Category: 2 Kings

[13:14] The prophet Elisha was sick with a fatal disease, and as he lay dying, King Jehoash of Israel went to visit him. “My father, my father!” he exclaimed as he wept. “You have been the mighty defender of Israel!”

[13:15] “Get a bow and some arrows,” Elisha ordered him. Jehoash got them,

[13:16] and Elisha told him to get ready to shoot. The king did so, and Elisha placed his hands on the king's hands.

[13:17] Then, following the prophet's instructions, the king opened the window that faced toward Syria. “Shoot the arrow!” Elisha ordered. As soon as the king shot the arrow, the prophet exclaimed, “You are the Lord's arrow, with which he will win victory over Syria. You will fight the Syrians in Aphek until you defeat them.”

[13:18] Then Elisha told the king to take the other arrows and strike the ground with them. The king struck the ground three times, and then stopped.

[13:19] This made Elisha angry, and he said to the king, “You should have struck five or six times, and then you would have won complete victory over the Syrians; but now you will defeat them only three times.”

[13:20] Elisha died and was buried. Every year bands of Moabites used to invade the land of Israel.

[13:21] One time during a funeral, one of those bands was seen, and the people threw the corpse into Elisha's tomb and ran off. As soon as the body came into contact with Elisha's bones, the man came back to life and stood up.

[13:22] King Hazael of Syria oppressed the Israelites during all of Jehoahaz' reign,

[13:23] but the Lord was kind and merciful to them. He would not let them be destroyed, but helped them because of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He has never forgotten his people.

[13:24] At the death of King Hazael of Syria his son Benhadad became king.

[13:25] Then King Jehoash of Israel defeated Benhadad three times and recaptured the cities that had been taken by Benhadad during the reign of Jehoahaz, the father of Jehoash.

[14:1] In the second year of the reign of Jehoash son of Jehoahaz as king of Israel, Amaziah son of Joash became king of Judah

[14:2] at the age of twenty-five, and he ruled in Jerusalem for twenty-nine years. His mother was Jehoaddin from Jerusalem.

[14:3] He did what was pleasing to the Lord, but he was not like his ancestor King David; instead, he did what his father Joash had done.

[14:4] He did not tear down the pagan places of worship, and the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense there.

[14:5] As soon as Amaziah was firmly in power, he executed the officials who had killed his father, the king.

[14:6] However, he did not kill their children but followed what the Lord had commanded in the Law of Moses: “Parents are not to be put to death for crimes committed by their children, and children are not to be put to death for crimes committed by their parents; people are to be put to death only for a crime they themselves have committed.”

[14:7] Amaziah killed ten thousand Edomite soldiers in Salt Valley; he captured the city of Sela in battle and called it Joktheel, the name it still has.

[14:8] Then Amaziah sent messengers to King Jehoash of Israel, challenging him to fight.

[14:9] But King Jehoash sent back the following reply: “Once a thorn bush on the Lebanon Mountains sent a message to a cedar: ‘Give your daughter in marriage to my son.’ A wild animal passed by and trampled the bush down.

[14:10] Now Amaziah, you have defeated the Edomites, and you are filled with pride. Be satisfied with your fame and stay at home. Why stir up trouble that will only bring disaster on you and your people?”

[14:11] But Amaziah refused to listen, so King Jehoash marched out with his men and fought against him at Beth Shemesh in Judah.

[14:12] Amaziah's army was defeated, and all his soldiers fled to their homes.

[14:13] Jehoash took Amaziah prisoner, advanced on Jerusalem, and tore down the city wall from Ephraim Gate to the Corner Gate, a distance of two hundred yards.

[14:14] He took all the silver and gold he could find, all the Temple equipment and all the palace treasures, and carried them back to Samaria. He also took hostages with him.

[14:15] Everything else that Jehoash did, including his bravery in the war against King Amaziah of Judah, is recorded in The History of the Kings of Israel.

[14:16] Jehoash died and was buried in the royal tombs in Samaria, and his son Jeroboam II succeeded him as king.

[14:17] King Amaziah of Judah lived fifteen years after the death of King Jehoash of Israel.

[14:18] Everything else that Amaziah did is recorded in The History of the Kings of Judah.

[14:19] There was a plot in Jerusalem to assassinate Amaziah, so he fled to the city of Lachish, but his enemies followed him there and killed him.

[14:20] His body was carried back to Jerusalem on a horse and was buried in the royal tombs in David's City.

[14:21] The people of Judah then crowned his sixteen-year-old son Uzziah as king.

