2 Raja-raja 1:2

1:2 Ahaziah fell through a window lattice in his upper chamber in Samaria ¹  and was injured. He sent messengers with these orders, ²  “Go, ask ³  Baal Zebub, ⁴  the god of Ekron, if I will survive this injury.”

2 Raja-raja 1:17

1:17 He died just as the Lord had prophesied through Elijah. ⁵  In the second year of the reign of King Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat over Judah, Ahaziah’s brother Jehoram replaced him as king of Israel, because he had no son. ⁶ 

2 Raja-raja 2:16

2:16 They said to him, “Look, there are fifty capable men with your servants. Let them go and look for your master, for the wind sent from the Lord ⁷  may have carried him away and dropped him on one of the hills or in one of the valleys.” But Elisha ⁸  replied, “Don’t send them out.”

2 Raja-raja 3:25

3:25 They tore down the cities and each man threw a stone into every cultivated field until they were covered. ⁹  They stopped up every spring and chopped down every productive tree.

Only Kir Hareseth was left intact, ¹⁰  but the slingers surrounded it and attacked it.

2 Raja-raja 4:27

4:27 But when she reached the prophet on the mountain, she grabbed hold of his feet. Gehazi came near to push her away, but the prophet said, “Leave her alone, for she is very upset. ¹¹  The Lord has kept the matter hidden from me; he didn’t tell me about it.”

2 Raja-raja 4:38

Elisha Makes a Meal Edible

4:38 Now Elisha went back to Gilgal, while there was famine in the land. Some of the prophets were visiting him ¹²  and he told his servant, “Put the big pot on the fire ¹³  and boil some stew for the prophets.” ¹⁴ 

2 Raja-raja 5:7

5:7 When the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes and said, “Am I God? Can I kill or restore life? Why does he ask me to cure a man of his skin disease? ¹⁵  Certainly you must see that he is looking for an excuse to fight me!” ¹⁶ 

2 Raja-raja 5:15

5:15 He and his entire entourage returned to the prophet. Naaman ¹⁷  came and stood before him. He said, “For sure ¹⁸  I know that there is no God in all the earth except in Israel! Now, please accept a gift from your servant.”

2 Raja-raja 8:5

8:5 While Gehazi ¹⁹  was telling the king how Elisha ²⁰  had brought the dead back to life, the woman whose son he had brought back to life came to ask the king for her house and field. ²¹  Gehazi said, “My master, O king, this is the very woman and this is her son whom Elisha brought back to life!”

2 Raja-raja 8:12

8:12 Hazael asked, “Why are you crying, my master?” He replied, “Because I know the trouble you will cause the Israelites. You will set fire to their fortresses, kill their young men with the sword, smash their children to bits, and rip open their pregnant women.”

2 Raja-raja 9:14

9:14 Then Jehu son of Jehoshaphat son of Nimshi conspired against Joram.

Jehu the Assassin

Now Joram had been in Ramoth Gilead with the whole Israelite army, ²²  guarding against an invasion by King Hazael of Syria.

2 Raja-raja 9:18

9:18 So the horseman ²³  went to meet him and said, “This is what the king says, ‘Is everything all right?’” ²⁴  Jehu replied, “None of your business! ²⁵  Follow me.” The watchman reported, “The messenger reached them, but hasn’t started back.”

2 Raja-raja 9:21

9:21 Jehoram ordered, “Hitch up my chariot.” ²⁶  When his chariot had been hitched up, ²⁷  King Jehoram of Israel and King Ahaziah of Judah went out in their respective chariots ²⁸  to meet Jehu. They met up with him ²⁹  in the plot of land that had once belonged to Naboth of Jezreel.

2 Raja-raja 10:5

10:5 So the palace supervisor, ³⁰  the city commissioner, ³¹  the leaders, ³²  and the guardians sent this message to Jehu, “We are your subjects! ³³  Whatever you say, we will do. We will not make anyone king. Do what you consider proper.” ³⁴ 

2 Raja-raja 11:4

11:4 In the seventh year Jehoiada summoned ³⁵  the officers of the units of hundreds of the Carians ³⁶  and the royal bodyguard. ³⁷  He met with them ³⁸  in the Lord’s temple. He made an agreement ³⁹  with them and made them swear an oath of allegiance in the Lord’s temple. Then he showed them the king’s son.

2 Raja-raja 11:12

11:12 Jehoiada ⁴⁰  led out the king’s son and placed on him the crown and the royal insignia. ⁴¹  They proclaimed him king and poured olive oil on his head. ⁴²  They clapped their hands and cried out, “Long live the king!”

2 Raja-raja 18:22

18:22 Perhaps you will tell me, ‘We are trusting in the Lord our God.’ But Hezekiah is the one who eliminated his high places and altars and then told the people of Judah and Jerusalem, ‘You must worship at this altar in Jerusalem.’

