Jehu udrydder Ahabs slægt
1Jehu skrev nu et brev til Samarias byråd og til værgerne for Ahabs 70 sønner, som alle boede der. I brevet stod der: 2„I har kongens sønner hos jer og råder over stridsvogne og heste. I bor i en befæstet by og har masser af våben. Når I får det her brev, 3så udvælg den bedst egnede af Ahabs sønner til jeres konge og gør jer klar til at forsvare ham.”
4Brevet skabte panik i byrådet. „Hvis to konger ikke var i stand til at besejre Jehu, hvordan skulle vi kunne gøre det?” sagde de til hinanden. 5Så sendte hofmarskalen, borgmesteren, byrådet og værgerne følgende brev tilbage til Jehu:
„Jehu, vi har valgt at underkaste os dig, og vi vil gøre, hvad som helst du siger. Vi ønsker ingen af Ahabs sønner som konge.”
6Jehu svarede tilbage: „Hvis I holder med mig og vælger at adlyde mig, så bring Ahabs sønners hoveder til Jizre’el i morgen ved denne tid.”
Alle 70 prinser var i pleje hos byens ledende mænd, som havde taget sig af dem, siden de var små. 7Da Jehus brev nåede frem, slog man samtlige prinser ihjel, læssede hovederne op i nogle kurve og bragte dem til Jehu i Jizre’el. 8Jehu fik nu bud om, at prinsernes hoveder var ankommet, og han forlangte, at man lagde dem i to dynger ved byporten og lod dem ligge der til næste morgen.
9Næste morgen gik han ud for at tale til folkemængden, der havde samlet sig på torvet ved byporten. „Det er ikke jeres skyld, at det her er sket,” begyndte han. „Jeg tager ansvaret for at have dræbt kongen. Men hvorfor blev hans sønner dræbt? 10Jo, det skete på Herrens ord, og hvad han siger, må nødvendigvis gå i opfyldelse. Allerede gennem sin tjener Elias forudsagde han nemlig, at Ahabs slægt skulle totalt udryddes.”
11Derefter dræbte Jehu resten af Ahabs slægt som boede i Jizre’el, også hans mest betroede embedsmænd, hans personlige venner og hans afgudspræster. Til sidst var alle hans nærmeste udryddet.
12Derefter satte Jehu og hans soldater kursen mod Samaria, og mens de gjorde ophold ved hyrdernes mødested, 13traf de på nogle af kong Ahazja af Judas slægtninge.
„Hvem er I?” spurgte han dem. De svarede: „Vi er kong Ahazjas slægtninge. Vi er på vej til Samaria for at besøge kong Ahabs og Jezabels familie.”
14„Grib dem,” beordrede Jehu, og hans soldater slæbte dem ud til cisternen, hvor de alle blev dræbt—42 i alt.
15Efter episoden ved hyrdernes mødested kom Jonadab, Rekabs søn, Jehu i møde. De hilste på hinanden, og Jehu spurgte: „Er du lige så loyal over for mig, som jeg er over for dig?”
„Ja,” svarede Jonadab.
„Så giv mig din hånd,” sagde Jehu og hjalp ham op i sin stridsvogn. 16Så tilføjede han: „Følg nu med og se, hvor ivrig jeg er efter at handle på Herrens ord.” Derpå kørte Jonadab med Jehu til Samaria. 17Da de kom til byen, dræbte Jehu de sidste af Ahabs slægtninge, sådan som Herren havde sagt gennem Elias, at det ville ske.
Jehu slår ba’aldyrkerne ihjel
18Jehu kaldte nu byens indbyggere sammen og sagde: „Jeg ønsker at dyrke Ba’al endnu mere end Ahab gjorde. 19Kald nu alle Ba’als profeter og præster sammen og enhver, der dyrker Ba’al. Sørg endelig for, at alle møder op, for nu skal vi holde en stor offerfest til ære for Ba’al. Hvis nogen udebliver, er de dødsens.”
