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2 Kings 13
New International Version
2 Kings 13
New International Version
Jehoahaz King of Israel
13 In the twenty-third year of Joash son of Ahaziah king of Judah, Jehoahaz son of Jehu became king of Israel in Samaria, and he reigned seventeen years. 2 He did evil(A) in the eyes of the Lord by following the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit, and he did not turn away from them. 3 So the Lord’s anger(B) burned against Israel, and for a long time he kept them under the power(C) of Hazael king of Aram and Ben-Hadad(D) his son.
4 Then Jehoahaz sought(E) the Lord’s favor, and the Lord listened to him, for he saw(F) how severely the king of Aram was oppressing(G) Israel. 5 The Lord provided a deliverer(H) for Israel, and they escaped from the power of Aram. So the Israelites lived in their own homes as they had before. 6 But they did not turn away from the sins(I) of the house of Jeroboam, which he had caused Israel to commit; they continued in them. Also, the Asherah pole[a](J) remained standing in Samaria.
7 Nothing had been left(K) of the army of Jehoahaz except fifty horsemen, ten chariots and ten thousand foot soldiers, for the king of Aram had destroyed the rest and made them like the dust(L) at threshing time.
8 As for the other events of the reign of Jehoahaz, all he did and his achievements, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel? 9 Jehoahaz rested with his ancestors and was buried in Samaria. And Jehoash[b] his son succeeded him as king.
Jehoash King of Israel
10 In the thirty-seventh year of Joash king of Judah, Jehoash son of Jehoahaz became king of Israel in Samaria, and he reigned sixteen years. 11 He did evil in the eyes of the Lord and did not turn away from any of the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit; he continued in them.
12 As for the other events of the reign of Jehoash, all he did and his achievements, including his war against Amaziah(M) king of Judah, are they not written in the book of the annals(N) of the kings of Israel? 13 Jehoash rested with his ancestors, and Jeroboam(O) succeeded him on the throne. Jehoash was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel.
14 Now Elisha had been suffering from the illness from which he died. Jehoash king of Israel went down to see him and wept over him. “My father! My father!” he cried. “The chariots(P) and horsemen of Israel!”
15 Elisha said, “Get a bow and some arrows,”(Q) and he did so. 16 “Take the bow in your hands,” he said to the king of Israel. When he had taken it, Elisha put his hands on the king’s hands.
17 “Open the east window,” he said, and he opened it. “Shoot!”(R) Elisha said, and he shot. “The Lord’s arrow of victory, the arrow of victory over Aram!” Elisha declared. “You will completely destroy the Arameans at Aphek.”(S)
18 Then he said, “Take the arrows,” and the king took them. Elisha told him, “Strike the ground.” He struck it three times and stopped. 19 The man of God was angry with him and said, “You should have struck the ground five or six times; then you would have defeated Aram and completely destroyed it. But now you will defeat it only three times.”(T)
20 Elisha died and was buried.
Now Moabite raiders(U) used to enter the country every spring. 21 Once while some Israelites were burying a man, suddenly they saw a band of raiders; so they threw the man’s body into Elisha’s tomb. When the body touched Elisha’s bones, the man came to life(V) and stood up on his feet.
22 Hazael king of Aram oppressed(W) Israel throughout the reign of Jehoahaz. 23 But the Lord was gracious to them and had compassion and showed concern for them because of his covenant(X) with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. To this day he has been unwilling to destroy(Y) them or banish them from his presence.(Z)
24 Hazael king of Aram died, and Ben-Hadad(AA) his son succeeded him as king. 25 Then Jehoash son of Jehoahaz recaptured from Ben-Hadad son of Hazael the towns he had taken in battle from his father Jehoahaz. Three times(AB) Jehoash defeated him, and so he recovered(AC) the Israelite towns.
Footnotes
- 2 Kings 13:6 That is, a wooden symbol of the goddess Asherah; here and elsewhere in 2 Kings
- 2 Kings 13:9 Hebrew Joash, a variant of Jehoash; also in verses 12-14 and 25
2 Kings 13
New King James Version
2 Kings 13
New King James Version
Jehoahaz Reigns in Israel
13 In the twenty-third year of (A)Joash[a] the son of Ahaziah, king of Judah, (B)Jehoahaz the son of Jehu became king over Israel in Samaria, and reigned seventeen years. 2 And he did evil in the sight of the Lord, and followed the (C)sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who had made Israel sin. He did not [b]depart from them.
