Open English Translation 2KI Chapter 8

8 One day Elisha spoke to the Shunammite woman whose son he’d brought back to life, “Pack up and leave here, you and your household, and go and stay somewhere else, because Yahweh’s going to send a seven-year drought.” 2 So the woman got up, and she did what the man of God told her: She packed up her household and left to go and live in the Philistines’ region for seven years.

3 Then eventually after seven years, the woman returned from the Philistines’ region and she went petition the king about her house and land. 4 When she arrived, the king had asked Gehazi, the man of God’s servant, “Please tell me all the incredible things that Elisha has done.” 5 Then Gehazi was telling the king that Elisha had made the dead live, and how the woman who he made her son live was petitioning the king on behalf of her house and her field. Then Gehazi exclaimed, “My master, the king, this is the woman, and that’s her son, who Elisha made live!” 6 So the king questioned the woman and she told him her story. Then the king appointed a court official to attend to her case, saying, “Return everything that belongs to her plus the profit from her field from the day she left until now.”

7 Elisha went to Aram’s capital Damascus at a time when King Ben-Hadad of Aram (Syria) was very sick, and someone told him that the man of God was in town. 8 The king instructed an official named Haza’el, “Take a gift with you and go and meet the man of God. Then will inquire from Yahweh through him to find out if I’ll recover from this sickness?” 9 So Haza’el went to meet Elisha and taking presents with him loaded on forty camels—some of every good thing that he could find in Damascus. He went and stood in front of him and asked, “Your servant, King Ben-Hadad sent me to ask you if he’ll recover from his sickness?”

10 “Go and tell him that he’ll surely live,” Elisha answered. “But Yahweh has shown me that he’ll definitely die.” 11 Then Elisha stared at him until Haza’el felt embarrassed, and then the man of God started to cry.

12 “Why are you crying, my master?” Haza’el asked.

“Because I know what evil things you’ll do to the Israelis,” he said. “You’ll burn down their fortresses and kill their young men with the sword. You’ll smash their children’s heads on rocks, and rip open the bellies of their pregnant women.”

13 Haza’el asked, “But how could your servant be in a position to do such a major thing when he’s only minor, like a dog in the palace?”

“Yahweh has let me see you as king over Aram.” Elisha replied.

14 Then he left Elisha and went back to his master who asked him, “What did Elisha tell you?”

And he answered, “He told me that you’ll certainly live.” 15 the very next day, Haza’el dipped Ben-Haddad’s blanket in water and held it over his face until he died, and then Haza’el started to reign in his place.

16 In the fifth year of the reign of Ahab’s son Yoram as king of Israel, Yehoshafat’s son Yehoram became king of Yehudah. 17 He was thirty-two when he became king and he reigned from Yerushalem for eight years. 18 He followed in the evil ways of the kings of the northern kingdom of Israel, just as Ahab’s descendants had done, because he’d married one of Ahab’s daughters. He did what Yahweh had said was evil, 19 but Yahweh wasn’t willing to destroy Yehudah, for the sake of his servant David—he’d promised David that his descendants would always rule Yehudah.

20 It was during King Yehoram’s time that Edom rebelled from Yehudah’s control, and they appointed their own king. 21 So Yehoram took his army and chariots and crossed the valley towards Zair in Edom. They attacked at night, but as the Edomite army and chariots started to surround them, they had to retreat back to their tents. 22 So Edom has been out from under the control of Yehudah to this day. Then Livnah revolted at the same time.

23 Everything else that Yehoram said and did is written in the book of the events of the kings of Yehudah. 24 Then Yehoram died and was buried with his ancestors in the city of David, and his son Ahazyah replaced him as king.

25 In the twelfth year of Ahab’s son Yoram’s reign over Israel, Yehoram’s son Ahazyah (Ahaziah) became the king of Yehudah. 26 Ahazyah was twenty-two when he became king, and he reigned from Yerushalem for one year. (His mother’s name was Atalyah (Athaliah), the daughter of King Omri of Israel.) 27 He followed Ahab’s customs and did what Yahweh had said was evil like Ahab’s descendants, because he was a son-in-law of a descendant of Ahab. 28 He joined Ahab’s son Yoram to battle against Aram’s King Haza’el at Ramot-Gilead, but the Arameans wounded Yoram. 29 King Yoram returned to Yizre’el (Jezreel) to recover from the wounds that Arameans had given him at Ramah when he’d fought with Aram’s King Haza’el. Later, King Ahazyah of Yehudah (Yehoram’s son), went down to see (Ahab’s son) Yoram in Yizre’el because he was wounded.