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. 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. 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.

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. 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. 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.

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.

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? Jehoahaz rested with his ancestors and was buried in Samaria. And Jehoash[b] his son succeeded him as king.

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Kings 13:6 That is, a wooden symbol of the goddess Asherah; here and elsewhere in 2 Kings
  2. 2 Kings 13:9 Hebrew Joash, a variant of Jehoash; also in verses 12-14 and 25

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