2 Kings 8
King James Version
8 Then spake Elisha unto the woman, whose son he had restored to life, saying, Arise, and go thou and thine household, and sojourn wheresoever thou canst sojourn: for the Lord hath called for a famine; and it shall also come upon the land seven years.
2 And the woman arose, and did after the saying of the man of God: and she went with her household, and sojourned in the land of the Philistines seven years.
3 And it came to pass at the seven years' end, that the woman returned out of the land of the Philistines: and she went forth to cry unto the king for her house and for her land.
4 And the king talked with Gehazi the servant of the man of God, saying, Tell me, I pray thee, all the great things that Elisha hath done.
5 And it came to pass, as he was telling the king how he had restored a dead body to life, that, behold, the woman, whose son he had restored to life, cried to the king for her house and for her land. And Gehazi said, My lord, O king, this is the woman, and this is her son, whom Elisha restored to life.
6 And when the king asked the woman, she told him. So the king appointed unto her a certain officer, saying, Restore all that was hers, and all the fruits of the field since the day that she left the land, even until now.
7 And Elisha came to Damascus; and Benhadad the king of Syria was sick; and it was told him, saying, The man of God is come hither.
8 And the king said unto Hazael, Take a present in thine hand, and go, meet the man of God, and enquire of the Lord by him, saying, Shall I recover of this disease?
9 So Hazael went to meet him, and took a present with him, even of every good thing of Damascus, forty camels' burden, and came and stood before him, and said, Thy son Benhadad king of Syria hath sent me to thee, saying, Shall I recover of this disease?
10 And Elisha said unto him, Go, say unto him, Thou mayest certainly recover: howbeit the Lord hath shewed me that he shall surely die.
11 And he settled his countenance stedfastly, until he was ashamed: and the man of God wept.
12 And Hazael said, Why weepeth my lord? And he answered, Because I know the evil that thou wilt do unto the children of Israel: their strong holds wilt thou set on fire, and their young men wilt thou slay with the sword, and wilt dash their children, and rip up their women with child.
13 And Hazael said, But what, is thy servant a dog, that he should do this great thing? And Elisha answered, The Lord hath shewed me that thou shalt be king over Syria.
14 So he departed from Elisha, and came to his master; who said to him, What said Elisha to thee? And he answered, He told me that thou shouldest surely recover.
15 And it came to pass on the morrow, that he took a thick cloth, and dipped it in water, and spread it on his face, so that he died: and Hazael reigned in his stead.
16 And in the fifth year of Joram the son of Ahab king of Israel, Jehoshaphat being then king of Judah, Jehoram the son of Je hoshaphat king of Judah began to reign.
17 Thirty and two years old was he when he began to reign; and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem.
18 And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, as did the house of Ahab: for the daughter of Ahab was his wife: and he did evil in the sight of the Lord.
19 Yet the Lord would not destroy Judah for David his servant's sake, as he promised him to give him alway a light, and to his children.
20 In his days Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah, and made a king over themselves.
21 So Joram went over to Zair, and all the chariots with him: and he rose by night, and smote the Edomites which compassed him about, and the captains of the chariots: and the people fled into their tents.
22 Yet Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah unto this day. Then Libnah revolted at the same time.
23 And the rest of the acts of Joram, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?
24 And Joram slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David: and Ahaziah his son reigned in his stead.
25 In the twelfth year of Joram the son of Ahab king of Israel did Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah begin to reign.
26 Two and twenty years old was Ahaziah when he began to reign; and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Athaliah, the daughter of Omri king of Israel.
27 And he walked in the way of the house of Ahab, and did evil in the sight of the Lord, as did the house of Ahab: for he was the son in law of the house of Ahab.
28 And he went with Joram the son of Ahab to the war against Hazael king of Syria in Ramothgilead; and the Syrians wounded Joram.
29 And king Joram went back to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds which the Syrians had given him at Ramah, when he fought against Hazael king of Syria. And Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah went down to see Joram the son of Ahab in Jezreel, because he was sick.
2 Kings 8
New King James Version
The King Restores the Shunammite’s Land
8 Then Elisha spoke to the woman (A)whose son he had restored to life, saying, “Arise and go, you and your household, and stay wherever you can; for the Lord (B)has called for a (C)famine, and furthermore, it will come upon the land for seven years.” 2 So the woman arose and did according to the saying of the man of God, and she went with her household and dwelt in the land of the Philistines seven years.
