2 Raja-raja 18:1--20:21
Konteks18:1 In the third year of the reign of Israel’s King Hoshea son of Elah, Ahaz’s son Hezekiah became king over Judah. 18:2 He was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. 1 His mother 2 was Abi, 3 the daughter of Zechariah. 18:3 He did what the Lord approved, just as his ancestor David had done. 4 18:4 He eliminated the high places, smashed the sacred pillars to bits, and cut down the Asherah pole. 5 He also demolished the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for up to that time 6 the Israelites had been offering incense to it; it was called Nehushtan. 7 18:5 He trusted in the Lord God of Israel; in this regard there was none like him among the kings of Judah either before or after. 8 18:6 He was loyal to 9 the Lord and did not abandon him. 10 He obeyed the commandments which the Lord had given to 11 Moses. 18:7 The Lord was with him; he succeeded in all his endeavors. 12 He rebelled against the king of Assyria and refused to submit to him. 13 18:8 He defeated the Philistines as far as Gaza and its territory, from the watchtower to the city fortress. 14
18:9 In the fourth year of King Hezekiah’s reign (it was the seventh year of the reign of Israel’s King Hoshea, son of Elah), King Shalmaneser of Assyria marched 15 up against Samaria 16 and besieged it. 18:10 After three years he captured it (in the sixth year of Hezekiah’s reign); in the ninth year of King Hoshea’s reign over Israel Samaria was captured. 18:11 The king of Assyria deported the people of Israel 17 to Assyria. He settled them in Halah, along the Habor (the river of Gozan), and in the cities of the Medes. 18:12 This happened because they did not obey 18 the Lord their God and broke his agreement with them. 19 They did not pay attention to and obey all that Moses, the Lord’s servant, had commanded. 20
18:13 In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah’s reign, King Sennacherib of Assyria marched up against all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them. 18:14 King Hezekiah of Judah sent this message to the king of Assyria, who was at Lachish, “I have violated our treaty. 21 If you leave, I will do whatever you demand.” 22 So the king of Assyria demanded that King Hezekiah of Judah pay three hundred talents 23 of silver and thirty talents of gold. 18:15 Hezekiah gave him all the silver in 24 the Lord’s temple and in the treasuries of the royal palace. 18:16 At that time King Hezekiah of Judah stripped the metal overlays from the doors of the Lord’s temple and from the posts which he had plated 25 and gave them to the king of Assyria.
18:17 The king of Assyria sent his commanding general, the chief eunuch, and the chief adviser 26 from Lachish to King Hezekiah in Jerusalem, 27 along with a large army. They went up and arrived at Jerusalem. They went 28 and stood at the conduit of the upper pool which is located on the road to the field where they wash and dry cloth. 29 18:18 They summoned the king, so Eliakim son of Hilkiah, the palace supervisor, accompanied by Shebna the scribe and Joah son of Asaph, the secretary, went out to meet them.
18:19 The chief adviser said to them, “Tell Hezekiah: ‘This is what the great king, the king of Assyria, says: “What is your source of confidence? 30 18:20 Your claim to have a strategy and military strength is just empty talk. 31 In whom are you trusting that you would dare to rebel against me? 18:21 Now look, you must be trusting in Egypt, that splintered reed staff. If a man leans for support on it, it punctures his hand and wounds him. That is what Pharaoh king of Egypt does to all who trust in him. 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.’ 18:23 Now make a deal 32 with my master the king of Assyria, and I will give you two thousand horses, provided you can find enough riders for them. 18:24 Certainly you will not refuse one of my master’s minor officials and trust in Egypt for chariots and horsemen. 33 18:25 Furthermore it was by the command of the Lord that I marched up against this place to destroy it. The Lord told me, ‘March 34 up against this land and destroy it.’”’” 35
18:26 Eliakim son of Hilkiah, Shebna, and Joah said to the chief adviser, “Speak to your servants in Aramaic, 36 for we understand it. Don’t speak with us in the Judahite dialect 37 in the hearing of the people who are on the wall.” 18:27 But the chief adviser said to them, “My master did not send me to speak these words only to your master and to you. 38 His message is also for the men who sit on the wall, for they will eat their own excrement and drink their own urine along with you.” 39
18:28 The chief adviser then stood there and called out loudly in the Judahite dialect, 40 “Listen to the message of the great king, the king of Assyria. 18:29 This is what the king says: ‘Don’t let Hezekiah mislead you, for he is not able to rescue you from my hand! 41 18:30 Don’t let Hezekiah talk you into trusting in the Lord when he says, “The Lord will certainly rescue us; this city will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.” 18:31 Don’t listen to Hezekiah!’ For this is what the king of Assyria says, ‘Send me a token of your submission and surrender to me. 42 Then each of you may eat from his own vine and fig tree and drink water from his own cistern, 18:32 until I come and take you to a land just like your own – a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olive trees and honey. Then you will live and not die. Don’t listen to Hezekiah, for he is misleading you when he says, “The Lord will rescue us.” 18:33 Have any of the gods of the nations actually rescued his land from the power of the king of Assyria? 43 18:34 Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah? 44 Indeed, did any gods rescue Samaria 45 from my power? 46 18:35 Who among all the gods of the lands has rescued their lands from my power? So how can the Lord rescue Jerusalem from my power?’” 47 18:36 The people were silent and did not respond, for the king had ordered, “Don’t respond to him.”
18:37 Eliakim son of Hilkiah, the palace supervisor, accompanied by Shebna the scribe and Joah son of Asaph, the secretary, went to Hezekiah with their clothes torn 48 and reported to him what the chief adviser had said. 19:1 When King Hezekiah heard this, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth, and went to the Lord’s temple. 19:2 He sent Eliakim the palace supervisor, Shebna the scribe, and the leading priests, 49 clothed in sackcloth, with this message to the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz: 19:3 “This is what Hezekiah says: 50 ‘This is a day of distress, insults, 51 and humiliation, 52 as when a baby is ready to leave the birth canal, but the mother lacks the strength to push it through. 53 19:4 Perhaps the Lord your God will hear all these things the chief adviser has spoken on behalf of his master, the king of Assyria, who sent him to taunt the living God. 54 When the Lord your God hears, perhaps he will punish him for the things he has said. 55 So pray for this remnant that remains.’” 56
19:5 When King Hezekiah’s servants came to Isaiah, 19:6 Isaiah said to them, “Tell your master this: ‘This is what the Lord says: “Don’t be afraid because of the things you have heard – these insults the king of Assyria’s servants have hurled against me. 57 19:7 Look, I will take control of his mind; 58 he will receive 59 a report and return to his own land. I will cut him down 60 with a sword in his own land.”’”
19:8 When the chief adviser heard the king of Assyria had departed from Lachish, he left and went to Libnah, where the king was campaigning. 61 19:9 The king 62 heard that King Tirhakah of Ethiopia was marching out to fight him. 63 He again sent messengers to Hezekiah, ordering them: 19:10 “Tell King Hezekiah of Judah this: ‘Don’t let your God in whom you trust mislead you when he says, “Jerusalem will not be handed over 64 to the king of Assyria.” 19:11 Certainly you have heard how the kings of Assyria have annihilated all lands. 65 Do you really think you will be rescued? 66 19:12 Were the nations whom my ancestors destroyed – the nations of Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the people of Eden in Telassar – rescued by their gods? 67 19:13 Where are the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, and the king of Lair, 68 Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah?’”
19:14 Hezekiah took the letter 69 from the messengers and read it. 70 Then Hezekiah went up to the Lord’s temple and spread it out before the Lord. 19:15 Hezekiah prayed before the Lord: “Lord God of Israel, who is enthroned on the cherubs! 71 You alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You made the sky 72 and the earth. 19:16 Pay attention, Lord, and hear! Open your eyes, Lord, and observe! Listen to the message Sennacherib sent and how he taunts the living God! 73 19:17 It is true, Lord, that the kings of Assyria have destroyed the nations and their lands. 19:18 They have burned the gods of the nations, 74 for they are not really gods, but only the product of human hands manufactured from wood and stone. That is why the Assyrians could destroy them. 75 19:19 Now, O Lord our God, rescue us from his power, so that all the kingdoms of the earth will know that you, Lord, are the only God.”
19:20 Isaiah son of Amoz sent this message to Hezekiah: “This is what the Lord God of Israel says: ‘I have heard your prayer concerning King Sennacherib of Assyria. 76 19:21 This is what the Lord says about him: 77
“The virgin daughter Zion 78
despises you, she makes fun of you;
Daughter Jerusalem
shakes her head after you. 79
19:22 Whom have you taunted and hurled insults at?
At whom have you shouted, 80
and looked so arrogantly? 81
At the Holy One of Israel! 82
19:23 Through your messengers you taunted the sovereign master, 83
‘With my many chariots 84
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, 85
its thickest woods.
19:24 I dug wells and drank
water in foreign lands. 86
With the soles of my feet I dried up
all the rivers of Egypt.’
19:25 87 Certainly you must have heard! 88
Long ago I worked it out,
In ancient times I planned 89 it;
and now I am bringing it to pass.
The plan is this:
Fortified cities will crash
into heaps of ruins. 90
19:26 Their residents are powerless, 91
they are terrified and ashamed.
They are as short-lived as plants in the field,
or green vegetation. 92
They are as short-lived as grass on the rooftops 93
when it is scorched by the east wind. 94
19:27 I know where you live,
and everything you do. 95
19:28 Because you rage against me,
and the uproar you create has reached my ears; 96
I will put my hook in your nose, 97
and my bridle between your lips,
and I will lead you back the way
you came.”
19:29 98 This will be your confirmation that I have spoken the truth: 99 This year you will eat what grows wild, 100 and next year 101 what grows on its own from that. But in the third year you will plant seed and harvest crops; you will plant vines and consume their produce. 102 19:30 Those who remain in Judah will take root in the ground and bear fruit. 103
19:31 For a remnant will leave Jerusalem;
survivors will come out of Mount Zion.
The intense devotion of the sovereign Lord 104 to his people 105 will accomplish this.
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. 106
He will not attack it with his shield-carrying warriors, 107
nor will he build siege works against it.
19:33 He will go back the way he came.
He will not enter this city,” says the Lord.
19:34 I will shield this city and rescue it for the sake of my reputation and because of my promise to David my servant.’” 108
19:35 That very night the Lord’s messenger went out and killed 185,000 men in the Assyrian camp. When they 109 got up early the next morning, there were all the corpses. 110 19:36 So King Sennacherib of Assyria broke camp and went on his way. He went home and stayed in Nineveh. 111 19:37 One day, 112 as he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch, 113 his sons 114 Adrammelech and Sharezer struck him down with the sword. 115 They escaped to the land of Ararat; his son Esarhaddon replaced him as king.
20:1 In those days Hezekiah was stricken with a terminal illness. 116 The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz visited him and told him, “This is what the Lord says, ‘Give your household instructions, for you are about to die; you will not get well.’” 117 20:2 He turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, 20:3 “Please, Lord. Remember how I have served you 118 faithfully and with wholehearted devotion, 119 and how I have carried out your will.” 120 Then Hezekiah wept bitterly. 121
20:4 Isaiah was still in the middle courtyard when the Lord told him, 122 20:5 “Go back and tell Hezekiah, the leader of my people: ‘This is what the Lord God of your ancestor David says: “I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Look, I will heal you. The day after tomorrow 123 you will go up to the Lord’s temple. 20:6 I will add fifteen years to your life and rescue you and this city from the king of Assyria. I will shield this city for the sake of my reputation and because of my promise to David my servant.”’” 124 20:7 Isaiah ordered, “Get a fig cake.” So they did as he ordered 125 and placed it on the ulcerated sore, and he recovered. 126
20:8 Hezekiah had said to Isaiah, “What is the confirming sign that the Lord will heal me and that I will go up to the Lord’s temple the day after tomorrow?” 20:9 Isaiah replied, “This is your sign from the Lord confirming that the Lord will do what he has said. Do you want the shadow to move ahead ten steps or to go back ten steps?” 127 20:10 Hezekiah answered, “It is easy for the shadow to lengthen ten steps, but not for it 128 to go back ten steps.” 20:11 Isaiah the prophet called out to the Lord, and the Lord 129 made the shadow go back ten steps on the stairs of Ahaz. 130
20:12 At that time Merodach-Baladan 131 son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a gift to Hezekiah, for he had heard that Hezekiah was ill. 20:13 Hezekiah welcomed 132 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. 133 20:14 Isaiah the prophet visited King Hezekiah and asked him, “What did these men say? Where do they come from?” Hezekiah replied, “They come from the distant land of Babylon.” 20:15 Isaiah 134 asked, “What have they seen in your palace?” Hezekiah replied, “They have seen everything in my palace. I showed them everything 135 in my treasuries.” 20:16 Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Listen to the word of the Lord, 20:17 ‘Look, a time is 136 coming when everything in your palace and the things your ancestors have accumulated to this day will be carried away to Babylon; nothing will be left,’ says the Lord. 20:18 ‘Some of your very own descendants whom you father 137 will be taken away and will be made eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.’” 20:19 Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The Lord’s word which you have announced is appropriate.” 138 Then he added, 139 “At least there will be peace and stability during my lifetime.” 140
20:20 The rest of the events of Hezekiah’s reign and all his accomplishments, including how he built a pool and conduit to bring 141 water into the city, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Judah. 142 20:21 Hezekiah passed away 143 and his son Manasseh replaced him as king.
2 Raja-raja 20:1
Konteks20:1 In those days Hezekiah was stricken with a terminal illness. 144 The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz visited him and told him, “This is what the Lord says, ‘Give your household instructions, for you are about to die; you will not get well.’” 145
2 Raja-raja 1:1--23:30
Konteks1:1 After Ahab died, Moab rebelled against Israel. 146 1:2 Ahaziah fell through a window lattice in his upper chamber in Samaria 147 and was injured. He sent messengers with these orders, 148 “Go, ask 149 Baal Zebub, 150 the god of Ekron, if I will survive this injury.”
1:3 But the Lord’s angelic messenger told Elijah the Tishbite, “Get up, go to meet the messengers from the king of Samaria. Say this to them: ‘You must think there is no God in Israel! That explains why you are on your way to seek an oracle from Baal Zebub the god of Ekron. 151 1:4 Therefore this is what the Lord says, “You will not leave the bed you lie on, for you will certainly die!”’” So Elijah went on his way.
1:5 When the messengers returned to the king, 152 he asked them, “Why have you returned?” 1:6 They replied, 153 “A man came up to meet us. He told us, “Go back to the king who sent you and tell him, ‘This is what the Lord says: “You must think there is no God in Israel! That explains why you are sending for an oracle from Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron. 154 Therefore you will not leave the bed you lie on, for you will certainly die.”’” 1:7 The king 155 asked them, “Describe the appearance 156 of this man who came up to meet you and told you these things.” 1:8 They replied, 157 “He was a hairy man 158 and had a leather belt 159 tied around his waist.” The king 160 said, “He is Elijah the Tishbite.”
1:9 The king 161 sent a captain and his fifty soldiers 162 to retrieve Elijah. 163 The captain 164 went up to him, while he was sitting on the top of a hill. 165 He told him, “Prophet, 166 the king says, ‘Come down!’” 1:10 Elijah replied to the captain, 167 “If I am indeed a prophet, may fire come down from the sky and consume you and your fifty soldiers!” Fire then came down 168 from the sky and consumed him and his fifty soldiers.
1:11 The king 169 sent another captain and his fifty soldiers to retrieve Elijah. He went up and told him, 170 “Prophet, this is what the king says, ‘Come down at once!’” 171 1:12 Elijah replied to them, 172 “If I am indeed a prophet, may fire come down from the sky and consume you and your fifty soldiers!” Fire from God 173 came down from the sky and consumed him and his fifty soldiers.
1:13 The king 174 sent a third captain and his fifty soldiers. This third captain went up and fell 175 on his knees before Elijah. He begged for mercy, “Prophet, please have respect for my life and for the lives of these fifty servants of yours. 1:14 Indeed, 176 fire came down from the sky and consumed the two captains who came before me, along with their men. 177 So now, please have respect for my life.” 1:15 The Lord’s angelic messenger said to Elijah, “Go down with him. Don’t be afraid of him.” So he got up and went down 178 with him to the king.
1:16 Elijah 179 said to the king, 180 “This is what the Lord says, ‘You sent messengers to seek an oracle from Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron. You must think there is no God in Israel from whom you can seek an oracle! 181 Therefore you will not leave the bed you lie on, for you will certainly die.’” 182
1:17 He died just as the Lord had prophesied through Elijah. 183 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. 184 1:18 The rest of the events of Ahaziah’s reign, including his accomplishments, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Israel. 185
2:1 Just before 186 the Lord took Elijah up to heaven in a windstorm, Elijah and Elisha were traveling from Gilgal. 2:2 Elijah told Elisha, “Stay here, for the Lord has sent me to Bethel.” 187 But Elisha said, “As certainly as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you.” So they went down to Bethel. 2:3 Some members of the prophetic guild 188 in Bethel came out to Elisha and said, “Do you know that today the Lord is going to take your master from you?” 189 He answered, “Yes, I know. Be quiet.”
2:4 Elijah said to him, “Elisha, stay here, for the Lord has sent me to Jericho.” 190 But he replied, “As certainly as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you.” So they went to Jericho. 2:5 Some members of the prophetic guild in Jericho approached Elisha and said, “Do you know that today the Lord is going to take your master from you?” He answered, “Yes, I know. Be quiet.”
2:6 Elijah said to him, “Stay here, for the Lord has sent me to the Jordan.” But he replied, “As certainly as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you.” So they traveled on together. 2:7 The fifty members of the prophetic guild went and stood opposite them at a distance, while Elijah and Elisha 191 stood by the Jordan. 2:8 Elijah took his cloak, folded it up, and hit the water with it. The water divided, and the two of them crossed over on dry ground.
2:9 When they had crossed over, Elijah said to Elisha, “What can I do for you, 192 before I am taken away from you?” Elisha answered, “May I receive a double portion of the prophetic spirit that energizes you.” 193 2:10 Elijah 194 replied, “That’s a difficult request! 195 If you see me taken from you, may it be so, but if you don’t, it will not happen.”
2:11 As they were walking along and talking, suddenly a fiery chariot 196 pulled by fiery horses appeared. 197 They went between Elijah and Elisha, 198 and Elijah went up to heaven in a windstorm. 2:12 While Elisha was watching, he was crying out, “My father, my father! The chariot and horsemen of Israel!” 199 Then he could no longer see him. He grabbed his clothes and tore them in two. 2:13 He picked up Elijah’s cloak, which had fallen off him, and went back and stood on the shore of the Jordan. 2:14 He took the cloak that had fallen off Elijah, 200 hit the water with it, and said, “Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah?” When he hit the water, it divided and Elisha crossed over.
2:15 When the members of the prophetic guild in Jericho, 201 who were standing at a distance, 202 saw him do this, they said, “The spirit that energized Elijah 203 rests upon Elisha.” They went to meet him and bowed down to the ground before him. 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 204 may have carried him away and dropped him on one of the hills or in one of the valleys.” But Elisha 205 replied, “Don’t send them out.” 2:17 But they were so insistent, he became embarrassed. So he said, “Send them out.” They sent the fifty men out and they looked for three days, but could not find Elijah. 206 2:18 When they came back, Elisha 207 was staying in Jericho. He said to them, “Didn’t I tell you, ‘Don’t go’?”
2:19 The men of the city said to Elisha, “Look, the city has a good location, as our 208 master can see. But the water is bad and the land doesn’t produce crops.” 209 2:20 Elisha 210 said, “Get me a new jar and put some salt in it.” So they got it. 2:21 He went out to the spring and threw the salt in. Then he said, “This is what the Lord says, ‘I have purified 211 this water. It will no longer cause death or fail to produce crops.” 212 2:22 The water has been pure to this very day, just as Elisha prophesied. 213
2:23 He went up from there to Bethel. 214 As he was traveling up the road, some young boys 215 came out of the city and made fun of him, saying, “Go on up, baldy! Go on up, baldy!” 2:24 When he turned around and saw them, he called God’s judgment down on them. 216 Two female bears came out of the woods and ripped forty-two of the boys to pieces. 2:25 From there he traveled to Mount Carmel and then back to Samaria. 217
3:1 In the eighteenth year of King Jehoshaphat’s reign over Judah, Ahab’s son Jehoram became king over Israel in Samaria; 218 he ruled for twelve years. 3:2 He did evil in the sight of 219 the Lord, but not to the same degree as his father and mother. He did remove the sacred pillar of Baal that his father had made. 3:3 Yet he persisted in 220 the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, who encouraged Israel to sin; he did not turn from them. 221
3:4 Now King Mesha of Moab was a sheep breeder. 222 He would send as tribute 223 to the king of Israel 100,000 male lambs and the wool of 100,000 rams. 3:5 When Ahab died, the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel. 3:6 At that time King Jehoram left Samaria and assembled all Israel for war. 3:7 He sent 224 this message to King Jehoshaphat of Judah: “The king of Moab has rebelled against me. Will you fight with me against Moab?” Jehoshaphat 225 replied, “I will join you in the campaign; my army and horses are at your disposal.” 226 3:8 He then asked, “Which invasion route are we going to take?” 227 Jehoram 228 answered, “By the road through the Desert of Edom.” 3:9 So the kings of Israel, Judah, and Edom 229 set out together. They wandered around on the road for seven days and finally ran out of water for the men and animals they had with them. 3:10 The king of Israel said, “Oh no! 230 Certainly the Lord has summoned these three kings so that he can hand them over to the king of Moab!” 3:11 Jehoshaphat asked, “Is there no prophet of the Lord here that we might seek the Lord’s direction?” 231 One of the servants of the king of Israel answered, “Elisha son of Shapat is here; he used to be Elijah’s servant.” 232 3:12 Jehoshaphat said, “The Lord speaks through him.” 233 So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom went down to visit him.
3:13 Elisha said to the king of Israel, “Why are you here? 234 Go to your father’s prophets or your mother’s prophets!” The king of Israel replied to him, “No, for the Lord is the one who summoned these three kings so that he can hand them over to Moab.” 3:14 Elisha said, “As certainly as the Lord who rules over all 235 lives (whom I serve), 236 if I did not respect King Jehoshaphat of Judah, 237 I would not pay attention to you or acknowledge you. 238 3:15 But now, get me a musician.” 239 When the musician played, the Lord energized him, 240 3:16 and he said, “This is what the Lord says, ‘Make many cisterns in this valley,’ 241 3:17 for this is what the Lord says, ‘You will not feel 242 any wind or see any rain, but this valley will be full of water and you and your cattle and animals will drink.’ 3:18 This is an easy task for the Lord; 243 he will also hand Moab over to you. 3:19 You will defeat every fortified city and every important 244 city. You must chop down 245 every productive 246 tree, stop up all the springs, and cover all the cultivated land with stones.” 247
3:20 Sure enough, the next morning, at the time of the morning sacrifice, water came flowing down from Edom and filled the land. 248 3:21 Now all Moab had heard that the kings were attacking, 249 so everyone old enough to fight was mustered and placed at the border. 250 3:22 When they got up early the next morning, the sun was shining on the water. To the Moabites, who were some distance away, the water looked red like blood. 3:23 The Moabites 251 said, “It’s blood! The kings are totally destroyed! 252 They have struck one another down! Now, Moab, seize the plunder!” 3:24 When they approached the Israelite camp, the Israelites rose up and struck down the Moabites, who then ran from them. The Israelites 253 thoroughly defeated 254 Moab. 3:25 They tore down the cities and each man threw a stone into every cultivated field until they were covered. 255 They stopped up every spring and chopped down every productive tree.
Only Kir Hareseth was left intact, 256 but the slingers surrounded it and attacked it. 3:26 When the king of Moab realized he was losing the battle, 257 he and 700 swordsmen tried to break through and attack 258 the king of Edom, but they failed. 3:27 So he took his firstborn son, who was to succeed him as king, and offered him up as a burnt sacrifice on the wall. There was an outburst of divine anger against Israel, 259 so they broke off the attack 260 and returned to their homeland.
4:1 Now a wife of one of the prophets 261 appealed 262 to Elisha for help, saying, “Your servant, my husband is dead. You know that your servant was a loyal follower of the Lord. 263 Now the creditor is coming to take away my two boys to be his servants.” 4:2 Elisha said to her, “What can I do for you? Tell me, what do you have in the house?” She answered, “Your servant has nothing in the house except a small jar of olive oil.” 4:3 He said, “Go and ask all your neighbors for empty containers. 264 Get as many as you can. 265 4:4 Go and close the door behind you and your sons. Pour the olive oil into all the containers; 266 set aside each one when you have filled it.” 4:5 So she left him and closed the door behind her and her sons. As they were bringing the containers to her, she was pouring the olive oil. 4:6 When the containers were full, she said to one of her sons, 267 “Bring me another container.” But he answered her, “There are no more.” Then the olive oil stopped flowing. 4:7 She went and told the prophet. 268 He said, “Go, sell the olive oil. Repay your creditor, and then you and your sons can live off the rest of the profit.”
4:8 One day Elisha traveled to Shunem, where a prominent 269 woman lived. She insisted that he stop for a meal. 270 So whenever he was passing through, he would stop in there for a meal. 271 4:9 She said to her husband, “Look, I’m sure 272 that the man who regularly passes through here is a very special prophet. 273 4:10 Let’s make a small private upper room 274 and furnish it with 275 a bed, table, chair, and lamp. When he visits us, he can stay there.”
4:11 One day Elisha 276 came for a visit; he went 277 into the upper room and rested. 278 4:12 He told his servant Gehazi, “Ask the Shunammite woman to come here.” 279 So he did so and she came to him. 280 4:13 Elisha said to Gehazi, 281 “Tell her, ‘Look, you have treated us with such great respect. 282 What can I do for you? Can I put in a good word for you with the king or the commander of the army?’” She replied, “I’m quite secure.” 283 4:14 So he asked Gehazi, 284 “What can I do for her?” Gehazi replied, “She has no son, and her husband is old.” 4:15 Elisha told him, “Ask her to come here.” 285 So he did so 286 and she came and stood in the doorway. 287 4:16 He said, “About this time next year 288 you will be holding a son.” She said, “No, my master! O prophet, do not lie to your servant!” 4:17 The woman did conceive, and at the specified time the next year she gave birth to a son, just as Elisha had told her.
4:18 The boy grew and one day he went out to see his father who was with the harvest workers. 289 4:19 He said to his father, “My head! My head!” His father 290 told a servant, “Carry him to his mother.” 4:20 So he picked him up and took him to his mother. He sat on her lap 291 until noon and then died. 4:21 She went up and laid him down on the prophet’s 292 bed. She shut the door behind her and left. 4:22 She called to her husband, “Send me one of the servants and one of the donkeys, so I can go see the prophet quickly and then return.” 4:23 He said, “Why do you want to go see him today? It is not the new moon 293 or the Sabbath.” She said, “Everything’s fine.” 294 4:24 She saddled the donkey and told her servant, “Lead on. 295 Do not stop unless I say so.” 296
4:25 So she went to visit 297 the prophet at Mount Carmel. When he 298 saw her at a distance, he said to his servant Gehazi, “Look, it’s the Shunammite woman. 4:26 Now, run to meet her and ask her, ‘Are you well? Are your husband and the boy well?’” She told Gehazi, 299 “Everything’s fine.” 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. 300 The Lord has kept the matter hidden from me; he didn’t tell me about it.” 4:28 She said, “Did I ask my master for a son? Didn’t I say, ‘Don’t mislead me?’” 4:29 Elisha 301 told Gehazi, “Tuck your robes into your belt, take my staff, 302 and go! Don’t stop to exchange greetings with anyone! 303 Place my staff on the child’s face.” 4:30 The mother of the child said, “As certainly as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you.” So Elisha 304 got up and followed her back.
4:31 Now Gehazi went on ahead of them. He placed the staff on the child’s face, but there was no sound or response. When he came back to Elisha 305 he told him, “The child did not wake up.” 4:32 When Elisha arrived at the house, there was 306 the child lying dead on his bed. 4:33 He went in by himself and closed the door. 307 Then he prayed to the Lord. 4:34 He got up on the bed and spread his body out over 308 the boy; he put his mouth on the boy’s 309 mouth, his eyes over the boy’s eyes, and the palms of his hands against the boy’s palms. He bent down over him, and the boy’s skin 310 grew warm. 4:35 Elisha 311 went back and walked around in the house. 312 Then he got up on the bed again 313 and bent down over him. The child sneezed seven times and opened his eyes. 4:36 Elisha 314 called to Gehazi and said, “Get the Shunammite woman.” So he did so 315 and she came to him. He said to her, “Take your son.” 4:37 She came in, fell at his feet, and bowed down. Then she picked up her son and left.
4:38 Now Elisha went back to Gilgal, while there was famine in the land. Some of the prophets were visiting him 316 and he told his servant, “Put the big pot on the fire 317 and boil some stew for the prophets.” 318 4:39 Someone went out to the field to gather some herbs and found a wild vine. 319 He picked some of its fruit, 320 enough to fill up the fold of his robe. He came back, cut it up, and threw the slices 321 into the stew pot, not knowing they were harmful. 322 4:40 The stew was poured out 323 for the men to eat. When they ate some of the stew, they cried out, “Death is in the pot, O prophet!” They could not eat it. 4:41 He said, “Get some flour.” Then he threw it into the pot and said, “Now pour some out for the men so they may eat.” 324 There was no longer anything harmful in the pot.
