2 Kings 13

1 In the twenty-third year of the reign of Joash son of Ahaziah over Judah, Jehoahaz son of Jehu became king of Israel, and he reigned in Samaria seventeen years.

After Joash had been ruling Judah for almost 23 years, Jehu’s son Jehoahaz became the king of Israel. He ruled in Samaria [city] for 17 years.

2 And he did evil in the sight of the LORD and followed the sins that Jeroboam son of Nebat had caused Israel to commit; he did not turn away from them.

He did many things that Yahweh considered to be evil and committed the same kind of sins that Jeroboam had committed, sins which led the people of Israel to sin. He did not stop committing those sins.

3 So the anger of the LORD burned against Israel, and He delivered them continually into the hands of Hazael king of Aram and his son Ben-hadad.

So Yahweh became very angry with the Israeli people, and he allowed the army of King Hazael of Syria and his son Ben-Hadad to defeat the Israelis many times.

4 Then Jehoahaz sought the favor of the LORD, and the LORD listened to him because He saw the oppression that the king of Aram had inflicted on Israel.

Then Jehoahaz prayed to Yahweh [for help], and Yahweh heeded him, because he saw that the army of the king of Syria was oppressing the Israelis.

5 So the LORD gave Israel a deliverer, and they escaped the power of the Arameans. Then the people of Israel lived in their own homes as they had before.

Yahweh sent a leader to Israel, who enabled them to be freed from being controlled by Syria. After that, the Israeli people lived peacefully as they had done previously.

6 Nevertheless, they did not turn away from the sins that the house of Jeroboam had caused Israel to commit, but they continued to walk in them. The Asherah pole even remained standing in Samaria.

But they still continued to commit the same kind of sins that Jeroboam and his family had committed and which led the Israelis to [also] sin. And the statue of the goddess Asherah remained in Samaria.

7 Jehoahaz had no army left, except fifty horsemen, ten chariots, and ten thousand foot soldiers, because the king of Aram had destroyed them and made them like the dust at threshing.

Jehoahaz had only 50 men who rode on horses and ten chariots and 10,000 other soldiers, because the army of Syria had killed all the rest, trampling them like people walk on dirt.

8 As for the rest of the acts of Jehoahaz, along with all his accomplishments and his might, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?

[If you want to read about] [RHQ] everything else that Jehoahaz did, you can read about it in the scroll called ‘The History of the Kings of Israel’.

9 And Jehoahaz rested with his fathers and was buried in Samaria. And his son Jehoash reigned in his place.

Jehoahaz died [EUP] and was buried in Samaria. Then his son Jehoash became the king.

10 In the thirty-seventh year of the reign of Joash over Judah, Jehoash son of Jehoahaz became king of Israel in Samaria, and he reigned sixteen years.

Jehoash, the son of Jehoahaz, started to rule in Israel after King Joash had been ruling in Judah for 23 years. Jehoash ruled in Samaria for 17 years.

11 And he did evil in the sight of the LORD and did not turn away from all the sins that Jeroboam son of Nebat had caused Israel to commit, but he walked in them.

He did many things that Yahweh considered to be evil. He refused to turn away from worshiping idols, which was the sin that [many years earlier King] Jeroboam had told the Israeli people to commit.

12 As for the rest of the acts of Jehoash, along with all his accomplishments and his might, including his war against Amaziah king of Judah, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?

The other things that happened while Jehoash was king and all the things that he did are written in the book called ‘The Account of What the Kings of Israel Did’. In that account they wrote about Jehoash’s [army’s] victories, and their war with [the army of] King Amaziah of Judah.

13 And Jehoash rested with his fathers, and Jeroboam succeeded him on the throne. Jehoash was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel.

When Jehoash died, he was buried in Samaria where the [other] kings of Israel were buried. Then his son Jeroboam became king.

