And it came to pass, when the letter came to them
They did not in the least hesitate, but immediately complied with the contents of it:
that they took the king's sons, and slew seventy persons;
which was the whole number of them:
and put their heads in baskets, and sent them to Jezreel;
as a present to Jehu, just as they carried the firstfruits, as Abarbinel observes.