4:42 Now a man from Baal Shalisha brought some food for the prophet 325 – twenty loaves of bread made from the firstfruits of the barley harvest, as well as fresh ears of grain. 326 Elisha 327 said, “Set it before the people so they may eat.” 4:43 But his attendant said, “How can I feed a hundred men with this?” 328 He replied, “Set it before the people so they may eat, for this is what the Lord says, ‘They will eat and have some left over.’” 329 4:44 So he set it before them; they ate and had some left over, just as the Lord predicted. 330
5:1 Now Naaman, the commander of the king of Syria’s army, was esteemed and respected by his master, 331 for through him the Lord had given Syria military victories. But this great warrior had a skin disease. 332 5:2 Raiding parties went out from Syria and took captive from the land of Israel a young girl, who became a servant to Naaman’s wife. 5:3 She told her mistress, “If only my master were in the presence of the prophet who is in Samaria! 333 Then he would cure him of his skin disease.”
5:4 Naaman 334 went and told his master what the girl from the land of Israel had said. 5:5 The king of Syria said, “Go! I will send a letter to the king of Israel.” So Naaman 335 went, taking with him ten talents 336 of silver, six thousand shekels of gold, 337 and ten suits of clothes. 5:6 He brought the letter to king of Israel. It read: “This is a letter of introduction for my servant Naaman, 338 whom I have sent to be cured of his skin disease.” 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? 339 Certainly you must see that he is looking for an excuse to fight me!” 340
5:8 When Elisha the prophet 341 heard that the king had torn his clothes, he sent this message to the king, “Why did you tear your clothes? Send him 342 to me so he may know there is a prophet in Israel.” 5:9 So Naaman came with his horses and chariots and stood in the doorway of Elisha’s house. 5:10 Elisha sent out a messenger who told him, “Go and wash seven times in the Jordan; your skin will be restored 343 and you will be healed.” 5:11 Naaman went away angry. He said, “Look, I thought for sure he would come out, stand there, invoke the name of the Lord his God, wave his hand over the area, and cure the skin disease. 5:12 The rivers of Damascus, the Abana and Pharpar, are better than any of the waters of Israel! 344 Could I not wash in them and be healed?” So he turned around and went away angry. 5:13 His servants approached and said to him, “O master, 345 if the prophet had told you to do some difficult task, 346 you would have been willing to do it. 347 It seems you should be happy that he simply said, “Wash and you will be healed.” 348 5:14 So he went down and dipped in the Jordan seven times, as the prophet had instructed. 349 His skin became as smooth as a young child’s 350 and he was healed.
5:15 He and his entire entourage returned to the prophet. Naaman 351 came and stood before him. He said, “For sure 352 I know that there is no God in all the earth except in Israel! Now, please accept a gift from your servant.” 5:16 But Elisha 353 replied, “As certainly as the Lord lives (whom I serve), 354 I will take nothing from you.” Naaman 355 insisted that he take it, but he refused. 5:17 Naaman said, “If not, then please give your servant a load of dirt, enough for a pair of mules to carry, 356 for your servant will never again offer a burnt offering or sacrifice to a god other than the Lord. 357 5:18 May the Lord forgive your servant for this one thing: When my master enters the temple of Rimmon to worship, and he leans on my arm and I bow down in the temple of Rimmon, may the Lord forgive your servant for this.” 358 5:19 Elisha 359 said to him, “Go in peace.”
When he had gone a short distance, 360 5:20 Gehazi, the prophet Elisha’s servant, thought, 361 “Look, my master did not accept what this Syrian Naaman offered him. 362 As certainly as the Lord lives, I will run after him and accept something from him.” 5:21 So Gehazi ran after Naaman. When Naaman saw someone running after him, he got down from his chariot to meet him and asked, “Is everything all right?” 363 5:22 He answered, “Everything is fine. 364 My master sent me with this message, ‘Look, two servants of the prophets just arrived from the Ephraimite hill country. 365 Please give them a talent 366 of silver and two suits of clothes.’” 5:23 Naaman said, “Please accept two talents of silver. 367 He insisted, and tied up two talents of silver in two bags, along with two suits of clothes. He gave them to two of his servants and they carried them for Gehazi. 368 5:24 When he arrived at the hill, he took them from the servants 369 and put them in the house. Then he sent the men on their way. 370
5:25 When he came and stood before his master, Elisha asked him, “Where have you been, Gehazi?” He answered, “Your servant hasn’t been anywhere.” 5:26 Elisha 371 replied, “I was there in spirit when a man turned and got down from his chariot to meet you. 372 This is not the proper time to accept silver or to accept clothes, olive groves, vineyards, sheep, cattle, and male and female servants. 373 5:27 Therefore Naaman’s skin disease will afflict 374 you and your descendants forever!” When Gehazi 375 went out from his presence, his skin was as white as snow. 376
6:1 Some of the prophets 377 said to Elisha, “Look, the place where we meet with you 378 is too cramped 379 for us. 6:2 Let’s go to the Jordan. Each of us will get a log from there and we will build a meeting place for ourselves there.” He said, “Go.” 6:3 One of them said, “Please come along with your servants.” He replied, “All right, I’ll come.” 6:4 So he went with them. When they arrived at the Jordan, they started cutting down trees. 6:5 As one of them was felling a log, the ax head 380 dropped into the water. He shouted, “Oh no, 381 my master! It was borrowed!” 6:6 The prophet 382 asked, “Where did it drop in?” When he showed him the spot, Elisha 383 cut off a branch, threw it in at that spot, and made the ax head float. 6:7 He said, “Lift it out.” So he reached out his hand and grabbed it.
6:8 Now the king of Syria was at war with Israel. He consulted his advisers, who said, “Invade 384 at such and such 385 a place.” 6:9 But the prophet sent this message to the king of Israel, “Make sure you don’t pass through this place because Syria is invading there.” 6:10 So the king of Israel sent a message to the place the prophet had pointed out, warning it 386 to be on its guard. This happened on several occasions. 387 6:11 This made the king of Syria upset. 388 So he summoned his advisers 389 and said to them, “One of us must be helping the king of Israel.” 390 6:12 One of his advisers said, “No, my master, O king. The prophet Elisha who lives in Israel keeps telling the king of Israel the things you say in your bedroom.” 6:13 The king 391 ordered, “Go, find out where he is, so I can send some men to capture him.” 392 The king was told, “He is in Dothan.” 6:14 So he sent horses and chariots there, along with a good-sized army. 393 They arrived during the night and surrounded the city.
6:15 The prophet’s 394 attendant got up early in the morning. When he went outside there was an army surrounding the city, along with horses and chariots. He said to Elisha, 395 “Oh no, my master! What will we do?” 6:16 He replied, “Don’t be afraid, for our side outnumbers them.” 396 6:17 Then Elisha prayed, “O Lord, open his eyes so he can see.” The Lord opened the servant’s eyes and he saw that 397 the hill was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. 6:18 As they approached him, 398 Elisha prayed to the Lord, “Strike these people 399 with blindness.” 400 The Lord 401 struck them with blindness as Elisha requested. 402 6:19 Then Elisha said to them, “This is not the right road or city. Follow me, and I will lead you to the man you’re looking for.” He led them to Samaria. 403
6:20 When they had entered Samaria, Elisha said, “O Lord, open their eyes, so they can see.” The Lord opened their eyes and they saw that they were in the middle of Samaria. 404 6:21 When the king of Israel saw them, he asked Elisha, “Should I strike them down, 405 my master?” 406 6:22 He replied, “Do not strike them down! You did not capture them with your sword or bow, so what gives you the right to strike them down? 407 Give them some food and water, so they can eat and drink and then go back to their master.” 6:23 So he threw a big banquet 408 for them and they ate and drank. Then he sent them back 409 to their master. After that no Syrian raiding parties again invaded the land of Israel.
6:24 Later King Ben Hadad of Syria assembled his entire army and attacked 410 and besieged Samaria. 411 6:25 Samaria’s food supply ran out. 412 They laid siege to it so long that 413 a donkey’s head was selling for eighty shekels of silver 414 and a quarter of a kab 415 of dove’s droppings 416 for five shekels of silver. 417
6:26 While the king of Israel was passing by on the city wall, a woman shouted to him, “Help us, my master, O king!” 6:27 He replied, “No, let the Lord help you. How can I help you? The threshing floor and winepress are empty.” 418 6:28 Then the king asked her, “What’s your problem?” She answered, “This woman said to me, ‘Hand over your son; we’ll eat him today and then eat my son tomorrow.’ 6:29 So we boiled my son and ate him. Then I said to her the next day, ‘Hand over your son and we’ll eat him.’ But she hid her son!” 6:30 When the king heard what the woman said, he tore his clothes. As he was passing by on the wall, the people could see he was wearing sackcloth under his clothes. 419 6:31 Then he said, “May God judge me severely 420 if Elisha son of Shaphat still has his head by the end of the day!” 421
6:32 Now Elisha was sitting in his house with the community leaders. 422 The king 423 sent a messenger on ahead, but before he arrived, 424 Elisha 425 said to the leaders, 426 “Do you realize this assassin intends to cut off my head?” 427 Look, when the messenger arrives, shut the door and lean against it. His master will certainly be right behind him.” 428 6:33 He was still talking to them when 429 the messenger approached 430 and said, “Look, the Lord is responsible for this disaster! 431 Why should I continue to wait for the Lord to help?” 7:1 Elisha replied, “Hear the word of the Lord! This is what the Lord says, ‘About this time tomorrow a seah 432 of finely milled flour will sell for a shekel and two seahs of barley for a shekel at the gate of Samaria.’” 7:2 An officer who was the king’s right-hand man 433 responded to the prophet, 434 “Look, even if the Lord made it rain by opening holes in the sky, could this happen so soon?” 435 Elisha 436 said, “Look, you will see it happen with your own eyes, but you will not eat any of the food!” 437
7:3 Now four men with a skin disease 438 were sitting at the entrance of the city gate. They said to one another, “Why are we just sitting here waiting to die? 439 7:4 If we go into the city, we’ll die of starvation, 440 and if we stay here we’ll die! So come on, let’s defect 441 to the Syrian camp! If they spare us, 442 we’ll live; if they kill us – well, we were going to die anyway.” 443 7:5 So they started toward 444 the Syrian camp at dusk. When they reached the edge of the Syrian camp, there was no one there. 7:6 The Lord had caused the Syrian camp to hear the sound of chariots and horses and a large army. Then they said to one another, “Look, the king of Israel has paid the kings of the Hittites and Egypt to attack us!” 7:7 So they got up and fled at dusk, leaving behind their tents, horses, and donkeys. They left the camp as it was and ran for their lives. 7:8 When the men with a skin disease reached the edge of the camp, they entered a tent and had a meal. 445 They also took some silver, gold, and clothes and went and hid it all. 446 Then they went back and entered another tent. They looted it 447 and went and hid what they had taken. 7:9 Then they said to one another, “It’s not right what we’re doing! This is a day to celebrate, but we haven’t told anyone. 448 If we wait until dawn, 449 we’ll be punished. 450 So come on, let’s go and inform the royal palace.” 7:10 So they went and called out to the gatekeepers 451 of the city. They told them, “We entered the Syrian camp and there was no one there. We didn’t even hear a man’s voice. 452 But the horses and donkeys are still tied up, and the tents remain up.” 453 7:11 The gatekeepers relayed the news to the royal palace. 454
7:12 The king got up in the night and said to his advisers, 455 “I will tell you what the Syrians have done to us. They know we are starving, so they left the camp and hid in the field, thinking, ‘When they come out of the city, we will capture them alive and enter the city.’” 7:13 One of his advisers replied, “Pick some men and have them take five of the horses that are left in the city. (Even if they are killed, their fate will be no different than that of all the Israelite people – we’re all going to die!) 456 Let’s send them out so we can know for sure what’s going on.” 457 7:14 So they picked two horsemen and the king sent them out to track the Syrian army. 458 He ordered them, “Go and find out what’s going on.” 459 7:15 So they tracked them 460 as far as the Jordan. The road was filled with clothes and equipment that the Syrians had discarded in their haste. 461 The scouts 462 went back and told the king. 7:16 Then the people went out and looted the Syrian camp. A seah 463 of finely milled flour sold for a shekel, and two seahs of barley for a shekel, just as the Lord had said they would. 464
7:17 Now the king had placed the officer who was his right-hand man 465 at the city gate. When the people rushed out, they trampled him to death in the gate. 466 This fulfilled the prophet’s word which he had spoken when the king tried to arrest him. 467 7:18 The prophet told the king, “Two seahs of barley will sell for a shekel, and a seah of finely milled flour for a shekel; this will happen about this time tomorrow in the gate of Samaria.” 7:19 But the officer replied to the prophet, “Look, even if the Lord made it rain by opening holes in the sky, could this happen so soon?” 468 Elisha 469 said, “Look, you will see it happen with your own eyes, but you will not eat any of the food!” 470 7:20 This is exactly what happened to him. The people trampled him to death in the city gate.
8:1 Now Elisha advised the woman whose son he had brought back to life, “You and your family should go and live somewhere else for a while, 471 for the Lord has decreed that a famine will overtake the land for seven years.” 8:2 So the woman did as the prophet said. 472 She and her family went and lived in the land of the Philistines for seven years. 8:3 After seven years the woman returned from the land of the Philistines and went to ask the king to give her back her house and field. 473 8:4 Now the king was talking to Gehazi, the prophet’s 474 servant, and said, “Tell me all the great things which Elisha has done.” 8:5 While Gehazi 475 was telling the king how Elisha 476 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. 477 Gehazi said, “My master, O king, this is the very woman and this is her son whom Elisha brought back to life!” 8:6 The king asked the woman about it, and she gave him the details. 478 The king assigned a eunuch to take care of her request and ordered him, 479 “Give her back everything she owns, as well as the amount of crops her field produced from the day she left the land until now.”
8:7 Elisha traveled to Damascus while King Ben Hadad of Syria was sick. The king 480 was told, “The prophet 481 has come here.” 8:8 So the king told Hazael, “Take a gift 482 and go visit the prophet. Request from him an oracle from the Lord. Ask him, 483 ‘Will I recover from this sickness?’” 8:9 So Hazael went to visit Elisha. 484 He took along a gift, 485 as well as 486 forty camel loads of all the fine things of Damascus. When he arrived, he stood before him and said, “Your son, 487 King Ben Hadad of Syria, has sent me to you with this question, 488 ‘Will I recover from this sickness?’” 8:10 Elisha said to him, “Go and tell him, ‘You will surely recover,’ 489 but the Lord has revealed to me that he will surely die.” 8:11 Elisha 490 just stared at him until Hazael became uncomfortable. 491 Then the prophet started crying. 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.” 8:13 Hazael said, “How could your servant, who is as insignificant as a dog, accomplish this great military victory?” 492 Elisha answered, “The Lord has revealed to me that you will be the king of Syria.” 493 8:14 He left Elisha and went to his master. Ben Hadad 494 asked him, “What did Elisha tell you?” Hazael 495 replied, “He told me you would surely recover.” 8:15 The next day Hazael 496 took a piece of cloth, dipped it in water, and spread it over Ben Hadad’s 497 face until he died. Then Hazael replaced him as king.
8:16 In the fifth year of the reign of Israel’s King Joram, son of Ahab, Jehoshaphat’s son Jehoram became king over Judah. 498 8:17 He was thirty-two years old when he became king and he reigned for eight years in Jerusalem. 499 8:18 He followed in the footsteps of the kings of Israel, just as Ahab’s dynasty had done, for he married Ahab’s daughter. 500 He did evil in the sight of 501 the Lord. 8:19 But the Lord was unwilling to destroy Judah. He preserved Judah for the sake of 502 his servant David to whom he had promised a perpetual dynasty. 503
8:20 During his reign Edom freed themselves from Judah’s control and set up their own king. 504 8:21 Joram 505 crossed over to Zair with all his chariots. The Edomites, who had surrounded him, attacked at night and defeated him and his chariot officers. 506 The Israelite army retreated to their homeland. 507 8:22 So Edom has remained free from Judah’s control to this very day. 508 At that same time Libnah also rebelled.
8:23 The rest of the events of Joram’s reign, including a record of his accomplishments, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Judah. 509 8:24 Joram passed away 510 and was buried with his ancestors in the city of David. His son Ahaziah replaced him as king.
8:25 In the twelfth year of the reign of Israel’s King Joram, son of Ahab, Jehoram’s son Ahaziah became king over Judah. 8:26 Ahaziah was twenty-two years old when he became king and he reigned for one year in Jerusalem. 511 His mother was Athaliah, the granddaughter 512 of King Omri of Israel. 8:27 He followed in the footsteps of Ahab’s dynasty and did evil in the sight of 513 the Lord, like Ahab’s dynasty, for he was related to Ahab’s family. 514
8:28 He joined Ahab’s son Joram in a battle against King Hazael of Syria at Ramoth Gilead in which the Syrians defeated Joram. 8:29 King Joram returned to Jezreel to recover from the wounds he received from the Syrians 515 in Ramah when he fought against King Hazael of Syria. King Ahaziah son of Jehoram of Judah went down to visit 516 Joram son of Ahab in Jezreel, for he was ill.
9:1 Now Elisha the prophet summoned a member of the prophetic guild 517 and told him, “Tuck your robes into your belt, take this container 518 of olive oil in your hand, and go to Ramoth Gilead. 9:2 When you arrive there, look for Jehu son of Jehoshaphat son of Nimshi and take him aside into an inner room. 519 9:3 Take the container of olive oil, pour it over his head, and say, ‘This is what the Lord says, “I have designated 520 you as king over Israel.”’ Then open the door and run away quickly!” 521
9:4 So the young prophet 522 went to Ramoth Gilead. 9:5 When he arrived, the officers of the army were sitting there. 523 So he said, “I have a message for you, O officer.” 524 Jehu asked, “For which one of us?” 525 He replied, “For you, O officer.” 9:6 So Jehu 526 got up and went inside. Then the prophet 527 poured the olive oil on his head and said to him, “This is what the Lord God of Israel says, ‘I have designated you as king over the Lord’s people Israel. 9:7 You will destroy the family of your master Ahab. 528 I will get revenge against Jezebel for the shed blood of my servants the prophets and for the shed blood of all the Lord’s servants. 529 9:8 Ahab’s entire family will die. I 530 will cut off every last male belonging to Ahab in Israel, including even the weak and incapacitated. 531 9:9 I will make Ahab’s dynasty 532 like those of Jeroboam son of Nebat and Baasha son of Ahijah. 9:10 Dogs will devour Jezebel on the plot of ground in Jezreel; she will not be buried.’” 533 Then he opened the door and ran away.
9:11 When Jehu rejoined 534 his master’s servants, they 535 asked him, “Is everything all right? 536 Why did this madman visit you?” He replied, “Ah, it’s not important. You know what kind of man he is and the kinds of things he says.” 537 9:12 But they said, “You’re lying! Tell us what he said.” So he told them what he had said. He also related how he had said, 538 “This is what the Lord says, ‘I have designated you as king over Israel.’” 9:13 Each of them quickly took off his cloak and they spread them out at Jehu’s 539 feet on the steps. 540 The trumpet was blown 541 and they shouted, “Jehu is 542 king!” 9:14 Then Jehu son of Jehoshaphat son of Nimshi conspired against Joram.
Now Joram had been in Ramoth Gilead with the whole Israelite army, 543 guarding against an invasion by King Hazael of Syria. 9:15 But King Joram had returned to Jezreel to recover from the wounds he received from the Syrians 544 when he fought against King Hazael of Syria. 545 Jehu told his supporters, 546 “If you really want me to be king, 547 then don’t let anyone escape from the city to go and warn Jezreel.” 9:16 Jehu drove his chariot 548 to Jezreel, for Joram was recuperating 549 there. (Now King Ahaziah of Judah had come down to visit 550 Joram.)
9:17 Now the watchman was standing on the tower in Jezreel and saw Jehu’s troops approaching. 551 He said, “I see troops!” 552 Jehoram ordered, 553 “Send a rider out to meet them and have him ask, ‘Is everything all right?’” 554 9:18 So the horseman 555 went to meet him and said, “This is what the king says, ‘Is everything all right?’” 556 Jehu replied, “None of your business! 557 Follow me.” The watchman reported, “The messenger reached them, but hasn’t started back.” 9:19 So he sent a second horseman out to them 558 and he said, “This is what the king says, ‘Is everything all right?’” 559 Jehu replied, “None of your business! Follow me.” 9:20 The watchman reported, “He reached them, but hasn’t started back. The one who drives the lead chariot drives like Jehu son of Nimshi; 560 he drives recklessly.” 9:21 Jehoram ordered, “Hitch up my chariot.” 561 When his chariot had been hitched up, 562 King Jehoram of Israel and King Ahaziah of Judah went out in their respective chariots 563 to meet Jehu. They met up with him 564 in the plot of land that had once belonged to Naboth of Jezreel.
9:22 When Jehoram saw Jehu, he asked, “Is everything all right, Jehu?” He replied, “How can everything be all right as long as your mother Jezebel promotes idolatry and pagan practices?” 565 9:23 Jehoram turned his chariot around and took off. 566 He said to Ahaziah, “It’s a trap, 567 Ahaziah!” 9:24 Jehu aimed his bow and shot an arrow right between Jehoram’s shoulders. 568 The arrow went through 569 his heart and he fell to his knees in his chariot. 9:25 Jehu ordered 570 his officer Bidkar, “Pick him up and throw him into the part of the field that once belonged to Naboth of Jezreel. Remember, you and I were riding together behind his father Ahab, when the Lord pronounced this judgment on him, 9:26 ‘“Know for sure that I saw the shed blood of Naboth and his sons yesterday,” says the Lord, “and that I will give you what you deserve right here in this plot of land,” 571 says the Lord.’ So now pick him up and throw him into this plot of land, just as the Lord said.” 572
9:27 When King Ahaziah of Judah saw what happened, he took off 573 up the road to Beth Haggan. Jehu chased him and ordered, “Shoot him too.” They shot him while he was driving his chariot up the ascent of Gur near Ibleam. 574 He fled to Megiddo 575 and died there. 9:28 His servants took his body 576 back to Jerusalem 577 and buried him in his tomb with his ancestors in the city of David. 9:29 Ahaziah had become king over Judah in the eleventh year of Joram son of Ahab.
9:30 Jehu approached Jezreel. When Jezebel heard the news, she put on some eye liner, 578 fixed up her hair, and leaned out the window. 9:31 When Jehu came through the gate, she said, “Is everything all right, Zimri, murderer of his master?” 579 9:32 He looked up at the window and said, “Who is on my side? Who?” Two or three 580 eunuchs looked down at him. 9:33 He said, “Throw her down!” So they threw her down, and when she hit the ground, 581 her blood splattered against the wall and the horses, and Jehu drove his chariot over her. 582 9:34 He went inside and had a meal. 583 Then he said, “Dispose of this accursed woman’s corpse. Bury her, for after all, she was a king’s daughter.” 584 9:35 But when they went to bury her, they found nothing left but 585 the skull, feet, and palms of the hands. 9:36 When they went back and told him, he said, “The Lord’s word through his servant, Elijah the Tishbite, has come to pass. He warned, 586 ‘In the plot of land at Jezreel, dogs will devour Jezebel’s flesh. 9:37 Jezebel’s corpse will be like manure on the surface of the ground in the plot of land at Jezreel. People will not be able to even recognize her.’” 587
10:1 Ahab had seventy sons living in Samaria. 588 So Jehu wrote letters and sent them to Samaria to the leading officials of Jezreel and to the guardians of Ahab’s dynasty. This is what the letters said, 589 10:2 “You have with you the sons of your master, chariots and horses, a fortified city, and weapons. So when this letter arrives, 590 10:3 pick the best and most capable 591 of your master’s sons, place him on his father’s throne, and defend 592 your master’s dynasty.”
10:4 They were absolutely terrified 593 and said, “Look, two kings could not stop him! 594 How can we?” 595 10:5 So the palace supervisor, 596 the city commissioner, 597 the leaders, 598 and the guardians sent this message to Jehu, “We are your subjects! 599 Whatever you say, we will do. We will not make anyone king. Do what you consider proper.” 600
10:6 He wrote them a second letter, saying, “If you are really on my side and are willing to obey me, 601 then take the heads of your master’s sons and come to me in Jezreel at this time tomorrow.” 602 Now the king had seventy sons, and the prominent 603 men of the city were raising them. 10:7 When they received the letter, they seized the king’s sons and executed all seventy of them. 604 They put their heads in baskets and sent them to him in Jezreel. 10:8 The messenger came and told Jehu, 605 “They have brought the heads of the king’s sons.” Jehu 606 said, “Stack them in two piles at the entrance of the city gate until morning.” 10:9 In the morning he went out and stood there. Then he said to all the people, “You are innocent. I conspired against my master and killed him. But who struck down all of these men? 10:10 Therefore take note that not one of the judgments the Lord announced against Ahab’s dynasty has failed to materialize. The Lord had done what he announced through his servant Elijah.” 607 10:11 Then Jehu killed all who were left of Ahab’s family in Jezreel, and all his nobles, close friends, and priests. He left no survivors.
10:12 Jehu then left there and set out for Samaria. 608 While he was traveling through Beth Eked of the Shepherds, 10:13 Jehu encountered 609 the relatives 610 of King Ahaziah of Judah. He asked, “Who are you?” They replied, “We are Ahaziah’s relatives. We have come down to see how 611 the king’s sons and the queen mother’s sons are doing.” 10:14 He said, “Capture them alive!” So they captured them alive and then executed all forty-two of them in the cistern at Beth Eked. He left no survivors.
10:15 When he left there, he met 612 Jehonadab, son of Rekab, who had been looking for him. 613 Jehu greeted him and asked, 614 “Are you as committed to me as I am to you?” 615 Jehonadab answered, “I am!” Jehu replied, “If so, give me your hand.” 616 So he offered his hand and Jehu 617 pulled him up into the chariot. 10:16 Jehu 618 said, “Come with me and see how zealous I am for the Lord’s cause.” 619 So he 620 took him along in his chariot. 10:17 He went to Samaria and exterminated all the members of Ahab’s family who were still alive in Samaria, 621 just as the Lord had announced to Elijah. 622
10:18 Jehu assembled all the people and said to them, “Ahab worshiped 623 Baal a little; Jehu will worship 624 him with great devotion. 625 10:19 So now, bring to me all the prophets of Baal, as well as all his servants and priests. 626 None of them must be absent, for I am offering a great sacrifice to Baal. Any of them who fail to appear will lose their lives.” But Jehu was tricking them 627 so he could destroy the servants of Baal. 10:20 Then Jehu ordered, “Make arrangements for 628 a celebration for Baal.” So they announced it. 10:21 Jehu sent invitations throughout Israel, and all the servants of Baal came; not one was absent. They arrived at the temple of Baal and filled it up from end to end. 629 10:22 Jehu ordered the one who was in charge of the wardrobe, 630 “Bring out robes for all the servants of Baal.” So he brought out robes for them. 10:23 Then Jehu and Jehonadab son of Rekab went to the temple of Baal. Jehu 631 said to the servants of Baal, “Make sure there are no servants of the Lord here with you; there must be only servants of Baal.” 632 10:24 They went inside to offer sacrifices and burnt offerings. Now Jehu had stationed eighty men outside. He had told them, “If any of the men inside get away, you will pay with your lives!” 633
10:25 When he finished offering the burnt sacrifice, Jehu ordered the royal guard 634 and officers, “Come in and strike them down! Don’t let any escape!” So the royal guard and officers struck them down with the sword and left their bodies lying there. 635 Then they entered the inner sanctuary of the temple of Baal. 636 10:26 They hauled out the sacred pillar of the temple of Baal and burned it. 10:27 They demolished 637 the sacred pillar of Baal and 638 the temple of Baal; it is used as 639 a latrine 640 to this very day. 10:28 So Jehu eradicated Baal worship 641 from Israel.
10:29 However, Jehu did not repudiate the sins which Jeroboam son of Nebat had encouraged Israel to commit; the golden calves remained in Bethel 642 and Dan. 643 10:30 The Lord said to Jehu, “You have done well. You have accomplished my will and carried out my wishes with regard to Ahab’s dynasty. Therefore four generations of your descendants will rule over Israel.” 644 10:31 But Jehu did not carefully and wholeheartedly obey the law of the Lord God of Israel. 645 He did not repudiate the sins which Jeroboam had encouraged Israel to commit. 646
10:32 In those days the Lord began to reduce the size of Israel’s territory. 647 Hazael attacked their eastern border. 648 10:33 He conquered all the land of Gilead, including the territory of Gad, Reuben, and Manasseh, extending all the way from the Aroer in the Arnon Valley through Gilead to Bashan. 649
10:34 The rest of the events of Jehu’s reign, including all his accomplishments and successes, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Israel. 650 10:35 Jehu passed away 651 and was buried in Samaria. 652 His son Jehoahaz replaced him as king. 10:36 Jehu reigned over Israel for twenty-eight years in Samaria.
11:1 When Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she was determined to destroy the entire royal line. 653 11:2 So Jehosheba, the daughter of King Joram and sister of Ahaziah, took Ahaziah’s son Joash and sneaked 654 him away from the rest of the royal descendants who were to be executed. She hid him and his nurse in the room where the bed covers were stored. 655 So he was hidden from Athaliah and escaped execution. 656 11:3 He hid out with his nurse in the Lord’s temple 657 for six years, while Athaliah was ruling over the land.
