2 Kings
Chapter 13
1 In the twenty-third year of Joash, Ahaziah’s son, who was king of Judah, Jehoahaz, Jehu’s son, started to rule over Israel in Samaria, and he ruled for seventeen years.
2 He did evil in God’s eyes and followed Jeroboam, Nebat’s son, who led Israel into sin; he did not turn away from it.
3 God became very angry with Israel, and He allowed Hazael, king of Syria, and Hazael’s son Benhadad, to defeat them repeatedly.
4 Jehoahaz asked God for help, and God listened to him because he saw that the king of Syria was oppressing Israel.
5 God gave Israel a rescuer, so they were freed from Syrian rule, and the Israelites lived in their homes as they used to.
6 Still, they did not stop doing the same wrongs that Jeroboam made Israel do; they continued in those ways. The worship place in Samaria stayed too.
7 God let Jehoahaz keep only fifty horsemen, ten chariots, and ten thousand foot soldiers because the king of Syria had defeated them and reduced them to dust.
8 The other things Jehoahaz did, his actions, and his power, aren’t they all written in the history book of Israel’s kings?
9 Jehoahaz died and was buried in Samaria; his son Joash became king after him.
10 In the thirty-seventh year of Joash’s rule in Judah, Jehoash son of Jehoahaz became king of Israel in Samaria and ruled for sixteen years.
11 He did evil things that God saw; he did not stop following Jeroboam Nebat’s son’s sins, which led Israel to sin, but continued in them.
12 The other things Joash did, everything he achieved, and how strongly he fought against King Amaziah of Judah, are all written in the Israelite kings’ records, right?
13 Joash died like his ancestors; Jeroboam became king; and they buried Joash in Samaria with Israel’s kings.
14 Elisha became very sick with the illness that would cause his death. Joash, the king of Israel, visited him, cried over him, and said, “Oh my father, my father, you are like the strength and protection of Israel.”
15 Elisha told him, “Get a bow and some arrows.” So he got a bow and some arrows.
16 He told the king of Israel, “Put your hand on the bow.” So he did, and then Elisha placed his hands on the king’s hands.
17 He said, “Open the east window,” and he opened it. Then Elisha said, “Shoot,” and he shot. Elisha declared, “This is God’s arrow of victory, the arrow of victory over Syria. You will defeat the Syrians in Aphek until you destroy them.”
18 He said, “Take the arrows.” So he took them. Then he told the king of Israel, “Hit the ground.” The king hit the ground three times and stopped.
19 The man of God was angry with him and said, “You should have struck five or six times; then you would have defeated Syria completely. But now you will defeat Syria only three times.”
20 Elisha died and was buried. At the start of the year, Moabite raiders attacked the land.
21 While they were burying a man, they saw a group of men coming. They threw the man into Elisha’s tomb. When the man touched Elisha’s bones, he came back to life and stood up.
22 Hazael, the king of Syria, was cruel to Israel all the time Jehoahaz was king.
23 God was kind to them, felt sorry for them, and cared about them because of his promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and did not want to destroy them or send them away from him at that time.
24 So Hazael the king of Syria died; and his son Benhadad became king after him.
25 Joash, son of Jehoahaz, won back from Benhadad, son of Hazael, the towns he had taken from Joash’s father Jehoahaz in battle. Joash defeated him three times and took back the Israeli cities.