2 Raja-raja 9:26

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,” ¹  says the Lord.’ So now pick him up and throw him into this plot of land, just as the Lord said.” ² 

2 Raja-raja 19:33

19:33 He will go back the way he came.

He will not enter this city,” says the Lord.

2 Raja-raja 21:4

21:4 He built altars in the Lord’s temple, about which the Lord had said, “Jerusalem will be my home.” ³ 

2 Raja-raja 18:25

18:25 Furthermore it was by the command of the Lord that I marched up against this place to destroy it. The Lord told me, ‘March ⁴  up against this land and destroy it.’”’” ⁵ 

2 Raja-raja 23:27

23:27 The Lord announced, “I will also spurn Judah, ⁶  just as I spurned Israel. I will reject this city that I chose – both Jerusalem and the temple, about which I said, “I will live there.” ⁷ 

2 Raja-raja 20:17

20:17 ‘Look, a time is ⁸  coming when everything in your palace and the things your ancestors have accumulated to this day will be carried away to Babylon; nothing will be left,’ says the Lord.

2 Raja-raja 22:19

22:19 ‘You displayed a sensitive spirit ⁹  and humbled yourself before the Lord when you heard how I intended to make this place and its residents into an appalling example of an accursed people. ¹⁰  You tore your clothes and wept before me, and I have heard you,’ says the Lord.

2 Raja-raja 21:7

21:7 He put an idol of Asherah he had made in the temple, about which the Lord had said to David and to his son Solomon, “This temple in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, will be my permanent home. ¹¹ 

2 Raja-raja 3:16

3:16 and he said, “This is what the Lord says, ‘Make many cisterns in this valley,’ ¹² 

2 Raja-raja 20:16

20:16 Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Listen to the word of the Lord,

2 Raja-raja 21:10

21:10 So the Lord announced through ¹³  his servants the prophets:

2 Raja-raja 4:44

4:44 So he set it before them; they ate and had some left over, just as the Lord predicted. ¹⁴ 

2 Raja-raja 20:4

20:4 Isaiah was still in the middle courtyard when the Lord told him, ¹⁵ 

2 Raja-raja 17:12

17:12 They worshiped ¹⁶  the disgusting idols ¹⁷  in blatant disregard of the Lord’s command. ¹⁸ 

2 Raja-raja 10:10

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.” ¹⁹ 

2 Raja-raja 22:15

22:15 and she said to them: “This is what the Lord God of Israel says: ‘Say this to the man who sent you to me:

2 Raja-raja 15:12

15:12 His assassination brought to fulfillment the Lord’s word to Jehu, ²⁰  “Four generations of your descendants will rule over Israel.” ²¹  That is exactly what happened. ²² 

2 Raja-raja 1:4

1:4 Therefore this is what the Lord says, “You will not leave the bed you lie on, for you will certainly die!”’” So Elijah went on his way.

2 Raja-raja 7:1

7:1 Elisha replied, “Hear the word of the Lord! This is what the Lord says, ‘About this time tomorrow a seah ²³  of finely milled flour will sell for a shekel and two seahs of barley for a shekel at the gate of Samaria.’”

2 Raja-raja 3:12

3:12 Jehoshaphat said, “The Lord speaks through him.” ²⁴  So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom went down to visit him.

2 Raja-raja 14:27

14:27 The Lord had not decreed that he would blot out Israel’s memory ²⁵  from under heaven, ²⁶  so he delivered them through Jeroboam son of Joash.

2 Raja-raja 19:21

19:21 This is what the Lord says about him: ²⁷ 

“The virgin daughter Zion ²⁸ 

despises you, she makes fun of you;

Daughter Jerusalem

shakes her head after you. ²⁹ 

2 Raja-raja 22:16

22:16 “This is what the Lord says: ‘I am about to bring disaster on this place and its residents, the details of which are recorded in the scroll which the king of Judah has read. ³⁰ 

2 Raja-raja 2:21

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 ³¹  this water. It will no longer cause death or fail to produce crops.” ³² 

2 Raja-raja 7:16

7:16 Then the people went out and looted the Syrian camp. A seah ³³  of finely milled flour sold for a shekel, and two seahs of barley for a shekel, just as the Lord had said they would. ³⁴ 

2 Raja-raja 9:3

9:3 Take the container of olive oil, pour it over his head, and say, ‘This is what the Lord says, “I have designated ³⁵  you as king over Israel.”’ Then open the door and run away quickly!” ³⁶ 

2 Raja-raja 9:12

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, ³⁷  “This is what the Lord says, ‘I have designated you as king over Israel.’”

