2 Raja-raja 2:1--13:25
Konteks2:1 Just before 1 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.” 2 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 3 in Bethel came out to Elisha and said, “Do you know that today the Lord is going to take your master from you?” 4 He answered, “Yes, I know. Be quiet.”
2:4 Elijah said to him, “Elisha, stay here, for the Lord has sent me to Jericho.” 5 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 6 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, 7 before I am taken away from you?” Elisha answered, “May I receive a double portion of the prophetic spirit that energizes you.” 8 2:10 Elijah 9 replied, “That’s a difficult request! 10 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 11 pulled by fiery horses appeared. 12 They went between Elijah and Elisha, 13 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!” 14 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, 15 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, 16 who were standing at a distance, 17 saw him do this, they said, “The spirit that energized Elijah 18 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 19 may have carried him away and dropped him on one of the hills or in one of the valleys.” But Elisha 20 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. 21 2:18 When they came back, Elisha 22 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 23 master can see. But the water is bad and the land doesn’t produce crops.” 24 2:20 Elisha 25 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 26 this water. It will no longer cause death or fail to produce crops.” 27 2:22 The water has been pure to this very day, just as Elisha prophesied. 28
2:23 He went up from there to Bethel. 29 As he was traveling up the road, some young boys 30 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. 31 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. 32
3:1 In the eighteenth year of King Jehoshaphat’s reign over Judah, Ahab’s son Jehoram became king over Israel in Samaria; 33 he ruled for twelve years. 3:2 He did evil in the sight of 34 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 35 the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, who encouraged Israel to sin; he did not turn from them. 36
3:4 Now King Mesha of Moab was a sheep breeder. 37 He would send as tribute 38 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 39 this message to King Jehoshaphat of Judah: “The king of Moab has rebelled against me. Will you fight with me against Moab?” Jehoshaphat 40 replied, “I will join you in the campaign; my army and horses are at your disposal.” 41 3:8 He then asked, “Which invasion route are we going to take?” 42 Jehoram 43 answered, “By the road through the Desert of Edom.” 3:9 So the kings of Israel, Judah, and Edom 44 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! 45 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?” 46 One of the servants of the king of Israel answered, “Elisha son of Shapat is here; he used to be Elijah’s servant.” 47 3:12 Jehoshaphat said, “The Lord speaks through him.” 48 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? 49 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 50 lives (whom I serve), 51 if I did not respect King Jehoshaphat of Judah, 52 I would not pay attention to you or acknowledge you. 53 3:15 But now, get me a musician.” 54 When the musician played, the Lord energized him, 55 3:16 and he said, “This is what the Lord says, ‘Make many cisterns in this valley,’ 56 3:17 for this is what the Lord says, ‘You will not feel 57 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; 58 he will also hand Moab over to you. 3:19 You will defeat every fortified city and every important 59 city. You must chop down 60 every productive 61 tree, stop up all the springs, and cover all the cultivated land with stones.” 62
3:20 Sure enough, the next morning, at the time of the morning sacrifice, water came flowing down from Edom and filled the land. 63 3:21 Now all Moab had heard that the kings were attacking, 64 so everyone old enough to fight was mustered and placed at the border. 65 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 66 said, “It’s blood! The kings are totally destroyed! 67 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 68 thoroughly defeated 69 Moab. 3:25 They tore down the cities and each man threw a stone into every cultivated field until they were covered. 70 They stopped up every spring and chopped down every productive tree.
Only Kir Hareseth was left intact, 71 but the slingers surrounded it and attacked it. 3:26 When the king of Moab realized he was losing the battle, 72 he and 700 swordsmen tried to break through and attack 73 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, 74 so they broke off the attack 75 and returned to their homeland.
4:1 Now a wife of one of the prophets 76 appealed 77 to Elisha for help, saying, “Your servant, my husband is dead. You know that your servant was a loyal follower of the Lord. 78 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. 79 Get as many as you can. 80 4:4 Go and close the door behind you and your sons. Pour the olive oil into all the containers; 81 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, 82 “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. 83 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 84 woman lived. She insisted that he stop for a meal. 85 So whenever he was passing through, he would stop in there for a meal. 86 4:9 She said to her husband, “Look, I’m sure 87 that the man who regularly passes through here is a very special prophet. 88 4:10 Let’s make a small private upper room 89 and furnish it with 90 a bed, table, chair, and lamp. When he visits us, he can stay there.”
4:11 One day Elisha 91 came for a visit; he went 92 into the upper room and rested. 93 4:12 He told his servant Gehazi, “Ask the Shunammite woman to come here.” 94 So he did so and she came to him. 95 4:13 Elisha said to Gehazi, 96 “Tell her, ‘Look, you have treated us with such great respect. 97 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.” 98 4:14 So he asked Gehazi, 99 “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.” 100 So he did so 101 and she came and stood in the doorway. 102 4:16 He said, “About this time next year 103 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. 104 4:19 He said to his father, “My head! My head!” His father 105 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 106 until noon and then died. 4:21 She went up and laid him down on the prophet’s 107 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 108 or the Sabbath.” She said, “Everything’s fine.” 109 4:24 She saddled the donkey and told her servant, “Lead on. 110 Do not stop unless I say so.” 111
4:25 So she went to visit 112 the prophet at Mount Carmel. When he 113 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, 114 “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. 115 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 116 told Gehazi, “Tuck your robes into your belt, take my staff, 117 and go! Don’t stop to exchange greetings with anyone! 118 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 119 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 120 he told him, “The child did not wake up.” 4:32 When Elisha arrived at the house, there was 121 the child lying dead on his bed. 4:33 He went in by himself and closed the door. 122 Then he prayed to the Lord. 4:34 He got up on the bed and spread his body out over 123 the boy; he put his mouth on the boy’s 124 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 125 grew warm. 4:35 Elisha 126 went back and walked around in the house. 127 Then he got up on the bed again 128 and bent down over him. The child sneezed seven times and opened his eyes. 4:36 Elisha 129 called to Gehazi and said, “Get the Shunammite woman.” So he did so 130 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 131 and he told his servant, “Put the big pot on the fire 132 and boil some stew for the prophets.” 133 4:39 Someone went out to the field to gather some herbs and found a wild vine. 134 He picked some of its fruit, 135 enough to fill up the fold of his robe. He came back, cut it up, and threw the slices 136 into the stew pot, not knowing they were harmful. 137 4:40 The stew was poured out 138 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.” 139 There was no longer anything harmful in the pot.
4:42 Now a man from Baal Shalisha brought some food for the prophet 140 – twenty loaves of bread made from the firstfruits of the barley harvest, as well as fresh ears of grain. 141 Elisha 142 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?” 143 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.’” 144 4:44 So he set it before them; they ate and had some left over, just as the Lord predicted. 145
5:1 Now Naaman, the commander of the king of Syria’s army, was esteemed and respected by his master, 146 for through him the Lord had given Syria military victories. But this great warrior had a skin disease. 147 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! 148 Then he would cure him of his skin disease.”
5:4 Naaman 149 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 150 went, taking with him ten talents 151 of silver, six thousand shekels of gold, 152 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, 153 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? 154 Certainly you must see that he is looking for an excuse to fight me!” 155
5:8 When Elisha the prophet 156 heard that the king had torn his clothes, he sent this message to the king, “Why did you tear your clothes? Send him 157 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 158 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! 159 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, 160 if the prophet had told you to do some difficult task, 161 you would have been willing to do it. 162 It seems you should be happy that he simply said, “Wash and you will be healed.” 163 5:14 So he went down and dipped in the Jordan seven times, as the prophet had instructed. 164 His skin became as smooth as a young child’s 165 and he was healed.
