1 And Elisha the prophet called one of the sons of the prophets {bnei hanneviim: trainee prophets} and said to him, “Gird your loins {motneicha: ready attire}, and take this flask of oil in your hand, and go to Ramoth Gilead.”
2 When you arrive there, look for Jehu son of Jehoshaphat the son of Nimshi. Then you shall go and cause him to rise {vahakemoto: singled out} from among his brothers and bring him into an inner chamber {cheder: private room}.
3 And you shall take the flask of oil and pour it on his head, and you shall say, “Thus says the LORD {YHWH, Anointing Authority}: ‘I have anointed you king over Israel.’” Then you shall open the door and flee, and you shall not wait {techakeh: delay or linger}.
4 So the young man {na‘ar: youth in training}, the prophet’s attendant, went to Ramoth Gilead {Ramot Gil‘ad: eastern fortified city}.
5 And he came, and behold, the army commanders were seated {yoshvim: assembled for deliberation} in council. Then he said, “I have a message for you, commander {sar: chief officer}.” And Jehu said, “To which one of us?” And he said, “To you, commander.”
6 And he arose and went into the house, and he poured the oil {shemen: consecrating substance} on his head and said to him, “Thus says the LORD God of Israel {YHWH Elohei Yisrael, National Protector}: I have anointed you as king over the people of the LORD, over Israel.”
7 And you shall strike down the house of Ahab your master, and I will avenge the blood of my servants the prophets and the blood of all the servants of the LORD {YHWH, Judge and Avenger} from the hand of Jezebel {Izevel: queen and persecutor}.
8 And all the house of Ahab will perish, and I {YHWH, Divine Judge} will cut off from Ahab every male {mashtin: male descendant}, both the confined and the free, in Israel.
9 I {YHWH, Judge of Dynasties} will make the house {beit: royal lineage} of Ahab like the house of Jeroboam son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha son of Ahijah.
10 And the dogs will eat Jezebel {Izevel: royal adversary} in the portion of Jezreel, and there will be no one to bury her {kover: performing burial}. Then he opened the door and fled.
11 And Jehu went out to his master’s {adonav: lord and master} servants, and one said to him, “Is all well? Why did this madman {hamsugga: seen as crazed} come to you?” And he said to them, “You yourselves know the man and his conversation.”
12 But they said, “Falsehood! Please tell us.” And he said, “Such and such he said to me, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD {YHWH, Divine Commissioner}: I have anointed you as king {meshach: oil consecration} over Israel.’”
13 And they hurried, and each man took his garment {beged: outer cloak} and placed it beneath him on the bare steps, and they blew the trumpet {shofar: ram’s horn} and said, “Jehu is king!”
14 And Jehu son of Jehoshaphat, the son of Nimshi, conspired against Joram. Now Joram was guarding {shomer: watchfully holding position} Ramoth Gilead—he and all Israel—on guard against {mipnei: facing threat} Hazael king of Aram.
15 And Jehoram the king returned to be healed in Jezreel from the wounds which the Arameans had inflicted on him when he fought against Hazael king of Aram. And Jehu said, “If it is your desire {nafshechem: inner intent}, let no fugitive {palit: escapee} go out from the city to go and tell it in Jezreel.”
16 And Jehu rode and went to Jezreel {yizreʼelah: Omride dynasty seat}, because Joram was lying there, and Ahaziah {aḥazyah: Davidic dynasty ruler} king of Judah went down to see Joram.
17 And the watchman {hatsofeh: sentinel on duty}, standing on the tower in Jezreel, saw the approaching force {shiphat: military company} of Jehu as he came, and he said, “I see a company.” And Jehoram said, “Take a horseman and send him to meet them, and let him say, ‘Is it peace?’”
18 And the horseman rode to meet him and said, “Thus says the king: ‘Is it peace?’” And Jehu replied, “What is it to you and to peace? Turn and follow me.” Then the watchman {tsopheh: lookout} reported, saying, “The messenger {malakh: royal envoy} has come to them and has not returned.”