2 Raja-raja 10:17

10:17 He went to Samaria and exterminated all the members of Ahab’s family who were still alive in Samaria, ³⁸  just as the Lord had announced to Elijah. ³⁹ 

2 Raja-raja 19:20

19:20 Isaiah son of Amoz sent this message to Hezekiah: “This is what the Lord God of Israel says: ‘I have heard your prayer concerning King Sennacherib of Assyria. ⁴⁰ 

2 Raja-raja 20:19

20:19 Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The Lord’s word which you have announced is appropriate.” ⁴¹  Then he added, ⁴²  “At least there will be peace and stability during my lifetime.” ⁴³ 

2 Raja-raja 2:22

2:22 The water has been pure to this very day, just as Elisha prophesied. ⁴⁴ 

2 Raja-raja 1:16

1:16 Elijah ⁴⁵  said to the king, ⁴⁶  “This is what the Lord says, ‘You sent messengers to seek an oracle from Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron. You must think there is no God in Israel from whom you can seek an oracle! ⁴⁷  Therefore you will not leave the bed you lie on, for you will certainly die.’” ⁴⁸ 

2 Raja-raja 3:17

3:17 for this is what the Lord says, ‘You will not feel ⁴⁹  any wind or see any rain, but this valley will be full of water and you and your cattle and animals will drink.’

2 Raja-raja 4:43

4:43 But his attendant said, “How can I feed a hundred men with this?” ⁵⁰  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.’” ⁵¹ 

2 Raja-raja 19:6

19:6 Isaiah said to them, “Tell your master this: ‘This is what the Lord says: “Don’t be afraid because of the things you have heard – these insults the king of Assyria’s servants have hurled against me. ⁵² 

2 Raja-raja 21:12

21:12 So this is what the Lord God of Israel says, ‘I am about to bring disaster on Jerusalem and Judah. The news will reverberate in the ears of those who hear about it. ⁵³ 

2 Raja-raja 22:18

22:18 Say this to the king of Judah, who sent you to seek an oracle from the Lord: “This is what the Lord God of Israel says concerning the words you have heard:

2 Raja-raja 17:19

17:19 Judah also failed to keep the commandments of the Lord their God; they followed Israel’s example. ⁵⁴ 

2 Raja-raja 18:6

18:6 He was loyal to ⁵⁵  the Lord and did not abandon him. ⁵⁶  He obeyed the commandments which the Lord had given to ⁵⁷  Moses.

2 Raja-raja 1:17

1:17 He died just as the Lord had prophesied through Elijah. ⁵⁸  In the second year of the reign of King Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat over Judah, Ahaziah’s brother Jehoram replaced him as king of Israel, because he had no son. ⁵⁹ 

2 Raja-raja 9:6

9:6 So Jehu ⁶⁰  got up and went inside. Then the prophet ⁶¹  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.

2 Raja-raja 9:36

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, ⁶²  ‘In the plot of land at Jezreel, dogs will devour Jezebel’s flesh.

2 Raja-raja 10:30

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.” ⁶³ 

2 Raja-raja 14:25

14:25 He restored the border of Israel from Lebo Hamath in the north to the sea of the Arabah in the south, ⁶⁴  in accordance with the word of the Lord God of Israel announced through ⁶⁵  his servant Jonah son of Amittai, the prophet from Gath Hepher.

2 Raja-raja 17:23

17:23 Finally ⁶⁶  the Lord rejected Israel ⁶⁷  just as he had warned he would do ⁶⁸  through all his servants the prophets. Israel was deported from its land to Assyria and remains there to this very day.

2 Raja-raja 20:1

Hezekiah is Healed

20:1 In those days Hezekiah was stricken with a terminal illness. ⁶⁹  The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz visited him and told him, “This is what the Lord says, ‘Give your household instructions, for you are about to die; you will not get well.’” ⁷⁰ 

2 Raja-raja 20:5

20:5 “Go back and tell Hezekiah, the leader of my people: ‘This is what the Lord God of your ancestor David says: “I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Look, I will heal you. The day after tomorrow ⁷¹  you will go up to the Lord’s temple.

