You shall strike down the house of Ahab your master: The future tense used here is a kind of imperative. In certain languages it will have to be rendered “you must strike down….” Translators must also avoid conveying the notion that Jehu was being told to destroy a house in the literal sense of the word. The house of Ahab refers to Joram, the son of Ahab, who was ruling at the time (2 Kgs 3.1). By killing him, the reign of the family of Ahab would come to an end. Compare Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente (similarly Peregrino): “You will destroy the dynasty of Ahab.” This is made quite clear in Good News Translation without giving the name of Joram directly. Others have a more general order to have “the descendants of Ahab” (Bible en français courant) killed. This, of course, would have included the present king but would not be limited to him. This is probably a more accurate translation of the meaning of the text than Good News Translation, which seems to focus exclusively on Joram.
That I may avenge on Jezebel …: The construction used here indicates the purpose of the proposed course of action. The family of Ahab was to be killed in order that Jezebel, the wife of Ahab, would suffer punishment for having murdered the prophets of Yahweh. The verb avenge may have to be rendered “punish” (Good News Translation, New Century Version), “repay,” or “strike back at.”
In the Hebrew text the words translated on Jezebel come at the end of the verse. The Hebrew is literally “by the hand of Jezebel.” The meaning may be (1) “with the blood of Jezebel,” that is, Jezebel will be punished. Revised Standard Version appears to follow this first interpretation (also New Jerusalem Bible, but see the comments on the next verse). Nouvelle Bible Segond similarly says “I will make Jezebel pay for it.” Or the meaning may be (2) “for the blood shed by Jezebel,” that is, Jezebel murdered God’s servants. New International Version follows the second interpretation with “the blood … shed by Jezebel” (also New American Bible, but see the comments on the next verse). Either interpretation is acceptable. Good News Translation seems to include both interpretations by saying “so that I may punish Jezebel for murdering….”
The blood of my servants the prophets, and the blood of all the servants of the LORD: In this expression the word blood refers to the death or murder of the prophets caused by Jezebel (1 Kgs 18.4, 13). It is difficult to understand the relationship between the two groups named here, but translators should consider adding the word “other” in the second group as follows: “… all the other servants of the LORD” (New American Bible) or “… all my other servants” (similarly Good News Translation).
If a shift is made in the previous verse from the indirect third person reference to the LORD to the first person singular pronoun, then a similar shift should be made here since this is a continuation of the same discourse (so Good News Translation).
Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on 1-2 Kings, Volume 2. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2008. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .