VW-Edition Bible (2010)

1Now Ahab had seventy sons in Samaria. And Jehu wrote and sent letters to Samaria, to the rulers of Jezreel, to the elders, and to those rearing Ahab's sons, saying: 2Now as soon as this letter comes to you, since your master's sons are with you, and you have chariots and horses, a fortified city also, and weapons, 3choose the best and most upright of your master's sons, set him on his father's throne, and fight for your master's house. 4But they were exceedingly afraid, and said, Behold, two kings have not stood before him; how then can we stand? 5And he who was over the house, and he who was over the city, the elders also, and those rearing the sons, sent to Jehu, saying, We are your servants, we will do all you tell us; but we will not make anyone king. Do what is good in your eyes. 6Then he wrote a second letter to them, saying: If you are for me and will obey my voice, take the heads of the men, your master's sons, and come to me at Jezreel by this time tomorrow. Now the king's sons, seventy persons, were with the great men of the city, who were rearing them. 7So it was, when the letter came to them, that they took the king's sons and slaughtered seventy persons, put their heads in baskets and sent them to him at Jezreel. 8And a messenger came and reported to 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 morning. 9And it came about in the morning, that he went out and stood, and said to all the people, You are righteous. Behold, I have conspired against my master and killed him; but who killed all these? 10Know now that nothing has fallen to the earth of the Word of Jehovah which Jehovah has spoken concerning the house of Ahab; for Jehovah has done what He has spoken by the hand of His servant Elijah.  11Thus Jehu killed 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 one remaining. 12And he arose and departed and went to Samaria. On the way, at the house of the shepherds at Beth Eked, 13Jehu met the brothers of Ahaziah king of Judah, and said, Who are you? And they answered, We are the brothers of Ahaziah; we have come down to greet the sons of the king and the sons of the queen mother. 14And he said, Take them alive! So they took them alive, and killed them at the well of Beth Eked, forty-two men; and he left none of them. 15And when he departed from there, he met Jehonadab the son of Rechab, coming to meet him; and he blessed him and said to him, Is your heart upright, as my heart is with your heart? And Jehonadab answered, It is. Jehu said, If it is, give me your hand. So he gave him his hand, and he took him up to him into the chariot. 16Then he said, Come with me, and see my zeal for Jehovah. So they made him ride in his chariot. 17And when he came to Samaria, he killed all who remained to Ahab in Samaria, till he had destroyed them, according to the Word of Jehovah which He had spoken to Elijah. 18Then Jehu gathered all the people together, and said to them, Ahab served Baal a little, Jehu shall serve him much. 19Now therefore, call to me all the prophets of Baal, all his servants, and all his priests. Let no one be missing, for I have a great sacrifice to Baal. Whoever is missing shall not live. But Jehu acted with cunning, in order to destroy those serving Baal. 20And Jehu said, Consecrate a solemn assembly to Baal. So they proclaimed it. 21Then Jehu sent throughout all Israel; and all those serving Baal came, so that there was not a man left who did not come. So they came into the house of Baal, and the house of Baal was full from one end to the other. 22And he said to the one over the wardrobe, Bring out the vestments for all those serving Baal. So he brought out vestments for them. 23And Jehu and Jehonadab the son of Rechab went into the house of Baal, and said to those serving Baal, Search and see that no servants of Jehovah are here with you, but only those serving Baal. 24So they went in to offer sacrifices and burnt offerings. Now Jehu had appointed for himself eighty men outside, and had said, If any of the men whom I have brought into your hands escapes, whoever lets him escape, it shall be his soul for the soul of the other. 25Now it happened, as soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt offering, that Jehu said to the runners and the officers, Go in and strike them; let no one come out! And they killed them with the edge of the sword; then the runners and the officers threw them out, and went into the city of the house of Baal. 26And they brought the sacred pillars out of the house of Baal and burned them. 27Then they broke down the sacred pillar of Baal, and tore down the house of Baal and made it an outhouse to this day. 28Thus Jehu destroyed Baal out of Israel. 29However Jehu did not turn away from after the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who had made Israel sin, that is, from the golden calves that were at Bethel and Dan. 30And Jehovah said to Jehu, Because you have done well in doing what is right in My eyes, and have done to the house of Ahab all that was in My heart, your sons shall sit on the throne of Israel to the fourth generation. 31But Jehu took no heed to walk in the Law of Jehovah the God of Israel with all his heart; for he did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam, who had made Israel sin. 32In those days Jehovah began to cut off Israel; and Hazael struck them in all the territory of Israel 33from the Jordan eastward: all the land of Gilead; Gad, Reuben, and Manasseh; from Aroer, which is by the River Arnon, including Gilead and Bashan. 34Now the rest of the acts of Jehu, all that he did, and all his might, are they not written in the book of the Chronicles of the kings of Israel. 35So Jehu rested 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 in Samaria were twenty-eight years.