11:4 In the seventh year Jehoiada summoned 658 the officers of the units of hundreds of the Carians 659 and the royal bodyguard. 660 He met with them 661 in the Lord’s temple. He made an agreement 662 with them and made them swear an oath of allegiance in the Lord’s temple. Then he showed them the king’s son. 11:5 He ordered them, “This is what you must do. One third of the unit that is on duty during the Sabbath will guard the royal palace. 11:6 Another third of you will be stationed at the Foundation 663 Gate. Still another third of you will be stationed at the gate behind the royal guard. 664 You will take turns guarding the palace. 665 11:7 The two units who are off duty on the Sabbath will guard the Lord’s temple and protect the king. 666 11:8 You must surround the king. Each of you must hold his weapon in his hand. Whoever approaches your ranks must be killed. You must accompany the king wherever he goes.” 667
11:9 The officers of the units of hundreds did just as 668 Jehoiada the priest ordered. Each of them took his men, those who were on duty during the Sabbath as well as those who were off duty on the Sabbath, and reported 669 to Jehoiada the priest. 11:10 The priest gave to the officers of the units of hundreds King David’s spears and the shields that were kept in the Lord’s temple. 11:11 The royal bodyguard 670 took their stations, each holding his weapon in his hand. They lined up from the south side of the temple to the north side and stood near the altar and the temple, surrounding the king. 671 11:12 Jehoiada 672 led out the king’s son and placed on him the crown and the royal insignia. 673 They proclaimed him king and poured olive oil on his head. 674 They clapped their hands and cried out, “Long live the king!”
11:13 When Athaliah heard the royal guard 675 shout, she joined the crowd 676 at the Lord’s temple. 11:14 Then she saw 677 the king standing by the pillar, according to custom. The officers stood beside the king with their trumpets and all the people of the land were celebrating and blowing trumpets. Athaliah tore her clothes and screamed, “Treason, treason!” 678 11:15 Jehoiada the priest ordered the officers of the units of hundreds, who were in charge of the army, 679 “Bring her outside the temple to the guards. 680 Put the sword to anyone who follows her.” The priest gave this order because he had decided she should not be executed in the Lord’s temple. 681 11:16 They seized her and took her into the precincts of the royal palace through the horses’ entrance. 682 There she was executed.
11:17 Jehoiada then drew up a covenant between the Lord and the king and people, stipulating that they should be loyal to the Lord. 683 11:18 All the people of the land went and demolished 684 the temple of Baal. They smashed its altars and idols 685 to bits. 686 They killed Mattan the priest of Baal in front of the altar. Jehoiada the priest 687 then placed guards at the Lord’s temple. 11:19 He took the officers of the units of hundreds, the Carians, the royal bodyguard, and all the people of land, and together they led the king down from the Lord’s temple. They entered the royal palace through the Gate of the Royal Bodyguard, 688 and the king 689 sat down on the royal throne. 11:20 All the people of the land celebrated, for the city had rest now that they had killed Athaliah with the sword in the royal palace.
11:21 (12:1) 690 Jehoash 691 was seven years old when he began to reign. 12:1 (12:2) In Jehu’s seventh year Jehoash became king; he reigned for forty years in Jerusalem. 692 His mother was Zibiah, who was from Beer Sheba. 12:2 Throughout his lifetime Jehoash did what the Lord approved, 693 just as 694 Jehoiada the priest taught him. 12:3 But the high places were not eliminated; the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense on the high places.
12:4 Jehoash said to the priests, “I place at your disposal 695 all the consecrated silver that has been brought to the Lord’s temple, including the silver collected from the census tax, 696 the silver received from those who have made vows, 697 and all the silver that people have voluntarily contributed to the Lord’s temple. 698 12:5 The priests should receive the silver they need from the treasurers and repair any damage to the temple they discover.” 699
12:6 By the twenty-third year of King Jehoash’s reign the priests had still not repaired the damage to the temple. 12:7 So King Jehoash summoned Jehoiada the priest along with the other priests, and said to them, “Why have you not repaired the damage to the temple? Now, take no more silver from your treasurers unless you intend to use it to repair the damage.” 700 12:8 The priests agreed 701 not to collect silver from the people and relieved themselves of personal responsibility for the temple repairs. 702
12:9 Jehoiada the priest took a chest and drilled a hole in its lid. He placed it on the right side of the altar near the entrance of 703 the Lord’s temple. The priests who guarded the entrance would put into it all the silver brought to the Lord’s temple. 12:10 When they saw the chest was full of silver, the royal secretary 704 and the high priest counted the silver that had been brought to the Lord’s temple and bagged it up. 705 12:11 They would then hand over 706 the silver that had been weighed to the construction foremen 707 assigned to the Lord’s temple. They hired carpenters and builders to work on the Lord’s temple, 12:12 as well as masons and stonecutters. They bought wood and chiseled stone to repair the damage to the Lord’s temple and also paid for all the other expenses. 708 12:13 The silver brought to the Lord’s temple was not used for silver bowls, trimming shears, basins, trumpets, or any kind of gold or silver implements. 12:14 It was handed over 709 to the foremen who used it to repair the Lord’s temple. 12:15 They did not audit the treasurers who disbursed 710 the funds to the foremen, for they were honest. 711 12:16 (The silver collected in conjunction with reparation offerings and sin offerings was not brought to the Lord’s temple; it belonged to the priests.)
12:17 At that time King Hazael of Syria attacked 712 Gath and captured it. Hazael then decided to attack Jerusalem. 713 12:18 King Jehoash of Judah collected all the sacred items that his ancestors Jehoshaphat, Jehoram, and Ahaziah, kings of Judah, had consecrated, as well as his own sacred items and all the gold that could be found in the treasuries of the Lord’s temple and the royal palace. He sent it all 714 to King Hazael of Syria, who then withdrew 715 from Jerusalem.
12:19 The rest of the events of Joash’s reign, including all his accomplishments, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Judah. 716 12:20 His servants conspired against him 717 and murdered Joash at Beth-Millo, on the road that goes down to Silla. 718 12:21 His servants Jozabad son of Shimeath and Jehozabad son of Shomer murdered him. 719 He was buried 720 with his ancestors in the city of David. His son Amaziah replaced him as king.
13:1 In the twenty-third year of the reign of Judah’s King Joash son of Ahaziah, Jehu’s son Jehoahaz became king over Israel. He reigned in Samaria 721 for seventeen years. 13:2 He did evil in the sight of 722 the Lord. He continued in 723 the sinful ways of Jeroboam son of Nebat who had encouraged Israel to sin; he did not repudiate those sins. 724 13:3 The Lord was furious with 725 Israel and handed them over to 726 King Hazael of Syria and to Hazael’s son Ben Hadad for many years. 727
13:4 Jehoahaz asked for the Lord’s mercy 728 and the Lord responded favorably, 729 for he saw that Israel was oppressed by the king of Syria. 730 13:5 The Lord provided a deliverer 731 for Israel and they were freed from Syria’s power. 732 The Israelites once more lived in security. 733 13:6 But they did not repudiate 734 the sinful ways of the family 735 of Jeroboam, who encouraged Israel to sin; they continued in those sins. 736 There was even an Asherah pole 737 standing in Samaria. 13:7 Jehoahaz had no army left 738 except for fifty horsemen, ten chariots, and 10,000 foot soldiers. The king of Syria had destroyed his troops 739 and trampled on them like dust. 740
13:8 The rest of the events of Jehoahaz’s reign, including all his accomplishments and successes, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Israel. 741 13:9 Jehoahaz passed away 742 and was buried 743 in Samaria. His son Joash replaced him as king.
13:10 In the thirty-seventh year of King Joash’s reign over Judah, Jehoahaz’s son Jehoash became king over Israel. He reigned in Samaria 744 for sixteen years. 13:11 He did evil in the sight of 745 the Lord. He did not repudiate 746 the sinful ways of Jeroboam son of Nebat who encouraged Israel to sin; he continued in those sins. 747 13:12 The rest of the events of Joash’s 748 reign, including all his accomplishments and his successful war with King Amaziah of Judah, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Israel. 749 13:13 Joash passed away 750 and Jeroboam succeeded him on the throne. 751 Joash was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel.
13:14 Now Elisha had a terminal illness. 752 King Joash of Israel went down to visit him. 753 He wept before him and said, “My father, my father! The chariot 754 and horsemen of Israel!” 755 13:15 Elisha told him, “Take a bow and some arrows,” and he did so. 756 13:16 Then Elisha 757 told the king of Israel, “Aim the bow.” 758 He did so, 759 and Elisha placed his hands on the king’s hands. 13:17 Elisha 760 said, “Open the east window,” and he did so. 761 Elisha said, “Shoot!” and
he did so. 762 Elisha 763 said, “This arrow symbolizes the victory the Lord will give you over Syria. 764 You will annihilate Syria in Aphek!” 765 13:18 Then Elisha 766 said, “Take the arrows,” and he did so. 767 He told the king of Israel, “Strike the ground!” He struck the ground three times and stopped. 13:19 The prophet 768 got angry at him and said, “If you had struck the ground five or six times, you would have annihilated Syria! 769 But now, you will defeat Syria only three times.”
13:20 Elisha died and was buried. 770 Moabite raiding parties invaded 771 the land at the beginning of the year. 772 13:21 One day some men 773 were burying a man when they spotted 774 a raiding party. So they threw the dead man 775 into Elisha’s tomb. When the body 776 touched Elisha’s bones, the dead man 777 came to life and stood on his feet.
13:22 Now King Hazael of Syria oppressed Israel throughout Jehoahaz’s reign. 778 13:23 But the Lord had mercy on them and felt pity for them. 779 He extended his favor to them 780 because of the promise he had made 781 to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He has been unwilling to destroy them or remove them from his presence to this very day. 782 13:24 When King Hazael of Syria died, his son Ben Hadad replaced him as king. 13:25 Jehoahaz’s son Jehoash took back from 783 Ben Hadad son of Hazael the cities that he had taken from his father Jehoahaz in war. Joash defeated him three times and recovered the Israelite cities.
14:1 In the second year of the reign of Israel’s King Joash son of Joahaz, 784 Joash’s 785 son Amaziah became king over Judah. 14:2 He was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned for twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. 786 His mother 787 was Jehoaddan, who was from Jerusalem. 14:3 He did what the Lord approved, 788 but not like David his father. He followed the example of his father Joash. 789 14:4 But the high places were not eliminated; the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense on the high places.
14:5 When he had secured control of the kingdom, 790 he executed the servants who had assassinated his father. 791 14:6 But he did not execute the sons of the assassins. He obeyed the Lord’s commandment as recorded in the law scroll of Moses, 792 “Fathers must not be put to death for what their sons do, 793 and sons must not be put to death for what their fathers do. 794 A man must be put to death only for his own sin.” 795
14:7 He defeated 796 10,000 Edomites in the Salt Valley; he captured Sela in battle and renamed it Joktheel, a name it has retained to this very day. 14:8 Then Amaziah sent messengers to Jehoash son of Jehoahaz son of Jehu, king of Israel. He said, “Come, let’s meet face to face.” 797 14:9 King Jehoash of Israel sent this message back to King Amaziah of Judah, “A thornbush in Lebanon sent this message to a cedar in Lebanon, ‘Give your daughter to my son as a wife.’ Then a wild animal 798 of Lebanon came by and trampled down the thorn. 799 14:10 You thoroughly defeated Edom 800 and it has gone to your head! 801 Gloat over your success, 802 but stay in your palace. Why bring calamity on yourself? Why bring down yourself and Judah along with you?” 803 14:11 But Amaziah would not heed the warning, 804 so King Jehoash of Israel attacked. 805 He and King Amaziah of Judah met face to face 806 in Beth Shemesh of Judah. 14:12 Judah was defeated by Israel, and each man ran back home. 807 14:13 King Jehoash of Israel captured King Amaziah of Judah, son of Jehoash son of Ahaziah, in Beth Shemesh. He 808 attacked 809 Jerusalem and broke down the wall of Jerusalem from the Gate of Ephraim to the Corner Gate – a distance of about six hundred feet. 810 14:14 He took away all the gold and silver, all the items found in the Lord’s temple and in the treasuries of the royal palace, and some hostages. 811 Then he went back to Samaria. 812
( 14:15 The rest of the events of Jehoash’s 813 reign, including all his accomplishments and his successful war with King Amaziah of Judah, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Israel. 814 14:16 Jehoash passed away 815 and was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel. His son Jeroboam replaced him as king.)
14:17 King Amaziah son of Joash of Judah lived for fifteen years after the death of King Jehoash son of Jehoahaz of Israel. 14:18 The rest of the events of Amaziah’s reign are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Judah. 816 14:19 Conspirators plotted against him in Jerusalem, 817 so he fled to Lachish. But they sent assassins after him 818 and they killed him there. 14:20 His body was carried back by horses 819 and he was buried in Jerusalem with his ancestors in the city of David. 14:21 All the people of Judah took Azariah, who was sixteen years old, and made him king in his father Amaziah’s place. 14:22 Azariah 820 built up Elat and restored it to Judah after the king 821 had passed away. 822
14:23 In the fifteenth year of the reign of Judah’s King Amaziah, son of Joash, Jeroboam son of Joash became king over Israel. He reigned for forty-one years in Samaria. 823 14:24 He did evil in the sight of 824 the Lord; he did not repudiate 825 the sinful ways of Jeroboam son of Nebat who encouraged Israel to sin. 14:25 He restored the border of Israel from Lebo Hamath in the north to the sea of the Arabah in the south, 826 in accordance with the word of the Lord God of Israel announced through 827 his servant Jonah son of Amittai, the prophet from Gath Hepher. 14:26 The Lord saw Israel’s intense suffering; 828 everyone was weak and incapacitated and Israel had no deliverer. 829 14:27 The Lord had not decreed that he would blot out Israel’s memory 830 from under heaven, 831 so he delivered them through Jeroboam son of Joash.
14:28 The rest of the events of Jeroboam’s reign, including all his accomplishments, his military success in restoring Israelite control over Damascus and Hamath, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Israel. 832 14:29 Jeroboam passed away 833 and was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel. 834 His son Zechariah replaced him as king.
15:1 In the twenty-seventh year of King Jeroboam’s reign over Israel, Amaziah’s son Azariah became king over Judah. 15:2 He was sixteen years old when he began to reign, and he reigned for fifty-two years in Jerusalem. 835 His mother’s name was Jecholiah, who was from Jerusalem. 15:3 He did what the Lord approved, just as his father Amaziah had done. 836 15:4 But the high places were not eliminated; the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense on the high places. 15:5 The Lord afflicted the king with an illness; he suffered from a skin disease 837 until the day he died. He lived in separate quarters, 838 while his son Jotham was in charge of the palace and ruled over the people of the land.
15:6 The rest of the events of Azariah’s reign, including all his accomplishments, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Judah. 839 15:7 Azariah passed away 840 and was buried 841 with his ancestors in the city of David. His son Jotham replaced him as king.
15:8 In the thirty-eighth year of King Azariah’s reign over Judah, Jeroboam’s son Zechariah became king over Israel. He reigned in Samaria 842 for six months. 15:9 He did evil in the sight of 843 the Lord, as his ancestors had done. He did not repudiate 844 the sinful ways of Jeroboam son of Nebat who encouraged Israel to sin. 15:10 Shallum son of Jabesh conspired against him; he assassinated him in Ibleam 845 and took his place as king. 15:11 The rest of the events of Zechariah’s reign are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Israel. 846 15:12 His assassination brought to fulfillment the Lord’s word to Jehu, 847 “Four generations of your descendants will rule over Israel.” 848 That is exactly what happened. 849
15:13 Shallum son of Jabesh became king in the thirty-ninth year of King Uzziah’s 850 reign over Judah. He reigned for one month 851 in Samaria. 15:14 Menahem son of Gadi went up from Tirzah to 852 Samaria and attacked Shallum son of Jabesh. 853 He killed him and took his place as king. 15:15 The rest of the events of Shallum’s reign, including the conspiracy he organized, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Israel. 854 15:16 At that time Menahem came from Tirzah and attacked Tiphsah. He struck down all who lived in the city and the surrounding territory, because they would not surrender. 855 He even ripped open the pregnant women.
15:17 In the thirty-ninth year of King Azariah’s reign over Judah, Menahem son of Gadi became king over Israel. He reigned for twelve years in Samaria. 856 15:18 He did evil in the sight of 857 the Lord; he did not repudiate 858 the sinful ways of Jeroboam son of Nebat who encouraged Israel to sin. 859
During his reign, 15:19 Pul 860 king of Assyria invaded the land, and Menahem paid 861 him 862 a thousand talents 863 of silver to gain his support 864 and to solidify his control of the kingdom. 865 15:20 Menahem got this silver by taxing all the wealthy men in Israel; he took fifty shekels of silver from each one of them and paid it to the king of Assyria. 866 Then the king of Assyria left; he did not stay there in the land.
15:21 The rest of the events of Menahem’s reign, including all his accomplishments, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Israel. 867 15:22 Menahem passed away 868 and his son Pekahiah replaced him as king.
15:23 In the fiftieth year of King Azariah’s reign over Judah, Menahem’s son Pekahiah became king over Israel. He reigned in Samaria 869 for two years. 15:24 He did evil in the sight of 870 the Lord; he did not repudiate 871 the sinful ways of Jeroboam son of Nebat who encouraged Israel to sin. 15:25 His officer Pekah son of Remaliah conspired against him. He and fifty Gileadites assassinated Pekahiah, as well as Argob and Arieh, in Samaria in the fortress of the royal palace. 872 Pekah then took his place as king.
15:26 The rest of the events of Pekahiah’s reign, including all his accomplishments, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Israel. 873
15:27 In the fifty-second year of King Azariah’s reign over Judah, Pekah son of Remaliah became king over Israel. He reigned in Samaria 874 for twenty years. 15:28 He did evil in the sight of 875 the Lord; he did not repudiate 876 the sinful ways of Jeroboam son of Nebat who encouraged Israel to sin. 15:29 During Pekah’s reign over Israel, King Tiglath-pileser of Assyria came and captured Ijon, Abel Beth Maacah, Janoah, Kedesh, Hazor, 877 Gilead, and Galilee, including all the territory of Naphtali. He deported the people 878 to Assyria. 15:30 Hoshea son of Elah conspired against Pekah son of Remaliah. He assassinated him 879 and took his place as king, in the twentieth year of the reign of Jotham son of Uzziah.
15:31 The rest of the events of Pekah’s reign, including all his accomplishments, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Israel. 880
15:32 In the second year of the reign of Israel’s King Pekah son of Remaliah, Uzziah’s son Jotham became king over Judah. 15:33 He was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned for sixteen years in Jerusalem. 881 His mother was Jerusha the daughter of Zadok. 15:34 He did what the Lord approved, just as his father Uzziah had done. 882 15:35 But the high places were not eliminated; the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense on the high places. He built the Upper Gate to the Lord’s temple.
15:36 The rest of the events of Jotham’s reign, including his accomplishments, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Judah. 883 15:37 In those days the Lord prompted King Rezin of Syria and Pekah son of Remaliah to attack Judah. 884 15:38 Jotham passed away 885 and was buried with his ancestors in the city of his ancestor David. His son Ahaz replaced him as king.
16:1 In the seventeenth year of the reign of Pekah son of Remaliah, Jotham’s son Ahaz became king over Judah. 16:2 Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned for sixteen years in Jerusalem. 886 He did not do what pleased the Lord his God, in contrast to his ancestor David. 887 16:3 He followed in the footsteps of 888 the kings of Israel. He passed his son through the fire, 889 a horrible sin practiced by the nations 890 whom the Lord drove out from before the Israelites. 16:4 He offered sacrifices and burned incense on the high places, on the hills, and under every green tree.
16:5 At that time King Rezin of Syria and King Pekah son of Remaliah of Israel attacked Jerusalem. 891 They besieged Ahaz, 892 but were unable to conquer him. 893 16:6 (At that time King Rezin of Syria 894 recovered Elat for Syria; he drove the Judahites from there. 895 Syrians 896 arrived in Elat and live there to this very day.) 16:7 Ahaz sent messengers to King Tiglath-pileser of Assyria, saying, “I am your servant and your dependent. 897 March up and rescue me from the power 898 of the king of Syria and the king of Israel, who have attacked 899 me.” 16:8 Then Ahaz took the silver and gold that were 900 in the Lord’s temple and in the treasuries of the royal palace and sent it as tribute 901 to the king of Assyria. 16:9 The king of Assyria responded favorably to his request; 902 he 903 attacked Damascus and captured it. He deported the people 904 to Kir and executed Rezin.
16:10 When King Ahaz went to meet with King Tiglath-pileser of Assyria in Damascus, he saw the altar there. 905 King Ahaz sent to Uriah the priest a drawing of the altar and a blueprint for its design. 906 16:11 Uriah the priest built an altar in conformity to the plans King Ahaz had sent from Damascus. 907 Uriah the priest finished it before King Ahaz arrived back from Damascus. 908 16:12 When the king arrived back from Damascus and 909 saw the altar, he approached it 910 and offered a sacrifice on it. 911 16:13 He offered his burnt sacrifice and his grain offering. He poured out his libation and sprinkled the blood from his peace offerings on the altar. 16:14 He moved the bronze altar that stood in the Lord’s presence from the front of the temple (between the altar and the Lord’s temple) and put it on the north side of the new 912 altar. 16:15 King Ahaz ordered Uriah the priest, “On the large altar 913 offer the morning burnt sacrifice, the evening grain offering, the royal burnt sacrifices and grain offering, the burnt sacrifice for all the people of Israel, their grain offering, and their libations. Sprinkle all the blood of the burnt sacrifice and other sacrifices on it. The bronze altar will be for my personal use.” 914 16:16 So Uriah the priest did exactly as 915 King Ahaz ordered.
16:17 King Ahaz took off the frames of the movable stands, and removed the basins from them. He took “The Sea” 916 down from the bronze bulls that supported it 917 and put it on the pavement. 16:18 He also removed the Sabbath awning 918 that had been built 919 in the temple and the king’s outer entranceway, on account of the king of Assyria. 920
16:19 The rest of the events of Ahaz’s reign, including his accomplishments, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Judah. 921 16:20 Ahaz passed away 922 and was buried with his ancestors in the city of David. His son Hezekiah replaced him as king.
17:1 In the twelfth year of King Ahaz’s reign over Judah, Hoshea son of Elah became king over Israel. He reigned in Samaria 923 for nine years. 17:2 He did evil in the sight of 924 the Lord, but not to the same degree as the Israelite kings who preceded him. 17:3 King Shalmaneser of Assyria threatened 925 him; Hoshea became his subject and paid him tribute. 17:4 The king of Assyria discovered that Hoshea was planning a revolt. 926 Hoshea had sent messengers to King So 927 of Egypt and had not sent his annual tribute to the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria arrested him and imprisoned him. 928 17:5 The king of Assyria marched through 929 the whole land. He attacked Samaria and besieged it for three years. 17:6 In the ninth year of Hoshea’s reign, the king of Assyria captured Samaria and deported the people of Israel 930 to Assyria. He settled them in Halah, along the Habor (the river of Gozan), and in the cities of the Medes.
17:7 This happened because the Israelites sinned against the Lord their God, who brought them up from the land of Egypt and freed them from the power of 931 Pharaoh king of Egypt. They worshiped 932 other gods; 17:8 they observed the practices 933 of the nations whom the Lord had driven out from before Israel, and followed the example of the kings of Israel. 934 17:9 The Israelites said things about the Lord their God that were not right. 935 They built high places in all their cities, from the watchtower to the fortress. 936 17:10 They set up sacred pillars and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every green tree. 17:11 They burned incense on all the high places just like the nations whom the Lord had driven away from before them. Their evil practices made the Lord angry. 937 17:12 They worshiped 938 the disgusting idols 939 in blatant disregard of the Lord’s command. 940
17:13 The Lord solemnly warned Israel and Judah through all his prophets and all the seers, “Turn back from your evil ways; obey my commandments and rules that are recorded in the law. I ordered your ancestors to keep this law and sent my servants the prophets to remind you of its demands.” 941 17:14 But they did not pay attention and were as stubborn as their ancestors, 942 who had not trusted the Lord their God. 17:15 They rejected his rules, the covenant he had made with their ancestors, and the laws he had commanded them to obey. 943 They paid allegiance to 944 worthless idols, and so became worthless to the Lord. 945 They copied the practices of the surrounding nations in blatant disregard of the Lord’s command. 946 17:16 They abandoned all the commandments of the Lord their God; they made two metal calves and an Asherah pole, bowed down to all the stars in the sky, 947 and worshiped 948 Baal. 17:17 They passed their sons and daughters through the fire, 949 and practiced divination and omen reading. They committed themselves to doing evil in the sight of the Lord and made him angry. 950
17:18 So the Lord was furious 951 with Israel and rejected them; 952 only the tribe of Judah was left. 17:19 Judah also failed to keep the commandments of the Lord their God; they followed Israel’s example. 953 17:20 So the Lord rejected all of Israel’s descendants; he humiliated 954 them and handed them over to robbers, until he had thrown them from his presence. 17:21 He tore Israel away from David’s dynasty, and Jeroboam son of Nebat became their king. 955 Jeroboam drove Israel away 956 from the Lord and encouraged them to commit a serious sin. 957 17:22 The Israelites followed in the sinful ways of Jeroboam son of Nebat and did not repudiate 958 them. 17:23 Finally 959 the Lord rejected Israel 960 just as he had warned he would do 961 through all his servants the prophets. Israel was deported from its land to Assyria and remains there to this very day.
17:24 The king of Assyria brought foreigners 962 from Babylon, Cuthah, Avva, Hamath, and Sepharvaim and settled them in the cities of Samaria 963 in place of the Israelites. They took possession of Samaria and lived in its cities. 17:25 When they first moved in, 964 they did not worship 965 the Lord. So the Lord sent lions among them and the lions were killing them. 17:26 The king of Assyria was told, 966 “The nations whom you deported and settled in the cities of Samaria do not know the requirements of the God of the land, so he has sent lions among them. They are killing the people 967 because they do not know the requirements of the God of the land.” 17:27 So the king of Assyria ordered, “Take back one of the priests whom you 968 deported from there. He must settle there and teach them the requirements of the God of the land.” 969 17:28 So one of the priests whom they had deported from Samaria went back and settled in Bethel. 970 He taught them how to worship 971 the Lord.
17:29 But each of these nations made 972 its own gods and put them in the shrines on the high places that the people of Samaria 973 had made. Each nation did this in the cities where they lived. 17:30 The people from Babylon made Succoth Benoth, 974 the people from Cuth made Nergal, 975 the people from Hamath made Ashima, 976 17:31 the Avvites made Nibhaz and Tartak, 977 and the Sepharvites burned their sons in the fire as an offering to Adrammelech and Anammelech, 978 the gods of Sepharvaim. 17:32 At the same time they worshiped 979 the Lord. They appointed some of their own people to serve as priests in the shrines on the high places. 980 17:33 They were worshiping 981 the Lord and at the same time serving their own gods in accordance with the practices of the nations from which they had been deported.
17:34 To this very day they observe their earlier practices. They do not worship 982 the Lord; they do not obey the rules, regulations, law, and commandments that the Lord gave 983 the descendants of Jacob, whom he renamed Israel. 17:35 The Lord made an agreement 984 with them 985 and instructed them, “You must not worship other gods. Do not bow down to them, serve them, or offer sacrifices to them. 17:36 Instead you must worship the Lord, who brought you up from the land of Egypt by his great power and military ability; 986 bow down to him and offer sacrifices to him. 17:37 You must carefully obey at all times the rules, regulations, law, and commandments he wrote down for you. You must not worship other gods. 17:38 You must never forget the agreement I made with you, and you must not worship other gods. 17:39 Instead you must worship the Lord your God; then he will rescue you from the power of all your enemies.” 17:40 But they 987 pay no attention; instead they observe their earlier practices. 17:41 These nations are worshiping the Lord and at the same time serving their idols; their sons and grandsons do just as their fathers have done, to this very day.
18:1 In the third year of the reign of Israel’s King Hoshea son of Elah, Ahaz’s son Hezekiah became king over Judah. 18:2 He was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. 988 His mother 989 was Abi, 990 the daughter of Zechariah. 18:3 He did what the Lord approved, just as his ancestor David had done. 991 18:4 He eliminated the high places, smashed the sacred pillars to bits, and cut down the Asherah pole. 992 He also demolished the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for up to that time 993 the Israelites had been offering incense to it; it was called Nehushtan. 994 18:5 He trusted in the Lord God of Israel; in this regard there was none like him among the kings of Judah either before or after. 995 18:6 He was loyal to 996 the Lord and did not abandon him. 997 He obeyed the commandments which the Lord had given to 998 Moses. 18:7 The Lord was with him; he succeeded in all his endeavors. 999 He rebelled against the king of Assyria and refused to submit to him. 1000 18:8 He defeated the Philistines as far as Gaza and its territory, from the watchtower to the city fortress. 1001
18:9 In the fourth year of King Hezekiah’s reign (it was the seventh year of the reign of Israel’s King Hoshea, son of Elah), King Shalmaneser of Assyria marched 1002 up against Samaria 1003 and besieged it. 18:10 After three years he captured it (in the sixth year of Hezekiah’s reign); in the ninth year of King Hoshea’s reign over Israel Samaria was captured. 18:11 The king of Assyria deported the people of Israel 1004 to Assyria. He settled them in Halah, along the Habor (the river of Gozan), and in the cities of the Medes. 18:12 This happened because they did not obey 1005 the Lord their God and broke his agreement with them. 1006 They did not pay attention to and obey all that Moses, the Lord’s servant, had commanded. 1007
18:13 In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah’s reign, King Sennacherib of Assyria marched up against all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them. 18:14 King Hezekiah of Judah sent this message to the king of Assyria, who was at Lachish, “I have violated our treaty. 1008 If you leave, I will do whatever you demand.” 1009 So the king of Assyria demanded that King Hezekiah of Judah pay three hundred talents 1010 of silver and thirty talents of gold. 18:15 Hezekiah gave him all the silver in 1011 the Lord’s temple and in the treasuries of the royal palace. 18:16 At that time King Hezekiah of Judah stripped the metal overlays from the doors of the Lord’s temple and from the posts which he had plated 1012 and gave them to the king of Assyria.
