So our elders and all the inhabitants of our country said to us, ‘Take food provisions for the journey and go to meet them. Say to them, “We are your slaves. So now, make a pact with us.” ’
Take double the money with you, along with the money that was brought back in the mouths of your sacks. Carry it with you again. Perhaps it was a mistake.
So he who was over the house, and he who was over the city, the elders, and the guardians sent word to Jehu, saying, “We are your servants, and everything you say to us we will do. We will not appoint a man king. Do what is good in your eyes.”
In each and every province as well as in each and every city, wherever the king’s edict and his decree reached, the Jews had joy and gladness, a feast, and a holiday. Furthermore, many of the people of the land professed to be Jews because the dread of the Jews fell on them.
“Pass through the midst of the camp and command the people, ‘Prepare food, for in three days you will cross the Jordan to go to take possession of the land that the Lord your God is giving you to possess.’ ”