2 Raja-raja 23:16

23:16 When Josiah turned around, he saw the tombs there on the hill. So he ordered the bones from the tombs to be brought; ⁷²  he burned them on the altar and defiled it. This fulfilled the Lord’s announcement made by the prophet while Jeroboam stood by the altar during a festival. King Josiah ⁷³  turned and saw the grave of the prophet who had foretold this. ⁷⁴ 

2 Raja-raja 24:2

24:2 The Lord sent against him Babylonian, Syrian, Moabite, and Ammonite raiding bands; he sent them to destroy Judah, as he had warned he would do through his servants the prophets. ⁷⁵ 

2 Raja-raja 24:13

24:13 Nebuchadnezzar ⁷⁶  took from there all the riches in the treasuries of the Lord’s temple and of the royal palace. He removed all the gold items which King Solomon of Israel had made for the Lord’s temple, just as the Lord had warned.

2 Raja-raja 17:13

17:13 The Lord solemnly warned Israel and Judah through all his prophets and all the seers, “Turn back from your evil ways; obey my commandments and rules that are recorded in the law. I ordered your ancestors to keep this law and sent my servants the prophets to remind you of its demands.” ⁷⁷ 

2 Raja-raja 17:16

17:16 They abandoned all the commandments of the Lord their God; they made two metal calves and an Asherah pole, bowed down to all the stars in the sky, ⁷⁸  and worshiped ⁷⁹  Baal.

2 Raja-raja 17:37

17:37 You must carefully obey at all times the rules, regulations, law, and commandments he wrote down for you. You must not worship other gods.

2 Raja-raja 20:9

20:9 Isaiah replied, “This is your sign from the Lord confirming that the Lord will do what he has said. Do you want the shadow to move ahead ten steps or to go back ten steps?” ⁸⁰ 

2 Raja-raja 24:3

24:3 Just as the Lord had announced, he rejected Judah because of all the sins which Manasseh had committed. ⁸¹ 

2 Raja-raja 1:6

1:6 They replied, ⁸²  “A man came up to meet us. He told us, “Go back to the king who sent you and tell him, ‘This is what the Lord says: “You must think there is no God in Israel! That explains why you are sending for an oracle from Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron. ⁸³  Therefore you will not leave the bed you lie on, for you will certainly die.”’”

2 Raja-raja 15:3

15:3 He did what the Lord approved, just as his father Amaziah had done. ⁸⁴ 

2 Raja-raja 19:5

19:5 When King Hezekiah’s servants came to Isaiah,

2 Raja-raja 19:32

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

“He will not enter this city,

nor will he shoot an arrow here. ⁸⁵ 

He will not attack it with his shield-carrying warriors, ⁸⁶ 

nor will he build siege works against it.

2 Raja-raja 17:34

17:34 To this very day they observe their earlier practices. They do not worship ⁸⁷  the Lord; they do not obey the rules, regulations, law, and commandments that the Lord gave ⁸⁸  the descendants of Jacob, whom he renamed Israel.

2 Raja-raja 1:15

1:15 The Lord’s angelic messenger said to Elijah, “Go down with him. Don’t be afraid of him.” So he got up and went down ⁸⁹  with him to the king.

2 Raja-raja 9:25

9:25 Jehu ordered ⁹⁰  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,

2 Raja-raja 14:6

14:6 But he did not execute the sons of the assassins. He obeyed the Lord’s commandment as recorded in the law scroll of Moses, ⁹¹  “Fathers must not be put to death for what their sons do, ⁹²  and sons must not be put to death for what their fathers do. ⁹³  A man must be put to death only for his own sin.” ⁹⁴ 

2 Raja-raja 17:15

17:15 They rejected his rules, the covenant he had made with their ancestors, and the laws he had commanded them to obey. ⁹⁵  They paid allegiance to ⁹⁶  worthless idols, and so became worthless to the Lord. ⁹⁷  They copied the practices of the surrounding nations in blatant disregard of the Lord’s command. ⁹⁸ 

