2 Kings 13

Jehoahaz & Jehoash Rule Israel; Elisha’s Last Acts

1 In the twenty-third year of Joash son of Ahaziah’s rule in Judah, Jehoahaz son of Jehu became king over Israel in Samaria, and he ruled for seventeen years.

2 He did what was whack in the eyes of the Lord, walking in the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, who caused Israel to commit sin. He did not turn from them.

3 So the Lord’s anger flared up against Israel, and He handed them over to Hazael king of Aram and to Ben-Hadad son of Hazael constantly.

4 Then Jehoahaz begged the Lord for mercy, and the Lord heard him, because He saw how the king of Aram was oppressing Israel.

5 (The Lord gave Israel a deliverer, so they broke free from the grip of Aram, and the Israelites lived in their tents as before.)

6 However, they did not turn from the sins of the house of Jeroboam, which they caused Israel to commit. They kept walking in them, and the Asherah pole remained standing in Samaria.

7 Jehoahaz only had fifty horsemen, ten chariots, and ten thousand foot soldiers left, because the king of Aram had wiped them out and made them like dust that gets stomped in the threshing.

8 As for the rest of Jehoahaz’s story, all he did, and his power, is it not written in the book of the Annals of the Kings of Israel,

9 Jehoahaz passed away and joined his ancestors, and they buried him in Samaria. And his son Joash took over as king.

Jehoash Rules Israel

10 In the thirty-seventh year of Joash’s rule in Judah, Jehoash son of Jehoahaz became king over Israel in Samaria, and he ruled for sixteen years.

11 He did what was whack in the eyes of the Lord. He did not turn away from all the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, who caused Israel to commit sin; he walked in them.

12 As for the rest of Joash’s story, all he did, his power, and how he fought Amaziah king of Judah, is it not written in the book of the Annals of the Kings of Israel,

13 Joash passed away and joined his ancestors. And Jeroboam sat on his throne. And Joash was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel.

Elisha’s Final Prophecy & Death

14 Now, Elisha got sick with the sickness he would die from. Joash king of Israel came down to him, cried over him, and said, “My father, my father! The chariots and horsemen of Israel!”

15 Elisha told him, “Grab a bow and some arrows.” So he grabbed a bow and some arrows.

16 Then he told the king of Israel, “Put your hand on the bow.” And he put his hand on it. Elisha put his hands on the king’s hands.

17 He said, “Open the east window.” So he opened it. Then Elisha said, “Shoot!” And he shot. Elisha said, “That is the Lord’s arrow of victory, the arrow of victory over Aram! You are going to hit Aram at Aphek until you wipe them out!”

18 Then he said, “Grab the arrows!” So he grabbed them. He told the king of Israel, “Smack the ground!” So he smacked it three times and stopped.

19 The man of God got mad at him and said, “You should have smacked it five or six times! Then you would have hit Aram until you wiped them out! But now you are only going to hit Aram three times.”

20 Elisha passed away, and they buried him. Now, some Moabite raiding parties used to invade the land every spring.

21 And it happened, as they were burying a man, look, they saw a raiding party. So they tossed the man into Elisha’s burial place. When the man hit Elisha’s bones, he revived and stood on his feet.

Israel’s Limited Deliverance

22 Hazael king of Aram had oppressed Israel throughout all the days of Jehoahaz.

23 But the Lord showed them favor and had compassion on them and paid attention to them, because of His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He was not down to destroy them, and He has not cast them out of His sight until now.

24 Hazael king of Aram passed away, and his son Ben-Hadad took over as king.

25 Then Jehoash son of Jehoahaz snatched back from Ben-Hadad son of Hazael the cities that Hazael had snatched from his pops Jehoahaz in war. Jehoash defeated him three times and recovered the cities of Israel.