2 Kings 13

Jehoahaz Reigns in Israel

1 In the twenty-third year of Joash the son of Ahaziah, king of Judah, Jehoahaz the son of Jehu became king over Israel in Samaria, and reigned seventeen years.2 And he did evil in the sight of the Lord, and followed the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who had made Israel sin. He did not depart from them.3 Then the anger of the Lord was aroused against Israel, and He delivered them into the hand of Hazael king of Syria, and into the hand of Ben-Hadad the son of Hazael, all their days.4 So Jehoahaz pleaded with the Lord, and the Lord listened to him; for He saw the oppression of Israel, because the king of Syria oppressed them.5 Then the Lord gave Israel a deliverer, so that they escaped from under the hand of the Syrians; and the children of Israel dwelt in their tents as before.6 Nevertheless they did not depart from the sins of the house of Jeroboam, who had made Israel sin, but walked in them; and the wooden image also remained in Samaria.7 For He left of the army of Jehoahaz only fifty horsemen, ten chariots, and ten thousand foot soldiers; for the king of Syria had destroyed them and made them like the dust at threshing.8 Now the rest of the acts of Jehoahaz, all that he did, and his might, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?9 So Jehoahaz rested with his fathers, and they buried him in Samaria. Then Joash his son reigned in his place.

Jehoash Reigns in Israel

10 In the thirty-seventh year of Joash king of Judah, Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz became king over Israel in Samaria, and reigned sixteen years.11 And he did evil in the sight of the Lord. He did not depart from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel sin, but walked in them.12 Now the rest of the acts of Joash, all that he did, and his might with which he fought against Amaziah king of Judah, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?13 So Joash rested with his fathers. Then Jeroboam sat on his throne. And Joash was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel.

Death of Elisha

14 Elisha had become sick with the illness of which he would die. Then Joash the king of Israel came down to him, and wept over his face, and said, O my father, my father, the chariots of Israel and their horsemen!15 And Elisha said to him, Take a bow and some arrows. So he took himself a bow and some arrows.16 Then he said to the king of Israel, Put your hand on the bow. So he put his hand on it, and Elisha put his hands on the kings hands.17 And he said, Open the east window; and he opened it. Then Elisha said, Shoot; and he shot. And he said, The arrow of the Lords deliverance and the arrow of deliverance from Syria; for you must strike the Syrians at Aphek till you have destroyed them. 18 Then he said, Take the arrows; so he took them. And he said to the king of Israel, Strike the ground; so he struck three times, and stopped.19 And the man of God was angry with him, and said, You should have struck five or six times; then you would have struck Syria till you had destroyed it! But now you will strike Syria only three times.20 Then Elisha died, and they buried him. And the raiding bands from Moab invaded the land in the spring of the year.21 So it was, as they were burying a man, that suddenly they spied a band of raiders; and they put the man in the tomb of Elisha; and when the man was let down and touched the bones of Elisha, he revived and stood on his feet.

Israel Recaptures Cities from Syria

22 And Hazael king of Syria oppressed Israel all the days of Jehoahaz.23 But the Lord was gracious to them, had compassion on them, and regarded them, because of His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and would not yet destroy them or cast them from His presence.24 Now Hazael king of Syria died. Then Ben-Hadad his son reigned in his place.25 And Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz recaptured from the hand of Ben-Hadad, the son of Hazael, the cities which he had taken out of the hand of Jehoahaz his father by war. Three times Joash defeated him and recaptured the cities of Israel.

2 KINGS 13

King Jehoahaz of Israel

1 Jehoahaz son of Jehu became king of Israel in the twenty-third year of Joash's rule in Judah. Jehoahaz ruled 17 years from Samaria

2 and disobeyed the [Lord] by doing wrong. He never stopped following the example of Jeroboam, who had caused the Israelites to sin.
3 The [Lord] was angry with the Israelites, so he let King Hazael of Syria and his son Benhadad rule over them for a long time. 4 Jehoahaz prayed to the [Lord] for help, and the [Lord] saw how terribly Hazael was treating the Israelites. He answered Jehoahaz 5 by sending Israel a leader who rescued them from the Syrians, t and the Israelites lived in peace as they had before.

6-7 But Hazael had defeated Israel's army so badly that Jehoahaz had only 10 chariots, 50 cavalry troops, and 10,000 regular soldiers left in his army.
The Israelites kept sinning and following the example of Jeroboam's family. They did not tear down the sacred polest that had been set up in Samaria for the worship of the goddess Asherah.
8 Everything else Jehoahaz did while he was king, including his brave deeds, is written in The History of the Kings of Israel.

9 Jehoahaz died and was buried in Samaria, and his son Jehoash became king.

King Jehoash of Israel

11 He disobeyed the [Lord] by doing just like Jeroboam, who had caused the Israelites to sin.
12 Everything else Jehoash did while he was king, including his war against King Amaziah of Judah, is written in The History of the Kings of Israel.

13 Jehoash died and was buried in Samaria beside the other Israelite kings. His son Jeroboam then became king.

Elisha the Prophet Dies

14  t Some time before the death of King Jehoash, Elisha the prophet was very sick and about to die. Jehoash went in and stood beside him, crying. He said, “Master, what will Israel's chariots and cavalry be able to do without you?”t
15-16 “Grab a bow and some arrows,” Elisha told him, “and hold them in your hand.” Jehoash grabbed the bow and arrows and held them. Elisha placed his hand on the king's hand

17 and said, “Open the window facing east.” When it was open, Elisha shouted, “Now shoot!” Jehoash shot an arrow and Elisha said, “That arrow is a sign that the [Lord] will help you completely defeat the Syrian army at Aphek.”
18 Elisha said, “Pick up the arrows and hit the ground with them.” Jehoash grabbed the arrows and hit the ground three times, then stopped.

19 Elisha became angry with the king and exclaimed, “If you had struck it five or six times, you would completely wipe out the Syrians. Now you will defeat them only three times.”

20 Elisha died and was buried.
Every year in the spring, Moab's leaders sent raiding parties into Israel.

21 Once, while some Israelites were burying a man's body, they saw a group of Moabites. The Israelites quickly threw the body into Elisha's tomb and ran away. As soon as the man's body touched the bones of Elisha, the man came back to life and stood up.

Israel Defeats Syria

23 But the [Lord] was kind to the Israelites and showed them mercy because of his solemn agreement with their ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. In fact, he has never turned his back on them or let them be completely destroyed.
24 Hazael died, and his son Benhadad then became king of Syria. 25 King Jehoash of Israel attacked and defeated the Syrian army three times. He took back from Benhadad all the towns Hazael had captured in battle from his father Jehoahaz.