2 Kings 8–10

Chapter 8

Jehoram Restores the Shunammite’s Land

¹Now ^aElisha spoke to the woman whose son he had restored to life, saying, “Arise and go ¹with your household, and sojourn wherever you can sojourn; for the ^bLord has called for a famine, and ^cit will even come on the land for seven years.”

²So the woman arose and did according to the word of the man of God, and she went with her household and sojourned in the land of the Philistines seven years.

³At the end of seven years, the woman returned from the land of the Philistines; and she went out to ¹appeal to the king for her house and for her field.

⁴Now the king was talking with ^aGehazi, the servant of the man of God, saying, “Please relate to me all the great things that Elisha has done.”

⁵As he was relating to the king ^ahow he had restored to life the one who was dead, behold, the woman whose son he had restored to life ¹appealed to the king for her house and for her field. And Gehazi said, “My lord, O king, this is the woman and this is her son, whom Elisha restored to life.”

⁶When the king asked the woman, she related it to him. So the king appointed for her a certain officer, saying, “Restore all that was hers and all the produce of the field from the day that she left the land even until now.”

Elisha Predicts Evil from Hazael

⁷Then Elisha came to ^aDamascus. Now ^bBen-hadad king of Aram was sick, and it was told him, saying, “^cThe man of God has come here.”

⁸The king said to ^aHazael, “^bTake a gift in your hand and go to meet the man of God, and ^cinquire of the Lord by him, saying, ‘Will I recover from this sickness?’ ”

⁹So Hazael went to meet him and took a gift in his hand, even every kind of good thing of Damascus, forty camels’ loads; and he came and stood before him and said, “^aYour son Ben-hadad king of Aram has sent me to you, saying, ‘Will I recover from this sickness?’ ”

¹⁰Then Elisha said to him, “^aGo, say to him, ‘You will surely recover,’ but the ^bLord has shown me that he will certainly die.”

¹¹He ¹fixed his gaze steadily on him ^auntil he was ashamed, and ^bthe man of God wept.

¹²Hazael said, “Why does my lord weep?” Then he ¹answered, “Because ^aI know the evil that you will do to the sons of Israel: their strongholds you will set on fire, and their young men you will kill with the sword, and their little ones you ^bwill dash in pieces, and their women with child you will rip up.”

¹³Then Hazael said, “But what is your servant, ^awho is but a dog, that he should do this great thing?” And Elisha ¹answered, “^bThe Lord has shown me that you will be king over Aram.”

¹⁴So he departed from Elisha and returned to his master, who said to him, “What did Elisha say to you?” And he ¹answered, “He told me that ^ayou would surely recover.”

¹⁵On the following day, he took the cover and dipped it in water and spread it on his face, ^aso that he died. And Hazael became king in his place.

Another Jehoram Reigns in Judah

¹⁶Now in the fifth year of ^aJoram the son of Ahab king of Israel, Jehoshaphat being then the king of Judah, Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah became king.

¹⁷He was ^athirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem.

¹⁸He walked in the way of the kings of Israel, just as the house of Ahab had done, for ^athe daughter of Ahab became his wife; and he did evil in the sight of the Lord.

¹⁹However, the Lord was not willing to destroy Judah, for the sake of David His servant, ^asince He had ¹promised him to give a ²lamp to him through his sons always.

²⁰In his days ^aEdom revolted from under the hand of Judah, and made a king over themselves.

²¹Then Joram crossed over to Zair, and all his chariots with him. And he arose by night and struck the Edomites who had surrounded him and the captains of the chariots; ^abut his ¹army fled to their tents.

^22aSo Edom revolted ¹against Judah to this day. Then ^bLibnah revolted at the same time.

²³The 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?

Ahaziah Succeeds Jehoram in Judah

²⁴So Joram slept with his fathers and ^awas buried with his fathers in the city of David; and ^bAhaziah his son became king in his place.

^25aIn the twelfth year of Joram the son of Ahab king of Israel, Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah began to reign.

^26aAhaziah was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Athaliah the granddaughter of Omri king of Israel.

^27aHe walked in the way of the house of Ahab and did evil in the sight of the Lord, like the house of Ahab had done, because he was a son-in-law of the house of Ahab.

²⁸Then he went with Joram the son of Ahab to war against ^aHazael king of Aram at ^bRamoth-gilead, and the Arameans ¹wounded Joram.

²⁹So ^aKing Joram returned to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds which the Arameans had ¹inflicted on him at ^bRamah when he fought against Hazael king of Aram. Then ^cAhaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah went down to see Joram the son of Ahab in Jezreel because he was sick.

Chapter 9

¹Now Elisha the prophet called one of ^athe sons of the prophets and said to him, “^bGird up your loins, and ^ctake this flask of oil in your hand and go to ^dRamoth-gilead.

