2 Kings 13

1 In the twenty-third year of Joash son of Ahaziah, king of Judah, Jehoahaz son of Jehu has reigned over Israel in Samaria, seventeen years,

Jehoahaz, son of Jehu, became king of Israel in the twenty-third year of the reign of Joash, son of Ahaziah, king of Judah. He reigned in Samaria for seventeen years.

2 and he does evil in the eyes of YHWH, and goes after the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, that he caused Israel to sin—he did not turn aside from it,

He did what was evil in the Lord's sight, and followed the sins that Jeroboam son of Nebat, had made Israel commit; he did not end them.

3 and the anger of YHWH burns against Israel, and He gives them into the hand of Hazael king of Aram, and into the hand of Ben-Hadad son of Hazael, all the days.

So the Lord was angry with Israel, and he repeatedly allowed them to be defeated by Hazael, king of Aram, and his son Ben-hadad.

4 And Jehoahaz appeases the face of YHWH, and YHWH listens to him, for He has seen the oppression of Israel, for the king of Aram has oppressed them—

Jehoahaz asked the Lord for help, and the Lord responded to his request because he saw how badly the king of Aram was treating Israel.

5 and YHWH gives a savior to Israel, and they go out from under the hand of Aram, and the sons of Israel dwell in their tents as before;

The Lord gave Israel someone who would save them so they no longer were under Aramean rule. Then the Israelites were able to go back to living in safety as before.

6 only, they have not turned aside from the sins of the house of Jeroboam that he caused Israel to sin, therein they walked, and also, the Asherah has remained in Samaria—

Even so they did not end the sins that the house of Jeroboam had made Israel commit—they continued to follow them. The Asherah idol still stood in Samaria.

7 for he did not leave to Jehoahaz of the people except fifty horsemen, and ten chariots, and ten thousand footmen, for the king of Aram has destroyed them, and makes them as dust for threshing.

All that was left of Jehoahaz's army were fifty horsemen, ten chariots, and ten thousand soldiers, for the king of Aram had destroyed the rest, turning them into dust like that when grain is threshed.

8 And the rest of the matters of Jehoahaz, and all that he did, and his might, are they not written on the scroll of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?

The rest of what happened in Jehoahaz's reign, all he did, and his great achievements are recorded in the Book of Chronicles of the Kings of Israel.

9 And Jehoahaz lies with his fathers, and they bury him in Samaria, and his son Joash reigns in his stead.

Jehoahaz died and was buried in Samaria. His son Jehoash succeeded him as king.

10 In the thirty-seventh year of Joash king of Judah, Jehoash son of Jehoahaz has reigned over Israel in Samaria, sixteen years,

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

11 and he does evil in the eyes of YHWH, he has not turned aside from all the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat that he caused Israel to sin, therein he walked.

He did what was evil in the Lord's sight and did not end all the sins that Jeroboam, son of Nebat, had made Israel commit—he continued to follow them.

12 And the rest of the matters of Joash, and all that he did, and his might with which he fought with Amaziah king of Judah, are they not written on the scroll of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?

The rest of what happened in Jehoash's reign, all he did, and his great achievements such as his war against Amaziah, king of Judah, are recorded in the Book of Chronicles of the Kings of Israel.

13 And Joash lies with his fathers, and Jeroboam has sat on his throne, and Joash is buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel.

Jehoash died, and Jeroboam sat on his throne. Jehoash was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel.

14 And Elisha has been sick with his sickness in which he dies, and Joash king of Israel comes down to him and weeps on his face, and says, “My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and its horsemen.”

Elisha had become ill with a disease that would eventually kill him. Jehoash, king of Israel, went to visit him, and wept over him, saying, “My father, my father, the chariots and the horsemen of Israel!”

15 And Elisha says to him, “Take bow and arrows”: and he takes bow and arrows for himself.

Elisha told him, “Find a bow and some arrows.” So Jehoash found a bow and some arrows.

16 And he says to the king of Israel, “Place your hand on the bow”; and he places his hand, and Elisha puts his hands on the hands of the king,

Then Elisha said to the king of Israel, “Pick up the bow.” So the king picked up the bow. Elisha placed his hands on the king's hands.

17 and says, “Open the window eastward”; and he opens, and Elisha says, “Shoot,” and he shoots; and he says, “An arrow of salvation from YHWH, and an arrow of salvation against Aram, and you have struck Aram, in Aphek, until consuming.”

“Open the east window,” he told him. So the king opened it and Elisha said, “Shoot!” So he fired an arrow. Then Elisha explained, “This is the Lord's victory arrow representing the arrow of victory over the Arameans. You will attack the Arameans in Aphek and finish them off.”

18 And he says, “Take the arrows,” and he takes; and he says to the king of Israel, “Strike to the earth”; and he strikes three times, and stays.

Then Elisha said, “Pick up the arrows!” So he picked them up. Elisha told the king of Israel, “Hit the ground with them!” He hit the ground three times, and then stopped.

19 And the man of God is angry against him and says, “By striking five or six times then you had struck Aram until consuming; but now you [only] strike Aram three times.”

The man of God got angry with him, telling him, “You should have hit the ground five or six times. Then you would have attacked the Arameans until you had completely destroyed them. But now you will only attack the Arameans three times.”

20 And Elisha dies, and they bury him, and troops of Moab come into the land at the coming in of the year,

Elisha died and was buried. Raiders from the country of Moab used to invade Israel every spring.

21 and it comes to pass, they are burying a man, and behold, they have seen the troop, and cast the man into the grave of Elisha, and the man goes and comes against the bones of Elisha, and lives, and rises on his feet.

On time some Israelites were burying a man when suddenly they saw some raiders coming, so they quickly threw the man into Elisha's tomb. As soon as he touched Elisha's bones, the man came back to life and stood up.

22 And Hazael king of Aram has oppressed Israel all the days of Jehoahaz,

Hazael, king of Aram, caused problems for Israel through all Jehoahaz's reign.

23 and YHWH favors them, and pities them, and turns to them for the sake of His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and has not been willing to destroy them, nor to cast them from His presence as yet.

But the Lord graciously helped them and was kind to them. He looked after them because of his agreement with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Even to this day he's been unwilling to destroy them or to throw them out of his presence.

24 And Hazael king of Aram dies, and his son Ben-Hadad reigns in his stead,

When Hazael, king of Aram, died, his son Ben-hadad succeeded him as king.

25 and Jehoash son of Jehoahaz turns and takes the cities out of the hand of Ben-Hadad son of Hazael that he had taken out of the hand of his father Jehoahaz in war; Joash has struck him three times, and he brings back the cities of Israel.

Then Jehoash, son of Jehoahaz, recovered from Ben-hadad son of Hazael, the towns that Hazael had captured from his father Jehoahaz. Jehoash defeated Ben-hadad three times, and so recaptured the Israelite towns.