2 Kings 8–10

The Shunammite’s Land Restored

8Elisha said to the woman whose son he had restored to life, ^m“Get ready, you and your household, and go and live as a foreigner wherever you can. For the Lord has announced a seven-year famine, ⁿand it has already come to the land.”

²So the woman got ready and did what the man of God said. She and her household lived as foreigners in the land of the Philistines for seven years. ³When the woman returned from the land of the Philistines at the end of seven years, ^oshe went to appeal to the king for her house and field. ^p

⁴The king had been speaking to Gehazi, ^qthe attendant of the man of God, saying, “Tell me all the great things Elisha has done.”

⁵While he was telling the king how Elisha restored the dead son to life, the woman whose son he had restored to life came to appeal to the king for her house and field. So Gehazi said, “My lord the king, this is the woman and this is the son Elisha restored to life.” ^r

⁶When the king asked the woman, she told him the story. So the king appointed a court official for her, saying, “Restore all that was hers, along with all the income from the field from the day she left the country until now.”

Aram’s King Hazael

⁷Elisha came to Damascus ^swhile Ben-hadad ^tking of Aram was sick, and the king was told, “The man of God ^uhas come here.” ⁸So the king said to Hazael, ^v“Take a gift ^wwith you and go meet the man of God. Inquire of the Lord through him, ‘Will I recover from this sickness?’ ” ^x

⁹Hazael went to meet Elisha, taking with him a gift: 40 camel-loads of all kinds of goods from Damascus. When he came and stood before him, he said, “Your son, ^yBen-hadad king of Aram, has sent me to ask you, ‘Will I recover from this sickness?’ ”

¹⁰Elisha told him, “Go say to him, ‘You are sure to ^zrecover.’ But the Lord has shown me that he is sure to die.” ¹¹Then Elisha stared steadily at him until Hazael was ashamed. ^a

The man of God wept, ^b12and Hazael asked, “Why is my lord weeping?”

He replied, “Because I know the evil you will do to the people of Israel. You will set their fortresses on fire. You will kill their young men with the sword. You will dash their little ones to pieces. You will rip open their pregnant women.” ^c

¹³Hazael said, “How could your servant, a mere dog, ^ddo this monstrous thing?”

Elisha answered, “The Lord has shown me that you will be king over Aram.” ^e

¹⁴Hazael left Elisha and went to his master, who asked him, “What did Elisha say to you?”

He responded, “He told me you are sure to recover.” ¹⁵The next day Hazael took a heavy cloth, dipped it in water, and spread it over the king’s face. Ben-hadad died, and Hazael reigned instead of him.

Judah’s King Jehoram

¹⁶In the fifth year ^fof Israel’s King Joram ^gson of Ahab, Jehoram ^hison of Jehoshaphat became king of Judah, replacing his father. ^jk17He was 32 years old when he became king and reigned eight years in Jerusalem. ^l18He walked in the way of the kings of Israel, as the house of Ahab had done, for Ahab’s daughter was his wife. He did what was evil in the Lord’s sight. ^m19The Lord was unwilling to destroy Judah because of His servant David, since He had promised to give a lamp ⁿto David and his sons forever. ^o

²⁰During Jehoram’s reign, Edom rebelled against Judah’s control and appointed their own king. ^p21So Jehoram crossed over to Zair with all his chariots. Then at night he set out to attack the Edomites who had surrounded him and the chariot commanders, but his troops fled to their tents. ^q22So Edom is still in rebellion against Judah’s control today. Libnah ^ralso rebelled at that time.

²³The rest of the events of Jehoram’s reign, along with all his accomplishments, are written in the Historical Record of Judah’s Kings. ^s24Jehoram rested with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of David, and his son Ahaziah became king in his place. ^t

Judah’s King Ahaziah

²⁵In the twelfth year of Israel’s King Joram son of Ahab, ^uAhaziah son of Jehoram became king of Judah. ^v26Ahaziah was 22 years old when he became king and reigned one year in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Athaliah, granddaughter of Israel’s King Omri. ^w27He walked in the way of the house of Ahab and did what was evil in the Lord’s sight like the house of Ahab, ^xfor he was a son-in-law to Ahab’s family.

²⁸Ahaziah went with Joram son of Ahab to fight against Hazael ^yking of Aram in Ramoth-gilead, ^zand the Arameans wounded Joram. ²⁹So King Joram returned to Jezreel ^ato recover from the wounds that the Arameans had inflicted on him in Ramoth-gilead ^bwhen he fought against Aram’s King Hazael. ^cThen Judah’s King Ahaziah son of Jehoram went down to Jezreel to visit Joram son of Ahab since Joram was ill.

Jehu Anointed as Israel’s King

9The prophet Elisha called one of the sons of the prophets ^dand said, “Tuck your mantle ^eunder your belt, take this flask of oil ^fwith you, and go to Ramoth-gilead. ^g2When you get there, look for Jehu ^hson of Jehoshaphat, son of Nimshi. Go in, get him away from his colleagues, and take him to an inner room. ³Then, take the flask of oil, pour it on his head, and say, ‘This is what the Lord says: “I anoint you king over Israel.” ’ ⁱOpen the door and escape. Don’t wait.” ⁴So the young prophet went to Ramoth-gilead.