Jehus plan var at lokke alle ba’aldyrkere i en fælde. 20-21Over hele Israel gik der bud om, at alle, der dyrkede Ba’al, skulle troppe op, og de kom i massevis og fyldte ba’alstemplet til bristepunktet. 22Til præsten, der havde ansvar for templets garderobe, sagde Jehu: „Giv dem alle den særlige dragt, som bruges ved ofringer til Ba’al.” Og alle dragterne blev taget frem og delt ud.
23Så gik Jehu og Jonadab ind i ba’alstemplet og sagde til alle de tilstedeværende: „Er I nu sikre på, at der kun er ba’aldyrkere herinde? Vi vil ikke have nogen her, som dyrker Herren.”
24Så satte Jehu gang i ofringsceremonierne. Jehu havde i forvejen befalet 80 af sine soldater at omringe bygningen. Han havde advaret dem strengt og sagt til dem: „Lader I nogen undslippe, skal I selv miste livet.”
25Da Jehu var færdig med brændofferet, gik han udenfor til sine officerer og soldater. „Så er det nu. Ind med jer,” sagde han. „Slå dem ihjel. Ikke en eneste må slippe væk.”
Da gik de ind og slog hele forsamlingen ihjel, hvorefter de trak ligene udenfor. De trængte frem til alteret, 26slæbte den hellige søjle, der blev brugt i frugtbarhedskulten, udenfor og brændte den. 27Således blev både ba’alssøjlen og hele tempelbygningen ødelagt. Tempelruinen blev derefter brugt som et offentligt toilet, og sådan er det stadig. 28Jehu slettede på den måde ethvert spor af ba’aldyrkelsen i Israel.
29Men guldkalvene i Betel og Dan, som Jeroboam havde opstillet, lod han stå, og han lod folket fortsætte med at bringe ofre der.
30Herren sagde nu til Jehu: „Du har gjort vel i at udføre det, jeg bød dig, nemlig at udrydde Ahabs slægt. Derfor vil jeg sørge for, at dine efterkommere i fire generationer bliver konger i Israel.”
31Men Jehu adlød ikke Guds lov fuldstændigt, for han fortsatte med at lade folket tilbede de guldkalve, som Jeroboam havde opstillet.
Jehus død
32-33Mens Jehu var konge, begyndte Herren for alvor at reducere Israels kongerige. Kong Hazael af Aram erobrede store landområder øst for Jordanfloden, inklusive Gilead området og Gads, Rubens og Manasses landområder. Han erobrede faktisk hele området øst for Jordanfloden fra Aroer ved Arnonfloden i syd til Bashan mod nord.
34Jehus øvrige bedrifter er beskrevet i Israels kongers krønikebog. 35Da han døde, blev han begravet i Samaria, og hans søn Joahaz blev konge i hans sted. 36Jehu regerede Israel fra Samaria i 28 år.
Ahab’s Family Killed
1Now there were in Samaria seventy sons of the house of Ahab. So Jehu wrote letters and sent them to Samaria: to the officials of Jezreel,10:1 Hebrew; some Septuagint manuscripts and Vulgate of the city to the elders and to the guardians of Ahab’s children. He said, 2“You have your master’s sons with you and you have chariots and horses, a fortified city and weapons. Now as soon as this letter reaches you, 3choose the best and most worthy of your master’s sons and set him on his father’s throne. Then fight for your master’s house.”
4But they were terrified and said, “If two kings could not resist him, how can we?”
5So the palace administrator, the city governor, the elders and the guardians sent this message to Jehu: “We are your servants and we will do anything you say. We will not appoint anyone as king; you do whatever you think best.”
6Then Jehu wrote them a second letter, saying, “If you are on my side and will obey me, take the heads of your master’s sons and come to me in Jezreel by this time tomorrow.”
Now the royal princes, seventy of them, were with the leading men of the city, who were rearing them. 7When the letter arrived, these men took the princes and slaughtered all seventy of them. They put their heads in baskets and sent them to Jehu in Jezreel. 8When the messenger arrived, he told Jehu, “They have brought the heads of the princes.”