18:17 The king of Assyria sent his commanding general, the chief eunuch, and the chief adviser 1013 from Lachish to King Hezekiah in Jerusalem, 1014 along with a large army. They went up and arrived at Jerusalem. They went 1015 and stood at the conduit of the upper pool which is located on the road to the field where they wash and dry cloth. 1016 18:18 They summoned the king, so Eliakim son of Hilkiah, the palace supervisor, accompanied by Shebna the scribe and Joah son of Asaph, the secretary, went out to meet them.
18:19 The chief adviser said to them, “Tell Hezekiah: ‘This is what the great king, the king of Assyria, says: “What is your source of confidence? 1017 18:20 Your claim to have a strategy and military strength is just empty talk. 1018 In whom are you trusting that you would dare to rebel against me? 18:21 Now look, you must be trusting in Egypt, that splintered reed staff. If a man leans for support on it, it punctures his hand and wounds him. That is what Pharaoh king of Egypt does to all who trust in him. 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.’ 18:23 Now make a deal 1019 with my master the king of Assyria, and I will give you two thousand horses, provided you can find enough riders for them. 18:24 Certainly you will not refuse one of my master’s minor officials and trust in Egypt for chariots and horsemen. 1020 18:25 Furthermore it was by the command of the Lord that I marched up against this place to destroy it. The Lord told me, ‘March 1021 up against this land and destroy it.’”’” 1022
18:26 Eliakim son of Hilkiah, Shebna, and Joah said to the chief adviser, “Speak to your servants in Aramaic, 1023 for we understand it. Don’t speak with us in the Judahite dialect 1024 in the hearing of the people who are on the wall.” 18:27 But the chief adviser said to them, “My master did not send me to speak these words only to your master and to you. 1025 His message is also for the men who sit on the wall, for they will eat their own excrement and drink their own urine along with you.” 1026
18:28 The chief adviser then stood there and called out loudly in the Judahite dialect, 1027 “Listen to the message of the great king, the king of Assyria. 18:29 This is what the king says: ‘Don’t let Hezekiah mislead you, for he is not able to rescue you from my hand! 1028 18:30 Don’t let Hezekiah talk you into trusting in the Lord when he says, “The Lord will certainly rescue us; this city will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.” 18:31 Don’t listen to Hezekiah!’ For this is what the king of Assyria says, ‘Send me a token of your submission and surrender to me. 1029 Then each of you may eat from his own vine and fig tree and drink water from his own cistern, 18:32 until I come and take you to a land just like your own – a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olive trees and honey. Then you will live and not die. Don’t listen to Hezekiah, for he is misleading you when he says, “The Lord will rescue us.” 18:33 Have any of the gods of the nations actually rescued his land from the power of the king of Assyria? 1030 18:34 Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah? 1031 Indeed, did any gods rescue Samaria 1032 from my power? 1033 18:35 Who among all the gods of the lands has rescued their lands from my power? So how can the Lord rescue Jerusalem from my power?’” 1034 18:36 The people were silent and did not respond, for the king had ordered, “Don’t respond to him.”
18:37 Eliakim son of Hilkiah, the palace supervisor, accompanied by Shebna the scribe and Joah son of Asaph, the secretary, went to Hezekiah with their clothes torn 1035 and reported to him what the chief adviser had said. 19:1 When King Hezekiah heard this, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth, and went to the Lord’s temple. 19:2 He sent Eliakim the palace supervisor, Shebna the scribe, and the leading priests, 1036 clothed in sackcloth, with this message to the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz: 19:3 “This is what Hezekiah says: 1037 ‘This is a day of distress, insults, 1038 and humiliation, 1039 as when a baby is ready to leave the birth canal, but the mother lacks the strength to push it through. 1040 19:4 Perhaps the Lord your God will hear all these things the chief adviser has spoken on behalf of his master, the king of Assyria, who sent him to taunt the living God. 1041 When the Lord your God hears, perhaps he will punish him for the things he has said. 1042 So pray for this remnant that remains.’” 1043
19:5 When King Hezekiah’s servants came to Isaiah, 19:6 Isaiah said to them, “Tell your master this: ‘This is what the Lord says: “Don’t be afraid because of the things you have heard – these insults the king of Assyria’s servants have hurled against me. 1044 19:7 Look, I will take control of his mind; 1045 he will receive 1046 a report and return to his own land. I will cut him down 1047 with a sword in his own land.”’”
19:8 When the chief adviser heard the king of Assyria had departed from Lachish, he left and went to Libnah, where the king was campaigning. 1048 19:9 The king 1049 heard that King Tirhakah of Ethiopia was marching out to fight him. 1050 He again sent messengers to Hezekiah, ordering them: 19:10 “Tell King Hezekiah of Judah this: ‘Don’t let your God in whom you trust mislead you when he says, “Jerusalem will not be handed over 1051 to the king of Assyria.” 19:11 Certainly you have heard how the kings of Assyria have annihilated all lands. 1052 Do you really think you will be rescued? 1053 19:12 Were the nations whom my ancestors destroyed – the nations of Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the people of Eden in Telassar – rescued by their gods? 1054 19:13 Where are the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, and the king of Lair, 1055 Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah?’”
19:14 Hezekiah took the letter 1056 from the messengers and read it. 1057 Then Hezekiah went up to the Lord’s temple and spread it out before the Lord. 19:15 Hezekiah prayed before the Lord: “Lord God of Israel, who is enthroned on the cherubs! 1058 You alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You made the sky 1059 and the earth. 19:16 Pay attention, Lord, and hear! Open your eyes, Lord, and observe! Listen to the message Sennacherib sent and how he taunts the living God! 1060 19:17 It is true, Lord, that the kings of Assyria have destroyed the nations and their lands. 19:18 They have burned the gods of the nations, 1061 for they are not really gods, but only the product of human hands manufactured from wood and stone. That is why the Assyrians could destroy them. 1062 19:19 Now, O Lord our God, rescue us from his power, so that all the kingdoms of the earth will know that you, Lord, are the only God.”
19:20 Isaiah son of Amoz sent this message to Hezekiah: “This is what the Lord God of Israel says: ‘I have heard your prayer concerning King Sennacherib of Assyria. 1063 19:21 This is what the Lord says about him: 1064
“The virgin daughter Zion 1065
despises you, she makes fun of you;
Daughter Jerusalem
shakes her head after you. 1066
19:22 Whom have you taunted and hurled insults at?
At whom have you shouted, 1067
and looked so arrogantly? 1068
At the Holy One of Israel! 1069
19:23 Through your messengers you taunted the sovereign master, 1070
‘With my many chariots 1071
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, 1072
its thickest woods.
19:24 I dug wells and drank
water in foreign lands. 1073
With the soles of my feet I dried up
all the rivers of Egypt.’
19:25 1074 Certainly you must have heard! 1075
Long ago I worked it out,
In ancient times I planned 1076 it;
and now I am bringing it to pass.
The plan is this:
Fortified cities will crash
into heaps of ruins. 1077
19:26 Their residents are powerless, 1078
they are terrified and ashamed.
They are as short-lived as plants in the field,
or green vegetation. 1079
They are as short-lived as grass on the rooftops 1080
when it is scorched by the east wind. 1081
19:27 I know where you live,
and everything you do. 1082
19:28 Because you rage against me,
and the uproar you create has reached my ears; 1083
I will put my hook in your nose, 1084
and my bridle between your lips,
and I will lead you back the way
you came.”
19:29 1085 This will be your confirmation that I have spoken the truth: 1086 This year you will eat what grows wild, 1087 and next year 1088 what grows on its own from that. But in the third year you will plant seed and harvest crops; you will plant vines and consume their produce. 1089 19:30 Those who remain in Judah will take root in the ground and bear fruit. 1090
19:31 For a remnant will leave Jerusalem;
survivors will come out of Mount Zion.
The intense devotion of the sovereign Lord 1091 to his people 1092 will accomplish this.
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. 1093
He will not attack it with his shield-carrying warriors, 1094
nor will he build siege works against it.
19:33 He will go back the way he came.
He will not enter this city,” says the Lord.
19:34 I will shield this city and rescue it for the sake of my reputation and because of my promise to David my servant.’” 1095
19:35 That very night the Lord’s messenger went out and killed 185,000 men in the Assyrian camp. When they 1096 got up early the next morning, there were all the corpses. 1097 19:36 So King Sennacherib of Assyria broke camp and went on his way. He went home and stayed in Nineveh. 1098 19:37 One day, 1099 as he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch, 1100 his sons 1101 Adrammelech and Sharezer struck him down with the sword. 1102 They escaped to the land of Ararat; his son Esarhaddon replaced him as king.
20:1 In those days Hezekiah was stricken with a terminal illness. 1103 The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz visited him and told him, “This is what the Lord says, ‘Give your household instructions, for you are about to die; you will not get well.’” 1104 20:2 He turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, 20:3 “Please, Lord. Remember how I have served you 1105 faithfully and with wholehearted devotion, 1106 and how I have carried out your will.” 1107 Then Hezekiah wept bitterly. 1108
20:4 Isaiah was still in the middle courtyard when the Lord told him, 1109 20:5 “Go back and tell Hezekiah, the leader of my people: ‘This is what the Lord God of your ancestor David says: “I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Look, I will heal you. The day after tomorrow 1110 you will go up to the Lord’s temple. 20:6 I will add fifteen years to your life and rescue you and this city from the king of Assyria. I will shield this city for the sake of my reputation and because of my promise to David my servant.”’” 1111 20:7 Isaiah ordered, “Get a fig cake.” So they did as he ordered 1112 and placed it on the ulcerated sore, and he recovered. 1113
20:8 Hezekiah had said to Isaiah, “What is the confirming sign that the Lord will heal me and that I will go up to the Lord’s temple the day after tomorrow?” 20:9 Isaiah replied, “This is your sign from the Lord confirming that the Lord will do what he has said. Do you want the shadow to move ahead ten steps or to go back ten steps?” 1114 20:10 Hezekiah answered, “It is easy for the shadow to lengthen ten steps, but not for it 1115 to go back ten steps.” 20:11 Isaiah the prophet called out to the Lord, and the Lord 1116 made the shadow go back ten steps on the stairs of Ahaz. 1117
20:12 At that time Merodach-Baladan 1118 son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a gift to Hezekiah, for he had heard that Hezekiah was ill. 20:13 Hezekiah welcomed 1119 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. 1120 20:14 Isaiah the prophet visited King Hezekiah and asked him, “What did these men say? Where do they come from?” Hezekiah replied, “They come from the distant land of Babylon.” 20:15 Isaiah 1121 asked, “What have they seen in your palace?” Hezekiah replied, “They have seen everything in my palace. I showed them everything 1122 in my treasuries.” 20:16 Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Listen to the word of the Lord, 20:17 ‘Look, a time is 1123 coming when everything in your palace and the things your ancestors have accumulated to this day will be carried away to Babylon; nothing will be left,’ says the Lord. 20:18 ‘Some of your very own descendants whom you father 1124 will be taken away and will be made eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.’” 20:19 Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The Lord’s word which you have announced is appropriate.” 1125 Then he added, 1126 “At least there will be peace and stability during my lifetime.” 1127
20:20 The rest of the events of Hezekiah’s reign and all his accomplishments, including how he built a pool and conduit to bring 1128 water into the city, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Judah. 1129 20:21 Hezekiah passed away 1130 and his son Manasseh replaced him as king.
21:1 Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned for fifty-five years in Jerusalem. 1131 His mother 1132 was Hephzibah. 21:2 He did evil in the sight of 1133 the Lord and committed the same horrible sins practiced by the nations 1134 whom the Lord drove out from before the Israelites. 21:3 He rebuilt the high places that his father Hezekiah had destroyed; he set up altars for Baal and made an Asherah pole just like King Ahab of Israel had done. He bowed down to all the stars in the sky 1135 and worshiped 1136 them. 21:4 He built altars in the Lord’s temple, about which the Lord had said, “Jerusalem will be my home.” 1137 21:5 In the two courtyards of the Lord’s temple he built altars for all the stars in the sky. 21:6 He passed his son 1138 through the fire 1139 and practiced divination and omen reading. He set up a ritual pit to conjure up underworld spirits, and appointed magicians to supervise it. 1140 He did a great amount of evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking him to anger. 1141 21:7 He put an idol of Asherah he had made in the temple, about which the Lord had said to David and to his son Solomon, “This temple in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, will be my permanent home. 1142 21:8 I will not make Israel again leave the land I gave to their ancestors, 1143 provided that they carefully obey all I commanded them, the whole law my servant Moses ordered them to obey.” 21:9 But they did not obey, 1144 and Manasseh misled them so that they sinned more than the nations whom the Lord had destroyed from before the Israelites.
21:10 So the Lord announced through 1145 his servants the prophets: 21:11 “King Manasseh of Judah has committed horrible sins. 1146 He has sinned more than the Amorites before him and has encouraged Judah to sin by worshiping his disgusting idols. 1147 21:12 So this is what the Lord God of Israel says, ‘I am about to bring disaster on Jerusalem and Judah. The news will reverberate in the ears of those who hear about it. 1148 21:13 I will destroy Jerusalem the same way I did Samaria 1149 and the dynasty of Ahab. 1150 I will wipe Jerusalem clean, just as one wipes a plate on both sides. 1151 21:14 I will abandon this last remaining tribe among my people 1152 and hand them over to their enemies; they will be plundered and robbed by all their enemies, 1153 21:15 because they have done evil in my sight 1154 and have angered me from the time their ancestors left Egypt right up to this very day!’”
21:16 Furthermore Manasseh killed so many innocent people, he stained Jerusalem with their blood from end to end, 1155 in addition to encouraging Judah to sin by doing evil in the sight of the Lord. 1156
21:17 The rest of the events of Manasseh’s reign and all his accomplishments, as well as the sinful acts he committed, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Judah. 1157 21:18 Manasseh passed away 1158 and was buried in his palace garden, the garden of Uzzah, and his son Amon replaced him as king.
21:19 Amon was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned for two years in Jerusalem. 1159 His mother 1160 was Meshullemeth, the daughter of Haruz, from Jotbah. 21:20 He did evil in the sight of 1161 the Lord, just like his father Manasseh had done. 21:21 He followed in the footsteps of his father 1162 and worshiped and bowed down to the disgusting idols 1163 which his father had worshiped. 1164 21:22 He abandoned the Lord God of his ancestors and did not follow the Lord’s instructions. 1165 21:23 Amon’s servants conspired against him and killed the king in his palace. 21:24 The people of the land executed all those who had conspired against King Amon, and they 1166 made his son Josiah king in his place.
21:25 The rest of Amon’s accomplishments are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Judah. 1167 21:26 He was buried 1168 in his tomb in the garden of Uzzah, and his son Josiah replaced him as king.
22:1 Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned for thirty-one years in Jerusalem. 1169 His mother 1170 was Jedidah, daughter of Adaiah, from Bozkath. 22:2 He did what the Lord approved 1171 and followed in his ancestor David’s footsteps; 1172 he did not deviate to the right or the left.
22:3 In the eighteenth year of King Josiah’s reign, the king sent the scribe Shaphan son of Azaliah, son of Meshullam, to the Lord’s temple with these orders: 1173 22:4 “Go up to Hilkiah the high priest and have him melt down 1174 the silver that has been brought by the people to the Lord’s temple and has been collected by the guards at the door. 22:5 Have them hand it over to the construction foremen 1175 assigned to the Lord’s temple. They in turn should pay the temple workers to repair it, 1176 22:6 including craftsmen, builders, and masons, and should buy wood and chiseled stone for the repair work. 1177 22:7 Do not audit the foremen who disburse the silver, for they are honest.” 1178
22:8 Hilkiah the high priest informed Shaphan the scribe, “I found the law scroll in the Lord’s temple.” Hilkiah gave the scroll to Shaphan and he read it. 22:9 Shaphan the scribe went to the king and reported, 1179 “Your servants melted down the silver in the temple 1180 and handed it over to the construction foremen assigned to the Lord’s temple.” 22:10 Then Shaphan the scribe told the king, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a scroll.” Shaphan read it out loud before the king. 22:11 When the king heard the words of the law scroll, he tore his clothes. 22:12 The king ordered Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam son of Shaphan, Acbor son of Micaiah, Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah the king’s servant, 22:13 “Go, seek an oracle from 1181 the Lord for me and the people – for all Judah. Find out about 1182 the words of this scroll that has been discovered. For the Lord’s fury has been ignited against us, 1183 because our ancestors have not obeyed the words of this scroll by doing all that it instructs us to do.” 1184
22:14 So Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam, Acbor, Shaphan, and Asaiah went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shullam son of Tikvah, the son of Harhas, the supervisor of the wardrobe. 1185 (She lived in Jerusalem in the Mishneh 1186 district.) They stated their business, 1187 22:15 and she said to them: “This is what the Lord God of Israel says: ‘Say this to the man who sent you to me: 22:16 “This is what the Lord says: ‘I am about to bring disaster on this place and its residents, the details of which are recorded in the scroll which the king of Judah has read. 1188 22:17 This will happen because they have abandoned me and offered sacrifices 1189 to other gods, angering me with all the idols they have made. 1190 My anger will ignite against this place and will not be extinguished!’” 22:18 Say this to the king of Judah, who sent you to seek an oracle from the Lord: “This is what the Lord God of Israel says concerning the words you have heard: 22:19 ‘You displayed a sensitive spirit 1191 and humbled yourself before the Lord when you heard how I intended to make this place and its residents into an appalling example of an accursed people. 1192 You tore your clothes and wept before me, and I have heard you,’ says the Lord. 22:20 ‘Therefore I will allow you to die and be buried in peace. 1193 You will not have to witness 1194 all the disaster I will bring on this place.’”’” Then they reported back to the king.
23:1 The king summoned all the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem. 1195 23:2 The king went up to the Lord’s temple, accompanied by all the people of Judah, all the residents of Jerusalem, the priests, and the prophets. All the people were there, from the youngest to the oldest. He read aloud 1196 all the words of the scroll of the covenant that had been discovered in the Lord’s temple. 23:3 The king stood by the pillar and renewed 1197 the covenant before the Lord, agreeing to follow 1198 the Lord and to obey his commandments, laws, and rules with all his heart and being, 1199 by carrying out the terms 1200 of this covenant recorded on this scroll. All the people agreed to keep the covenant. 1201
23:4 The king ordered Hilkiah the high priest, the high-ranking priests, 1202 and the guards 1203 to bring out of the Lord’s temple all the items that were used in the worship of 1204 Baal, Asherah, and all the stars of the sky. 1205 The king 1206 burned them outside of Jerusalem in the terraces 1207 of Kidron, and carried their ashes to Bethel. 1208 23:5 He eliminated 1209 the pagan priests whom the kings of Judah had appointed to offer sacrifices 1210 on the high places in the cities of Judah and in the area right around Jerusalem. (They offered sacrifices 1211 to Baal, the sun god, the moon god, the constellations, and all the stars in the sky.) 23:6 He removed the Asherah pole from the Lord’s temple and took it outside Jerusalem to the Kidron Valley, where he burned it. 1212 He smashed it to dust and then threw the dust in the public graveyard. 1213 23:7 He tore down the quarters 1214 of the male cultic prostitutes in the Lord’s temple, where women were weaving shrines 1215 for Asherah.
23:8 He brought all the priests from the cities of Judah and ruined 1216 the high places where the priests had offered sacrifices, from Geba to Beer Sheba. 1217 He tore down the high place of the goat idols 1218 situated at the entrance of the gate of Joshua, the city official, on the left side of the city gate. 23:9 (Now the priests of the high places did not go up to the altar of the Lord in Jerusalem, but they did eat unleavened cakes among their fellow priests.) 1219 23:10 The king 1220 ruined Topheth in the Valley of Ben Hinnom so that no one could pass his son or his daughter through the fire to Molech. 1221 23:11 He removed from the entrance to the Lord’s temple the statues of horses 1222 that the kings of Judah had placed there in honor of the sun god. (They were kept near the room of Nathan Melech the eunuch, which was situated among the courtyards.) 1223 He burned up the chariots devoted to the sun god. 1224 23:12 The king tore down the altars the kings of Judah had set up on the roof of Ahaz’s upper room, as well as the altars Manasseh had set up in the two courtyards of the Lord’s temple. He crushed them up 1225 and threw the dust in the Kidron Valley. 23:13 The king ruined the high places east of Jerusalem, south of the Mount of Destruction, 1226 that King Solomon of Israel had built for the detestable Sidonian goddess Astarte, the detestable Moabite god Chemosh, and the horrible Ammonite god Milcom. 23:14 He smashed the sacred pillars to bits, cut down the Asherah pole, and filled those shrines 1227 with human bones.
23:15 He also tore down the altar in Bethel 1228 at the high place made by Jeroboam son of Nebat, who encouraged Israel to sin. 1229 He burned all the combustible items at that high place and crushed them to dust; including the Asherah pole. 1230 23:16 When Josiah turned around, he saw the tombs there on the hill. So he ordered the bones from the tombs to be brought; 1231 he burned them on the altar and defiled it. This fulfilled the Lord’s announcement made by the prophet while Jeroboam stood by the altar during a festival. King Josiah 1232 turned and saw the grave of the prophet who had foretold this. 1233 23:17 He asked, “What is this grave marker I see?” The men from the city replied, “It’s the grave of the prophet 1234 who came from Judah and foretold these very things you have done to the altar of Bethel.” 23:18 The king 1235 said, “Leave it alone! No one must touch his bones.” So they left his bones undisturbed, as well as the bones of the Israelite prophet buried beside him. 1236
23:19 Josiah also removed all the shrines on the high places in the cities of Samaria. The kings of Israel had made them and angered the Lord. 1237 He did to them what he had done to the high place in Bethel. 1238 23:20 He sacrificed all the priests of the high places on the altars located there, and burned human bones on them. Then he returned to Jerusalem.
23:21 The king ordered all the people, “Observe the Passover of the Lord your God, as prescribed in this scroll of the covenant.” 23:22 He issued this edict because 1239 a Passover like this had not been observed since the days of the judges; it was neglected for the entire period of the kings of Israel and Judah. 1240 23:23 But in the eighteenth year of King Josiah’s reign, such a Passover of the Lord was observed in Jerusalem.
23:24 Josiah also got rid of 1241 the ritual pits used to conjure up spirits, 1242 the magicians, personal idols, disgusting images, 1243 and all the detestable idols that had appeared in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem. In this way he carried out the terms of the law 1244 recorded on the scroll that Hilkiah the priest had discovered in the Lord’s temple. 23:25 No king before or after repented before the Lord as he did, with his whole heart, soul, and being in accordance with the whole law of Moses. 1245
23:26 Yet the Lord’s great anger against Judah did not subside; he was still infuriated by all the things Manasseh had done. 1246 23:27 The Lord announced, “I will also spurn Judah, 1247 just as I spurned Israel. I will reject this city that I chose – both Jerusalem and the temple, about which I said, “I will live there.” 1248
23:28 The rest of the events of Josiah’s reign and all his accomplishments are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Judah. 1249 23:29 During Josiah’s reign Pharaoh Necho king of Egypt marched toward 1250 the Euphrates River to help the king of Assyria. King Josiah marched out to fight him, but Necho 1251 killed him at Megiddo 1252 when he saw him. 23:30 His servants transported his dead body 1253 from Megiddo in a chariot and brought it to Jerusalem, where they buried him in his tomb. The people of the land took Josiah’s son Jehoahaz, poured olive oil on his head, 1254 and made him king in his father’s place.
[18:2] 1 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[18:2] 2 tn Heb “the name of his mother.”
[18:2] 3 tn The parallel passage in 2 Chr 29:1 has “Abijah.”
[18:3] 4 tn Heb “he did what was proper in the eyes of the
[18:4] 5 tn The term is singular in the MT but plural in the LXX and other ancient versions. It is also possible to regard the singular as a collective singular, especially in the context of other plural items.
[18:4] sn Asherah was a leading deity of the Canaanite pantheon, wife/sister of El and goddess of fertility. She was commonly worshiped at shrines in or near groves of evergreen trees, or, failing that, at places marked by wooden poles. These were to be burned or cut down (Deut 12:3; 16:21; Judg 6:25, 28, 30; 2 Kgs 18:4).
[18:4] 6 tn Heb “until those days.”
[18:4] 7 tn In Hebrew the name sounds like the phrase נְחַשׁ הַנְּחֹשֶׁת (nÿkhash hannÿkhoshet), “bronze serpent.”
[18:5] 8 tn Heb “and after him there was none like him among all the kings of Judah, and those who were before him.”
[18:6] 10 tn Heb “and did not turn aside from after him.”
[18:6] 11 tn Heb “had commanded.”
[18:7] 12 tn Heb “in all which he went out [to do], he was successful.”
[18:7] 13 tn Heb “and did not serve him.”
[18:8] 14 sn See the note at 2 Kgs 17:9.
[18:9] 15 tn Heb “went” (also in v. 13).
[18:9] 16 map For location see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.
[18:11] 17 tn The Hebrew text has simply “Israel” as the object of the verb.
[18:12] 18 tn Heb “listen to the voice of.”
[18:12] 19 tn Heb “his covenant.”
[18:12] 20 tn Heb “all that Moses, the
[18:14] 21 tn Or “I have done wrong.”
[18:14] 22 tn Heb “Return from upon me; what you place upon me, I will carry.”
[18:14] 23 tn The Hebrew term כִּכָּר (kikkar, “circle”) refers generally to something that is round. When used of metals it can refer to a disk-shaped weight made of the metal or to a standard unit of weight, generally regarded as a talent. Since the accepted weight for a talent of metal is about 75 pounds, this would have amounted to about 22,500 pounds of silver and 2,250 pounds of gold.
[18:15] 24 tn Heb “that was found.”
[18:16] 25 tn Heb “At that time Hezekiah stripped the doors of the
[18:17] 26 sn For a discussion of these titles see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 229-30.
[18:17] 27 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[18:17] 28 tn Heb “and they went up and came.”
[18:17] 29 tn Heb “the field of the washer.”
[18:19] 30 tn Heb “What is this object of trust in which you are trusting?”
[18:20] 31 tn Heb “you say only a word of lips, counsel and might for battle.” Sennacherib’s message appears to be in broken Hebrew at this point. The phrase “word of lips” refers to mere or empty talk in Prov 14:23.
[18:23] 32 tn Heb “exchange pledges.”
[18:24] 33 tn Heb “How can you turn back the face of an official [from among] the least of my master’s servants and trust in Egypt for chariots and horsemen?” In vv. 23-24 the chief adviser develops further the argument begun in v. 21. His reasoning seems to be as follows: “In your weakened condition you obviously need military strength. Agree to the king’s terms and I will personally give you more horses than you are capable of outfitting. If I, a mere minor official, am capable of giving you such military might, just think what power the king has. There is no way the Egyptians can match our strength. It makes much better sense to deal with us.”
[18:25] 35 sn In v. 25 the chief adviser develops further the argument begun in v. 22. He claims that Hezekiah has offended the Lord and that the Lord has commissioned Assyria as his instrument of discipline and judgment.
[18:26] 36 sn Aramaic was the diplomatic language of the empire.
[18:27] 38 tn Heb “To your master and to you did my master send me to speak these words?” The rhetorical question expects a negative answer.
[18:27] 39 tn Heb “[Is it] not [also] to the men…?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Yes, it is.”
[18:27] sn The chief adviser alludes to the horrible reality of siege warfare, when the starving people in the besieged city would resort to eating and drinking anything to stay alive.
[18:28] 40 tn The Hebrew text also has, “and he spoke and said.”
[18:29] 41 tc The MT has “his hand,” but this is due to graphic confusion of vav (ו) and yod (י). The translation reads “my hand,” along with many medieval Hebrew
[18:31] 42 tn Heb “make with me a blessing and come out to me.”
[18:33] 43 tn Heb “Have the gods of the nations really rescued, each his land, from the hand of the king of Assyria?” The infinitive absolute lends emphasis to the main verb. The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Of course not!”
[18:34] 44 tn The parallel passage in Isa 36:19 omits “Hena and Ivvah.” The rhetorical questions in v. 34a suggest the answer, “Nowhere, they seem to have disappeared in the face of Assyria’s might.”
[18:34] 45 map For location see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.
[18:34] 46 tn Heb “that they rescued Samaria from my hand?” But this gives the impression that the gods of Sepharvaim were responsible for protecting Samaria, which is obviously not the case. The implied subject of the plural verb “rescued” must be the generic “gods of the nations/lands” (vv. 33, 35).
[18:35] 47 tn Heb “that the
[18:37] 48 sn As a sign of grief and mourning.
[19:2] 49 tn Heb “elders of the priests.”
[19:3] 50 tn In the Hebrew text this verse begins with “they said to him.”
[19:3] 51 tn Or “rebuke,” “correction.”
[19:3] 53 tn Heb “when sons come to the cervical opening and there is no strength to give birth.”
[19:4] 54 tn Heb “all the words of the chief adviser whom his master, the king of Assyria, sent to taunt the living God.”
[19:4] 55 tn Heb “and rebuke the words which the
[19:4] 56 tn Heb “and lift up a prayer on behalf of the remnant that is found.”
[19:6] 57 tn Heb “by which the servants of the king of Assyria have insulted me.”
