Read the Modern Pastor’s Version

In the city of Samaria, Ahab had a total of seventy sons. Jehu sent letters to the rulers of Jezreel and to those responsible for raising the king's children. He instructed them to choose one son who was worthy to take his father's throne.

The leaders in Jezreel were terrified when they received Jehu's letter, realizing that two kings had already been executed by him. They sent a message to Jehu saying, "We are your servants, and we will do everything you command us." However, Jehu ordered them to take the heads of Ahab's sons and bring them to Jezreel the next day.

The leaders in Jezreel followed Jehu's instructions and brutally murdered seventy of Ahab's sons. They placed their heads in baskets and sent them to Jezreel. When Jehu received the news, he instructed his men to lay the heads at the entrance of the city gate until morning.

At sunrise, Jehu stood before the people and said, "You are all righteous men. I had planned against my master Ahab and took his life, but who among you has killed these seventy sons?" He was pointing out that God's prophecy about Ahab's house would come true as spoken by Elijah.

Jehu then struck down everyone who remained from Ahab's household in Jezreel, including his top leaders, relatives, and priests. No one escaped his wrath. Next, he traveled to Samaria, where the shearing house was located, and found the brothers of King Ahaziah of Judah.

Jehu asked them who they were, and they replied that they were the king's brothers, coming to visit their nieces and nephews. Jehu ordered his men to take the brothers alive, but they killed forty-two men at the shearing house pit. Afterward, he met Jehonadab, a Rechabite, on the road.

Jehonadab asked if Jehu's heart was in line with his own, and Jehu replied that it was. He then invited Jehonadab to ride with him to see his zeal for the Lord. When they arrived in Samaria, Jehu killed everyone who remained from Ahab's household, as decreed by God through Elijah.

Jehu gathered all the people together and said, "Ahab only served Baal a little bit, but I will serve him much more." He ordered the people to summon all the prophets of Baal, their worshipers, and priests. Anyone who failed to attend would be put to death.

The people proclaimed a solemn assembly for Baal, and Jehu sent messengers throughout Israel, calling everyone who worshiped Baal to come. When they arrived, he instructed them to wear garments suitable for worship. He then went into the temple with Jehonadab and ordered the guards to bring in only those devoted to Baal.

Jehu appointed eighty men outside and told them that if anyone escaped from those inside the temple, the guard who let him go would forfeit his life. After the sacrifices were finished, the guards and captains went into the temple, killing everyone they found. They then threw their bodies out and burned the images of Baal.

The people broke down the image of Baal and destroyed its house, turning it into a latrine that remains to this day. In this way, Jehu eliminated the worship of Baal from Israel.

However, Jehu did not completely follow God's law, as he still tolerated the golden calves set up by Jeroboam in Bethel and Dan. The Lord told him that because he had carried out justice against Ahab's household according to his will, his descendants would sit on the throne of Israel for four generations.

But despite this promise, Jehu did not follow God's ways entirely, as he continued the sins of Jeroboam. As a result, God began to severely discipline Israel through King Hazael, who attacked them in all their territories from the Jordan River to the east, including Gilead, Gad, Reuben, and Manasseh.

The rest of Jehu's accomplishments are recorded in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel. He ruled for twenty-eight years before dying and being buried in Samaria. His son Jehoahaz succeeded him as king.