2 Kings 8–10

The Shunammite’s Land Restored

8Now Elisha had said to the woman ^qwhose son he had restored to life, “Arise, and depart with your household, and sojourn wherever you can, for the Lord ^rhas called for a famine, and it will come upon the land for ^sseven years.” ²So the woman arose and did according to the word of the man of God. She went with her household and sojourned in the land of the Philistines seven years. ³And at the end of the seven years, when the woman returned from the land of the Philistines, she went to appeal to the king for her house and her land. ⁴Now the king was talking with ^tGehazi the servant of the man of God, saying, “Tell me all the great things that Elisha has done.” ⁵And while he was telling the king how ^qElisha had restored the dead to life, behold, the woman whose son he had restored to life appealed to the king for her house and her land. And Gehazi said, “My lord, O king, here is the woman, and here is her son whom Elisha restored to life.” ⁶And when the king asked the woman, she told him. So the king appointed an official for her, saying, “Restore all that was hers, together with all the produce of the fields from the day that she left the land until now.”

Hazael Murders Ben-hadad

⁷Now Elisha came to ^uDamascus. ^vBen-hadad the king of Syria was sick. And when it was told him, “The man of God has come here,” ⁸the king said to ^wHazael, ^x“Take a present with you and go to meet the man of God, ^yand inquire of the Lord through him, saying, ‘Shall I recover from this sickness?’ ” ⁹So Hazael went to meet him, and took a present with him, all kinds of goods of Damascus, forty camels’ loads. When he came and stood before him, he said, ^z“Your son Ben-hadad king of Syria has sent me to you, saying, ‘Shall I recover from this sickness?’ ” ¹⁰And Elisha said to him, ^a“Go, say to him, ‘You shall certainly recover,’ but¹ the Lord has shown me that ^bhe shall certainly die.” ¹¹And he fixed his gaze and stared at him, ^cuntil he was embarrassed. And the man of God wept. ¹²And Hazael said, “Why does my lord weep?” He answered, “Because I know ^dthe evil that you will do to the people of Israel. You will set on fire their fortresses, and you will kill their young men with the sword ^eand dash in pieces their little ones and rip open their pregnant women.” ¹³And Hazael said, “What is your servant, ^fwho is but a dog, that he should do this great thing?” Elisha answered, ^g“The Lord has shown me that you are to be king over Syria.” ¹⁴Then he departed from Elisha and came to his master, who said to him, “What did Elisha say to you?” And he answered, “He told me ^hthat you would certainly recover.” ¹⁵But the next day he took the bed cloth² and dipped it in water and spread it over his face, till he died. And Hazael became king in his place.

Jehoram Reigns in Judah

¹⁶In the fifth year of ⁱJoram the son of Ahab, king of Israel, when Jehoshaphat was king of Judah,³ Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, began to reign. ¹⁷He was ^jthirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. ¹⁸And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, as the house of Ahab had done, for ^kthe daughter of Ahab was his wife. And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. ¹⁹Yet the Lord was not willing to destroy Judah, for the sake of David his servant, ^lsince he promised to give ^ma lamp to him and to his sons forever.

²⁰In his days Edom revolted from the rule of Judah and set up ⁿa king of their own. ²¹Then Joram⁴ passed over to Zair with all his chariots and rose by night, and he and his chariot commanders struck the Edomites who had surrounded him, but his army ^ofled home. ^22pSo Edom revolted from the rule of Judah to this day. Then ^qLibnah revolted at the same time. ²³Now 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? ²⁴So Joram slept with his fathers and was buried ^rwith his fathers in the city of David, and ^sAhaziah his son reigned in his place.

Ahaziah Reigns in Judah

^25tIn the ^utwelfth year of Joram the son of Ahab, king of Israel, Ahaziah the son of Jehoram, king of Judah, began to reign. ²⁶Ahaziah was ^vtwenty-two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Athaliah; she was ^wa granddaughter of Omri king of Israel. ²⁷He also walked in the way of the house of Ahab and did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, as the house of Ahab had done, for he was son-in-law to the house of Ahab.

²⁸He went with Joram the son of Ahab to make war against ^xHazael king of Syria at ^yRamoth-gilead, and the Syrians wounded Joram. ^29zAnd King Joram returned to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds that the Syrians had given him at ^aRamah, when he fought against Hazael king of Syria. And ^bAhaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah went down to see Joram the son of Ahab in Jezreel, because he was sick.

Jehu Anointed King of Israel

9Then Elisha the prophet called one of ^cthe sons of the prophets and said to him, ^d“Tie up your garments, and take this ^eflask of oil in your hand, and go to ^fRamoth-gilead. ²And when you arrive, look there for Jehu ^gthe son of Jehoshaphat, son of Nimshi. And go in and have him rise from among ^hhis fellows, and lead him to an inner chamber. ³Then take the flask of oil and pour it on his head and say, ‘Thus says the Lord, ⁱI anoint you king over Israel.’ Then open the door and flee; do not linger.”

