מלכים ב 8
| ואלישע דבר אל האשה אשר החיה את בנה לאמר קומי ולכי אתי וביתך וגורי באשר תגורי כי קרא יהוה לרעב וגם בא אל הארץ שבע שנים׃ | 1 |
After Elisha caused the son of the woman from Shunem [town] to become alive again, he told her that she should leave with her family and live somewhere else for a while, because Yahweh was going to (send a famine/cause food to become very scarce) in the land. He said that the famine would last for seven years.
| ותקם האשה ותעש כדבר איש האלהים ותלך היא וביתה ותגר בארץ פלשתים שבע שנים׃ | 2 |
So the woman did what Elisha told her to do. She and her family went to live in [the] Philistia [region] for seven years.
| ויהי מקצה שבע שנים ותשב האשה מארץ פלשתים ותצא לצעק אל המלך אל ביתה ואל שדה׃ | 3 |
After the seven years were ended, they returned to their home. The woman went to the king to request that her house and her land be given back to her.
| והמלך מדבר אל גחזי נער איש האלהים לאמר ספרה נא לי את כל הגדלות אשר עשה אלישע׃ | 4 |
When she arrived, the king was talking with Gehazi, Elisha’s servant. The king was saying to him, “Tell me all the great things that Elisha has done.”
| ויהי הוא מספר למלך את אשר החיה את המת והנה האשה אשר החיה את בנה צעקת אל המלך על ביתה ועל שדה ויאמר גחזי אדני המלך זאת האשה וזה בנה אשר החיה אלישע׃ | 5 |
While Gehazi was telling the king that Elisha had caused the son of a woman [from Shunem] to become alive again, that woman came in and requested the king to enable her to get her house and land back again. Gehazi exclaimed, “Your Majesty, this is the woman whose son Elisha caused to become alive again!”
| וישאל המלך לאשה ותספר לו ויתן לה המלך סריס אחד לאמר השיב את כל אשר לה ואת כל תבואת השדה מיום עזבה את הארץ ועד עתה׃ | 6 |
When the king asked her about it, she told him [that what Gehazi had said was true]. The king summoned one of his officials and said to him, “[I want] everything that this woman possessed previously, including the value of all the crops that have been harvested during these last seven years while she was away from her land, [to] be given back to her.” [So the official did that].
| ויבא אלישע דמשק ובן הדד מלך ארם חלה ויגד לו לאמר בא איש האלהים עד הנה׃ | 7 |
Elisha went to Damascus, [the capital of Syria], when Ben-Hadad, the king of Syria, was [very] sick. When someone told the king that Elisha was in Damascus,
| ויאמר המלך אל חזהאל קח בידך מנחה ולך לקראת איש האלהים ודרשת את יהוה מאותו לאמר האחיה מחלי זה׃ | 8 |
the king told [one of his officials named] Hazael, “Go and talk to that prophet and take a present/gift with you to give to him. Request him to ask Yahweh if I will recover from my illness.”
| וילך חזאל לקראתו ויקח מנחה בידו וכל טוב דמשק משא ארבעים גמל ויבא ויעמד לפניו ויאמר בנך בן הדד מלך ארם שלחני אליך לאמר האחיה מחלי זה׃ | 9 |
So Hazael went to talk with Elisha. He took with him forty camels that were carrying many kinds of goods that were produced in Damascus. When Hazael met him, he said to him, “Your friend Ben-Hadad, the king of Syria, sent me to ask you whether [you think] he will recover from his illness.”
| ויאמר אליו אלישע לך אמר לא חיה תחיה והראני יהוה כי מות ימות׃ | 10 |
Elisha said to Hazael, “Go and say to him, ‘Yes, you will certainly not die from this illness,’ but Yahweh has shown me that he will certainly die [before he recovers].”
| ויעמד את פניו וישם עד בש ויבך איש האלהים׃ | 11 |
Then Elisha stared at him and had a terrified look on his face. That caused Hazael to feel uneasy/embarrassed. Then [suddenly] Elisha started to cry.
| ויאמר חזאל מדוע אדני בכה ויאמר כי ידעתי את אשר תעשה לבני ישראל רעה מבצריהם תשלח באש ובחריהם בחרב תהרג ועלליהם תרטש והרתיהם תבקע׃ | 12 |
Hazael said, “Sir, why are you crying?” Elisha replied, “Because [Yahweh has enabled] me [to] know the terrible things that you will do to the people of Israel: You will burn their cities with walls around them, you will kill their fine young men with a sword, you will bash the heads of their children, and you will rip open the bellies of their pregnant women [with a sword].”
| ויאמר חזהאל כי מה עבדך הכלב כי יעשה הדבר הגדול הזה ויאמר אלישע הראני יהוה אתך מלך על ארם׃ | 13 |
Hazael replied, “I am [as insignificant as] [MET] a dog; (how could I do such things?/I would never do such terrible things!)” [RHQ] Elisha replied, “Yahweh has also revealed to me that you will become the king of Syria.”