[19:7] 58 tn Heb “I will put in him a spirit.” The precise sense of רוּחַ (ruakh), “spirit,” is uncertain in this context. It may refer to a spiritual being who will take control of his mind (see 1 Kgs 22:19), or it could refer to a disposition of concern and fear. In either case the
[19:7] 60 tn Heb “cause him to fall,” that is, “kill him.”
[19:8] 61 tn Heb “and the chief adviser returned and he found the king of Assyria fighting against Libnah, for he heard that he had departed from Lachish.”
[19:9] 62 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[19:9] 63 tn Heb “heard concerning Tirhakah king of Cush, ‘Look, he has come out to fight with you.’”
[19:10] 64 tn Heb “will not be given.”
[19:11] 65 tn Heb “Look, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the lands, annihilating them.”
[19:11] 66 tn Heb “and will you be rescued?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “No, of course not!”
[19:12] 67 tn Heb “Did the gods of the nations whom my fathers destroyed rescue them – Gozan and Haran, and Rezeph and the sons of Eden who are in Telassar?”
[19:13] 68 sn Lair is a city located in northeastern Babylon. See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 235.
[19:14] 69 tc The MT has the plural, “letters,” but the final mem is probably dittographic (note the initial mem on the form that immediately follows). Some Greek and Aramaic witnesses have the singular.
[19:14] 70 tc The MT has the plural suffix, “them,” but this probably reflects a later harmonization to the preceding textual corruption (of “letter” to “letters”). The parallel passage in Isa 37:14 has the singular suffix.
[19:15] 71 sn This refers to the cherub images that were above the ark of the covenant.
[19:15] 72 tn Or “the heavens.”
[19:16] 73 tn Heb “Hear the words of Sennacherib which he sent to taunt the living God.”
[19:18] 74 tn Heb “and they put their gods in the fire.”
[19:18] 75 tn Heb “so they destroyed them.”
[19:20] 76 tn Heb “That which you prayed to me concerning Sennacherib king of Assyria I have heard.” The verb “I have heard” does not appear in the parallel passage in Isa 37:21, where אֲשֶׁר (’asher) probably has a causal sense, “because.”
[19:21] 77 tn Heb “this is the word which the
[19:21] 78 sn Zion (Jerusalem) is pictured here as a young, vulnerable daughter whose purity is being threatened by the would-be Assyrian rapist. The personification hints at the reality which the young girls of the city would face if the Assyrians conquer it.
[19:21] 79 sn Shaking the head was a mocking gesture of derision.
[19:22] 80 tn Heb “have you raised a voice.”
[19:22] 81 tn Heb “and lifted your eyes on high?”
[19:22] 82 sn This divine title pictures the Lord as the sovereign king who rules over his covenant people and exercises moral authority over them.
[19:23] 83 tn The word is אֲדֹנָי (’adonai), “lord,” but some Hebrew
[19:23] 84 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
[19:23] 85 tn Heb “the lodging place of its extremity.”
[19:24] 86 tn Heb “I dug and drank foreign waters.”
[19:25] 87 tn Having quoted the Assyrian king’s arrogant words in vv. 23-24, the Lord now speaks to the king.
[19:25] 88 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] 90 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.
[19:26] 91 tn Heb “short of hand.”
[19:26] 92 tn Heb “they are plants in the field and green vegetation.” The metaphor emphasizes how short-lived these seemingly powerful cities really were. See Ps 90:5-6; Isa 40:6-8, 24.
[19:26] 93 tn Heb “[they are] grass on the rooftops.” See the preceding note.
[19:26] 94 tc The Hebrew text has “scorched before the standing grain” (perhaps meaning “before it reaches maturity”), but it is preferable to emend קָמָה (qamah), “standing grain,” to קָדִים (qadim), “east wind” (with the support of 1Q Isaa in Isa 37:27).
[19:27] 95 tc Heb “your going out and your coming in.” The MT also has here, “and how you have raged against me.” However, this line is probably dittographic (note the beginning of the next line).
[19:28] 96 tc Heb “and your complacency comes up into my ears.” The parallelism is improved if שַׁאֲנַנְךְ (sha’anankh), “your complacency,” is emended to שַׁאֲוַנְךְ (sha’avankh), “your uproar.” See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 237-38.
[19:28] 97 sn The word picture has a parallel in Assyrian sculpture. See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 238.
[19:29] 98 tn At this point the word concerning the king of Assyria (vv. 21-28) ends and the Lord again directly addresses Hezekiah and the people (see v. 20).
[19:29] 99 tn Heb “and this is your sign.” In this case the אוֹת (’ot), “sign,” is a future confirmation of God’s intervention designated before the actual intervention takes place. For similar “signs” see Exod 3:12 and Isa 7:14-25.
[19:29] 100 sn This refers to crops that grew up on their own (that is, without cultivation) from the seed planted in past years.
[19:29] 101 tn Heb “and in the second year.”
[19:29] 102 tn The four plural imperatival verb forms in v. 29b are used rhetorically. The Lord commands the people to plant, harvest, etc. to emphasize the certainty of restored peace and prosperity. See IBHS 572 §34.4.c.
[19:30] 103 tn Heb “The remnant of the house of Judah that is left will add roots below and produce fruit above.”
[19:31] 104 tn Traditionally “the
[19:31] 105 tn Heb “the zeal of the
[19:32] 107 tn Heb “[with] a shield.” By metonymy the “shield” stands for the soldier who carries it.
[19:34] 108 tn Heb “for my sake and for the sake of David my servant.”
[19:35] 109 tn This refers to the Israelites and/or the rest of the Assyrian army.
[19:35] 110 tn Heb “look, all of them were dead bodies.”
[19:36] 111 tn Heb “and Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and went and returned and lived in Nineveh.”
[19:37] 112 sn The assassination probably took place in 681
[19:37] 113 sn No such Mesopotamian god is presently known. Perhaps the name is a corruption of Nusku.
[19:37] 114 tc Although “his sons” is absent in the Kethib, it is supported by the Qere, along with many medieval Hebrew
[19:37] 115 sn Extra-biblical sources also mention the assassination of Sennacherib, though they refer to only one assassin. See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 239-40.
[20:1] 116 tn Heb “was sick to the point of dying.”
[20:1] 117 tn Heb “will not live.”
[20:3] 118 tn Heb “walked before you.” For a helpful discussion of the background and meaning of this Hebrew idiom, see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 254.
[20:3] 119 tn Heb “and with a complete heart.”
[20:3] 120 tn Heb “and that which is good in your eyes I have done.”
[20:3] 121 tn Heb “wept with great weeping.”
[20:4] 122 tc Heb “and Isaiah had not gone out of the middle courtyard, and the word of the
[20:5] 123 tn Heb “on the third day.”
[20:6] 124 tn Heb “for my sake and for the sake of David my servant.”
[20:7] 125 tn Heb “and they got [a fig cake].”
[20:7] 126 tn Heb “and he lived.”
[20:9] 127 tn The Hebrew הָלַךְ (halakh, a perfect), “it has moved ahead,” should be emended to הֲיֵלֵךְ (hayelekh, an imperfect with interrogative he [ה] prefixed), “shall it move ahead.”
[20:10] 128 tn Heb “the shadow.” The noun has been replaced by the pronoun (“it”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[20:11] 129 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the
[20:11] 130 tn Heb “on the steps which [the sun] had gone down, on the steps of Ahaz, back ten steps.”
[20:11] sn These steps probably functioned as a type of sundial. See HALOT 614 s.v. מַעֲלָה and M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 256.
[20:12] 131 tc The MT has “Berodach-Baladan,” but several Hebrew, Greek, Aramaic, and Latin witnesses agree with the parallel passage in Isa 39:1 and read “Merodach-Baladan.”
[20:13] 132 tc Heb “listened to.” Some Hebrew
[20:13] 133 tn Heb “there was nothing which Hezekiah did not show them in his house and in all his kingdom.”
[20:15] 134 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Isaiah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[20:15] 135 tn Heb “there was nothing I did not show them.”
[20:17] 136 tn Heb “days are.”
[20:18] 137 tn Heb “Some of your sons, who go out from you, whom you father.”
[20:19] 139 tn Heb “and he said.” Many English versions translate, “for he thought.” The verb אָמַר (’amar), “say,” is sometimes used of what one thinks (that is, says to oneself). Cf. NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT.
[20:19] 140 tn Heb “Is it not [true] there will be peace and stability in my days?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Yes, there will be peace and stability.”
[20:20] 141 tn Heb “and he brought.”
[20:20] 142 tn Heb “As for the rest of the events of Hezekiah, and all his strength, and how he made a pool and a conduit and brought water to the city, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Judah?”
[20:21] 143 tn Heb “lay down with his fathers.”
[20:1] 144 tn Heb “was sick to the point of dying.”
[20:1] 145 tn Heb “will not live.”
[1:1] 146 sn This statement may fit better with the final paragraph of 1 Kgs 22.
[1:2] 147 map For location see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.
[1:2] 148 tn Heb “and he sent messengers and said to them.”
[1:2] 149 tn That is, “seek an oracle from.”
[1:2] 150 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.
[1:3] 151 tn Heb “Is it because there is no God in Israel [that] you are going to inquire of Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron?” The translation seeks to bring out the sarcastic tone of the rhetorical question.
[1:5] sn The narrative is elliptical and telescoped here. The account of Elijah encountering the messengers and delivering the Lord’s message is omitted; we only here of it as the messengers report what happened to the king.
[1:6] 153 tn Heb “said to him.”
[1:6] 154 tn Heb “Is it because there is no God in Israel [that] you are sending to inquire of Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron?” The translation seeks to bring out the sarcastic tone of the rhetorical question. In v. 3 the messengers are addressed (in the phrase “you are on your way” the second person plural pronoun is used in Hebrew), but here the king is addressed (in the phrase “you are sending” the second person singular pronoun is used).
[1:7] 155 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[1:7] 156 tn Heb “What was the manner…?”
[1:8] 157 tn Heb “said to him.”
[1:8] 158 tn Heb “an owner of hair.” This idiomatic expression indicates that Elijah was very hairy. For other examples where the idiom “owner of” is used to describe a characteristic of someone, see HALOT 143 s.v. בַּעַל. For example, an “owner of dreams” is one who frequently has dreams (Gen 37:19) and an “owner of anger” is a hot-tempered individual (Prov 22:24).
[1:8] 159 tn Heb “belt of skin” (i.e., one made from animal hide).
[1:8] 160 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[1:9] 161 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[1:9] 162 tn Heb “officer of fifty and his fifty.”
[1:9] 164 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the captain) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[1:9] 165 sn The prophet Elijah’s position on the top of the hill symbolizes his superiority to the king and his messengers.
[1:9] 166 tn Heb “man of God” (also in vv. 10, 11, 12, 13).
[1:10] 167 tn Heb “answered and said to the officer of fifty.”
[1:10] 168 tn Wordplay contributes to the irony here. The king tells Elijah to “come down” (Hebrew יָרַד, yarad), but Elijah calls fire down (יָרַד) on the arrogant king’s officer.
[1:11] 169 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[1:11] 170 tc The MT reads, “he answered and said to him.” The verb “he answered” (וַיַּעַן, vayya’an) is probably a corruption of “he went up” (וַיַּעַל, vayya’al). See v. 9.
[1:11] 171 sn In this second panel of the three-paneled narrative, the king and his captain are more arrogant than before. The captain uses a more official sounding introduction (“this is what the king says”) and the king adds “at once” to the command.
[1:12] 172 tc Two medieval Hebrew
[1:12] 173 tn Or “intense fire.” The divine name may be used idiomatically to emphasize the intensity of the fire. Whether one translates אֱלֹהִים (’elohim) here as a proper name or idiomatically, this addition to the narrative (the name is omitted in the first panel, v. 10b) emphasizes the severity of the judgment and is appropriate given the more intense command delivered by the king to the prophet in this panel.
[1:13] 174 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[1:13] 175 tn Heb “went up and approached and kneeled.”
[1:14] 177 tn Heb “their fifty.”
[1:15] 178 sn In this third panel the verb “come down” (יָרַד, yarad) occurs again, this time describing Elijah’s descent from the hill at the Lord’s command. The moral of the story seems clear: Those who act as if they have authority over God and his servants just may pay for their arrogance with their lives; those who, like the third commander, humble themselves and show the proper respect for God’s authority and for his servants will be spared and find God quite cooperative.
[1:16] 179 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elijah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[1:16] 180 tn Heb “him”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[1:16] 181 tn Heb “Because you sent messengers to inquire of Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron, is there no God in Israel to inquire of his word?”
[1:16] 182 sn For the third time in this chapter we read the Lord’s sarcastic question to king and the accompanying announcement of judgment. The repetition emphasizes one of the chapter’s main themes. Israel’s leaders should seek guidance from their own God, not a pagan deity, for Israel’s sovereign God is the one who controls life and death.
[1:17] 183 tn Heb “according to the word of the
[1:17] 184 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.
[1:18] 185 tn Heb “As for the rest of the acts of Ahaziah which he did, are they not recorded in the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Israel?”
[2:2] 187 map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.
[2:3] 188 tn Heb “the sons of the prophets.”
[2:3] 189 tn Heb “from your head.” The same expression occurs in v. 5.
[2:4] 190 map For location see Map5 B2; Map6 E1; Map7 E1; Map8 E3; Map10 A2; Map11 A1.
[2:7] 191 tn Heb “the two of them.” The referents (Elijah and Elisha) have been specified in the translation for clarity.
[2:9] 192 tn Heb “Ask! What can I do for you….?”
[2:9] 193 tn Heb “May a double portion of your spirit come to me.”
[2:10] 194 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elijah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[2:10] 195 tn Heb “You have made difficult [your] request.”
[2:11] 196 tn Though the noun is singular here, it may be collective, in which case it could be translated “chariots.”
[2:11] 197 tn Heb “look, a chariot of fire and horses of fire.”
[2:11] 198 tn Heb “and they made a division between the two of them.”
[2:12] 199 sn Elisha may be referring to the fiery chariot(s) and horses as the Lord’s spiritual army that fights on behalf of Israel (see 2 Kgs 6:15-17; 7:6). However, the juxtaposition with “my father” (clearly a reference to Elijah as Elisha’s mentor), and the parallel in 2 Kgs 13:14 (where the king addresses Elisha with these words), suggest that Elisha is referring to Elijah. In this case Elijah is viewed as a one man army, as it were. When the Lord spoke through him, his prophetic word was as powerful as an army of chariots and horses. See M. A. Beek, “The Meaning of the Expression ‘The Chariots and Horsemen of Israel’ (II Kings ii 12),” The Witness of Tradition (OTS 17), 1-10.
[2:14] 200 tn Heb “Elijah’s cloak, which had fallen off him.” The wording is changed slightly in the translation for the sake of variety of expression (see v. 13).
[2:15] 201 map For location see Map5 B2; Map6 E1; Map7 E1; Map8 E3; Map10 A2; Map11 A1.
[2:15] 202 tn Heb “and the sons of the prophets who were in Jericho, [who were standing] opposite, saw him and said.”
[2:15] 203 tn Heb “the spirit of Elijah.”
[2:16] 204 tn Or “the spirit of the
[2:16] 205 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elisha) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[2:17] 206 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Elijah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[2:18] 207 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elisha) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[2:19] 209 tn Heb “miscarries” or “is barren.”
[2:20] 210 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elisha) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[2:21] 212 tn Heb “there will no longer be from there death and miscarriage [or, ‘barrenness’].”
[2:22] 213 tn Heb “according to the word of Elisha which he spoke.”
[2:23] 214 map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.
[2:23] 215 tn The word נַעַר (na’ar), here translated “boy,” can refer to a broad age range, including infants as well as young men. But the qualifying term “young” (or “small”) suggests these youths were relatively young. The phrase in question (“young boy”) occurs elsewhere in 1 Sam 20:35; 1 Kgs 3:7 (used by Solomon in an hyperbolic manner); 11:17; 2 Kgs 5:14; and Isa 11:6.
[2:24] 216 tn Heb “he cursed them in the name of the
[2:25] 217 sn The two brief episodes recorded in vv. 19-25 demonstrate Elisha’s authority and prove that he is the legitimate prophetic heir of Elijah. He has the capacity to bring life and blessing to those who recognize his authority, or death and judgment to those who reject him.
[2:25] map For location see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.
[3:1] 218 map For location see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.
[3:2] 219 tn Heb “in the eyes of.”
[3:3] 220 tn Heb “held tight,” or “clung to.”
[3:3] 221 tc The Hebrew text has the singular, “it.” Some ancient witnesses read the plural, which seems preferable since the antecedent (“sins”) is plural. Another option is to emend the plural “sins” to a singular. One ancient Greek witness has the singular “sin.”
[3:4] 222 tn For a discussion of the meaning of term (נֹקֵד, noqed), see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 43.
[3:4] 223 tn The vav + perfect here indicates customary action contemporary with the situation described in the preceding main clause. See IBHS 533-34 §32.2.3e.
[3:7] 224 tn Heb “went and sent.”
[3:7] 225 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jehoshaphat) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[3:7] 226 tn Heb “I will go up – like me, like you; like my people, like your people; like my horses; like your horses.”
[3:8] 227 tn Heb “Where is the road we will go up?”
[3:8] 228 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jehoram) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[3:9] 229 tn Heb “the king of Israel and the king of Judah and the king of Edom.”
[3:11] 231 tn Heb “that we might inquire of the
[3:11] 232 tn Heb “who poured water on the hands of Elijah.” This refers to one of the typical tasks of a servant.
[3:12] 233 tn Heb “the word of the
[3:13] 234 tn Or “What do we have in common?” The text reads literally, “What to me and to you?”
[3:14] 235 tn Traditionally “the
[3:14] 236 tn Heb “before whom I stand.”
[3:14] 237 tn Heb “if I did not lift up the face of Jehoshaphat the king of Judah.”
[3:14] 238 tn Heb “I would not look at you or see you.”
[3:15] 239 tn The term used refers to one who plays a stringed instrument, perhaps a harp.
[3:15] 240 tn Heb “the hand of the
[3:16] 241 tn Heb “making this valley cisterns, cisterns.” The Hebrew noun גֵּב (gev) means “cistern” in Jer 14:3 (cf. Jer 39:10). The repetition of the noun is for emphasis. See GKC 396 §123.e. The verb (“making”) is an infinitive absolute, which has to be interpreted in light of the context. The translation above takes it in an imperatival sense. The command need not be understood as literal, but as hyperbolic. Telling them to build cisterns is a dramatic way of leading into the announcement that he would miraculously provide water in the desert. Some prefer to translate the infinitive as an imperfect with the Lord as the understood subject, “I will turn this valley [into] many pools.”
[3:18] 243 tn Heb “and this is easy in the eyes of the
[3:19] 244 tn Heb “choice” or “select.”
[3:19] 245 tn Elisha places the object first and uses an imperfect verb form. The stylistic shift may signal that he is now instructing them what to do, rather than merely predicting what would happen.
[3:19] 247 tn Heb “and ruin every good portion with stones.”
[3:20] 248 tn Heb “and in the morning, when the offering is offered up, look, water was coming from the way of Edom, and the land was filled with water.”
[3:21] 249 tn Heb “had come up to fight them.”
[3:21] 250 tn Heb “and they mustered all who tied on a belt and upwards, and they stood at the border.”
[3:23] 251 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the Moabites) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[3:23] 252 tn The translation assumes the verb is חָרַב (kharav, “to be desolate”). The infinitive absolute precedes the finite verb form for emphasis. (For another example of the Hophal infinitive with a Niphal finite verb, see Lev 19:20. Cf. also IBHS 582 §35.2.1c.) Some prefer to derive the verb from a proposed homonym meaning “at HALOT 349 s.v. II חרב and BDB 352 s.v. חָרְבָה).
[3:24] 254 tc The consonantal text (Kethib) suggests, “and they went, striking down,” but the marginal reading (Qere) is “they struck down, striking down.” For a discussion of the textual problem, see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 46.
[3:25] 255 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] 256 tn Heb “until he had allowed its stones to remain in Kir Hareseth.”
[3:26] 257 tn Heb “and the king of Moab saw that the battle was too strong for him.”
[3:26] 258 tn Heb “he took with him seven hundred men, who drew the sword, to break through against.”
[3:27] 259 tn Heb “there was great anger against Israel.”
[3:27] sn The meaning of this statement is uncertain, for the subject of the anger is not indicated. Except for two relatively late texts, the noun קֶצֶף (qetsef) refers to an outburst of divine anger. But it seems unlikely the Lord would be angry with Israel, for he placed his stamp of approval on the campaign (vv. 16-19). D. N. Freedman suggests the narrator, who obviously has a bias against the Omride dynasty, included this observation to show that the Lord would not allow the Israelite king to “have an undiluted victory” (as quoted in M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings [AB], 52, n. 8). Some suggest that the original source identified Chemosh the Moabite god as the subject and that his name was later suppressed by a conscientious scribe, but this proposal raises more questions than it answers. For a discussion of various views, see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 47-48, 51-52.
[3:27] 260 tn Heb “they departed from him.”
[4:1] 261 tn Heb “a wife from among the wives of the sons of the prophets.”
[4:1] 263 tn Heb “your servant feared the
[4:3] 264 tn Heb “Go, ask for containers from outside, from all your neighbors, empty containers.”
[4:3] 265 tn Heb “Do not borrow just a few.”
[4:4] 266 tn Heb “all these vessels.”
[4:6] 267 tn Heb “to her son.”
[4:7] 268 tn Heb “man of God” (also in vv. 16, 22, 25, 27 [twice]).
[4:8] 269 tn Heb “great,” perhaps “wealthy.”
[4:8] 270 tn Or “she urged him to eat some food.”
[4:8] 271 tn Or “he would turn aside there to eat some food.”
[4:9] 273 tn Heb “holy man of God.”
[4:10] 274 tn Heb “a small upper room of a wall”; according to HALOT 832 s.v. עֲלִיָּה, this refers to “a fully walled upper room.”
[4:10] 275 tn Heb “and let’s put there for him.”
[4:11] 276 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elisha) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[4:11] 277 tn Heb “turned aside.”
[4:11] 278 tn Or “slept there.”
[4:12] 279 tn Heb “Call for this Shunammite woman.”
[4:12] 280 tn Heb “and he called for her and she stood before him.”
[4:13] 281 tn Heb “he said to him.”
[4:13] 282 tn Heb “you have turned trembling to us with all this trembling.” The exaggerated language is probably idiomatic. The point seems to be that she has taken great pains or gone out of her way to be kind to them. Her concern was a sign of her respect for the prophetic office.
[4:13] 283 tn Heb “Among my people I am living.” This answer suggests that she has security within the context of her family.
[4:14] 284 tn Heb “and he said.”
[4:15] 285 tn Heb “Call for her.”
[4:15] 286 tn Heb “and he called her.”
[4:15] 287 tn Heb “and he called for her and she stood in the door.”
[4:16] 288 tn Heb “at this appointed time, at the time [when it is] reviving.” For a discussion of the second phrase see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 57.
[4:18] 289 tn Heb “to his father, to the harvesters.”
[4:19] 290 tn Heb “He”; the referent (the boy’s father) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[4:21] 292 tn Heb “man of God’s.”
[4:23] 293 sn The new moon was a time of sacrifice and special feasts (Num 28:14; 1 Sam 20:5). Apparently it was a convenient time to visit a prophet. See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 57.
[4:24] 295 tn Heb “lead [the donkey on] and go.”
[4:24] 296 tn Heb “do not restrain for me the riding unless I say to you.”
[4:25] 297 tn Heb “went and came.”
[4:25] 298 tn Heb “the man of God.” The phrase has been replaced by the relative pronoun “he” in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[4:26] 299 tn Heb “she said.” The narrator streamlines the story at this point, omitting any reference to Gehazi running to meet her and asking her the questions.
[4:27] 300 tn Heb “her soul [i.e., ‘disposition’] is bitter.”
[4:29] 301 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elisha) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[4:29] 302 tn Heb “take my staff in your hand.”
[4:29] 303 tn Heb “If you meet a man, do not greet him with a blessing; if a man greets you with a blessing, do not answer.”
[4:30] 304 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elisha) has been specified in the translation for clarity. The referent must be Elisha here, since the following verse makes it clear that Gehazi had gone on ahead of them.
[4:31] 305 tn Heb “to meet him.”
[4:33] 307 tn Heb “and closed the door behind the two of them.”
[4:34] 308 tn Heb “he went up and lay down over.”
[4:34] 309 tn Heb “his” (also in the next two clauses).
[4:34] 310 tn Or perhaps, “body”; Heb “flesh.”
[4:35] 311 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elisha) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[4:35] 312 tn Heb “and he returned and went into the house, once here and once there.”
[4:35] 313 tn Heb “and he went up.”
[4:36] 314 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elisha) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[4:36] 315 tn Heb “and he called for her.”
[4:38] 316 tn Heb “the sons of the prophets were sitting before him.”
[4:38] 317 tn The words “the fire” are added for clarification.
[4:38] 318 tn Heb “sons of the prophets.”
[4:39] 319 tn Heb “a vine of the field.”
[4:39] 320 tn Heb “[some] of the gourds of the field.”
[4:39] 321 tn Heb “he came and cut [them up].”
[4:39] 322 tc The Hebrew text reads, “for they did not know” (יָדָעוּ, yada’u) but some emend the final shureq (וּ, indicating a third plural subject) to holem vav (וֹ, a third masculine singular pronominal suffix on a third singular verb) and read “for he did not know it.” Perhaps it is best to omit the final vav as dittographic (note the vav at the beginning of the next verb form) and read simply, “for he did not know.” See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 59.
[4:40] 323 tn Heb “and they poured out [the stew].” The plural subject is probably indefinite.
[4:41] 324 tn Or “and let them eat.”
[4:42] 325 tn Heb “man of God.”
[4:42] 326 tn On the meaning of the word צִקְלוֹן (tsiqlon), “ear of grain,” see HALOT 148 s.v. בָּצֵק and M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 59.
[4:42] 327 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elisha) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[4:43] 328 tn Heb “How can I set this before a hundred men?”
[4:43] 329 tn The verb forms are infinitives absolute (Heb “eating and leaving over”) and have to be translated in light of the context.
[4:44] 330 tn Heb “according to the word of the
[5:1] 331 tn Heb “was a great man before his master and lifted up with respect to the face.”
[5:1] 332 tn For a discussion of מְצֹרָע (mÿtsora’), traditionally translated “leprous,” see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 63. Naaman probably had a skin disorder of some type, not leprosy/Hansen’s disease.
[5:3] 333 map For location see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.
[5:4] 334 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Naaman) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[5:5] 335 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Naaman) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[5:5] 336 tn The Hebrew term כִּכָּר (kikkar, “circle”) refers generally to something that is round. When used of metals it can refer to a disk-shaped weight made of the metal or to a standard unit of weight, generally regarded as a talent. Since the accepted weight for a talent of metal is about 75 pounds, this would have amounted to about 750 pounds of silver (cf. NCV, NLT, CEV).
[5:5] 337 tn Heb “six thousand gold […].” The unit of measure is not given in the Hebrew text. A number of English versions supply “pieces” (e.g., KJV, ASV, NAB, TEV) or “shekels” (e.g., NASB, NIV, NRSV).
[5:6] 338 tn Heb “and now when this letter comes to you, look, I have sent to you Naaman my servant.”
[5:7] 339 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] 340 tn Heb “Indeed, know and see that he is seeking an occasion with respect to me.”
[5:8] 341 tn Heb “man of God” (also in vv. 15, 20).
[5:8] 342 tn Heb “Let him come.”
[5:10] 343 tn Heb “will return to you.”
[5:12] 344 tn Heb “Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all of the waters of Israel?” The rhetorical question expects an emphatic “yes” as an answer.
[5:13] 345 tn Heb “my father,” reflecting the perspective of each individual servant. To address their master as “father” would emphasize his authority and express their respect. See BDB 3 s.v. אָב and the similar idiomatic use of “father” in 2 Kgs 2:12.
[5:13] 346 tn Heb “a great thing.”
[5:13] 347 tn Heb “would you not do [it]?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Of course you would.”
[5:13] 348 tn Heb “How much more [when] he said, “Wash and be healed.” The second imperative (“be healed”) states the expected result of obeying the first (‘wash”).
[5:14] 349 tn Heb “according to the word of the man of God.”
[5:14] 350 tn Heb “and his skin was restored, like the skin of a small child.”
[5:15] 351 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Naaman) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[5:16] 353 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elisha) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[5:16] 354 tn Heb “before whom I stand.”
[5:16] 355 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Naaman) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[5:17] 356 tn Heb “and [if] not, may there be given to your servant a load [for] a pair of mules, earth.”
[5:17] 357 tn Heb “for your servant will not again make a burnt offering and sacrifice to other gods, only to the
[5:18] 358 tn Heb “When my master enters the house of Rimmon to bow down there, and he leans on my hand and I bow down [in] the house of Rimmon, when I bow down [in] the house of Rimmon, may the
[5:18] sn Rimmon was the Syrian storm god. See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 65.
[5:19] 359 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elisha) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[5:19] 360 tn Heb “and he went from him a distance of land.” The precise meaning of כִּבְרַה (kivrah) “distance,” is uncertain. See BDB 460 s.v. כִּבְרַה, and HALOT 459-60 s.v. II *כְּבָרַה, and M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 65.
[5:20] 361 tn Heb “said” (i.e., to himself).
[5:20] 362 tn Heb “Look, my master spared this Syrian Naaman by not taking from his hand what he brought.”
[5:21] 363 tn Heb “Is there peace?”
