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IX. Kings of Judah and Israel[a]

Chapter 12

Reign of Joash of Judah. Joash was seven years old when he became king. In the seventh year of Jehu, Joash became king, and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Zibiah, from Beer-sheba.

Joash did what was right in the Lord’s sight as long as he lived, because Jehoiada the priest guided him, though the high places did not disappear; the people continued to sacrifice and to burn incense on the high places.

Joash said to the priests: “All the funds for sacred purposes that are brought to the house of the Lord—the census tax, personal redemption money—and all funds that are freely brought to the house of the Lord, the priests may take for themselves, each from his own vendor. However, they must make whatever repairs on the temple may prove necessary.” Nevertheless, as late as the twenty-third year of the reign of King Joash, the priests had not made needed repairs on the temple. Accordingly, King Joash summoned the priest Jehoiada and the other priests. He asked, “Why do you not repair the temple? You must no longer take funds from your vendors, but you shall turn them over for the repairs.” So the priests agreed that they would neither take funds from the people nor make the repairs on the temple.

10 Jehoiada the priest then took a chest, bored a hole in its lid, and set it beside the altar, on the right as one entered the house of the Lord. The priests who kept the doors would put into it all the silver that was brought to the house of the Lord. 11 (A)When they noticed that there was a large amount of silver in the chest, the royal scribe would come up with the high priest, and they would gather up and weigh all the silver that was in the house of the Lord. 12 The amount thus realized they turned over to the workers assigned to the house of the Lord. They in turn would pay it to the carpenters and builders working in the house of the Lord, 13 and to the masons and stone cutters, and for the purchase of the wood and hewn stone used in repairing the breaches, and for any other expenses that were necessary to repair the house of the Lord. 14 None of the valuables brought to the house of the Lord were used there to make silver basins, snuffers, bowls, trumpets, or any gold or silver article. 15 Instead, they were given to the workers, and with them they repaired the house of the Lord. 16 Moreover, no reckoning was asked of those who were provided with the funds to give to the workers, because they held positions of trust. 17 The funds from reparation offerings and from purification offerings, however, were not brought to the house of the Lord; they belonged to the priests.

18 Then Hazael, king of Aram, came up and attacked Gath. When he had taken it, Hazael resolved to go on to attack Jerusalem. 19 Joash,[b] king of Judah, took all the sacred offerings presented by his forebears, Jehoshaphat, Jehoram, and Ahaziah, kings of Judah, as well as his own, and all the gold there was in the treasuries of the house of the Lord and the king’s house, and sent them to King Hazael of Aram, who then turned away from Jerusalem.

20 The rest of the acts of Joash, with all that he did, are recorded in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah. 21 Certain of his officials[c] entered into a conspiracy and struck Joash down at Beth-millo. 22 Jozacar, son of Shimeath, and Jehozabad, son of Shomer, were the officials who struck and killed him. He was buried with his ancestors in the City of David, and his son Amaziah succeeded him as king.

Chapter 13

Reign of Jehoahaz of Israel. In the twenty-third year of Joash, son of Ahaziah, king of Judah, Jehoahaz, son of Jehu, became king over Israel in Samaria for seventeen years.

He did what was evil in the Lord’s sight: he did not depart from following the sins that Jeroboam, son of Nebat, had caused Israel to commit. The Lord was angry with Israel and for a long time gave them into the power of Hazael, king of Aram, and of Ben-hadad, son of Hazael. Then Jehoahaz entreated the Lord, who heard him, since he saw the oppression to which the king of Aram had subjected Israel.(B) So the Lord gave Israel a savior,[d] and the Israelites, freed from the power of Aram, dwelt in their own tents as formerly. Nevertheless, they did not desist from the sins the house of Jeroboam had caused Israel to commit, but persisted in them. The Asherah[e] remained even in Samaria.(C) No army was left to Jehoahaz, except fifty horses with ten chariots and ten thousand foot soldiers, since the king of Aram had destroyed them and trampled them like dust.

The rest of the acts of Jehoahaz, with all that he did and his valor, are recorded in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel. Jehoahaz rested with his ancestors; he was buried in Samaria and his son Joash succeeded him as king.

Reign of Joash of Israel. 10 In the thirty-seventh year of Joash, king of Judah, Joash, son of Jehoahaz, became king over Israel in Samaria sixteen years.

11 He did what was evil in the Lord’s sight; he did not desist from any of the sins Jeroboam, son of Nebat, had caused Israel to commit, but persisted in them.

