1 Now Ahab had seventy sons in Samaria. And Jehu wrote and sent letters to Samaria, to the rulers of Jezreel, to the elders, and to those rearing Ahab’s sons, saying:

2 Now as soon as this letter comes to you, since your master’s sons are with you, and you have chariots and horses, a fortified city also, and weapons,

3 choose the best and most upright of your master’s sons, set him on his father’s throne, and fight for your master’s house.

4 But they were exceedingly afraid, and said, Behold, two kings have not stood before him; how then can we stand?

5 And he who was over the house, and he who was over the city, the elders also, and those rearing the sons, sent to Jehu, saying, We are your servants, we will do all you tell us; but we will not make anyone king. Do what is good in your eyes.

6 Then he wrote a second letter to them, saying: If you are for me and will obey my voice, take the heads of the men, your master’s sons, and come to me at Jezreel by this time tomorrow. Now the king’s sons, seventy persons, were with the great men of the city, who were rearing them.

7 So it was, when the letter came to them, that they took the king’s sons and slaughtered seventy persons, put their heads in baskets and sent them to him at Jezreel.

8 And a messenger came and reported to him, saying, They have brought the heads of the king’s sons. And he said, Lay them in two heaps at the entrance of the gate until morning.

9 And it came about in the morning, that he went out and stood, and said to all the people, You are righteous. Behold, I have conspired against my master and killed him; but who killed all these?

10 Know now that nothing has fallen to the earth of the Word of Jehovah which Jehovah has spoken concerning the house of Ahab; for Jehovah has done what He has spoken by the hand of His servant Elijah.

11 Thus Jehu killed all who remained of the house of Ahab in Jezreel, and all his great men and his acquaintances and his priests, until he left him no one remaining.

12 And he arose and departed and went to Samaria. On the way, at the house of the shepherds at Beth Eked,

13 Jehu met the brothers of Ahaziah king of Judah, and said, Who are you? And they answered, We are the brothers of Ahaziah; we have come down to greet the sons of the king and the sons of the queen mother.

14 And he said, Take them alive! So they took them alive, and killed them at the well of Beth Eked, forty-two men; and he left none of them.

15 And when he departed from there, he met Jehonadab the son of Rechab, coming to meet him; and he blessed him and said to him, Is your heart upright, as my heart is with your heart? And Jehonadab answered, It is. Jehu said, If it is, give me your hand. So he gave him his hand, and he took him up to him into the chariot.

16 Then he said, Come with me, and see my zeal for Jehovah. So they made him ride in his chariot.

17 And when he came to Samaria, he killed all who remained to Ahab in Samaria, till he had destroyed them, according to the Word of Jehovah which He had spoken to Elijah.

18 Then Jehu gathered all the people together, and said to them, Ahab served Baal a little, Jehu shall serve him much.

19 Now therefore, call to me all the prophets of Baal, all his servants, and all his priests. Let no one be missing, for I have a great sacrifice to Baal. Whoever is missing shall not live. But Jehu acted with cunning, in order to destroy those serving Baal.

20 And Jehu said, Consecrate a solemn assembly to Baal. So they proclaimed it.

21 Then Jehu sent throughout all Israel; and all those serving Baal came, so that there was not a man left who did not come. So they came into the house of Baal, and the house of Baal was full from one end to the other.

22 And he said to the one over the wardrobe, Bring out the vestments for all those serving Baal. So he brought out vestments for them.

23 And Jehu and Jehonadab the son of Rechab went into the house of Baal, and said to those serving Baal, Search and see that no servants of Jehovah are here with you, but only those serving Baal.

24 So they went in to offer sacrifices and burnt offerings. Now Jehu had appointed for himself eighty men outside, and had said, If any of the men whom I have brought into your hands escapes, whoever lets him escape, it shall be his soul for the soul of the other.

25 Now it happened, as soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt offering, that Jehu said to the runners and the officers, Go in and strike them; let no one come out! And they killed them with the edge of the sword; then the runners and the officers threw them out, and went into the city of the house of Baal.

