2 Kings 10

Now Achaab had seventy sons in Samaria. And Jou wrote a letter and sent it to Samaria, to the rulers of Samaria, and to the elders, and to the guardians of the sons of Achaab, saying,

And now, when this letter comes to you, seeing your lord's sons are with you, and the chariot and the horses are with you, and fortified cities and the weapons,

then look out the good and upright one among your lord's sons, and set him on his father's throne, and fight for your lord's house.

But they were exceedingly afraid and said, Behold, the two kings did not stand before him; how then shall we stand?

And those over the house, and those over the city, and the elders, and the guardians sent to Jou, saying, We are your servants, and whatever you say to us we will do. We will not make any man king; do what is good in your eyes.

And he wrote to them a second letter, saying, If you are mine and you listen to my voice, take the heads of the men, the sons of your lord, and bring them to me at this hour tomorrow in Jezrael. Now the king's sons were seventy men; these, the great men of the city, were rearing them.

And it came to pass when the letter came to them, that they took the king's sons and slaughtered them, seventy men, and put their heads in baskets and sent them to him at Jezrael.

And the messenger came and reported, 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.

And it came to pass in the morning that he went out and stood in the gateway of the city, and said to all the people, You are righteous. Behold, I conspired against my lord and killed him; but who struck all these?

See now that nothing of the word of the Lord shall fall to the ground, which the Lord spoke concerning the house of Achaab; and the Lord has done all that he spoke by the hand of his servant Eliou.

And Jou struck all that were left of the house of Achaab in Jezrael, and all his great men and his acquaintances and his priests, so as to leave him no remnant.

And he arose and went to Samaria; he was at Baithakad of the shepherds on the way.

And Jou found the brothers of Ochozias king of Juda, and said, Who are you? And they said, We are the brothers of Ochozias, and we have come down to greet the sons of the king and the sons of the queen.

And he said, Take them alive. And they took them alive and slaughtered them at Baithakad, forty-two men; he left not a man of them.

And he went from there and found Jonadab son of Rechab on the way coming to meet him, and he blessed him. And Jou said to him, Is your heart upright with my heart, as my heart is with your heart? And Jonadab said, It is. And Jou said, If it is, give me your hand. And he gave his hand, and he took him up to himself onto the chariot.

And he said to him, Come with me and see my zeal for the Lord Sabaoth. And he seated him in his chariot.

And he came into Samaria and struck all that were left of Achaab in Samaria, until he had wiped him out, according to the word of the Lord which he spoke to Eliou.

And Jou gathered all the people together and said to them, Achaab served Baal a little; Jou will serve him much.

And now call to me all the prophets of Baal, all his servants and his priests; let no man be missing, for I have a great sacrifice to Baal. Whoever is missing shall not live. But Jou did it in craftiness, that he might destroy the servants of Baal.

And Jou said, Consecrate a sacred rite to Baal. And they proclaimed it.

And Jou sent through all Israel, saying, And now let all the servants of Baal and all his priests and all his prophets come; let none be left out, for I am making a great sacrifice; whoever is left out shall not live. And all the servants of Baal came, and all his priests and all his prophets; there was not a man left who did not come. And they entered the house of Baal, and the house of Baal was filled from mouth to mouth.

And Jou said to the one over the house of Mesthaal, Bring out garments for all the servants of Baal. And the keeper of the robes brought them out to them.

And Jou and Jonadab son of Rechab went into the house of Baal, and he said to the servants of Baal, Search and see whether there is with you any of the servants of the Lord, for here must be the servants of Baal alone.

And he went in to offer the sacrifices and the whole burnt offerings. And Jou stationed for himself eighty men outside, and said, Any man who escapes of the men whom I bring into your hands, his life shall go for that man's life.

And it came to pass when he had finished offering the whole burnt offering, that Jou said to the runners and to the officers, Go in and strike them; let not a man of them come out. And they struck them with the edge of the sword; and the runners and the officers threw them out, and went to the city of the house of Baal.

And they brought out the pillar of Baal and burned it.

And they pulled down the pillars of Baal and tore down the house of Baal, and made it into latrines, unto this day.

So Jou wiped out Baal from Israel.

Only from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nabat, who made Israel to sin, Jou did not depart from following them, the golden heifers in Baithel and in Dan.

And the Lord said to Jou, Because you have done well in doing what is right in my eyes, and have done to the house of Achaab all that was in my heart, sons of the fourth generation shall sit for you on the throne of Israel.

But Jou did not take heed to walk in the law of the Lord God of Israel with all his heart; he did not turn from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nabat, who made Israel to sin.

In those days the Lord began to cut Israel short, and Azael struck them in all the territory of Israel,

from the Jordan toward the rising of the sun, all the land of Galaad, of Gaddi and of Rouben and of Manasse, from Aroer which is on the edge of the brook Arnon, and Galaad and Basan.

And the rest of the acts of Jou, and all that he did, and all his might, and the engagements he fought, are these not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?

And Jou slept with his fathers, and they buried him in Samaria; and Joachas his son reigned in his place.

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