[5:22] 365 tn Heb “Look now, here, two servants came to me from the Ephraimite hill country, from the sons of the prophets.”
[5:22] 366 tn The Hebrew term כִּכָּר (kikkar, “circle”) refers generally to something that is round. When used of metals it can refer to a disk-shaped weight made of the metal or to a standard unit of weight, generally regarded as a talent. Since the accepted weight for a talent of metal is about 75 pounds, this would have amounted to about 75 pounds of silver (cf. NCV, NLT, CEV).
[5:23] 367 tn Heb “Be resolved and accept two talents.”
[5:23] 368 tn Heb “before him.”
[5:24] 369 tn Heb “from their hand.”
[5:24] 370 tn Heb “and he sent the men away and they went.”
[5:26] 371 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elisha) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[5:26] 372 tn Heb “Did not my heart go as a man turned from his chariot to meet you?” The rhetorical question emphasizes that he was indeed present in “heart” (or “spirit”) and was very much aware of what Gehazi had done. In the MT the interrogative particle has been accidentally omitted before the negative particle.
[5:26] 373 tn In the MT the statement is phrased as a rhetorical question, “Is this the time…?” It expects an emphatic negative response.
[5:27] 375 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Gehazi) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[5:27] 376 tn Traditionally, “he went from before him, leprous like snow.” But see the note at 5:1, as well as M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 66.
[6:1] 377 tn Heb “the sons of the prophets.”
[6:1] 378 tn Heb “sit before you.”
[6:1] 379 tn Heb “narrow, tight.”
[6:6] 382 tn Heb “man of God” (also in v. 9).
[6:6] 383 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elisha) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[6:8] 384 tc The verb form used here is difficult to analyze. On the basis of the form נְחִתִּים (nÿkhitim) in v. 9 from the root נָחַת (nakhat), it is probably best to emend the verb to תִּנְחְתוּ (tinkhÿtu; a Qal imperfect form from the same root). The verb נָחַת in at least two other instances carries the nuance “go down, descend” in a military context. For a defense of this view, see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 72.
[6:8] 385 sn The advisers would have mentioned a specific location, but the details are not significant to the narrator’s purpose, so he simply paraphrases here.
[6:10] 386 tn The vav + perfect here indicates action contemporary with the preceding main verb (“sent”). See IBHS 533-34 §32.2.3e.
[6:10] 387 tn Heb “and the king of Israel sent to the place about which the man of God spoke to him, and he warned it and he guarded himself there, not once and not twice.”
[6:11] 388 tn Heb “and the heart of the king of Syria was stirred up over this thing.”
[6:11] 390 tn Heb “Will you not tell me who among us [is] for the king of Israel?” The sarcastic rhetorical question expresses the king’s suspicion.
[6:13] 391 tn Heb “he” (also a second time in this verse); the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[6:13] 392 tn Heb “Go and see where he [is] so I can send and take him.”
[6:14] 393 tn Heb “heavy force.”
[6:15] 394 tn Heb “man of God’s.”
[6:15] 395 tn Heb “his young servant said to him.”
[6:16] 396 tn Heb “for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”
[6:17] 397 tn Heb “and he saw, and look.”
[6:18] 398 tn Heb “and they came down to him.”
[6:18] 399 tn Or “this nation,” perhaps emphasizing the strength of the Syrian army.
[6:18] 400 tn On the basis of the Akkadian etymology of the word, M. Cogan and H. Tadmor (II Kings [AB], 74) translate “blinding light.” HALOT 761 s.v. סַנְוֵרִים suggests the glosses “dazzling, deception.”
[6:18] 401 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the
[6:18] 402 tn Heb “according to the word of Elisha.”
[6:19] 403 map For location see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.
[6:20] 404 tn Heb “and they saw, and look, [they were] in the middle of Samaria.”
[6:21] 405 tn Heb “Should I strike them down? I will strike them down.” In the Hebrew text the first person imperfect form is repeated; the first form has the interrogative he prefixed to it; the second does not. It is likely that the second form should be omitted as dittographic or that the first should be emended to an infinitive absolute.
[6:21] 406 tn Heb “my father.” The king addresses the prophet in this way to indicate his respect. See 2 Kgs 2:12.
[6:22] 407 tn Heb “Are [they] ones you captured with your sword or your bow (that) you can strike (them) down?”
[6:23] 408 tn Or “held a great feast.”
[6:23] 409 tn Heb “they went back.”
[6:24] 411 map For location see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.
[6:25] 412 tn Heb “and there was a great famine in Samaria.”
[6:25] 413 tn Heb “and look, [they] were besieging it until.”
[6:25] 414 tn Heb “eighty, silver.” The unit of measurement is omitted.
[6:25] 415 sn A kab was a unit of dry measure, equivalent to approximately one quart.
[6:25] 416 tn The consonantal text (Kethib) reads, “dove dung” (חֲרֵייוֹנִים, khareyonim), while the marginal reading (Qere) has “discharge” (דִּבְיוֹנִים, divyonim). Based on evidence from Akkadian, M. Cogan and H. Tadmor (II Kings [AB], 79) suggest that “dove’s dung” was a popular name for the inedible husks of seeds.
[6:25] 417 tn Heb “five, silver.” The unit of measurement is omitted.
[6:27] 418 tn Heb “From where can I help you, from the threshing floor or the winepress?” The rhetorical question expresses the king’s frustration. He has no grain or wine to give to the masses.
[6:30] 419 tn Heb “the people saw, and look, [there was] sackcloth against his skin underneath.”
[6:31] 420 tn Heb “So may God do to me, and so may he add.”
[6:31] 421 tn Heb “if the head of Elisha son of Shaphat stays on him today.”
[6:32] 422 tn Heb “and the elders were sitting with him.”
[6:32] 423 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[6:32] 424 tn Heb “sent a man from before him, before the messenger came to him.”
[6:32] 425 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elisha) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[6:32] 427 tn Heb “Do you see that this son of an assassin has sent to remove my head?”
[6:32] 428 tn Heb “Is not the sound of his master’s footsteps behind him?”
[6:33] 429 tn The Hebrew text also has “look” here.
[6:33] 430 tn Heb “came down to him.”
[6:33] 431 tn Heb “Look, this is a disaster from the
[7:1] 432 sn A seah was a dry measure equivalent to about 7 quarts.
[7:2] 433 tn Heb “the officer on whose hand the king leans.”
[7:2] 434 tn Heb “man of God.”
[7:2] 435 tn Heb “the
[7:2] 436 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elisha) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[7:2] 437 tn Heb “you will not eat from there.”
[7:3] 438 sn See the note at 2 Kgs 5:1.
[7:3] 439 tn Heb “until we die.”
[7:4] 440 tn Heb “If we say, ‘We will enter the city,’ the famine is in the city and we will die there.”
[7:4] 442 tn Heb “keep us alive.”
[7:4] 443 tn Heb “we will die.” The paraphrastic translation attempts to bring out the logical force of their reasoning.
[7:5] 444 tn Heb “they arose to go to.”
[7:8] 445 tn Heb “they ate and drank.”
[7:8] 446 tn Heb “and they hid [it].”
[7:8] 447 tn Heb “and they took from there.”
[7:9] 448 tn Heb “this day is a day of good news and we are keeping silent.”
[7:9] 449 tn Heb “the light of the morning.”
[7:9] 450 tn Heb “punishment will find us.”
[7:10] 451 tn The MT has a singular form (“gatekeeper”), but the context suggests a plural. The pronoun that follows (“them”) is plural and a plural noun appears in v. 11. The Syriac Peshitta and the Targum have the plural here.
[7:10] 452 tn Heb “and, look, there was no man or voice of a man there.”
[7:10] 453 tn Heb “but the horses are tied up and the donkeys are tied up and the tents are as they were.”
[7:11] 454 tn Heb “and the gatekeepers called out and they told [it] to the house of the king.”
[7:12] 455 tn Heb “servants” (also in v. 13).
[7:13] 456 tn Heb “Let them take five of the remaining horses that remain in it. Look, they are like all the people of Israel that remain in it. Look, they are like all the people of Israel that have come to an end.” The MT is dittographic here; the words “that remain in it. Look they are like all the people of Israel” have been accidentally repeated. The original text read, “Let them take five of the remaining horses that remain in it. Look, they are like all the people of Israel that have come to an end.”
[7:13] 457 tn Heb “and let us send so we might see.”
[7:14] 458 tn Heb “and the king sent [them] after the Syrian camp.”
[7:14] 459 tn Heb “Go and see.”
[7:15] 460 tn Heb “went after.”
[7:15] 461 tn Heb “and look, all the road was full of clothes and equipment that Syria had thrown away in their haste.”
[7:15] 462 tn Or “messengers.”
[7:16] 463 sn A seah was a dry measure equivalent to about 7 quarts.
[7:16] 464 tn Heb “according to the word of the
[7:17] 465 tn Heb “the officer on whose hand he leans.”
[7:17] 466 tn Heb “and the people trampled him in the gate and he died.”
[7:17] 467 tn Heb “just as the man of God had spoken, [the word] which he spoke when the king came down to him.”
[7:19] 468 tn Heb “the
[7:19] 469 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elisha) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[7:19] 470 tn Heb “you will not eat from there.”
[7:19] tn In the Hebrew text vv. 18-19a are one lengthy sentence, “When the man of God spoke to the king…, the officer replied to the man of God, ‘Look…so soon?’” The translation divides this sentence up for stylistic reasons.
[8:1] 471 tn Heb “Get up and go, you and your house, and live temporarily where you can live temporarily.”
[8:2] 472 tn Heb “and the woman got up and did according to the word of the man of God.”
[8:3] 473 tn Heb “and went out to cry out to the king for her house and her field.”
[8:4] 474 tn Heb “man of God’s.”
[8:5] 475 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Gehazi) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[8:5] 476 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elisha) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[8:5] 477 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.
[8:6] 478 tn Heb “and the king asked the woman and she told him.”
[8:6] 479 tn Heb “and he assigned to her an official, saying.”
[8:7] 480 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[8:7] 481 tn Heb “man of God” (also a second time in this verse and in v. 11).
[8:8] 482 tn The Hebrew text also has “in your hand.”
[8:8] 483 tn Heb “Inquire of the
[8:9] 484 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Elisha) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[8:9] 485 tn The Hebrew text also has “in his hand.”
[8:9] 486 tn Heb “and.” It is possible that the conjunction is here explanatory, equivalent to English “that is.” In this case the forty camel loads constitute the “gift” and one should translate, “He took along a gift, consisting of forty camel loads of all the fine things of Damascus.”
[8:9] 487 sn The words “your son” emphasize the king’s respect for the prophet.
[8:10] 489 tc The consonantal text (Kethib) reads, “Go, say, ‘Surely you will not (לֹא, lo’) recover” In this case the vav beginning the next clause should be translated, “for, because.” The marginal reading (Qere) has, “Go, say to him (לוֹ, lo), ‘You will surely recover.” In this case the vav (ו) beginning the next clause should be translated, “although, but.” The Qere has the support of some medieval Hebrew
[8:11] 490 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elisha) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[8:11] 491 tn Heb “and he made his face stand [i.e., be motionless] and set [his face?] until embarrassment.”
[8:13] 492 tn Heb “Indeed, what is your servant, a dog, that he could do this great thing?” With his reference to a dog, Hazael is not denying that he is a “dog” and protesting that he would never commit such a dastardly “dog-like” deed. Rather, as Elisha’s response indicates, Hazael is suggesting that he, like a dog, is too insignificant to ever be in a position to lead such conquests.
[8:13] 493 tn Heb “The
[8:14] 494 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Ben Hadad) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[8:14] 495 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Hazael) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[8:15] 496 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Hazael) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[8:15] 497 tn Heb “his”; the referent (Ben Hadad) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[8:16] 498 tc The Hebrew text reads, “and in the fifth year of Joram son of Ahab king of Israel, and [or, ‘while’?] Jehoshaphat [was?] king of Judah, Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah became king.” The first reference to “Jehoshaphat king of Judah” is probably due to a scribe accidentally copying the phrase from the later in the verse. If the Hebrew text is retained, the verse probably refers to the beginning of a coregency between Jehoshaphat and Jehoram.
[8:17] 499 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[8:18] 500 tn Heb “he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, just as the house of Ahab did, for the daughter of Ahab was his wife.”
[8:18] 501 tn Heb “in the eyes of.”
[8:19] 502 tn The Hebrew has only one sentence, “and the
[8:19] 503 tn Heb “just as he had promised to give him and his sons a lamp all the days.” The metaphorical “lamp” symbolizes the Davidic dynasty; this is reflected in the translation.
[8:20] 504 tn Heb “in his days Edom rebelled from under the hand of Judah and enthroned a king over them.”
[8:21] 505 sn Joram is a short form of the name Jehoram.
[8:21] 506 tn Heb “and he arose at night and defeated Edom, who had surrounded him, and the chariot officers.” The Hebrew text as it stands gives the impression that Joram was surrounded and launched a victorious night counterattack. It would then be quite natural to understand the last statement in the verse to refer to an Edomite retreat. Yet v. 22 goes on to state that the Edomite revolt was successful. Therefore, if the MT is retained, it may be better to understand the final statement in v. 21 as a reference to an Israelite retreat (made in spite of the success described in the preceding sentence). The translation above assumes an emendation of the Hebrew text. Adding a third masculine singular pronominal suffix to the accusative sign before Edom (reading אֶתוֹ [’eto], “him,” instead of just אֶת [’et]) and taking Edom as the subject of verbs allows one to translate the verse in a way that is more consistent with the context, which depicts an Israelite defeat, not victory. There is, however, no evidence for this emendation.
[8:21] 507 tn Heb “and the people fled to their tents.”
[8:22] 508 tn Heb “and Edom rebelled from under the hand of Judah until this day.”
[8:23] 509 tn Heb “As for the rest of the acts of Joram and all which he did, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Judah?”
[8:24] 510 tn Heb “lay down with his fathers.”
[8:26] 511 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[8:26] 512 tn Hebrew בַּת (bat), “daughter,” can refer, as here to a granddaughter. See HALOT 166 s.v. בַּת.
[8:27] 513 tn Heb “in the eyes of.”
[8:27] 514 tn Heb “and he walked in the way of the house of Ahab and did evil in the eyes of the
[8:29] 515 tn Heb “which the Syrians inflicted [on] him.”
[9:1] 517 tn Heb “one of the sons of the prophets.”
[9:2] 519 tn Heb “and go and set him apart from his brothers and bring him into an inner room in an inner room.”
[9:3] 521 tn Heb “and open the door and run away and do not delay.”
[9:4] 522 tc Heb “the young man, the young man, the prophet.” The MT is probably dittographic, the phrase “the young man” being accidentally repeated. The phrases “the young man” and “the prophet” are appositional, with the latter qualifying more specifically the former.
[9:5] 523 tn Heb “and he arrived and look, the officers of the army were sitting.”
[9:5] 524 tn Heb “[there is] a word for me to you, O officer.”
[9:5] 525 tn Heb “To whom from all of us?”
[9:6] 526 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jehu) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[9:6] 527 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the prophet) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[9:7] 528 tn Or “strike down the house of Ahab your master.”
[9:7] 529 tn Heb “I will avenge the shed blood of my servants the prophets and the shed blood of all the servants of the
[9:8] 530 tc The LXX has the second person, “you.”
[9:8] 531 tn Heb “and I will cut off from Ahab those who urinate against a wall, [including both those who are] restrained and let free [or, ‘abandoned’] in Israel.” On the phrase וְעָצוּר וְעָזוּב (vÿ’atsur vÿ’azur, translated here “weak and incapacitated”) see the note at 1 Kgs 14:10.
[9:10] 533 sn Note how the young prophet greatly expands the message Elisha had given to him. In addition to lengthening the introductory formula (by adding “the God of Israel”) and the official declaration that accompanies the act of anointing (by adding “the
[9:11] 534 tn Heb “went out to.”
[9:11] 535 tc The MT has the singular, “he said,” but many witnesses correctly read the plural.
[9:11] 536 tn Heb “Is there peace?”
[9:11] 537 tn Heb “He said, ‘You, you know the man and his thoughts.’” Jehu tries to deflect their question by reminding them that the man is an eccentric individual who says strange things. His reply suggests that the man said nothing of importance. The translation seeks to bring out the tone and intent of Jehu’s reply.
[9:12] 538 tn Heb “So he said, ‘Like this and like this he said to me, saying.’” The words “like this and like this” are probably not a direct quote of Jehu’s words to his colleagues. Rather this is the narrator’s way of avoiding repetition and indicating that Jehu repeated, or at least summarized, what the prophet had said to him.
[9:13] 539 tn Heb “his”; the referent (Jehu) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[9:13] 540 tn Heb “and they hurried and took, each one his garment, and they placed [them] beneath him on the bone [?] of the steps.” The precise nuance of גֶרֶם (gerem), “bone,” is unclear. Some suggest the nuance “bare” here; it may be a technical architectural term in this context.
[9:13] 541 tn Heb “they blew the trumpet.” This has been translated as a passive to avoid the implication that the same ones who shouted had all blown trumpets.
[9:13] 542 tn Or “has become.”
[9:14] 543 tn Heb “he and all Israel.”
[9:15] 544 tn Heb “which the Syrians inflicted [on] him.”
[9:15] 545 sn See 2 Kgs 8:28-29a.
[9:15] 546 tn The words “his supporters” are added for clarification.
[9:15] 547 tn Heb “If this is your desire.” נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) refers here to the seat of the emotions and will. For other examples of this use of the word, see BDB 660-61 s.v.
[9:16] 548 tn Heb “rode [or, ‘mounted’] and went.”
[9:16] 549 tn Heb “lying down.”
[9:17] 551 tn Heb “the quantity [of the men] of Jehu, when he approached.” Elsewhere שִׁפְעַה (shif’ah), “quantity,” is used of a quantity of camels (Isa 60:6) or horses (Ezek 26:10) and of an abundance of water (Job 22:11; 38:34).
[9:17] 552 tn The term שִׁפְעַת (shifat) appears to be a construct form of the noun, but no genitive follows.
[9:17] 554 tn Heb “Get a rider and send [him] to meet him and let him ask, ‘Is there peace?’”
[9:18] 555 tn Heb “the rider of the horse.”
[9:18] 556 tn Heb “Is there peace?”
[9:18] 557 tn Heb “What concerning you and concerning peace?” That is, “What concern is that to you?”
[9:19] 558 tn Heb “and he came to them.”
[9:19] 559 tc The MT has simply “peace,” omitting the prefixed interrogative particle. It is likely that the particle has been accidentally omitted; several ancient witnesses include it or assume its presence.
[9:20] 560 tn Heb “and the driving is like the driving of Jehu son of Nimshi.”
[9:21] 561 tn The words “my chariot” are added for clarification.
[9:21] 562 tn Heb “and he hitched up his chariot.”
[9:21] 563 tn Heb “each in his chariot and they went out.”
[9:21] 564 tn Heb “they found him.”
[9:22] 565 tn Heb “How [can there be] peace as long as the adulterous acts of Jezebel your mother and her many acts of sorcery [continue]?” In this instance “adulterous acts” is employed metaphorically for idolatry. As elsewhere in the OT, worshiping other gods is viewed as spiritual adultery and unfaithfulness to the one true God. The phrase “many acts of sorcery” could be taken literally, for Jezebel undoubtedly utilized pagan divination practices, but the phrase may be metaphorical, pointing to her devotion to pagan customs in general.
[9:23] 566 tn Heb “and Jehoram turned his hands and fled.” The phrase “turned his hands” refers to how he would have pulled on the reins in order to make his horses turn around.
[9:23] 567 tn Heb “Deceit, Ahaziah.”
[9:24] 568 tn Heb “and Jehu filled his hand with the bow and he struck Jehoram between his shoulders.”
[9:24] 569 tn Heb “went out from.”
[9:26] 571 tn Heb “and I will repay you in this plot of land.”
[9:26] 572 tn Heb “according to the word of the
[9:27] 573 tn Heb “and Ahaziah king of Judah saw and fled.”
[9:27] 574 tn After Jehu’s order (“kill him too”), the MT has simply, “to the chariot in the ascent of Gur which is near Ibleam.” The main verb in the clause, “they shot him” (וַיִּכְהוּ, vayyikhhu), has been accidentally omitted by virtual haplography/homoioteleuton. Note that the immediately preceding form הַכֻּהוּ (hakkuhu), “shoot him,” ends with the same suffix.
[9:27] 575 map For location see Map1 D4; Map2 C1; Map4 C2; Map5 F2; Map7 B1.
[9:28] 576 tn Heb “drove him.”
[9:28] 577 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[9:30] 578 tn Heb “she fixed her eyes with antimony.” Antimony (פּוּךְ, pukh) was used as a cosmetic. The narrator portrays her as a prostitute (see Jer 4:30), a role she has played in the spiritual realm (see the note at v. 22).
[9:31] 579 sn Jezebel associates Jehu with another assassin, Zimri, who approximately 44 years before had murdered King Elah, only to meet a violent death just a few days later (1 Kgs 16:9-20). On the surface Jezebel’s actions seem contradictory. On the one hand, she beautifies herself as if to seduce Jehu, but on the other hand, she insults and indirectly threatens him with this comparison to Zimri. Upon further reflection, however, her actions reveal a clear underlying motive. She wants to retain her power, not to mention her life. By beautifying herself, she appeals to Jehu’s sexual impulses; by threatening him, she reminds him that he is in the same precarious position as Zimri. But, if he makes Jezebel his queen, he can consolidate his power. In other words through her actions and words Jezebel is saying to Jehu, “You desire me, don’t you? And you need me!”
[9:32] 580 tn Heb “two, three.” The narrator may be intentionally vague or uncertain here, or the two numbers may represent alternate traditions.
[9:33] 581 tn The words “when she hit the ground” are added for stylistic reasons.
[9:33] 582 tn Heb “and he trampled her.”
[9:34] 583 tn Heb “and he went and ate and drank.”
[9:34] 584 tn Heb “Attend to this accursed woman and bury her for she was the daughter of a king.”
[9:35] 585 tn Heb “they did not find her, except for.”
[9:36] 586 tn Heb “It is the word of the
[9:37] 587 tn Heb “so that they will not say, ‘This is Jezebel.’”
[10:1] 588 map For location see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.
[10:1] 589 tn Heb “to the officers of Jezreel, the elders, and to the guardians of Ahab, saying.” It is not certain why the officials of Jezreel would be in Samaria. They may have fled there after they heard what happened to Joram and before Jehu entered the city. They would have had time to flee while Jehu was pursuing Ahaziah.
[10:2] 590 tn Heb “And now when this letter comes to you – with you are the sons of your master and with you are chariots and horses and a fortified city and weapons.”
[10:3] 591 tn Hebrew יָשָׁר (yashar) does not have its normal moral/ethical nuance here (“upright”), but a more neutral sense of “proper, right, suitable.” For the gloss “capable,” see HALOT 450 s.v. יָשָׁר.
[10:4] 593 tn Heb “they were very, very afraid.” The term מְאֹד (me’od) “very,” is repeated for emphasis.
[10:4] 594 tn Heb “did not stand before him.”
[10:4] 595 tn Heb “How can we stand?”
[10:5] 596 tn Heb “the one who was over the house.”
[10:5] 597 tn Heb “the one who was over the city.”
[10:5] 600 tn Heb “Do what is good in your eyes.”
[10:6] 601 tn Heb “If you are mine and you are listening to my voice.”
[10:6] 602 sn Jehu’s command is intentionally vague. Does he mean that they should bring the guardians (those who are “heads” over Ahab’s sons) for a meeting, or does he mean that they should bring the literal heads of Ahab’s sons with them? (So LXX, Syriac Peshitta, and some
[10:6] 603 tn Heb “great,” probably in wealth, position, and prestige.
[10:7] 604 tn Heb “and when the letter came to them, they took the sons of the king and slaughtered seventy men.”
[10:8] 605 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Jehu) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[10:8] 606 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jehu) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[10:10] 607 tn Heb “Know then that there has not fallen from the word of the
[10:12] 608 tn Heb “and he arose and went and came to Samaria.”
[10:13] 611 tn Heb “for the peace of.”
[10:15] 613 tn Heb “and he went from there and found Jehonadab son of Rekab [who was coming] to meet him.”
[10:15] 614 tn Heb “and he blessed him and said to him.”
[10:15] 615 tn Heb “Is there with your heart [what is] right, as my heart [is] with your heart?”
[10:15] 616 tc Heb “Jehonadab said, ‘There is and there is. Give your hand.’” If the text is allowed to stand, there are two possible ways to understand the syntax of וָיֵשׁ (vayesh), “and there is”: (1) The repetition of יֵשׁ (yesh, “there is and there is”) could be taken as emphatic, “indeed I am.” In this case, the entire statement could be taken as Jehonadab’s words or one could understand the words “give your hand” as Jehu’s. In the latter case the change in speakers is unmarked. (2) וָיֵשׁ begins Jehu’s response and has a conditional force, “if you are.” In this case, the transition in speakers is unmarked. However, it is possible that וַיֹּאמֶר (vayyo’mer), “and he said,” or וַיֹּאמֶר יֵהוּא (vayyo’mer yehu), “and Jehu said,” originally appeared between יֵשׁ and וָיֵשׁ and has accidentally dropped from the text by homoioarcton (note that both the proposed וַיֹּאמֶר and וָיֵשׁ begin with vav, ו). The present translation assumes such a textual reconstruction; it is supported by the LXX, Syriac Peshitta, and Vulgate.
[10:15] 617 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jehu) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[10:16] 618 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jehu) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[10:16] 619 tn Heb “and see my zeal for the
[10:16] 620 tc The MT has a plural form, but this is most likely an error. The LXX, Syriac Peshitta, and Vulgate all have the singular.
[10:17] 621 tn Heb “and he struck down all the remaining ones to Ahab in Samaria until he destroyed him.”
[10:17] 622 tn Heb “according to the word of the
[10:18] 625 tn Heb “much” or “greatly.”
[10:19] 626 tn Heb “and now, all the prophets of Baal, all his servants and all his priests summon to me.”
[10:19] 627 tn Heb “acted with deception [or, ‘trickery’].”
[10:20] 628 tn Heb “set apart”; or “observe as holy.”
[10:21] 629 tn Heb “and the house of Baal was filled mouth to mouth.”
[10:22] 630 tn Heb “and he said to the one who was over the wardrobe.”
[10:23] 631 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jehu) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[10:23] 632 tn Heb “Search carefully and observe so that there are not here with you any servants of the
[10:24] 633 tn Heb “The man who escapes from the men whom I am bringing into your hands, [it will be] his life in place of his life.”
[10:25] 635 tn Heb “and they threw.” No object appears. According to M. Cogan and H. Tadmor (II Kings [AB], 116), this is an idiom for leaving a corpse unburied.
[10:25] 636 tn Heb “and they came to the city of the house of Baal.” It seems unlikely that a literal city is meant. Some emend עִיר (’ir), “city,” to דְּבִיר (dÿvir) “holy place,” or suggest that עִיר is due to dittography of the immediately preceding עַד (’ad) “to.” Perhaps עִיר is here a technical term meaning “fortress” or, more likely, “inner room.”
[10:27] 637 tn Or “pulled down.”
[10:27] 638 tn The verb “they demolished” is repeated in the Hebrew text.
[10:27] 639 tn Heb “and they made it into.”
[10:27] 640 tn The consonantal text (Kethib) has the hapax legomenon מַחֲרָאוֹת (makhara’ot), “places to defecate” or “dung houses” (note the related noun חרא (khr’)/חרי (khri), “dung,” HALOT 348-49 s.v. *חֲרָאִים). The marginal reading (Qere) glosses this, perhaps euphemistically, מוֹצָאוֹת (motsa’ot), “outhouses.”
[10:28] 641 tn Heb “destroyed Baal.”
[10:29] 642 map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.
[10:29] 643 tn Heb “Except the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat which he caused Israel to commit, Jehu did not turn aside from after them – the golden calves which [were in] Bethel and which [were] in Dan.”
[10:30] 644 tn Heb “Because you have done well by doing what is proper in my eyes – according to all which was in my heart you have done to the house of Ahab – sons of four generations will sit for you on the throne of Israel.” In the Hebrew text the Lord’s statement is one long sentence (with a parenthesis). The translation above divides it into shorter sentences for stylistic reasons.
[10:30] sn Jehu ruled over Israel from approximately 841-814
[10:31] 645 tn Heb “But Jehu was not careful to walk in the law of the
[10:31] 646 tn Heb “He did not turn aside from the sins of Jeroboam which he caused Israel to commit.”
[10:32] 647 tn Heb “began to cut off Israel.”
[10:32] 648 tn Heb “Hazael struck them down in all the territory of Israel, from the Jordan on the east.” In the Hebrew text the phrase “from the Jordan on the east” begins v. 33.
[10:33] 649 tn Heb “all the land of Gilead, the Gadites, and the Reubenites, and the Manassehites, from Aroer which is near the Arnon Valley, and Gilead, and Bashan.”
[10:34] 650 tn Heb “As for the rest of the events of Jehu, and all which he did and all his strength, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Israel?”
[10:35] 651 tn Heb “lay down with his fathers.”
[10:35] 652 map For location see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.
[11:1] 653 tn Heb “she arose and she destroyed all the royal offspring.” The verb קוּם (qum) “arise,” is here used in an auxiliary sense to indicate that she embarked on a campaign to destroy the royal offspring. See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 125.