5:15 He and his entire entourage returned to the prophet. Naaman 166 came and stood before him. He said, “For sure 167 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 168 replied, “As certainly as the Lord lives (whom I serve), 169 I will take nothing from you.” Naaman 170 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, 171 for your servant will never again offer a burnt offering or sacrifice to a god other than the Lord. 172 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.” 173 5:19 Elisha 174 said to him, “Go in peace.”
When he had gone a short distance, 175 5:20 Gehazi, the prophet Elisha’s servant, thought, 176 “Look, my master did not accept what this Syrian Naaman offered him. 177 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?” 178 5:22 He answered, “Everything is fine. 179 My master sent me with this message, ‘Look, two servants of the prophets just arrived from the Ephraimite hill country. 180 Please give them a talent 181 of silver and two suits of clothes.’” 5:23 Naaman said, “Please accept two talents of silver. 182 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. 183 5:24 When he arrived at the hill, he took them from the servants 184 and put them in the house. Then he sent the men on their way. 185
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 186 replied, “I was there in spirit when a man turned and got down from his chariot to meet you. 187 This is not the proper time to accept silver or to accept clothes, olive groves, vineyards, sheep, cattle, and male and female servants. 188 5:27 Therefore Naaman’s skin disease will afflict 189 you and your descendants forever!” When Gehazi 190 went out from his presence, his skin was as white as snow. 191
6:1 Some of the prophets 192 said to Elisha, “Look, the place where we meet with you 193 is too cramped 194 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 195 dropped into the water. He shouted, “Oh no, 196 my master! It was borrowed!” 6:6 The prophet 197 asked, “Where did it drop in?” When he showed him the spot, Elisha 198 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 199 at such and such 200 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 201 to be on its guard. This happened on several occasions. 202 6:11 This made the king of Syria upset. 203 So he summoned his advisers 204 and said to them, “One of us must be helping the king of Israel.” 205 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 206 ordered, “Go, find out where he is, so I can send some men to capture him.” 207 The king was told, “He is in Dothan.” 6:14 So he sent horses and chariots there, along with a good-sized army. 208 They arrived during the night and surrounded the city.
6:15 The prophet’s 209 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, 210 “Oh no, my master! What will we do?” 6:16 He replied, “Don’t be afraid, for our side outnumbers them.” 211 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 212 the hill was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. 6:18 As they approached him, 213 Elisha prayed to the Lord, “Strike these people 214 with blindness.” 215 The Lord 216 struck them with blindness as Elisha requested. 217 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. 218
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. 219 6:21 When the king of Israel saw them, he asked Elisha, “Should I strike them down, 220 my master?” 221 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? 222 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 223 for them and they ate and drank. Then he sent them back 224 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 225 and besieged Samaria. 226 6:25 Samaria’s food supply ran out. 227 They laid siege to it so long that 228 a donkey’s head was selling for eighty shekels of silver 229 and a quarter of a kab 230 of dove’s droppings 231 for five shekels of silver. 232
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.” 233 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. 234 6:31 Then he said, “May God judge me severely 235 if Elisha son of Shaphat still has his head by the end of the day!” 236
6:32 Now Elisha was sitting in his house with the community leaders. 237 The king 238 sent a messenger on ahead, but before he arrived, 239 Elisha 240 said to the leaders, 241 “Do you realize this assassin intends to cut off my head?” 242 Look, when the messenger arrives, shut the door and lean against it. His master will certainly be right behind him.” 243 6:33 He was still talking to them when 244 the messenger approached 245 and said, “Look, the Lord is responsible for this disaster! 246 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 247 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 248 responded to the prophet, 249 “Look, even if the Lord made it rain by opening holes in the sky, could this happen so soon?” 250 Elisha 251 said, “Look, you will see it happen with your own eyes, but you will not eat any of the food!” 252
7:3 Now four men with a skin disease 253 were sitting at the entrance of the city gate. They said to one another, “Why are we just sitting here waiting to die? 254 7:4 If we go into the city, we’ll die of starvation, 255 and if we stay here we’ll die! So come on, let’s defect 256 to the Syrian camp! If they spare us, 257 we’ll live; if they kill us – well, we were going to die anyway.” 258 7:5 So they started toward 259 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. 260 They also took some silver, gold, and clothes and went and hid it all. 261 Then they went back and entered another tent. They looted it 262 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. 263 If we wait until dawn, 264 we’ll be punished. 265 So come on, let’s go and inform the royal palace.” 7:10 So they went and called out to the gatekeepers 266 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. 267 But the horses and donkeys are still tied up, and the tents remain up.” 268 7:11 The gatekeepers relayed the news to the royal palace. 269
7:12 The king got up in the night and said to his advisers, 270 “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!) 271 Let’s send them out so we can know for sure what’s going on.” 272 7:14 So they picked two horsemen and the king sent them out to track the Syrian army. 273 He ordered them, “Go and find out what’s going on.” 274 7:15 So they tracked them 275 as far as the Jordan. The road was filled with clothes and equipment that the Syrians had discarded in their haste. 276 The scouts 277 went back and told the king. 7:16 Then the people went out and looted the Syrian camp. A seah 278 of finely milled flour sold for a shekel, and two seahs of barley for a shekel, just as the Lord had said they would. 279
7:17 Now the king had placed the officer who was his right-hand man 280 at the city gate. When the people rushed out, they trampled him to death in the gate. 281 This fulfilled the prophet’s word which he had spoken when the king tried to arrest him. 282 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?” 283 Elisha 284 said, “Look, you will see it happen with your own eyes, but you will not eat any of the food!” 285 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, 286 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. 287 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. 288 8:4 Now the king was talking to Gehazi, the prophet’s 289 servant, and said, “Tell me all the great things which Elisha has done.” 8:5 While Gehazi 290 was telling the king how Elisha 291 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. 292 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. 293 The king assigned a eunuch to take care of her request and ordered him, 294 “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 295 was told, “The prophet 296 has come here.” 8:8 So the king told Hazael, “Take a gift 297 and go visit the prophet. Request from him an oracle from the Lord. Ask him, 298 ‘Will I recover from this sickness?’” 8:9 So Hazael went to visit Elisha. 299 He took along a gift, 300 as well as 301 forty camel loads of all the fine things of Damascus. When he arrived, he stood before him and said, “Your son, 302 King Ben Hadad of Syria, has sent me to you with this question, 303 ‘Will I recover from this sickness?’” 8:10 Elisha said to him, “Go and tell him, ‘You will surely recover,’ 304 but the Lord has revealed to me that he will surely die.” 8:11 Elisha 305 just stared at him until Hazael became uncomfortable. 306 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?” 307 Elisha answered, “The Lord has revealed to me that you will be the king of Syria.” 308 8:14 He left Elisha and went to his master. Ben Hadad 309 asked him, “What did Elisha tell you?” Hazael 310 replied, “He told me you would surely recover.” 8:15 The next day Hazael 311 took a piece of cloth, dipped it in water, and spread it over Ben Hadad’s 312 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. 313 8:17 He was thirty-two years old when he became king and he reigned for eight years in Jerusalem. 314 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. 315 He did evil in the sight of 316 the Lord. 8:19 But the Lord was unwilling to destroy Judah. He preserved Judah for the sake of 317 his servant David to whom he had promised a perpetual dynasty. 318
8:20 During his reign Edom freed themselves from Judah’s control and set up their own king. 319 8:21 Joram 320 crossed over to Zair with all his chariots. The Edomites, who had surrounded him, attacked at night and defeated him and his chariot officers. 321 The Israelite army retreated to their homeland. 322 8:22 So Edom has remained free from Judah’s control to this very day. 323 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. 324 8:24 Joram passed away 325 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. 326 His mother was Athaliah, the granddaughter 327 of King Omri of Israel. 8:27 He followed in the footsteps of Ahab’s dynasty and did evil in the sight of 328 the Lord, like Ahab’s dynasty, for he was related to Ahab’s family. 329
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 330 in Ramah when he fought against King Hazael of Syria. King Ahaziah son of Jehoram of Judah went down to visit 331 Joram son of Ahab in Jezreel, for he was ill.
