Elisha the prophet called one of the men from the group of prophets and said to him, "Get ready and take this small bottle of oil in your hand. Go to Ramoth Gilead.
Take the small bottle of oil and pour the oil on Jehu's head. Say, 'This is what the Lord says: I have anointed you to be the new king over Israel.' Then open the door and run away. Don't wait!"
When the young man arrived, he saw the captains of the army sitting. He said, "Captain, I have a message for you." Jehu asked, "Which one of us is the message for?" The young man said, "For you, sir."
Jehu got up and went into the house. Then the young prophet poured the oil on Jehu's head and said to him, "The Lord, the God of Israel, says, 'I am anointing you to be the new king over the Lord's people, Israel.
You must destroy the family of Ahab your king. In this way I will punish Jezebel for the deaths of my servants, the prophets, and the deaths of all the Lord's servants who were murdered.
So all Ahab's family will die. I will not let any male child in Ahab's family live. It doesn't matter if that male child is a slave or a free person in Israel.
Jehu went back to his king's officers. One of the officers said to Jehu, "Is everything all right? Why did this crazy man come to you?" Jehu answered the servants, "You know the man and the crazy things he says."
The officers said, "No, tell us the truth. What did he say?" Jehu told the officers what the young prophet said. Jehu said, "He said a few things and then he said, 'This is what the Lord says: I have anointed you to be the new king over Israel.'"
Then each officer quickly took his robe off and put it on the steps in front of Jehu. Then they blew the trumpet and made the announcement, "Jehu is king!"
So Jehu son of Jehoshaphat, son of Nimshi, made plans against Joram. At that time Joram and the Israelites had been trying to defend Ramoth Gilead from King Hazael of Aram.
King Joram had fought against King Hazael of Aram. But the Arameans wounded King Joram, and he went to Jezreel to get well from those injuries. So Jehu told the officers, "If you agree that I am the new king, don't let anyone escape from the city to tell the news in Jezreel."
A guard was standing on the tower in Jezreel. He saw Jehu's large group coming. He said, "I see a large group of people!" Joram said, "Send someone on a horse to meet them. Tell this messenger to ask if they come in peace."
So the messenger rode on a horse to meet Jehu. The messenger said, "King Joram says, 'Do you come in peace?'" Jehu said, "You have nothing to do with peace. Come and follow me." The guard told Joram, "The messenger went to the group, but he has not come back yet."
Then Joram sent out a second messenger on a horse. This man came to Jehu's group and said, "King Joram says, 'Peace.' " Jehu answered, "You have nothing to do with peace. Come and follow me."
The guard told Joram, "The second messenger went to the group, but he has not come back yet. There is a man driving his chariot like a mad man. He is driving like Jehu son of Nimshi."
Joram said, "Get me my chariot!" So the servant got Joram's chariot. Both King Joram of Israel and King Ahaziah of Judah got their chariots and drove out to meet Jehu. They met him at the property of Naboth from Jezreel.
Joram saw Jehu and asked, "Do you come in peace, Jehu?" Jehu answered, "There is no peace as long as your mother Jezebel does many acts of prostitution and witchcraft. "
Jehu said to his chariot driver Bidkar, "Take Joram's body up and throw it into the field of Naboth from Jezreel. Remember when you and I rode together with Joram's father Ahab, the Lord said this would happen to him.
The Lord said, 'Yesterday I saw the blood of Naboth and his sons. So I will punish Ahab in this field.' The Lord said that. So take Joram's body and throw it into the field, just as he said."
King Ahaziah of Judah saw this and ran away. He tried to escape through the garden house, but Jehu followed him. Jehu had said, "Shoot Ahaziah too!" Ahaziah was wounded when he was in his chariot on the road to Gur near Ibleam. He got as far as Megiddo, but he died there.
Jehu said, "Throw Jezebel down!" Then the eunuchs threw Jezebel down. Some of her blood splashed on the wall and on the horses. The horses trampled her body.
So the men came back and told Jehu. Then Jehu said, "The Lord told his servant Elijah the Tishbite to give this message. Elijah said: 'Dogs will eat the body of Jezebel in the area of Jezreel.