1And Ahab had seventy sons in Samaria. And Jehu wrote letters, and sent to Samaria, to the princes of Jezreel, the elders, and to the guardians of Ahab, saying:
2"And now, when this letter comes to you, and with you are the sons of your master, and with you are the chariot and the horses, and a fortified city, and the weaponry;
3then look out the best and the most upright of the sons of your master, and set him on the throne of his father, and fight for the house of your master."
4And they feared exceedingly, exceedingly, and said: "Behold, the two kings did not stand before him, and how shall we stand?"
5And he who was over the house, and he who was over the city, and the elders, and the guardians, sent to Jehu, saying: "We are your servants, and all that you say to us we will do; we will not make any man (ish) king; do what is good in your eyes."
6And he wrote to them a second letter, saying: "If you are mine, and to my voice you listen, take the heads of the men (ish) of the sons of your master, and come to me about this time tomorrow to Jezreel." Now the king's sons were seventy men (ish), with the great ones of the city who were raising them.
7And it came to pass, when the letter came to them, that they took the king's sons, and slaughtered seventy men (ish), and put their heads in baskets, and sent them to him to Jezreel.
8And the messenger came, and told him, saying: "They have brought the heads of the king's sons." And he said: "Put them in two heaps at the entrance of the gate until the morning."
9And 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 struck all these?
10Know now that nothing of the word of YHWH shall fall to the earth, which YHWH spoke concerning the house of Ahab; and YHWH has done what he spoke by the hand of his servant Elijah."
11And Jehu struck all who remained of the house of Ahab in Jezreel, and all his great men, and his acquaintances, and his priests, until he left him no survivor.
12And he arose, and came, and went to Samaria; he being at Beth-eked of the shepherds on the way,
13and Jehu found the brothers of Ahaziah king of Judah, and said: "Who are you?" And they said: "We are the brothers of Ahaziah, and we have come down for the peace of the sons of the king and the sons of the queen."
14And he said: "Take them alive (chai)." And they took them alive (chai), and slaughtered them at the pit of Beth-eked, forty-two men (ish), and he did not leave a man (ish) of them.
15And he went from there, and found Jehonadab the son of Rechab to meet him, and he blessed him, and said to him: "Is your heart upright, as my heart is with your heart?" And Jehonadab said: "It is, and it is." "Give your hand." And he gave his hand, and he took him up to him into the chariot.
16And he said: "Come with me, and see my zeal for YHWH." And they made him ride in his chariot.
17And he came to Samaria, and struck all who remained to Ahab in Samaria, until he had destroyed him, according to the word of YHWH, which he spoke to Elijah.
18And Jehu gathered all the people, and said to them: "Ahab served (avad) the Baal a little; Jehu will serve (avad) him much.
19And now, all the prophets of the Baal, all his servers (avad), and all his priests, call to me; let not a man (ish) be missing, for I have a great sacrifice to the Baal; everyone who is missing shall not live." But Jehu acted in craftiness, in order to destroy the servers (avad) of the Baal.
20And Jehu said: "Sanctify a solemn assembly for the Baal." And they proclaimed it.
21And Jehu sent through all Israel, and all the servers (avad) of the Baal came, and there was not a man (ish) left who did not come; and they came into the house of the Baal, and the house of the Baal was filled mouth to mouth.
22And he said to the one over the wardrobe: "Bring out garments for all the servers (avad) of the Baal." And he brought out for them the clothing.
23And Jehu came, and Jehonadab the son of Rechab, into the house of the Baal; and he said to the servers (avad) of the Baal: "Search and see that there is not here with you any of the servants of YHWH, but the servers (avad) of the Baal alone."
24And they came in to make sacrifices and burnt offerings. And Jehu set for himself outside eighty men (ish), and said: "The man (ish) who escapes from the men (ish) whom I am bringing into your hands—his soul (nephesh) shall be in place of his soul (nephesh)."
25And it came to pass, when he had finished making the burnt offering, that Jehu said to the runners and to the officers: "Go in, strike them; let not a man (ish) come out." And they struck them by the mouth of the sword, and the runners and the officers cast them out, and went to the city of the house of the Baal.
26And they brought out the pillars of the house of the Baal, and burned them.
27And they broke down the pillar of the Baal, and broke down the house of the Baal, and made it a latrine until this day.
28And Jehu destroyed the Baal out of Israel.
29Only from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin, Jehu did not turn aside from after them—the calves of gold which were in Beth-el and which were in Dan.
30And YHWH said to Jehu: "Because you have done well to do what is upright in my eyes, you have done to the house of Ahab according to all that was in my heart, sons of the fourth generation shall sit for you on the throne of Israel."
31But Jehu did not take heed to walk in the Torah of YHWH the God of Israel with all his heart; he did not turn aside from the sins of Jeroboam, who made Israel to sin.
32In those days YHWH began to cut off in Israel; and Hazael struck them in all the border of Israel,
33from the Jordan eastward, all the land of Gilead, the Gadite, and the Reubenite, and the Manassite, from Aroer which is by the valley of Arnon, even Gilead and Bashan.
34And the rest of the acts of Jehu, and all that he did, and all his might, are they not written on the book of the words of the days of the kings of Israel?
35And Jehu slept with his fathers, and they buried him in Samaria; and Jehoahaz his son reigned in his place.
36And the days that Jehu reigned over Israel were twenty-eight years, in Samaria.