3 It came to pass, at the end of seven years, that the woman returned from the land of the Philistines; and she went to make an appeal to the king for her house and for her land. 4 Then the king talked with (D)Gehazi, the servant of the man of God, saying, “Tell me, please, all the great things Elisha has done.” 5 Now it happened, as he was telling the king how he had restored the dead to life, that there was the woman whose son he had (E)restored to life, appealing to the king for her house and for her land. And Gehazi said, “My lord, O king, this is the woman, and this is her son whom Elisha restored to life.” 6 And when the king asked the woman, she told him.
So the king appointed a certain officer for her, saying, “Restore all that was hers, and all the proceeds of the field from the day that she left the land until now.”
Death of Ben-Hadad
7 Then Elisha went to Damascus, and (F)Ben-Hadad king of Syria was sick; and it was told him, saying, “The man of God has come here.” 8 And the king said to (G)Hazael, (H)“Take a present in your hand, and go to meet the man of God, and (I)inquire of the Lord by him, saying, ‘Shall I recover from this disease?’ ” 9 So (J)Hazael went to meet him and took a present with him, of every good thing of Damascus, forty camel-loads; and he came and stood before him, and said, “Your son Ben-Hadad king of Syria has sent me to you, saying, ‘Shall I recover from this disease?’ ”
10 And Elisha said to him, “Go, say to him, ‘You shall certainly recover.’ However the Lord has shown me that (K)he will really die.” 11 Then he [a]set his countenance in a stare until he was ashamed; and the man of God (L)wept. 12 And Hazael said, “Why is my lord weeping?”
He answered, “Because I know (M)the evil that you will do to the children of Israel: Their strongholds you will set on fire, and their young men you will kill with the sword; and you (N)will dash their children, and rip open their women with child.”
13 So Hazael said, “But what (O)is your servant—a dog, that he should do this gross thing?”
And Elisha answered, (P)“The Lord has shown me that you will become king over Syria.”
14 Then he departed from Elisha, and came to his master, who said to him, “What did Elisha say to you?” And he answered, “He told me you would surely recover.” 15 But it happened on the next day that he took a thick cloth and dipped it in water, and spread it over his face so that he died; and Hazael reigned in his place.
Jehoram Reigns in Judah(Q)
16 Now (R)in the fifth year of Joram the son of Ahab, king of Israel, Jehoshaphat having been king of Judah, (S)Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat began to reign as [b]king of Judah. 17 He was (T)thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. 18 And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, just as the house of Ahab had done, for (U)the daughter of Ahab was his wife; and he did evil in the sight of the Lord. 19 Yet the Lord would not destroy Judah, for the sake of His servant David, (V)as He promised him to give a lamp to him and his sons forever.
20 In his days (W)Edom revolted against Judah’s authority, (X)and made a king over themselves. 21 So [c]Joram went to Zair, and all his chariots with him. Then he rose by night and attacked the Edomites who had surrounded him and the captains of the chariots; and the troops fled to their tents. 22 Thus Edom has been in revolt against Judah’s authority to this day. (Y)And Libnah revolted at that time.
23 Now the rest of the acts of Joram, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? 24 So Joram [d]rested with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the City of David. Then (Z)Ahaziah[e] his son reigned in his place.
Ahaziah Reigns in Judah(AA)
25 In the twelfth year of Joram the son of Ahab, king of Israel, Ahaziah the son of Jehoram, king of Judah, began to reign. 26 Ahaziah was (AB)twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Athaliah the granddaughter of Omri, king of Israel. 27 (AC)And he walked in the way of the house of Ahab, and did evil in the sight of the Lord, like the house of Ahab, for he was the son-in-law of the house of Ahab.
28 Now he went (AD)with Joram the son of Ahab to war against Hazael king of Syria at (AE)Ramoth Gilead; and the Syrians wounded Joram. 29 Then (AF)King Joram went back to Jezreel to recover from the wounds which the Syrians had inflicted on him at [f]Ramah, when he fought against Hazael king of Syria. (AG)And Ahaziah the son of Jehoram, king of Judah, went down to see Joram the son of Ahab in Jezreel, because he was sick.
Footnotes
- 2 Kings 8:11 fixed his gaze
- 2 Kings 8:16 Co-regent with his father
- 2 Kings 8:21 Jehoram, v. 16
- 2 Kings 8:24 Died and joined his ancestors
- 2 Kings 8:24 Or Azariah or Jehoahaz
- 2 Kings 8:29 Ramoth, v. 28
2 Kings 8
Contemporary English Version
The Woman from Shunem Is Given Back Her Land
8 (A) Elisha told the woman whose son he had brought back to life,[a] “The Lord has warned that there will be no food here for seven years. Take your family and go live somewhere else for a while.” 2 The woman did exactly what Elisha had said and went to live in Philistine territory.
