2 Kings 11

2 Kings 11:1 When Athaliah, Ahaziah’s mother, saw that her son was dead, she proceeded to annihilate all the royal heirs.

2 Kings 11:2 Jehosheba, King Jehoram’s daughter and Ahaziah’s sister, secretly rescued Joash, son of Ahaziah, from among the king’s sons who were being killed and put him and the one who nursed him in a bedroom. So, he was hidden from Athaliah and was not killed.

2 Kings 11:3 Joash was in hiding with her in Yahveh’s temple for six years while Athaliah reigned over the land.

2 Kings 11:4 In the seventh year, Jehoiada sent for the commanders of hundreds, the Carites, and the guards. He had them come to him in Yahveh’s temple, where he made a covenant with them and put them under oath. He showed them the king’s son

2 Kings 11:5 and commanded them, “This is what you are to do: A third of you who come on duty on the Sabbath are to protect the king’s palace.

2 Kings 11:6 A third is to be at the Foundation Gate and a third at the gate behind the guards. You are to take turns protecting the palace.

2 Kings 11:7 “Your two divisions that go off duty on the Sabbath are to provide the king protection at Yahveh’s temple.

2 Kings 11:8 surround the king with weapons in hand. Anyone who approaches the ranks is to be put to death. Be with the king in all his daily tasks.”

2 Kings 11:9 So the commanders of hundreds did everything the priest Jehoiada commanded. They each brought their men—those coming on duty on the Sabbath and those going off duty—and came to the priest Jehoiada.

2 Kings 11:10 The priest gave the commanders hundreds of King David’s spears and shields, which were in Yahveh’s temple.

2 Kings 11:11 Then the guards stood with their weapons in hand surrounding the king — from the right side of the temple to the left side, by the altar and by the temple.

2 Kings 11:12 Jehoiada brought out the king’s son, put the crown on him, gave him the testimony, and made him king. They anointed him, clapped their hands, and cried, “Long live the king!”

2 Kings 11:13 When Athaliah heard the noise from the guard and the crowd, she went out to the people at Yahveh’s temple.

2 Kings 11:14 She looked, and the king was standing by the pillar according to custom. The commanders and the trumpeters were by the king, and all the people of the land were rejoicing and blowing trumpets. Athaliah tore her clothes and screamed, “Treason! Treason!”

2 Kings 11:15 Then the priest Jehoiada ordered the commanders of hundreds in charge of the army, “Take her out between the ranks, and put to death by the sword anyone who follows her,” for the priest had said, “She is not to be put to death in Yahveh’s temple.”

2 Kings 11:16 So they arrested her, and she went through the horse entrance to the king’s palace, where she was put to death.

2 Kings 11:17 Then Jehoiada made a covenant between Yahveh, the king, and the people that they would be  Yahveh’s people and another covenant between the king and the people.

2 Kings 11:18 So all the people of the land went to the temple of Baal and tore it down. They smashed its altars and images to pieces, and they killed Mattan, the priest of Baal, at the altars. Then Jehoiada, the priest, appointed guards for Yahveh’s temple.

2 Kings 11:19 He took the commanders of hundreds, the Carites, the guards, and all the people of the land, and they brought the king from Yahveh’s temple. They entered the king’s palace by way of the guards’ gate. Then Joash sat on the throne of the kings.

2 Kings 11:20 All the people of the land rejoiced, and the city was quiet because they had put Athaliah to death by the sword in the king’s palace.

2 Kings 11:21 Joash was seven years old when he became king.

links:

discovered
Judah’s Jezebel – Devotions
Perish the thought
the Jezebel of Judah

The 2 KINGS shelf in Jeff’s library

2 Kings 10

2 Kings 10:1 Since Ahab had seventy sons in Samaria, Jehu wrote letters and sent them to Samaria to the rulers of Jezreel, to the elders, and the guardians of Ahab’s sons, saying:

2 Kings 10:2 Your lord’s sons are with you, and you have chariots, horses, a fortified city, and weaponry, so when this letter arrives

2 Kings 10:3 select the most qualified of your lord’s sons, set him on his father’s throne, and fight for your lord’s house.

2 Kings 10:4 However, they were terrified and reasoned, “Look, two kings couldn’t stand against him; how can we?”

2 Kings 10:5 So the overseer of the palace, the overseer of the city, the elders, and the guardians sent a message to Jehu: “We are your slaves, and we will do whatever you tell us. We will not make anyone king. Do whatever you think is right.”