[14:22] Uzziah reconquered and rebuilt Elath after his father's death.

[14:23] In the fifteenth year of the reign of Amaziah son of Joash as king of Judah, Jeroboam son of Jehoash became king of Israel, and he ruled in Samaria for forty-one years.

[14:24] He sinned against the Lord, following the wicked example of his predecessor King Jeroboam son of Nebat, who led Israel into sin.

[14:25] He reconquered all the territory that had belonged to Israel, from Hamath Pass in the north to the Dead Sea in the south. This was what the Lord, the God of Israel, had promised through his servant the prophet Jonah son of Amittai from Gath Hepher.

[14:26] The Lord saw the terrible suffering of the Israelites; there was no one at all to help them.

[14:27] But it was not the Lord's purpose to destroy Israel completely and forever, so he rescued them through King Jeroboam II.

[14:28] Everything else that Jeroboam II did, his brave battles, and how he restored Damascus and Hamath to Israel, are all recorded in The History of the Kings of Israel.

[14:29] Jeroboam died and was buried in the royal tombs, and his son Zechariah succeeded him as king.

[15:1] In the twenty-seventh year of the reign of King Jeroboam II of Israel, Uzziah son of Amaziah became king of Judah

[15:2] at the age of sixteen, and he ruled in Jerusalem for fifty-two years. His mother was Jecoliah from Jerusalem.

[15:3] Following the example of his father, he did what was pleasing to the Lord.

[15:4] But the pagan places of worship were not destroyed, and the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense there.

[15:5] The Lord struck Uzziah with a dreaded skin disease that stayed with him the rest of his life. He lived in a separate house, relieved of all duties, while his son Jotham governed the country.

[15:6] Everything else that Uzziah did is recorded in The History of the Kings of Judah.

[15:7] Uzziah died and was buried in the royal burial ground in David's City, and his son Jotham succeeded him as king.

[15:8] In the thirty-eighth year of the reign of King Uzziah of Judah, Zechariah son of Jeroboam II became king of Israel, and he ruled in Samaria for six months.

[15:9] He, like his predecessors, sinned against the Lord. He followed the wicked example of King Jeroboam son of Nebat, who led Israel into sin.

[15:10] Shallum son of Jabesh conspired against King Zechariah, assassinated him at Ibleam, and succeeded him as king.

[15:11] Everything else that Zechariah did is recorded in The History of the Kings of Israel.

[15:12] So the promise was fulfilled which the Lord had made to King Jehu: “Your descendants down to the fourth generation will be kings of Israel.”

[15:13] In the thirty-ninth year of the reign of King Uzziah of Judah, Shallum son of Jabesh became king of Israel, and he ruled in Samaria for one month.

[15:14] Menahem son of Gadi went from Tirzah to Samaria, assassinated Shallum, and succeeded him as king.

[15:15] Everything else that Shallum did, including an account of his conspiracy, is recorded in The History of the Kings of Israel.

[15:16] As Menahem was on his way from Tirzah, he completely destroyed the city of Tappuah, its inhabitants, and the surrounding territory, because the city did not surrender to him. He even ripped open the bellies of all the pregnant women.

[15:17] In the thirty-ninth year of the reign of King Uzziah of Judah, Menahem son of Gadi became king of Israel, and he ruled in Samaria for ten years.

[15:18] He sinned against the Lord, for until the day of his death he followed the wicked example of King Jeroboam son of Nebat, who led Israel into sin.

[15:19] Tiglath Pileser, the emperor of Assyria, invaded Israel, and Menahem gave him thirty-eight tons of silver to gain his support in strengthening Menahem's power over the country.

[15:20] Menahem got the money from the rich men of Israel by forcing each one to contribute fifty pieces of silver. So Tiglath Pileser went back to his own country.

[15:21] Everything else that Menahem did is recorded in The History of the Kings of Israel.

[15:22] He died and was buried, and his son Pekahiah succeeded him as king.

[15:23] In the fiftieth year of the reign of King Uzziah of Judah, Pekahiah son of Menahem became king of Israel, and he ruled in Samaria for two years.

[15:24] He sinned against the Lord, following the wicked example of King Jeroboam son of Nebat, who led Israel into sin.

[15:25] An officer of Pekahiah's forces, Pekah son of Remaliah, plotted with fifty men from Gilead, assassinated Pekahiah in the palace's inner fortress in Samaria, and succeeded him as king.

[15:26] Everything else that Pekahiah did is recorded in The History of the Kings of Israel.