2 Kings 12:1 In Jehu’s seventh year, Joash became king, and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Zibiah; she was from Beer-sheba.
2 Kings 12:2 Throughout the time the priest Jehoiada instructed him, Joash did what was right in Yahveh’s sight.
2 Kings 12:3 Yet the high places were not taken away; the people continued sacrificing and burning incense on the high places.
2 Kings 12:4 Then Joash said to the priests, “All the dedicated silver brought to Yahveh’s temple, census silver, silver from vows, and all silver voluntarily given for Yahveh’s temple —
2 Kings 12:5 each priest is to take it from his assessor and make strong again whatever damage is found in the temple.”
2 Kings 12:6 But by the twenty-third year of the reign of King Joash, the priests had not made strong again the damage to the temple.
2 Kings 12:7 So King Joash called the priest Jehoiada and the other priests and asked, “Why haven’t you made strong again the temple’s damage? Since you haven’t, don’t take any silver from your assessors; instead, hand it over for the repair of the temple.”
2 Kings 12:8 So the priests agreed that they would receive no silver from the people and would not be the ones to make strong again the temple’s damage.
2 Kings 12:9 Then the priest Jehoiada took a chest, bore a hole in its lid, and set it beside the altar on the right side as one enters Yahveh’s temple; the priests who guarded the threshold put all the silver that was brought to Yahveh’s temple into the chest.
2 Kings 12:10 Whenever they saw a large amount of silver in the chest, the king’s secretary and the high priest would bag it up and tally the silver found in Yahveh’s temple.
2 Kings 12:11 Then they would give the weighed silver to those doing the work– those who oversaw Yahveh’s temple. They, in turn, would pay it out to those working on Yahveh’s temple — the carpenters, the builders,
2 Kings 12:12 the masons, and the stonecutters — and would use it to buy timber and quarried stone to make the damage to Yahveh’s temple strong again and for all expenses for making the temple strong.
2 Kings 12:13 However, no silver bowls, wick trimmers, sprinkling basins, trumpets, or articles of gold or silver were made for Yahveh’s temple from the contributions brought to it.
2 Kings 12:14 Instead, it was given to those doing the work, and they made Yahveh’s temple strong with it.
2 Kings 12:15 No accounting was required from the men who received the silver to pay those doing the work since they worked with integrity.
2 Kings 12:16 The silver from the reparation offering and the sin offering was not brought to Yahveh’s temple since it belonged to the priests.
2 Kings 12:17 At that time, King Hazael of Aram marched up and fought against Gath and captured it. Then, he planned to attack Jerusalem.
2 Kings 12:18 So King Joash of Judah took all the items consecrated by himself and by his ancestors– Judah’s kings Jehoshaphat, Jehoram, and Ahaziah — as well as all the gold found in the treasuries of Yahveh’s temple and the king’s palace, and he sent them to King Hazael of Aram. Then Hazael withdrew from Jerusalem.
2 Kings 12:19 The rest of the events of Joash’s reign, along with all his accomplishments, are written in the Historical Record of Judah’s Kings.
2 Kings 12:20 Joash’s slaves conspired against him and attacked him at Beth-millo on the road that goes down to Silla.
2 Kings 12:21 His slaves Jozabad, son of Shimeath, and Jehozabad, son of Shomer, attacked him. He died, and they buried him with his fathers in the city of David, and his son Amaziah became king in his place.
1 Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming to hear him. 2 But the Pharisees and the experts in the law were complaining, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” 3 So Jesus told them this parable: 4 “Which one of you, if he has a hundred sheep and loses one of them, would not leave the ninety-nine in the open pasture and go look for the one that is lost until he finds it? 5 Then, when he has found it, he places it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 6 Returning home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, telling them, ‘Rejoice with me, because I have found my sheep that was lost.’ 7I tell you, in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need to repent.
There are moments in the Gospels when the tension in the air is almost visible, when the religious leaders stand on one side with their arms folded and their brows furrowed, and Jesus stands on the other side with His arms open. Luke 15 begins with one of those moments. The Pharisees and scribes are watching Jesus closely, not with admiration but with suspicion. They see Him surrounded by people they would never choose to be around—tax collectors, sinners, the socially stained, the spiritually unclean, the people who had long ago given up on ever being welcomed in a synagogue. And instead of distancing Himself from them, Jesus is eating with them, talking with them, listening to them, and treating them as if they matter.
The Complaint
That is what provokes the complaint. “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” It is not a theological objection. It is a social one. They are offended not because Jesus is breaking a commandment, but because He is breaking their categories. They had built a religious system that kept the riffraff at arm’s length, and here is Jesus pulling them close. They had built a spiritual ladder that only the disciplined and respectable could climb, and here is Jesus walking down the ladder to sit with those who had fallen off long ago. They had built a community where holiness meant separation, and here is Jesus showing them that holiness looks like compassion.