She and her family lived there seven years. 3 Then she returned to Israel and immediately begged the king to give back her house and property.
4 Meanwhile, the king was asking Gehazi the servant of Elisha about the amazing things Elisha had been doing. 5 While Gehazi was telling him that Elisha had brought a dead boy back to life, the woman and her son arrived.
“Here's the boy, Your Majesty,” Gehazi said. “And this is his mother.”
6 The king asked the woman to tell her story, and she told him everything that had happened. He then said to one of his officials, “I want you to make sure that this woman gets back everything that belonged to her, including the money her crops have made since the day she left Israel.”
Hazael Kills Benhadad
7 Some time later Elisha went to the capital city of Damascus to visit King Benhadad of Syria, who was sick. And when Benhadad was told he was there, 8 he said to Hazael,[b] “Go meet with Elisha the man of God and get him to ask the Lord if I will get well. And take along a gift for him.”
9 Hazael left with forty camel loads of the best things made in Damascus as a gift for Elisha. He found the prophet and said, “Your servant, King Benhadad, wants to know if he will get well.”
10 “Tell him he will,” Elisha said to Hazael. “But the Lord has already told me that Benhadad will definitely die.” 11 Elisha stared at him until Hazael was embarrassed, then Elisha began crying.[c]
12 “Sir, why are you crying?” Hazael asked.
Elisha answered, “Because I know the terrible things you will do to the people of Israel. You will burn down their walled cities and slaughter their young men. You will even crush the heads of their babies and rip open their pregnant women.”
13 (B) “How could I ever do anything like that?” Hazael replied. “I'm only a servant and don't have that kind of power.”
“Hazael, the Lord has told me that you will be the next king of Syria.”
14 Hazael went back to Benhadad and told him, “Elisha said that you will get well.” 15 But the very next day, Hazael got a thick blanket; he soaked it in water and held it over Benhadad's face until he died. Hazael then became king.
King Jehoram of Judah
(2 Chronicles 21.2-20)
16 Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat became king of Judah in Joram's fifth year as king of Israel, while Jehoshaphat was still king of Judah.[d] 17 Jehoram was 32 years old when he became king, and he ruled 8 years from Jerusalem.
18 Jehoram disobeyed the Lord by doing wrong. He married Ahab's daughter and was as sinful as Ahab's family and the kings of Israel. 19 (C) But the Lord refused to destroy Judah, because he had promised his servant David that someone from his family would always rule in Judah.
20 (D) While Jehoram was king, the people of Edom rebelled and chose their own king. 21 So Jehoram[e] and his cavalry marched to Zair, where the Edomite army surrounded him and his commanders. During the night he attacked the Edomites, but he was defeated, and his troops escaped to their homes.[f] 22 Judah was never able to regain control of Edom. Even the town of Libnah[g] rebelled at that time.
23 Everything else Jehoram did while he was king is written in The History of the Kings of Judah. 24 Jehoram died and was buried beside his ancestors in Jerusalem.[h] His son Ahaziah then became king.
King Ahaziah of Judah
(2 Chronicles 22.1-6)
25 Ahaziah son of Jehoram became king of Judah in the twelfth year of Joram's rule in Israel. 26 Ahaziah was 22 years old when he became king, and he ruled from Jerusalem for only one year. His mother was Athaliah, a granddaughter of King Omri of Israel. 27 Since Ahaziah was related to Ahab's family,[i] he acted just like them and disobeyed the Lord by doing wrong.
28 Ahaziah went with King Joram of Israel to attack King Hazael and the Syrian troops at Ramoth in Gilead. Joram was wounded in that battle, 29 so he went to the town of Jezreel to recover. Ahaziah went there to visit him.
Footnotes
- 8.1 Elisha … life: See 4.8-37.
- 8.8 Hazael: Probably one of Benhadad's officials.
- 8.11 Elisha stared … crying: Or “Hazael stared at him until Elisha was embarrassed and began to cry.”
- 8.16 while Jehoshaphat … Judah: In biblical times, a father and son would sometimes rule as kings at the same time. That way, when the father died, his son would already have control of the kingdom.
- 8.21 Jehoram: The Hebrew text has “Joram,” another spelling of the name.
- 8.21 he attacked … homes: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- 8.22 Even the town of Libnah: This was a town on the border between Philistia and Judah, which means that Jehoram was facing rebellion on two sides of his kingdom.
- 8.24 Jerusalem: Hebrew “the city of David.”
- 8.27 Since … family: Ahaziah's mother was Ahab's daughter (see verse 18).