26 And they brought the sacred pillars out of the house of Baal and burned them.

27 Then they broke down the sacred pillar of Baal, and tore down the house of Baal and made it an outhouse to this day.

28 Thus Jehu destroyed Baal out of Israel.

29 However Jehu did not turn away from after the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who had made Israel sin, that is, from the golden calves that were at Bethel and Dan.

30 And Jehovah said to Jehu, Because you have done well in doing what is right in My eyes, and have done to the house of Ahab all that was in My heart, your sons shall sit on the throne of Israel to the fourth generation.

31 But Jehu took no heed to walk in the Law of Jehovah the God of Israel with all his heart; for he did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam, who had made Israel sin.

32 In those days Jehovah began to cut off Israel; and Hazael struck them in all the territory of Israel

33 from the Jordan eastward: all the land of Gilead; Gad, Reuben, and Manasseh; from Aroer, which is by the River Arnon, including Gilead and Bashan.

34 Now the rest of the acts of Jehu, all that he did, and all his might, are they not written in the book of the Chronicles of the kings of Israel.

35 So Jehu rested with his fathers, and they buried him in Samaria. And Jehoahaz his son reigned in his place.

36 And the days that Jehu reigned over Israel in Samaria were twenty-eight years.

1 E ACABE tinha setenta filhos em Samaria: e Jeú escreveu cartas, e as enviou a Samaria, aos chefes de Jezreel, aos anciãos, e aos aios dos filhos de Acabe, dizendo: 2 Logo, em chegando a vós esta carta, pois estão convosco os filhos de vosso senhor, como também os carros, e os cavalos, e a cidade fortalecida, e as armas. 3 Olhai pelo melhor e mais reto dos filhos de vosso senhor, o qual ponde sobre o trono de seu pai e pelejai pela casa de vosso senhor. 4 Porém eles temeram muitíssimo, e disseram: Eis que dois reis não puderam parar diante dele: como pois poderemos nós resistir-lhe? 5 Então o que tinha cargo da casa, e o que tinha cargo da cidade, e os anciãos, e os aios enviaram a Jeú, dizendo: Teus servos somos, e tudo quanto nos disseres faremos; a ninguém poremos rei: faze o que for bom aos teus olhos. 6 Então segunda vez lhes escreveu outra carta, dizendo: Se sois meus, e ouvirdes a minha voz, tomai as cabeças dos homens, filhos de vosso senhor, e amanhã a este tempo vinde a mim a Jezreel (e os filhos do rei, setenta homens, estavam com os grandes da cidade, que os mantinham). 7 Sucedeu pois que, chegada a eles a carta, tomaram os filhos do rei, e os mataram, setenta homens: e puseram as suas cabeças nuns cestos, e lhas mandaram a Jezreel. 8 E um mensageiro veio, e lhe anunciou dizendo: Trouxeram as cabeças dos filhos do rei. E ele disse: Ponde-as em dois montões à entrada da porta, até amanhã. 9 E sucedeu que pela manhã, saindo ele, parou, e disse a todo o povo: Vós sois justos: eis que eu conspirei contra o meu senhor, e o matei; mas quem feriu a todos estes? 10 Sabei pois agora que, da palavra do Senhor, que o Senhor falou contra a casa de Acabe, nada cairá em terra, porque o Senhor tem feito o que falou pelo ministério de seu servo Elias. 11 Também Jeú feriu a todos os restantes da casa de Acabe em Jezreel, como também a todos os seus grandes, e os seus conhecidos, e os seus sacerdotes, até que nenhum lhe deixou ficar de resto. 12 Então se levantou e partiu, e foi a Samaria. E estando no caminho, em Bete-Equede dos pastores. 13 Jeú achou os irmãos de Acazias, rei de Judá, e disse: Quem sois vós? E eles disseram: Os irmãos de Acazias somos; e descemos a saudar os filhos do rei e os filhos da rainha. 14 Então disse ele: Apanhai-os vivos. E eles os apanharam vivos, e os mataram junto ao poço de Bete-Equede, quarenta e dois homens; e a nenhum deles deixou de resto.