2 Raja-raja 23:3

23:3 The king stood by the pillar and renewed ⁹⁹  the covenant before the Lord, agreeing to follow ¹⁰⁰  the Lord and to obey his commandments, laws, and rules with all his heart and being, ¹⁰¹  by carrying out the terms ¹⁰²  of this covenant recorded on this scroll. All the people agreed to keep the covenant. ¹⁰³ 

2 Raja-raja 21:11

21:11 “King Manasseh of Judah has committed horrible sins. ¹⁰⁴  He has sinned more than the Amorites before him and has encouraged Judah to sin by worshiping his disgusting idols. ¹⁰⁵ 

2 Raja-raja 8:19

8:19 But the Lord was unwilling to destroy Judah. He preserved Judah for the sake of ¹⁰⁶  his servant David to whom he had promised a perpetual dynasty. ¹⁰⁷ 

2 Raja-raja 19:10

19:10 “Tell King Hezekiah of Judah this: ‘Don’t let your God in whom you trust mislead you when he says, “Jerusalem will not be handed over ¹⁰⁸  to the king of Assyria.”

2 Raja-raja 21:8

21:8 I will not make Israel again leave the land I gave to their ancestors, ¹⁰⁹  provided that they carefully obey all I commanded them, the whole law my servant Moses ordered them to obey.”

2 Raja-raja 22:20

22:20 ‘Therefore I will allow you to die and be buried in peace. ¹¹⁰  You will not have to witness ¹¹¹  all the disaster I will bring on this place.’”’” Then they reported back to the king.

2 Raja-raja 1:3

1:3 But the Lord’s angelic messenger told Elijah the Tishbite, “Get up, go to meet the messengers from the king of Samaria. Say this to them: ‘You must think there is no God in Israel! That explains why you are on your way to seek an oracle from Baal Zebub the god of Ekron. ¹¹² 

2 Raja-raja 8:1

Elisha Again Helps the Shunammite Woman

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, ¹¹³  for the Lord has decreed that a famine will overtake the land for seven years.”

2 Raja-raja 10:9

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?

2 Raja-raja 17:35

17:35 The Lord made an agreement ¹¹⁴  with them ¹¹⁵  and instructed them, “You must not worship other gods. Do not bow down to them, serve them, or offer sacrifices to them.

2 Raja-raja 18:12

18:12 This happened because they did not obey ¹¹⁶  the Lord their God and broke his agreement with them. ¹¹⁷  They did not pay attention to and obey all that Moses, the Lord’s servant, had commanded. ¹¹⁸ 

[9:26]  ¹ tn Heb “and I will repay you in this plot of land.”

[9:26]  ² tn Heb “according to the word of the Lord.”

[21:4]  ³ tn Heb “In Jerusalem I will place my name.”

[18:25]  ⁴ tn Heb “Go.”

[18:25]  ⁵ sn In v. 25 the chief adviser develops further the argument begun in v. 22. He claims that Hezekiah has offended the Lord and that the Lord has commissioned Assyria as his instrument of discipline and judgment.

[23:27]  ⁶ tn Heb “Also Judah I will turn away from my face.”

[23:27]  ⁷ tn Heb “My name will be there.”

[20:17]  ⁸ tn Heb “days are.”

[22:19]  ⁹ tn Heb “Because your heart was tender.”

[22:19]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “how I said concerning this place and its residents to become [an object of] horror and [an example of] a curse.” The final phrase (“horror and a curse”) refers to Judah becoming a prime example of an accursed people. In curse formulations they would be held up as a prime example of divine judgment. For an example of such a curse, see Jer 29:22.

[21:7]  ¹¹ tn Heb “In this house and in Jerusalem, which I chose from all the tribes of Israel, I will place my name perpetually (or perhaps “forever”).”

[3:16]  ¹² 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.”

[21:10]  ¹³ tn Heb “spoke by the hand of.”

[4:44]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “according to the word of the Lord.”

[20:4]  ¹⁵ tc Heb “and Isaiah had not gone out of the middle courtyard, and the word of the Lord came to him, saying.” Instead of “courtyard” (חָצֵר, khatser), the marginal reading, (Qere), the Hebrew consonantal text (Kethib) has הָעִיר (ha’ir), “the city.”

[17:12]  ¹⁶ tn Or “served.”

[17:12]  ¹⁷ sn See the note at 1 Kgs 15:12.

[17:12]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “about which the Lord had said to them, ‘You must not do this thing.’”