If we listen closely, we can hear jealousy in their complaint. They cannot understand why this rabbi—this miracle‑working, Scripture‑quoting, crowd‑drawing rabbi—would spend His time among people who had nothing to offer Him. They cannot understand why He would waste His energy on the spiritually unproductive. They cannot understand why He would invest His heart in people who had already proven they were failures. And so, they grumble. They whisper. They criticize. They question His judgment. They question His motives. They question His discernment.
But Jesus does not defend Himself with an argument. He defends himself with a story. He tells them a parable so simple a child can understand it, yet so profound that the most learned theologian can spend a lifetime exploring it. He tells them about a shepherd, a flock, and one sheep that wandered away.
Before we rush into the details, we need to feel the weight of the moment. Jesus is not merely telling a story. He is revealing His heart. He is explaining why He does what He does. He is showing the religious leaders—and us—what God is really like. And He begins with a question: “Which one of you, if you had a hundred sheep and lost one, would not leave the ninety‑nine in the open country and go after the one that is lost until you find it?”
With that question, Jesus shifts the entire conversation. The Pharisees were focused on the sinners. Jesus is focused on the shepherd. They were focused on the scandal of His associations. Jesus is focused on the urgency of His mission. They were focused on the unworthiness of the lost. Jesus is focused on the worth of the lost. And so, He invites them to imagine themselves as shepherds, responsible for a flock, attentive to every sheep, aware of every danger.
The Priority of The Sheep Owner.
That brings us to the second movement of the story: the priority of the sheep owner. Emergencies always rise to the top. When a sheep goes missing, the shepherd does not shrug. He does not say, “Well, ninety‑nine out of a hundred isn’t bad.” He does not say, “That sheep should have known better.” He does not say, “I’ll deal with it later.” A lost sheep is an emergency. A wandering sheep is a crisis. A missing sheep demands immediate action.
Jesus describes the shepherd leaving the ninety‑nine in the open country. That is not negligence. That is triage. The ninety‑nine are safe together. The one is alone. The flock protects the ninety‑nine. The one is exposed to the wolves. The ninety‑nine are where they belong. The one is where it cannot survive. And so, the shepherd goes. He searches diligently. He climbs hills. He walks through ravines. He calls out the sheep’s name. He listens for the faintest bleat. He keeps going until he finds it.
This is not a casual search. This is not a half‑hearted effort. This is not a shepherd who checks a few likely spots and then gives up. Jesus says he searches “until he finds it.” That is the priority of love. That is the urgency of compassion. That is the determination of a heart that refuses to let the lost stay lost.
And here is where the parable becomes personal. Jesus is not simply describing what a good shepherd does. He is describing what He Himself is doing. He is explaining why He spends so much time among the riffraff. He is showing the religious leaders that His ministry is not a hobby. It is a rescue mission. The sinners and tax collectors are not distractions. They are the very reason He came. They are the lost sheep. They are the emergency. They are the ones who cannot find their way home without Him.
The Motive Behind the Rescue
But Jesus does not stop with the search. He moves to the motive behind the rescue. The shepherd does not search out of duty. He searches out of joy. He anticipates the moment when he will find the sheep. He imagines the relief of seeing it alive. He imagines the satisfaction of lifting it onto his shoulders. He imagines the celebration when he returns home. And that joy fuels his perseverance.
When he finally finds the sheep, he does not scold it. He does not punish it. He does not drag it home. He lifts it. He carries it. He rejoices. And when he arrives home, he calls his friends and neighbors and says, “Rejoice with me, for I have found my lost sheep.” The joy is too big to keep to himself. It spills over. It becomes communal. It becomes a shared celebration.
Jesus says that is what God in heaven is like. God and all his holy angels rejoice over one sinner who repents. Heaven erupts in celebration when one wandering soul turns back toward God. Heaven throws a party when one person who thought they were too far gone discovers that God has been searching for them all along. Heaven’s joy is not reserved for the righteous who never strayed. The return of the lost ignites heaven’s joy. The joy is the found sheep.
The Purpose of The Parable
And that brings us to the purpose of the parable. Jesus is not merely defending His ministry. He is revealing God’s heart. He is showing the religious leaders—and us—why He spends so much time among the riffraff. That is where the lost sheep are. That is where the emergencies are. That is where the future citizens of God’s eternal kingdom are currently living. That is where restoration happens. That is where grace does its best work.
Jesus is telling them, “If you want to understand Me, you must understand this: I go where the lost are. I move toward the broken. I seek out the wandering. I pursue the forgotten. I rescue the ones everyone else has written off. I do not wait for them to come to me. I go to them. And when I find them, I rejoice.”