19 And he sent a second {sheni: next in sequence} horseman, and he came to them and said, “Thus says the king: ‘Peace {shalom: overall well-being}?’” And Jehu replied, “What do you have to do with peace? Turn behind me.”
20 The watchman reported, saying, “He came up to them, but he did not return. And the driving {minhag: chariot handling} is like the driving of Jehu son of Nimshi, for he drives in madness {shiggaon: uncontrollable frenzy}.”
21 And Jehoram {Yehoram: Israelite king of northern kingdom} said, “Harness.” And he harnessed his chariot, and Jehoram king of Israel and Ahaziah king of Judah, each in his chariot, went out to meet Jehu, and they found him in the portion {chelekat: measured field area} of Naboth the Jezreelite.
22 And it happened, as Jehoram saw Jehu, that he said, “Is it peace, Jehu?” And he replied, “What peace is there, as long as the harlotries of Jezebel {Izevel: notorious queen} your mother and her many sorceries {keshafeha: occult practices} continue?”
23 And Jehoram turned {haphakh: reversed direction} his hands on the reins and fled, and said to Ahaziah, “Treachery {mirmah: betrayal, trickery}, Ahaziah.”
24 And Jehu drew the bow tight, and struck Jehoram between his arms; the arrow {chetsi: piercing shaft} went out from his heart, and he collapsed {yikhra: fell down} in his chariot.
25 And he said to Bidkar, his third-in-command, “Lift him up, throw him into the portion of the field of Naboth the Jezreelite, for remember, I and you were riding together in pairs behind Ahab his father, when the LORD {YHWH, Prophecy Fulfiller} uttered against him this pronouncement {masha: prophetic declaration}.”
26 “Surely, the blood of Naboth and the blood of his sons—I saw it yesterday {emesh: time of judgment},” declares the LORD {YHWH, Avenger of Innocent Blood}. “And I will repay you on this plot,” declares the LORD. “So now, lift him and throw him onto the plot, according to the word of the LORD.”
27 When Ahaziah the king of Judah saw what had happened, he fled by the way of the House of the Garden. Jehu pursued him and said, “Strike {hakhuhu: lethal blow} him too!” And they struck him in the chariot at the ascent {ma'aleh: steep pass} of Gur, which is beside Ibleam. He fled to Megiddo and died there.
28 And his servants caused him to ride to Jerusalem {yerushalamah: royal capital}, and they buried him in his tomb {biqvurato: family tomb} with his fathers in the city of David.
29 And in the eleventh year {shenat achat esreh: one plus ten years} of Joram son of Ahab, Ahaziah became king {malakh: assumed royal authority} over Judah.
30 When Jehu came to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it. She put on eye-paint {bappuach: kohl cosmetic}, arranged her hair adornment {rosheha: hair adornment}, and looked out through the window.
31 And Jehu entered the gate, and she said, “Is it peace {hasalom: question of wellbeing}, Zimri, slayer {horeg: one who slays} of his master?”
32 He lifted his face toward the window {hachallon: palace opening} and said, “Who is with me? Who?” Two or three eunuchs {sarisim: court officials} looked down toward him.
33 And he said, “Throw{shamat: fling down} her down, throw her down.” And they threw her down, and some of her blood{dam: life-blood} spurted onto the wall and onto the horses, and he trampled her.
34 And he entered, ate, and drank, and said, “Take care now of this cursed woman {arurah: one who is cursed} and bury her, for she is a king’s daughter {bat-melekh: royal lineage}.”
35 And they went to bury her {leqavrah: funeral rite}, but they found nothing in her except the skull and the feet and the palms {kappot: cupped palms} of the hands.
36 They returned and reported to him, and he said, “It is the word of the LORD {YHWH, Judgment Speaker} which He spoke by the hand of His servant Elijah the Tishbite, saying, ‘In the portion of Jezreel the dogs will eat the flesh {basar: dead body} of Jezebel.’”
37 And the corpse of Jezebel will be like dung {domen: refuse and waste matter} on the surface {penei: field surface} of the field in the portion of Jezreel, so that they will not say, "This is Jezebel."