9:1 Now Elisha the prophet summoned a member of the prophetic guild 332 and told him, “Tuck your robes into your belt, take this container 333 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. 334 9:3 Take the container of olive oil, pour it over his head, and say, ‘This is what the Lord says, “I have designated 335 you as king over Israel.”’ Then open the door and run away quickly!” 336
9:4 So the young prophet 337 went to Ramoth Gilead. 9:5 When he arrived, the officers of the army were sitting there. 338 So he said, “I have a message for you, O officer.” 339 Jehu asked, “For which one of us?” 340 He replied, “For you, O officer.” 9:6 So Jehu 341 got up and went inside. Then the prophet 342 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. 343 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. 344 9:8 Ahab’s entire family will die. I 345 will cut off every last male belonging to Ahab in Israel, including even the weak and incapacitated. 346 9:9 I will make Ahab’s dynasty 347 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.’” 348 Then he opened the door and ran away.
9:11 When Jehu rejoined 349 his master’s servants, they 350 asked him, “Is everything all right? 351 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.” 352 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, 353 “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 354 feet on the steps. 355 The trumpet was blown 356 and they shouted, “Jehu is 357 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, 358 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 359 when he fought against King Hazael of Syria. 360 Jehu told his supporters, 361 “If you really want me to be king, 362 then don’t let anyone escape from the city to go and warn Jezreel.” 9:16 Jehu drove his chariot 363 to Jezreel, for Joram was recuperating 364 there. (Now King Ahaziah of Judah had come down to visit 365 Joram.)
9:17 Now the watchman was standing on the tower in Jezreel and saw Jehu’s troops approaching. 366 He said, “I see troops!” 367 Jehoram ordered, 368 “Send a rider out to meet them and have him ask, ‘Is everything all right?’” 369 9:18 So the horseman 370 went to meet him and said, “This is what the king says, ‘Is everything all right?’” 371 Jehu replied, “None of your business! 372 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 373 and he said, “This is what the king says, ‘Is everything all right?’” 374 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; 375 he drives recklessly.” 9:21 Jehoram ordered, “Hitch up my chariot.” 376 When his chariot had been hitched up, 377 King Jehoram of Israel and King Ahaziah of Judah went out in their respective chariots 378 to meet Jehu. They met up with him 379 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?” 380 9:23 Jehoram turned his chariot around and took off. 381 He said to Ahaziah, “It’s a trap, 382 Ahaziah!” 9:24 Jehu aimed his bow and shot an arrow right between Jehoram’s shoulders. 383 The arrow went through 384 his heart and he fell to his knees in his chariot. 9:25 Jehu ordered 385 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,” 386 says the Lord.’ So now pick him up and throw him into this plot of land, just as the Lord said.” 387
9:27 When King Ahaziah of Judah saw what happened, he took off 388 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. 389 He fled to Megiddo 390 and died there. 9:28 His servants took his body 391 back to Jerusalem 392 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, 393 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?” 394 9:32 He looked up at the window and said, “Who is on my side? Who?” Two or three 395 eunuchs looked down at him. 9:33 He said, “Throw her down!” So they threw her down, and when she hit the ground, 396 her blood splattered against the wall and the horses, and Jehu drove his chariot over her. 397 9:34 He went inside and had a meal. 398 Then he said, “Dispose of this accursed woman’s corpse. Bury her, for after all, she was a king’s daughter.” 399 9:35 But when they went to bury her, they found nothing left but 400 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, 401 ‘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.’” 402
10:1 Ahab had seventy sons living in Samaria. 403 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, 404 10:2 “You have with you the sons of your master, chariots and horses, a fortified city, and weapons. So when this letter arrives, 405 10:3 pick the best and most capable 406 of your master’s sons, place him on his father’s throne, and defend 407 your master’s dynasty.”
10:4 They were absolutely terrified 408 and said, “Look, two kings could not stop him! 409 How can we?” 410 10:5 So the palace supervisor, 411 the city commissioner, 412 the leaders, 413 and the guardians sent this message to Jehu, “We are your subjects! 414 Whatever you say, we will do. We will not make anyone king. Do what you consider proper.” 415
10:6 He wrote them a second letter, saying, “If you are really on my side and are willing to obey me, 416 then take the heads of your master’s sons and come to me in Jezreel at this time tomorrow.” 417 Now the king had seventy sons, and the prominent 418 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. 419 They put their heads in baskets and sent them to him in Jezreel. 10:8 The messenger came and told Jehu, 420 “They have brought the heads of the king’s sons.” Jehu 421 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.” 422 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. 423 While he was traveling through Beth Eked of the Shepherds, 10:13 Jehu encountered 424 the relatives 425 of King Ahaziah of Judah. He asked, “Who are you?” They replied, “We are Ahaziah’s relatives. We have come down to see how 426 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 427 Jehonadab, son of Rekab, who had been looking for him. 428 Jehu greeted him and asked, 429 “Are you as committed to me as I am to you?” 430 Jehonadab answered, “I am!” Jehu replied, “If so, give me your hand.” 431 So he offered his hand and Jehu 432 pulled him up into the chariot. 10:16 Jehu 433 said, “Come with me and see how zealous I am for the Lord’s cause.” 434 So he 435 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, 436 just as the Lord had announced to Elijah. 437
10:18 Jehu assembled all the people and said to them, “Ahab worshiped 438 Baal a little; Jehu will worship 439 him with great devotion. 440 10:19 So now, bring to me all the prophets of Baal, as well as all his servants and priests. 441 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 442 so he could destroy the servants of Baal. 10:20 Then Jehu ordered, “Make arrangements for 443 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. 444 10:22 Jehu ordered the one who was in charge of the wardrobe, 445 “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 446 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.” 447 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!” 448
10:25 When he finished offering the burnt sacrifice, Jehu ordered the royal guard 449 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. 450 Then they entered the inner sanctuary of the temple of Baal. 451 10:26 They hauled out the sacred pillar of the temple of Baal and burned it. 10:27 They demolished 452 the sacred pillar of Baal and 453 the temple of Baal; it is used as 454 a latrine 455 to this very day. 10:28 So Jehu eradicated Baal worship 456 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 457 and Dan. 458 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.” 459 10:31 But Jehu did not carefully and wholeheartedly obey the law of the Lord God of Israel. 460 He did not repudiate the sins which Jeroboam had encouraged Israel to commit. 461
10:32 In those days the Lord began to reduce the size of Israel’s territory. 462 Hazael attacked their eastern border. 463 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. 464
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. 465 10:35 Jehu passed away 466 and was buried in Samaria. 467 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. 468 11:2 So Jehosheba, the daughter of King Joram and sister of Ahaziah, took Ahaziah’s son Joash and sneaked 469 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. 470 So he was hidden from Athaliah and escaped execution. 471 11:3 He hid out with his nurse in the Lord’s temple 472 for six years, while Athaliah was ruling over the land.
