2 Kings 8
Legacy Standard Bible
Jehoram Restores the Shunammite’s Land
8 Now (A)Elisha spoke to the woman whose son he had restored to life, saying, “Arise and go [a]with your household, and sojourn wherever you can sojourn; for (B)Yahweh has called for a famine, and (C)it will even come on the land for seven years.” 2 So the woman arose and did according to the word of the man of God, and she went with her household and sojourned in the land of the Philistines seven years. 3 Now it happened at the end of seven years, that the woman returned from the land of the Philistines; and she went out to cry out to the king for her house and for her field. 4 Now the king was speaking with (D)Gehazi, the young man of the man of God, saying, “Please recount to me all the great things that Elisha has done.” 5 Now it happened as he was recounting to the king (E)how he had restored to life the one who was dead, that behold, the woman whose son he had restored to life was crying out to the king for her house and for her field. And Gehazi said, “My lord, O king, this is the woman, and this is her son, whom Elisha restored to life.” 6 Then the king asked the woman, and she recounted it to him. So the king appointed for her a certain officer, saying, “Restore all that was hers and all the produce of the field from the day that she left the land even until now.”
Elisha Weeps over Hazael’s Evil
7 Then Elisha came to (F)Damascus. Now (G)Ben-hadad king of Aram was sick, and it was told to him, saying, “(H)The man of God has come here.” 8 And the king said to (I)Hazael, “(J)Take a present in your hand and go to meet the man of God, and (K)inquire of Yahweh by him, saying, ‘Will I be restored to life from this sickness?’” 9 So Hazael went to meet him and took a present in his hand, even every kind of good thing of Damascus, forty camels’ loads; and he came and stood before him and said, “(L)Your son Ben-hadad king of Aram has sent me to you, saying, ‘Will I be restored to life from this sickness?’” 10 Then Elisha said to him, “(M)Go, say to him, ‘You will surely be restored to life,’ but (N)Yahweh has shown me that he will certainly die.” 11 And he [b]fixed his gaze steadily on him (O)until he was ashamed, and (P)the man of God wept. 12 Then Hazael said, “Why does my lord weep?” Then he said, “Because (Q)I know the evil that you will do to the sons of Israel: their fortifications you will set on fire, and their young men you will kill with the sword, and their infants you (R)will dash in pieces, and their pregnant women you will rip up.” 13 Then Hazael said, “But what is your servant, (S)who is but a dog, that he should do this great thing?” And Elisha [c]answered, “(T)Yahweh has shown me that you will be king over Aram.” 14 So he went from Elisha and came to his master. And he said to him, “What did Elisha say to you?” And he said, “He said to me that (U)you would surely be restored to life.” 15 Now it happened that on the following day, he took the cover and dipped it in water and spread it on his face; (V)so he died. And Hazael became king in his place.
Jehoram Reigns over Judah
16 Now in the fifth year of (W)Joram the son of Ahab king of Israel, Jehoshaphat being then the king of Judah, Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah became king. 17 He was (X)thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. 18 And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, just as the house of Ahab had done, for (Y)the daughter of Ahab became his wife; and he did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh. 19 However, Yahweh was not willing to make Judah a ruin, for the sake of David His servant, (Z)since He had [d]promised him to give a [e]lamp to him through his sons always.
20 In his days (AA)Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah and made a king over themselves. 21 Then Joram crossed over to Zair, and all his chariots with him. And he arose by night and struck the Edomites who were surrounding him and the commanders of the chariots; (AB)but [f]his army fled to their tents. 22 (AC)So Edom revolted [g]against Judah to this day. Then (AD)Libnah revolted at the same time. 23 Now 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?
Ahaziah Reigns over Judah
24 So Joram slept with his fathers and (AE)was buried with his fathers in the city of David; and (AF)Ahaziah his son became king in his place.
25 (AG)In the twelfth year of Joram the son of Ahab king of Israel, Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah became king. 26 (AH)Ahaziah was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Athaliah the granddaughter of Omri king of Israel. 27 (AI)He also walked in the way of the house of Ahab and did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh, like the house of Ahab had done, because he was a son-in-law of the house of Ahab.
28 Then he went with Joram the son of Ahab to war with (AJ)Hazael king of Aram at (AK)Ramoth-gilead, and the Arameans struck Joram. 29 So (AL)King Joram returned to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds which the Arameans had caused by striking him at (AM)Ramah when he fought against Hazael king of Aram. Then (AN)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 Lit you and your
- 2 Kings 8:11 Lit made his face stand fast and he set
- 2 Kings 8:13 Lit said
- 2 Kings 8:19 Lit said
- 2 Kings 8:19 Descendant on the throne
- 2 Kings 8:21 Lit the people
- 2 Kings 8:22 Lit from under the hand of
2 Kings 8
The Message
8 1-3 Years before, Elisha had told the woman whose son he had brought to life, “Leave here and go, you and your family, and live someplace else. God has ordered a famine in the land; it will last for seven years.” The woman did what the Holy Man told her and left. She and her family lived as aliens in the country of Philistia for seven years. Then, when the seven years were up, the woman and her family came back. She went directly to the king and asked for her home and farm.
