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2 Kings 8
New English Translation

Elisha Again Helps the Shunammite Woman

8 Now Elisha advised the woman whose son he had brought back to life, “You and your family should go and live somewhere else for a while,[a] for the Lord has decreed that a famine will overtake the land for seven years.” 2 So the woman did as the prophet said.[b] She and her family went and lived in the land of the Philistines for seven years. 3 After seven years the woman returned from the land of the Philistines and went to ask the king to give her back her house and field.[c] 4 Now the king was talking to Gehazi, the prophet’s[d] servant, and said, “Tell me all the great things that Elisha has done.” 5 While Gehazi[e] was telling the king how Elisha[f] had brought the dead back to life, the woman whose son he had brought back to life came to ask the king for her house and field.[g] Gehazi said, “My master, O king, this is the very woman, and this is her son whom Elisha brought back to life!” 6 The king asked the woman about it, and she gave him the details.[h] The king assigned a eunuch to take care of her request and ordered him,[i] “Give her back everything she owns, as well as the amount of crops her field produced from the day she left the land until now.”

Elisha Meets with Hazael

7 Elisha traveled to Damascus while King Ben Hadad of Syria was sick. The king[j] was told, “The prophet[k] has come here.” 8 So the king told Hazael, “Take a gift[l] and go visit the prophet. Request from him an oracle from the Lord. Ask him,[m] ‘Will I recover from this sickness?’” 9 So Hazael went to visit Elisha.[n] He took along a gift,[o] as well as[p] forty camel-loads of all the fine things of Damascus. When he arrived, he stood before him and said, “Your son,[q] King Ben Hadad of Syria, has sent me to you with this question,[r] ‘Will I recover from this sickness?’” 10 Elisha said to him, “Go and tell him, ‘You will surely recover,’[s] but the Lord has revealed to me that he will surely die.” 11 Elisha[t] just stared at him until Hazael became uncomfortable.[u] Then the prophet started crying. 12 Hazael asked, “Why are you crying, my master?” He replied, “Because I know the trouble you will cause the Israelites. You will set fire to their fortresses, kill their young men with the sword, smash their children to bits, and rip open their pregnant women.” 13 Hazael said, “How could your servant, who is as insignificant as a dog, accomplish this great military victory?”[v] Elisha answered, “The Lord has revealed to me that you will be the king of Syria.”[w] 14 He left Elisha and went to his master. Ben Hadad[x] asked him, “What did Elisha tell you?” Hazael[y] replied, “He told me you would surely recover.” 15 The next day Hazael[z] took a piece of cloth, dipped it in water, and spread it over Ben Hadad’s[aa] face until he died. Then Hazael replaced him as king.

Jehoram’s Reign over Judah

16 In the fifth year of the reign of Israel’s King Joram, son of Ahab, Jehoshaphat’s son Jehoram became king over Judah.[ab] 17 He was thirty-two years old when he became king and he reigned for eight years in Jerusalem. 18 He followed in the footsteps of the kings of Israel, just as Ahab’s dynasty had done, for he married Ahab’s daughter.[ac] He did evil in the sight of[ad] the Lord. 19 But the Lord was unwilling to destroy Judah. He preserved Judah for the sake of[ae] his servant David to whom he had promised a perpetual dynasty.[af]

20 During his reign Edom freed themselves from Judah’s control and set up their own king.[ag] 21 Jehoram[ah] crossed over to Zair with all his chariots. The Edomites, who had surrounded him, attacked at night and defeated him and his chariot officers.[ai] The Israelite army retreated to their homeland.[aj] 22 So Edom has remained free from Judah’s control to this very day.[ak] At that same time Libnah also rebelled.

23 The rest of the events of Jehoram’s reign, including a record of his accomplishments, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Judah.[al] 24 Jehoram passed away[am] and was buried with his ancestors in the City of David. His son Ahaziah replaced him as king.

