6. Jehu wrote them another letter: “If you are with me, and are ready to follow my orders, bring the heads of King Ahab's descendants to me at Jezreel by this time tomorrow.”The seventy descendants of King Ahab were under the care of the leading citizens of Samaria, who were bringing them up.
7. When Jehu's letter was received, the leaders of Samaria killed all seventy of Ahab's descendants, put their heads in baskets, and sent them to Jehu at Jezreel.
8. When Jehu was told that the heads of Ahab's descendants had been brought, he ordered them to be piled up in two heaps at the city gate and to be left there until the following morning.
9. In the morning, he went out to the gate and said to the people who were there, “I was the one who plotted against King Joram and killed him; you are not responsible for that. But who killed all these?
10. This proves that everything that the Lord said about the descendants of Ahab will come true. The Lord has done what he promised through his prophet Elijah.”
11. Then Jehu put to death all the other relatives of Ahab living in Jezreel, and all his officers, close friends, and priests; not one of them was left alive.
12. Jehu left Jezreel to go to Samaria. On the way, at a place called “Shepherds' Camp”,
13. he met some relatives of the late King Ahaziah of Judah and asked them, “Who are you?”“Ahaziah's relatives,” they answered. “We are going to Jezreel to pay our respects to the children of Queen Jezebel and to the rest of the royal family.”
14. Jehu ordered his men, “Take them alive!” They seized them, and he put them to death near a pit there. There were 42 people in all, and not one of them was left alive.
15. Jehu started out again, and on his way he was met by Jonadab son of Rechab. Jehu greeted him and said, “You and I think alike. Will you support me?”“I will,” Jonadab answered.“Give me your hand, then,” Jehu replied. They clasped hands, and Jehu helped him up into the chariot,
16. saying, “Come with me and see for yourself how devoted I am to the Lord.” And they rode on together to Samaria.
17. When they arrived there, Jehu killed all of Ahab's relatives, not sparing even one. This is what the Lord had told Elijah would happen.
18. Jehu called the people of Samaria together and said, “King Ahab served the god Baal a little, but I will serve him much more.
19. Call together all the prophets of Baal, all his worshippers, and all his priests. No one is excused; I am going to offer a great sacrifice to Baal, and whoever is not present will be put to death.” (This was a trick on the part of Jehu by which he meant to kill all the worshippers of Baal.)
20. Then Jehu ordered, “Proclaim a day of worship in honour of Baal!” The proclamation was made,
21. and Jehu sent word throughout all the land of Israel. All who worshipped Baal came; not one of them failed to come. They all went into the temple of Baal, filling it from one end to the other.
22. Then Jehu ordered the priest in charge of the sacred robes to bring the robes out and give them to the worshippers.
23. After that, Jehu himself went into the temple with Jonadab son of Rechab and said to the people there, “Make sure that only worshippers of Baal are present and that no worshipper of the Lord has come in.”
24. Then he and Jonadab went in to offer sacrifices and burnt offerings to Baal. He had stationed eighty men outside the temple and had instructed them: “You are to kill all these people; anyone who lets one of them escape will pay for it with his life!”