10
1 And Ach'av had seventy banim in Shomron. And Yehu wrote sefarim (letters), and sent to Shomron, unto the sarim of Yizre'el, to the zekenim, and to the omenim Ach'av, saying, 2 Now as soon as this sefer cometh to you, seeing your adonʼs banim are with you, and there are with you merkavot and susim, a fortified city also, and neshek (weapons);
3 Look even out the tov (best) and yashar of your adonʼs banim, and set him on kisse aviv, and fight for the Bais adoneichem.
4 But they were exceedingly afraid, and said, Hinei, two melachim* stood not before him; how then shall we stand?
5 And he that was over the Bais (Palace), and he that was over the Ir, the zekenim also, and the omenim (guardians ),† sent to Yehu, saying, We are thy avadim, and will do all that thou shalt bid us; we will not appoint any melech; do thou that which is tov in thine eyes.
6 Then he wrote a sefer (letter) the second time to them, saying, If ye be mine, and if ye will pay heed unto my voice, take ye the rashei anshei bnei adoneichem (the heads of the male children of your master), and come to me to Yizre'el by tomorrow this time. Now the Bnei HaMelech, being seventy persons, were with the Gedolim of the Ir, who were rearing them. 7 And it came to pass, when the sefer came to them, that they took the Bnei HaMelech, and slaughtered seventy persons and put their heads in dudim (baskets) and sent him them to Yizre'el.
8 And there came a malach, and told him, saying, They have brought the rashei Bnei HaMelech. And he said, Lay ye them in two tziburim (heaps, piles) at the petach of the sha'ar until the boker.
9 And it came to pass in the boker, that he went out, and stood, and said to kol haAm, Ye be tzaddikim; hinei, I fomented a kesher against adoni (my master), and slaughtered him; but who slaughtered all these? 10 Know now that nothing shall fall [unfulfilled] unto ha'aretz of the Devar Hashem, which Hashem spoke against the Bais Ach'av; for Hashem hath done that which He spoke by His eved Eliyahu.‡
11 So Yehu slaughtered all that remained of the Bais Ach'av in Yizre'el, and all his Gedolim, and his acquaintances, and his kohanim, until he left him no sarid (remnant survivor).
12 And he arose and departed, and came to Shomron. And as he was at the shearing house for the ro'im (shepherds) baderech (on the road), 13 Yehu met with the achei Achazyahu Melech Yehudah, and said, Who are ye? And they answered, We are the achei Achazyahu; and we go down to give shalom greeting to the Bnei HaMelech and the Bnei HaGevirah.
14 And he said, Take them chayyim (alive). And they took them chayyim, and executed them at the bor (pit) of the shearing house, even 42 ish; neither left he any remnant of them.
15 And when he was departed from there, he met Yehonadav Ben Rechav approaching to meet him; and he saluted him, and said to him, Is thine lev yashar, as my lev is with thy lev? And Yehonadav answered, It is. If it be, give me thine yad. And he gave him his yad; and he took him up to him into the merkavah. 16 And he said, Come with me, and see my kina (zeal) for Hashem. So they had him ride in his merkavah.
17 And when he came to Shomron, he slaughtered all that remained unto Ach'av in Shomron, till he had destroyed him, according to the Devar Hashem, which He spoke to Eliyahu.
18 And Yehu gathered kol HaAm together, and said unto them, Ach'av served Ba'al a little; but Yehu shall serve him much. 19 Now therefore summon unto me all the nevi'im of Ba'al, all his avadim, and all his kohanim; let none be wanting; for I have a zevach gadol to do to Ba'al; whosoever shall be wanting, he shall not live. But Yehu did it be'akbah (in cunning, in deception), to the intent that he might destroy the ovdei HaBa'al (worshippers of Ba'al).
20 Yehu said, Proclaim an atzeret (a solemn assembly) for Ba'al. They proclaimed it. 21 And Yehu sent through kol Yisroel; and kol ovdei HaBa'al (all the worshippers of Ba'al) came, so that there was not an ish left that came not. And they came into the bais of Ba'al; and the bais of Ba'al was full from end to end.
22 And he said unto him that was over the meltachah (wardrobe), Bring forth levush (robe) for all the ovdei HaBa'al. And he brought them forth the malbush (vestments, religious robes).
23 And Yehu went, and Yehonadav Ben Rechav, into the bais Ba'al, and said unto the ovdei HaBa'al, Search, and look that there be here with you none of the avadim of Hashem, but the ovdei HaBa'al only. 24 And when they went in to offer zevakhim and olot, Yehu appointed fourscore ish outside, and said, If any of the anashim whom I have brought into your hands escape, he that letteth him go, his nefesh shall be for the nefesh of him.
25 And it came to pass, as soon as he had made an end of offering the olah (burnt offering), that Yehu said to the guard and to the shalishim (officers), Go in, and slay them; let none come forth. And they cut them down with the edge of the cherev; and the guard and the shalishim cast them out, and went to the Ir of the bais of Ba'al. 26 And they brought forth the matzevot out of the bais of Ba'al, and burned them. 27 And they demolished the matzevot HaBa'al, and broke down the bais of Ba'al, and made it mokharot (latrines) unto this day.
28 Thus Yehu destroyed Ba'al out of Yisroel. 29 Howbeit from the sins of Yarov'am Ben Nevat, who caused Yisroel to commit sin, Yehu departed not from after them, even, the eglei hazahav that were in Beit-El, and that were in Dan.
30 And Hashem said unto Yehu, Because thou hast done well in executing that which is yashar in Mine eyes, and hast done unto the bais of Ach'av according to all that was in Mine lev, thy banim of the fourth generation shall sit on the kisse Yisroel.
31 Yet Yehu was not shomer to follow the Torat Hashem Elohei Yisroel with all his lev; for he departed not from the chattot Yarov'am which he caused Yisroel to commit sin.
32 In those days Hashem began to cut Yisroel down to size; and Chazael struck them down in all the territory of Yisroel; 33 From Yarden eastward, all Eretz Gil'ad, the Gadi, and the Reuveni, and the Menashi, from Aro'er, which is by the Arnon Valley, even Gil'ad and Bashan.
34 Now the rest of the acts of Yehu, and all that he did, and all his gevurah, are they not written in the Sefer Divrei HaYamim L'Malkhei Yisroel?
35 And Yehu slept with his avot; and they buried him in Shomron. And Yehoachaz bno reigned as melech in his place. 36 And the days that Yehu reigned as melech over Yisroel in Shomron: 28 shanah.
* 10:4 See 2Kgs 9:24,27 † 10:5 of the royal family ‡ 10:10 See 1Kgs 21:17-24