2 Kings 8–10

The Woman from Shunem Returns

8^*Now Elisha had told the woman who lived in Shunem, whose son he had brought back to life, that the Lord was sending a famine on the land, which would last for seven years, and that she should leave with her family and go and live somewhere else. ²She had followed his instructions, and had gone with her family to live in Philistia for the seven years.

³At the end of the seven years, she returned to Israel and went to the king to ask for her house and her land to be restored to her. ⁴She found the king talking with Gehazi, Elisha’s servant; the king wanted to know about Elisha’s miracles. ⁵While Gehazi was telling the king how Elisha had brought a dead person back to life, the woman made her appeal to the king. Gehazi said to him, “Your Majesty, here is the woman and here is her son whom Elisha brought back to life!” ⁶In answer to the king’s question, she confirmed Gehazi’s story, and so the king called an official and told him to give back to her everything that was hers, including the value of all the crops that her fields had produced during the seven years she had been away.

Elisha and King Benhadad of Syria

⁷Elisha went to Damascus at a time when King Benhadad of Syria was ill. When the king was told that Elisha was there, ⁸he said to Hazael, one of his officials, “Take a gift to the prophet, and ask him to consult the Lord to find out whether or not I am going to get well.” ⁹So Hazael loaded 40 camels with all kinds of the finest products of Damascus and went to Elisha. When Hazael met him, he said, “Your servant King Benhadad has sent me to ask you whether or not he will recover from his illness.”

¹⁰Elisha answered, “The Lord has revealed to me that he will die; but go to him and tell him that he will recover.” ¹¹Then Elisha stared at him with a horrified look on his face until Hazael became ill at ease. Suddenly Elisha burst into tears. ¹²“Why are you crying, sir?” Hazael asked.

“Because I know the horrible things you will do against the people of Israel,” Elisha answered. “You will set their fortresses on fire, slaughter their finest young men, batter their children to death, and rip open their pregnant women.”

^13*“How could I ever be that powerful?” Hazael asked. “I’m a nobody!”

“The Lord has shown me that you will be king of Syria,” Elisha replied.

¹⁴Hazael went back to Benhadad, who asked him, “What did Elisha say?”

“He told me that you would certainly get well,” Hazael answered. ¹⁵But on the following day Hazael took a blanket, soaked it in water, and smothered the king.

And Hazael succeeded Benhadad as king of Syria.

King Johoram of Judah

¹⁶In the fifth year of the reign of Joram son of Ahab as king of Israel,^r Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat became king of Judah ¹⁷at the age of 32, and he ruled in Jerusalem for eight years. ¹⁸His wife was Ahab’s daughter, and like the family of Ahab he followed the evil ways of the kings of Israel. He sinned against the Lord, ^19*but the Lord was not willing to destroy Judah, because he had promised his servant David that his descendants would always continue to rule.

^20*During Jehoram’s reign Edom revolted against Judah and became an independent kingdom. ²¹So Jehoram set out with all his chariots for Zair, where the Edomite army surrounded them. During the night he and his chariot commanders managed to break out and escape, and his soldiers scattered to their homes. ²²Edom has been independent of^s Judah ever since. During this same period the city of Libnah also revolted.

²³Everything else that Jehoram did is recorded in The History of the Kings of Judah. ²⁴Jehoram died and was buried in the royal tombs in David’s City, and his son Ahaziah succeeded him as king.

King Ahaziah of Judah

²⁵In the twelfth year of the reign of Joram son of Ahab as king of Israel, Ahaziah son of Jehoram became king of Judah ²⁶at the age of 22, and he ruled in Jerusalem for one year. His mother was Athaliah, the daughter of King Ahab and granddaughter of King Omri of Israel. ²⁷Since Ahaziah was related to King Ahab by marriage, he sinned against the Lord, just as Ahab’s family did.

²⁸King Ahaziah joined King Joram of Israel in a war against King Hazael of Syria. The armies clashed at Ramoth in Gilead, and Joram was wounded in battle. ²⁹He returned to the city of Jezreel to recover from his wounds, and Ahaziah went there to visit him.

Jehu Is Anointed King of Israel

9Meanwhile the prophet Elisha called one of the young prophets and said to him, “Get ready and go to Ramoth in Gilead. Take this jar of olive oil with you, ²and when you get there look for Jehu, the son of Jehoshaphat and grandson of Nimshi. Take him to a private room away from his companions, ³pour this olive oil on his head, and say, ‘The Lord proclaims that he anoints you king of Israel.’ Then leave there as fast as you can.”

⁴So the young prophet went to Ramoth, ⁵where he found the army officers in a conference. He said, “Sir, I have a message for you.”

Jehu asked, “Which one of us are you speaking to?”