4-5 The king was talking with Gehazi, servant to the Holy Man, saying, “Tell me some stories of the great things Elisha did.” It so happened that as he was telling the king the story of the dead person brought back to life, the woman whose son was brought to life showed up asking for her home and farm.
Gehazi said, “My master the king, this is the woman! And this is her son whom Elisha brought back to life!”
6 The king wanted to know all about it, and so she told him the story. The king assigned an officer to take care of her, saying, “Make sure she gets everything back that’s hers, plus all profits from the farm from the time she left until now.”
7 Elisha traveled to Damascus. Ben-Hadad, king of Aram, was sick at the time. He was told, “The Holy Man is in town.”
8 The king ordered Hazael, “Take a gift with you and go meet the Holy Man. Ask God through him, ‘Am I going to recover from this sickness?’”
9 Hazael went and met with Elisha. He brought with him every choice thing he could think of from Damascus—forty camel-loads of items! When he arrived he stood before Elisha and said, “Your son Ben-Hadad, king of Aram, sent me here to ask you, ‘Am I going to recover from this sickness?’”
10-11 Elisha answered, “Go and tell him, ‘Don’t worry; you’ll live.’ The fact is, though—God showed me—that he’s doomed to die.” Elisha then stared hard at Hazael, reading his heart. Hazael felt exposed and dropped his eyes. Then the Holy Man wept.
12 Hazael said, “Why does my master weep?”
“Because,” said Elisha, “I know what you’re going to do to the children of Israel:
burn down their forts,
murder their youth,
smash their babies,
rip open their pregnant women.”
13 Hazael said, “Am I a mongrel dog that I’d do such a horrible thing?”
“God showed me,” said Elisha, “that you’ll be king of Aram.”
14 Hazael left Elisha and returned to his master, who asked, “So, what did Elisha tell you?”
“He told me, ‘Don’t worry; you’ll live.’”
15 But the very next day, someone took a heavy quilt, soaked it in water, covered the king’s face, and suffocated him.
Now Hazael was king.
Jehoram of Judah
16-19 In the fifth year of the reign of Joram son of Ahab king of Israel, Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah became king. He was thirty-two years old when he began his rule, and was king for eight years in Jerusalem. He copied the way of life of the kings of Israel, marrying into the Ahab family and continuing the Ahab line of sin—from God’s point of view, an evil man living an evil life. But despite that, because of his servant David, God was not ready to destroy Judah. He had, after all, promised to keep a lamp burning through David’s descendants.
20-21 During Jehoram’s reign, Edom revolted against Judah’s rule and set up their own king. Jehoram responded by taking his army of chariots to Zair.
Edom surrounded him, but in the middle of the night he and his charioteers broke through the lines and hit Edom hard. But his infantry deserted him.
22 Edom continues in revolt against Judah right up to the present. Even little Libnah revolted at that time.
23-24 The rest of the life and times of Jehoram, the record of his rule, is written in The Chronicles of the Kings of Judah. Jehoram died and was buried in the family grave in the City of David. His son Ahaziah succeeded him as king.
Ahaziah of Judah
25-27 In the twelfth year of the reign of Joram son of Ahab king of Israel, Ahaziah son of Jehoram king of Judah began his reign. Ahaziah was twenty-two years old when he became king; he ruled only a year in Jerusalem. His mother was Athaliah, granddaughter of Omri king of Israel. He lived and ruled just like the Ahab family had done, continuing the same evil-in-God’s-sight line of sin, related by both marriage and sin to the Ahab clan.
28-29 He joined Joram son of Ahab king of Israel in a war against Hazael king of Aram at Ramoth Gilead. The archers wounded Joram. Joram pulled back to Jezreel to convalesce from the injuries he had received in the fight with Hazael. Ahaziah son of Jehoram king of Judah paid a visit to Joram son of Ahab on his sickbed in Jezreel.
2 Kings 8
New International Version
The Shunammite’s Land Restored
8 Now Elisha had said to the woman(A) whose son he had restored to life, “Go away with your family and stay for a while wherever you can, because the Lord has decreed a famine(B) in the land that will last seven years.”(C) 2 The woman proceeded to do as the man of God said. She and her family went away and stayed in the land of the Philistines seven years.