12 [f]The rest of the acts of Joash, with all that he did and his valor, and how he fought with Amaziah, king of Judah, are recorded in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel. 13 Joash rested with his ancestors. Then Jeroboam sat on his throne. Joash was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel.

Elisha’s Deathbed Prophecy. 14 When Elisha was suffering from the sickness of which he was to die, Joash, king of Israel, went down to weep over him. “My father, my father!”[g] he exclaimed, “Israel’s chariot and steeds!”(D) 15 Elisha said to him, “Take bow and arrows,” and he took bow and arrows. 16 [h]Elisha said to the king of Israel, “Rest your hand on the bow,” and he rested his hand on it. Elisha placed his hands over the king’s hands 17 and said, “Open the window toward the east.” He opened it. Elisha said, “Shoot,” and he shot. He said,

“An arrow of victory for the Lord!
    An arrow of victory over Aram!
You will beat Aram at Aphek and finish him!”

18 Then he said to the king of Israel, “Take the arrows,” which he did. Elisha said to the king of Israel, “Beat the ground!” He beat the ground three times and stopped. 19 The man of God became angry with him and said, “You should have beat five or six times. You would have beaten Aram and finished him. Now you will beat Aram only three times.”

20 And so Elisha died and was buried.

At that time of year, bands of Moabites used to raid the land. 21 Once some people were burying a man, when suddenly they saw such a raiding band. So they cast the man into the grave of Elisha, and everyone went off. But when the man came in contact with the bones of Elisha, he came back to life and got to his feet.(E)

22 King Hazael of Aram oppressed Israel all the days of Jehoahaz. 23 But the Lord was gracious with Israel and looked on them with compassion because of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He was unwilling to destroy them or to cast them out from his presence even up to now. 24 So when King Hazael of Aram died and his son Ben-hadad succeeded him as king, 25 Joash, son of Jehoahaz, took back from Ben-hadad, son of Hazael, the cities Hazael had taken in battle from Jehoahaz, his father. Three times Joash beat him, and thus recovered the cities of Israel.

Footnotes

  1. 12:1–17:5 This section recounts briefly the reigns of the last several kings of Israel and the kings of Judah contemporary with them. As always, the accounts of the kings are given in the order in which each came to the throne, without regard to which kingdom they ruled. See note on the similar section that begins in 1 Kgs 14:21.
  2. 12:19 Joash: in 2 Kings the name “Joash” and its variant “Jehoash” are interchangeable (see note on “Joram” and “Jehoram” at 1:17), whether in reference to the king of Judah (vv. 1–22) or his slightly later contemporary, Joash of Israel (13:10–25). Both forms are rendered “Joash” in this translation.
  3. 12:21 Officials: lit., “servants.” The Hebrew ebed (“servant”) has a wide range of meanings, always including service to another.
  4. 13:5 A savior: i.e., a military leader (cf. Jgs 3:9, 15). Here the identity of the savior is unclear, but the reappearance of a militant Elisha in this chapter after an absence of several chapters and nearly thirty years suggests the narrator may have had him in mind. Two generations later Joash’s grandson, Jeroboam II, will also “save” Israel (14:27).
  5. 13:6 Asherah: see note on Ex 34:13.
  6. 13:12–13 The conclusion to the reign of Joash is given again in 14:15–16. In both places it disrupts the standard pattern followed in the Books of Kings. The account of Joash’s reign ends in vv. 12–13; this leaves the story of Elisha’s last illness (in which Joash figures prominently) suspended between regnal accounts, much as the story of Elisha’s succession to Elijah’s prophetic office (chap. 2) was suspended between the accounts of Ahaziah and Joram. In 14:15–16 the concluding formula for Joash’s reign interrupts the account of the reign of Amaziah of Judah (14:1–22), much as Joash himself invaded Amaziah’s kingdom (14:11–14).
  7. 13:14 My father, my father: the way the king addresses the dying Elisha echoes Elisha’s address to Elijah in 2:12.
  8. 13:16–19 Symbolic acts, like prophetic oracles, were understood to unleash the power they expressed. Similar symbolic acts are seen in Ex 17:8–13; Jos 8:18–20; Ez 4:1–3.

