Kings of Israel: Jehoahaz and Jehoash

13 In the twenty-third year of Joash the son of Ahaziah, king of Judah, Jehoahaz the son of Jehu became king over Israel at Samaria, and he reigned for seventeen years. He did evil in the sight of the Lord, and followed the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, (A)into which he misled Israel; he did not turn from them. (B)So the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and He continually handed them over to (C)Hazael king of Aram, and to (D)Ben-hadad, the son of Hazael. Then (E)Jehoahaz appeased the Lord, and the Lord listened to him; for (F)He saw the oppression of Israel, how the king of Aram oppressed them. And the Lord gave Israel a [a](G)savior, so that they [b]escaped from under the hand of the Arameans; and the sons of Israel lived in their tents as previously. Nevertheless they did not abandon the sins of the house of Jeroboam, (H)into which he misled Israel; rather, they walked in [c]them; and (I)the [d]Asherah also remained standing in Samaria. For he left to Jehoahaz no more of the [e]army than fifty horsemen, ten chariots, and ten thousand infantry, because the king of Aram had eliminated them and (J)made them like the dust at threshing. Now as for the rest of the acts of Jehoahaz, and all that he did and his might, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? And Jehoahaz [f]lay down with his fathers, and they buried him in Samaria; and his son Joash became king in his place.

10 In the thirty-seventh year of Joash king of Judah, [g]Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz became king over Israel in Samaria, and he reigned for sixteen years. 11 He did evil in the sight of the Lord; he did not turn away from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, into which he misled Israel; rather, he walked in [h]them. 12 (K)Now as for the rest of the acts of Joash and all that he did, and his might with which he fought against Amaziah king of Judah, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? 13 So Joash [i]lay down with his fathers, and Jeroboam sat on his throne; and Joash was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel.

Death of Elisha

14 When Elisha [j]became sick with the illness of which he was to die, Joash the king of Israel came down to him, and wept over [k]him and said, “(L)My father, my father, the chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” 15 And Elisha said to him, “Take a bow and arrows.” So he [l]took a bow and arrows. 16 Then Elisha said to the king of Israel, “Lay your hand on the bow.” And he laid his hand on it, then Elisha put his hands on the king’s hands. 17 And he said, “Open the window toward the east,” and he opened it. Then Elisha said, “Shoot!” So he shot. And he said, “The Lords arrow of victory, and the arrow of victory over Aram; for you will [m]defeat the Arameans at (M)Aphek until you have put an end to them.” 18 Then he said, “Take the arrows,” and he took them. And he said to the king of Israel, “Strike the ground,” and he struck it three times and [n]stopped. 19 Then (N)the man of God became angry at him and said, “You should have struck five or six times, then you would have struck Aram until you put an end to it. But now you shall strike Aram (O)only three times.”

20 And Elisha died, and they buried him. Now (P)the marauding bands of the Moabites would invade the land [o]in the spring of the year. 21 And as they were burying a man, behold, they saw a marauding band; and they threw the man into the grave of Elisha. And when the man [p]touched the bones of Elisha he (Q)revived and stood up on his feet.

22 Now (R)Hazael king of Aram had oppressed Israel all the days of Jehoahaz. 23 But the (S)Lord was gracious to them and (T)had compassion on them and turned to them because of (U)His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and He was unwilling to eliminate them or cast them away from His presence until now.

24 When Hazael king of Aram died, his son Ben-hadad became king in his place. 25 Then (V)Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz again took from the hand of Ben-hadad the son of Hazael the cities which he had taken in war from the hand of his father Jehoahaz. (W)Three times Joash [q]defeated him and recovered the cities of Israel.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Kings 13:5 Or deliverer
  2. 2 Kings 13:5 Lit went out
  3. 2 Kings 13:6 Lit it
  4. 2 Kings 13:6 I.e., wooden symbol of a female deity
  5. 2 Kings 13:7 Lit people
  6. 2 Kings 13:9 I.e., died
  7. 2 Kings 13:10 In Heb Jehoash is another spelling of Joash
  8. 2 Kings 13:11 Lit it
  9. 2 Kings 13:13 I.e., died
  10. 2 Kings 13:14 Lit was sick with his sickness
  11. 2 Kings 13:14 Lit his face
  12. 2 Kings 13:15 Lit took to himself
  13. 2 Kings 13:17 Lit strike
  14. 2 Kings 13:18 Lit stood still
  15. 2 Kings 13:20 Lit at the coming of
  16. 2 Kings 13:21 Lit went and touched
  17. 2 Kings 13:25 Lit struck

