2 Kings 13
GOD’S WORD Translation
King Jehoahaz of Israel
13 Ahaziah’s son King Joash of Judah was in his twenty-third year as king of Judah when Jehoahaz,[a] son of Jehu, began to rule in Samaria as king of Israel. He ruled for 17 years. 2 He did what the Lord considered evil. He continued to commit the sins that Jeroboam (Nebat’s son) led Israel to commit. He never gave up committing those sins. 3 So the Lord became angry with Israel and put it at the mercy of King Hazael of Aram and Hazael’s son Benhadad as long as they lived.
4 Then Jehoahaz pleaded with the Lord, and the Lord heard him because he saw how the Aramean king was oppressing Israel. 5 So the Lord gave the Israelites someone to save them, and they were freed from Aram’s power. They were able to live in their homes again as they had done before. 6 But they didn’t turn away from the sins that Jeroboam and his dynasty led Israel to commit. They continued to commit those sins. In addition, the pole dedicated to the goddess Asherah remained standing in Samaria.
7 Jehoahaz had no army left except for 50 horses, 10 chariots, and 10,000 foot soldiers because the king of Aram had destroyed the rest. He had made them like dust that people trample. 8 Isn’t everything else about Jehoahaz—everything he did, his heroic acts—written in the official records of the kings of Israel? 9 Jehoahaz lay down in death with his ancestors and was buried in Samaria. His son Jehoash [b] ruled as king in his place.
King Jehoash of Israel
10 In Joash’s thirty-seventh year as king of Judah, Jehoahaz’s son Jehoash began to rule Israel in Samaria. He ruled for 16 years. 11 He did what the Lord considered evil and never gave up committing the sins that Jeroboam led Israel to commit. He continued to commit them. 12 Isn’t everything else about Jehoash—everything he did, his heroic acts when he fought against King Amaziah of Judah—written in the official records of the kings of Israel? 13 Jehoash lay down in death with his ancestors and was buried with the kings of Israel in Samaria. Then Jeroboam claimed the throne.
The Death of Elisha
14 Elisha became fatally ill. King Jehoash of Israel visited him, cried over him, and said, “Master! Master! Israel’s chariot and horses!”
15 Elisha told him, “Get a bow and some arrows.” So he got a bow and some arrows. 16 Then Elisha told the king of Israel, “Take the bow in your hand.” So the king picked up the bow. Elisha laid his hands on the king’s hands. 17 Elisha said, “Open the window that faces east.” So the king opened it. “Shoot,” Elisha said, and the king shot. Then Elisha said, “That is the arrow of the Lord’s victory, the arrow of victory against Aram. You will completely defeat the Arameans at Aphek.” 18 Then Elisha said, “Take the arrows.” So the king took them. “Stomp on them,” he told the king of Israel. The king stomped three times and stopped.
19 Then the man of God became angry with him. “You should have stomped five or six times!” he said. “Then you would have completely defeated the Arameans. But now you will only defeat the Arameans three times.”
20 Elisha died and was buried. Moabite raiding parties used to invade the country in the spring. 21 One day some people who were burying a man saw one of these raiding parties. So they quickly put the man into Elisha’s tomb. But when the body touched Elisha’s bones, the man came back to life and stood up.
22 King Hazael of Aram oppressed Israel as long as Jehoahaz ruled. 23 But the Lord was kind and merciful to the Israelites because of his promise [c] to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He didn’t want to destroy the Israelites, and even now he hasn’t turned away from them.
24 King Hazael of Aram died, and his son Benhadad succeeded him as king. 25 Then Jehoash, son of Jehoahaz, reconquered the cities that Benhadad had taken from his father Jehoahaz. Jehoash defeated Benhadad three times and recovered those cities of Israel.
2 Kings 13
English Standard Version
Jehoahaz Reigns in Israel
13 In the twenty-third year of Joash the son of Ahaziah, king of Judah, Jehoahaz the son of Jehu began to reign over Israel in Samaria, and he reigned seventeen years. 2 He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and followed the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, (A)which he made Israel to sin; he did not depart from them. 3 (B)And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he gave them continually into the hand of (C)Hazael king of Syria and into the hand of (D)Ben-hadad the son of Hazael. 4 Then Jehoahaz (E)sought the favor of the Lord, and the Lord listened to him, (F)for he saw the oppression of Israel, how the king of Syria oppressed them. 5 (Therefore the Lord gave Israel (G)a savior, so that they escaped from the hand of the Syrians, and the people of Israel lived in (H)their homes as formerly. 6 Nevertheless, they did not depart from the sins of the house of Jeroboam, (I)which he made Israel to sin, but walked[a] in them; and (J)the Asherah also remained in Samaria.) 7 For there was not left to Jehoahaz an army of more than fifty horsemen and ten chariots and ten thousand footmen, for the king of Syria had destroyed them and made them like the dust (K)at threshing. 8 Now the rest of the acts of Jehoahaz and all that he did, and his might, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? 9 So Jehoahaz slept with his fathers, and they buried him in Samaria, and Joash his son reigned in his place.
Jehoash Reigns in Israel
10 In the thirty-seventh year of Joash king of Judah, Jehoash[b] the son of Jehoahaz began to reign over Israel in Samaria, and he reigned sixteen years. 11 He also did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. He did not depart from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, (L)which he made Israel to sin, but he walked in them. 12 (M)Now the rest of the acts of Joash (N)and all that he did, (O)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? 13 So Joash slept with his fathers, and Jeroboam sat on his throne. And Joash was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel.
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, (P)“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 (Q)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 (R)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 (S)three times.”
20 So Elisha died, and they buried him. Now bands of (T)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 (U)Now Hazael king of Syria oppressed Israel all the days of Jehoahaz. 23 (V)But the Lord was gracious to them and had compassion on them, (W)and he turned toward them, (X)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 (Y)that he had taken from Jehoahaz his father in war. (Z)Three times Joash defeated him and recovered the cities of Israel.
Footnotes
- 2 Kings 13:6 Septuagint, Syriac, Targum, Vulgate; Hebrew he walked
- 2 Kings 13:10 Jehoash is an alternate spelling of Joash (son of Jehoahaz) as in verses 9, 12–14; also verse 25
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