^12 (A)Now the rest of the acts of Joash ^(B)and all that he did, ^(C)and the might with which he fought against Amaziah king of Judah, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?

Israel Defeats Amaziah

^17 (A)Then Amaziah king of Judah took counsel and sent to Joash the son of Jehoahaz, son of Jehu, king of Israel, saying, “Come, let us look one another in the face.” ¹⁸ And Joash the king of Israel sent word to Amaziah king of Judah, ^(B)“A thistle on Lebanon sent to a cedar on Lebanon, saying, ‘Give your daughter to my son for a wife,’ and a wild beast of Lebanon passed by and trampled down the thistle. ¹⁹ You say, ‘See, I^[a] have struck down Edom,’ and ^(C)your heart has lifted you up in boastfulness. But now stay at home. Why should you provoke trouble so that you fall, you and Judah with you?”

²⁰ But Amaziah would not listen, for it was of God, in order that he might give them into the hand of their enemies, ^(D)because they had sought the gods of Edom. ²¹ So Joash king of Israel went up, and he and Amaziah king of Judah faced one another in battle at Beth-shemesh, which belongs to Judah. ²² And Judah was defeated by Israel, and every man fled to his home. ²³ And Joash king of Israel captured Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Joash, son of ^(E)Ahaziah, at Beth-shemesh, and brought him to Jerusalem and broke down the wall of Jerusalem for 400 cubits,^[b] from ^(F)the Ephraim Gate to the Corner Gate. ²⁴ And he seized all the gold and silver, and all the vessels that were found in the house of God, in the care of ^(G)Obed-edom. He seized also the treasuries of the king's house, also hostages, and he returned to Samaria.

^25 (A)He restored the border of Israel ^(B)from Lebo-hamath as far as the Sea of ^(C)the Arabah, according to the word of the Lord, the God of Israel, which he spoke by his servant ^(D)Jonah the son of Amittai, the prophet, who was from ^(E)Gath-hepher.

^8 (A)Then Amaziah sent messengers to Jehoash^[a] the son of Jehoahaz, son of Jehu, king of Israel, saying, “Come, ^(B)let us look one another in the face.” ⁹ And Jehoash king of Israel sent word to Amaziah king of Judah, ^(C)“A thistle on Lebanon sent to a cedar on Lebanon, saying, ‘Give your daughter to my son for a wife,’ and a wild beast of Lebanon passed by and trampled down the thistle. ¹⁰ You have indeed ^(D)struck down Edom, ^(E)and your heart has lifted you up. Be content with your glory, and stay at home, for why should you provoke trouble so that you fall, you and Judah with you?”

¹¹ But Amaziah would not listen. So Jehoash king of Israel went up, and he and Amaziah king of Judah ^(F)faced one another in battle at ^(G)Beth-shemesh, which belongs to Judah. ¹² And Judah was defeated by Israel, ^(H)and every man fled to his home. ¹³ And Jehoash king of Israel captured Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Jehoash, son of Ahaziah, at Beth-shemesh, and came to Jerusalem and broke down the wall of Jerusalem for four hundred cubits,^[b] from ^(I)the Ephraim Gate to ^(J)the Corner Gate. ¹⁴ And he seized ^(K)all the gold and silver, and all the vessels that were found in the house of the Lord and in the treasuries of the king's house, also hostages, and he returned to Samaria.

^15 (L)Now the rest of the acts of Jehoash that he did, and his might, and how he fought with Amaziah king of Judah, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? ¹⁶ And Jehoash slept with his fathers and was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel, and Jeroboam his son reigned in his place.

The Death of Elisha

¹⁴ Now when Elisha had fallen sick with the illness of which he was to die, Joash king of Israel went down to him and wept before him, crying, ^(A)“My father, my father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” ¹⁵ And Elisha said to him, “Take a bow and arrows.” So he took a bow and arrows. ¹⁶ Then he said to the king of Israel, “Draw the bow,” and he drew it. And Elisha laid his hands on the king's hands. ¹⁷ And he said, “Open the window eastward,” and he opened it. Then Elisha said, “Shoot,” and he shot. And he said, “The Lord's arrow of victory, the arrow of victory over Syria! For you shall fight the Syrians in ^(B)Aphek until you have made an end of them.” ¹⁸ And he said, “Take the arrows,” and he took them. And he said to the king of Israel, “Strike the ground with them.” And he struck three times and stopped. ¹⁹ Then ^(C)the man of God was angry with him and said, “You should have struck five or six times; then you would have struck down Syria until you had made an end of it, but now you will strike down Syria only ^(D)three times.”

²⁰ So Elisha died, and they buried him. Now bands of ^(E)Moabites used to invade the land in the spring of the year. ²¹ And as a man was being buried, behold, a marauding band was seen and the man was thrown into the grave of Elisha, and as soon as the man touched the bones of Elisha, he revived and stood on his feet.

^22 (F)Now Hazael king of Syria oppressed Israel all the days of Jehoahaz. ^23 (G)But the Lord was gracious to them and had compassion on them, ^(H)and he turned toward them, ^(I)because of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and would not destroy them, nor has he cast them from his presence until now.

²⁴ When Hazael king of Syria died, Ben-hadad his son became king in his place. ²⁵ Then Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz took again from Ben-hadad the son of Hazael the cities ^(J)that he had taken from Jehoahaz his father in war. ^(K)Three times Joash defeated him and recovered the cities of Israel.