2 Kings 14:23-29
New English Translation
Jeroboam II’s Reign over Israel
23 In the fifteenth year of the reign of Judah’s King Amaziah son of Joash, Jeroboam son of Joash became king over Israel. He reigned for forty-one years in Samaria. 24 He did evil in the sight of[a] the Lord; he did not repudiate[b] the sinful ways of Jeroboam son of Nebat who encouraged Israel to sin. 25 He restored the border of Israel from Lebo Hamath[c] in the north to the sea of the rift valley[d] in the south,[e] just as in the message from the Lord God of Israel that he had announced through his servant Jonah son of Amittai, the prophet from Gath Hepher. 26 The Lord saw Israel’s intense suffering;[f] everyone was weak and incapacitated and Israel had no deliverer.[g] 27 The Lord had not decreed that he would blot out Israel’s memory[h] from under heaven,[i] so he delivered them through Jeroboam son of Joash.
28 The rest of the events of Jeroboam’s reign, including all his accomplishments, his military success in restoring Israelite control over Damascus and Hamath, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Israel.[j] 29 Jeroboam passed away[k] and was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel.[l] His son Zechariah replaced him as king.
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- 2 Kings 14:24 tn Heb “in the eyes of.”
- 2 Kings 14:24 tn Heb “turn away from all.”
- 2 Kings 14:25 tn Or “entrance of Hamath” (so NASB and cf. KJV). This may be a site some 44 miles north of Damascus (see T. R. Hobbs, 2 Kings [WBC], 182).
- 2 Kings 14:25 tn The “sea of the rift valley” is the Dead Sea.
- 2 Kings 14:25 tn The phrases “in the north” and “in the south” are added in the translation for clarification.
- 2 Kings 14:26 tc Heb “for the Lord saw the very bitter affliction of Israel.” This translation assumes an emendation of מֹרֶה (moreh), which is meaningless here, to הַמַּר (hammar), the adjective “bitter” functioning attributively with the article prefixed. This emendation is supported by the LXX, Syriac Peshitta, and Vulgate. Another option would be מַר הוּא (mar huʾ), “it was bitter.”
- 2 Kings 14:26 tn Heb “[there was] none but the restrained, and [there was] none but the abandoned, and there was no deliverer for Israel.” On the meaning of the terms עָצוּר (ʿatsur) and עָזוּב (ʿazur), see the note at 1 Kgs 14:10.
- 2 Kings 14:27 tn Heb “name.”
- 2 Kings 14:27 tn The phrase “from under heaven” adds emphasis to the verb “blot out” and suggest total annihilation. For other examples of the verb מָחָה (makhah), “blot out,” combined with “from under heaven,” see Exod 17:14; Deut 9:14; 25:19; 29:20.
- 2 Kings 14:28 tn Heb “As for the rest of the events of Jeroboam, and all which he did and his strength, [and] how he fought and how he restored Damascus and Hamath to Judah in Israel, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Israel?” The phrase “to Judah” is probably not original; it may be a scribal addition by a Judahite scribe who was trying to link Jeroboam’s conquests with the earlier achievements of David and Solomon, who ruled in Judah. The Syriac Peshitta has simply “to Israel.” M. Cogan and H. Tadmor (II Kings [AB], 162) offer this proposal, but acknowledge that it is “highly speculative.”
- 2 Kings 14:29 tn Heb “lay down with his fathers.”
- 2 Kings 14:29 tn The MT has simply “with the kings of Israel,” which appears to stand in apposition to the immediately preceding “with his fathers.” But it is likely that the words “and he was buried in Samaria” have been accidentally omitted from the text. See 13:13 and 14:16.
2 Kings 14:23-29
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Jeroboam II Reigns over Israel
23 In the fifteenth year of King Amaziah son of Joash of Judah, King Jeroboam son of Joash of Israel began to reign in Samaria; he reigned forty-one years. 24 He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord; he did not depart from all the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat that he caused Israel to sin. 25 He restored the border of Israel from Lebo-hamath as far as the Sea of the Arabah, according to the word of the Lord, the God of Israel, which he spoke by his servant Jonah son of Amittai, the prophet who was from Gath-hepher.(A) 26 For the Lord saw that the distress of Israel was very bitter; there was no one left, bond or free, and no one to help Israel.(B) 27 But the Lord had not said that he would blot out the name of Israel from under heaven, so he saved them by the hand of Jeroboam son of Joash.(C)
28 Now the rest of the acts of Jeroboam and all that he did, and his might, how he fought, and how he recovered for Israel Damascus and Hamath, which had belonged to Judah, are they not written in the Book of the Annals of the Kings of Israel?(D) 29 Jeroboam slept with his ancestors, the kings of Israel; his son Zechariah succeeded him.(E)
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