This parable confronts us with a question: Do we share the heart of the shepherd, or do we share the complaint of the Pharisees? Do we rejoice when the lost are found, or do we grumble about the company Jesus keeps? Do we move toward the people who need grace most, or do we retreat into the comfort of the ninety‑nine? Do we see emergencies where Jesus sees emergencies, or do we see inconveniences where Jesus sees opportunities?
The truth is, every one of us has been the lost sheep. Every one of us has wandered. Every one of us has needed rescue. And Jesus came for us. He searched for us. He carried us. He rejoiced over us. And now He invites us to join Him in the search for others.
A Call to Love Sinners
This is not a call to tolerate sinners. It is a call to love them. It is not a call to endure the riffraff. It is a call to embrace them. It is not a call to protect our religious respectability. It is a call to risk it for the sake of the lost. It is not a call to preserve the comfort of the ninety‑nine. It is a call to prioritize the one.
If we want to be like Jesus, we must go where He goes, love whom He loves, seek whom He seeks, and rejoice over what He rejoices over. We must remember that the church is not a museum for the righteous. It is a rescue station for the lost. It is not a fortress to keep sinners out. It is a home where sinners discover they are loved. It is not a club for the spiritually successful. It is a community where the broken are carried on the shoulders of grace.
Jesus ends the parable with a promise: “There will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety‑nine righteous persons who do not need repentance.” That is not a mathematical statement. It is a relational one. Numbers do not measure heaven’s joy. It is measured by love. And love always rejoices when the lost are found.
So may we be a people who join the search. May we be a people who carry the wounded. May we be people who rejoice with heaven. And may we never forget that the Shepherd who searched for us is still searching for others—and invites us to walk with Him into the places where grace is needed most.
Now here’s where the text becomes uncomfortably honest for those of us who consider ourselves good, healthy, churchgoing saints. If we’re willing to look in the mirror that Jesus holds up, we may notice something we would rather not admit. When we read Luke 15, we instinctively identify with Jesus—the compassionate shepherd, the seeker of the lost, the one who moves toward the hurting. But if we slow down long enough to be truthful, we often resemble the antagonists in the story far more than the hero. We look more like the Pharisees and the teachers of the law than the Shepherd who goes searching.
We tend to cluster with people who look like us, think like us, vote like us, worship like us, and sin in the same socially acceptable ways we do. We gravitate toward the familiar. We build comfortable circles. We enjoy the safety of the ninety‑nine. And without ever saying it out loud, we begin to believe that the church exists to meet our needs, to preserve our preferences, to protect our comfort. We develop what you might call a “stay” mentality—stay with the familiar, stay with the safe, stay with the people who already belong.
But Jesus did not give His disciples a “stay” command. He gave them a “go” command. Go into all the world. Go make disciples. Go to the highways and hedges. Go to the people who are not already here. Go to the ones who are wandering. Go to the ones who would never think of walking through our doors. Go to the ones who have been told by life, by shame, or even by the church that they do not belong.
And that is where the problem lies. Our instincts often run in the opposite direction of Jesus’ mission. We stay. He goes. We gather. He seeks. We protect our comfort. He pursues the lost. We build walls. He breaks them down. We wait for people to come to us. He goes out to find them.
That is not a small problem. That is not a minor misalignment. That is a spiritual crisis. And it demands real repentance—not the kind of repentance that merely feels bad for a moment, but the kind that reorients our lives. The kind that turns us outward. The kind that reshapes our priorities. The kind that forces us to ask, “Who is the one sheep Jesus is calling me to pursue?” The kind that refuses to let the ninety‑nine become an excuse for ignoring the one.
Repentance, in this context, means acknowledging that our hearts have drifted inward. It means confessing that we have become more concerned with maintaining our religious routines than joining Jesus in His rescue mission. It means admitting that we have allowed fear, comfort, or indifference to keep us from the very people Jesus came to save. And it means consciously, deliberately reversing the trend.
Every one of us needs to reorient our focus so that it points outward rather than inward. That does not mean abandoning the church. It means remembering why the church exists. It means seeing our gatherings not as the finish line but as the starting point. It means viewing Sunday not as the destination but as the launching pad. It means asking God to give us eyes to see the people around us—at work, in our neighborhoods, in our families—who are wandering without a shepherd.
This outward focus is not a program. It is not a strategy. It is not a church growth technique. It is the heart of God. It is the mission of Jesus. It is the calling of every disciple. And it begins with repentance—a turning away from self‑preservation and a turning toward the lost sheep Jesus loves.
If we want to look like Jesus, we must go where Jesus goes. If we want to share His joy, we must share His mission. If we want to experience the celebration of heaven, we must join the search on earth. And that begins with a humble, honest confession: “Lord, we have been too much like the Pharisees. Turn our hearts outward. Make us seekers of the lost. Teach us to go.”
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.
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.
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.'”
jeffersonvann 