11:4 In the seventh year Jehoiada summoned 473 the officers of the units of hundreds of the Carians 474 and the royal bodyguard. 475 He met with them 476 in the Lord’s temple. He made an agreement 477 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 478 Gate. Still another third of you will be stationed at the gate behind the royal guard. 479 You will take turns guarding the palace. 480 11:7 The two units who are off duty on the Sabbath will guard the Lord’s temple and protect the king. 481 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.” 482
11:9 The officers of the units of hundreds did just as 483 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 484 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 485 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. 486 11:12 Jehoiada 487 led out the king’s son and placed on him the crown and the royal insignia. 488 They proclaimed him king and poured olive oil on his head. 489 They clapped their hands and cried out, “Long live the king!”
11:13 When Athaliah heard the royal guard 490 shout, she joined the crowd 491 at the Lord’s temple. 11:14 Then she saw 492 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!” 493 11:15 Jehoiada the priest ordered the officers of the units of hundreds, who were in charge of the army, 494 “Bring her outside the temple to the guards. 495 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. 496 11:16 They seized her and took her into the precincts of the royal palace through the horses’ entrance. 497 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. 498 11:18 All the people of the land went and demolished 499 the temple of Baal. They smashed its altars and idols 500 to bits. 501 They killed Mattan the priest of Baal in front of the altar. Jehoiada the priest 502 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, 503 and the king 504 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) 505 Jehoash 506 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. 507 His mother was Zibiah, who was from Beer Sheba. 12:2 Throughout his lifetime Jehoash did what the Lord approved, 508 just as 509 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 510 all the consecrated silver that has been brought to the Lord’s temple, including the silver collected from the census tax, 511 the silver received from those who have made vows, 512 and all the silver that people have voluntarily contributed to the Lord’s temple. 513 12:5 The priests should receive the silver they need from the treasurers and repair any damage to the temple they discover.” 514
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.” 515 12:8 The priests agreed 516 not to collect silver from the people and relieved themselves of personal responsibility for the temple repairs. 517
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 518 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 519 and the high priest counted the silver that had been brought to the Lord’s temple and bagged it up. 520 12:11 They would then hand over 521 the silver that had been weighed to the construction foremen 522 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. 523 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 524 to the foremen who used it to repair the Lord’s temple. 12:15 They did not audit the treasurers who disbursed 525 the funds to the foremen, for they were honest. 526 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 527 Gath and captured it. Hazael then decided to attack Jerusalem. 528 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 529 to King Hazael of Syria, who then withdrew 530 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. 531 12:20 His servants conspired against him 532 and murdered Joash at Beth-Millo, on the road that goes down to Silla. 533 12:21 His servants Jozabad son of Shimeath and Jehozabad son of Shomer murdered him. 534 He was buried 535 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 536 for seventeen years. 13:2 He did evil in the sight of 537 the Lord. He continued in 538 the sinful ways of Jeroboam son of Nebat who had encouraged Israel to sin; he did not repudiate those sins. 539 13:3 The Lord was furious with 540 Israel and handed them over to 541 King Hazael of Syria and to Hazael’s son Ben Hadad for many years. 542
13:4 Jehoahaz asked for the Lord’s mercy 543 and the Lord responded favorably, 544 for he saw that Israel was oppressed by the king of Syria. 545 13:5 The Lord provided a deliverer 546 for Israel and they were freed from Syria’s power. 547 The Israelites once more lived in security. 548 13:6 But they did not repudiate 549 the sinful ways of the family 550 of Jeroboam, who encouraged Israel to sin; they continued in those sins. 551 There was even an Asherah pole 552 standing in Samaria. 13:7 Jehoahaz had no army left 553 except for fifty horsemen, ten chariots, and 10,000 foot soldiers. The king of Syria had destroyed his troops 554 and trampled on them like dust. 555
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. 556 13:9 Jehoahaz passed away 557 and was buried 558 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 559 for sixteen years. 13:11 He did evil in the sight of 560 the Lord. He did not repudiate 561 the sinful ways of Jeroboam son of Nebat who encouraged Israel to sin; he continued in those sins. 562 13:12 The rest of the events of Joash’s 563 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. 564 13:13 Joash passed away 565 and Jeroboam succeeded him on the throne. 566 Joash was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel.
13:14 Now Elisha had a terminal illness. 567 King Joash of Israel went down to visit him. 568 He wept before him and said, “My father, my father! The chariot 569 and horsemen of Israel!” 570 13:15 Elisha told him, “Take a bow and some arrows,” and he did so. 571 13:16 Then Elisha 572 told the king of Israel, “Aim the bow.” 573 He did so, 574 and Elisha placed his hands on the king’s hands. 13:17 Elisha 575 said, “Open the east window,” and he did so. 576 Elisha said, “Shoot!” and
he did so. 577 Elisha 578 said, “This arrow symbolizes the victory the Lord will give you over Syria. 579 You will annihilate Syria in Aphek!” 580 13:18 Then Elisha 581 said, “Take the arrows,” and he did so. 582 He told the king of Israel, “Strike the ground!” He struck the ground three times and stopped. 13:19 The prophet 583 got angry at him and said, “If you had struck the ground five or six times, you would have annihilated Syria! 584 But now, you will defeat Syria only three times.”
13:20 Elisha died and was buried. 585 Moabite raiding parties invaded 586 the land at the beginning of the year. 587 13:21 One day some men 588 were burying a man when they spotted 589 a raiding party. So they threw the dead man 590 into Elisha’s tomb. When the body 591 touched Elisha’s bones, the dead man 592 came to life and stood on his feet.
13:22 Now King Hazael of Syria oppressed Israel throughout Jehoahaz’s reign. 593 13:23 But the Lord had mercy on them and felt pity for them. 594 He extended his favor to them 595 because of the promise he had made 596 to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He has been unwilling to destroy them or remove them from his presence to this very day. 597 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 598 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.
[2:2] 2 map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.
[2:3] 3 tn Heb “the sons of the prophets.”
[2:3] 4 tn Heb “from your head.” The same expression occurs in v. 5.
[2:4] 5 map For location see Map5 B2; Map6 E1; Map7 E1; Map8 E3; Map10 A2; Map11 A1.
[2:7] 6 tn Heb “the two of them.” The referents (Elijah and Elisha) have been specified in the translation for clarity.
[2:9] 7 tn Heb “Ask! What can I do for you….?”
[2:9] 8 tn Heb “May a double portion of your spirit come to me.”
[2:10] 9 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elijah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[2:10] 10 tn Heb “You have made difficult [your] request.”
[2:11] 11 tn Though the noun is singular here, it may be collective, in which case it could be translated “chariots.”
[2:11] 12 tn Heb “look, a chariot of fire and horses of fire.”
[2:11] 13 tn Heb “and they made a division between the two of them.”
[2:12] 14 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] 15 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] 16 map For location see Map5 B2; Map6 E1; Map7 E1; Map8 E3; Map10 A2; Map11 A1.
[2:15] 17 tn Heb “and the sons of the prophets who were in Jericho, [who were standing] opposite, saw him and said.”
