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2 Kings 13
New English Translation

Jehoahaz’s Reign over Israel

13 In the twenty-third year of the reign of Judah’s King Joash son of Ahaziah, Jehu’s son Jehoahaz became king over Israel. He reigned in Samaria for seventeen years. 2 He did evil in the sight of[a] the Lord. He continued in[b] the sinful ways of Jeroboam son of Nebat who had encouraged Israel to sin; he did not repudiate those sins.[c] 3 The Lord was furious with[d] Israel and handed them over to[e] King Hazael of Syria and to Hazael’s son Ben Hadad for many years.[f]

4 Jehoahaz asked for the Lord’s mercy,[g] and the Lord responded favorably,[h] for he saw that Israel was oppressed by the king of Syria.[i] 5 The Lord provided a deliverer[j] for Israel, and they were freed from Syria’s power.[k] The Israelites once more lived in security.[l] 6 But they did not repudiate[m] the sinful ways of the family[n] of Jeroboam, who encouraged Israel to sin; they continued in those sins.[o] There was even an Asherah pole[p] standing in Samaria. 7 Jehoahaz had no army left[q] except for 50 horsemen, 10 chariots, and 10,000 foot soldiers. The king of Syria had destroyed his troops[r] and trampled on them as dust.[s]

8 The rest of the events of Jehoahaz’s reign, including all his accomplishments and successes, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Israel.[t] 9 Jehoahaz passed away[u] and was buried[v] in Samaria. His son Jehoash[w] replaced him as king.

Jehoash’s Reign over Israel

10 In the thirty-seventh year of King Jehoash’s reign over Judah, Jehoahaz’s son Jehoash became king over Israel. He reigned in Samaria for sixteen years. 11 He did evil in the sight of[x] the Lord. He did not repudiate[y] the sinful ways of Jeroboam son of Nebat who encouraged Israel to sin; he continued in those sins.[z] 12 The rest of the events of Jehoash’s[aa] reign, including all his accomplishments and his successful war with King Amaziah of Judah, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Israel.[ab] 13 Jehoash passed away[ac] and Jeroboam succeeded him on the throne.[ad] Jehoash was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel.

Elisha Makes One Final Prophecy

14 Now Elisha had a terminal illness.[ae] King Jehoash of Israel went down to visit him.[af] He wept before him and said, “My father, my father! The chariot[ag] and horsemen of Israel!”[ah] 15 Elisha told him, “Take a bow and some arrows,” and he did so.[ai] 16 Then Elisha[aj] told the king of Israel, “Aim the bow.”[ak] He did so,[al] and Elisha placed his hands on the king’s hands. 17 Elisha[am] said, “Open the east window,” and he did so.[an] Elisha said, “Shoot!” and he did so.[ao] Elisha[ap] said, “This arrow symbolizes the victory the Lord will give you over Syria.[aq] You will annihilate Syria in Aphek!”[ar] 18 Then Elisha[as] said, “Take the arrows,” and he did so.[at] He told the king of Israel, “Strike the ground!” He struck the ground three times and stopped. 19 The prophet[au] got angry at him and said, “If you had struck the ground five or six times, you would have annihilated Syria![av] But now, you will defeat Syria only three times.”

20 Elisha died and was buried.[aw] Moabite raiding parties invaded[ax] the land at the beginning of the year.[ay] 21 One day some men[az] were burying a man when they spotted[ba] a raiding party. So they threw the dead man[bb] into Elisha’s tomb. When the body[bc] touched Elisha’s bones, the dead man[bd] came to life and stood on his feet.

