah king of Judah saw what was happening, he fled up the road toward Beth-haggan. Jehu pursued after him, shouting, “Shoot him too!” And they shot him in his chariot at the ascent of Gur, which is near Ibleam, but he escaped to Megiddo and died there. 28 Then his servants carried him to Jerusalem in a chariot, and they buried him with his fathers in a tomb in the City of David. 29 It was the eleventh year of the reign of Joram son of Ahab, when Ahaziah had become king over Judah.
30 Then Jehu went to Jezreel. When Jezebel heard about it, she painted her eyes, adorned her head, and looked down from a window. 31 As Jehu entered the gate, she said, “Do you come in peace, Zimri, you murderer of your master?”
32 He looked up toward the window and said, “Who is on my side? Who?” Two or three eunuchs looked down at him. 33 And he said to them, “Throw her down!” So they threw her down, and some of her blood spattered on the wall and on the horses, and they trampled her.
34 Jehu went in and ate and drank, and he said, “Take care of that cursed woman and bury her, for she was a king’s daughter.” 35 So they went out to bury her, but all they could find left of her was the skull, the feet, and the palms of her hands. 36 They went back and told Jehu, and he said, “This is the word of the Lord, which He is spoke by His servant Elijah the Tishbite: ‘On the plot of ground at Jezreel the dogs will eat the flesh of Jezebel; 37 and the carcass of Jezebel will be like dung on the ground, in the plot at Jezreel, so that no one will be able to say, “This was Jezebel” ’.”