Ahaziah Takes the Throne of Judah

25 In the twelfth year of the reign of Israel’s King Joram, son of Ahab, Jehoram’s son Ahaziah became king over Judah. 26 Ahaziah was twenty-two years old when he became king and he reigned for one year in Jerusalem. His mother was Athaliah, the granddaughter[an] of King Omri of Israel. 27 He followed in the footsteps of Ahab’s dynasty and did evil in the sight of[ao] the Lord, as Ahab’s dynasty had done, for he was related to Ahab’s family.[ap]

28 He joined Ahab’s son Joram in a battle against King Hazael of Syria at Ramoth Gilead in which the Syrians defeated Joram. 29 King Joram returned to Jezreel to recover from the wounds he received from the Syrians[aq] in Ramah when he fought against King Hazael of Syria. King Ahaziah son of Jehoram of Judah went down to visit[ar] Joram son of Ahab in Jezreel, for he was ill.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Kings 8:1 tn Heb “Get up and go, you and your house, and live temporarily where you can live temporarily.”
  2. 2 Kings 8:2 tn Heb “and the woman got up and did according to the word of the man of God.”
  3. 2 Kings 8:3 tn Heb “and went out to cry out to the king for her house and her field.”
  4. 2 Kings 8:4 tn Heb “man of God’s.”
  5. 2 Kings 8:5 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Gehazi) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  6. 2 Kings 8:5 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elisha) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  7. 2 Kings 8:5 tn Heb “and look, the woman whose son he had brought back to life was crying out to the king for her house and her field.”sn The legal background of the situation is uncertain. For a discussion of possibilities, see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 87-88.
  8. 2 Kings 8:6 tn Heb “and the king asked the woman and she told him.”
  9. 2 Kings 8:6 tn Heb “and he assigned to her an official, saying.”
  10. 2 Kings 8:7 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  11. 2 Kings 8:7 tn Heb “man of God” (also a second time in this verse and in v. 11).
  12. 2 Kings 8:8 tn The Hebrew text also has “in your hand.”
  13. 2 Kings 8:8 tn Heb “Inquire of the Lord through him, saying.”
  14. 2 Kings 8:9 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Elisha) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  15. 2 Kings 8:9 tn The Hebrew text also has “in his hand.”
  16. 2 Kings 8:9 tn Heb “and.” It is possible that the conjunction is here explanatory, equivalent to English “that is.” In this case the forty camel-loads constitute the “gift” and one should translate, “He took along a gift, consisting of forty camel-loads of all the fine things of Damascus.”
  17. 2 Kings 8:9 sn The words “your son” emphasize the king’s respect for the prophet.
  18. 2 Kings 8:9 tn Heb “saying.”
  19. 2 Kings 8:10 tc The consonantal text (Kethib) reads, “Go, say, ‘Surely you will not (לֹא, loʾ) live.’” In this case the vav beginning the next clause could be translated “for” or “because.” The reading tradition (Qere) has, “Go, say to him (לוֹ, lo), ‘You will surely recover.’” In this case the vav (ו) beginning the next clause would be translated “although” or “but.” The Qere has the support of some medieval Hebrew mss and the ancient versions, and is consistent with v. 14, where Hazael tells the king, “You will surely recover.” It also fits the immediate context. The sentence “you will live,” to be told to Ben Hadad and meaning to recover from the sickness contrasts telling Hazael that Ben Hadad will die. The missing component is the means of Ban Hadad’s death. So Elisha looks at Hazael until he is embarrassed, because as a prophet he knows that Hazael will kill Ben Hadad (not the sickness). It is possible that a scribe has changed לוֹ, “to him,” to לֹא, “not,” because he felt that Elisha would not lie to the king. See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 90. But it is possible that Hazael, once he found out he would become the next king, decided to lie to the king to facilitate his assassination plot by making the king feel secure.
  20. 2 Kings 8:11 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elisha) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  21. 2 Kings 8:11 tn Heb “and he made his face stand [i.e., be motionless] and set [his face?] until embarrassment.”