2 Kings 10:6 Then Jehu wrote them a second letter, saying: If you are on my side and if you will obey me, bring me the heads of your lord’s sons at this time tomorrow at Jezreel. All seventy of the king’s sons were brought up by the city’s prominent men.

2 Kings 10:7 When the letter came to them, they took the king’s sons and slaughtered all seventy, put their heads in baskets, and sent them to Jehu at Jezreel.

2 Kings 10:8 When the agent came and told him, “They have brought the heads of the king’s sons,” the king said, “Pile them in two heaps at the entrance of the city gate until morning.”

2 Kings 10:9 The following day, when he went out and stood at the gate, he said to all the people, “You are innocent. It was I who conspired against my lord and killed him. But who struck down all these?

2 Kings 10:10 Know, then, that not a word Yahveh spoke against the house of Ahab will fail because Yahveh  has done what he promised through his slave Elijah.”

2 Kings 10:11 So Jehu killed all who remained of the house of Ahab in Jezreel — all his great men, close friends, and priests — leaving him no survivors.

2 Kings 10:12 Then he set out and went to Samaria. On the way, while he was at Beth-eked of the Shepherds,

2 Kings 10:13 Jehu met the relatives of King Ahaziah of Judah and asked, “Who are you?” They answered, “We’re Ahaziah’s relatives. We’ve come down to greet the king’s sons and the queen mother’s sons.”

2 Kings 10:14 Then Jehu ordered, “Take them alive.” So, they took them alive and then slaughtered them at the pit of Beth-eked — forty-two men. He didn’t spare any of them.

2 Kings 10:15 When he left there, he found Jehonadab, son of Rechab, coming to meet him. He greeted him and then asked, “Is your heart one with mine?” “It is,” Jehonadab replied. Jehu said, “If it is, give me your hand.” So, he gave him his hand, and Jehu pulled him up into the chariot with him.

2 Kings 10:16 Then he said, “Come with me and see my zeal for Yahveh!” So, he let him ride with him in his chariot.

2 Kings 10:17 When Jehu came to Samaria, he struck down all who remained from the house of Ahab in Samaria until he had annihilated his house, according to the word of Yahveh spoken to Elijah.

2 Kings 10:18 Then Jehu brought all the people together and said to them, “Ahab slaved for[1] Baal a little, but Jehu will slave for him a lot.

2 Kings 10:19 Now, therefore, summon to me all the prophets of Baal, all those who slave for him, and all his priests. None must be missing, for I have a great sacrifice for Baal. Whoever is missing will not live.” However, Jehu was acting deceptively to destroy those who slave for Baal.

2 Kings 10:20 Jehu commanded, “Consecrate a solemn assembly for Baal.” So, they called one.

2 Kings 10:21 Then Jehu sent agents throughout all Israel, and all those who slave for Baal came; no one failed to come. They entered the temple of Baal, and it was filled from one end to the other.

2 Kings 10:22 Then he said to the custodian of the wardrobe, “Bring out the garments for all those who slave for Baal.” So, he brought out their garments.

2 Kings 10:23 Then Jehu and Jehonadab, son of Rechab, entered the temple of Baal, and Jehu said to those who slave for Baal, “Look carefully to see that there are no slaves of Yahveh here among you — only slaves of Baal.”

2 Kings 10:24 Then they went in to offer sacrifices and burnt offerings. Now Jehu had stationed eighty men outside, and he warned them, “Whoever allows any of the men I am placing in your hands to escape will forfeit his throat for theirs.”

2 Kings 10:25 When he finished offering the burnt offering, Jehu said to the guards and officers, “Go in and kill them. Don’t let anyone out.” So, they struck them down with the sword. Then, the guards and officers threw the bodies out and went into the inner room of the temple of Baal.

2 Kings 10:26 They brought out the pillar of the temple of Baal and burned it,

2 Kings 10:27 and they tore down the pillar of Baal. Then they tore down the temple of Baal and made it a latrine — which it still is today.

2 Kings 10:28 Jehu eliminated Baal worship from Israel,

2 Kings 10:29 but he did not turn away from the sins that Jeroboam son of Nebat had caused Israel to commit — worshiping the gold calves that were in Bethel and Dan.