15 E, partindo dali, encontrou a Jonadabe, filho de Recabe, que lhe vinha ao encontro, o qual saudou e lhe disse: Reto é o teu coração, como o meu coração é com o teu coração? E disse Jonadabe: É. Então, se é, dá-me a mão. E deu-lhe a mão, e fê-lo subir consigo ao carro. 16 E disse: Vai comigo, e verás o meu zelo para com o Senhor. E o puseram no seu carro. 17 E, chegando a Samaria, feriu a todos os que ficaram de Acabe em Samaria, até que os destruiu, conforme a palavra do Senhor, que lhe dissera a Elias. 18 E ajuntou Jeú a todo o povo, e disse-lhe: Acabe serviu pouco a Baal; Jeú porém muito o servirá. 19 Pelo que chamai-me agora todos os profetas de Baal, todos os seus servos e todos os seus sacerdotes; não falte nenhum, porque tenho um grande sacrifício a fazer a Baal; todo aquele que faltar não viverá. Porém Jeú fazia isto com astúcia, para destruir os servos de Baal. 20 Disse mais Jeú: Consagrai a Baal uma assembleia solene. E a apregoaram. 21 Também Jeú enviou por todo o Israel: e vieram todos os servos de Baal, e nenhum homem deles ficou que não viesse: e entraram na casa de Baal, e encheu-se a casa de Baal, dum lado ao outro. 22 Então disse ao que tinha o cargo das vestimentas. Tira as vestimentas para todos os servos de Baal. E ele lhes tirou para fora as vestimentas. 23 E entrou Jeú com Jonadabe, filho de Recabe, na casa de Baal, e disse aos servos de Baal: Examinai, e vede bem, que porventura nenhum dos servos do Senhor aqui haja convosco, senão somente os servos de Baal. 24 E, entrando eles a fazerem sacrifícios e holocaustos, Jeú preparou da parte de fora oitenta homens, e disse-lhes: Se escapar algum dos homens que eu entregar em vossas mãos, a vossa vida será pela vida dele. 25 E sucedeu que, acabando de fazer o holocausto, disse Jeú, aos da sua guarda, e aos capitães: Entrai, feri-os, não escape nenhum. E os feriram ao fio da espada; e os da guarda e os capitães os lançaram fora, e se foram à cidade da casa de Baal. 26 E tiraram as estátuas da casa de Baal, e as queimaram. 27 Também quebraram a estátua de Baal: e derrubaram a casa de Baal, e fizeram dela latrinas, até ao dia de hoje. 28 E assim Jeú destruiu a Baal de Israel. 29 Porém não se apartou Jeú de seguir os pecados de Jeroboão, filho de Nebate, que fez pecar a Israel, a saber: Dos bezerros de ouro, que estavam em Betel e em Dã. 30 Pelo que disse o Senhor a Jeú: Porquanto bem obraste em fazer o que é reto aos meus olhos e, conforme a tudo quanto eu tinha no meu coração, fizeste à casa de Acabe, teus filhos até à quarta geração se assentarão no trono de Israel. 31 Mas Jeú não teve cuidado de andar com todo o seu coração na lei do Senhor Deus de Israel, nem se apartou dos pecados de Jeroboão, que fez pecar a Israel. 32 Naqueles dias começou o Senhor a diminuir os termos de Israel porque Hazael os feriu em todas as fronteiras de Israel. 33 Desde o Jordão para o nascente do sol, e toda a terra de Gileade; os gaditas, e os rubenitas, e os manassitas, desde Aroer, que está junto ao ribeiro de Arnom, a saber Gileade, e Basã. 34 Ora o mais dos sucessos de Jeú, e tudo quanto fez, e todo o seu poder, porventura não está escrito no livro das crônicas de Israel? 35 E Jeú dormiu com seus pais, e o sepultaram em Samaria: e Joacaz, seu filho, reinou em seu lugar. 36 E os dias que Jeú reinou sobre Israel em Samaria foram vinte e oito anos.