2 Kings 13

Revised Geneva Translation

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 (for seventeen years).

² And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, and followed the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, who made Israel sin, and did not depart from it.

³ And the LORD was angry with Israel, and delivered them into the hand of Hazael, king of Aram, and into the hand of Ben-Hadad, the son of Hazael, all his days.

⁴ And Jehoahaz prayed to the LORD, and the LORD heard him. For He saw the trouble of Israel with which the king of Aram troubled them.

⁵ And the LORD gave Israel a deliverer, so that they came out from under the subjection of the Aramites. And the children of Israel dwelt in their tents as before.

⁶ Nevertheless, they did not depart from the sins of the House of Jeroboam, who made Israel sin, but still walked in them. Even the grove still remained in Samaria.

⁷ For he had only fifty horsemen left of the people to Jehoahaz, and ten chariots, and ten thousand footmen, because the king of Aram had destroyed them, and made them like dust, beaten to powder.

⁸ Concerning the rest of the acts of Jehoahaz and all that he did, and his valiant deeds, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?

⁹ And Jehoahaz slept with his fathers. And they buried him in Samaria. And Joash his son reigned in his place.

¹⁰ In the thirty-seventh year of Joash, king of Judah, Jehoash, the son of Jehoahaz, began to reign over Israel in Samaria (for sixteen years)

¹¹ and did evil in the sight of the LORD. He did not depart from all the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, who made Israel sin, but he walked in them.

¹² Concerning the rest of the acts of Joash, and all that he did, and his valiant deeds — how he fought against Amaziah, king of Judah — are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?

¹³ And Joash slept with his fathers, and Jeroboam sat upon his seat. And Joash was buried in Samaria, among the kings of Israel.

¹⁴ When Elisha fell sick with the sickness of which he died, Joash, the king of Israel, came down to him and wept upon his face, and said, “O my father, my father, the chariot of Israel and the horsemen of the same!”

¹⁵ Then Elisha said to him, “Take a bow and arrows.” And he took to him bow and arrows.

¹⁶ And he said to the king of Israel, “Put your hand upon the bow.” And he put his hand upon it. And Elisha put his hands upon the king’s hands,

¹⁷ And said, “Open the east-facing window.” And when he had opened it, Elisha said, “Shoot.” And he shot. And he said, “The arrow of the LORD’s deliverance, and the arrow of deliverance against Aram. For you shall strike the Aramites in Aphek, until you have consumed them.”

¹⁸ Again he said, “Take the arrows.” And he took them. And he said to the king of Israel, “Strike the ground.” And he struck three times and ceased.

¹⁹ Then the man of God was angry with him, and said, “You should have struck five or six times! So you should have struck Aram, until you had consumed it! Whereas now you shall strike Aram but three times.”

²⁰ So Elisha died, and they buried him. And bands of the Moabites came into the land that year.

²¹ And as they were burying a man, behold, they saw the soldiers. Therefore, they cast the man into the sepulcher of Elisha. And when the man was down, and touched the bones of Elisha, he revived and stood upon his feet.

²² But Hazael, king of Aram, troubled Israel all the days of Jehoahaz.

²³ Therefore, the LORD had mercy on them and pitied them and regarded them — because of His Covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob — and would neither destroy them nor cast them from Him yet.

²⁴ So Hazael, the king of Aram, died. And Ben-Hadad, his son, reigned in his place.

²⁵ Therefore Jehoash, the son of Jehoahaz, returned and took the cities out of the hand of Ben-Hadad (the son of Hazael) which he had taken away by war out of the hand of Jehoahaz, his father. Three times Joash beat him and restored the cities to Israel.