2 Kings 8

1 Then Elisha spoke to the woman, whose son he had restored to life, saying, Arise, and go thou and thy household, and sojourn wherever thou canst sojourn: for the LORD hath called for a famine; and it shall also come upon the land seven years.

Elisha told the woman whose son he had brought back to life, “You and your family need to pack up and leave, and live where you can somewhere else like a foreigner. For the Lord announced a famine will come to the land and will last seven years.”

2 And the woman arose, and did according to the saying of the man of God: and she went with her household, and sojourned in the land of the Philistines seven years.

The woman packed up and did what the man of God had told her. She and her family went and lived as foreigners for seven years in the country of the Philistines.

3 And it came to pass at the seven years' end, that the woman returned from the land of the Philistines: and she went forth to cry to the king for her house, and for her land.

When the seven years were over, she came back from the country of the Philistines and went to the king to appeal for the return of her house and lands.

4 And the king talked with Gehazi the servant of the man of God, saying, Tell me, I pray thee, all the great things that Elisha hath done.

The king was talking with Gehazi, the servant of the man of God, asking him, “Please tell me about all the wonderful things Elisha did.”

5 And it came to pass, as he was telling the king how he had restored a dead body to life, that behold, the woman, whose son he had restored to life, cried to the king for her house and for her land. And Gehazi said, My lord, O king, this [is] the woman, and this [is] her son, whom Elisha restored to life.

It so happened that right then Gehazi was telling the king the story of how Elisha had brought the dead boy back to life when his mother arrived to make her appeal to the king for the return of her house and lands. “My lord the king,” Gehazi called out, “this is the woman, and this is her son that Elisha brought back to life.”

6 And when the king asked the woman, she told him. So the king appointed to her a certain officer, saying, Restore all that [was] hers, and all the fruits of the field since the day that she left the land even till now.

The king asked the woman about it and she explained the whole story to him. The king gave orders to an official, saying, “Make sure everything that belonged to her is returned to her, together with all the profit from her lands from the day that she left the country until now.”

7 And Elisha came to Damascus; and Ben-hadad the king of Syria was sick; and it was told to him, saying, The man of God hath come hither.

Elisha went to Damascus when Ben-hadad king of Aram was ill. The king was informed, “The man of God has arrived in town.”

8 And the king said to Hazael, Take a present in thy hand, and go, meet the man of God, and inquire of the LORD by him, saying, Shall I recover of this disease?

The king ordered Hazael, “Take a gift with you and go and meet the man of God. Ask him to ask the Lord, ‘Will I recover from this illness?’”

9 So Hazael went to meet him, and took a present with him, even of every good thing of Damascus, forty camels burden, and came and stood before him, and said, Thy son Ben-hadad king of Syria hath sent me to thee, saying, Shall I recover of this disease?

So Hazael went to meet Elisha. He took with him a gift of all the best things from Damascus—forty camel-loads of goods. He came in and stood before him and said, “Your son Ben-hadad, king of Aram, has sent me to you to ask, ‘Will I recover from this illness?’”

10 And Elisha said to him, Go, say to him, Thou mayest certainly recover: but the LORD hath showed me, that he shall surely die.

“Go and tell him, ‘You will definitely recover.’ But the Lord has shown me that definitely he is going to die,” Elisha replied.

11 And he settled his countenance steadfastly, until he was ashamed: and the man of God wept.

Elisha stared at him for a long time until Hazael became uncomfortable. Then the man of God started to cry.

12 And Hazael said, Why weepeth my lord? And he answered, Because I know the evil that thou wilt do to the children of Israel: their strong holds wilt thou set on fire, and their young men wilt thou slay with the sword, and wilt dash their children, and rip up their women with child.

“Why are you crying, my lord?” asked Hazael. “Because I know the evil things you are going to do to the Israelites,” Elisha replied. “You will set their fortresses on fire, kill their young men with the sword, dash to pieces their little ones, and rip open their pregnant women.”

13 And Hazael said, But what, [is] thy servant a dog, that he should do this great thing? And Elisha answered, The LORD hath shown me that thou [wilt be] king over Syria.