Jamieson Fausset Brown Bible Commentary
 1   JEHU CAUSES SEVENTY OF AHAB'S CHILDREN TO BE BEHEADED. (2Ki. 10:1-17)
Ahab had seventy sons in Samaria--As it appears (2Kgs 10:13), that grandsons are included it is probable that this number comprehended the whole posterity of Ahab. Their being all assembled in that capital might arise from their being left there on the king's departure for Ramoth-gilead, or from their taking refuge in some of the strongholds of that city on the news of Jehu's conspiracy. It may be inferred from the tenor of Jehu's letters that their first intention was to select the fittest of the royal family and set him up as king. Perhaps this challenge of Jehu was designed as a stroke of policy on his part to elicit their views, and to find out whether they were inclined to be pacific or hostile. The bold character of the man, and the rapid success of his conspiracy, terrified the civic authorities of Samaria and Jezreel into submission.

 5   he that was over the house--the governor or chamberlain of the palace.
the bringers-up of the children--Anciently, and still also in many Eastern countries, the principal grandees were charged with the support and education of the royal princes. This involved a heavy expense which they were forced to bear, but for which they endeavored to find some compensation in the advantages of their connection with the court.

 6   take ye the heads of the men, your master's sons--The barbarous practice of a successful usurper slaughtering all who may have claims to the throne, has been frequently exemplified in the ancient and modern histories of the East.

 8   Lay ye them in two heaps at the entering in of the gate, &c.--The exhibition of the heads of enemies is always considered a glorious trophy. Sometimes a pile of heads is erected at the gate of the palace; and a head of peculiarly striking appearance selected to grace the summit of the pyramid.

 9   said to all the people, Ye be righteous, &c.--A great concourse was assembled to gaze on this novel and ghastly spectacle. The speech which Jehu addressed to the spectators was artfully framed to impress their minds with the idea that so wholesale a massacre was the result of the divine judgments denounced on the house of Ahab; and the effect of it was to prepare the public mind for hearing, without horror, of a similar revolting tragedy which was soon after perpetrated, namely, the extinction of all the influential friends and supporters of the dynasty of Ahab, including those of the royal house of Judah.

 13   We are the brethren of Ahaziah--that is, not full, but step-brothers, sons of Jehoram by various concubines. Ignorant of the revolution that had taken place, they were travelling to Samaria on a visit to their royal relatives of Israel, when they were seized and put to death, because of the apprehension that they might probably stimulate and strengthen the party that still remained faithful in their allegiance to Ahab's dynasty.
children of the queen--that is, of the queen mother, or regent, Jezebel.

 15   Jehonadab the son of Rechab--(See 1Chr 2:55). A person who, from his piety and simple primitive manner of life (Jer. 35:1-19), was highly esteemed, and possessed great influence in the country. Jehu saw in a moment the advantage that his cause would gain from the friendship and countenance of this venerable man in the eyes of the people, and accordingly paid him the distinguished attention of inviting him to a seat in his chariot.
give me thine hand--not simply to aid him in getting up, but for a far more significant and important purpose--the giving, or rather joining hands, being the recognized mode of striking a league or covenant, as well as of testifying fealty to a new sovereign; accordingly, it is said, "he [Jehonadab] gave him [Jehu] his hand."

 19   HE DESTROYS THE WORSHIPPERS OF BAAL. (2Kgs 10:18-29)
call unto me all the prophets of Baal--The votaries of Baal are here classified under the several titles of prophets, priests, and servants, or worshippers generally. They might be easily convened into one spacious temple, as their number had been greatly diminished both by the influential ministrations of Elijah and Elisha, and also from the late King Joram's neglect and discontinuance of the worship. Jehu's appointment of a solemn sacrifice in honor of Baal, and a summons to all his worshippers to join in its celebration, was a deep-laid plot, which he had resolved upon for their extinction, a measure in perfect harmony with the Mosaic law, and worthy of a constitutional king of Israel. It was done, however, not from religious, but purely political motives, because he believed that the existence and interests of the Baalites were inseparably bound up with the dynasty of Ahab and because he hoped that by their extermination he would secure the attachment of the far larger and more influential party who worshipped God in Israel. Jehonadab's concurrence must have been given in the belief of his being actuated solely by the highest principles of piety and zeal.

 22   Bring forth vestments for all the worshippers of Baal--The priests of Baal were clad, probably, in robes of white byssus while they were engaged in the functions of their office, and these were kept under the care of an officer in a particular wardrobe of Baal's temple. This treacherous massacre, and the means taken to accomplish it, are paralleled by the slaughter of the Janissaries and other terrible tragedies in the modern history of the East.

 29   Howbeit from the sins of Jeroboam . . . Jehu departed not from after them--Jehu had no intention of carrying his zeal for the Lord beyond a certain point, and as he considered it impolitic to encourage his subjects to travel to Jerusalem, he re-established the symbolic worship of the calves.