Israel’s King Jehoahaz

13 In the twenty-third year of Judah’s King Joash(A) son of Ahaziah, Jehoahaz(B) son of Jehu became king over Israel in Samaria, and he reigned seventeen years. He did what was evil in the Lord’s sight and followed the sins that Jeroboam son of Nebat had caused Israel to commit; he did not turn away from them.(C) So the Lord’s anger burned against Israel,(D) and he handed them over to King Hazael(E) of Aram and to his son Ben-hadad(F) during their reigns.

Then Jehoahaz sought the Lord’s favor, and the Lord heard him, for he saw the oppression the king of Aram inflicted on Israel.(G) Therefore, the Lord gave Israel a deliverer,(H) and they escaped from the power of the Arameans. Then the people of Israel returned to their former way of life,[a] but they didn’t turn away from the sins that the house of Jeroboam had caused Israel to commit. Jehoahaz continued them,(I) and the Asherah pole also remained standing in Samaria. Jehoahaz did not have an army left, except for fifty horsemen, ten chariots, and ten thousand foot soldiers, because the king of Aram had destroyed them,(J) making them like dust at threshing.(K)

The rest of the events of Jehoahaz’s reign, along with all his accomplishments and his might, are written in the Historical Record of Israel’s Kings.(L) Jehoahaz rested with his ancestors, and he was buried in Samaria. His son Jehoash[b] became king in his place.

Israel’s King Jehoash

10 In the thirty-seventh year of Judah’s King Joash, Jehoash son of Jehoahaz became king over Israel in Samaria, and he reigned sixteen years. 11 He did what was evil in the Lord’s sight. He did not turn away from all the sins that Jeroboam son of Nebat had caused Israel to commit, but he continued them.(M)

12 The rest of the events of Jehoash’s reign, along with all his accomplishments and the power he had to wage war against Judah’s King Amaziah,(N) are written in the Historical Record of Israel’s Kings. 13 Jehoash rested with his ancestors, and Jeroboam(O) sat on his throne. Jehoash was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel.

Elisha’s Death

14 When Elisha became sick with the illness from which he died, King Jehoash of Israel went down and wept over him and said, “My father, my father, the chariots and horsemen of Israel!” (P)

15 Elisha responded, “Get a bow and arrows.” So he got a bow and arrows.(Q) 16 Then Elisha said to the king of Israel, “Grasp the bow.” So the king grasped it, and Elisha put his hands on the king’s hands. 17 Elisha said, “Open the east window.” So he opened it. Elisha said, “Shoot!” So he shot.(R) Then Elisha said, “The Lord’s arrow of victory, yes, the arrow of victory over Aram. You are to strike down the Arameans in Aphek(S) until you have put an end to them.”

18 Then Elisha said, “Take the arrows!” So he took them. Then Elisha said to the king of Israel, “Strike the ground!” So he struck the ground three times and stopped. 19 The man of God(T) was angry with him and said, “You should have struck the ground five or six times. Then you would have struck down Aram until you had put an end to them, but now you will strike down Aram only three times.” 20 Then Elisha died and was buried.(U)

Now Moabite raiders(V) used to come into the land in the spring of the year. 21 Once, as the Israelites were burying a man, suddenly they saw a raiding party, so they threw the man into Elisha’s tomb. When he touched Elisha’s bones, the man revived and stood up!(W)

God’s Mercy on Israel

22 King Hazael(X) of Aram oppressed Israel throughout the reign of Jehoahaz, 23 but the Lord was gracious to them, had compassion on them,(Y) and turned toward them because of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.(Z) He was not willing to destroy them. Even now he has not banished them from his presence.(AA)

24 King Hazael of Aram died, and his son Ben-hadad(AB) became king in his place. 25 Then Jehoash son of Jehoahaz took back from Ben-hadad son of Hazael the cities that Hazael had taken in war from Jehoash’s father Jehoahaz. Jehoash defeated Ben-hadad three times and recovered the cities of Israel.(AC)

Footnotes

  1. 13:5 Lit Israel dwelt in their tents as formerly
  2. 13:9 Lit Joash