| וילך מאת אלישע ויבא אל אדניו ויאמר לו מה אמר לך אלישע ויאמר אמר לי חיה תחיה׃ | 14 |
Then Hazael left and returned to his master/boss [the king], who asked him, “What did Elisha say?” He replied, “He told me that you would certainly recover.”
| ויהי ממחרת ויקח המכבר ויטבל במים ויפרש על פניו וימת וימלך חזהאל תחתיו׃ | 15 |
But the next day, [while the king was sleeping, ] Hazael took a blanket and soaked it in water. Then he spread it on the king’s face [in order that he could not breathe], and he died. Then Hazael became the king of Syria instead of Ben-Hadad.
| ובשנת חמש ליורם בן אחאב מלך ישראל ויהושפט מלך יהודה מלך יהורם בן יהושפט מלך יהודה׃ | 16 |
After King Joram, the son of Ahab, had been ruling in Israel for almost five years, Jehoshaphat’s son Jehoram became the king of Judah.
| בן שלשים ושתים שנה היה במלכו ושמנה שנה מלך בירושלם׃ | 17 |
He was thirty-two years old when he became the king, and he ruled in Jerusalem for eight years.
| וילך בדרך מלכי ישראל כאשר עשו בית אחאב כי בת אחאב היתה לו לאשה ויעש הרע בעיני יהוה׃ | 18 |
His wife was the daughter of King Ahab. And like everyone in Ahab’s family, he continually did the evil things that the previous kings of Israel had done. He did things that Yahweh considered to be evil.
| ולא אבה יהוה להשחית את יהודה למען דוד עבדו כאשר אמר לו לתת לו ניר לבניו כל הימים׃ | 19 |
But Yahweh did not want to get rid of the people of Judah, because of what he had promised David, who served him [very well]. He had promised David that his descendants [MET] would always rule Judah.
| בימיו פשע אדום מתחת יד יהודה וימלכו עליהם מלך׃ | 20 |
During the time that Jehoram ruled, [the king of] Edom rebelled against Judah, and they appointed their own king.
| ויעבר יורם צעירה וכל הרכב עמו ויהי הוא קם לילה ויכה את אדום הסביב אליו ואת שרי הרכב וינס העם לאהליו׃ | 21 |
So Jehoram went with his army and all their chariots to Zair [city near the border of Edom]. There the army of Edom surrounded them. But during the night, Jehoram and the commanders in their chariots were able to get through the enemy lines and escaped. And all his soldiers also fled to their homes.
| ויפשע אדום מתחת יד יהודה עד היום הזה אז תפשע לבנה בעת ההיא׃ | 22 |
So after that, Edom was no longer controlled by Judah, and it is still like that. During that same time, the people of Libnah [city] also freed themselves from being controlled by Judah.
| ויתר דברי יורם וכל אשר עשה הלוא הם כתובים על ספר דברי הימים למלכי יהודה׃ | 23 |
[If you want to read about] the other things that Jehoram did, they are written in the scroll called ‘The History of the Kings of Judah’.
| וישכב יורם עם אבתיו ויקבר עם אבתיו בעיר דוד וימלך אחזיהו בנו תחתיו׃ | 24 |
Jehoram died [EUP] and was buried where the other kings of Judah had been buried in [the part of Jerusalem called] ‘The City of David’. Then Jehoram’s son Ahaziah became the king.
| בשנת שתים עשרה שנה ליורם בן אחאב מלך ישראל מלך אחזיהו בן יהורם מלך יהודה׃ | 25 |
After Ahab’s son Joram has been ruling in Israel for almost twelve years, Jehoram’s son Ahaziah became the king of Judah.
| בן עשרים ושתים שנה אחזיהו במלכו ושנה אחת מלך בירושלם ושם אמו עתליהו בת עמרי מלך ישראל׃ | 26 |
Ahaziah was twenty-two years old when he started to rule. He ruled in Jerusalem for [only] one year. His mother’s name was Athaliah, [the daughter of King Ahab and] the granddaughter of King Omri of Israel.
| וילך בדרך בית אחאב ויעש הרע בעיני יהוה כבית אחאב כי חתן בית אחאב הוא׃ | 27 |
King Ahab conducted his life just like the members of Ahab’s family had done. He did things that Yahweh considered to be very evil.
| וילך את יורם בן אחאב למלחמה עם חזהאל מלך ארם ברמת גלעד ויכו ארמים את יורם׃ | 28 |
Ahaziah’s army joined the army of King Joram of Israel to fight against the army of King Hazael of Syria. Their armies started fighting at Ramoth [city] in [the] Gilead [region], and the soldiers of Syria wounded Joram.
| וישב יורם המלך להתרפא ביזרעאל מן המכים אשר יכהו ארמים ברמה בהלחמו את חזהאל מלך ארם ואחזיהו בן יהורם מלך יהודה ירד לראות את יורם בן אחאב ביזרעאל כי חלה הוא׃ | 29 |
King Joram returned to Jezreel [city] to recover from his wounds. King Ahaziah went to visit him there.