[2:15] 18 tn Heb “the spirit of Elijah.”
[2:16] 19 tn Or “the spirit of the
[2:16] 20 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elisha) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[2:17] 21 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Elijah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[2:18] 22 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elisha) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[2:19] 24 tn Heb “miscarries” or “is barren.”
[2:20] 25 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elisha) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[2:21] 27 tn Heb “there will no longer be from there death and miscarriage [or, ‘barrenness’].”
[2:22] 28 tn Heb “according to the word of Elisha which he spoke.”
[2:23] 29 map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.
[2:23] 30 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] 31 tn Heb “he cursed them in the name of the
[2:25] 32 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] 33 map For location see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.
[3:2] 34 tn Heb “in the eyes of.”
[3:3] 35 tn Heb “held tight,” or “clung to.”
[3:3] 36 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] 37 tn For a discussion of the meaning of term (נֹקֵד, noqed), see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 43.
[3:4] 38 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] 39 tn Heb “went and sent.”
[3:7] 40 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jehoshaphat) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[3:7] 41 tn Heb “I will go up – like me, like you; like my people, like your people; like my horses; like your horses.”
[3:8] 42 tn Heb “Where is the road we will go up?”
[3:8] 43 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jehoram) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[3:9] 44 tn Heb “the king of Israel and the king of Judah and the king of Edom.”
[3:11] 46 tn Heb “that we might inquire of the
[3:11] 47 tn Heb “who poured water on the hands of Elijah.” This refers to one of the typical tasks of a servant.
[3:12] 48 tn Heb “the word of the
[3:13] 49 tn Or “What do we have in common?” The text reads literally, “What to me and to you?”
[3:14] 50 tn Traditionally “the
[3:14] 51 tn Heb “before whom I stand.”
[3:14] 52 tn Heb “if I did not lift up the face of Jehoshaphat the king of Judah.”
[3:14] 53 tn Heb “I would not look at you or see you.”
[3:15] 54 tn The term used refers to one who plays a stringed instrument, perhaps a harp.
[3:15] 55 tn Heb “the hand of the
[3:16] 56 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] 58 tn Heb “and this is easy in the eyes of the
[3:19] 59 tn Heb “choice” or “select.”
[3:19] 60 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] 62 tn Heb “and ruin every good portion with stones.”
[3:20] 63 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] 64 tn Heb “had come up to fight them.”
[3:21] 65 tn Heb “and they mustered all who tied on a belt and upwards, and they stood at the border.”
[3:23] 66 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the Moabites) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[3:23] 67 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] 69 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] 70 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] 71 tn Heb “until he had allowed its stones to remain in Kir Hareseth.”
[3:26] 72 tn Heb “and the king of Moab saw that the battle was too strong for him.”
[3:26] 73 tn Heb “he took with him seven hundred men, who drew the sword, to break through against.”
[3:27] 74 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] 75 tn Heb “they departed from him.”
[4:1] 76 tn Heb “a wife from among the wives of the sons of the prophets.”
[4:1] 78 tn Heb “your servant feared the
[4:3] 79 tn Heb “Go, ask for containers from outside, from all your neighbors, empty containers.”
[4:3] 80 tn Heb “Do not borrow just a few.”
[4:4] 81 tn Heb “all these vessels.”
[4:7] 83 tn Heb “man of God” (also in vv. 16, 22, 25, 27 [twice]).
[4:8] 84 tn Heb “great,” perhaps “wealthy.”
[4:8] 85 tn Or “she urged him to eat some food.”
[4:8] 86 tn Or “he would turn aside there to eat some food.”
[4:9] 88 tn Heb “holy man of God.”
[4:10] 89 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] 90 tn Heb “and let’s put there for him.”
[4:11] 91 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elisha) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[4:11] 92 tn Heb “turned aside.”
[4:11] 93 tn Or “slept there.”
[4:12] 94 tn Heb “Call for this Shunammite woman.”
[4:12] 95 tn Heb “and he called for her and she stood before him.”
[4:13] 96 tn Heb “he said to him.”
[4:13] 97 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] 98 tn Heb “Among my people I am living.” This answer suggests that she has security within the context of her family.
[4:14] 99 tn Heb “and he said.”
[4:15] 100 tn Heb “Call for her.”
[4:15] 101 tn Heb “and he called her.”
[4:15] 102 tn Heb “and he called for her and she stood in the door.”
[4:16] 103 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] 104 tn Heb “to his father, to the harvesters.”
[4:19] 105 tn Heb “He”; the referent (the boy’s father) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[4:21] 107 tn Heb “man of God’s.”
[4:23] 108 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] 110 tn Heb “lead [the donkey on] and go.”
[4:24] 111 tn Heb “do not restrain for me the riding unless I say to you.”
[4:25] 112 tn Heb “went and came.”
[4:25] 113 tn Heb “the man of God.” The phrase has been replaced by the relative pronoun “he” in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[4:26] 114 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] 115 tn Heb “her soul [i.e., ‘disposition’] is bitter.”
[4:29] 116 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elisha) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[4:29] 117 tn Heb “take my staff in your hand.”
[4:29] 118 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] 119 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] 120 tn Heb “to meet him.”
[4:33] 122 tn Heb “and closed the door behind the two of them.”
[4:34] 123 tn Heb “he went up and lay down over.”
[4:34] 124 tn Heb “his” (also in the next two clauses).
[4:34] 125 tn Or perhaps, “body”; Heb “flesh.”
[4:35] 126 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elisha) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[4:35] 127 tn Heb “and he returned and went into the house, once here and once there.”
[4:35] 128 tn Heb “and he went up.”
[4:36] 129 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elisha) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[4:36] 130 tn Heb “and he called for her.”
[4:38] 131 tn Heb “the sons of the prophets were sitting before him.”
[4:38] 132 tn The words “the fire” are added for clarification.
[4:38] 133 tn Heb “sons of the prophets.”
[4:39] 134 tn Heb “a vine of the field.”
[4:39] 135 tn Heb “[some] of the gourds of the field.”
[4:39] 136 tn Heb “he came and cut [them up].”
[4:39] 137 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] 138 tn Heb “and they poured out [the stew].” The plural subject is probably indefinite.
[4:41] 139 tn Or “and let them eat.”
[4:42] 140 tn Heb “man of God.”
[4:42] 141 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] 142 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elisha) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[4:43] 143 tn Heb “How can I set this before a hundred men?”
[4:43] 144 tn The verb forms are infinitives absolute (Heb “eating and leaving over”) and have to be translated in light of the context.
[4:44] 145 tn Heb “according to the word of the
[5:1] 146 tn Heb “was a great man before his master and lifted up with respect to the face.”
[5:1] 147 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] 148 map For location see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.
[5:4] 149 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Naaman) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[5:5] 150 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Naaman) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[5:5] 151 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] 152 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] 153 tn Heb “and now when this letter comes to you, look, I have sent to you Naaman my servant.”
[5:7] 154 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] 155 tn Heb “Indeed, know and see that he is seeking an occasion with respect to me.”
[5:8] 156 tn Heb “man of God” (also in vv. 15, 20).
[5:8] 157 tn Heb “Let him come.”
[5:10] 158 tn Heb “will return to you.”
[5:12] 159 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] 160 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] 161 tn Heb “a great thing.”
[5:13] 162 tn Heb “would you not do [it]?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Of course you would.”
