1. Meanwhile the prophet Elisha called one of the young prophets and said to him, “Get ready and go to Ramoth in Gilead. Take this jar of olive oil with you,
2. and when you get there look for Jehu, the son of Jehoshaphat and grandson of Nimshi. Take him to a private room away from his companions,
3. pour this olive oil on his head, and say, ‘The Lord proclaims that he anoints you king of Israel.’ Then leave there as fast as you can.”
4. So the young prophet went to Ramoth,
5. where he found the army officers in a conference. He said, “Sir, I have a message for you.”Jehu asked, “Which one of us are you speaking to?”“To you, sir,” he replied.
6. Then the two of them went indoors, and the young prophet poured the olive oil on Jehu's head and said to him, “The Lord, the God of Israel, proclaims: ‘I anoint you king of my people Israel.
7. You are to kill your master the king, that son of Ahab, so that I may punish Jezebel for murdering my prophets and my other servants.
8. All Ahab's family and descendants are to die; I will get rid of every male in his family, young and old alike.
9. I will treat his family as I did the families of King Jeroboam of Israel and of King Baasha of Israel.
10. Jezebel will not be buried; her body will be eaten by dogs in the territory of Jezreel.’ ” After saying this, the young prophet left the room and fled.
11. Jehu went back to his fellow-officers, who asked him, “Is everything all right? What did that crazy fellow want with you?”“You know what he wanted,” Jehu answered.
12. “No we don't!” they replied. “Tell us what he said!”“He told me that the Lord proclaims: ‘I anoint you king of Israel.’ ”
13. At once Jehu's fellow-officers spread their cloaks at the top of the steps for Jehu to stand on, blew trumpets, and shouted, “Jehu is king!”
14-15. Then Jehu plotted against King Joram, who was in Jezreel, where he had gone to recover from the wounds which he had received in the battle at Ramoth against King Hazael of Syria. So Jehu said to his fellow-officers, “If you are with me, make sure that no one slips out of Ramoth to go and warn the people in Jezreel.”