2 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.
2 Kings 13
13
King Jehoahaz of Israel
1Jehoahaz son of Jehu became king of Israel in the twenty-third year of Joash's rule in Judah. Jehoahaz ruled 17 years from Samaria 2and disobeyed the Lord by doing wrong. He never stopped following the example of Jeroboam, who had caused the Israelites to sin.
3The Lord was angry with the Israelites, so he let King Hazael of Syria and his son Benhadad rule over them for a long time. 4Jehoahaz prayed to the Lord for help, and the Lord saw how terribly Hazael was treating the Israelites. He answered Jehoahaz 5by sending Israel a leader who rescued them from the Syrians,#13.5 by sending … the Syrians: The name of this leader is not given, but it may refer to Elisha the prophet, King Jehoash of Israel, or his son King Jeroboam. and the Israelites lived in peace as they had before. 6-7But Hazael had defeated Israel's army so badly that Jehoahaz had only 10 chariots, 50 cavalry troops, and 10,000 regular soldiers left in his army.
The Israelites kept sinning and following the example of Jeroboam's family. They did not tear down the sacred poles#13.6,7 sacred poles: Or “trees,” used as symbols of Asherah, the goddess of fertility. that had been set up in Samaria for the worship of the goddess Asherah.
8Everything else Jehoahaz did while he was king, including his brave deeds, is written in The History of the Kings of Israel. 9Jehoahaz died and was buried in Samaria, and his son Jehoash became king.
King Jehoash of Israel
10Jehoash became king of Israel in the thirty-seventh year of Joash's rule in Judah, and he ruled 16 years from Samaria. 11He disobeyed the Lord by doing just like Jeroboam, who had caused the Israelites to sin.
12Everything else Jehoash did while he was king, including his war against King Amaziah of Judah, is written in The History of the Kings of Israel. 13Jehoash died and was buried in Samaria beside the other Israelite kings. His son Jeroboam then became king.
Elisha the Prophet Dies
14 #
2 K 2.12. Some time before the death of King Jehoash, Elisha the prophet was very sick and about to die. Jehoash went in and stood beside him, crying. He said, “Master, what will Israel's chariots and cavalry be able to do without you?”#13.14 Master … without you: Or “Master, you were like chariots and cavalry for Israel!”
15-16“Grab a bow and some arrows,” Elisha told him, “and hold them in your hand.” Jehoash grabbed the bow and arrows and held them. Elisha placed his hand on the king's hand 17and said, “Open the window facing east.” When it was open, Elisha shouted, “Now shoot!” Jehoash shot an arrow and Elisha said, “That arrow is a sign that the Lord will help you completely defeat the Syrian army at Aphek.”
18Elisha said, “Pick up the arrows and hit the ground with them.” Jehoash grabbed the arrows and hit the ground three times, then stopped. 19Elisha became angry with the king and exclaimed, “If you had struck it five or six times, you would completely wipe out the Syrians. Now you will defeat them only three times.”
20Elisha died and was buried.
Every year in the spring, Moab's leaders sent raiding parties into Israel. 21Once, while some Israelites were burying a man's body, they saw a group of Moabites. The Israelites quickly threw the body into Elisha's tomb and ran away. As soon as the man's body touched the bones of Elisha, the man came back to life and stood up.
Israel Defeats Syria
22Israel was under the power of King Hazael of Syria during the entire rule of Jehoahaz. 23But the Lord was kind to the Israelites and showed them mercy because of his solemn agreement with their ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. In fact, he has never turned his back on them or let them be completely destroyed.
24Hazael died, and his son Benhadad then became king of Syria. 25King Jehoash of Israel attacked and defeated the Syrian army three times. He took back from Benhadad all the towns Hazael had captured in battle from his father Jehoahaz.
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