2 Kings 8–10

8TH CHAPTER

Elisha Helps a Shunem Woman Get Her Land Back

¹Elisha had told the woman whose son he had brought back to life, “Go away with your family. Stay wherever you can. The Lord has decided to send a famine on this country, and it will last seven years.” 

²The woman did what the man of God told her. She and her family went to live in Philistine territory for seven years. ³At the end of seven years, the woman came home from Philistine territory but left again to make an appeal to the king about her house and land. 

⁴The king was talking to Gehazi, the servant of the man of God. He said, “Please tell me about all the great things Elisha has done.” ⁵While Gehazi was telling the king how Elisha brought a dead child back to life, the mother ⸤came to⸥ make an appeal to the king about her house and land. 

Gehazi said, “Your Majesty, this is the woman, and this is her son whom Elisha brought back to life.” 

⁶When the king asked the woman ⸤about this⸥, she told him the story. So the king assigned to her an attendant to whom he said, “Restore all that is hers, including whatever her property produced from the day she left the country until now.” 

Elisha Prophesies to Hazael

⁷Elisha went to Damascus. King Benhadad of Aram, who was sick, was told, “The man of God has come here.” 

⁸The king told Hazael, “Take a present, and meet the man of God. Ask the Lord through him, ‘Will I recover from this illness?’ ” 

⁹Hazael went to meet Elisha. He took with him a present and all kinds of goods from Damascus. He had loaded the goods on 40 camels. He stood in front of Elisha and said, “Your humble servant King Benhadad of Aram has sent me to you. He asks whether he will recover from this illness.” 

¹⁰Elisha replied, “Tell him that he will get better, although the Lord has shown me that he is actually going to die.” ¹¹He stared at him until he became embarrassed. Then the man of God began to cry. 

¹²“Sir, why are you crying?” Hazael asked. 

Elisha answered, “I know the evil you will do to the Israelites: You will set their fortresses on fire, kill their best young men, smash their little children, and rip open their pregnant women.” 

¹³But Hazael asked, “How can a dog like me do such a significant thing?” 

Elisha answered, “The Lord has shown me that you will become king of Aram.” ¹⁴Hazael left Elisha and went to his master Benhadad, who asked him what Elisha had said. 

Hazael answered, “He told me that you will get better.” 

¹⁵But the next day Hazael took a blanket, soaked it in water, and smothered the king with it. Hazael ruled as king in his place. 

King Jehoram of Judah—2 Chronicles 21:2–11; 21:16–22:1

¹⁶Joram (Ahab’s son) was in his fifth year as king of Israel when Jehoram,^ason of King Jehoshaphat of Judah, began to rule. Jehoram ruled while Jehoshaphat was still king of Judah. ¹⁷He was 32 years old when he began to rule, and he ruled for 8 years in Jerusalem. ¹⁸He followed the ways of the kings of Israel, as Ahab’s family had done, because his wife was Ahab’s daughter. So he did what the Lord considered evil. ¹⁹But for David’s sake the Lord didn’t want to destroy Judah. The Lord had told David that he would always give him and his descendants a ⸤shining⸥ lamp. 

²⁰During Jehoram’s time Edom rebelled against Judah and chose its own king. ²¹Jehoram took all his chariots to attack Zair. The Edomites and their chariot commanders surrounded him, but he got up at night, broke through their lines, and his troops fled home. ²²So Edom rebelled against Judah’s rule and is still independent today. At that time Libnah also rebelled. ²³Isn’t everything else about Jehoram—everything he did—written in the official records of the kings of Judah? ²⁴Jehoram lay down in death with his ancestors and was buried with them in the City of David. His son Ahaziah succeeded him as king. 

King Ahaziah of Judah—2 Chronicles 22:2–6

²⁵Joram (Ahab’s son) was in his twelfth year as king of Israel when Jehoram’s son Ahaziah became king of Judah. ²⁶Ahaziah was 22 years old when he began to rule, and he ruled for one year in Jerusalem. His mother was Athaliah, the granddaughter of King Omri of Israel. ²⁷Ahaziah followed the ways of Ahab’s family. He did what the Lord considered evil, as Ahab’s family had done, because he was related to Ahab’s family by marriage. 

²⁸Ahaziah went with Ahab’s son Joram to fight against King Hazael of Aram at Ramoth Gilead. There the Arameans wounded Joram. ²⁹King Joram returned to Jezreel to let his wounds heal. (He had been wounded by the Arameans at Ramah when he fought against King Hazael of Aram.) Then Jehoram’s son Ahaziah went to Jezreel to see Ahab’s son Joram, who was sick. 

9TH CHAPTER

Jehu Is Anointed King of Israel

¹The prophet Elisha called one of the disciples of the prophets. He said, “Put on your belt. Take this flask of olive oil, and go to Ramoth Gilead. ²When you arrive there, look for Jehu, son of Jehoshaphat and grandson of Nimshi. Go inside, and have him get up and leave his companions. Take him into an inner room. ³Take the flask of oil, pour it on his head, and say, ‘This is what the Lord says: I have anointed you king of Israel.’ Then open the door and leave immediately.” 