Chapter 7

The Seduction[a]

[b]My son, keep my words,
    and treasure my commands.
Keep my commands and live,[c]
    and my teaching as the apple of your eye;
Bind them on your fingers,
    write them on the tablet of your heart.(A)
Say to Wisdom, “You are my sister!”[d]
    Call Understanding, “Friend!”
That they may keep you from a stranger,
    from the foreign woman with her smooth words.(B)
For at the window of my house,
    through my lattice I looked out[e]
And I saw among the naive,
    I observed among the young men,
    a youth with no sense,
Crossing the street near the corner,
    then walking toward her house,
In the twilight, at dusk of day,
    in the very dark of night.
10 Then the woman comes to meet him,
    dressed like a harlot, with secret designs.
11 She is raucous and unruly,
    her feet cannot stay at home;
12 Now she is in the streets, now in the open squares,
    lurking in ambush at every corner.
13 Then she grabs him, kisses him,
    and with an impudent look says to him:
14 “I owed peace offerings,
    and today I have fulfilled my vows;
15 So I came out to meet you,
    to look for you, and I have found you!
16 With coverlets I have spread my couch,
    with brocaded cloths of Egyptian linen;
17 I have sprinkled my bed[f] with myrrh,
    with aloes, and with cinnamon.
18 Come, let us drink our fill of love,
    until morning, let us feast on love!
19 For my husband is not at home,[g]
    he has gone on a long journey;
20 A bag of money he took with him,
    he will not return home till the full moon.”
21 She wins him over by repeated urging,
    with her smooth lips she leads him astray.[h](C)
22 He follows her impulsively,
    like an ox that goes to slaughter;
Like a stag that bounds toward the net,
23     till an arrow pierces its liver;
Like a bird that rushes into a snare,
    unaware that his life is at stake.
24 So now, children, listen to me,[i]
    be attentive to the words of my mouth!
25 Do not let your heart turn to her ways,
    do not go astray in her paths;
26 For many are those she has struck down dead,
    numerous, those she has slain.
27 Her house is a highway to Sheol,
    leading down into the chambers of death.(D)

Footnotes

  1. 7:1–27

    The third and climactic instruction on adultery and seduction is an example story, of the same type as the example story in 24:30–34. By its negative portrayal of the deceitful woman, who speaks in the night to a lone youth, it serves as a foil to trustworthy Wisdom in chap. 8, who speaks in broad daylight to all who pass in the street.

    As in 6:20–24, the father warns his son to keep his teaching to protect him from the dangerous forbidden woman. The father’s language in 7:4 (“Say to Wisdom, ‘You are my sister,’ and call Understanding ‘Friend’”) sets this admonition apart, however; it is the language of courtship and love. If the son makes Woman Wisdom his companion and lover, she will protect him from the other woman. As in chap. 5, loving the right woman protects the man from the wrong woman.

    As motivation, the father in vv. 6–23 tells his son of an incident he once observed while looking out his window—a young man went to the bed of an adulterous woman and wound up dead. As in chap. 5, the realistic details—the purposeful woman, the silent youth, the vow, the perfumed bed—have a metaphorical level. Ultimately the story is about two different kinds of love.

  2. 7:1–3 Verses 1–3 are artistically constructed. “Keep” in v. 1a recurs in v. 2a; “commands” in v. 1b recurs in v. 2a; the imperative verb “live” occurs in the very center of the three lines; v. 3, on preserving the teaching upon one’s very person, matches vv. 1–2, on preserving the teaching internally by memorizing it.
  3. 7:2 Live: here as elsewhere (Gn 20:7; 42:18; 2 Kgs 18:32; Jer 27:12, 17; Ez 18:32), the imperative (“Live!”) is uttered against the danger of death, e.g., “Do such and such and you will live (= survive the danger); why should you die?”
  4. 7:4 You are my sister: “sister” and “brother” are examples of love language in the ancient Near East, occurring in Egyptian love poetry and Mesopotamian marriage songs. In Sg 4:9, 10, 12; 5:1, the man calls the woman, “my sister, my bride.” Intimate friendship with Woman Wisdom saves one from false and dangerous relationships.
  5. 7:6–7 I looked out…I saw…: the perspective is unusual. The narrator looks through a window upon the drama in the street.
  6. 7:17 Bed: a bed can designate a place of burial in Is 57:2; Ez 32:25; 2 Chr 16:14. Myrrh…aloes: the spices could be used for funerals as for weddings (Jn 19:39). It is possible that the language is ambivalent, speaking of death as it seems to speak of life. As the woman offers the youth a nuptial feast, she is in reality describing his funerary feast.
  7. 7:19–20 For my husband is not at home: the woman is calculating. She knows exactly how long her husband will be gone.
  8. 7:21 The verbs “to win over” (lit., “to lead astray”) and “to lead off” can be used of leading animals such as a donkey (Nm 22:23) or sheep (Jer 23:2 and 50:17). The animal imagery continues as the youth is compared to an ox, a fallow deer, and a bird in the moment they are slaughtered. None of the animals are aware of their impending death.
  9. 7:24–27 The father addresses “children,” a larger audience than his own son; the story is typical, intended for others as an example. The story is a foil to the speech of the other woman in chap. 8.