[10:10]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “Know then that there has not fallen from the word of the Lord to the ground that which the Lord spoke against the house of Ahab. The Lord has done that which he spoke by the hand of his servant Elijah.”

[15:12]  ²⁰ tn Heb “It was the word of the Lord which he spoke to Jehu, saying.”

[15:12]  ²¹ tn “sons of four generations will sit for you on the throne of Israel.”

[15:12]  sn See the note at 2 Kgs 10:30.

[15:12]  ²² tn Heb “and it was so.”

[7:1]  ²³ sn A seah was a dry measure equivalent to about 7 quarts.

[3:12]  ²⁴ tn Heb “the word of the Lord is with him.”

[14:27]  ²⁵ tn Heb “name.”

[14:27]  ²⁶ tn The phrase “from under heaven” adds emphasis to the verb “blot out” and suggest total annihilation. For other examples of the verb מָחָה (makhah), “blot out,” combined with “from under heaven,” see Exod 17:14; Deut 9:14; 25:19; 29:20.

[19:21]  ²⁷ tn Heb “this is the word which the Lord has spoken about him.”

[19:21]  ²⁸ sn Zion (Jerusalem) is pictured here as a young, vulnerable daughter whose purity is being threatened by the would-be Assyrian rapist. The personification hints at the reality which the young girls of the city would face if the Assyrians conquer it.

[19:21]  ²⁹ sn Shaking the head was a mocking gesture of derision.

[22:16]  ³⁰ tn Heb “all the words of the scroll which the king of Judah has read.”

[2:21]  ³¹ tn Or “healed.”

[2:21]  ³² tn Heb “there will no longer be from there death and miscarriage [or, ‘barrenness’].”

[7:16]  ³³ sn A seah was a dry measure equivalent to about 7 quarts.

[7:16]  ³⁴ tn Heb “according to the word of the Lord.”

[9:3]  ³⁵ tn Heb “anointed.”

[9:3]  ³⁶ tn Heb “and open the door and run away and do not delay.”

[9:12]  ³⁷ 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.

[10:17]  ³⁸ tn Heb “and he struck down all the remaining ones to Ahab in Samaria until he destroyed him.”

[10:17]  ³⁹ tn Heb “according to the word of the Lord which he spoke to Elijah.”

[19:20]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “That which you prayed to me concerning Sennacherib king of Assyria I have heard.” The verb “I have heard” does not appear in the parallel passage in Isa 37:21, where אֲשֶׁר (’asher) probably has a causal sense, “because.”

[20:19]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “good.”

[20:19]  ⁴² tn Heb “and he said.” Many English versions translate, “for he thought.” The verb אָמַר (’amar), “say,” is sometimes used of what one thinks (that is, says to oneself). Cf. NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT.

[20:19]  ⁴³ tn Heb “Is it not [true] there will be peace and stability in my days?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Yes, there will be peace and stability.”

[2:22]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “according to the word of Elisha which he spoke.”

[1:16]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elijah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:16]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “him”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:16]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “Because you sent messengers to inquire of Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron, is there no God in Israel to inquire of his word?”

[1:16]  ⁴⁸ sn For the third time in this chapter we read the Lord’s sarcastic question to king and the accompanying announcement of judgment. The repetition emphasizes one of the chapter’s main themes. Israel’s leaders should seek guidance from their own God, not a pagan deity, for Israel’s sovereign God is the one who controls life and death.

[3:17]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “see.”

[4:43]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “How can I set this before a hundred men?”

[4:43]  ⁵¹ tn The verb forms are infinitives absolute (Heb “eating and leaving over”) and have to be translated in light of the context.

[19:6]  ⁵² tn Heb “by which the servants of the king of Assyria have insulted me.”

[21:12]  ⁵³ tn Heb “so that everyone who hears it, his two ears will quiver.”

[17:19]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “they walked in the practices of Israel which they did.”

[18:6]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “he hugged.”

[18:6]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “and did not turn aside from after him.”

[18:6]  ⁵⁷ tn Heb “had commanded.”

[1:17]  ⁵⁸ tn Heb “according to the word of the Lord which he spoke through Elijah.”

[1:17]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “Jehoram replaced him as king…because he had no son.” Some ancient textual witnesses add “his brother,” which was likely added on the basis of the statement later in the verse that Ahaziah had no son.

