2 Kings 13
New American Standard Bible
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. 2 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. 3 (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. 4 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. 5 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. 6 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. 7 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. 8 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? 9 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 Lord’s 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
- 2 Kings 13:5 Or deliverer
- 2 Kings 13:5 Lit went out
- 2 Kings 13:6 Lit it
- 2 Kings 13:6 I.e., wooden symbol of a female deity
- 2 Kings 13:7 Lit people
- 2 Kings 13:9 I.e., died
- 2 Kings 13:10 In Heb Jehoash is another spelling of Joash
- 2 Kings 13:11 Lit it
- 2 Kings 13:13 I.e., died
- 2 Kings 13:14 Lit was sick with his sickness
- 2 Kings 13:14 Lit his face
- 2 Kings 13:15 Lit took to himself
- 2 Kings 13:17 Lit strike
- 2 Kings 13:18 Lit stood still
- 2 Kings 13:20 Lit at the coming of
- 2 Kings 13:21 Lit went and touched
- 2 Kings 13:25 Lit struck
2 Kings 13
New Living Translation
Jehoahaz Rules in Israel
13 Jehoahaz son of Jehu began to rule over Israel in the twenty-third year of King Joash’s reign in Judah. He reigned in Samaria seventeen years. 2 But he did what was evil in the Lord’s sight. He followed the example of Jeroboam son of Nebat, continuing the sins that Jeroboam had led Israel to commit. 3 So the Lord was very angry with Israel, and he allowed King Hazael of Aram and his son Ben-hadad to defeat them repeatedly.
4 Then Jehoahaz prayed for the Lord’s help, and the Lord heard his prayer, for he could see how severely the king of Aram was oppressing Israel. 5 So the Lord provided someone to rescue the Israelites from the tyranny of the Arameans. Then Israel lived in safety again as they had in former days.
6 But they continued to sin, following the evil example of Jeroboam. They also allowed the Asherah pole in Samaria to remain standing. 7 Finally, Jehoahaz’s army was reduced to 50 charioteers, 10 chariots, and 10,000 foot soldiers. The king of Aram had killed the others, trampling them like dust under his feet.
8 The rest of the events in Jehoahaz’s reign—everything he did and the extent of his power—are recorded in The Book of the History of the Kings of Israel. 9 When Jehoahaz died, he was buried in Samaria. Then his son Jehoash[a] became the next king.
Jehoash Rules in Israel
10 Jehoash son of Jehoahaz began to rule over Israel in the thirty-seventh year of King Joash’s reign in Judah. He reigned in Samaria sixteen years. 11 But he did what was evil in the Lord’s sight. He refused to turn from the sins that Jeroboam son of Nebat had led Israel to commit.
12 The rest of the events in Jehoash’s reign and everything he did, including the extent of his power and his war with King Amaziah of Judah, are recorded in The Book of the History of the Kings of Israel. 13 When Jehoash died, he was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel. Then his son Jeroboam II became the next king.
Elisha’s Final Prophecy
14 When Elisha was in his last illness, King Jehoash of Israel visited him and wept over him. “My father! My father! I see the chariots and charioteers of Israel!” he cried.
15 Elisha told him, “Get a bow and some arrows.” And the king did as he was told. 16 Elisha told him, “Put your hand on the bow,” and Elisha laid his own hands on the king’s hands.
17 Then he commanded, “Open that eastern window,” and he opened it. Then he said, “Shoot!” So he shot an arrow. Elisha proclaimed, “This is the Lord’s arrow, an arrow of victory over Aram, for you will completely conquer the Arameans at Aphek.”
18 Then he said, “Now pick up the other arrows and strike them against the ground.” So the king picked them up and struck the ground three times. 19 But the man of God was angry with him. “You should have struck the ground five or six times!” he exclaimed. “Then you would have beaten Aram until it was entirely destroyed. Now you will be victorious only three times.”
20 Then Elisha died and was buried.
Groups of Moabite raiders used to invade the land each spring. 21 Once when some Israelites were burying a man, they spied a band of these raiders. So they hastily threw the corpse into the tomb of Elisha and fled. But as soon as the body touched Elisha’s bones, the dead man revived and jumped to his feet!
22 King Hazael of Aram had oppressed Israel during the entire reign of King Jehoahaz. 23 But the Lord was gracious and merciful to the people of Israel, and they were not totally destroyed. He pitied them because of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And to this day he still has not completely destroyed them or banished them from his presence.
24 King Hazael of Aram died, and his son Ben-hadad became the next king. 25 Then Jehoash son of Jehoahaz recaptured from Ben-hadad son of Hazael the towns that had been taken from Jehoash’s father, Jehoahaz. Jehoash defeated Ben-hadad on three occasions, and he recovered the Israelite towns.
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Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