2 Raja-raja 19:23

19:23 Through your messengers you taunted the sovereign master, ⁴³ 

‘With my many chariots ⁴⁴ 

I climbed up the high mountains,

the slopes of Lebanon.

I cut down its tall cedars,

and its best evergreens.

I invaded its most remote regions, ⁴⁵ 

its thickest woods.

2 Raja-raja 19:25

19:25 ⁴⁶ Certainly you must have heard! ⁴⁷ 

Long ago I worked it out,

In ancient times I planned ⁴⁸  it;

and now I am bringing it to pass.

The plan is this:

Fortified cities will crash

into heaps of ruins. ⁴⁹ 

2 Raja-raja 19:32

19:32 So this is what the Lord says about the king of Assyria:

“He will not enter this city,

nor will he shoot an arrow here. ⁵⁰ 

He will not attack it with his shield-carrying warriors, ⁵¹ 

nor will he build siege works against it.

2 Raja-raja 20:13

20:13 Hezekiah welcomed ⁵²  them and showed them his whole storehouse, with its silver, gold, spices, and high quality olive oil, as well as his armory and everything in his treasuries. Hezekiah showed them everything in his palace and in his whole kingdom. ⁵³ 

2 Raja-raja 21:6

21:6 He passed his son ⁵⁴  through the fire ⁵⁵  and practiced divination and omen reading. He set up a ritual pit to conjure up underworld spirits, and appointed magicians to supervise it. ⁵⁶  He did a great amount of evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking him to anger. ⁵⁷ 

2 Raja-raja 22:13

22:13 “Go, seek an oracle from ⁵⁸  the Lord for me and the people – for all Judah. Find out about ⁵⁹  the words of this scroll that has been discovered. For the Lord’s fury has been ignited against us, ⁶⁰  because our ancestors have not obeyed the words of this scroll by doing all that it instructs us to do.” ⁶¹ 

2 Raja-raja 23:5

23:5 He eliminated ⁶²  the pagan priests whom the kings of Judah had appointed to offer sacrifices ⁶³  on the high places in the cities of Judah and in the area right around Jerusalem. (They offered sacrifices ⁶⁴  to Baal, the sun god, the moon god, the constellations, and all the stars in the sky.)

2 Raja-raja 25:1

25:1 So King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came against Jerusalem with his whole army and set up camp outside ⁶⁵  it. They built siege ramps all around it. He arrived on the tenth day of the tenth month in the ninth year of Zedekiah’s reign. ⁶⁶ 

[1:2]  ¹ map For location see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.

[1:2]  ² tn Heb “and he sent messengers and said to them.”

[1:2]  ³ tn That is, “seek an oracle from.”

[1:2]  ⁴ sn Apparently Baal Zebub refers to a local manifestation of the god Baal at the Philistine city of Ekron. The name appears to mean “Lord of the Flies,” but it may be a deliberate scribal corruption of Baal Zebul, “Baal, the Prince,” a title known from the Ugaritic texts. For further discussion and bibliography, see HALOT 261 s.v. זְבוּב בַּעַל and M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 25.

[1:17]  ⁵ tn Heb “according to the word of the Lord which he spoke through Elijah.”

[1:17]  ⁶ tn Heb “Jehoram replaced him as king…because he had no son.” Some ancient textual witnesses add “his brother,” which was likely added on the basis of the statement later in the verse that Ahaziah had no son.

[2:16]  ⁷ tn Or “the spirit of the Lord.”

[2:16]  ⁸ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elisha) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[3:25]  ⁹ tn Heb “and [on] every good portion they were throwing each man his stone and they filled it.” The vav + perfect (“and they filled”) here indicates customary action contemporary with the situation described in the preceding main clause (where a customary imperfect is used, “they were throwing”). See the note at 3:4.

[3:25]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “until he had allowed its stones to remain in Kir Hareseth.”

[4:27]  ¹¹ tn Heb “her soul [i.e., ‘disposition’] is bitter.”

[4:38]  ¹² tn Heb “the sons of the prophets were sitting before him.”

[4:38]  ¹³ tn The words “the fire” are added for clarification.

[4:38]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “sons of the prophets.”

[5:7]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “Am I God, killing and restoring life, that this one sends to me to cure a man from his skin disease?” In the Hebrew text this is one lengthy rhetorical question, which has been divided up in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[5:7]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “Indeed, know and see that he is seeking an occasion with respect to me.”

[5:15]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Naaman) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[5:15]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “look.”

[8:5]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Gehazi) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:5]  ²⁰ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elisha) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:5]  ²¹ tn Heb “and look, the woman whose son he had brought back to life was crying out to the king for her house and her field.”

[8:5]  sn The legal background of the situation is uncertain. For a discussion of possibilities, see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 87-88.

[9:14]  ²² tn Heb “he and all Israel.”

[9:18]  ²³ tn Heb “the rider of the horse.”

[9:18]  ²⁴ tn Heb “Is there peace?”