[9:6]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jehu) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[9:6]  ⁶¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the prophet) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[9:36]  ⁶² tn Heb “It is the word of the Lord, which he spoke by the hand of his servant, Elijah the Tishbite, saying.”

[10:30]  ⁶³ 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 b.c. Four of his descendants (Jehoahaz, Jehoash, Jeroboam II, and Zechariah) ruled from approximately 814-753 b.c. The dynasty came to an end when Shallum assassinated Zechariah in 753 b.c. See 2 Kgs 15:8-12.

[14:25]  ⁶⁴ tn The phrases “in the north” and “in the south” are added in the translation for clarification.

[14:25]  ⁶⁵ tn Heb “which he spoke by the hand of.”

[17:23]  ⁶⁶ tn Heb “until.”

[17:23]  ⁶⁷ tn Heb “the Lord turned Israel away from his face.”

[17:23]  ⁶⁸ tn Heb “just as he said.”

[20:1]  ⁶⁹ tn Heb “was sick to the point of dying.”

[20:1]  ⁷⁰ tn Heb “will not live.”

[20:5]  ⁷¹ tn Heb “on the third day.”

[23:16]  ⁷² tn Heb “and he sent and took the bones from the tombs.”

[23:16]  ⁷³ tn Heb “the king”; this has been specified as “King Josiah” in the translation for clarity (cf. TEV, CEV, NLT).

[23:16]  ⁷⁴ tc The MT is much shorter than this. It reads, “according to the word of the Lord which the man of God proclaimed, who proclaimed these words.” The LXX has a much longer text at this point. It reads: “[which was proclaimed by the man of God] while Jeroboam stood by the altar at a celebration. Then he turned and saw the grave of the man of God [who proclaimed these words].” The extra material attested in the LXX was probably accidentally omitted in the Hebrew tradition when a scribe’s eye jumped from the first occurrence of the phrase “man of God” (which appears right before the extra material) and the second occurrence of the phrase (which appears at the end of the extra material).

[23:16]  sn This recalls the prophecy recorded in 1 Kgs 13:2.

[24:2]  ⁷⁵ tn Heb “he sent them against Judah to destroy it, according to the word of the Lord which he spoke by the hand of his servants the prophets.”

[24:13]  ⁷⁶ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Nebuchadnezzar) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[17:13]  ⁷⁷ tn Heb “obey my commandments and rules according to all the law which I commanded your fathers and which I sent to you by the hand of my servants the prophets.”

[17:16]  ⁷⁸ tn The phrase כָל צְבָא הַשָּׁמַיִם (khol tsÿva’ hashamayim), traditionally translated “all the host of heaven,” refers to the heavenly lights, including stars and planets. In 1 Kgs 22:19 these heavenly bodies are pictured as members of the Lord’s royal court or assembly, but many other texts view them as the illegitimate objects of pagan and Israelite worship.

[17:16]  ⁷⁹ tn Or “served.”

[20:9]  ⁸⁰ tn The Hebrew הָלַךְ (halakh, a perfect), “it has moved ahead,” should be emended to הֲיֵלֵךְ (hayelekh, an imperfect with interrogative he [ה] prefixed), “shall it move ahead.”

[24:3]  ⁸¹ tn Heb “Certainly according to the word of the Lord this happened against Judah, to remove [them] from his face because of the sins of Manasseh according to all which he did.”

[1:6]  ⁸² tn Heb “said to him.”

[1:6]  ⁸³ tn Heb “Is it because there is no God in Israel [that] you are sending to inquire of Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron?” The translation seeks to bring out the sarcastic tone of the rhetorical question. In v. 3 the messengers are addressed (in the phrase “you are on your way” the second person plural pronoun is used in Hebrew), but here the king is addressed (in the phrase “you are sending” the second person singular pronoun is used).

[15:3]  ⁸⁴ tn Heb “he did what was proper in the eyes of the Lord, according to all which Amaziah his father had done.”

[19:32]  ⁸⁵ tn Heb “there.”

[19:32]  ⁸⁶ tn Heb “[with] a shield.” By metonymy the “shield” stands for the soldier who carries it.

[17:34]  ⁸⁷ tn Heb “fear.”

[17:34]  ⁸⁸ tn Heb “commanded.”