“To you, sir,” he replied. ^6*Then the two of them went indoors, and the young prophet poured the olive oil on Jehu’s head and said to him, “The Lord, the God of Israel, proclaims: ‘I anoint you king of my people Israel. ⁷You are to kill your master the king, that son of Ahab, so that I may punish Jezebel for murdering my prophets and my other servants. ⁸All Ahab’s family and descendants are to die; I will get rid of every male in his family, young and old alike. ⁹I will treat his family as I did the families of King Jeroboam of Israel and of King Baasha of Israel. ^10*Jezebel will not be buried; her body will be eaten by dogs in the territory of Jezreel.’ ” After saying this, the young prophet left the room and fled.

¹¹Jehu went back to his fellow-officers, who asked him, “Is everything all right? What did that crazy fellow want with you?”

“You know what he wanted,” Jehu answered.

¹²“No we don’t!” they replied. “Tell us what he said!”

“He told me that the Lord proclaims: ‘I anoint you king of Israel.’ ”

¹³At once Jehu’s fellow-officers spread their cloaks at the top of the steps for Jehu to stand on, blew trumpets, and shouted, “Jehu is king!”

King Joram of Israel Is Killed

^14–15Then Jehu plotted against King Joram, who was in Jezreel, where he had gone to recover from the wounds which he had received in the battle at Ramoth against King Hazael of Syria. So Jehu said to his fellow-officers, “If you are with me, make sure that no one slips out of Ramoth to go and warn the people in Jezreel.” ¹⁶Then he got into his chariot and set off for Jezreel. Joram had still not recovered, and King Ahaziah of Judah was there, visiting him.

¹⁷A guard on duty in the watchtower at Jezreel saw Jehu and his men approaching. “I see some men riding up!” he called out.

Joram replied, “Send a horseman to find out if they are friends or enemies.”

¹⁸The messenger rode out to Jehu and said to him, “The king wants to know if you come as a friend.”

“That’s none of your business!” Jehu answered. “Fall in behind me.”

The guard on the watchtower reported that the messenger had reached the group but was not returning. ¹⁹Another messenger was sent out, who asked Jehu the same question. Again Jehu answered, “That’s none of your business! Fall in behind me.”

²⁰Once more the guard reported that the messenger had reached the group but was not returning. And he added, “The leader of the group is driving his chariot like a madman, just like Jehu!”

²¹“Get my chariot ready,” King Joram ordered. It was done, and he and King Ahaziah rode out, each in his own chariot, to meet Jehu. They met him at the field which had belonged to Naboth. ²²“Are you coming in peace?” Joram asked him.

“How can there be peace,” Jehu answered, “when we still have all the witchcraft and idolatry that your mother Jezebel started?”

²³“It’s treason, Ahaziah!” Joram cried out, as he turned his chariot round and fled. ²⁴Jehu drew his bow, and with all his strength shot an arrow that struck Joram in the back and pierced his heart. Joram fell dead in his chariot, ²⁵and Jehu said to his aide Bidkar, “Get his body and throw it in the field that belonged to Naboth. Remember that when you and I were riding together behind King Joram’s father Ahab, the Lord spoke these words against Ahab: ^26*‘I saw the murder of Naboth and his sons yesterday. And I promise that I will punish you here in this same field.’ So take Joram’s body,” Jehu ordered his aide, “and throw it in the field that belonged to Naboth, so as to fulfil the Lord’s promise.”

King Ahaziah of Judah Is Killed

²⁷King Ahaziah saw what happened, so he fled in his chariot towards the town of Beth Haggan, pursued by Jehu. “Kill him too!” Jehu ordered his men, and they wounded him^t as he drove his chariot on the road up to Gur, near the town of Ibleam. But he managed to keep going until he reached the city of Megiddo, where he died. ²⁸His officials took his body back to Jerusalem in a chariot and buried him in the royal tombs in David’s City.

²⁹Ahaziah had become king of Judah in the eleventh year that Joram son of Ahab was king of Israel.

Queen Jezebel Is Killed

³⁰Jehu arrived in Jezreel. Jezebel, having heard what had happened, put on eyeshadow, arranged her hair, and stood looking down at the street from a window in the palace. ³¹As Jehu came through the gate, she called out, “You Zimri!^u You assassin! Why are you here?”

³²Jehu looked up and shouted, “Who is on my side?” Two or three palace officials looked down at him from a window, ³³and Jehu said to them, “Throw her down!” They threw her down, and her blood spattered the wall and the horses. Jehu drove his horses and chariot over her body, ³⁴entered the palace, and had a meal. Only then did he say, “Take that cursed woman and bury her; after all, she is a king’s daughter.” ³⁵But the men who went out to bury her found nothing except her skull, and the bones of her hands and feet. ^36*When they reported this to Jehu, he said, “This is what the Lord…