2 Kings 8
1599 Geneva Bible
8 1 Elisha prophesieth unto the Shunammite the dearth of seven years. 12 He prophesieth to Hazael, that he shall be king of Syria. 15 He reigneth after Ben-Hadad. 16 Jehoram reigneth over Judah. 20 Edom falleth from Judah. 25 Ahaziah succeedeth Jehoram.
1 Then spake Elisha unto the woman, (A)whose son he had restored to life, saying, Up, and go, thou, and thine house, and sojourn where thou [a]canst sojourn: for the Lord hath called for a famine, and it cometh also upon the land seven years.
2 And the woman arose, and did after the saying of the man of God, and went both she and her household, and sojourned in the land of the Philistines seven years.
3 ¶ And at the seven year’s end, the woman returned out of the land of the Philistines, and went out [b]to call upon the king for her house and for her land.
4 And the King talked with Gehazi the servant of the man of God, saying, Tell me, I pray thee, all the great acts, that Elisha hath done.
5 And as he told [c]the king, how he had restored one dead to life, behold, the woman, whose son he had raised to life, called upon the king for her house and for her land. Then Gehazi said, My lord, O King, this is the woman, and this is her son, whom Elisha restored to life.
6 And when the king asked the woman, she told him: so the King appointed her an Eunuch, saying, Restore thou all that are hers, and all the [d]fruits of her land since the day she left the land, even until this time.
7 ¶ Then Elisha came to Damascus, and Ben-Hadad the king of Aram was sick: and one told him, saying, The man of God is come hither.
8 And the king said unto Hazael, Take a present in thine hand, and go meet the man of God, that thou mayest inquire of the Lord by him, saying, Shall I recover of this disease?
9 So Hazael went to meet him, and took the present in his hand, and of every [e]good thing of Damascus, even the burden of forty camels, and came and stood before him, and said, Thy son Ben-Hadad king of Aram hath sent me to thee, saying, Shall I recover of this disease?
10 And Elisha said to him, Go, and say unto him, Thou shalt [f]recover: howbeit the Lord hath showed me, that he shall surely die.
11 And he looked upon him steadfastly, till Hazael was ashamed, and the man of God wept.
12 And Hazael said, Why weepeth my lord? And he answered, because I know the evil that thou shalt do unto the children of Israel: for their strong cities shalt thou set on fire, and their young men shalt thou slay with the sword, and shalt dash their infants against the stones, and rent in pieces their women with child.
13 Then Hazael said, What? is thy servant [g]a dog, that I should do this great thing? And Elisha answered, The Lord hath showed me, that thou shalt be King of Aram.
14 ¶ So he departed from Elisha, and came to his master, who said to him, What said Elisha to thee? And he answered, He told me that thou shouldest recover.
15 And on the morrow he took a thick cloth and dipped in it water, and [h]spread it on his face, and he died: and Hazael reigned in his stead.
16 ¶ (B)Now in the fifth year of Joram the son of Ahab king of Israel, and of Jehoshaphat King of Judah, [i]Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah began [j]to reign.
17 He was two and thirty years old, when he began to reign: and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem.
18 And he walked in the ways of the Kings of Israel, as did the house of Ahab: for the [k]daughter of Ahab was his wife, and he did evil in the sight of the Lord.
19 Yet the Lord would not destroy Judah, for David his servant’s sake, (C)as he had promised him to give him a light, and to his children forever.
20 ¶ In those days Edom [l]rebelled from under the hand of Judah, and made a King over themselves.
21 Therefore Joram went to Zair, and all his chariots with him, and he arose by night, and smote the Edomites which were about him, with the captains of the chariots, and the people fled into their tents.
22 So Edom rebelled from under the hand of Judah unto this day: then [m]Libnah rebelled at that same time.
23 Concerning the rest of the acts of Joram and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the Chronicles of the kings of Judah?
24 And Joram slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David. And (D)Ahaziah his son reigned in his stead.
25 ¶ In the twelfth year of Joram the son of Ahab King of Israel, did Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah begin to reign.
26 [n]Two and twenty years old was Ahaziah when he began to reign, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem, and his mother’s name was Athaliah the daughter of Omri king of Israel.
27 And he walked in the way of the house of Ahab, and did evil in the sight of the Lord, like the house of Ahab: for he was the son in law of the house of Ahab.
28 And he went with Joram the son of Ahab to war against Hazael king of Aram in [o]Ramoth Gilead, and the Aramites smote Joram.
29 And king Joram returned to be healed in [p]Jezreel of the wounds which the Aramites had given him at Ramah, when he fought against Hazael king of Aram. And Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah went down to see Joram the son of Ahab in Jezreel, because he was sick.
Footnotes
- 2 Kings 8:1 Where thou canst find a commodious place to dwell, where as is plenty.
- 2 Kings 8:3 That is, to complain on them which had taken her possessions while she was absent.
- 2 Kings 8:5 God’s wonderful providence appeareth in this, that he caused the King to be desirous to hear of him, whom before he contemned, and also hereby prepared an entrance to the poor widow’s suit.
- 2 Kings 8:6 The King caused that to be justly restored, which was wrongfully holden from her.
- 2 Kings 8:9 Of all the chiefest and precious things of the country.
- 2 Kings 8:10 Meaning, that he should recover of this disease: but he knew that this messenger Hazael should slay him to obtain the kingdom.
- 2 Kings 8:13 That I should be without all humanity and pity.
