2 Kings 14:23-29
Christian Standard Bible
Israel’s King Jeroboam
23 In the fifteenth year of Judah’s King Amaziah son of Joash, Jeroboam(A) son of Jehoash became king of Israel in Samaria, and he reigned forty-one years. 24 He did what was evil in the Lord’s sight. He did not turn away from all the sins Jeroboam son of Nebat had caused Israel to commit.(B)
25 He restored Israel’s border(C) from Lebo-hamath(D) as far as the Sea of the Arabah,(E) according to the word the Lord, the God of Israel, had spoken through his servant, the prophet Jonah(F) son of Amittai from Gath-hepher.(G) 26 For the Lord saw that the affliction of Israel was very bitter(H) for both slaves and free people.[a] There was no one to help Israel. 27 The Lord had not said he would blot out the name of Israel under heaven,(I) so he delivered(J) them by the hand of Jeroboam son of Jehoash.
28 The rest of the events of Jeroboam’s reign—along with all his accomplishments, the power he had to wage war, and how he recovered for Israel Damascus(K) and Hamath,(L) which had belonged to Judah[b]—are written in the Historical Record of Israel’s Kings.(M) 29 Jeroboam rested with his ancestors, the kings of Israel. His son Zechariah became king in his place.(N)
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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.
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