3 Then (D)the anger of the Lord was aroused against Israel, and He delivered them into the hand of (E)Hazael king of Syria, and into the hand of (F)Ben-Hadad the son of Hazael, all their days. 4 So Jehoahaz (G)pleaded with the Lord, and the Lord listened to him; for (H)He saw the oppression of Israel, because the king of Syria oppressed them. 5 (I)Then the Lord gave Israel a deliverer, so that they escaped from under the hand of the Syrians; and the children of Israel dwelt in their tents as before. 6 Nevertheless they did not depart from the sins of the house of Jeroboam, who had made Israel sin, but walked in them; (J)and the [c]wooden image also remained in Samaria. 7 For He left of the army of Jehoahaz only fifty horsemen, ten chariots, and ten thousand foot soldiers; for the king of Syria had destroyed them (K)and made them (L)like the dust at threshing.
8 Now the rest of the acts of Jehoahaz, all that he did, and his might, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? 9 So Jehoahaz [d]rested with his fathers, and they buried him in Samaria. Then [e]Joash his son reigned in his place.
Jehoash Reigns in Israel
10 In the thirty-seventh year of Joash king of Judah, [f]Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz became king over Israel in Samaria, and reigned sixteen years. 11 And he did evil in the sight of the Lord. He did not depart from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel sin, but walked in them.
12 (M)Now the rest of the acts of Joash, (N)all that he did, and (O)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 (P)rested[g] with his fathers. Then Jeroboam sat on his throne. And Joash was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel.
Death of Elisha
14 Elisha had become sick with the illness of which he would die. Then Joash the king of Israel came down to him, and wept over his face, and said, “O my father, my father, (Q)the chariots of Israel and their horsemen!”
15 And Elisha said to him, “Take a bow and some arrows.” So he took himself a bow and some arrows. 16 Then he said to the king of Israel, “Put your hand on the bow.” So he put his hand on it, and Elisha put his hands on the king’s hands. 17 And he said, “Open the east window”; and he opened it. Then Elisha said, “Shoot”; and he shot. And he said, “The arrow of the Lord’s deliverance and the arrow of deliverance from Syria; for you must strike the Syrians at (R)Aphek till you have destroyed them.” 18 Then he said, “Take the arrows”; so he took them. And he said to the king of Israel, “Strike the ground”; so he struck three times, and stopped. 19 And the man of God was angry with him, and said, “You should have struck five or six times; then you would have struck Syria till you had destroyed it! (S)But now you will strike Syria only three times.”
20 Then Elisha [h]died, and they buried him. And the (T)raiding bands from Moab invaded the land in the spring of the year. 21 So it was, as they were burying a man, that suddenly they spied a band of raiders; and they put the man in the tomb of Elisha; and when the man was let down and touched the bones of Elisha, he revived and stood on his feet.
Israel Recaptures Cities from Syria
22 And (U)Hazael king of Syria oppressed Israel all the days of Jehoahaz. 23 But the Lord was (V)gracious to them, had compassion on them, and (W)regarded them, (X)because of His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and would not yet destroy them or cast them from His presence.
24 Now Hazael king of Syria died. Then Ben-Hadad his son reigned in his place. 25 And [i]Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz recaptured from the hand of Ben-Hadad, the son of Hazael, the cities which he had taken out of the hand of Jehoahaz his father by war. (Y)Three times Joash defeated him and recaptured the cities of Israel.