2 Kings 8
Common English Bible
The woman from Shunem
8 Elisha spoke to the woman whose son he had brought back to life: “You and your household must go away and live wherever you can, because the Lord has called for a famine. It is coming to the land and will last seven years.”
2 So the woman went and did what the man of God asked. She and her household moved away, living in Philistia seven years. 3 When seven years had passed, the woman returned from Philistia. She went to appeal to the king for her house and her farmland. 4 The king was speaking to Gehazi, the man of God’s servant, asking him, “Tell me about all the great things Elisha has done.” 5 So Gehazi was telling the king how Elisha had brought the dead to life. At that very moment, the woman whose son he had brought back to life began to appeal to the king for her house and her farmland.
Gehazi said, “Your Majesty, this is the woman herself! And this is her son, the one Elisha brought to life!”
6 The king questioned the woman, and she told him her story. Then the king appointed an official to help her, saying, “Return everything that belongs to her, as well as everything that the farmland has produced, starting from the day she left the country until right now.”
Hazael becomes king
7 Now Elisha had gone to Damascus when Aram’s King Ben-hadad became sick. The king was told, “The man of God has come all this way.”
8 So the king said to Hazael, “Take a gift with you and go to meet the man of God. Question the Lord through him: ‘Will I recover from this sickness?’”
9 So Hazael went out to meet Elisha. He took along forty camel-loads of Damascus’ finest goods as a gift. He came and stood before Elisha and said, “Your son Ben-hadad, the king of Aram, sent me to you to ask, ‘Will I recover from this sickness?’”
10 Elisha said to him, “Go and tell him, ‘You will definitely recover,’ but actually the Lord has shown me that he will die.” 11 Elisha stared straight at Hazael until he felt uneasy.[a] Then the man of God began to cry.
12 Hazael said, “Master, why are you crying?”
“Because I know what violence you will do to the Israelites,” Elisha said. “You will drive them from their forts with fire. You will kill their young men with the sword. You will smash their children and rip open their pregnant women.”
13 Hazael replied, “How could your servant, who is nothing but a dog, do such mighty things?”
Elisha said, “The Lord has shown me that you will be king over Aram.” 14 Then Hazael left Elisha and returned to his master.
“What did Elisha say to you?” Ben-hadad asked.
“He told me that you will certainly live,” Hazael replied. 15 But the next day he took a blanket, soaked it in water, and put it over Ben-hadad’s face until he died. Hazael succeeded him as king.
Jehoram rules Judah
16 In the fifth year of Israel’s King Joram, Ahab’s son, Jehoram, the son of Judah’s King Jehoshaphat, became king.[b] 17 He was 32 years old when he became king, and he ruled for eight years in Jerusalem. 18 He walked in the ways of Israel’s kings, just as Ahab’s dynasty had done, because he married Ahab’s daughter. He did what was evil in the Lord’s eyes. 19 Nevertheless, because of his servant David, the Lord wasn’t willing to destroy Judah. The Lord had promised to preserve a lamp for David and his sons forever. 20 During Jehoram’s rule Edom rebelled against Judah’s power and appointed their own king. 21 Jehoram[c] along with all his chariots crossed over to Zair. He got up at night to attack the Edomites who had surrounded him and his chariot commanders,[d] but his army fled back home. 22 So Edom has been independent of Judah to this day. Libnah rebelled at the same time. 23 The rest of Jehoram’s deeds and all that he accomplished, aren’t they written in the official records of Judah’s kings? 24 Jehoram died and was buried with his ancestors in David’s City. His son Ahaziah succeeded him as king.
Ahaziah rules Judah
25 Ahaziah, the son of Judah’s king Jehoram, became king in the twelfth year of Israel’s King Joram,[e] Ahab’s son. 26 Ahaziah was 22 years old when he became king, and he ruled for one year in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Athaliah; she was the granddaughter of Israel’s King Omri. 27 He walked in the ways of Ahab’s dynasty, doing what was evil in the Lord’s eyes, just as Ahab’s dynasty had done, because he had married into Ahab’s family. 28 Ahaziah went with Joram, Ahab’s son, to fight against Aram’s King Hazael at Ramoth-gilead, where the Arameans wounded Joram. 29 King Joram returned to Jezreel to recover from the wounds the Arameans had given him at Ramah in his battle with Aram’s King Hazael. Then Judah’s King Ahaziah, the son of Jehoram, went down to visit Joram, Ahab’s son, at Jezreel because he had been wounded.
Footnotes
- 2 Kings 8:11 Heb uncertain
- 2 Kings 8:16 LXX, Syr; MT includes Jehoshaphat had been Judah’s king.