22 Now King Hazael of Syria oppressed Israel throughout Jehoahaz’s reign.[be] 23 But the Lord had mercy on them and felt pity for them.[bf] He extended his favor to them[bg] because of the promise he had made[bh] to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He has been unwilling to destroy them or remove them from his presence to this very day.[bi] 24 When King Hazael of Syria died, his son Ben Hadad replaced him as king. 25 Jehoahaz’s son Jehoash took back from[bj] Ben Hadad son of Hazael the cities that he had taken from his father Jehoahaz in war. Jehoash defeated him three times and recovered the Israelite cities.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Kings 13:2 tn Heb “in the eyes of.”
  2. 2 Kings 13:2 tn Heb “walked after.”
  3. 2 Kings 13:2 tn Heb “he did not turn aside from it.”
  4. 2 Kings 13:3 tn Heb “and the anger of the Lord burned against.”
  5. 2 Kings 13:3 tn Heb “he gave them into the hand of.”
  6. 2 Kings 13:3 tn Heb “all the days.”
  7. 2 Kings 13:4 tn Heb “appeased the face of the Lord.”
  8. 2 Kings 13:4 tn Heb “and the Lord listened to him.”
  9. 2 Kings 13:4 tn Heb “for he saw the oppression of Israel, for the king of Syria oppressed them.”
  10. 2 Kings 13:5 sn The identity of this unnamed “deliverer” is debated. For options see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 143.
  11. 2 Kings 13:5 tn Heb “and they went from under the hand of Syria.”
  12. 2 Kings 13:5 tn Heb “and the sons of Israel lived in their tents as before.”
  13. 2 Kings 13:6 tn Heb “they did not turn away from.”
  14. 2 Kings 13:6 tn Heb “house.”
  15. 2 Kings 13:6 tc Heb “in it he walked.” The singular verb (הָלַךְ, halakh) is probably due to an error of haplography and should be emended to the plural (הָלְכוּ, halekhu). Note that a vav immediately follows (on the form וְגַם, vegam).
  16. 2 Kings 13:6 tn Or “an image of Asherah”; ASV, NASB “the Asherah”; NCV “the Asherah idol.”sn Asherah was a leading deity of the Canaanite pantheon, wife/sister of El and goddess of fertility. She was commonly worshiped at shrines in or near groves of evergreen trees, or, failing that, at places marked by wooden poles. These were to be burned or cut down (Deut 12:3; 16:21; Judg 6:25, 28, 30; 2 Kgs 18:4).
  17. 2 Kings 13:7 tn Heb “Indeed he did not leave to Jehoahaz people.” The identity of the subject is uncertain, but the king of Syria, mentioned later in the verse, is a likely candidate.
  18. 2 Kings 13:7 tn Heb “them,” i.e., the remainder of this troops.
  19. 2 Kings 13:7 tn Heb “and made them like dust for trampling.”
  20. 2 Kings 13:8 tn Heb “As for the rest of the events of Jehoahaz, and all which he did and his strength, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Israel?”
  21. 2 Kings 13:9 tn Heb “lay down with his fathers.”
  22. 2 Kings 13:9 tn Heb “and they buried him.”
  23. 2 Kings 13:9 tn Heb “Joash,” an alternate form of the name “Jehoash.” For clarity, the translation consistently uses “Jehoash” for the son of Jehoahaz King of Israel in 13:9, 12, 13, 14, 25.
  24. 2 Kings 13:11 tn Heb “in the eyes of.”
  25. 2 Kings 13:11 tn Heb “turn away from all.”
  26. 2 Kings 13:11 tn Heb “in it he walked.”
  27. 2 Kings 13:12 tn “Joash”; Jehoash and Joash are alternate forms of the same name.
  28. 2 Kings 13:12 tn Heb “As for the rest of the events of Joash, and all which he did and his strength, [and] how he fought with Amaziah king of Judah, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Israel?”
  29. 2 Kings 13:13 tn Heb “lay down with his fathers.”
  30. 2 Kings 13:13 tn Heb “sat on his throne.”
  31. 2 Kings 13:14 tn Heb “Now Elisha was ill with the illness by which he would die.”
  32. 2 Kings 13:14 tn Heb “went down to him.”
  33. 2 Kings 13:14 tn Though the noun is singular here, it may be collective, in which case it could be translated “chariots.”
  34. 2 Kings 13:14 sn By comparing Elisha to a one-man army, the king emphasizes the power of the prophetic word. See the note at 2:12.
  35. 2 Kings 13:15 tn Heb “and he took a bow and some arrows.”
  36. 2 Kings 13:16 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elisha) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  37. 2 Kings 13:16 tn Heb “Cause your hand to ride on the bow.”
  38. 2 Kings 13:16 tn Heb “and he caused his hand to ride.”
  39. 2 Kings 13:17 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elisha) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  40. 2 Kings 13:17 tn Heb “He opened [it].”
  41. 2 Kings 13:17 tn Heb “and he shot.”
  42. 2 Kings 13:17 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elisha) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  43. 2 Kings 13:17 tn Heb “The arrow of victory of the Lord and the arrow of victory over Syria.”
  44. 2 Kings 13:17 tn Heb “you will strike down Syria in Aphek until destruction.”
  45. 2 Kings 13:18 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elisha) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  46. 2 Kings 13:18 tn Heb “and he took [them].”
  47. 2 Kings 13:19 tn Heb “man of God.”
  48. 2 Kings 13:19 tn Heb “[It was necessary] to strike five or six times, then you would strike down Syria until destruction.” On the syntax of the infinitive construct, see GKC 349 §114.k.
  49. 2 Kings 13:20 tn Heb “and they buried him.”
  50. 2 Kings 13:20 tn Heb “entered.”
  51. 2 Kings 13:20 tc The MT reading בָּא שָׁנָה (baʾ shanah), “it came, year,” should probably be emended to בְּבָא הַשָּׁנָה (bevaʾ hashanah), “at the coming [i.e., ‘beginning’] of the year.” See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 148.
  52. 2 Kings 13:21 tn Heb “and it so happened [that] they.”
  53. 2 Kings 13:21 tn Heb “and look, they saw.”
  54. 2 Kings 13:21 tn Heb “the man”; the adjective “dead” has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
  55. 2 Kings 13:21 tn Heb “the man.”
  56. 2 Kings 13:21 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the dead man) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Otherwise the reader might think it was Elisha rather than the unnamed dead man who came back to life.
  57. 2 Kings 13:22 tn Heb “all the days of Jehoahaz.”
  58. 2 Kings 13:23 tn Or “showed them compassion.”
  59. 2 Kings 13:23 tn Heb “he turned to them.”
  60. 2 Kings 13:23 tn Heb “because of his covenant with.”
  61. 2 Kings 13:23 tn Heb “until now.”
  62. 2 Kings 13:25 tn Heb “from the hand of.”
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