  22. 2 Kings 8:13 tn Heb “Indeed, what is your servant, a dog, that he could do this great thing?” With his reference to a dog, Hazael is not denying that he is a “dog” and protesting that he would never commit such a dastardly “dog-like” deed. Rather, as Elisha’s response indicates, Hazael is suggesting that he, like a dog, is too insignificant to ever be in a position to lead such conquests.
  23. 2 Kings 8:13 tn Heb “The Lord has shown me you [as] king over Syria.”
  24. 2 Kings 8:14 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Ben Hadad) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  25. 2 Kings 8:14 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Hazael) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  26. 2 Kings 8:15 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Hazael) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  27. 2 Kings 8:15 tn Heb “his”; the referent (Ben Hadad) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  28. 2 Kings 8:16 tc The Hebrew text reads, “and in the fifth year of Joram son of Ahab king of Israel, and [or, ‘while’?] Jehoshaphat [was?] king of Judah, Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah became king.” The first reference to “Jehoshaphat king of Judah” is probably due to a scribe accidentally copying the phrase from later in the verse. If the Hebrew text is retained, the verse probably refers to the beginning of a coregency between Jehoshaphat and Jehoram.
  29. 2 Kings 8:18 tn Heb “he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, just as the house of Ahab did, for the daughter of Ahab was his wife.”
  30. 2 Kings 8:18 tn Heb “in the eyes of.”
  31. 2 Kings 8:19 tn The Hebrew has only one sentence, “and the Lord was unwilling to destroy Judah for the sake of.” The translation divides it for the sake of clarity.
  32. 2 Kings 8:19 tn Heb “just as he had said to him, to give to him a lamp for his sons all the days.” The metaphorical “lamp” symbolizes the Davidic dynasty; this is reflected in the translation.
  33. 2 Kings 8:20 tn Heb “in his days Edom rebelled from under the hand of Judah and enthroned a king over them.”
  34. 2 Kings 8:21 tn Heb “Joram,” which is a short form of the name Jehoram (also in vv. 23, 24).
  35. 2 Kings 8:21 tc Heb “and he arose at night and defeated Edom, who had surrounded him, and the chariot officers.” The Hebrew text as it stands gives the impression that Jehoram was surrounded and launched a victorious night counterattack. It would then be quite natural to understand the last statement in the verse to refer to an Edomite retreat. Yet v. 22 goes on to state that the Edomite revolt was successful. Therefore, if the MT is retained, it may be better to understand the final statement in v. 21 as a reference to an Israelite retreat (made in spite of the success described in the preceding sentence). Instead the translation assumes an emendation of the Hebrew text, adding a vav (ו) to the accusative sign before Edom, reading אֹתוֹ (ʾoto, “him,”) instead of just אֶת (ʾet). In this reading, Edom is the subject of the verb rather than the direct object, “Edom struck him.” This is more consistent with the context but there is no manuscript evidence in favor of this.
  36. 2 Kings 8:21 tn Heb “and the people fled to their tents.”
  37. 2 Kings 8:22 tn Heb “and Edom rebelled from under the hand of Judah until this day.”
  38. 2 Kings 8:23 tn Heb “As for the rest of the acts of Joram and all which he did, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Judah?”
  39. 2 Kings 8:24 tn Heb “lay down with his fathers.”
  40. 2 Kings 8:26 tn Hebrew בַּת (bat), “daughter,” can refer, as here to a granddaughter. See HALOT 166 s.v. בַּת.
  41. 2 Kings 8:27 tn Heb “in the eyes of.”
  42. 2 Kings 8:27 tn Heb “and he walked in the way of the house of Ahab and did evil in the eyes of the Lord like the house of Ahab, for he was a relative by marriage of the house of Ahab.” For this use of חֲתַן (khatan), normally “son-in-law,” see HALOT 365 s.v. חָתָן. Ahab was Ahaziah’s grandfather on his mother’s side.
  43. 2 Kings 8:29 tn Heb “which the Syrians inflicted [on] him.”
  44. 2 Kings 8:29 tn Heb “to see.”
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2 Kings 8
International Standard Version