[5:13] 163 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] 164 tn Heb “according to the word of the man of God.”
[5:14] 165 tn Heb “and his skin was restored, like the skin of a small child.”
[5:15] 166 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Naaman) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[5:16] 168 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elisha) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[5:16] 169 tn Heb “before whom I stand.”
[5:16] 170 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Naaman) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[5:17] 171 tn Heb “and [if] not, may there be given to your servant a load [for] a pair of mules, earth.”
[5:17] 172 tn Heb “for your servant will not again make a burnt offering and sacrifice to other gods, only to the
[5:18] 173 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] 174 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elisha) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[5:19] 175 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] 176 tn Heb “said” (i.e., to himself).
[5:20] 177 tn Heb “Look, my master spared this Syrian Naaman by not taking from his hand what he brought.”
[5:21] 178 tn Heb “Is there peace?”
[5:22] 180 tn Heb “Look now, here, two servants came to me from the Ephraimite hill country, from the sons of the prophets.”
[5:22] 181 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] 182 tn Heb “Be resolved and accept two talents.”
[5:23] 183 tn Heb “before him.”
[5:24] 184 tn Heb “from their hand.”
[5:24] 185 tn Heb “and he sent the men away and they went.”
[5:26] 186 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elisha) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[5:26] 187 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] 188 tn In the MT the statement is phrased as a rhetorical question, “Is this the time…?” It expects an emphatic negative response.
[5:27] 190 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Gehazi) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[5:27] 191 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] 192 tn Heb “the sons of the prophets.”
[6:1] 193 tn Heb “sit before you.”
[6:1] 194 tn Heb “narrow, tight.”
[6:6] 197 tn Heb “man of God” (also in v. 9).
[6:6] 198 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elisha) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[6:8] 199 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] 200 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] 201 tn The vav + perfect here indicates action contemporary with the preceding main verb (“sent”). See IBHS 533-34 §32.2.3e.
[6:10] 202 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] 203 tn Heb “and the heart of the king of Syria was stirred up over this thing.”
[6:11] 205 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] 206 tn Heb “he” (also a second time in this verse); the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[6:13] 207 tn Heb “Go and see where he [is] so I can send and take him.”
[6:14] 208 tn Heb “heavy force.”
[6:15] 209 tn Heb “man of God’s.”
[6:15] 210 tn Heb “his young servant said to him.”
[6:16] 211 tn Heb “for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”
[6:17] 212 tn Heb “and he saw, and look.”
[6:18] 213 tn Heb “and they came down to him.”
[6:18] 214 tn Or “this nation,” perhaps emphasizing the strength of the Syrian army.
[6:18] 215 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] 216 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the
[6:18] 217 tn Heb “according to the word of Elisha.”
[6:19] 218 map For location see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.
[6:20] 219 tn Heb “and they saw, and look, [they were] in the middle of Samaria.”
[6:21] 220 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] 221 tn Heb “my father.” The king addresses the prophet in this way to indicate his respect. See 2 Kgs 2:12.
[6:22] 222 tn Heb “Are [they] ones you captured with your sword or your bow (that) you can strike (them) down?”
[6:23] 223 tn Or “held a great feast.”
[6:23] 224 tn Heb “they went back.”
[6:24] 226 map For location see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.
[6:25] 227 tn Heb “and there was a great famine in Samaria.”
[6:25] 228 tn Heb “and look, [they] were besieging it until.”
[6:25] 229 tn Heb “eighty, silver.” The unit of measurement is omitted.
[6:25] 230 sn A kab was a unit of dry measure, equivalent to approximately one quart.
[6:25] 231 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] 232 tn Heb “five, silver.” The unit of measurement is omitted.
[6:27] 233 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] 234 tn Heb “the people saw, and look, [there was] sackcloth against his skin underneath.”
[6:31] 235 tn Heb “So may God do to me, and so may he add.”
[6:31] 236 tn Heb “if the head of Elisha son of Shaphat stays on him today.”
[6:32] 237 tn Heb “and the elders were sitting with him.”
[6:32] 238 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[6:32] 239 tn Heb “sent a man from before him, before the messenger came to him.”
[6:32] 240 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elisha) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[6:32] 242 tn Heb “Do you see that this son of an assassin has sent to remove my head?”
[6:32] 243 tn Heb “Is not the sound of his master’s footsteps behind him?”
[6:33] 244 tn The Hebrew text also has “look” here.
[6:33] 245 tn Heb “came down to him.”
[6:33] 246 tn Heb “Look, this is a disaster from the
[7:1] 247 sn A seah was a dry measure equivalent to about 7 quarts.
[7:2] 248 tn Heb “the officer on whose hand the king leans.”
[7:2] 249 tn Heb “man of God.”
[7:2] 250 tn Heb “the
[7:2] 251 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elisha) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[7:2] 252 tn Heb “you will not eat from there.”
[7:3] 253 sn See the note at 2 Kgs 5:1.
[7:3] 254 tn Heb “until we die.”
[7:4] 255 tn Heb “If we say, ‘We will enter the city,’ the famine is in the city and we will die there.”
[7:4] 257 tn Heb “keep us alive.”
[7:4] 258 tn Heb “we will die.” The paraphrastic translation attempts to bring out the logical force of their reasoning.
[7:5] 259 tn Heb “they arose to go to.”
[7:8] 260 tn Heb “they ate and drank.”
[7:8] 261 tn Heb “and they hid [it].”
[7:8] 262 tn Heb “and they took from there.”
[7:9] 263 tn Heb “this day is a day of good news and we are keeping silent.”
[7:9] 264 tn Heb “the light of the morning.”
[7:9] 265 tn Heb “punishment will find us.”
[7:10] 266 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] 267 tn Heb “and, look, there was no man or voice of a man there.”
[7:10] 268 tn Heb “but the horses are tied up and the donkeys are tied up and the tents are as they were.”
[7:11] 269 tn Heb “and the gatekeepers called out and they told [it] to the house of the king.”
[7:12] 270 tn Heb “servants” (also in v. 13).
[7:13] 271 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] 272 tn Heb “and let us send so we might see.”
[7:14] 273 tn Heb “and the king sent [them] after the Syrian camp.”
[7:14] 274 tn Heb “Go and see.”
[7:15] 275 tn Heb “went after.”
[7:15] 276 tn Heb “and look, all the road was full of clothes and equipment that Syria had thrown away in their haste.”
[7:15] 277 tn Or “messengers.”
[7:16] 278 sn A seah was a dry measure equivalent to about 7 quarts.
[7:16] 279 tn Heb “according to the word of the
[7:17] 280 tn Heb “the officer on whose hand he leans.”
[7:17] 281 tn Heb “and the people trampled him in the gate and he died.”
[7:17] 282 tn Heb “just as the man of God had spoken, [the word] which he spoke when the king came down to him.”
[7:19] 283 tn Heb “the
[7:19] 284 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elisha) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[7:19] 285 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] 286 tn Heb “Get up and go, you and your house, and live temporarily where you can live temporarily.”
[8:2] 287 tn Heb “and the woman got up and did according to the word of the man of God.”
[8:3] 288 tn Heb “and went out to cry out to the king for her house and her field.”
[8:4] 289 tn Heb “man of God’s.”
[8:5] 290 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Gehazi) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[8:5] 291 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elisha) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[8:5] 292 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] 293 tn Heb “and the king asked the woman and she told him.”
[8:6] 294 tn Heb “and he assigned to her an official, saying.”