- 2 Kings 8:21 Heb Joram (also in 8:23-24); the king’s name is usually spelled in its long form Jehoram (cf 2 Chron 21:9).
- 2 Kings 8:21 Heb uncertain
- 2 Kings 8:25 Heb Jehoram (also in 8:29); the king’s name is variously spelled in either long Jehoram or short Joram form.
2 Kings 8
New Century Version
The Shunammite Regains Her Land
8 Elisha spoke to the woman whose son he had brought back to life. He said, “Get up and go with your family. Stay any place you can, because the Lord has called for a time without food that will last seven years.” 2 So the woman got up and did as the man of God had said. She left with her family, and they stayed in the land of the Philistines for seven years. 3 After seven years she returned from the land of the Philistines and went to beg the king for her house and land. 4 The king was talking with Gehazi, the servant of the man of God. The king had said, “Please tell me all the great things Elisha has done.” 5 Gehazi was telling the king how Elisha had brought a dead boy back to life. Just then the woman whose son Elisha had brought back to life came and begged the king for her house and land.
Gehazi said, “My master and king, this is the woman, and this is the son Elisha brought back to life.”
6 The king asked the woman, and she told him about it. Then the king chose an officer to help her. “Give the woman everything that is hers,” the king said. “Give her all the money made from her land from the day she left until now.”
Ben-Hadad Is Killed
7 Then Elisha went to Damascus, where Ben-Hadad king of Aram was sick. Someone told him, “The man of God has arrived.”
8 The king said to Hazael, “Take a gift in your hand and go meet him. Ask the Lord through him if I will recover from my sickness.”
9 So Hazael went to meet Elisha, taking with him a gift of forty camels loaded with every good thing in Damascus. He came and stood before Elisha and said, “Your son Ben-Hadad king of Aram sent me to you. He asks if he will recover from his sickness.”
10 Elisha said to Hazael, “Go and tell Ben-Hadad, ‘You will surely recover,’ but the Lord has told me he will really die.” 11 Hazael stared at Elisha until he felt ashamed. Then Elisha cried.
12 Hazael asked, “Why are you crying, master?”
Elisha answered, “Because I know what evil you will do to the Israelites. You will burn their strong, walled cities with fire and kill their young men with swords. You will throw their babies to the ground and split open their pregnant women.”
13 Hazael said, “Am I a dog? How could I do such things?”
Elisha answered, “The Lord has shown me that you will be king over Aram.”
14 Then Hazael left Elisha and came to his master. Ben-Hadad said to him, “What did Elisha say to you?”
Hazael answered, “He told me that you will surely recover.” 15 But the next day Hazael took a blanket and dipped it in water. Then he put it over Ben-Hadad’s face, and he died. So Hazael became king in Ben-Hadad’s place.
Jehoram King of Judah
16 While Jehoshaphat was king in Judah, Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat became king of Judah. This was during the fifth year Joram son of Ahab was king of Israel. 17 Jehoram was thirty-two years old when he began to rule, and he ruled eight years in Jerusalem. 18 He followed the ways of the kings of Israel, just as the family of Ahab had done, because he married Ahab’s daughter. Jehoram did what the Lord said was wrong. 19 But the Lord would not destroy Judah because of his servant David. The Lord had promised that one of David’s descendants would always rule.
20 In Jehoram’s time Edom broke away from Judah’s rule and chose their own king. 21 So Jehoram and all his chariots went to Zair. The Edomites surrounded him and his chariot commanders. Jehoram got up and attacked the Edomites at night, but his army ran away to their tents. 22 From then until now the country of Edom has fought against the rule of Judah. At the same time Libnah also broke away from Judah’s rule.
23 The other acts of Jehoram and all the things he did are written in the book of the history of the kings of Judah. 24 Jehoram died and was buried with his ancestors in Jerusalem, and Jehoram’s son Ahaziah ruled in his place.
25 Ahaziah son of Jehoram became king of Judah during the twelfth year Joram son of Ahab was king of Israel. 26 Ahaziah was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he ruled one year in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Athaliah, a granddaughter of Omri king of Israel. 27 Ahaziah followed the ways of Ahab’s family. He did what the Lord said was wrong, as Ahab’s family had done, because he was a son-in-law to Ahab.
28 Ahaziah went with Joram son of Ahab to Ramoth in Gilead, where they fought against Hazael king of Aram. The Arameans wounded Joram. 29 So King Joram returned to Jezreel to heal from the wound he had received from the Arameans at Ramoth when he fought Hazael king of Aram. Ahaziah son of Jehoram king of Judah went down to visit Joram son of Ahab at Jezreel, because he had been wounded.
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