[11:2] 655 tn Heb “him and his nurse in an inner room of beds.” The verb is missing in the Hebrew text. The parallel passage in 2 Chr 22:11 has “and she put” at the beginning of the clause. M. Cogan and H. Tadmor (II Kings [AB], 126) regard the Chronicles passage as an editorial attempt to clarify the difficulty of the original text. They prefer to take “him and his nurse” as objects of the verb “stole” and understand “in the bedroom” as the place where the royal descendants were executed. The phrase בַּחֲדַר הַמִּטּוֹת (bakhadar hammittot), “an inner room of beds,” is sometimes understood as referring to a bedroom (HALOT 293 s.v. חֶדֶר), though some prefer to see here a “room where the covers and cloths were kept for the beds (HALOT 573 s.v. מִטָּת). In either case, it may have been a temporary hideout, for v. 3 indicates that the child hid in the temple for six years.
[11:2] 656 tn Heb “and they hid him from Athaliah and he was not put to death.” The subject of the plural verb (“they hid”) is probably indefinite.
[11:3] 657 tn Heb “and he was with her [in] the house of the
[11:4] 658 tn Heb “Jehoiada sent and took.”
[11:4] 659 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] 660 tn Heb “the runners.”
[11:4] 661 tn Heb “he brought them to himself.”
[11:6] 663 tn Heb “the gate of Sur” (followed by many English versions) but no such gate is mentioned elsewhere in the OT. The parallel account in 2 Chr 23:5 has “Foundation Gate.” סוּר (sur), “Sur,” may be a corruption of יְסוֹד (yÿsod) “foundation,” involving in part dalet-resh confusion.
[11:6] 664 tn Heb “the runners.”
[11:6] 665 tn The meaning of מַסָּח (massakh) is not certain. The translation above, rather than understanding it as a genitive modifying “house,” takes it as an adverb describing how the groups will guard the palace. See HALOT 605 s.v. מַסָּח for the proposed meaning “alternating” (i.e., “in turns”).
[11:7] 666 tn Verses 5b-7 read literally, “the third of you, the ones entering [on] the Sabbath and the ones guarding the guard of the house of the king, and the third in the gate of Sur, and the third in the gate behind the runners, and you will guard the guard of the house, alternating. And the two units of you, all the ones going out [on] the Sabbath, and they will guard the guard of the house of the
[11:8] 667 tn Heb “and be with the king in his going out and in his coming in.”
[11:9] 668 tn Heb “according to all that.”
[11:11] 670 tn Heb “the runners” (also in v. 19).
[11:11] 671 tn Heb “and the runners stood, each with his weapons in his hand, from the south shoulder of the house to the north shoulder of the house, at the altar and at the house, near the king all around.”
[11:12] 672 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jehoiada) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[11:12] 673 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] 674 tn Or “they made him king and anointed him.”
[11:13] 675 tc The MT reads, “and Athaliah heard the sound of the runners, the people.” The term הָעָם (ha’am), “the people,” is probably a scribal addition anticipating the reference to the people later in the verse and in v. 14.
[11:13] 676 tn Heb “she came to the people.”
[11:14] 677 tn Heb “and she saw, and look.”
[11:14] 678 tn Or “conspiracy, conspiracy.”
[11:15] 679 tn The Hebrew text also has, “and said to them.” This is redundant in English and has not been translated.
[11:15] 681 tn Heb “for the priest had said, ‘Let her not be put to death in the house of the
[11:16] 682 tn Heb “and they placed hands on her, and she went the way of the entrance of the horses [into] the house of the king.”
[11:17] 683 tn Heb “and Jehoiada made a covenant between the
[11:18] 684 tn Or “tore down.”
[11:18] 686 tn The Hebrew construction translated “smashed…to bits” is emphatic. The adverbial infinitive absolute (הֵיטֵב [hetev], “well”) accompanying the Piel form of the verb שָׁבַר (shavar), “break,” suggests thorough demolition.
[11:18] 687 tn Heb “the priest.” Jehoiada’s name is added for clarification.
[11:19] 688 tn Heb “the Gate of the Runners of the House of the King.”
[11:19] 689 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[11:21] 690 sn Beginning with 11:21, the verse numbers through 12:21 in the English Bible differ from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 11:21 ET = 12:1 HT, 12:1 ET = 12:2 HT, 12:2 ET = 12:3 HT, etc., through 12:21 ET = 12:22 HT. With 13:1 the verse numbers in the ET and HT are again the same.
[11:21] 691 tn Jehoash is an alternate name for Joash (see 11:2).
[12:1] 692 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[12:2] 693 tn Heb “and Jehoash did what was proper in the eyes of the
[12:2] 694 tn Heb “that which.” Jehoiada taught the king the Lord’s will.
[12:4] 695 tn The words “I place at your disposal” are added in the translation for clarification.
[12:4] 696 tn Heb “the silver of passing over a man.” The precise meaning of the phrase is debated, but עָבַר (’avar), “pass over,” probably refers here to counting, suggesting the reference is to a census conducted for taxation purposes. See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 137.
[12:4] 697 tn Heb “the silver of persons, his valuation.” The precise meaning of the phrase is uncertain, but parallels in Lev 27 suggest that personal vows are referred to here. See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 137.
[12:4] 698 tn Heb “all the silver which goes up on the heart of a man to bring to the house of the
[12:5] 699 tn Heb “Let the priests take for themselves, each from his treasurer, and let them repair the damage of the temple, with respect to all the damage that is found there.” The word מַכָּר (makar), translated here “treasurer,” occurs only in this passage. Some suggest it means “merchant” or “benefactor.” Its usage in Ugaritic texts, where it appears in a list of temple officials, suggests that it refers in this context to individuals who were in charge of disbursing temple funds.
[12:7] 700 tn Heb “Now, do not take silver from your treasurers, because for the damages to the temple you must give it.”
[12:8] 701 tn Outside of this passage the verb אוּת (’ut) appears only in Gen 34:15-22.
[12:8] 702 tn Heb “and not to repair the damages to the temple.” This does not mean that the priests were no longer interested in repairing the temple. As the following context makes clear, the priests decided to hire skilled workers to repair the damage to the temple, rather than trying to make the repairs themselves.
[12:9] 703 tn Heb “on the right side of the altar as a man enters.”
[12:10] 704 tn Heb “the king’s scribe.”
[12:10] 705 tn Heb “went up and tied [it] and counted the silver that was found in the house of the
[12:11] 706 tn Heb “would give.”
[12:11] 707 tn Heb “doers of the work.”
[12:12] 708 tn Heb “and for all that which was going out concerning the house for repair.”
[12:14] 709 tn Heb “was given.”
[12:15] 711 tn Heb “and they did not conduct a reckoning of the men who gave the silver into their hand to give to the doers of the work, for in honesty they were working.”
[12:17] 712 tn Heb “went up and fought against.”
[12:17] 713 tn Heb “Hazael set his face to go up against Jerusalem.”
[12:18] 714 tn The object (“it all”) is supplied in the translation for clarification.
[12:19] 716 tn Heb “As for the rest of the events of Joash, and all which he did, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Judah?”
[12:20] 717 tn Heb “rose up and conspired [with] a conspiracy.”
[12:20] 718 tn Heb “Beth Millo which goes down [toward] Silla.”
[12:21] 719 tn Heb “struck him down and he died.”
[12:21] 720 tn Heb “they buried him.”
[13:1] 721 map For location see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.
[13:2] 722 tn Heb “in the eyes of.”
[13:2] 723 tn Heb “walked after.”
[13:2] 724 tn Heb “he did not turn aside from it.”
[13:3] 725 tn Heb “and the anger of the
[13:3] 726 tn Heb “he gave them into the hand of.”
[13:3] 727 tn Heb “all the days.”
[13:4] 728 tn Heb “appeased the face of the
[13:4] 729 tn Heb “and the
[13:4] 730 tn Heb “for he saw the oppression of Israel, for the king of Syria oppressed them.”
[13:5] 731 sn The identity of this unnamed “deliverer” is debated. For options see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 143.
[13:5] 732 tn Heb “and they went from under the hand of Syria.”
[13:5] 733 tn Heb “and the sons of Israel lived in their tents as before.”
[13:6] 734 tn Heb “they did not turn away from.”
[13:6] 736 tc Heb “in it he walked.” The singular verb (הָלַךְ, halakh) is probably due to an error of haplography and should be emended to the plural (הָלְכּוּ, halÿku). Note that a vav immediately follows (on the form וְגַם, vÿgam).
[13:6] 737 tn Or “an image of Asherah”; ASV, NASB “the Asherah”; NCV “the Asherah idol.”
[13:6] sn Asherah was a leading deity of the Canaanite pantheon, wife/sister of El and goddess of fertility. She was commonly worshiped at shrines in or near groves of evergreen trees, or, failing that, at places marked by wooden poles. These were to be burned or cut down (Deut 12:3; 16:21; Judg 6:25, 28, 30; 2 Kgs 18:4).
[13:7] 738 tn Heb “Indeed he did not leave to Jehoahaz people.” The identity of the subject is uncertain, but the king of Syria, mentioned later in the verse, is a likely candidate.
[13:7] 739 tn Heb “them,” i.e., the remainder of this troops.
[13:7] 740 tn Heb “and made them like dust for trampling.”
[13:8] 741 tn Heb “As for the rest of the events of Jehoahaz, and all which he did and his strength, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Israel?”
[13:9] 742 tn Heb “lay down with his fathers.”
[13:9] 743 tn Heb “and they buried him.”
[13:10] 744 map For location see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.
[13:11] 745 tn Heb “in the eyes of.”
[13:11] 746 tn Heb “turn away from all.”
[13:11] 747 tn Heb “in it he walked.”
[13:12] 748 sn Jehoash and Joash are alternate forms of the same name.
[13:12] 749 tn Heb “As for the rest of the events of Joash, and all which he did and his strength, [and] how he fought with Amaziah king of Judah, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Israel?”
[13:13] 750 tn Heb “lay down with his fathers.”
[13:13] 751 tn Heb “sat on his throne.”
[13:14] 752 tn Heb “Now Elisha was ill with the illness by which he would die.”
[13:14] 753 tn Heb “went down to him.”
[13:14] 754 tn Though the noun is singular here, it may be collective, in which case it could be translated “chariots.”
[13:14] 755 sn By comparing Elisha to a one-man army, the king emphasizes the power of the prophetic word. See the note at 2:12.
[13:15] 756 tn Heb “and he took a bow and some arrows.”
[13:16] 757 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elisha) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[13:16] 758 tn Heb “Cause your hand to ride on the bow.”
[13:16] 759 tn Heb “and he caused his hand to ride.”
[13:17] 760 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elisha) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[13:17] 761 tn Heb “He opened [it].”
[13:17] 762 tn Heb “and he shot.”
[13:17] 763 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elisha) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[13:17] 764 tn Heb “The arrow of victory of the
[13:17] 765 tn Heb “you will strike down Syria in Aphek until destruction.”
[13:18] 766 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elisha) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[13:18] 767 tn Heb “and he took [them].”
[13:19] 768 tn Heb “man of God.”
[13:19] 769 tn Heb “[It was necessary] to strike five or six times, then you would strike down Syria until destruction.” On the syntax of the infinitive construct, see GKC 349 §114.k.
[13:20] 770 tn Heb “and they buried him.”
[13:20] 772 tc The MT reading בָּא שָׁנָה (ba’ shanah), “it came, year,” should probably be emended to בְּבָּא הַשָּׁנָה (bÿba’ hashanah), “at the coming [i.e., ‘beginning’] of the year.” See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 148.
[13:21] 773 tn Heb “and it so happened [that] they.”
[13:21] 774 tn Heb “and look, they saw.”
[13:21] 775 tn Heb “the man”; the adjective “dead” has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
[13:21] 777 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the dead man) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Otherwise the reader might think it was Elisha rather than the unnamed dead man who came back to life.
[13:22] 778 tn Heb “all the days of Jehoahaz.”
[13:23] 779 tn Or “showed them compassion.”
[13:23] 780 tn Heb “he turned to them.”
[13:23] 781 tn Heb “because of his covenant with.”
[13:23] 782 tn Heb “until now.”
[13:25] 783 tn Heb “from the hand of.”
[14:1] 784 sn The name Joahaz is an alternate form of Jehoahaz.
[14:1] 785 sn The referent here is Joash of Judah (see 12:21), not Joash of Israel, mentioned earlier in the verse.
[14:2] 786 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[14:2] 787 tn Heb “the name of his mother.”
[14:3] 788 tn Heb “he did what was proper in the eyes of the
[14:3] 789 tn Heb “according to all which Joash his father had done, he did.”
[14:5] 790 tn Heb “when the kingdom was secure in his hand.”
[14:5] 791 tn Heb “he struck down his servants, the ones who had struck down the king, his father.”
[14:6] 792 tn Heb “as it is written in the scroll of the law of Moses which the
[14:6] 793 tn Heb “on account of sons.”
[14:6] 794 tn Heb “on account of fathers.”
[14:6] 795 sn This law is recorded in Deut 24:16.
[14:7] 796 tn Or “struck down.”
[14:8] 797 tn Heb “let us look at each other [in the] face.” The expression refers here to meeting in battle. See v. 11.
[14:9] 798 tn Heb “the animal of the field.”
[14:9] 799 sn Judah is the thorn in the allegory. Amaziah’s success has deceived him into thinking he is on the same level as the major powers in the area (symbolized by the cedar). In reality he is not capable of withstanding an attack by a real military power such as Israel (symbolized by the wild animal).
[14:10] 800 tn Or “you have indeed defeated Edom.”
[14:10] 801 tn Heb “and your heart has lifted you up.”
[14:10] 802 tn Heb “be glorified.”
[14:10] 803 tn Heb “Why get involved in calamity and fall, you and Judah with you?”
[14:11] 804 tn Heb “did not listen.”
[14:11] 806 tn Heb “looked at each other [in the] face.”
[14:12] 807 tn Heb “and Judah was struck down before Israel and they fled, each to his tent.”
[14:13] 808 tc The MT has the plural form of the verb, but the final vav (ו) is virtually dittographic. The word that immediately follows in the Hebrew text begins with a yod (י). The form should be emended to the singular, which is consistent in number with the verb (“he broke down”) that follows.
[14:13] 810 tn Heb “four hundred cubits.” The standard cubit in the OT is assumed by most authorities to be about eighteen inches (45 cm) long.
[14:14] 811 tn Heb “the sons of the pledges.”
[14:14] 812 map For location see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.
[14:15] 813 sn Jehoash and Joash are alternate forms of the same name.
[14:15] 814 tn Heb “As for the rest of the events of Jehoash, and all which he did and his strength, [and] how he fought with Amaziah king of Judah, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Israel?”
[14:16] 815 tn Heb “lay down with his fathers.”
[14:18] 816 tn Heb “As for the rest of the events of Amaziah, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Judah?”
[14:19] 817 tn Heb “and they conspired against him [with] a conspiracy in Jerusalem.”
[14:19] 818 tn Heb “and they sent after him to Lachish.”
[14:20] 819 tn Heb “and they carried him on horses.”
[14:22] 820 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Azariah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[14:22] 821 sn This must refer to Amaziah.
[14:22] 822 tn Heb “lay with his fathers.”
[14:23] 823 map For location see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.
[14:24] 824 tn Heb “in the eyes of.”
[14:24] 825 tn Heb “turn away from all.”
[14:25] 826 tn The phrases “in the north” and “in the south” are added in the translation for clarification.
[14:25] 827 tn Heb “which he spoke by the hand of.”
[14:26] 828 tc Heb “for the
[14:26] 829 tn Heb “[there was] none but the restrained, and [there was] none but the abandoned, and there was no deliverer for Israel.” On the meaning of the terms עָצוּר (’atsur) and עָזוּב (’azur), see the note at 1 Kgs 14:10.
[14:27] 831 tn The phrase “from under heaven” adds emphasis to the verb “blot out” and suggest total annihilation. For other examples of the verb מָחָה (makhah), “blot out,” combined with “from under heaven,” see Exod 17:14; Deut 9:14; 25:19; 29:20.
[14:28] 832 tn Heb “As for the rest of the events of Jeroboam, and all which he did and his strength, [and] how he fought and how he restored Damascus and Hamath to Judah in Israel, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Israel?” The phrase “to Judah” is probably not original; it may be a scribal addition by a Judahite scribe who was trying to link Jeroboam’s conquests with the earlier achievements of David and Solomon, who ruled in Judah. The Syriac Peshitta has simply “to Israel.” M. Cogan and H. Tadmor (II Kings [AB], 162) offer this proposal, but acknowledge that it is “highly speculative.”
[14:29] 833 tn Heb “lay down with his fathers.”
[14:29] 834 tn The MT has simply “with the kings of Israel,” which appears to stand in apposition to the immediately preceding “with his fathers.” But it is likely that the words “and he was buried in Samaria” have been accidentally omitted from the text. See 13:13 and 14:16.
[15:2] 835 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[15:3] 836 tn Heb “he did what was proper in the eyes of the
[15:5] 837 tn Traditionally, “he was a leper.” But see the note at 5:1.
[15:5] 838 tn The precise meaning of בֵית הַחָפְשִׁית (bet hakhofÿshit), “house of […?],” is uncertain. For a discussion of various proposals, see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 166-67.
[15:6] 839 tn Heb “As for the rest of the events of Azariah, and all which he did, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Judah?”
[15:7] 840 tn Heb “lay down with his fathers.”
[15:7] 841 tn Heb “and they buried him.”
[15:8] 842 map For location see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.
[15:9] 843 tn Heb “in the eyes of.”
[15:9] 844 tn Heb “turn away from.”
[15:10] 845 tc The MT reads, “and he struck him down before the people and killed him” (cf. KJV, ASV, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT). However, the reading קָבָל עָם (qaval ’am), “before the people,” is problematic to some because קָבָל is a relatively late Aramaic term. Nevertheless, the Aramaic term qobel certainly antedates the writing of Kings. The bigger problem seems to be the unnecessary intrusion of an Aramaic word at all here. Most interpreters prefer to follow Lucian’s Greek version and read “in Ibleam” (בְיִבְלְעָם, bÿivle’am). Cf. NAB, TEV.
[15:11] 846 tn Heb “As for the rest of the events of Jeroboam, look, they are written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Israel.”
[15:12] 847 tn Heb “It was the word of the
[15:12] 848 tn “sons of four generations will sit for you on the throne of Israel.”
[15:12] sn See the note at 2 Kgs 10:30.
[15:12] 849 tn Heb “and it was so.”
[15:13] 850 sn Azariah was also known by the name Uzziah.
[15:13] 851 tn Heb “a month of days.”
[15:14] 852 tn Heb “and came to.”
[15:14] 853 tn Heb “went up from Tirzah and arrived in Samaria and attacked Shallum son of Jabesh in Samaria.”
[15:15] 854 tn Heb “As for the rest of the events of Shallum, and his conspiracy which he conspired, look, they are written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Israel.”
[15:16] 855 tn Heb “then Menahem attacked Tiphsah and all who were in it and its borders from Tirzah, for it would not open, and he attacked.”
[15:16] tn Instead of “Tiphsah,” the LXX has “Tirzah,” while Lucian’s Greek version reads “Tappuah.” For discussion see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 171.
[15:17] 856 map For location see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.
[15:18] 857 tn Heb “in the eyes of.”
[15:18] 858 tn Heb “turn away from.”
[15:18] 859 tc The MT of v. 18 ends with the words, “all his days.” If this phrase is taken with what precedes, then one should translate, “[who encouraged Israel to sin] throughout his reign.” However, it may be preferable to emend the text to בְיֹמָיו (bÿyomav), “in his days,” and join the phrase to what follows. The translation assumes this change.
[15:19] 860 sn Pul was a nickname of Tiglath-pileser III (cf. 15:29). See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 171-72.
[15:19] 862 tn Heb “Pul.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“him”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[15:19] 863 tn The Hebrew term כִּכָּר (kikkar, “circle”) refers generally to something that is round. When used of metals it can refer to a disk-shaped weight made of the metal or to a standard unit of weight, generally regarded as a talent. Since the accepted weight for a talent of metal is about 75 pounds, this would have amounted to about 75,000 pounds of silver (cf. NCV “about seventy-four thousand pounds”); NLT “thirty-seven tons”; CEV “over thirty tons”; TEV “34,000 kilogrammes.”
[15:19] 864 tn Heb “so his hands would be with him.”
[15:19] 865 tn Heb “to keep hold of the kingdom in his hand.”
[15:20] 866 tn Heb “and Menahem brought out the silver over Israel, over the prominent men of means, to give to the king of Assyria, fifty shekels of silver for each man.”
[15:21] 867 tn Heb “As for the rest of the events of Menahem, and all which he did, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Israel?”
[15:22] 868 tn Heb “lay down with his fathers.”
[15:23] 869 map For location see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.
[15:24] 870 tn Heb “in the eyes of.”
[15:24] 871 tn Heb “turn away from.”
[15:25] 872 tn Heb “and he struck him down in Samaria in the fortress of the house of the king, Argob and Arieh, and with him fifty men from the sons of the Gileadites, and they killed him.”
[15:25] sn The precise identity of Argob and Arieh, as well as their relationship to the king, are uncertain. The usual assumption is that they were officials assassinated along with Pekahiah, or that they were two of the more prominent Gileadites involved in the revolt. For discussion see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 173.
[15:26] 873 tn Heb “As for the rest of the events of Pekahiah, and all which he did, look, they are written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Israel.”
[15:27] 874 map For location see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.
[15:28] 875 tn Heb “in the eyes of.”
[15:28] 876 tn Heb “turn away from.”
[15:29] 877 map For location see Map1 D2; Map2 D3; Map3 A2; Map4 C1.
[15:30] 879 tn Heb “and struck him down and killed him.”
[15:31] 880 tn Heb “As for the rest of the events of Pekah, and all which he did, look, they are written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Israel.”
[15:33] 881 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[15:34] 882 tn Heb “he did what was proper in the eyes of the
[15:36] 883 tn Heb “As for the rest of the events of Jotham, and that which he did, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Judah?”
[15:37] 884 tn Heb “the
[15:38] 885 tn Heb “lay down with his fathers.”
[16:2] 886 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[16:2] 887 tn Heb “and he did not do what was proper in the eyes of the
[16:3] 888 tn Heb “he walked in the way of.”
[16:3] 889 sn This may refer to child sacrifice, though some interpret it as a less drastic cultic practice. For discussion see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 266-67.
[16:3] 890 tn Heb “like the abominable practices of the nations.”
[16:5] 891 tn Heb “went up to Jerusalem for battle.”
[16:5] 892 tn That is, Jerusalem, Ahaz’s capital city.
[16:5] 893 tn Heb “they were unable to fight.” The object must be supplied from the preceding sentence. Elsewhere when the Niphal infinitive of לָחָם (lakham) follows the verb יָכֹל (yakhol), the infinitive appears to have the force of “prevail against.” See Num 22:11; 1 Sam 17:9; and the parallel passage in Isa 7:1.
[16:6] 894 tc Some prefer to read “the king of Edom” and “for Edom” here. The names Syria (Heb “Aram,” אֲרָם, ’aram) and Edom (אֱדֹם, ’edom) are easily confused in the Hebrew consonantal script.
[16:6] 895 tn Heb “from Elat.”
[16:6] 896 tc The consonantal text (Kethib), supported by many medieval Hebrew
[16:7] 897 tn Heb “son.” Both terms (“servant” and “son”) reflect Ahaz’s subordinate position as Tiglath-pileser’s subject.
[16:7] 898 tn Heb “hand, palm.”
[16:7] 899 tn Heb “who have arisen against.”
[16:8] 900 tn Heb “that was found.”
[16:8] 901 tn Or “bribe money.”
[16:9] 902 tn Heb “listened to him.”
[16:9] 903 tn Heb “the king of Assyria.”
[16:10] 905 tn Heb “in Damascus.”
[16:10] 906 tn Heb “the likeness of the altar and its pattern for all its work.”
[16:11] 907 tn Heb “according to all that King Ahaz sent from Damascus.”
[16:11] 908 tn Heb “so Uriah the priest did, until the arrival of King Ahaz from Damascus.”
[16:12] 909 tn Heb “and the king.”
[16:12] 910 tn Heb “the altar.”
[16:12] 911 tn Or “ascended it.”
[16:14] 912 tn The word “new” is added in the translation for clarification.
[16:15] 913 tn That is, the newly constructed altar.
[16:15] 914 tn Heb “for me to seek.” The precise meaning of בָּקַר (baqar), “seek,” is uncertain in this context. For discussion see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 189.
[16:16] 915 tn Heb “according to all which.”
[16:17] 916 sn See the note at 1 Kgs 7:23.
[16:17] 917 tn Heb “that [were] under it.”
[16:18] 918 tn The precise meaning of the Hebrew term מוּסַךְ (musakh; Qere) / מִיסַךְ (misakh; Kethib) is uncertain. For discussion see HALOT 557 s.v. מוּסַךְ and M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 189-90.
[16:18] 919 tn Heb “that they built.”
[16:18] 920 sn It is doubtful that Tiglath-pileser ordered these architectural changes. Ahaz probably made these changes so he could send some of the items and materials to the Assyrian king as tribute. See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 190, 193.
[16:19] 921 tn Heb “As for the rest of the events of Ahaz, and that which he did, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Judah?”
[16:20] 922 tn Heb “lay down with his fathers.”
[17:1] 923 map For location see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.
[17:2] 924 tn Heb “in the eyes of.”
[17:3] 925 tn Heb “went up against.”
[17:4] 926 tn Heb “and the king of Assyria found in Hoshea conspiracy.”
[17:4] 927 sn For discussion of this name, see HALOT 744 s.v. סוֹא and M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 196.
[17:4] 928 tn Heb “and bound him in the house of confinement.”
[17:5] 929 tn Heb “went up against.”
[17:6] 930 tn The Hebrew text has simply “Israel” as the object of the verb.
[17:7] 931 tn Heb “and from under the hand of.” The words “freed them” are added in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[17:8] 933 tn Heb “walked in the customs.”
[17:8] 934 tn Heb “and [the practices of] the kings of Israel which they did.”
[17:9] 935 tn The meaning of the verb וַיְחַפְּאוּ (vayÿkhappÿ’u), translated here “said,” is uncertain. Some relate it to the verbal root חָפַה (khafah), “to cover,” and translate “they did it in secret” (see BDB 341 s.v. חָפָא). However, the pagan practices specified in the following sentences were hardly done in secret. Others propose a meaning “ascribe, impute,” which makes good contextual sense but has little etymological support (see HALOT 339 s.v. חפא). In this case Israel claimed that the
[17:9] 936 sn That is, from the city’s perimeter to the central citadel.
[17:11] 937 tn Heb “and they did evil things, angering the
[17:12] 939 sn See the note at 1 Kgs 15:12.
[17:12] 940 tn Heb “about which the
[17:13] 941 tn Heb “obey my commandments and rules according to all the law which I commanded your fathers and which I sent to you by the hand of my servants the prophets.”
[17:14] 942 tn Heb and they stiffened their neck like the neck of their fathers.”
[17:15] 943 tn Or “and his warnings he had given them.”
[17:15] 944 tn Heb “They went [or, ‘followed’] after.” This idiom probably does not mean much if translated literally. It is found most often in Deuteronomy or in literature related to the covenant. It refers in the first instance to loyalty to God and to His covenant or His commandments (1 Kgs 14:8; 2 Chr 34:31) with the metaphor of a path or way underlying it (Deut 11:28; 28:14). To “follow other gods” was to abandon this way and this loyalty (to “abandon” or “forget” God, Judg 2:12; Hos 2:13) and to follow the customs or religious traditions of the pagan nations (2 Kgs 17:15). The classic text on “following” God or another god is 1 Kgs 18:18, 21 where Elijah taunts the people with “halting between two opinions” whether the
[17:15] 945 tn Heb “they followed after the worthless thing/things and became worthless.” The words “to the
[17:15] 946 tn Heb “and [they walked] after the nations which were around them, concerning which the
[17:16] 947 tn The phrase כָל צְבָא הַשָּׁמַיִם (khol tsÿva’ hashamayim), traditionally translated “all the host of heaven,” refers to the heavenly lights, including stars and planets. In 1 Kgs 22:19 these heavenly bodies are pictured as members of the Lord’s royal court or assembly, but many other texts view them as the illegitimate objects of pagan and Israelite worship.
[17:17] 949 sn See the note at 2 Kgs 16:3.
[17:17] 950 tn Heb “they sold themselves to doing what was evil in the eyes of the
[17:18] 951 tn Heb “very angry.”
[17:18] 952 tn Heb “turned them away from his face.”
[17:19] 953 tn Heb “they walked in the practices of Israel which they did.”
[17:20] 954 tn Or “afflicted.”
[17:21] 955 tn Heb “and they made Jeroboam son of Nebat king.”
[17:21] 956 tc The consonantal text (Kethib) assumes the verb is נָדָא (nada’), an alternate form of נָדָה (nadah), “push away.” The marginal reading (Qere) assumes the verb נָדָח (nadakh), “drive away.”
[17:21] 957 tn Heb “a great sin.”
[17:22] 958 tn Heb “turn away from.”
[17:23] 960 tn Heb “the
[17:23] 961 tn Heb “just as he said.”
[17:24] 962 tn The object is supplied in the translation.
[17:24] 963 sn In vv. 24-29 Samaria stands for the entire northern kingdom of Israel.
[17:25] 964 tn Heb “in the beginning of their living there.”
[17:26] 966 tn Heb “and they said to the king of Assyria, saying.” The plural subject of the verb is indefinite.
[17:26] 967 tn Heb “Look they are killing them.”
[17:27] 968 tc The second plural subject may refer to the leaders of the Assyrian army. However, some prefer to read “whom I deported,” changing the verb to a first person singular form with a third masculine plural pronominal suffix. This reading has some support from Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic witnesses.
