2 Kings 8–10

The Woman from Shunem Gets Her Land Back

8Elisha had brought a woman’s son back to life. He had said to her, “Go away with your family. Stay for a while anywhere you can. The Lord has decided that there won’t be enough food in the land. That will be true for seven years.”

²The woman did just as the man of God told her to. She and her family went away. They stayed in the land of the Philistines for seven years.

³The seven years passed. Then she came back from the land of the Philistines. She went to the king of Israel. She wanted to beg him to get her house and land back.

⁴The king was talking to Gehazi. Gehazi was the servant of the man of God. The king had said, “Tell me about all of the great things Elisha has done.” ⁵Gehazi was telling the king how Elisha had brought a dead boy back to life. Just then the woman came to beg the king to get her house and land back. She was the woman whose son Elisha had brought back to life.

Gehazi said, “King Joram, this is the woman I’ve been telling you about. And this is her son. He’s the one Elisha brought back to life.” ⁶The king asked the woman about her house and land. And she told him.

Then he appointed an official to look into her case. The king told him, “Give her back everything that belonged to her. That includes all of the money that was earned from her land. It was earned from the day she left the country until now.”

Hazael Murders Ben-Hadad

⁷Elisha went to Damascus. Ben-Hadad was sick. He was king of Aram. The king was told, “The man of God has come all the way up here.”

⁸Then the king said to Hazael, “Take a gift with you. Go and see the man of God. Ask him for the Lord’s advice. Ask him whether I will get well again.”

⁹Hazael went to see Elisha. He took 40 camels with him as a gift. The camels were loaded with all of the finest goods of Damascus. Hazael went into Elisha’s house and stood in front of him. He said, “Ben-Hadad has sent me. He is the king of Aram. He asks, ‘Will I get well again?’ ”

¹⁰Elisha answered, “Go and speak to him. Tell him, ‘Yes. You will get well again.’ But the Lord has shown me that he will in fact die.”

¹¹Elisha stared at him without looking away. He did it until Hazael felt ashamed. Then the man of God began to sob.

¹²“Why are you sobbing?” asked Hazael.

“Because I know how much harm you will do to the people of Israel,” he answered. “You will set fire to their cities that have high walls around them. You will kill their young men with your sword. You will smash their little children on the ground. You will rip open their pregnant women.”

¹³Hazael said, “How could I possibly do a thing like that? I’m nothing but a dog. I don’t have that kind of power.”

“You will become king of Aram,” Elisha answered. “That’s what the Lord has shown me.”

¹⁴Then Hazael left Elisha. He returned to his master. Ben-Hadad asked, “What did Elisha say to you?”

Hazael replied, “He told me you would get well again.”

¹⁵But the next day Hazael got a thick cloth. He soaked it in water. He spread it over the king’s face. He held it there until the king died. Then Hazael became the next king after him.

Jehoram Becomes King of Judah

¹⁶Jehoram began to rule as king over Judah. It was in the fifth year that Joram was king of Israel. Joram was the son of Ahab. Jehoram was the son of Jehoshaphat. ¹⁷Jehoram was 32 years old when he became king. He ruled in Jerusalem for eight years.

¹⁸He followed the ways of the kings of Israel, just as the royal family of Ahab had done. In fact, he got married to a daughter of Ahab. Jehoram did what was evil in the sight of the Lord.

¹⁹But the Lord didn’t want to destroy Judah. That’s because the Lord had made a covenant with his servant David. He had promised to keep the lamp of David’s kingdom burning brightly for him and his children after him forever.

²⁰When Jehoram was king over Judah, Edom refused to remain under Judah’s control. They set up their own king. ²¹So Jehoram went to Zair. He took all of his chariots with him. The men of Edom surrounded him and his chariot commanders. He got up at night and fought his way out. But his army ran back home.

²²To this very day Edom has refused to remain under Judah’s control. At that same time, Libnah also refused to remain under the control of Judah.

²³The other events of Jehoram’s rule are written down. Everything he did is written down. All of those things are written in the official records of the kings of Judah.

²⁴Jehoram joined the members of his family who had already died. His body was buried in the family tomb in the City of David. His son Ahaziah became the next king after him.

Ahaziah Becomes King of Judah

²⁵Ahaziah began to rule as king over Judah. It was in the 12th year that Joram was king of Israel. Joram was the son of Ahab. Ahaziah was the son of Jehoram. ²⁶Ahaziah was 22 years old when he became king. He ruled in Jerusalem for one year. His mother’s name was Athaliah. She was a granddaughter of Omri. Omri had been the king of Israel.

²⁷Ahaziah followed the ways of the royal family of Ahab. Ahaziah did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, just as the family of Ahab had done. That’s because he had married into Ahab’s family.