⁴So the young man, the servant of the prophet, went to Ramoth-gilead. ⁵And when he came, behold, the commanders of the army were in council. And he said, “I have a word for you, O commander.” And Jehu said, “To which of us all?” And he said, “To you, O commander.” ⁶So he arose and went into the house. And the young man poured the oil on his head, saying to him, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ⁱI anoint you king over the people of the Lord, over Israel. ⁷And you shall strike down the house of Ahab your master, so that I may avenge ^jon Jezebel the blood of my servants the prophets, and the blood of all the servants of the Lord. ⁸For the whole house of Ahab shall perish, ^kand I will cut off from Ahab ^levery male, ^mbond or free, in Israel. ⁹And I will make the house of Ahab like ⁿthe house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like ^othe house of Baasha the son of Ahijah. ^10pAnd the dogs shall eat Jezebel in the territory of Jezreel, and none shall bury her.” Then he opened the door and fled.

¹¹When Jehu came out to the servants of his master, they said to him, ^q“Is all well? Why did ^rthis mad fellow come to you?” And he said to them, “You know the fellow and his talk.” ¹²And they said, “That is not true; tell us now.” And he said, “Thus and so he spoke to me, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord, I anoint you king over Israel.’ ” ¹³Then in haste ^severy man of them took his garment and put it under him on the bare¹ steps, and they blew the trumpet and proclaimed, ^t“Jehu is king.”

Jehu Assassinates Joram and Ahaziah

¹⁴Thus Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat the son of Nimshi conspired against Joram. (^uNow Joram with all Israel had been on guard at Ramoth-gilead against ^vHazael king of Syria, ^15wbut King Joram had returned to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds that the Syrians had given him, when he fought with Hazael king of Syria.) So Jehu said, “If this is your decision, then let no one slip out of the city to go and tell the news in Jezreel.” ¹⁶Then Jehu mounted his chariot and went to Jezreel, for Joram lay there. And Ahaziah king of Judah had come down to visit Joram.

¹⁷Now the watchman was standing on the tower in Jezreel, and he saw the company of Jehu as he came and said, “I see a company.” And Joram said, “Take a horseman and send to meet them, and let him say, ‘Is it peace?’ ” ¹⁸So a man on horseback went to meet him and said, “Thus says the king, ‘Is it peace?’ ” And Jehu said, “What do you have to do with peace? Turn around and ride behind me.” And the watchman reported, saying, “The messenger reached them, but he is not coming back.” ¹⁹Then he sent out a second horseman, who came to them and said, “Thus the king has said, ‘Is it peace?’ ” And Jehu answered, “What do you have to do with peace? Turn around and ride behind me.” ²⁰Again the watchman reported, “He reached them, but he is not coming back. And the driving ^xis like the driving of Jehu ^ythe son of Nimshi, for he drives furiously.”

²¹Joram said, ^z“Make ready.” And they made ready his chariot. ^aThen Joram king of Israel and Ahaziah king of Judah set out, each in his chariot, and went to meet Jehu, and met him ^bat the property of Naboth the Jezreelite. ²²And when Joram saw Jehu, he said, “Is it peace, Jehu?” He answered, “What peace can there be, so long as ^cthe whorings and the sorceries of your mother Jezebel are so many?” ²³Then Joram reined about and fled, saying to Ahaziah, “Treachery, O Ahaziah!” ²⁴And Jehu drew his bow with his full strength, and shot Joram between the shoulders, so that the arrow pierced his heart, and he sank in his chariot. ²⁵Jehu said to Bidkar ^dhis aide, “Take him up and throw him ^bon the plot of ground belonging to Naboth the Jezreelite. For remember, when you and I rode side by side behind Ahab his father, how ^ethe Lord made this ^fpronouncement against him: ²⁶‘As surely as I saw yesterday the blood of Naboth and the blood of his sons—declares the Lord—I will repay you on this plot of ground.’ Now therefore take him up and throw him on the plot of ground, in accordance with the word of the Lord.”

^27gWhen Ahaziah the king of Judah saw this, he fled in the direction of Beth-haggan. And Jehu pursued him and said, “Shoot him also.” And they shot him² in the chariot at the ascent of Gur, which is by ^hIbleam. And he fled to ^hMegiddo and died there. ²⁸ⁱHis servants carried him in a chariot to Jerusalem, and buried him in his tomb with his fathers in the city of David.

²⁹In the ^jeleventh year of Joram the son of Ahab, Ahaziah began to reign over…