3 At the end of the seven years she came back from the land of the Philistines and went to appeal to the king for her house and land. 4 The king was talking to Gehazi, the servant of the man of God, and had said, “Tell me about all the great things Elisha has done.” 5 Just as Gehazi was telling the king how Elisha had restored(D) the dead to life, the woman whose son Elisha had brought back to life came to appeal to the king for her house and land.
Gehazi said, “This is the woman, my lord the king, and this is her son whom Elisha restored to life.” 6 The king asked the woman about it, and she told him.
Then he assigned an official to her case and said to him, “Give back everything that belonged to her, including all the income from her land from the day she left the country until now.”
Hazael Murders Ben-Hadad
7 Elisha went to Damascus,(E) and Ben-Hadad(F) king of Aram was ill. When the king was told, “The man of God has come all the way up here,” 8 he said to Hazael,(G) “Take a gift(H) with you and go to meet the man of God. Consult(I) the Lord through him; ask him, ‘Will I recover from this illness?’”
9 Hazael went to meet Elisha, taking with him as a gift forty camel-loads of all the finest wares of Damascus. He went in and stood before him, and said, “Your son Ben-Hadad king of Aram has sent me to ask, ‘Will I recover from this illness?’”
10 Elisha answered, “Go and say to him, ‘You will certainly recover.’(J) Nevertheless,[a] the Lord has revealed to me that he will in fact die.” 11 He stared at him with a fixed gaze until Hazael was embarrassed.(K) Then the man of God began to weep.(L)
12 “Why is my lord weeping?” asked Hazael.
“Because I know the harm(M) you will do to the Israelites,” he answered. “You will set fire to their fortified places, kill their young men with the sword, dash(N) their little children(O) to the ground, and rip open(P) their pregnant women.”
13 Hazael said, “How could your servant, a mere dog,(Q) accomplish such a feat?”
“The Lord has shown me that you will become king(R) of Aram,” answered Elisha.
14 Then Hazael left Elisha and returned to his master. When Ben-Hadad asked, “What did Elisha say to you?” Hazael replied, “He told me that you would certainly recover.” 15 But the next day he took a thick cloth, soaked it in water and spread it over the king’s face, so that he died.(S) Then Hazael succeeded him as king.
Jehoram King of Judah(T)
16 In the fifth year of Joram(U) son of Ahab king of Israel, when Jehoshaphat was king of Judah, Jehoram(V) son of Jehoshaphat began his reign as king of Judah. 17 He was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eight years. 18 He followed the ways of the kings of Israel, as the house of Ahab had done, for he married a daughter(W) of Ahab. He did evil in the eyes of the Lord. 19 Nevertheless, for the sake of his servant David, the Lord was not willing to destroy(X) Judah. He had promised to maintain a lamp(Y) for David and his descendants forever.
20 In the time of Jehoram, Edom rebelled against Judah and set up its own king.(Z) 21 So Jehoram[b] went to Zair with all his chariots. The Edomites surrounded him and his chariot commanders, but he rose up and broke through by night; his army, however, fled back home. 22 To this day Edom has been in rebellion(AA) against Judah. Libnah(AB) revolted at the same time.
23 As for the other events of Jehoram’s reign, and all he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah? 24 Jehoram rested with his ancestors and was buried with them in the City of David. And Ahaziah his son succeeded him as king.
Ahaziah King of Judah(AC)
25 In the twelfth(AD) year of Joram son of Ahab king of Israel, Ahaziah son of Jehoram king of Judah began to reign. 26 Ahaziah was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem one year. His mother’s name was Athaliah,(AE) a granddaughter of Omri(AF) king of Israel. 27 He followed the ways of the house of Ahab(AG) and did evil(AH) in the eyes of the Lord, as the house of Ahab had done, for he was related by marriage to Ahab’s family.
28 Ahaziah went with Joram son of Ahab to war against Hazael king of Aram at Ramoth Gilead.(AI) The Arameans wounded Joram; 29 so King Joram returned to Jezreel(AJ) to recover from the wounds the Arameans had inflicted on him at Ramoth[c] in his battle with Hazael(AK) king of Aram.
Then Ahaziah(AL) son of Jehoram king of Judah went down to Jezreel to see Joram son of Ahab, because he had been wounded.
Footnotes
- 2 Kings 8:10 The Hebrew may also be read Go and say, ‘You will certainly not recover,’ for.
- 2 Kings 8:21 Hebrew Joram, a variant of Jehoram; also in verses 23 and 24
- 2 Kings 8:29 Hebrew Ramah, a variant of Ramoth
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