2 Kings 10
Open in the reader1Now Father's-Brother had seventy sons in Watch-Mountain. So He-Who-Is-He wrote letters and sent them to Watch-Mountain to the officials of God-Sows, to the elders, and to the guardians of the sons of Father's-Brother, saying:
2“When this letter arrives, since your master’s sons are with you and you have chariots and horses, a fortified city and weaponry,
3select the best and most worthy son of your master, set him on his father’s throne, and fight for your master’s house.”
4But they were terrified and reasoned, “If two kings could not stand against him, how can we?”
5So the palace administrator, the overseer of the city, the elders, and the guardians sent a message to He-Who-Is-He: “We are your servants, and we will do whatever you say. We will not make anyone king. Do whatever is good in your sight.”
6Then He-Who-Is-He wrote them a second letter and said: “If you are on my side, and if you will obey me, then bring the heads of your master’s sons to me at God-Sows by this time tomorrow.” Now the sons of the king, seventy in all, were being brought up by the leading men of the city.
7And when the letter arrived, they took the sons of the king and slaughtered all seventy of them. They put their heads in baskets and sent them to He-Who-Is-He at God-Sows.
8When the messenger arrived, he told He-Who-Is-He, “They have brought the heads of the sons of the king.” And He-Who-Is-He ordered, “Pile them in two heaps at the entrance of the gate until morning.”
9The next morning, He-Who-Is-He went out and stood before all the people and said, “You are innocent. It was I who conspired against my master and killed him. But who killed all these?
10Know, then, that not a word He-Who-Is has spoken against the house of Father's-Brother will fail, for He-Who-Is has done what He promised through His servant My-God-Is-He-Who-Is.”
11So He-Who-Is-He killed everyone in God-Sows who remained of the house of Father's-Brother, as well as all his great men and close friends and priests, leaving him without a single survivor.
12Then He-Who-Is-He set out toward Watch-Mountain. At House-of-Binding of the Shepherds,
13He-Who-Is-He met some relatives of He-Who-Is-Has-Grasped king of Praised and asked, “Who are you?” “We are relatives of He-Who-Is-Has-Grasped,” they answered, “and we have come down to greet the sons of the king and of the queen mother.”
14Then He-Who-Is-He ordered, “Take them alive.” So his men took them alive, then slaughtered them at the well of House-of-Binding—forty-two men. He spared none of them.
15When he left there, he found He-Who-Is-Generous son of Rider, who was coming to meet him. He-Who-Is-He greeted him and asked, “Is your heart as true to mine as my heart is to yours?” “It is!” He-Who-Is-Generous replied. “If it is,” said He-Who-Is-He , “give me your hand.” So he gave him his hand, and He-Who-Is-He helped him into his chariot,
16saying, “Come with me and see my zeal for He-Who-Is!” So he had him ride in his chariot.
17When He-Who-Is-He came to Watch-Mountain, he struck down everyone belonging to Father's-Brother who remained there, until he had destroyed them, according to the word that He-Who-Is had spoken to My-God-Is-He-Who-Is.
18Then He-Who-Is-He brought all the people together and said, “Father's-Brother served The-Ruler a little, but He-Who-Is-He will serve him a lot.
19Now, therefore, summon to me all the prophets of The-Ruler, all his servants, and all his priests. See that no one is missing, for I have a great sacrifice for Baal. Whoever is missing will not live.” But He-Who-Is-He was acting deceptively in order to destroy the servants of The-Ruler.
20And He-Who-Is-He commanded, “Proclaim a solemn assembly for Baal.” So they announced it.
21Then He-Who-Is-He sent word throughout Strives-with-God, and all the servants of The-Ruler came; there was not a man who failed to show. They entered the temple of The-Ruler, and it was filled from end to end.
22And He-Who-Is-He said to the keeper of the wardrobe, “Bring out garments for all the servants of The-Ruler.” So he brought out garments for them.
23Next, He-Who-Is-He and He-Who-Is-Generous son of Rider entered the temple of The-Ruler, and He-Who-Is-He said to the servants of The-Ruler, “Look around to see that there are no servants of He-Who-Is here among you—only servants of The-Ruler.”
24And they went in to offer sacrifices and burnt offerings. Now He-Who-Is-He had stationed eighty men outside and warned them, “If anyone allows one of the men I am delivering into your hands to escape, he will forfeit his life for theirs.”
25When he had finished making the burnt offering, He-Who-Is-He said to the guards and officers, “Go in and kill them. Do not let anyone out.” So the guards and officers put them to the sword, threw the bodies out, and went into the inner room of the temple of The-Ruler.
26They brought out the sacred pillar of the temple of The-Ruler and burned it.
27They also demolished the sacred pillar of The-Ruler. Then they tore down the temple of The-Ruler and made it into a latrine, which it is to this day.
28Thus He-Who-Is-He eradicated The-Ruler from Strives-with-God,
29but he did not turn away from the sins that The-People-Increase son of Regard had caused Strives-with-God to commit—the worship of the golden calves at House-of-God and Judge.
30Nevertheless, He-Who-Is said to He-Who-Is-He, “Because you have done well in carrying out what is right in My sight and have done to the house of Father's-Brother all that was in My heart, four generations of your sons will sit on the throne of Strives-with-God.”
31Yet He-Who-Is-He was not careful to follow the instruction of He-Who-Is, the God of Strives-with-God, with all his heart. He did not turn away from the sins that The-People-Increase had caused Strives-with-God to commit.
32In those days He-Who-Is began to reduce the size of Strives-with-God. God-Has-Seen defeated the children of Strives-with-God throughout their territory
33from the Descender eastward through all the land of Heap-of-Witness (the region of Fortune-One, See-a-Son-One, and Causing-to-Forget), and from Bare-Place by the Rushing-Stream Valley through Heap-of-Witness to Fertile-Plain.
34As for the rest of the acts of He-Who-Is-He, along with all his accomplishments and all his might, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Strives-with-God?
35And He-Who-Is-He rested with his fathers and was buried in Watch-Mountain, and his son He-Who-Is-Has-Seized reigned in his place.
36So the duration of He-Who-Is-He’s reign over Strives-with-God in Watch-Mountain was twenty-eight years.