M'lakhim Bet (2 Ki) 13
13
1It was in the twenty-third year of Yo’ash the son of Achazyah, king of Y’hudah, that Y’ho’achaz the son of Yehu began his reign over Isra’el in Shomron; he ruled for seventeen years. 2He did what was evil from Adonai’s perspective; he followed the sins of Yarov‘am the son of N’vat, who made Isra’el sin; and he never ceased committing those sins. 3Adonai’s anger burned against Isra’el, and he kept handing them over to Haza’el king of Aram and Ben-Hadad the son of Haza’el. 4But Y’ho’achaz pleaded to Adonai, and Adonai listened to him, because he saw the oppression the king of Aram was inflicting on Isra’el. 5So Adonai gave Isra’el a savior who freed them from the grip of Aram, so that the people of Isra’el could live in their tents, as they had before. 6Despite that, instead of turning from the sins of the house of Yarov‘am, who made Isra’el sin, they continued to live in this sinful way. Moreover, the asherah continued to stand in Shomron. 7The king of Aram destroyed Y’ho’achaz’s army, making them like chaff when grain is threshed, except for fifty horsemen, ten chariots and 10,000 foot soldiers.
8Other activities of Y’ho’achaz, all his accomplishments and his power are recorded in the Annals of the Kings of Isra’el. 9Y’ho’achaz slept with his ancestors, and they buried him in Shomron. Then Yo’ash his son took his place as king.
10It was in the thirty-seventh year of Yo’ash king of Y’hudah that Yo’ash the son of Y’ho’achaz began his rule over Isra’el in Shomron; he ruled for sixteen years. 11He did what was evil from Adonai’s perspective and did not turn from all the sins of Yarov‘am the son of N’vat, who made Isra’el sin; on the contrary, he lived in this sinful way.
12Other activities of Yo’ash, all his accomplishments and his power in fighting Amatzyah king of Y’hudah are recorded in the Annals of the Kings of Isra’el. 13Yo’ash slept with his ancestors, and Yarov‘am occupied his throne. Yo’ash was buried in Shomron with the kings of Isra’el.
14Elisha was now ill with the disease from which he would eventually die. Yo’ash the king of Isra’el came down to visit him and wept over him; he said, “My father! My father! The chariots and horsemen of Isra’el!” 15Elisha said to him, “Bring a bow and arrows”; and he brought him a bow and arrows. 16He said to the king of Isra’el, “Put your hand on the bow”; and he put his hand on it. Then Elisha laid his hands on the king’s hands 17and said, “Open the east window.” He opened it. Elisha said, “Shoot”; and he shot. He said, “Adonai’s arrow of victory, the arrow of victory against Aram! You will defeat Aram completely at Afek!” 18He said, “Take the arrows”; and he took them. He told the king of Isra’el, “Strike the ground.” He struck three times, then stopped. 19The man of God became angry with him; he said, “You should have struck five or six times; then you would have defeated Aram completely. As it is, you will defeat Aram only three times.”
20Elisha died, and they placed him in a burial cave. Now the raiding parties of Mo’av used to make yearly incursions into the land at the start of the year. 21Once it happened that just as they were burying a man, they spotted a raiding party; so they threw the man’s body into Elisha’s burial cave; and the moment the man touched the bones of Elisha, he revived and stood on his feet.
22Haza’el king of Aram oppressed Isra’el throughout the lifetime of Y’ho’achaz; 23but Adonai was gracious, took pity on them and looked on them with favor, because of his covenant with Avraham, Yitz’chak and Ya‘akov. He was not willing to destroy them, and to this day he has not banished them from his presence. 24Haza’el king of Aram died, and Ben-Hadad his son took his place as king. 25Then Y’ho’ash the son of Y’ho’achaz captured from Ben-Hadad the son of Haza’el the cities which he had captured in war from Y’ho’achaz his father. Three times Yo’ash defeated him, thus recovering the cities of Isra’el.
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Learn More About Complete Jewish Bible2 Kings 13
13
King Jehoahaz of Israel
1In the 23rd year of the reign of Joash son of Ahaziah as king of Judah, Jehoahaz son of Jehu became king of Israel, and he ruled in Samaria for seventeen years. 2Like King Jeroboam before him he sinned against the LORD and led Israel into sin; he never gave up his evil ways. 3So the LORD was angry with Israel, and he allowed King Hazael of Syria and his son Benhadad to defeat Israel time after time. 4Then Jehoahaz prayed to the LORD, and the LORD, seeing how harshly the king of Syria was oppressing the Israelites, answered his prayer. 5The LORD sent Israel a leader, who freed them from the Syrians, and so the Israelites lived in peace, as before. 6But they still did not give up the sins into which King Jeroboam had led Israel, but kept on#13.6 Some ancient translations kept on; Hebrew he kept on. committing them; and the image of the goddess Asherah remained in Samaria.
7Jehoahaz had no armed forces left except fifty horsemen, ten chariots, and 10,000 men on foot, because the king of Syria had destroyed the rest, trampling them down like dust.
8Everything else that Jehoahaz did and all his brave deeds are recorded in The History of the Kings of Israel. 9He died and was buried in Samaria, and his son Jehoash succeeded him as king.
King Jehoash of Israel
10In the 37th year of the reign of King Joash of Judah, Jehoash son of Jehoahaz became king of Israel, and he ruled in Samaria for sixteen years. 11He too sinned against the LORD and followed the evil example of King Jeroboam, who had led Israel into sin. 12Everything else that Jehoash did, including his bravery in the war against King Amaziah of Judah, is recorded in The History of the Kings of Israel. 13Jehoash died and was buried in the royal tombs in Samaria, and his son Jeroboam II succeeded him as king.
The Death of Elisha
14 #
2 Kgs 2.12
The prophet Elisha fell ill with a fatal disease, and as he lay dying King Jehoash of Israel went to visit him. “My father, my father!” he exclaimed as he wept. “You have been the mighty defender of Israel!”
15“Get a bow and some arrows,” Elisha ordered him. Jehoash got them, 16and Elisha told him to get ready to shoot. The king did so, and Elisha placed his hands on the king's hands. 17Then, following the prophet's instructions, the king opened the window that faced towards Syria. “Shoot the arrow!” Elisha ordered. As soon as the king shot the arrow, the prophet exclaimed, “You are the LORD's arrow, with which he will win victory over Syria. You will fight the Syrians in Aphek until you defeat them.”
18Then Elisha told the king to take the other arrows and strike the ground with them. The king struck the ground three times, and then stopped. 19This made Elisha angry, and he said to the king, “You should have struck five or six times, and then you would have won complete victory over the Syrians; but now you will defeat them only three times.”
20Elisha died and was buried.
Every year bands of Moabites used to invade the land of Israel. 21Once, during a funeral, one of those bands was seen, and the people threw the corpse into Elisha's tomb and ran off.#13.21 One ancient translation and ran off; Hebrew and he ran off. As soon as the body came into contact with Elisha's bones, the man came back to life and stood up.
War between Israel and Syria
22King Hazael of Syria oppressed the Israelites during all of Jehoahaz' reign, 23but the LORD was kind and merciful to them. He would not let them be destroyed, but helped them, because of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He has never forgotten his people.
24At the death of King Hazael of Syria his son Benhadad became king. 25Then King Jehoash of Israel defeated Benhadad three times and recaptured the cities that had been taken by Benhadad during the reign of Jehoahaz, the father of Jehoash.
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Good News Bible. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.