2 Kings 10:30 Nevertheless, Yahveh said to Jehu, “Because you have done well in carrying out what is right in my sight and have done to the house of Ahab all that was in my heart, four generations of your sons will sit on the throne of Israel.”

2 Kings 10:31 Yet Jehu was not careful to follow the instruction of Yahveh, God of Israel, with all his heart. He did not turn from the sins that Jeroboam had caused Israel to commit.

2 Kings 10:32 In those days, Yahveh began to reduce the size of Israel. Hazael defeated the Israelites throughout their territory

2 Kings 10:33 from the Jordan eastward: the whole land of Gilead — the Gadites, the Reubenites, and the Manassites — from Aroer, which is by the Arnon Valley through Gilead to Bashan.

2 Kings 10:34 The rest of the events of Jehu’s reign, along with all his accomplishments and all his might, are written in the Historical Record of Israel’s Kings.

2 Kings 10:35 Jehu rested with his fathers and was buried in Samaria. His son Jehoahaz became king in his place.

2 Kings 10:36 The length of Jehu’s reign over Israel in Samaria was twenty-eight years.

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[1] עָבַד = slave for. 2 Kings 10:18, 19, 21, 22, 23; 17:12, 16, 33, 35, 41; 18:7; 21:3, 21; 25:24.

links:

for God so hates…
God’s heart of wrath – Devotions
Maranatha Daily Devotional – Thursday, October 17, 2019

The 2 KINGS shelf in Jeff’s library

2 Kings 9

2 Kings 9:1 The prophet Elisha called one of the sons of the prophets and said, “Tuck your mantle under your belt, take this flask of oil with you, and go to Ramoth-Gilead.

2 Kings 9:2 When you get there, look for Jehu, son of Jehoshaphat, son of Nimshi. Go in, take him away from his colleagues, and take him to an inner room.

2 Kings 9:3 Then he took the flask of oil, poured it on his head, and said, ‘This is what Yahveh says: “I anoint you king over Israel.” ‘ Open the door and escape. Don’t wait.

2 Kings 9:4 So the boy – the boy prophet went to Ramoth-gilead.

2 Kings 9:5 When he arrived, the army commanders were sitting there, so he said, “I have a message for you, commander.” Jehu asked, “For which one of us?” He answered, “For you, commander.”

2 Kings 9:6 So Jehu got up and went into the house. The young prophet poured the oil on his head and said, “This is what Yahveh—God of Israel—says: ‘I anoint you king over Yahveh’s people, Israel.’

2 Kings 9:7 You are to strike down the house of your lord Ahab so that I may avenge the blood shed by the hand of Jezebel — the blood of my slaves, the prophets, and all the slaves of Yahveh.

2 Kings 9:8 The whole house of Ahab will perish, and I will wipe out all of Ahab’s males, both slave and free, in Israel.

2 Kings 9:9 I will make the house of Ahab like the house of Jeroboam, son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha, son of Ahijah.

2 Kings 9:10 The dogs will eat Jezebel in the plot of land at Jezreel — no one will bury her.'” Then, the young prophet opened the door and escaped.

2 Kings 9:11 When Jehu came out to his lord’s slaves, they asked, “Is everything all right? Why did this crazy person come to you?” Then he said to them, “You know the sort and their ranting.”

2 Kings 9:12 But they replied, “That’s a lie! Tell us!” So Jehu said, “He talked to me about this and that and said, ‘This is what Yahveh says: I anoint you king over Israel.'”

2 Kings 9:13 Each man quickly took his garment and put it under Jehu on the bare steps. They blew the ram’s horn and proclaimed, “Jehu is king!”

2 Kings 9:14 Then Jehu, son of Jehoshaphat, son of Nimshi, conspired against Joram. Joram and all of Israel had been at Ramoth-Gilead on guard against King Hazael of Aram.

2 Kings 9:15 But King Joram had returned to Jezreel to recover from the wounds that the Arameans had inflicted on him when he fought against Aram’s King Hazael. Jehu said, “If this is what your throats want, then don’t let anyone escape from the city to go tell about it in Jezreel.”

2 Kings 9:16 Jehu got into his chariot and went to Jezreel, where Joram was laid up, and King Ahaziah of Judah had gone down to visit Joram.