- 2 Kings 8:15 Under pretence to refresh or ease him, he stifled him with his cloth.
- 2 Kings 8:16 Read 2 Kings 1:17.
- 2 Kings 8:16 He was confirmed in his kingdom after his father’s death.
- 2 Kings 8:18 The holy Ghost showeth hereby what danger it is to join with infidels.
- 2 Kings 8:20 Which had been subject from David’s time, until this time of Jehoram.
- 2 Kings 8:22 This was a city in Judah given to the Levites, Josh. 21:13, and after turned from King Jehoram, because of his idolatry.
- 2 Kings 8:26 Which is to be understood, that he was made king when his father reigned, but after his father’s death he was confirmed king when he was forty-two years old, as 2 Chron. 22:2.
- 2 Kings 8:28 Which was a city in the tribe of Gad beyond Jordan.
- 2 Kings 8:29 This is a city belonging to the tribe of Issachar.
2 Kings 8
International Children’s Bible
The Shunammite Regains Her Land
8 Elisha talked to the woman whose son he had brought back to life. He said, “Get up and go with your family. Stay any place you can. This is because the Lord has called for a time of hunger. It will last seven years.” 2 So the woman got up and did as the man of God said. She left with her family. And they stayed in the land of the Philistines for seven years. 3 After seven years she came back from the land of the Philistines. She went to beg the king for her house and land back. 4 The king was talking with Gehazi. He was the servant of the man of God. The king had said to Gehazi, “Please tell me all the great things Elisha has done.” 5 Now Gehazi was telling the king how Elisha had brought a dead person back to life. Just then the woman whose son Elisha had brought back to life came and begged the king for her house and land.
Gehazi said, “My master and king, this is the woman. And this is the son Elisha brought back to life.”
6 The king asked the woman, and she told him about it. Then the king chose an officer to help her. The king said, “Give the woman everything that is hers. Give her all the money made from her land from the day she left until now.”
Ben-Hadad Is Killed
7 Elisha went to Damascus. Now Ben-Hadad king of Aram was sick. Someone told him, “The man of God has come here.”
8 Then the king said to Hazael, “Take a gift in your hand and go meet him. Ask the Lord through him if I will get well from my sickness.”
9 So Hazael went to meet Elisha. He took with him a gift. It was 40 camels loaded with every good thing in Damascus. He came and stood before Elisha. Hazael said, “Your son Ben-Hadad king of Aram sent me to you. He asks if he will get well from his sickness.”
10 Then Elisha said to Hazael, “Go and tell Ben-Hadad, ‘You will surely get well.’ But the Lord has told me he will really die.” 11 Elisha stared at Hazael until Hazael felt ashamed. Then Elisha cried.
12 Hazael asked, “Why are you crying, master?”
Elisha answered, “Because I know what evil you will do to the Israelites. You will burn their strong, walled cities with fire. You will kill their young men with swords. You will throw their babies to the ground. You will split open their pregnant women.”
13 Hazael said, “I, your servant, am only a dog. How could I do such things?”
Elisha answered, “The Lord has shown me that you will be king over Aram.”
14 Then Hazael left Elisha and came to his master. Ben-Hadad said to Hazael, “What did Elisha say to you?”
Hazael answered, “He told me that you will surely get well.” 15 But the next day Hazael took a blanket and dipped it in water. Then he put it over Ben-Hadad’s face, and he died. So Hazael became king in Ben-Hadad’s place.
Jehoram King of Judah
16 Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat became king of Judah. This was during Joram’s fifth year as king of Israel. Joram was the son of Ahab. 17 Jehoram was 32 years old when he began to rule. He ruled eight years in Jerusalem. 18 But Jehoram followed the ways of the kings of Israel. This was just as the family of Ahab had done. It was because Ahab’s daughter was Jehoram’s wife. Jehoram did what the Lord said was wrong. 19 But the Lord would not destroy Judah because of his servant David. The Lord had promised that David and his children would always have a kingdom.
20 In Jehoram’s time Edom broke away from Judah’s rule. The people of Edom chose their own king. 21 So Jehoram and all his chariots went to Zair. At night the Edomites came around him and his chariot commanders. Jehoram got up and attacked the Edomites. But his army ran away to their tents. 22 So the Edomites broke away from the rule of Judah. And they are still separate today. At the same time Libnah also broke away from Judah’s rule.
23 The other acts of Jehoram and all the things he did are written down. They are in the book of the history of the kings of Judah. 24 Jehoram died and was buried with his ancestors in Jerusalem. Jehoram’s son Ahaziah ruled in his place.
25 Ahaziah son of Jehoram became king of Judah. This was during Joram’s twelfth year as king of Israel. Joram was the son of Ahab. 26 Ahaziah was 22 years old when he became king. He ruled one year in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Athaliah. She was a granddaughter of Omri king of Israel. 27 Ahaziah followed the ways of Ahab’s family. He did what the Lord said was wrong, as Ahab’s family had done. He did this because he was a son-in-law in Ahab’s family.
28 Ahaziah went with Joram son of Ahab to Ramoth in Gilead. There they fought against Hazael king of Aram. The Arameans wounded Joram. 29 So King Joram returned to Jezreel to heal from the injuries. (He had been wounded by the Arameans at Ramoth. This was when he fought Hazael king of Aram.) And Ahaziah son of Jehoram king of Judah went down to see Joram. He went to see Joram son of Ahab at Jezreel because he had been wounded.
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