VI. Conclusion

Chapter 16

The Collection.[a] Now in regard to the collection[b] for the holy ones, you also should do as I ordered the churches of Galatia.(A) On the first day of the week each of you should set aside and save whatever he can afford, so that collections will not be going on when I come. And when I arrive, I shall send those whom you have approved with letters of recommendation to take your gracious gift to Jerusalem. If it seems fitting that I should go also,[c] they will go with me.

Paul’s Travel Plans.[d] I shall come to you after I pass through Macedonia (for I am going to pass through Macedonia),(B) and perhaps I shall stay or even spend the winter with you, so that you may send me on my way wherever I may go. For I do not wish to see you now just in passing, but I hope to spend some time with you, if the Lord permits.(C) [e]I shall stay in Ephesus(D) until Pentecost, because a door has opened for me wide and productive for work, but there are many opponents.(E)

10 If Timothy comes, see that he is without fear in your company, for he is doing the work of the Lord just as I am.(F) 11 Therefore, no one should disdain him. Rather, send him on his way in peace that he may come to me, for I am expecting him with the brothers. 12 Now in regard to our brother Apollos, I urged him strongly to go to you with the brothers, but it was not at all his will that he go now. He will go when he has an opportunity.(G)

Exhortation and Greetings. 13 Be on your guard, stand firm in the faith, be courageous, be strong. 14 Your every act should be done with love.

15 I urge you, brothers—you know that the household of Stephanas(H) is the firstfruits of Achaia and that they have devoted themselves to the service of the holy ones— 16 be subordinate to such people and to everyone who works and toils with them. 17 I rejoice in the arrival of Stephanas, Fortunatus, and Achaicus, because they made up for your absence, 18 for they refreshed my spirit as well as yours. So give recognition to such people.(I)

19 [f]The churches of Asia send you greetings. Aquila and Prisca together with the church at their house send you many greetings in the Lord.(J) 20 All the brothers greet you. Greet one another with a holy kiss.(K)

21 I, Paul, write you this greeting in my own hand.(L) 22 If anyone does not love the Lord, let him be accursed.[g] Marana tha.(M) 23 The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you.(N) 24 My love to all of you in Christ Jesus.

Footnotes

  1. 16:1–4 This paragraph contains our earliest evidence for a project that became a major undertaking of Paul’s ministry. The collection for the church at Jerusalem was a symbol in his mind for the unity of Jewish and Gentile Christianity. Cf. Gal 2:10; Rom 15:25–29; 2 Cor 8–9 and the notes to this last passage.
  2. 16:1 In regard to the collection: it has already begun in Galatia and Macedonia (cf. 2 Cor 8), and presumably he has already instructed the Corinthians about its purpose.
  3. 16:4 That I should go also: presumably Paul delivered the collection on his final visit to Jerusalem; cf. Rom 15:25–32; Acts 24:14.
  4. 16:5–12 The travel plans outlined here may not have materialized precisely as Paul intended; cf. 2 Cor 1:8–2:13; 7:4–16.
  5. 16:8 In Ephesus until Pentecost: this tells us the place from which he wrote the letter and suggests he may have composed it about Easter time (cf. 1 Cor 5:7–8).
  6. 16:19–24 These paragraphs conform to the normal epistolary conclusion, but their language is overlaid with liturgical coloration as well. The greetings of the Asian churches are probably to be read, along with the letter, in the liturgy at Corinth, and the union of the church is to be expressed by a holy kiss (1 Cor 16:19–20). Paul adds to this his own greeting (1 Cor 16:21) and blessings (1 Cor 16:23–24).
  7. 16:22 Accursed: literally, “anathema.” This expression (cf. 1 Cor 12:3) is a formula for exclusion from the community; it may imply here a call to self-examination before celebration of the Eucharist, in preparation for the Lord’s coming and judgment (cf. 1 Cor 11:17–34). Marana tha: an Aramaic expression, probably used in the early Christian liturgy. As understood here (“O Lord, come!”), it is a prayer for the early return of Christ. If the Aramaic words are divided differently (Maran atha, “Our Lord has come”), it becomes a credal declaration. The former interpretation is supported by what appears to be a Greek equivalent of this acclamation in Rev 22:20 “Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!”