Then Jehu ordered, “Put them in two piles at the entrance of the city gate until morning.”
9The next morning Jehu went out. He stood before all the people and said, “You are innocent. It was I who conspired against my master and killed him, but who killed all these? 10Know, then, that not a word the Lord has spoken against the house of Ahab will fail. The Lord has done what he announced through his servant Elijah.” 11So Jehu killed everyone in Jezreel who remained of the house of Ahab, as well as all his chief men, his close friends and his priests, leaving him no survivor.
12Jehu then set out and went toward Samaria. At Beth Eked of the Shepherds, 13he met some relatives of Ahaziah king of Judah and asked, “Who are you?”
They said, “We are relatives of Ahaziah, and we have come down to greet the families of the king and of the queen mother.”
14“Take them alive!” he ordered. So they took them alive and slaughtered them by the well of Beth Eked—forty-two of them. He left no survivor.
15After he left there, he came upon Jehonadab son of Rekab, who was on his way to meet him. Jehu greeted him and said, “Are you in accord with me, as I am with you?”
“I am,” Jehonadab answered.
“If so,” said Jehu, “give me your hand.” So he did, and Jehu helped him up into the chariot. 16Jehu said, “Come with me and see my zeal for the Lord.” Then he had him ride along in his chariot.
17When Jehu came to Samaria, he killed all who were left there of Ahab’s family; he destroyed them, according to the word of the Lord spoken to Elijah.
Servants of Baal Killed
18Then Jehu brought all the people together and said to them, “Ahab served Baal a little; Jehu will serve him much. 19Now summon all the prophets of Baal, all his servants and all his priests. See that no one is missing, because I am going to hold a great sacrifice for Baal. Anyone who fails to come will no longer live.” But Jehu was acting deceptively in order to destroy the servants of Baal.
20Jehu said, “Call an assembly in honor of Baal.” So they proclaimed it. 21Then he sent word throughout Israel, and all the servants of Baal came; not one stayed away. They crowded into the temple of Baal until it was full from one end to the other. 22And Jehu said to the keeper of the wardrobe, “Bring robes for all the servants of Baal.” So he brought out robes for them.
23Then Jehu and Jehonadab son of Rekab went into the temple of Baal. Jehu said to the servants of Baal, “Look around and see that no one who serves the Lord is here with you—only servants of Baal.” 24So they went in to make sacrifices and burnt offerings. Now Jehu had posted eighty men outside with this warning: “If one of you lets any of the men I am placing in your hands escape, it will be your life for his life.”
25As soon as Jehu had finished making the burnt offering, he ordered the guards and officers: “Go in and kill them; let no one escape.” So they cut them down with the sword. The guards and officers threw the bodies out and then entered the inner shrine of the temple of Baal. 26They brought the sacred stone out of the temple of Baal and burned it. 27They demolished the sacred stone of Baal and tore down the temple of Baal, and people have used it for a latrine to this day.
28So Jehu destroyed Baal worship in Israel. 29However, he did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit—the worship of the golden calves at Bethel and Dan.
30The Lord said to Jehu, “Because you have done well in accomplishing what is right in my eyes and have done to the house of Ahab all I had in mind to do, your descendants will sit on the throne of Israel to the fourth generation.” 31Yet Jehu was not careful to keep the law of the Lord, the God of Israel, with all his heart. He did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam, which he had caused Israel to commit.
32In those days the Lord began to reduce the size of Israel. Hazael overpowered the Israelites throughout their territory 33east of the Jordan in all the land of Gilead (the region of Gad, Reuben and Manasseh), from Aroer by the Arnon Gorge through Gilead to Bashan.
34As for the other events of Jehu’s reign, all he did, and all his achievements, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel?
35Jehu rested with his ancestors and was buried in Samaria. And Jehoahaz his son succeeded him as king. 36The time that Jehu reigned over Israel in Samaria was twenty-eight years.