Footnotes
- 2 Kings 13:1 Jehoash, 2 Kin. 12:1–18
- 2 Kings 13:2 Lit. turn
- 2 Kings 13:6 Heb. Asherah, a Canaanite goddess
- 2 Kings 13:9 Died and joined his ancestors
- 2 Kings 13:9 Or Jehoash
- 2 Kings 13:10 Joash, v. 9
- 2 Kings 13:13 Died and joined his ancestors
- 2 Kings 13:20 Having prophesied at least 55 years
- 2 Kings 13:25 Joash, vv. 12–14, 25
2 Kings 13
English Standard Version
2 Kings 13
English Standard Version
Jehoahaz Reigns in Israel
13 In the twenty-third year of Joash the son of Ahaziah, king of Judah, Jehoahaz the son of Jehu began to reign over Israel in Samaria, and he reigned seventeen years. 2 He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and followed the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, (A)which he made Israel to sin; he did not depart from them. 3 (B)And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he gave them continually into the hand of (C)Hazael king of Syria and into the hand of (D)Ben-hadad the son of Hazael. 4 Then Jehoahaz (E)sought the favor of the Lord, and the Lord listened to him, (F)for he saw the oppression of Israel, how the king of Syria oppressed them. 5 (Therefore the Lord gave Israel (G)a savior, so that they escaped from the hand of the Syrians, and the people of Israel lived in (H)their homes as formerly. 6 Nevertheless, they did not depart from the sins of the house of Jeroboam, (I)which he made Israel to sin, but walked[a] in them; and (J)the Asherah also remained in Samaria.) 7 For there was not left to Jehoahaz an army of more than fifty horsemen and ten chariots and ten thousand footmen, for the king of Syria had destroyed them and made them like the dust (K)at threshing. 8 Now 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 So Jehoahaz slept with his fathers, and they buried him in Samaria, and Joash his son reigned in his place.
Jehoash Reigns in Israel
10 In the thirty-seventh year of Joash king of Judah, Jehoash[b] the son of Jehoahaz began to reign over Israel in Samaria, and he reigned sixteen years. 11 He also did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. He did not depart from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, (L)which he made Israel to sin, but he walked in them. 12 (M)Now the rest of the acts of Joash (N)and all that he did, (O)and the 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 slept with his fathers, and Jeroboam sat on his throne. And Joash was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel.
The Death of Elisha
14 Now when Elisha had fallen sick with the illness of which he was to die, Joash king of Israel went down to him and wept before him, crying, (P)“My father, my father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” 15 And Elisha said to him, “Take a bow and arrows.” So he took a bow and arrows. 16 Then he said to the king of Israel, “Draw the bow,” and he drew it. And Elisha laid his hands on the king's hands. 17 And he said, “Open the window eastward,” and he opened it. Then Elisha said, “Shoot,” and he shot. And he said, “The Lord's arrow of victory, the arrow of victory over Syria! For you shall fight the Syrians in (Q)Aphek until you have made an end of them.” 18 And he said, “Take the arrows,” and he took them. And he said to the king of Israel, “Strike the ground with them.” And he struck three times and stopped. 19 Then (R)the man of God was angry with him and said, “You should have struck five or six times; then you would have struck down Syria until you had made an end of it, but now you will strike down Syria only (S)three times.”
20 So Elisha died, and they buried him. Now bands of (T)Moabites used to invade the land in the spring of the year. 21 And as a man was being buried, behold, a marauding band was seen and the man was thrown into the grave of Elisha, and as soon as the man touched the bones of Elisha, he revived and stood on his feet.
22 (U)Now Hazael king of Syria oppressed Israel all the days of Jehoahaz. 23 (V)But the Lord was gracious to them and had compassion on them, (W)and he turned toward them, (X)because of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and would not destroy them, nor has he cast them from his presence until now.
24 When Hazael king of Syria died, Ben-hadad his son became king in his place. 25 Then Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz took again from Ben-hadad the son of Hazael the cities (Y)that he had taken from Jehoahaz his father in war. (Z)Three times Joash defeated him and recovered the cities of Israel.
Footnotes
- 2 Kings 13:6 Septuagint, Syriac, Targum, Vulgate; Hebrew he walked
- 2 Kings 13:10 Jehoash is an alternate spelling of Joash (son of Jehoahaz) as in verses 9, 12–14; also verse 25
2 Kings 13
EasyEnglish Bible
2 Kings 13
EasyEnglish Bible
Jehoahaz becomes the king of Israel
13 Jehu's son Jehoahaz became king of Israel when Ahaziah's son Joash had been king of Judah for 23 years. Jehoahaz ruled as king in Samaria for 17 years. 2 But he did things that the Lord said were evil. He did the same bad things that Nebat's son Jeroboam had done. Jeroboam had caused many people in Israel to do those sins, and Jehoahaz did not stop doing them himself. 3 So the Lord was very angry with Israel. For many years the Lord put the Israelites under the power of King Hazael of Syria and his son Ben-Hadad.
