UST 2 KI Chapter 13

◄ 2 KI 13 ► ║ ═ ©

13 After Joash had been ruling Judah for almost 23 years, Jehoahaz son of Jehu became the king of Israel. He ruled in the city of Samaria for 17 years. 2 Jehoahaz did many things that Yahweh had told the Israelites were evil. Jeroboam son of Nebat had sinned by making calf idols, and he made the people of Israel sin by worshiping those idols. Jehoahaz sinned in that same way, and he did not repent. 3 Yahweh became very angry with the Israelite people. So he allowed the armies of King Hazael of Aram and his son Ben Hadad to defeat the Israelites many times. 4 The Arameans were treating the Israelites very badly. So Jehoahaz prayed to Yahweh for help. Yahweh saw how badly the Arameans were treating the Israelites, so he did give Jehoahaz the help he asked for. 5 Yahweh sent a leader to Israel who rescued them from the control of the Aramean king. After that, the Israelites lived peacefully as they had done previously. 6 But even after that, the Israelites continued to commit the same kind of sins that Jeroboam and his descendants committed. Jeroboam had led the people of Israel to sin by worshiping idols, and they continued to sin in that way. Also, the pole that people used in the worship of the goddess Asherah remained in Samaria. 7 The Aramean army killed so many of Jehoahaz’s soldiers that he had only 50 men left who rode on horses. He had only 10 chariots and 10,000 other soldiers left. The Arameans were so powerful compared to the Israelites that it was as if they could knock them down and walk over them. 8 The book in which the kings of Israel recorded what happened during their reigns describes further things that Jehoahaz did, including the battles that he fought. 9 Jehoahaz died, and the Israelites buried him in Samaria. Then his son Joash became the next king.

10 Jehoash son of Jehoahaz started to rule in Israel after King Joash had been ruling in Judah for 37 years. Jehoash ruled in Samaria for 16 years. 11 He did many things that Yahweh had told the Israelites were evil. Jeroboam son of Nebat had sinned by making calf idols, and he made the people of Israel sin by worshiping those idols. Jehoash sinned in that same way, and he did not repent. 12 The book in which the kings of Israel recorded what happened during their reigns describes further things that Joash did, including the victory that his army won against the army of King Amaziah of Judah. 13 When Joash died, the Israelites buried him in Samaria. That was where they had buried other kings of Israel. His son Jeroboam became the next king.

14 Then Elisha became very ill. Just before he died, King Joash went to Elisha and cried because he was so sad that he was going to die. He cried out, “Sir, you protected Israel so well, but now you are going to die!” 15 Elisha told him, “Bring me a bow and some arrows.” So the king did that. 16 Then Elisha told the king to hold the bow in his left hand and the bowstring in his right hand. So the king did that. Elisha then put his own hands on top of the king’s hands. 17 Then Elisha told him, “Have someone open that window through which we can look to the east.” So a servant opened it. Then Elisha said, “Shoot an arrow toward the east!” So the king did that. Then Elisha told him, “That arrow represents how Yahweh will enable you to defeat the Aramean army. Your army will completely defeat them at the city of Aphek.” 18 Then Elisha told him, “Pick up the other arrows.” So he picked up the arrows. Then Elisha told the king, “Hit the ground with them!” So he hit the ground with them. But he only did that three times. 19 This made Elisha angry with him. He exclaimed, “You should have struck the ground five or six times! If you had done that, your army would have completely destroyed the Aramean army in a series of battles. Instead, your army is only going to win three battles against them.”

20 Then Elisha died, and the Israelites buried him. At that time groups of raiders from Moab were coming into Israel each year during the spring. 21 Around that time, while some Israelites were carrying a man’s body to where they wanted to bury him, they saw a group of those raiders. They were afraid, so they quickly threw that man’s body into the same tomb where Elisha’s body was and ran away. But as soon as the man’s body touched Elisha’s body, the dead man became alive again and stood up!

22 King Hazael of Aram had treated the Israelite people badly throughout the reign of Jehoahaz. 23 But Yahweh felt sorry for the Israelite people, so he treated them better than they deserved. He helped them because of the solemn agreement he had made with their ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He wanted them to continue being a nation. So he still did not allow enemies to take the Israelites away from their land. 24 When Hazael died, his son Ben Hadad became the next king of Aram. 25 Ben Hadad son of Hazael had fought and defeated Jehoash’s father Jehoahaz. He had captured several cities. But Joash defeated Ben Hadad three times. In that way, he recaptured those cities and made them part of Israel again.

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UST 2 KI Chapter 13

UST 2 KI Chapter 13