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Jehoahaz Reigns over Israel

13 In the twenty-third year of King Joash son of Ahaziah of Judah, Jehoahaz son of Jehu began to reign over Israel in Samaria; he reigned seventeen years. He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and followed the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat that he caused Israel to sin; he did not depart from them.(A) The anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, so he gave them repeatedly into the hand of King Hazael of Aram, then into the hand of Ben-hadad son of Hazael.(B) But Jehoahaz entreated the Lord, and the Lord heeded him, for he saw the oppression of Israel, how the king of Aram oppressed them.(C) Therefore the Lord gave Israel a savior, so they escaped from the hand of the Arameans, and the people of Israel lived in their homes as formerly.(D) Nevertheless, they did not depart from the sins of the house of Jeroboam that he caused Israel to sin but walked[a] in them; the sacred pole[b] also remained in Samaria.(E) So Jehoahaz was left with an army of not more than fifty horsemen, ten chariots, and ten thousand footmen, for the king of Aram had destroyed them and made them like the dust at threshing.(F) Now the rest of the acts of Jehoahaz and all that he did, including his might, are they not written in the Book of the Annals of the Kings of Israel? So Jehoahaz slept with his ancestors, and they buried him in Samaria; then his son Joash succeeded him.(G)

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Footnotes

  1. 13.6 Gk Syr Tg Vg: Heb he walked
  2. 13.6 Or Asherah

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