[9:18]  ²⁵ tn Heb “What concerning you and concerning peace?” That is, “What concern is that to you?”

[9:21]  ²⁶ tn The words “my chariot” are added for clarification.

[9:21]  ²⁷ tn Heb “and he hitched up his chariot.”

[9:21]  ²⁸ tn Heb “each in his chariot and they went out.”

[9:21]  ²⁹ tn Heb “they found him.”

[10:5]  ³⁰ tn Heb “the one who was over the house.”

[10:5]  ³¹ tn Heb “the one who was over the city.”

[10:5]  ³² tn Or “elders.”

[10:5]  ³³ tn Heb “servants.”

[10:5]  ³⁴ tn Heb “Do what is good in your eyes.”

[11:4]  ³⁵ tn Heb “Jehoiada sent and took.”

[11:4]  ³⁶ sn The Carians were apparently a bodyguard, probably comprised of foreigners. See HALOT 497 s.v. כָּרִי and M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 126.

[11:4]  ³⁷ tn Heb “the runners.”

[11:4]  ³⁸ tn Heb “he brought them to himself.”

[11:4]  ³⁹ tn Or “covenant.”

[11:12]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jehoiada) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[11:12]  ⁴¹ tn The Hebrew term עֵדוּת (’edut) normally means “witness” or “testimony.” Here it probably refers to some tangible symbol of kingship, perhaps a piece of jewelry such as an amulet or neck chain. See the discussion in M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 128. Some suggest that a document is in view, perhaps a copy of the royal protocol or of the stipulations of the Davidic covenant. See HALOT 790-91 s.v. עֵדוּת.

[11:12]  ⁴² tn Or “they made him king and anointed him.”

[19:23]  ⁴³ tn The word is אֲדֹנָי (’adonai), “lord,” but some Hebrew mss have יְהוָה (yehvah), “Lord.”

[19:23]  ⁴⁴ tc The consonantal text (Kethib) has בְּרֶכֶב (bÿrekhev), but this must be dittographic (note the following רִכְבִּי [rikhbi], “my chariots”). The marginal reading (Qere) בְּרֹב (bÿrov), “with many,” is supported by many Hebrew mss and ancient versions, as well as the parallel passage in Isa 37:24.

[19:23]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “the lodging place of its extremity.”

[19:25]  ⁴⁶ tn Having quoted the Assyrian king’s arrogant words in vv. 23-24, the Lord now speaks to the king.

[19:25]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “Have you not heard?” The rhetorical question expresses the Lord’s amazement that anyone might be ignorant of what he is about to say.

[19:25]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “formed.”

[19:25]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “and it is to cause to crash into heaps of ruins fortified cities.” The subject of the third feminine singular verb תְּהִי (tÿhi) is the implied plan, referred to in the preceding lines with third feminine singular pronominal suffixes.

[19:32]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “there.”

[19:32]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “[with] a shield.” By metonymy the “shield” stands for the soldier who carries it.

[20:13]  ⁵² tc Heb “listened to.” Some Hebrew mss, as well as the LXX, Syriac, and Vulgate versions agree with the parallel passage in Isa 39:2 and read, “was happy with.”

[20:13]  ⁵³ tn Heb “there was nothing which Hezekiah did not show them in his house and in all his kingdom.”

[21:6]  ⁵⁴ tc The LXX has the plural “his sons” here.

[21:6]  ⁵⁵ sn See the note at 2 Kgs 16:3.

[21:6]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “and he set up a ritual pit, along with conjurers.” The Hebrew אוֹב (’ov), “ritual pit,” refers to a pit used by a magician to conjure up underworld spirits. In 1 Sam 28:7 the witch of Endor is called a בַעֲלַת אוֹב (ba’alat ’ov), “owner of a ritual pit.” See H. Hoffner, “Second millennium Antecedents to the Hebrew ’OñBù,” JBL 86 (1967), 385-401.

[21:6]  ⁵⁷ tc Heb “and he multiplied doing what is evil in the eyes of the Lord, angering.” The third masculine singular pronominal suffix (“him”) has been accidentally omitted in the MT by haplography (note the vav that immediately follows).

[22:13]  ⁵⁸ tn Or “inquire of.”

[22:13]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “concerning.”

[22:13]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb “for great is the anger of the Lord which has been ignited against us.”

[22:13]  ⁶¹ tn Heb “by doing all that is written concerning us.” Perhaps עָלֵינוּ (’alenu), “concerning us,” should be altered to עָלָיו (’alav), “upon it,” in which case one could translate, “by doing all that is written in it.”

[23:5]  ⁶² tn Perhaps, “destroyed.”

[23:5]  ⁶³ tn Or “burn incense.”

[23:5]  ⁶⁴ tn Or “burned incense.”

[25:1]  ⁶⁵ tn Or “against.”

[25:1]  ⁶⁶ sn This would have been Jan 15, 588 b.c. The reckoning is based on the calendar that begins the year in the spring (Nisan = March/April).