2 Kings 13:10-25
New American Standard Bible
10 In the thirty-seventh year of Joash king of Judah, [a]Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz became king over Israel in Samaria, and he reigned for sixteen years. 11 He did evil in the sight of the Lord; he did not turn away from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, into which he misled Israel; rather, he walked in [b]them. 12 (A)Now as for the rest of the acts of Joash and 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 [c]lay down with his fathers, and Jeroboam sat on his throne; and Joash was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel.
Death of Elisha
14 When Elisha [d]became sick with the illness of which he was to die, Joash the king of Israel came down to him, and wept over [e]him and said, “(B)My father, my father, the chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” 15 And Elisha said to him, “Take a bow and arrows.” So he [f]took a bow and arrows. 16 Then Elisha said to the king of Israel, “Lay your hand on the bow.” And he laid his hand on it, then Elisha put his hands on the king’s hands. 17 And he said, “Open the window toward the east,” and he opened it. Then Elisha said, “Shoot!” So he shot. And he said, “The Lord’s arrow of victory, and the arrow of victory over Aram; for you will [g]defeat the Arameans at (C)Aphek until you have put an end to them.” 18 Then he said, “Take the arrows,” and he took them. And he said to the king of Israel, “Strike the ground,” and he struck it three times and [h]stopped. 19 Then (D)the man of God became angry at him and said, “You should have struck five or six times, then you would have struck Aram until you put an end to it. But now you shall strike Aram (E)only three times.”
20 And Elisha died, and they buried him. Now (F)the marauding bands of the Moabites would invade the land [i]in the spring of the year. 21 And as they were burying a man, behold, they saw a marauding band; and they threw the man into the grave of Elisha. And when the man [j]touched the bones of Elisha he (G)revived and stood up on his feet.
22 Now (H)Hazael king of Aram had oppressed Israel all the days of Jehoahaz. 23 But the (I)Lord was gracious to them and (J)had compassion on them and turned to them because of (K)His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and He was unwilling to eliminate them or cast them away from His presence until now.
24 When Hazael king of Aram died, his son Ben-hadad became king in his place. 25 Then (L)Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz again took from the hand of Ben-hadad the son of Hazael the cities which he had taken in war from the hand of his father Jehoahaz. (M)Three times Joash [k]defeated him and recovered the cities of Israel.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 2 Kings 13:10 In Heb Jehoash is another spelling of Joash
- 2 Kings 13:11 Lit it
- 2 Kings 13:13 I.e., died
- 2 Kings 13:14 Lit was sick with his sickness
- 2 Kings 13:14 Lit his face
- 2 Kings 13:15 Lit took to himself
- 2 Kings 13:17 Lit strike
- 2 Kings 13:18 Lit stood still
- 2 Kings 13:20 Lit at the coming of
- 2 Kings 13:21 Lit went and touched
- 2 Kings 13:25 Lit struck
2 Kings 13:10-25
King James Version
10 In the thirty and seventh year of Joash king of Judah began Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz to reign over Israel in Samaria, and reigned sixteen years.
11 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord; he departed not from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel sin: but he walked therein.
12 And the rest of the acts of Joash, and all that he did, and his might wherewith he fought against Amaziah king of Judah, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?
13 And Joash slept with his fathers; and Jeroboam sat upon his throne: and Joash was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel.
14 Now Elisha was fallen sick of his sickness whereof he died. And Joash the king of Israel came down unto him, and wept over his face, and said, O my father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof.
15 And Elisha said unto him, Take bow and arrows. And he took unto him bow and arrows.
16 And he said to the king of Israel, Put thine hand upon the bow. And he put his hand upon it: and Elisha put his hands upon the king's hands.
17 And he said, Open the window eastward. And he opened it. Then Elisha said, Shoot. And he shot. And he said, The arrow of the Lord's deliverance, and the arrow of deliverance from Syria: for thou shalt smite the Syrians in Aphek, till thou have consumed them.
18 And he said, Take the arrows. And he took them. And he said unto the king of Israel, Smite upon the ground. And he smote thrice, and stayed.
19 And the man of God was wroth with him, and said, Thou shouldest have smitten five or six times; then hadst thou smitten Syria till thou hadst consumed it: whereas now thou shalt smite Syria but thrice.
20 And Elisha died, and they buried him. And the bands of the Moabites invaded the land at the coming in of the year.
21 And it came to pass, as they were burying a man, that, behold, they spied a band of men; and they cast the man into the sepulchre of Elisha: and when the man was let down, and touched the bones of Elisha, he revived, and stood up on his feet.
22 But Hazael king of Syria oppressed Israel all the days of Jehoahaz.
23 And the Lord was gracious unto them, and had compassion on them, and had respect unto them, because of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and would not destroy them, neither cast he them from his presence as yet.
24 So Hazael king of Syria died; and Benhadad his son reigned in his stead.
25 And Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz took again out of the hand of Benhadad the son of Hazael the cities, which he had taken out of the hand of Jehoahaz his father by war. Three times did Joash beat him, and recovered the cities of Israel.
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2 Kings 13:10-25
Living Bible
9-10 Jehoahaz died and was buried in Samaria, and his son Joash reigned in Samaria for sixteen years. He came to the throne in the thirty-seventh year of the reign of King Joash of Judah. 11 But he was an evil man, for, like Jeroboam, he encouraged the people to worship idols and led them into sin. 12 The rest of the history of the reign of Joash, including his wars against King Amaziah of Judah, are written in The Annals of the Kings of Israel. 13 Joash died and was buried in Samaria with the other kings of Israel; and Jeroboam II became the new king.
14 When Elisha was in his last illness, King Joash visited him and wept over him.
“My father! My father! You are the strength of Israel!”[a] he cried.
15 Elisha told him, “Get a bow and some arrows,” and he did.
16-17 “Open that eastern window,” he instructed. Then he told the king to put his hand upon the bow, and Elisha laid his own hands upon the king’s hands.
“Shoot!” Elisha commanded, and he did.
Then Elisha proclaimed, “This is the Lord’s arrow, full of victory over Syria; for you will completely conquer the Syrians at Aphek. 18 Now pick up the other arrows and strike them against the floor.”
So the king picked them up and struck the floor three times. 19 But the prophet was angry with him. “You should have struck the floor five or six times,” he exclaimed, “for then you would have beaten Syria until they were entirely destroyed; now you will be victorious only three times.”
20-21 So Elisha died and was buried.
In those days bandit gangs of Moabites used to invade the land each spring. Once some men who were burying a friend spied these marauders so they hastily threw his body into the tomb of Elisha. And as soon as the body touched Elisha’s bones, the dead man revived and jumped to his feet!
22 King Hazael of Syria had oppressed Israel during the entire reign of King Jehoahaz. 23 But the Lord was gracious to the people of Israel, and they were not totally destroyed. For God pitied them, and also he was honoring his contract with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And this is still true. 24 Then King Hazael of Syria died, and his son Ben-hadad reigned in his place.
25 King Joash of Israel[b] (the son of Jehoahaz) was successful on three occasions in reconquering the cities that his father had lost to Ben-hadad.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 2 Kings 13:14 You are the strength of Israel, literally, “The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!”
- 2 Kings 13:25 of Israel, implied.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.