2 Kings 9:17 Now the watchman was standing on the tower in Jezreel. He saw Jehu’s mob approaching and shouted, “I see a mob!” Joram responded, “Choose a rider and send him to meet them and have him ask, ‘Do you come in peace? ‘”

2 Kings 9:18 So a horseman went to meet Jehu and said, “This is what the king asks: ‘Do you come in peace? ‘” Jehu replied, “What do you have to do with peace? Fall in behind me.” The watchman reported, “The agent reached them but hasn’t started back.”

2 Kings 9:19 So he sent out a second horseman, who went to them and said, “This is what the king asks: ‘Do you come in peace? ‘” Jehu answered, “What do you have to do with peace? Fall in behind me.”

2 Kings 9:20 Again, the watchman reported, “He reached them but hasn’t started back. Also, his driving is like that of Jehu, son of Nimshi—he drives like a madman.”

2 Kings 9:21 “Get the chariot ready!” Joram shouted, and they got it ready. Then King Joram of Israel and King Ahaziah of Judah set out, each in his chariot, and met Jehu at the plot of land of Naboth the Jezreelite.

2 Kings 9:22 When Joram saw Jehu, he asked, “Do you come in peace, Jehu?” He answered, “What peace can there be as long as there is so much prostitution and sorcery from your mother Jezebel?”

2 Kings 9:23 Joram turned around and fled, shouting to Ahaziah, “It’s treachery, Ahaziah!”

2 Kings 9:24 Then Jehu drew his bow and shot Joram between the shoulders. The arrow went through his heart, and he slumped down in his chariot.

2 Kings 9:25 Jehu said to Bidkar, his aide, “Pick him up and throw him on the plot of ground belonging to Naboth the Jezreelite. Because — remember when you and I were riding side by side behind his father Ahab, and Yahveh uttered this pronouncement against him:

2 Kings 9:26 ‘As surely as I saw the blood of Naboth and the blood of his sons yesterday’ — this is Yahveh’s declaration — ‘so will I repay you on this plot of land’ — this is  Yahveh’s declaration. So now, according to the word of Yahveh, pick him up and throw him on the plot of land.”

2 Kings 9:27 When King Ahaziah of Judah saw what was happening, he fled up the road toward Beth-Haggan. Jehu pursued him, shouting, “Shoot him too!” So, they shot him in his chariot at Gur Pass near Ibleam, but he fled to Megiddo and died there.

2 Kings 9:28 Then his slaves carried him to Jerusalem in a chariot and buried him in his father’s tomb in the city of David.

2 Kings 9:29 Ahaziah became king over Judah in the eleventh year of Joram, son of Ahab.

2 Kings 9:30 When Jehu came to Jezreel, Jezebel heard about it, so she painted her eyes, fixed her hair, and looked down from the window.

2 Kings 9:31 As Jehu entered the city gate, she said, “Do you come in peace, Zimri, killer of your lord?”

2 Kings 9:32 He looked up toward the window and said, “Who is on my side? Who?” Two or three eunuchs looked down at him,

2 Kings 9:33 and he said, “Throw her down!” So, they threw her down, and some of her blood splattered on the wall, and the horses and Jehu rode over her.

2 Kings 9:34 Then he went in, ate, and drank, and said, “Take care of this cursed woman and bury her, since she’s a king’s daughter.”

2 Kings 9:35 But when they went out to bury

2 Kings 9:36 So they went back and told him, and he said, “This fulfills Yahveh’s word that he spoke through his slave Elijah the Tishbite: ‘In the plot of land at Jezreel, the dogs will eat Jezebel’s flesh. Her, they did not find anything but the skull, the feet, and the hands.

2 Kings 9:37 Jezebel’s corpse will be like manure on the surface of the ground in the plot of land at Jezreel so that no one will be able to say: This is Jezebel.'”

links:

a dark day
their dark day – Devotions

The 2 KINGS shelf in Jeff’s library

2 Kings 8

2 Kings 8:1 Elisha said to the woman whose son he had restored to life, “Get ready, you and your household, and go live as a resident alien wherever you can. Because Yahveh  has announced a seven-year famine, and it has already come to the land.”

2 Kings 8:2 So the woman got ready and did what the man of God said. She and her household lived as resident aliens in the land of the Philistines for seven years.

2 Kings 8:3 When the woman returned from the land of the Philistines after seven years, she appealed to the king for her house and field.

