Israel’s King Jehoahaz

13 In the twenty-third year of Judah’s King Joash(A) son of Ahaziah, Jehoahaz(B) son of Jehu became king over Israel in Samaria, and he reigned seventeen years. He did what was evil in the Lord’s sight and followed the sins that Jeroboam son of Nebat had caused Israel to commit; he did not turn away from them.(C) So the Lord’s anger burned against Israel,(D) and he handed them over to King Hazael(E) of Aram and to his son Ben-hadad(F) during their reigns.

Then Jehoahaz sought the Lord’s favor, and the Lord heard him, for he saw the oppression the king of Aram inflicted on Israel.(G) Therefore, the Lord gave Israel a deliverer,(H) and they escaped from the power of the Arameans. Then the people of Israel returned to their former way of life,[a] but they didn’t turn away from the sins that the house of Jeroboam had caused Israel to commit. Jehoahaz continued them,(I) and the Asherah pole also remained standing in Samaria. Jehoahaz did not have an army left, except for fifty horsemen, ten chariots, and ten thousand foot soldiers, because the king of Aram had destroyed them,(J) making them like dust at threshing.(K)

The rest of the events of Jehoahaz’s reign, along with all his accomplishments and his might, are written in the Historical Record of Israel’s Kings.(L) Jehoahaz rested with his ancestors, and he was buried in Samaria. His son Jehoash[b] became king in his place.

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Footnotes

  1. 13:5 Lit Israel dwelt in their tents as formerly
  2. 13:9 Lit Joash

Jehoahaz rules Israel

13 Jehoahaz, Jehu’s son, became king of Israel in Samaria in the twenty-third year of Judah’s King Jehoash,[a] who was Ahaziah’s son. He ruled for seventeen years. He did what was evil in the Lord’s eyes. He walked in the sins that Jeroboam, Nebat’s son, had caused Israel to commit. He didn’t deviate from them. So the Lord was angry at Israel. Time after time God handed them over to Aram’s king Hazael, and to Hazael’s son Ben-hadad.

But Jehoahaz sought the Lord’s presence, and the Lord listened to him because he saw how badly Aram’s king was oppressing Israel. The Lord sent Israel a savior, and they escaped from Aram’s power. Then the Israelites lived peacefully at home, just as they had in the past. But they didn’t deviate from the sins that Jeroboam’s dynasty had caused Israel to commit; they walked in them! Moreover, a sacred pole[b] stood in Samaria. No, nothing was left of Jehoahaz’s army except fifty chariot riders, ten chariots, and ten thousand foot soldiers, because Aram’s king had decimated them, trampling them as if they were dirt. The rest of Jehoahaz’s deeds, all that he accomplished, and all his powerful acts, aren’t they written in the official records of Israel’s kings? Jehoahaz lay down with his ancestors. He was buried in Samaria. His son Joash succeeded him as king.

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Kings 13:1 Heb Joash (also in 13:10); the king’s name is variously spelled in either long Jehoash or short Joash form. The latter is the form used in 2 Chron.
  2. 2 Kings 13:6 Heb asherah, perhaps an object devoted to the goddess Asherah