[17:27] 969 tc Heb “and let them go and let them live there, and let him teach them the requirements of the God of the land.” The two plural verbs seem inconsistent with the preceding and following contexts, where only one priest is sent back to Samaria. The singular has the support of Greek, Syriac, and Latin witnesses.
[17:28] 970 map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.
[17:29] 972 sn The verb “make” refers to the production of idols. See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 210-11.
[17:29] 973 tn Heb “Samaritans.” This refers to the Israelites who had been deported from the land.
[17:30] 974 sn No deity is known by the name Succoth Benoth in extant Mesopotamian literature. For speculation as to the identity of this deity, see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 211.
[17:30] 975 sn Nergal was a Mesopotamian god of the underworld.
[17:30] 976 sn This deity is unknown in extra-biblical literature. See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 211-12.
[17:31] 977 sn Nibhaz and Tartak were two Elamite deities. See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 212.
[17:31] 978 sn Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of the Sepharvaim are unknown in extra-biblical literature. See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 212.
[17:32] 980 tn Heb “and they appointed for themselves from their whole people priests for the high places and they were serving for them in the house[s] of the high places.”
[17:34] 983 tn Heb “commanded.”
[17:35] 985 sn That is, the descendants of Jacob/Israel (see v. 35b).
[17:36] 986 tn Heb “and outstretched arm.”
[17:40] 987 sn This refers to the foreigners whom the king of Assyria settled in the land (see v. 35a).
[18:2] 988 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[18:2] 989 tn Heb “the name of his mother.”
[18:2] 990 tn The parallel passage in 2 Chr 29:1 has “Abijah.”
[18:3] 991 tn Heb “he did what was proper in the eyes of the
[18:4] 992 tn The term is singular in the MT but plural in the LXX and other ancient versions. It is also possible to regard the singular as a collective singular, especially in the context of other plural items.
[18:4] sn Asherah was a leading deity of the Canaanite pantheon, wife/sister of El and goddess of fertility. She was commonly worshiped at shrines in or near groves of evergreen trees, or, failing that, at places marked by wooden poles. These were to be burned or cut down (Deut 12:3; 16:21; Judg 6:25, 28, 30; 2 Kgs 18:4).
[18:4] 993 tn Heb “until those days.”
[18:4] 994 tn In Hebrew the name sounds like the phrase נְחַשׁ הַנְּחֹשֶׁת (nÿkhash hannÿkhoshet), “bronze serpent.”
[18:5] 995 tn Heb “and after him there was none like him among all the kings of Judah, and those who were before him.”
[18:6] 996 tn Heb “he hugged.”
[18:6] 997 tn Heb “and did not turn aside from after him.”
[18:6] 998 tn Heb “had commanded.”
[18:7] 999 tn Heb “in all which he went out [to do], he was successful.”
[18:7] 1000 tn Heb “and did not serve him.”
[18:8] 1001 sn See the note at 2 Kgs 17:9.
[18:9] 1002 tn Heb “went” (also in v. 13).
[18:9] 1003 map For location see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.
[18:11] 1004 tn The Hebrew text has simply “Israel” as the object of the verb.
[18:12] 1005 tn Heb “listen to the voice of.”
[18:12] 1006 tn Heb “his covenant.”
[18:12] 1007 tn Heb “all that Moses, the
[18:14] 1008 tn Or “I have done wrong.”
[18:14] 1009 tn Heb “Return from upon me; what you place upon me, I will carry.”
[18:14] 1010 tn The Hebrew term כִּכָּר (kikkar, “circle”) refers generally to something that is round. When used of metals it can refer to a disk-shaped weight made of the metal or to a standard unit of weight, generally regarded as a talent. Since the accepted weight for a talent of metal is about 75 pounds, this would have amounted to about 22,500 pounds of silver and 2,250 pounds of gold.
[18:15] 1011 tn Heb “that was found.”
[18:16] 1012 tn Heb “At that time Hezekiah stripped the doors of the
[18:17] 1013 sn For a discussion of these titles see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 229-30.
[18:17] 1014 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[18:17] 1015 tn Heb “and they went up and came.”
[18:17] 1016 tn Heb “the field of the washer.”
[18:19] 1017 tn Heb “What is this object of trust in which you are trusting?”
[18:20] 1018 tn Heb “you say only a word of lips, counsel and might for battle.” Sennacherib’s message appears to be in broken Hebrew at this point. The phrase “word of lips” refers to mere or empty talk in Prov 14:23.
[18:23] 1019 tn Heb “exchange pledges.”
[18:24] 1020 tn Heb “How can you turn back the face of an official [from among] the least of my master’s servants and trust in Egypt for chariots and horsemen?” In vv. 23-24 the chief adviser develops further the argument begun in v. 21. His reasoning seems to be as follows: “In your weakened condition you obviously need military strength. Agree to the king’s terms and I will personally give you more horses than you are capable of outfitting. If I, a mere minor official, am capable of giving you such military might, just think what power the king has. There is no way the Egyptians can match our strength. It makes much better sense to deal with us.”
[18:25] 1022 sn In v. 25 the chief adviser develops further the argument begun in v. 22. He claims that Hezekiah has offended the Lord and that the Lord has commissioned Assyria as his instrument of discipline and judgment.
[18:26] 1023 sn Aramaic was the diplomatic language of the empire.
[18:27] 1025 tn Heb “To your master and to you did my master send me to speak these words?” The rhetorical question expects a negative answer.
[18:27] 1026 tn Heb “[Is it] not [also] to the men…?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Yes, it is.”
[18:27] sn The chief adviser alludes to the horrible reality of siege warfare, when the starving people in the besieged city would resort to eating and drinking anything to stay alive.
[18:28] 1027 tn The Hebrew text also has, “and he spoke and said.”
[18:29] 1028 tc The MT has “his hand,” but this is due to graphic confusion of vav (ו) and yod (י). The translation reads “my hand,” along with many medieval Hebrew
[18:31] 1029 tn Heb “make with me a blessing and come out to me.”
[18:33] 1030 tn Heb “Have the gods of the nations really rescued, each his land, from the hand of the king of Assyria?” The infinitive absolute lends emphasis to the main verb. The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Of course not!”
[18:34] 1031 tn The parallel passage in Isa 36:19 omits “Hena and Ivvah.” The rhetorical questions in v. 34a suggest the answer, “Nowhere, they seem to have disappeared in the face of Assyria’s might.”
[18:34] 1032 map For location see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.
[18:34] 1033 tn Heb “that they rescued Samaria from my hand?” But this gives the impression that the gods of Sepharvaim were responsible for protecting Samaria, which is obviously not the case. The implied subject of the plural verb “rescued” must be the generic “gods of the nations/lands” (vv. 33, 35).
[18:35] 1034 tn Heb “that the
[18:37] 1035 sn As a sign of grief and mourning.
[19:2] 1036 tn Heb “elders of the priests.”
[19:3] 1037 tn In the Hebrew text this verse begins with “they said to him.”
[19:3] 1038 tn Or “rebuke,” “correction.”
[19:3] 1040 tn Heb “when sons come to the cervical opening and there is no strength to give birth.”
[19:4] 1041 tn Heb “all the words of the chief adviser whom his master, the king of Assyria, sent to taunt the living God.”
[19:4] 1042 tn Heb “and rebuke the words which the
[19:4] 1043 tn Heb “and lift up a prayer on behalf of the remnant that is found.”
[19:6] 1044 tn Heb “by which the servants of the king of Assyria have insulted me.”
[19:7] 1045 tn Heb “I will put in him a spirit.” The precise sense of רוּחַ (ruakh), “spirit,” is uncertain in this context. It may refer to a spiritual being who will take control of his mind (see 1 Kgs 22:19), or it could refer to a disposition of concern and fear. In either case the
[19:7] 1047 tn Heb “cause him to fall,” that is, “kill him.”
[19:8] 1048 tn Heb “and the chief adviser returned and he found the king of Assyria fighting against Libnah, for he heard that he had departed from Lachish.”
[19:9] 1049 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[19:9] 1050 tn Heb “heard concerning Tirhakah king of Cush, ‘Look, he has come out to fight with you.’”
[19:10] 1051 tn Heb “will not be given.”
[19:11] 1052 tn Heb “Look, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the lands, annihilating them.”
[19:11] 1053 tn Heb “and will you be rescued?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “No, of course not!”
[19:12] 1054 tn Heb “Did the gods of the nations whom my fathers destroyed rescue them – Gozan and Haran, and Rezeph and the sons of Eden who are in Telassar?”
[19:13] 1055 sn Lair is a city located in northeastern Babylon. See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 235.
[19:14] 1056 tc The MT has the plural, “letters,” but the final mem is probably dittographic (note the initial mem on the form that immediately follows). Some Greek and Aramaic witnesses have the singular.
[19:14] 1057 tc The MT has the plural suffix, “them,” but this probably reflects a later harmonization to the preceding textual corruption (of “letter” to “letters”). The parallel passage in Isa 37:14 has the singular suffix.
[19:15] 1058 sn This refers to the cherub images that were above the ark of the covenant.
[19:15] 1059 tn Or “the heavens.”
[19:16] 1060 tn Heb “Hear the words of Sennacherib which he sent to taunt the living God.”
[19:18] 1061 tn Heb “and they put their gods in the fire.”
[19:18] 1062 tn Heb “so they destroyed them.”
[19:20] 1063 tn Heb “That which you prayed to me concerning Sennacherib king of Assyria I have heard.” The verb “I have heard” does not appear in the parallel passage in Isa 37:21, where אֲשֶׁר (’asher) probably has a causal sense, “because.”
[19:21] 1064 tn Heb “this is the word which the
[19:21] 1065 sn Zion (Jerusalem) is pictured here as a young, vulnerable daughter whose purity is being threatened by the would-be Assyrian rapist. The personification hints at the reality which the young girls of the city would face if the Assyrians conquer it.
[19:21] 1066 sn Shaking the head was a mocking gesture of derision.
[19:22] 1067 tn Heb “have you raised a voice.”
[19:22] 1068 tn Heb “and lifted your eyes on high?”
[19:22] 1069 sn This divine title pictures the Lord as the sovereign king who rules over his covenant people and exercises moral authority over them.
[19:23] 1070 tn The word is אֲדֹנָי (’adonai), “lord,” but some Hebrew
[19:23] 1071 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
[19:23] 1072 tn Heb “the lodging place of its extremity.”
[19:24] 1073 tn Heb “I dug and drank foreign waters.”
[19:25] 1074 tn Having quoted the Assyrian king’s arrogant words in vv. 23-24, the Lord now speaks to the king.
[19:25] 1075 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] 1077 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.
[19:26] 1078 tn Heb “short of hand.”
[19:26] 1079 tn Heb “they are plants in the field and green vegetation.” The metaphor emphasizes how short-lived these seemingly powerful cities really were. See Ps 90:5-6; Isa 40:6-8, 24.
[19:26] 1080 tn Heb “[they are] grass on the rooftops.” See the preceding note.
[19:26] 1081 tc The Hebrew text has “scorched before the standing grain” (perhaps meaning “before it reaches maturity”), but it is preferable to emend קָמָה (qamah), “standing grain,” to קָדִים (qadim), “east wind” (with the support of 1Q Isaa in Isa 37:27).
[19:27] 1082 tc Heb “your going out and your coming in.” The MT also has here, “and how you have raged against me.” However, this line is probably dittographic (note the beginning of the next line).
[19:28] 1083 tc Heb “and your complacency comes up into my ears.” The parallelism is improved if שַׁאֲנַנְךְ (sha’anankh), “your complacency,” is emended to שַׁאֲוַנְךְ (sha’avankh), “your uproar.” See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 237-38.
[19:28] 1084 sn The word picture has a parallel in Assyrian sculpture. See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 238.
[19:29] 1085 tn At this point the word concerning the king of Assyria (vv. 21-28) ends and the Lord again directly addresses Hezekiah and the people (see v. 20).
[19:29] 1086 tn Heb “and this is your sign.” In this case the אוֹת (’ot), “sign,” is a future confirmation of God’s intervention designated before the actual intervention takes place. For similar “signs” see Exod 3:12 and Isa 7:14-25.
[19:29] 1087 sn This refers to crops that grew up on their own (that is, without cultivation) from the seed planted in past years.
[19:29] 1088 tn Heb “and in the second year.”
[19:29] 1089 tn The four plural imperatival verb forms in v. 29b are used rhetorically. The Lord commands the people to plant, harvest, etc. to emphasize the certainty of restored peace and prosperity. See IBHS 572 §34.4.c.
[19:30] 1090 tn Heb “The remnant of the house of Judah that is left will add roots below and produce fruit above.”
[19:31] 1091 tn Traditionally “the
[19:31] 1092 tn Heb “the zeal of the
[19:32] 1094 tn Heb “[with] a shield.” By metonymy the “shield” stands for the soldier who carries it.
[19:34] 1095 tn Heb “for my sake and for the sake of David my servant.”
[19:35] 1096 tn This refers to the Israelites and/or the rest of the Assyrian army.
[19:35] 1097 tn Heb “look, all of them were dead bodies.”
[19:36] 1098 tn Heb “and Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and went and returned and lived in Nineveh.”
[19:37] 1099 sn The assassination probably took place in 681
[19:37] 1100 sn No such Mesopotamian god is presently known. Perhaps the name is a corruption of Nusku.
[19:37] 1101 tc Although “his sons” is absent in the Kethib, it is supported by the Qere, along with many medieval Hebrew
[19:37] 1102 sn Extra-biblical sources also mention the assassination of Sennacherib, though they refer to only one assassin. See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 239-40.
[20:1] 1103 tn Heb “was sick to the point of dying.”
[20:1] 1104 tn Heb “will not live.”
[20:3] 1105 tn Heb “walked before you.” For a helpful discussion of the background and meaning of this Hebrew idiom, see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 254.
[20:3] 1106 tn Heb “and with a complete heart.”
[20:3] 1107 tn Heb “and that which is good in your eyes I have done.”
[20:3] 1108 tn Heb “wept with great weeping.”
[20:4] 1109 tc Heb “and Isaiah had not gone out of the middle courtyard, and the word of the
[20:5] 1110 tn Heb “on the third day.”
[20:6] 1111 tn Heb “for my sake and for the sake of David my servant.”
[20:7] 1112 tn Heb “and they got [a fig cake].”
[20:7] 1113 tn Heb “and he lived.”
[20:9] 1114 tn The Hebrew הָלַךְ (halakh, a perfect), “it has moved ahead,” should be emended to הֲיֵלֵךְ (hayelekh, an imperfect with interrogative he [ה] prefixed), “shall it move ahead.”
[20:10] 1115 tn Heb “the shadow.” The noun has been replaced by the pronoun (“it”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[20:11] 1116 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the
[20:11] 1117 tn Heb “on the steps which [the sun] had gone down, on the steps of Ahaz, back ten steps.”
[20:11] sn These steps probably functioned as a type of sundial. See HALOT 614 s.v. מַעֲלָה and M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 256.
[20:12] 1118 tc The MT has “Berodach-Baladan,” but several Hebrew, Greek, Aramaic, and Latin witnesses agree with the parallel passage in Isa 39:1 and read “Merodach-Baladan.”
[20:13] 1119 tc Heb “listened to.” Some Hebrew
[20:13] 1120 tn Heb “there was nothing which Hezekiah did not show them in his house and in all his kingdom.”
[20:15] 1121 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Isaiah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[20:15] 1122 tn Heb “there was nothing I did not show them.”
[20:17] 1123 tn Heb “days are.”
[20:18] 1124 tn Heb “Some of your sons, who go out from you, whom you father.”
[20:19] 1126 tn Heb “and he said.” Many English versions translate, “for he thought.” The verb אָמַר (’amar), “say,” is sometimes used of what one thinks (that is, says to oneself). Cf. NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT.
[20:19] 1127 tn Heb “Is it not [true] there will be peace and stability in my days?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Yes, there will be peace and stability.”
[20:20] 1128 tn Heb “and he brought.”
[20:20] 1129 tn Heb “As for the rest of the events of Hezekiah, and all his strength, and how he made a pool and a conduit and brought water to the city, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Judah?”
[20:21] 1130 tn Heb “lay down with his fathers.”
[21:1] 1131 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[21:1] 1132 tn Heb “the name of his mother.”
[21:2] 1133 tn Heb “in the eyes of.”
[21:2] 1134 tn Heb “like the abominable practices of the nations.”
[21:3] 1135 sn See the note at 2 Kgs 17:16.
[21:4] 1137 tn Heb “In Jerusalem I will place my name.”
[21:6] 1138 tc The LXX has the plural “his sons” here.
[21:6] 1139 sn See the note at 2 Kgs 16:3.
[21:6] 1140 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] 1141 tc Heb “and he multiplied doing what is evil in the eyes of the
[21:7] 1142 tn Heb “In this house and in Jerusalem, which I chose from all the tribes of Israel, I will place my name perpetually (or perhaps “forever”).”
[21:8] 1143 tn Heb “I will not again make the feet of Israel wander from the land which I gave to their fathers.”
[21:10] 1145 tn Heb “spoke by the hand of.”
[21:11] 1146 tn Heb “these horrible sins.”
[21:11] 1147 sn See the note at 1 Kgs 15:12.
[21:12] 1148 tn Heb “so that everyone who hears it, his two ears will quiver.”
[21:13] 1149 map For location see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.
[21:13] 1150 tn Heb “I will stretch out over Jerusalem the measuring line of Samaria, and the plumb line of the house of Ahab.” The measuring line and plumb line are normally used in building a structure, not tearing it down. But here they are used ironically as metaphors of judgment, emphasizing that he will give careful attention to the task of judgment.
[21:13] 1151 tn Heb “just as one wipes a plate, wiping and turning [it] on its face.” The word picture emphasizes how thoroughly the Lord will judge the city.
[21:14] 1152 tn Heb “the remnant of my inheritance.” In this context the Lord’s remnant is the tribe of Judah, which had been preserved when the Assyrians conquered and deported the northern tribes. See 17:18 and M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 269.
[21:14] 1153 tn Heb “they will become plunder and spoils of war for all their enemies.”
[21:15] 1154 tn Heb “in my eyes.”
[21:16] 1155 tn Heb “and also Manasseh shed very much innocent blood, until he filled Jerusalem from mouth to mouth.”
[21:16] 1156 tn Heb “apart from his sin which he caused Judah to commit, by doing what is evil in the eyes of the
[21:17] 1157 tn Heb “As for the rest of the events of Manasseh, and all which he did, and his sin which he committed, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Judah?”
[21:18] 1158 tn Heb “lay down with his fathers.”
[21:19] 1159 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[21:19] 1160 tn Heb “the name of his mother.”
[21:20] 1161 tn Heb “in the eyes of.”
[21:21] 1162 tn Heb “walked in all the way which his father walked.”
[21:21] 1163 sn See the note at 1 Kgs 15:12.
[21:21] 1164 tn Heb “and he served the disgusting idols which his father served and he bowed down to them.”
[21:22] 1165 tn Heb “and did not walk in the way of the
[21:24] 1166 tn Heb “the people of the land.” The pronoun “they” has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons, to avoid the repetition of the phrase “the people of the land” from the beginning of the verse.
[21:25] 1167 tc Heb “As for the rest of the things of Amon which he did, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Judah?” Many Hebrew
[21:26] 1168 tn Heb “he buried him.” Here “he” probably refers to Amon’s son Josiah.
[22:1] 1169 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[22:1] 1170 tn Heb “the name of his mother.”
[22:2] 1171 tn Heb “he did what was proper in the eyes of the
[22:2] 1172 tn Heb “and walked in all the way of David his father.”
[22:3] 1173 tn Heb “with these orders, saying.”
[22:4] 1174 tc The MT has וְיַתֵּם (vÿyattem), “and let them add up” (Hiphil of תָּמָם [tammam], “be complete”), but the appearance of הִתִּיכוּ (hitikhu), “they melted down” (Hiphil of נָתַךְ [natakh], “pour out”) in v. 9 suggests that the verb form should be emended to וְיַתֵּךְ (vÿyattekh), “and let him melt down” (a Hiphil of נָתַךְ [natakh]). For a discussion of this and other options see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 281.
[22:5] 1175 tn Heb “doers of the work.”
[22:5] 1176 tn Heb “and let them give it to the doers of the work who are in the house of the
[22:6] 1177 tn Heb “and to buy wood and chiseled stone to repair the house.”
[22:7] 1178 tn Heb “only the silver that is given into their hand should not be reckoned with them, for in faithfulness they are acting.”
[22:9] 1179 tn Heb “returned the king a word and said.”
[22:9] 1180 tn Heb “that was found in the house.”
[22:13] 1181 tn Or “inquire of.”
[22:13] 1182 tn Heb “concerning.”
[22:13] 1183 tn Heb “for great is the anger of the
[22:13] 1184 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.”
[22:14] 1185 tn Heb “the keeper of the clothes.”
[22:14] 1186 tn Or “second.” For a discussion of the possible location of this district, see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 283.
[22:14] 1187 tn Heb “and they spoke to her.”
[22:16] 1188 tn Heb “all the words of the scroll which the king of Judah has read.”
[22:17] 1189 tn Or “burned incense.”
[22:17] 1190 tn Heb “angering me with all the work of their hands.” The translation assumes that this refers to idols they have manufactured (note the preceding reference to “other gods,” as well as 19:18). However, it is possible that this is a general reference to their sinful practices, in which case one might translate, “angering me by all the things they do.”
[22:19] 1191 tn Heb “Because your heart was tender.”
[22:19] 1192 tn Heb “how I said concerning this place and its residents to become [an object of] horror and [an example of] a curse.” The final phrase (“horror and a curse”) refers to Judah becoming a prime example of an accursed people. In curse formulations they would be held up as a prime example of divine judgment. For an example of such a curse, see Jer 29:22.
[22:20] 1193 tn Heb “Therefore, look, I am gathering you to your fathers, and you will be gathered to your tomb in peace.”
[22:20] 1194 tn Heb “your eyes will not see.”
[23:1] 1195 tn Heb “and the king sent and all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem gathered to him.”
[23:1] map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[23:2] 1196 tn Heb “read in their ears.”
[23:3] 1197 tn Heb “cut,” that is, “made, agreed to.”
[23:3] 1198 tn Heb “walk after.”
[23:3] 1201 tn Heb “stood in the covenant.”
[23:4] 1202 tn Heb “the priests of the second [rank],” that is, those ranked just beneath Hilkiah.
[23:4] 1203 tn Or “doorkeepers.”
[23:4] 1205 tn Heb “all the host of heaven” (also in v. 5).
[23:4] 1206 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[23:4] 1207 tn Or “fields.” For a defense of the translation “terraces,” see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 285.
[23:4] 1208 map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.
[23:5] 1209 tn Perhaps, “destroyed.”
[23:5] 1210 tn Or “burn incense.”
[23:5] 1211 tn Or “burned incense.”
[23:6] 1212 tn Heb “and he burned it in the Kidron Valley.”
[23:6] 1213 tc Heb “on the grave of the sons of the people.” Some Hebrew, Greek, Syriac, Aramaic, and Latin witnesses read the plural “graves.”
[23:6] tn The phrase “sons of the people” refers here to the common people (see BDB 766 s.v. עַם), as opposed to the upper classes who would have private tombs.
[23:7] 1214 tn Or “cubicles.” Heb “houses.”
[23:7] 1215 tn Heb “houses.” Perhaps tent-shrines made from cloth are in view (see BDB 109 s.v. בַּיִת). M. Cogan and H. Tadmor (II Kings [AB], 286) understand this as referring to clothes made for images of the goddess.
[23:8] 1216 tn Heb “defiled; desecrated,” that is, “made ritually unclean and unusable.”
[23:8] 1217 sn These towns marked Judah’s northern and southern borders, respectively, at the time of Josiah.
[23:8] 1218 tc The Hebrew text reads “the high places of the gates,” which is problematic in that the rest of the verse speaks of a specific gate. The translation assumes an emendation to בָּמוֹת הַשְּׁעָרִים (bamot hashÿ’arim), “the high place of the goats” (that is, goat idols). Worship of such images is referred to in Lev 17:7 and 2 Chr 11:15. For a discussion of the textual issue, see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 286-87.
[23:9] 1219 tn Heb “their brothers.”
[23:10] 1220 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[23:10] 1221 sn Attempts to identify this deity with a god known from the ancient Near East have not yet yielded a consensus. For brief discussions see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor II Kings (AB), 288 and HALOT 592 s.v. מֹלֶךְ. For more extensive studies see George C. Heider, The Cult of Molek, and John Day, Molech: A God of Human Sacrifice in the Old Testament.
[23:11] 1222 tn The MT simply reads “the horses.” The words “statues of” have been supplied in the translation for clarity.
[23:11] 1223 tn Heb “who/which was in the […?].” The meaning of the Hebrew term פַּרְוָרִים (parvarim), translated here “courtyards,” is uncertain. The relative clause may indicate where the room was located or explain who Nathan Melech was, “the eunuch who was in the courtyards.” See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 288-89, who translate “the officer of the precincts.”
[23:11] 1224 tn Heb “and the chariots of the sun he burned with fire.”
[23:12] 1225 tc The MT reads, “he ran from there,” which makes little if any sense in this context. Some prefer to emend the verbal form (Qal of רוּץ [ruts], “run”) to a Hiphil of רוּץ with third plural suffix and translate, “he quickly removed them” (see BDB 930 s.v. רוּץ, and M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings [AB], 289). The suffix could have been lost in MT by haplography (note the mem [מ] that immediately follows the verb on the form מִשֳׁם, misham, “from there”). Another option, the one reflected in the translation, is to emend the verb to a Piel of רָצַץ (ratsats), “crush,” with third plural suffix.
[23:13] 1226 sn This is a derogatory name for the Mount of Olives, involving a wordplay between מָשְׁחָה (mashÿkhah), “anointing,” and מַשְׁחִית (mashÿkhit), “destruction.” See HALOT 644 s.v. מַשְׁחִית and M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 289.
[23:14] 1227 tn Heb “their places.”
[23:15] 1228 map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.
[23:15] 1229 tn Heb “And also the altar that is in Bethel, the high place that Jeroboam son of Nebat who encouraged Israel to sin, also that altar and the high place he tore down.” The more repetitive Hebrew text is emphatic.
[23:15] 1230 tn Heb “he burned the high place, crushing to dust, and he burned the Asherah pole.” High places per se are never referred to as being burned elsewhere. בָּמָה (bamah) here stands by metonymy for the combustible items located on the high place. See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 289.
[23:16] 1231 tn Heb “and he sent and took the bones from the tombs.”
[23:16] 1232 tn Heb “the king”; this has been specified as “King Josiah” in the translation for clarity (cf. TEV, CEV, NLT).
[23:16] 1233 tc The MT is much shorter than this. It reads, “according to the word of the
[23:16] sn This recalls the prophecy recorded in 1 Kgs 13:2.
[23:17] 1234 tn Heb “man of God.”
[23:18] 1235 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[23:18] 1236 tn Heb “and they left undisturbed his bones, the bones of the prophet who came from Samaria.” If the phrase “the bones of the prophet” were appositional to “his bones,” one would expect the sentence to end “from Judah” (see v. 17). Apparently the “prophet” referred to in the second half of the verse is the old prophet from Bethel who buried the man of God from Judah in his own tomb and instructed his sons to bury his bones there as well (1 Kgs 13:30-31). One expects the text to read “from Bethel,” but “Samaria” (which was not even built at the time of the incident recorded in 1 Kgs 13) is probably an anachronistic reference to the northern kingdom in general. See the note at 1 Kgs 13:32 and the discussion in M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 290.
[23:19] 1237 tc Heb “which the kings of Israel had made, angering.” The object has been accidentally omitted in the MT. It appears in the LXX, Syriac, and Vulgate versions.
[23:19] 1238 tn Heb “and he did to them according to all the deeds he had done in Bethel.”
[23:19] map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.
[23:22] 1239 tn The Hebrew text has simply “because.” The translation attempts to reflect more clearly the logical connection between the king’s order and the narrator’s observation. Another option is to interpret כִּי (ki) as asseverative and translate, “indeed.”
[23:22] 1240 tn Heb “because there had not been observed [one] like this Passover from the days of the judges who judged Israel and all the days of the kings of Israel and the kings of Judah.”
[23:24] 1241 tn Here בִּעֵר (bi’er) is not the well attested verb “burn,” but the less common homonym meaning “devastate, sweep away, remove.” See HALOT 146 s.v. בער.
[23:24] 1242 sn See the note at 2 Kgs 21:6.
[23:24] 1243 sn See the note at 1 Kgs 15:12.
[23:24] 1244 tn Heb “carrying out the words of the law.”
[23:25] 1245 tn Heb “and like him there was not a king before him who returned to the
[23:25] sn The description of Josiah’s devotion as involving his whole “heart, soul, and being” echoes the language of Deut 6:5.
[23:26] 1246 tn Heb “Yet the
[23:27] 1247 tn Heb “Also Judah I will turn away from my face.”
[23:27] 1248 tn Heb “My name will be there.”
[23:28] 1249 tn Heb “As for the rest of the events of Josiah, and all which he did, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Judah?”
[23:29] 1250 tn Heb “went up to.” The idiom עַל…עָלָה (’alah …’al) can sometimes mean “go up against,” but here it refers to Necho’s attempt to aid the Assyrians in their struggle with the Babylonians.
[23:29] 1251 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Necho) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[23:29] 1252 map For location see Map1 D4; Map2 C1; Map4 C2; Map5 F2; Map7 B1.