2 Kings 8:4 The king had been speaking to Gehazi, the boy of the man of God, saying, “Tell me all the great things Elisha has done.”

2 Kings 8:5 While he was telling the king how Elisha restored the dead son to life, the woman whose son he had restored to life came to appeal to the king for her house and field. So Gehazi said, “My lord king, this is the woman, and this is the son Elisha restored to life.”

2 Kings 8:6 When the king asked the woman, she told him the story. So, the king appointed a court official for her, saying, “Restore all that was hers, along with all the income from the field from the day she left the country until now.”

2 Kings 8:7 Elisha came to Damascus while King Ben-hadad of Aram was sick, and the king was told, “The man of God has come here.”

2 Kings 8:8 So the king said to Hazael, “Take a gift with you and go meet the man of God. Ask  Yahveh through him, ‘Will I recover from this sickness? ‘”

2 Kings 8:9 Hazael went to meet Elisha, taking with him a gift: forty camel-loads of all the finest products of Damascus. When he came and stood before him, he said, “Your son, King Ben-hadad of Aram, has sent me to ask you, ‘Will I recover from this sickness? ‘”

2 Kings 8:10 Elisha told him, “Go say to him, ‘You are sure to recover.’ But Yahveh  has shown me that he is sure to die.”

2 Kings 8:11 Then he stared steadily at him until he was ashamed. The man of God wept,

2 Kings 8:12 and Hazael asked, “Why is my lord weeping?” He replied, “Because I know the evil you will do to the people of Israel. You will set their fortresses on fire. You will kill their young men with the sword. You will dash their children to pieces. You will rip open their pregnant women.”

2 Kings 8:13 Hazael said, “How could your slave, a mere dog, do such a mighty deed?” Elisha answered, ” Yahveh has shown me that you will be king over Aram.”

2 Kings 8:14 Hazael left Elisha and went to his lord, who asked him, “What did Elisha say to you?” He responded, “He told me you are sure to recover.”

2 Kings 8:15 The next day, Hazael took a heavy cloth, dipped it in water, and spread it over the king’s face. Ben-hadad died, and Hazael reigned in his place.

2 Kings 8:16 In the fifth year of Israel’s King Joram, son of Ahab, Jehoram, son of Jehoshaphat, became king of Judah, replacing his father.

2 Kings 8:17 He was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem.

2 Kings 8:18 He walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, as the house of Ahab had done because Ahab’s daughter was his wife. He did what was evil in Yahveh’s sight.

2 Kings 8:19 For the sake of his slave David, Yahveh was unwilling to destroy Judah since he had promised to give a lamp to David and his sons forever.

2 Kings 8:20 During Jehoram’s reign, Edom rebelled against Judah’s control and appointed their king.

2 Kings 8:21 So Jehoram crossed over to Zair with all his chariots. Then, at night, he set out to attack the Edomites who had surrounded him, and the chariot commanders, but his troops fled to their tents.

2 Kings 8:22 So Edom is still in rebellion against Judah’s control today. Libnah also rebelled at that time.

2 Kings 8:23 The rest of the events of Jehoram’s reign, along with all his accomplishments, are written in the Historical Record of Judah’s Kings.

2 Kings 8:24 Jehoram rested with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of David, and his son Ahaziah became king in his place.

2 Kings 8:25 In the twelfth year of Israel’s King Joram, son of Ahab, Ahaziah, son of Jehoram, became king of Judah.

2 Kings 8:26 Ahaziah was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Athaliah, granddaughter of Israel’s King Omri.

2 Kings 8:27 He walked in the ways of the house of Ahab and did what was evil in Yahveh’s sight, like the house of Ahab, since his father had married into the house of Ahab.

2 Kings 8:28 Ahaziah went with Joram, son of Ahab, to fight against King Hazael of Aram in Ramoth-gilead, and the Arameans wounded Joram.

2 Kings 8:29 So King Joram returned to Jezreel to recover from the wounds that the Arameans had inflicted on him in Ramoth-gilead when he fought against Aram’s King Hazael. Then Judah’s King Ahaziah, son of Jehoram, went down to Jezreel to visit Joram, son of Ahab, since Joram was ill.

links:

Maranatha Daily Devotional – Monday, October 16, 2023
the burden of knowing
the pain of knowing – Devotions

The 2 KINGS shelf in Jeff’s library