[8:7] 295 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[8:7] 296 tn Heb “man of God” (also a second time in this verse and in v. 11).
[8:8] 297 tn The Hebrew text also has “in your hand.”
[8:8] 298 tn Heb “Inquire of the
[8:9] 299 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Elisha) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[8:9] 300 tn The Hebrew text also has “in his hand.”
[8:9] 301 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] 302 sn The words “your son” emphasize the king’s respect for the prophet.
[8:10] 304 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] 305 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elisha) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[8:11] 306 tn Heb “and he made his face stand [i.e., be motionless] and set [his face?] until embarrassment.”
[8:13] 307 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] 308 tn Heb “The
[8:14] 309 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Ben Hadad) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[8:14] 310 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Hazael) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[8:15] 311 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Hazael) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[8:15] 312 tn Heb “his”; the referent (Ben Hadad) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[8:16] 313 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] 314 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[8:18] 315 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] 316 tn Heb “in the eyes of.”
[8:19] 317 tn The Hebrew has only one sentence, “and the
[8:19] 318 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] 319 tn Heb “in his days Edom rebelled from under the hand of Judah and enthroned a king over them.”
[8:21] 320 sn Joram is a short form of the name Jehoram.
[8:21] 321 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] 322 tn Heb “and the people fled to their tents.”
[8:22] 323 tn Heb “and Edom rebelled from under the hand of Judah until this day.”
[8:23] 324 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] 325 tn Heb “lay down with his fathers.”
[8:26] 326 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[8:26] 327 tn Hebrew בַּת (bat), “daughter,” can refer, as here to a granddaughter. See HALOT 166 s.v. בַּת.
[8:27] 328 tn Heb “in the eyes of.”
[8:27] 329 tn Heb “and he walked in the way of the house of Ahab and did evil in the eyes of the
[8:29] 330 tn Heb “which the Syrians inflicted [on] him.”
[9:1] 332 tn Heb “one of the sons of the prophets.”
[9:2] 334 tn Heb “and go and set him apart from his brothers and bring him into an inner room in an inner room.”
[9:3] 336 tn Heb “and open the door and run away and do not delay.”
[9:4] 337 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] 338 tn Heb “and he arrived and look, the officers of the army were sitting.”
[9:5] 339 tn Heb “[there is] a word for me to you, O officer.”
[9:5] 340 tn Heb “To whom from all of us?”
[9:6] 341 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jehu) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[9:6] 342 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the prophet) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[9:7] 343 tn Or “strike down the house of Ahab your master.”
[9:7] 344 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] 345 tc The LXX has the second person, “you.”
[9:8] 346 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] 348 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] 349 tn Heb “went out to.”
[9:11] 350 tc The MT has the singular, “he said,” but many witnesses correctly read the plural.
[9:11] 351 tn Heb “Is there peace?”
[9:11] 352 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] 353 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] 354 tn Heb “his”; the referent (Jehu) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[9:13] 355 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] 356 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] 357 tn Or “has become.”
[9:14] 358 tn Heb “he and all Israel.”
[9:15] 359 tn Heb “which the Syrians inflicted [on] him.”
[9:15] 360 sn See 2 Kgs 8:28-29a.
[9:15] 361 tn The words “his supporters” are added for clarification.
[9:15] 362 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] 363 tn Heb “rode [or, ‘mounted’] and went.”
[9:16] 364 tn Heb “lying down.”
[9:17] 366 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] 367 tn The term שִׁפְעַת (shifat) appears to be a construct form of the noun, but no genitive follows.
[9:17] 369 tn Heb “Get a rider and send [him] to meet him and let him ask, ‘Is there peace?’”
[9:18] 370 tn Heb “the rider of the horse.”
[9:18] 371 tn Heb “Is there peace?”
[9:18] 372 tn Heb “What concerning you and concerning peace?” That is, “What concern is that to you?”
[9:19] 373 tn Heb “and he came to them.”
[9:19] 374 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] 375 tn Heb “and the driving is like the driving of Jehu son of Nimshi.”
[9:21] 376 tn The words “my chariot” are added for clarification.
[9:21] 377 tn Heb “and he hitched up his chariot.”
[9:21] 378 tn Heb “each in his chariot and they went out.”
[9:21] 379 tn Heb “they found him.”
[9:22] 380 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] 381 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] 382 tn Heb “Deceit, Ahaziah.”
[9:24] 383 tn Heb “and Jehu filled his hand with the bow and he struck Jehoram between his shoulders.”
[9:24] 384 tn Heb “went out from.”
[9:26] 386 tn Heb “and I will repay you in this plot of land.”
[9:26] 387 tn Heb “according to the word of the
[9:27] 388 tn Heb “and Ahaziah king of Judah saw and fled.”
[9:27] 389 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] 390 map For location see Map1 D4; Map2 C1; Map4 C2; Map5 F2; Map7 B1.
[9:28] 391 tn Heb “drove him.”
[9:28] 392 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[9:30] 393 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] 394 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] 395 tn Heb “two, three.” The narrator may be intentionally vague or uncertain here, or the two numbers may represent alternate traditions.
[9:33] 396 tn The words “when she hit the ground” are added for stylistic reasons.
[9:33] 397 tn Heb “and he trampled her.”
[9:34] 398 tn Heb “and he went and ate and drank.”
[9:34] 399 tn Heb “Attend to this accursed woman and bury her for she was the daughter of a king.”
[9:35] 400 tn Heb “they did not find her, except for.”
[9:36] 401 tn Heb “It is the word of the
[9:37] 402 tn Heb “so that they will not say, ‘This is Jezebel.’”
[10:1] 403 map For location see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.
[10:1] 404 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] 405 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] 406 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] 408 tn Heb “they were very, very afraid.” The term מְאֹד (me’od) “very,” is repeated for emphasis.
[10:4] 409 tn Heb “did not stand before him.”
[10:4] 410 tn Heb “How can we stand?”
[10:5] 411 tn Heb “the one who was over the house.”
[10:5] 412 tn Heb “the one who was over the city.”
[10:5] 415 tn Heb “Do what is good in your eyes.”
[10:6] 416 tn Heb “If you are mine and you are listening to my voice.”
[10:6] 417 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] 418 tn Heb “great,” probably in wealth, position, and prestige.
[10:7] 419 tn Heb “and when the letter came to them, they took the sons of the king and slaughtered seventy men.”
[10:8] 420 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Jehu) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[10:8] 421 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jehu) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[10:10] 422 tn Heb “Know then that there has not fallen from the word of the
[10:12] 423 tn Heb “and he arose and went and came to Samaria.”
[10:13] 426 tn Heb “for the peace of.”
[10:15] 428 tn Heb “and he went from there and found Jehonadab son of Rekab [who was coming] to meet him.”
[10:15] 429 tn Heb “and he blessed him and said to him.”
[10:15] 430 tn Heb “Is there with your heart [what is] right, as my heart [is] with your heart?”
[10:15] 431 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] 432 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jehu) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[10:16] 433 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jehu) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[10:16] 434 tn Heb “and see my zeal for the
[10:16] 435 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] 436 tn Heb “and he struck down all the remaining ones to Ahab in Samaria until he destroyed him.”
[10:17] 437 tn Heb “according to the word of the
[10:18] 440 tn Heb “much” or “greatly.”
[10:19] 441 tn Heb “and now, all the prophets of Baal, all his servants and all his priests summon to me.”