[1:15]  ⁸⁹ sn In this third panel the verb “come down” (יָרַד, yarad) occurs again, this time describing Elijah’s descent from the hill at the Lord’s command. The moral of the story seems clear: Those who act as if they have authority over God and his servants just may pay for their arrogance with their lives; those who, like the third commander, humble themselves and show the proper respect for God’s authority and for his servants will be spared and find God quite cooperative.

[9:25]  ⁹⁰ tn Heb “said to.”

[14:6]  ⁹¹ tn Heb “as it is written in the scroll of the law of Moses which the Lord commanded, saying.”

[14:6]  ⁹² tn Heb “on account of sons.”

[14:6]  ⁹³ tn Heb “on account of fathers.”

[14:6]  ⁹⁴ sn This law is recorded in Deut 24:16.

[17:15]  ⁹⁵ tn Or “and his warnings he had given them.”

[17:15]  ⁹⁶ tn Heb “They went [or, ‘followed’] after.” This idiom probably does not mean much if translated literally. It is found most often in Deuteronomy or in literature related to the covenant. It refers in the first instance to loyalty to God and to His covenant or His commandments (1 Kgs 14:8; 2 Chr 34:31) with the metaphor of a path or way underlying it (Deut 11:28; 28:14). To “follow other gods” was to abandon this way and this loyalty (to “abandon” or “forget” God, Judg 2:12; Hos 2:13) and to follow the customs or religious traditions of the pagan nations (2 Kgs 17:15). The classic text on “following” God or another god is 1 Kgs 18:18, 21 where Elijah taunts the people with “halting between two opinions” whether the Lord was the true God or Baal was. The idiom is often found followed by “to serve and to worship” or “they served and worshiped” such and such a god or entity (Jer 8:2; 11:10; 13:10; 16:11; 25:6; 35:15).

[17:15]  ⁹⁷ tn Heb “they followed after the worthless thing/things and became worthless.” The words “to the Lord” are not in the Hebrew text but are implicit from the context. There is an obvious wordplay on the verb “became worthless” and the noun “worthless thing”, which is probably to be understood collectively and to refer to idols as it does in Jer 8:19; 10:8; 14:22; Jonah 2:8.

[17:15]  ⁹⁸ tn Heb “and [they walked] after the nations which were around them, concerning which the Lord commanded them not to do like them.”

[23:3]  ⁹⁹ tn Heb “cut,” that is, “made, agreed to.”

[23:3]  ¹⁰⁰ tn Heb “walk after.”

[23:3]  ¹⁰¹ tn Or “soul.”

[23:3]  ¹⁰² tn Heb “words.”

[23:3]  ¹⁰³ tn Heb “stood in the covenant.”

[21:11]  ¹⁰⁴ tn Heb “these horrible sins.”

[21:11]  ¹⁰⁵ sn See the note at 1 Kgs 15:12.

[8:19]  ¹⁰⁶ tn The Hebrew has only one sentence, “and the Lord was unwilling to destroy Judah for the sake of.” The translation divides it for the sake of clarity.

[8:19]  ¹⁰⁷ 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.

[19:10]  ¹⁰⁸ tn Heb “will not be given.”

[21:8]  ¹⁰⁹ tn Heb “I will not again make the feet of Israel wander from the land which I gave to their fathers.”

[22:20]  ¹¹⁰ tn Heb “Therefore, look, I am gathering you to your fathers, and you will be gathered to your tomb in peace.”

[22:20]  ¹¹¹ tn Heb “your eyes will not see.”

[1:3]  ¹¹² tn Heb “Is it because there is no God in Israel [that] you are going to inquire of Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron?” The translation seeks to bring out the sarcastic tone of the rhetorical question.

[8:1]  ¹¹³ tn Heb “Get up and go, you and your house, and live temporarily where you can live temporarily.”

[17:35]  ¹¹⁴ tn Or “covenant.”

[17:35]  ¹¹⁵ sn That is, the descendants of Jacob/Israel (see v. 35b).

[18:12]  ¹¹⁶ tn Heb “listen to the voice of.”

[18:12]  ¹¹⁷ tn Heb “his covenant.”

[18:12]  ¹¹⁸ tn Heb “all that Moses, the Lord’s servant, had commanded, and they did not listen and they did not act.”