²“When you arrive there, ¹search out ^aJehu the son of Jehoshaphat the son of Nimshi, and go in and ^2bbid him arise from among his brothers, and bring him to an inner room.

³“Then take the flask of oil and pour it on his head and say, ‘Thus says the Lord, “^aI have anointed you king over Israel.” ’ Then open the door and flee and do not wait.”

⁴So ^athe young man, the servant of the prophet, went to Ramoth-gilead.

⁵When he came, behold, the captains of the army were sitting, and he said, “I have a word for you, O captain.” And Jehu said, “¹For which one of us?” And he said, “For you, O captain.”

⁶He arose and went into the house, and he poured the oil on his head and said to him, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘^aI have anointed you king over the people of the Lord, even over Israel.

⁷‘You shall strike the house of Ahab your master, ^athat I may avenge ^bthe blood of My servants the prophets, and the blood of all the servants of the Lord, ^cat the hand of Jezebel.

⁸‘For the whole house of Ahab shall perish, and ^aI will cut off from Ahab ^bevery male person ^cboth bond and free in Israel.

⁹‘^aI will make the house of Ahab like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and ^blike the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah.

¹⁰‘^aThe dogs shall eat Jezebel in the territory of Jezreel, and none shall bury her.’ ” Then he opened the door and fled.

¹¹Now Jehu came out to the servants of his master, and one said to him, “^aIs all well? Why did this ^bmad fellow come to you?” And he said to them, “You know very well the man and his talk.”

¹²They said, “It is a lie, tell us now.” And he said, “Thus and thus he said to me, ‘Thus says the Lord, “I have anointed you king over Israel.” ’ ”

¹³Then ^athey hurried and each man took his garment and placed it under him on the bare steps, and ^bblew the trumpet, saying, “Jehu is king!”

Jehoram (Joram) Is Assassinated

¹⁴So Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat the son of Nimshi conspired against Joram. ^aNow Joram ¹with all Israel was ²defending Ramoth-gilead against Hazael king of Aram,

¹⁵but ^aKing ¹Joram had returned to Jezreel to be healed of the wounds which the Arameans had ²inflicted on him when he fought with Hazael king of Aram. So Jehu said, “If this is your mind, then let no one escape or ³leave the city to go tell it in Jezreel.”

¹⁶Then Jehu rode in a chariot and went to Jezreel, for Joram was lying there. ^aAhaziah king of Judah had come down to see Joram.

¹⁷Now the watchman was standing on the tower in Jezreel and he saw the ¹company of Jehu as he came, and said, “I see a company.” And Joram said, “Take a horseman and send him to meet them and let him say, ‘Is it peace?’ ”

¹⁸So a horseman went to meet him and said, “Thus says the king, ‘Is it peace?’ ” And Jehu said, “^aWhat have you to do with peace? Turn behind me.” And the watchman ¹reported, “The messenger came to them, but he did not return.”

¹⁹Then he sent out a second horseman, who came to them and said, “Thus says the king, ‘Is it peace?’ ” And Jehu ¹answered, “What have you to do with peace? Turn behind me.”

²⁰The watchman ¹reported, “He came even to them, and he did not return; and ^athe driving is like the driving of ^bJehu the son of Nimshi, for he drives furiously.”

²¹Then ¹Joram said, “²Get ready.” And they made his chariot ready. ^aJoram king of Israel and Ahaziah king of Judah went out, each in his chariot, and they went out to meet Jehu and found him in the ^3bproperty of Naboth the Jezreelite.

²²When ¹Joram saw Jehu, he said, “Is it peace, Jehu?” And he ²answered, “What peace, ^aso long as the harlotries of your mother Jezebel and her witchcrafts are so many?”

²³So ¹Joram ²reined about and fled and said to Ahaziah, “^aThere is treachery, O Ahaziah!”

²⁴And ^aJehu ¹drew his bow with his full strength and ²shot ³Joram between his arms; and the arrow went ⁴through his heart and he sank in his chariot.

²⁵Then Jehu said to Bidkar his officer, “Take him up and ^acast him into the ¹property of the field of Naboth the Jezreelite, for I remember when ²you and I were riding together after Ahab his father, that the ^bLord laid this ^coracle against him:

²⁶‘Surely ^aI have seen yesterday the blood of Naboth and the blood of his sons,’ says the Lord, ‘and ^bI will repay you in this ¹property,’ says the Lord. Now then, take and cast him into the property, according to the word of the Lord.”

Jehu Assassinates Ahaziah

^27aWhen Ahaziah the king of Judah saw this, he fled by the way of the garden house. And Jehu pursued him and said, “¹Shoot him too, in the chariot.” So they shot him at the ascent of Gur, which is at ^bIbleam. But he fled to Megiddo and died there.

^28aThen his servants carried him in a chariot to Jerusalem and buried him in his grave with his fathers in the city of David.

²⁹Now in ^athe eleventh year of Joram, the son…