[10:19] 442 tn Heb “acted with deception [or, ‘trickery’].”
[10:20] 443 tn Heb “set apart”; or “observe as holy.”
[10:21] 444 tn Heb “and the house of Baal was filled mouth to mouth.”
[10:22] 445 tn Heb “and he said to the one who was over the wardrobe.”
[10:23] 446 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jehu) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[10:23] 447 tn Heb “Search carefully and observe so that there are not here with you any servants of the
[10:24] 448 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] 450 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] 451 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] 452 tn Or “pulled down.”
[10:27] 453 tn The verb “they demolished” is repeated in the Hebrew text.
[10:27] 454 tn Heb “and they made it into.”
[10:27] 455 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] 456 tn Heb “destroyed Baal.”
[10:29] 457 map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.
[10:29] 458 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] 459 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] 460 tn Heb “But Jehu was not careful to walk in the law of the
[10:31] 461 tn Heb “He did not turn aside from the sins of Jeroboam which he caused Israel to commit.”
[10:32] 462 tn Heb “began to cut off Israel.”
[10:32] 463 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] 464 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] 465 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] 466 tn Heb “lay down with his fathers.”
[10:35] 467 map For location see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.
[11:1] 468 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] 470 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] 471 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] 472 tn Heb “and he was with her [in] the house of the
[11:4] 473 tn Heb “Jehoiada sent and took.”
[11:4] 474 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] 475 tn Heb “the runners.”
[11:4] 476 tn Heb “he brought them to himself.”
[11:6] 478 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] 479 tn Heb “the runners.”
[11:6] 480 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] 481 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] 482 tn Heb “and be with the king in his going out and in his coming in.”
[11:9] 483 tn Heb “according to all that.”
[11:11] 485 tn Heb “the runners” (also in v. 19).
[11:11] 486 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] 487 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jehoiada) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[11:12] 488 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] 489 tn Or “they made him king and anointed him.”
[11:13] 490 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] 491 tn Heb “she came to the people.”
[11:14] 492 tn Heb “and she saw, and look.”
[11:14] 493 tn Or “conspiracy, conspiracy.”
[11:15] 494 tn The Hebrew text also has, “and said to them.” This is redundant in English and has not been translated.
[11:15] 496 tn Heb “for the priest had said, ‘Let her not be put to death in the house of the
[11:16] 497 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] 498 tn Heb “and Jehoiada made a covenant between the
[11:18] 499 tn Or “tore down.”
[11:18] 501 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] 502 tn Heb “the priest.” Jehoiada’s name is added for clarification.
[11:19] 503 tn Heb “the Gate of the Runners of the House of the King.”
[11:19] 504 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[11:21] 505 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] 506 tn Jehoash is an alternate name for Joash (see 11:2).
[12:1] 507 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[12:2] 508 tn Heb “and Jehoash did what was proper in the eyes of the
[12:2] 509 tn Heb “that which.” Jehoiada taught the king the Lord’s will.
[12:4] 510 tn The words “I place at your disposal” are added in the translation for clarification.
[12:4] 511 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] 512 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] 513 tn Heb “all the silver which goes up on the heart of a man to bring to the house of the
[12:5] 514 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] 515 tn Heb “Now, do not take silver from your treasurers, because for the damages to the temple you must give it.”
[12:8] 516 tn Outside of this passage the verb אוּת (’ut) appears only in Gen 34:15-22.
[12:8] 517 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] 518 tn Heb “on the right side of the altar as a man enters.”
[12:10] 519 tn Heb “the king’s scribe.”
[12:10] 520 tn Heb “went up and tied [it] and counted the silver that was found in the house of the
[12:11] 521 tn Heb “would give.”
[12:11] 522 tn Heb “doers of the work.”
[12:12] 523 tn Heb “and for all that which was going out concerning the house for repair.”
[12:14] 524 tn Heb “was given.”
[12:15] 526 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] 527 tn Heb “went up and fought against.”
[12:17] 528 tn Heb “Hazael set his face to go up against Jerusalem.”
[12:18] 529 tn The object (“it all”) is supplied in the translation for clarification.
[12:19] 531 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] 532 tn Heb “rose up and conspired [with] a conspiracy.”
[12:20] 533 tn Heb “Beth Millo which goes down [toward] Silla.”
[12:21] 534 tn Heb “struck him down and he died.”
[12:21] 535 tn Heb “they buried him.”
[13:1] 536 map For location see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.
[13:2] 537 tn Heb “in the eyes of.”
[13:2] 538 tn Heb “walked after.”
[13:2] 539 tn Heb “he did not turn aside from it.”
[13:3] 540 tn Heb “and the anger of the
[13:3] 541 tn Heb “he gave them into the hand of.”
[13:3] 542 tn Heb “all the days.”
[13:4] 543 tn Heb “appeased the face of the
[13:4] 544 tn Heb “and the
[13:4] 545 tn Heb “for he saw the oppression of Israel, for the king of Syria oppressed them.”
[13:5] 546 sn The identity of this unnamed “deliverer” is debated. For options see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 143.
[13:5] 547 tn Heb “and they went from under the hand of Syria.”
[13:5] 548 tn Heb “and the sons of Israel lived in their tents as before.”
[13:6] 549 tn Heb “they did not turn away from.”
[13:6] 551 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] 552 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] 553 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] 554 tn Heb “them,” i.e., the remainder of this troops.
[13:7] 555 tn Heb “and made them like dust for trampling.”
[13:8] 556 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] 557 tn Heb “lay down with his fathers.”
[13:9] 558 tn Heb “and they buried him.”
[13:10] 559 map For location see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.
[13:11] 560 tn Heb “in the eyes of.”
[13:11] 561 tn Heb “turn away from all.”
[13:11] 562 tn Heb “in it he walked.”
[13:12] 563 sn Jehoash and Joash are alternate forms of the same name.
[13:12] 564 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] 565 tn Heb “lay down with his fathers.”
[13:13] 566 tn Heb “sat on his throne.”
[13:14] 567 tn Heb “Now Elisha was ill with the illness by which he would die.”
[13:14] 568 tn Heb “went down to him.”
[13:14] 569 tn Though the noun is singular here, it may be collective, in which case it could be translated “chariots.”
[13:14] 570 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] 571 tn Heb “and he took a bow and some arrows.”
[13:16] 572 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elisha) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[13:16] 573 tn Heb “Cause your hand to ride on the bow.”
[13:16] 574 tn Heb “and he caused his hand to ride.”
[13:17] 575 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elisha) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[13:17] 576 tn Heb “He opened [it].”
[13:17] 577 tn Heb “and he shot.”
[13:17] 578 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elisha) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[13:17] 579 tn Heb “The arrow of victory of the
[13:17] 580 tn Heb “you will strike down Syria in Aphek until destruction.”
[13:18] 581 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elisha) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[13:18] 582 tn Heb “and he took [them].”
[13:19] 583 tn Heb “man of God.”
[13:19] 584 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] 585 tn Heb “and they buried him.”
[13:20] 587 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] 588 tn Heb “and it so happened [that] they.”
[13:21] 589 tn Heb “and look, they saw.”
[13:21] 590 tn Heb “the man”; the adjective “dead” has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
[13:21] 592 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] 593 tn Heb “all the days of Jehoahaz.”
[13:23] 594 tn Or “showed them compassion.”
[13:23] 595 tn Heb “he turned to them.”
[13:23] 596 tn Heb “because of his covenant with.”