⁴The young man, the servant of the prophet, went to Ramoth Gilead. ⁵When he arrived there, the army’s generals were sitting together. He said, “I have something to tell you, General.” 

Jehu asked, “Which one of us?” 

He answered, “You, General!” 

⁶Jehu got up and went into the house. The prophet poured olive oil on his head and told him, “This is what the Lord God of Israel says: I have anointed you king of the Lord’s people, ⸤king⸥ of Israel. ⁷You will destroy the family of your master Ahab. I will get revenge on Jezebel for shedding the blood of my servants the prophets and all the Lord’s ⸤other⸥ servants. ⁸Ahab’s entire family will die. I will destroy every male^afrom Ahab’s family, whether slave or freeman in Israel. ⁹I will make Ahab’s family like the family of Jeroboam (Nebat’s son) and like the family of Baasha, son of Ahijah. ¹⁰Dogs will eat Jezebel inside the walls of Jezreel, and no one will bury her.” Then he opened the door and left. 

¹¹Jehu came out to his master’s officials. One of them asked him, “Is everything alright? Why did this lunatic come to you?” 

He answered, “You know the man and the kind of things he says.” 

¹²They said, “That’s not an answer. Please tell us.” 

Jehu replied, “We talked for a while, and he said to me, ‘This is what the Lord says: I have anointed you king of Israel.’ ” 

¹³Then each one of them immediately took off his coat and laid it on the stairs below him. They blew a ram’s horn and said, “Jehu is king!” 

Jehu Kills King Joram, King Ahaziah, and Queen Jezebel—2 Chronicles 22:7–9

¹⁴So Jehu, son of Jehoshaphat and grandson of Nimshi, plotted against Joram. (Joram and all Israel were guarding Ramoth Gilead against King Hazael of Aram. ¹⁵But King Joram had returned to Jezreel to recover from the wounds he received while fighting King Hazael of Aram.) 

Then Jehu said, “If you want me to be king, don’t let anyone escape from the city to take the news to Jezreel.” ¹⁶So Jehu got on his chariot and drove to Jezreel because Joram was lying in bed there. (King Ahaziah of Judah had come to see Joram.) 

¹⁷The watchman standing on the tower in Jezreel saw Jehu’s troops coming. He said, “I see some troops.” 

So Joram said, “Take a chariot driver, send him to meet them, and ask, ‘Is everything alright?’ ” 

¹⁸So a chariot driver rode off, met Jehu, and said, “The king asks, ‘Is everything alright?’ ” 

Jehu replied, “Why should that matter to you? Follow me.” 

So the watchman announced, “The messenger you sent has reached them, but he isn’t coming back.” 

¹⁹Then Joram sent out a second driver. When he came to them, he said, “The king asks, ‘Is everything alright?’ ” 

Jehu replied, “Why should that matter to you? Follow me.” 

²⁰So the watchman announced, “He has reached them, but he isn’t coming back. The troop’s leader is driving like a lunatic, like Jehu, grandson of Nimshi.” 

²¹“Hitch the horses to the chariot,” Joram ordered. When that was done, King Joram of Israel and King Ahaziah of Judah went to meet Jehu, each in his own chariot. They found him in the field that belonged to Naboth from Jezreel. 

²²When Joram saw Jehu, he asked, “Is everything alright, Jehu?” 

Jehu answered, “How can everything be alright as long as your mother continues her idolatry and witchcraft?” 

²³As Joram turned his chariot around and tried to flee, he said to Ahaziah, “It’s a trap, Ahaziah!” ²⁴But Jehu took his bow and shot Joram between the shoulders. The arrow came out of his chest, and he slumped over in his chariot. 

²⁵Then Jehu said to his attendant Bidkar, “Take him away, and throw him into the field that belonged to Naboth from Jezreel. Remember when you and I were driving our chariots behind his father Ahab? The Lord revealed this prophecy about him: ²⁶‘Just as I saw the blood of Naboth and his sons yesterday, I will pay you back in this field,’ declares the Lord. Now take him and throw him into the field as the Lord predicted.” 

²⁷When King Ahaziah of Judah saw this, he fled on the road leading to Beth Haggan. Jehu pursued him and ordered, “Shoot him down in his chariot.” They shot him at Gur Pass, which is near Ibleam. Ahaziah continued to flee until he got to Megiddo, where he died. ²⁸His servants brought him in a chariot to Jerusalem. They buried him in a tomb with his ancestors in the City of David. ²⁹(Ahaziah had become king of Judah in the eleventh year that Joram, Ahab’s son, was king of Israel.) 

³⁰When Jehu arrived in Jezreel, Jezebel heard about it. She put on eye shadow, fixed her hair, and looked out of a second-story window. ³¹When Jehu entered the gateway, she asked, “Is everything alright, Zimri, murderer of your master?” 

³²Looking up at the window, he asked, “Is anyone on my side? Anyone?” Then two or three eunuchs looked out at him. 

³³He said, “Throw her down.” They threw her down, and some of…