“But how could someone like me who's just a ‘dog’ achieve anything like that?” Hazael asked. “The Lord has shown me that you are going to be the king of Aram,” Elisha replied.

14 So he departed from Elisha, and came to his master; who said to him, What said Elisha to thee? And he answered, He told me [that] thou shouldest surely recover.

Hazael left Elisha and went to his master, who asked him, “What did Elisha tell you?” Hazael replied, “He told me you would definitely recover.”

15 And it came to pass on the morrow, that he took a thick cloth, and dipped [it] in water, and spread [it] on his face, so that he died: and Hazael reigned in his stead.

But the following day Hazael took the bed cover, soaked it in water, and spread it over the king's face until he died. Then Hazael took over from him as king.

16 And in the fifth year of Joram the son of Ahab king of Israel, Jehoshaphat [being] then king of Judah, Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah began to reign.

Jehoram, son of Jehoshaphat, began his reign as king of Judah in the fifth year of the reign of Joram, son of Ahab, king of Israel, while Jehoshaphat was still king of Judah.

17 Thirty and two years old was he when he began to reign; and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem.

He was thirty-two when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem for eight years.

18 And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, as did the house of Ahab: for the daughter of Ahab was his wife: and he did evil in the sight of the LORD.

Jehoram followed the ways of the kings of Israel, just as the house of Ahab had done, for he married a daughter of Ahab and did what was evil in the Lord's sight.

19 Yet the LORD would not destroy Judah, for David his servant's sake, as he promised him to give him always a light, [and] to his children.

But for the sake of David his servant the Lord didn't want to destroy Judah since he had promised him that there would always be a ruler from his descendants, like a lamp forever.

20 In his days Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah, and made a king over themselves.

During Jehoram's time as king, Edom rebelled against Judah's rule and chose their own king.

21 So Joram went over to Zair, and all the chariots with him: and he rose by night, and smote the Edomites who encompassed him, and the captains of the chariots: and the people fled into their tents.

So Jehoram went over to Zair with all his chariots. The Edomites surrounded him and his chariot commanders, but he took action and attacked at night. But his army ran back to their homes.

22 Yet Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah to this day. Then Libnah revolted at the same time.

As a result Edom has been in rebellion against Judah's rule to this day. At the same time Libnah also decided to rebel.

23 And the rest of the acts of Joram, and all that he did, [are] they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?

The rest of what happened in Jehoram's reign and all that he did are recorded in the Book of Chronicles of the Kings of Judah.

24 And Joram slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers, in the city of David; and Ahaziah his son reigned in his stead.

Jehoram died and was buried with his forefathers in the City of David. His son Ahaziah succeeded him as king.

25 In the twelfth year of Joram the son of Ahab king of Israel did Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah begin to reign.

Ahaziah, son of Jehoram, became king of Judah in the twelfth year of the reign of Joram, son of Ahab, king of Israel.

26 Two and twenty years old [was] Ahaziah when he began to reign; and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. And his mother's name [was] Athaliah, the daughter of Omri king of Israel.

Ahaziah was twenty-two when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem for one year. His mother's name was Athaliah, the granddaughter of Omri, king of Israel.

27 And he walked in the way of the house of Ahab, and did evil in the sight of the LORD, as [did] the house of Ahab: for he [was] the son-in-law of the house of Ahab.

Ahaziah also followed the evil ways of the family of Ahab, and did what was evil in the Lord's sight as the family of Ahab had done, for he was related to them by marriage.

28 And he went with Joram the son of Ahab to the war against Hazael king of Syria in Ramoth-gilead; and the Syrians wounded Joram.

Ahaziah went with Joram, son of Ahab, to fight against Hazael, king of Aram, at Ramoth-gilead. The Arameans wounded Joram,

29 And king Joram went back to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds which the Syrians had given him at Ramah, when he fought against Hazael king of Syria. And Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah went down to see Joram the son of Ahab in Jezreel, because he was sick.

and he returned to Jezreel to recover from the wounds he'd received in Ramah fighting against Hazael king of Aram. Ahaziah, son of Jehoram, king of Judah, went to Jezreel to visit Joram, son of Ahab, because Joram was wounded.