⁵When he arrived, the army commanders were sitting there, so he said, “I have a message for you, commander.”

Jehu asked, “For which one of us?”

He answered, “For you, commander.”

⁶So Jehu got up and went into the house. The young prophet poured the oil on his head and said, “This is what the Lord God of Israel says: ‘I anoint you king over the Lord’s people, Israel. ⁷You are to strike down the house of your master Ahab so that I may avenge the blood shed by the hand of Jezebel—the blood of My servants the prophets and of all the servants of the Lord. ^j8The whole house of Ahab will perish, and I will eliminate all of Ahab’s males, ^kboth slave and free, in Israel. ^l9I will make the house of Ahab like the house of Jeroboam son of Nebat and like the house of Baasha son of Ahijah. ^m10The dogs will eat Jezebel in the plot of land at Jezreel—no one will bury her.’ ” ⁿThen the young prophet opened the door and escaped.

¹¹When Jehu came out to his master’s servants, they asked, “Is everything all right? Why did this crazy person ^ocome to you?”

Then he said to them, “You know the sort and their ranting.”

¹²But they replied, “That’s a lie! Tell us!”

So Jehu said, “He talked to me about this and that and said, ‘This is what the Lord says: I anoint you king over Israel.’ ”

¹³Each man quickly took his garment and put it under Jehu on the bare steps. ^pqThey blew the ram’s horn ^rand proclaimed, “Jehu is king!” ^s

¹⁴Then Jehu son of Jehoshaphat, son of Nimshi, conspired against Joram. ^tJoram and all Israel had been at Ramoth-gilead on guard against Hazael king of Aram. ¹⁵But King Joram had returned to Jezreel to recover from the wounds that the Arameans had inflicted on him when he fought against Aram’s King Hazael. Jehu said, “If you commanders wish to make me king, then don’t let anyone escape from the city to go tell about it in Jezreel.”

Jehu Kills Joram and Ahaziah

¹⁶Jehu got into his chariot and went to Jezreel since Joram was laid up there and Ahaziah king of Judah had gone down to visit Joram. ¹⁷Now the watchman ^uwas standing on the tower in Jezreel. He saw Jehu’s troops approaching and shouted, “I see troops!”

Joram responded, “Choose a rider and send him to meet them and have him ask, ‘Do you come in peace?’ ” ^v

¹⁸So a horseman went to meet Jehu and said, “This is what the king asks: ‘Do you come in peace?’ ”

Jehu replied, “What do you have to do with peace? ^wFall in behind me.”

The watchman reported, “The messenger reached them but hasn’t started back.”

¹⁹So he sent out a second horseman, who went to them and said, “This is what the king asks: ‘Do you come in peace?’ ”

Jehu answered, “What do you have to do with peace? ^xFall in behind me.”

²⁰Again the watchman reported, “He reached them but hasn’t started back. Also, the driving is like that of Jehu son of Nimshi ^y—he drives like a madman.”

²¹“Harness!” Joram shouted, and they harnessed his chariot. Then Joram king of Israel and Ahaziah king of Judah set out, each in his own chariot, and met Jehu at the plot of land of Naboth the Jezreelite. ^z22When Joram saw Jehu he asked, “Do you come in peace, Jehu?”

He answered, “What peace can there be as long as there is so much prostitution and witchcraft from your mother Jezebel?” ^a

²³Joram turned around and fled, shouting to Ahaziah, “It’s treachery, ^bAhaziah!”

²⁴Then Jehu drew his bow and shot Joram between the shoulders. The arrow went through his heart, and he slumped down in his chariot. ^c25Jehu said to Bidkar his aide, “Pick him up and throw him on the plot of ground belonging to Naboth the Jezreelite. ^dFor remember when you and I were riding side by side behind his father Ahab, and the Lord uttered this oracle against him: ²⁶‘As surely as I saw the blood of Naboth and the blood of his sons yesterday’—this is the Lord’s declaration—‘so will I repay you on this plot of land’—this is the Lord’s declaration. So now, according to the word of the Lord, pick him up and throw him on the plot of land.” ^e

²⁷When King Ahaziah of Judah saw what was happening, he fled up the road toward Beth-haggan. Jehu pursued him, shouting, “Shoot him too!” So they shot him in his chariot ^fat Gur Pass near Ibleam, ^gbut he fled to Megiddo ^hand died there. ⁱ²⁸Then his servants carried him to Jerusalem in a chariot and buried him in his fathers’ tomb in the city of David. ^j29It was in the eleventh year of Joram son of Ahab that Ahaziah had become king over Judah. ^k

Jehu Kills Jezebel

³⁰When Jehu came to Jezreel, Jezebel heard about it, so she painted her eyes, ^ladorned her head, and looked down from the window. ³¹As Jehu entered the gate, she said, “Do you come in peace, Zimri, ^mnkiller of your master?”

³²He looked up toward the window and said, “Who is on my side?…