The Shunammite’s Land is Restored

8 Meanwhile, Elisha urged the woman whose son he had restored to life, “You must get up and leave with your household to go live wherever you can, because the Lord has called for a famine, and it’s going to come over the land for seven years.” 2 So the woman followed the instructions given to her by the man of God, and she went to the territory of the Philistines to live for seven years with her household. 3 At the end of the seven years, the woman returned from the territory of the Philistines and went to the king in order to file an appeal regarding her house and her grain field.

4 The king was talking with Gehazi, the attendant of the man of God. He had asked Gehazi, “Please tell me about all of the great things that Elisha has done.” 5 Just as he was telling the king about Elisha’s having restored the dead to life, the woman whose son had been restored arrived and appealed to the king for her house and her land!

Gehazi told the king, “Your majesty, this is the woman! And here’s her son, whom Elisha restored to life!”

6 The king consulted with the woman, who related the story. So the king appointed a court official to represent her and ordered him: “Restore to her everything that belonged to her, including all of the produce that her fields yielded from the day she left the land until now.”

The Murder of King Ben-hadad of Aram

7 Later on, Elisha traveled to Damascus. King Ben-hadad of Aram was ill, but someone informed him, “The man of God has come here!”

8 So the king told Hazael, “Take a gift with you and go meet the man of God. Inquire of the Lord through him and ask, ‘Will I recover from this sickness?’”

9 So Hazael went out to meet with him and took a gift with him—40 camel loads filled with samples of everything good in Damascus. He approached the man of God[a] and said, “Your son King Ben-hadad from Aram has sent me to you to ask you, ‘Will I recover from this sickness?’”

10 But Elisha told him, “Go tell him, ‘You will certainly recover,’ but the Lord has shown me that he will certainly die.” 11 Then Elisha[b] looked steadily at Hazael[c] until Hazael grew ashamed, and then the man of God began to cry.

12 “Why are you crying, sir?” Hazael asked.

“Because I know the evil that you’re about to bring on the Israelis,” he replied. “You’ll burn down their fortified cities, execute their young men with swords, dash to pieces their little ones, and you’ll tear open their pregnant women!”

13 But Hazael responded, “What? Who am I, your servant, that I should do such a horrible thing?”

But Elisha answered, “The Lord has shown me that you will be king over Aram.”

14 So he left Elisha and returned to his master, who asked him, “What did Elisha tell you?”

He replied, “He told me that you would certainly get better.”

15 But the very next day, Hazael[d] grabbed a thick covering, soaked it in water, and spread it over the king’s[e] face, and he suffocated.[f] Then Hazael succeeded Ben-hadad[g] as king.

Jehoram Comes to the Throne of Judah

16 Sometime during the fifth year of the reign of Ahab’s son Joram, king of Israel (while Jehoshaphat was still ruling as king of Judah), Jehoshaphat’s son Jehoram ascended to the throne of Judah. 17 He was 32 years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem for eight years. 18 He lived his life like the kings of Israel did, following the example of Ahab’s household when he married Ahab’s daughter and practiced what was evil in the Lord’s presence.[h] 19 But the Lord remained unwilling to destroy Judah for the sake of his servant David, since he had promised to keep[i] David’s lamp burning brightly through his descendants every day.

20 During Jehoram’s lifetime, Edom rebelled from Judah’s hegemony and appointed a king to rule over themselves. 21 Then Joram crossed over to Zair, along with all of his chariots. At night he attacked the Edomites who had surrounded him and the commanders of his chariots, but the army[j] ran away to their tents. 22 Edom remains in rebellion against Judah to this day, and Libnah revolted at the same time. 23 The rest of the official[k] acts of Joram, along with everything else that he did, are recorded in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah,[l] are they not?

Ahaziah Succeeds Jehoram

24 After Jehoram was laid to rest with his ancestors in the City of David, his son Ahaziah replaced him as king. 25 Jehoram’s son Ahaziah began to reign as king of Judah during the twelfth year of the reign of Ahab’s son Joram, king of Israel. 26 Ahaziah was 22 years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem for one year.

His mother was named Athaliah. She was the granddaughter of Omri, king of Israel. 27 Ahaziah lived his life following the example of Ahab’s household, practicing what the Lord considered to be evil, just like the household of Ahab, because he was a son-in-law to Ahab’s household. 28 He joined Ahab’s son Joram in an attack on King Hazael of Aram at Ramoth-gilead, and that’s where the Arameans wounded Joram. 29 Then King Joram retreated to Jezreel to recover from the wounds that the Arameans had inflicted on him at Ramah during the battle against King Hazael of Aram. Jehoram’s son Ahaziah, king of Judah, went to visit Ahab’s son Joram in Jezreel because Joram was sick.[m]

Footnotes

  1. 2 Kings 8:9 Lit. approached him
  2. 2 Kings 8:11 Lit. he
  3. 2 Kings 8:11 The Heb. lacks at Hazael
  4. 2 Kings 8:15 Lit. he
  5. 2 Kings 8:15 Lit. over his
  6. 2 Kings 8:15 Lit. died
  7. 2 Kings 8:15 Lit. succeeded him
  8. 2 Kings 8:18 Lit. sight
  9. 2 Kings 8:19 Lit. give
  10. 2 Kings 8:21 Lit. people
  11. 2 Kings 8:23 The Heb. lacks official
  12. 2 Kings 8:23 An ancient chronicle of Israel, apparently now lost; and so throughout the book
  13. 2 Kings 8:29 I.e. during Joram’s recovery from his battle wounds
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