14 When Elisha had fallen sick with the illness from which he would die, Jehoash king of Israel came down to him and wept over him, saying, “My father, my father, the chariots and horsemen of Israel!”

Elisha became very ill. Just before he died, King Jehoash went to Elisha and cried in front of him. [Saying the same words that Elisha had said when Elijah was taken to heaven], he said, “My father/master! My father/master! The chariots of us Israeli people and their drivers [are taking my master away]!”

15 Elisha told him, “Take a bow and some arrows.” So Jehoash took a bow and some arrows.

Elisha said to him, “Bring to me a bow and some arrows!” So the king did that.

16 Then Elisha said to the king of Israel, “Put your hand on the bow.” So the king put his hand on the bow, and Elisha put his hands on the king’s hands.

Then Elisha told the king to put his hands on the bow [and prepare to shoot some arrows]. And then Elisha put his own hands on the king’s hands.

17 “Open the east window,” said Elisha. So he opened it and Elisha said, “Shoot!” So he shot. And Elisha declared: “This is the LORD’s arrow of victory, the arrow of victory over Aram, for you shall strike the Arameans in Aphek until you have put an end to them.”

Then Elisha told him, “[Have someone] open that window toward the east.” So they opened it. Then Elisha said, “Shoot!” So the king did. Then Elisha said, “That is the arrow that [indicates that your army] will defeat the Syrian army. Your army will completely defeat their [army] at Aphek [town].”

18 Then Elisha said, “Take the arrows!” So he took them, and Elisha said to the king of Israel, “Strike the ground!” So he struck the ground three times and stopped.

Then Elisha said, “Pick up the other arrows and strike the ground with them!” So the king picked up the arrows and struck the ground three times.

19 But the man of God was angry with him and said, “You should have struck the ground five or six times. Then you would have struck down Aram until you had put an end to it. But now you will strike down Aram only three times.”

But Elisha was angry with him. He exclaimed, “You should have struck the ground five or six times! If you had done that, your army would have defeated the Syrian [army] until they were completely wiped out! But now, [because you struck the ground only three times, ] your army will defeat them only three times!”

20 And Elisha died and was buried. Now the Moabite raiders used to come into the land every spring.

Then Elisha died and was buried. Groups of raiders from Moab came to Israel each year during (spring/the time when the cold season was ending).

21 Once, as the Israelites were burying a man, suddenly they saw a band of raiders, so they threw the man’s body into Elisha’s tomb. And as soon as his body touched the bones of Elisha, the man was revived and stood up on his feet.

One year, when some Israeli people were burying a man’s body, they saw a group of those raiders. [They were afraid, ] so quickly they threw that man’s body into the tomb where Elisha [had been buried, and they ran away]. But as soon as the man’s body touched Elisha’s bones, the dead man became alive again and jumped up!

22 And Hazael king of Aram oppressed Israel throughout the reign of Jehoahaz.

King Hazael of Syria [sent soldiers to] oppress the Israeli people all during the years that Jehoahaz [ruled Judah].

23 But the LORD was gracious to Israel and had compassion on them, and He turned toward them because of His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And to this day, the LORD has been unwilling to destroy them or cast them from His presence.

But Yahweh was very kind [DOU] to the Israeli people. He helped them because of the agreement that he had made with [their ancestors] Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He did not get rid of the Israelis, and he still has not rejected them.

24 When Hazael king of Aram died, his son Ben-hadad reigned in his place.

When Hazael the king of Syria died, his son Ben-Hadad became the king.

25 Then Jehoash son of Jehoahaz took back from Ben-hadad son of Hazael the cities that Hazael had taken in battle from his father Jehoahaz. Jehoash defeated Ben-hadad three times, and so recovered the cities of Israel.

[The army of] King Jehoash of Israel defeated [the army of] King Ben-Hadad three times, and recaptured the cities that Ben-Hadad’s army had captured during the time that Jehoash’s father Jehoahaz was ruling Israel.