²⁸Ahaziah joined forces with Joram. They went to war against Hazael at Ramoth Gilead. Joram was the son of Ahab. Hazael was king of Aram. The soldiers of Aram wounded King Joram. ²⁹So he returned to Jezreel to give his wounds time to heal. The soldiers of Aram had wounded him at Ramoth in his battle against Hazael, the king of Aram.

Ahaziah, the son of Jehoram, went down to Jezreel. He went there to see Joram. That’s because Joram had been wounded. Ahaziah was king of Judah. Joram was the son of Ahab.

Jehu Is Anointed as King of Israel

9The prophet Elisha sent for a man from the company of the prophets. Elisha said to him, “Tuck your coat into your belt. Take this bottle of olive oil with you. Go to Ramoth Gilead.

²“When you get there, look for Jehu. He’s the son of Jehoshaphat, the son of Nimshi. Go to him. Get him away from his companions. Take him into an inside room. ³Then get the bottle. Pour the oil on his head. Announce to him, ‘The Lord says, “I anoint you as king over Israel.” ’ After that, open the door and run away. Do it quickly!”

⁴So the young prophet went to Ramoth Gilead. ⁵When he arrived, he found the army officers sitting together. “Commander, I have a message for you,” he said.

“For which one of us?” asked Jehu.

“For you, commander,” he replied.

⁶Jehu got up and went into the house. Then the prophet poured the oil on Jehu’s head. He announced, “The Lord is the God of Israel. He says, ‘I am anointing you as king over my people Israel. ⁷You must destroy the royal house of your master Ahab. I will pay them back for spilling the blood of my servants the prophets. I will also pay them back for the blood of all of my servants that Jezebel spilled. ⁸The whole house of Ahab will die out. I will cut off every male in Israel who is related to Ahab. It does not matter whether they are slaves or free.

⁹“ ‘I will make Ahab’s royal house like the house of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat. I will make it like the house of Baasha, the son of Ahijah. ¹⁰Dogs will eat up Jezebel on a piece of land at Jezreel. No one will bury her.’ ” Then the prophet opened the door and ran away.

¹¹Jehu went out to where the other officers were. One of them asked him, “Is everything all right? Why did that crazy man come to you?”

“You know the man. You know the kinds of things he says,” Jehu replied.

¹²“That’s not true!” they said. “Tell us.”

Jehu said, “Here is what he told me. He announced, ‘The Lord says, “I am anointing you as king over Israel.” ’ ”

¹³The officers quickly grabbed their coats. They spread them out under Jehu on the bare steps of the house. Then they blew a trumpet. They shouted, “Jehu is king!”

Jehu Kills Joram and Ahaziah

¹⁴Jehu was the son of Jehoshaphat, the son of Nimshi. Jehu made plans against Joram. During that time Joram and Israel’s whole army had been guarding Ramoth Gilead. They had been guarding it against Hazael, the king of Aram.

¹⁵But King Joram had returned to Jezreel. He had gone there to give his wounds time to heal. The soldiers of Aram had wounded him in his battle against Hazael, the king of Aram.

Jehu said to his men, “Are you really on my side? If you are, don’t let anyone sneak out of the city. Don’t let them go and tell the news in Jezreel.” ¹⁶Then Jehu got into his chariot. He rode off to Jezreel. Joram was resting there. And Ahaziah, the king of Judah, had gone down to see him.

¹⁷A lookout was standing on the roof of the tower in Jezreel. He saw Jehu’s troops approaching. So he called out, “I see some troops coming.”

“Get a horseman,” Joram ordered. “Send him to ride out to them. Have him ask, ‘Are you coming in peace?’ ”

¹⁸The horseman rode out to where Jehu was. He said, “The king asks, ‘Are you coming in peace?’ ”

“What do you know about peace?” Jehu answered. “Get in line behind me.”

The lookout reported, “The messenger has reached them. But he isn’t coming back.”

¹⁹So the king sent out a second horseman. When he came to them, he told them, “The king asks, ‘Are you coming in peace?’ ”

Jehu replied, “What do you know about peace? Get in line behind me.”

²⁰The lookout reported, “The second messenger has reached them. But he isn’t coming back either. The one driving the chariot drives like Jehu, the son of Nimshi. He’s driving like a crazy man.”

²¹“Get my chariot ready,” King Joram ordered. When it was ready, he rode out. Ahaziah, the king of Judah, rode out with him. Each of them was in his own chariot. They both went to meet Jehu. They met him at the piece of land that had belonged to Naboth from Jezreel.

²²When Joram saw Jehu he asked, “Have you come here in peace, Jehu?”

“Your mother Jezebel worships statues of gods,” Jehu replied. “She also worships evil powers. The evil things she does have spread everywhere. As long as all of that goes on, how can there be peace?”

²³Joram turned around and tried to get away. He called out…