Jehoahaz Becomes King of Israel

13 During the twenty-third year of the reign of^[a] Ahaziah’s son Joash, king of Judah, Jehu’s son Jehoahaz began his seventeen year reign in Samaria over Israel.^{[b] 2} He did what the Lord considered to be evil, after the pattern of Nebat’s son Jeroboam. By doing so, he caused Israel to sin, and he never changed course from it. ³ As a result, the Lord’s wrath flared up against Israel, so he handed them over to domination by King Hazael of Aram and later into constant domination^[c] by Hazael’s son Ben-hadad. ⁴ But Jehoahaz sought the Lord,^[d] and the Lord paid attention to him, because the Lord^[e] had been watching the oppression that Israel was enduring from the king of Aram.^[f]

God Delivers Israel

⁵ The Lord provided Israel with a deliverer, so they escaped the Aramean oppression while the descendants of Israel lived in tents as they had formerly. ⁶ Nevertheless, they did not change course away from the sins of Jeroboam’s household, by which he caused Israel to sin, but continued on that same course, with Asherah poles^[g] remaining in place in Samaria. ⁷ For the Aramean king^[h] had left only 50 cavalry, ten chariots, and 10,000 soldiers out of the army belonging to Jehoahaz, because the king of Aram had destroyed the others,^[i] making them like chaff left over after threshing.

⁸ Now the rest of the activities of Jehoahaz, including everything he did and his grandeur, are recorded in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel, are they not? ⁹ So Jehoahaz died, as did^[j] his ancestors, and he was buried in Samaria while his son Joash replaced him as king.