4 Then King Jehoahaz asked the Lord for help. The Lord saw that the king of Syria was being very cruel to Israel, so he answered the prayer of Jehoahaz. 5 The Lord sent a leader to rescue Israel from Syria's power. So the Israelites lived safely in their own homes, as they had done before this time. 6 But the Israelites still did not turn away from the sins that Jeroboam and his family had done. Jeroboam had caused the Israelites to do bad things, and they still continued to do them. There were still Asherah poles that people worshipped in Samaria.
7 The king of Syria had destroyed most of Jehoahaz's army. All that remained were:
50 soldiers that rode horses.
10 chariots.
10,000 other soldiers.
The king of Syria completely destroyed all the rest of the army. Only dust remained!
8 The other things that happened while Jehoahaz was king are written in a book. The book is called ‘The history of Israel's kings’. It tells about all the things that Jehoahaz used his power to do. 9 Jehoahaz died and they buried him beside his ancestors in Samaria. His son Jehoash became king after him.
Jehoash becomes the king of Israel
10 Jehoahaz's son Jehoash became the king of Israel when Joash had been king of Judah for 37 years. He ruled as king in Samaria for 16 years. 11 But he did things that the Lord said were evil. He did not turn away from the bad things that Nebat's son Jeroboam had done. Jeroboam had caused many people in Israel to do those sins, and Jehoahaz did not stop doing them himself.
12 The other things that happened while Jehoash was king are written in a book. The book is called ‘The history of Israel's kings’. It tells about all the great things that Jehoash did. It tells about the war that he fought against Amaziah, king of Judah 13 Jehoash died and they buried him in Samaria beside the other kings of Israel. Jeroboam became king of Israel after him.
Elisha dies
14 When Jehoash was still king of Israel, Elisha became very ill. It was the illness from which he would soon die. Jehoash went to visit him. Jehoash stood beside Elisha and he wept. Jehoash said, ‘My father! My father! You are riding in Israel's chariot! Israel's men are riding on the horses!’[a]
15 Elisha said to King Jehoash, ‘Fetch a bow and some arrows.’ The king did that. 16 Then Elisha said to the king of Israel, ‘Prepare to shoot an arrow.’ When he had done that, Elisha put his hands on the king's hands. 17 Elisha said, ‘Open the window towards the east.’ When the king opened it, Elisha said, ‘Shoot the arrow!’ The king shot the arrow and Elisha said, ‘That is the Lord's arrow which shows that you will win the battle against Syria. You will completely destroy Syria's army at Aphek.’
18 Then Elisha said, ‘Pick up the other arrows.’ When the king of Israel took them, Elisha said to him, ‘Hit the ground with them.’ The king hit the ground three times and then he stopped. 19 The man of God then became angry with King Jehoash. He said, ‘You should have hit the ground five times or six times. Then you would have completely destroyed Syria's army. But now you will only win three battles against Syria.’
20 After that, Elisha died and they buried him.
Every year in spring, groups of fighters from Moab came to attack places in Israel. 21 One day some Israelites were burying a man who had died. While they were doing that, they saw a group of fighters from Moab. So they quickly threw the dead body into Elisha's grave. When the body touched Elisha's bones, the dead man became alive again! He jumped up and he stood there!
22 All the time that Jehoahaz was king of Israel, King Hazael of Syria was cruel to the Israelites. 23 But the Lord was kind to them and he helped them. He loved them because of his covenant with their ancestors, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. So he has never wanted to destroy them or to send them away from him, even until now.
24 Hazael, the king of Syria, died. His son Ben-Hadad became king after him. 25 Then Jehoahaz's son, King Jehoash, took back some Israelite cities from Ben-Hadad. They were cities that Hazael had taken from Jehoahaz in war. King Jehoash won three battles against Ben-Hadad and he took back those cities for Israel.
Footnotes
- 13:14 These are the same words that Elisha spoke to Elijah when Elijah was going up to heaven. See 2 Kings 2:12. The king is saying that Elisha has been a very powerful leader in the history of Israel.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.
New King James Version (NKJV) 
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
English Standard Version (ESV) 
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
EasyEnglish Bible (EASY)
EasyEnglish Bible Copyright © MissionAssist 2019 - Charitable Incorporated Organisation 1162807. Used by permission. All rights reserved.