Death of Elisha

¹⁴ When Elisha ^[a]became sick with the illness of which he was to die, Joash the king of Israel came down to him, and wept over ^[b]him and said, “^(A)My father, my father, the chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” ¹⁵ And Elisha said to him, “Take a bow and arrows.” So he ^[c]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 ^[d]defeat the Arameans at ^(B)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 ^[e]stopped. ¹⁹ Then ^(C)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 ^(D)only three times.”

^8 (A)Then Amaziah sent messengers to ^[a]Jehoash, the son of Jehoahaz son of Jehu, king of Israel, saying, “^(B)Come, let’s face each other in combat.” ⁹ But Jehoash king of Israel sent messengers to Amaziah king of Judah, saying, “^(C)The thorn bush that was in Lebanon sent word to the cedar that was in Lebanon, saying, ‘Give your daughter to my son ^[b]in marriage.’ But a wild animal that was in Lebanon passed by and trampled the thorn bush. ^10 (D)You have indeed ^[c]defeated Edom, and ^(E)your heart ^[d]is elated. Enjoy the glory and stay home; for why should you get involved in trouble so that you would fall, you and Judah with you?”

¹¹ But Amaziah would not listen. So Jehoash king of Israel went up; and they faced each other, he and Amaziah king of Judah, at ^(F)Beth-shemesh, which belongs to Judah. ¹² And Judah was defeated by Israel, and ^(G)they fled, every man to his tent. ¹³ Then Jehoash king of Israel captured Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Jehoash the son of Ahaziah, at Beth-shemesh, and came to Jerusalem and tore down the wall of Jerusalem from ^(H)the Gate of Ephraim to ^(I)the Corner Gate, ^[e]four hundred cubits. ¹⁴ And ^(J)he took all the gold and silver and all the utensils which were found in the house of the Lord, and in the treasuries of the king’s house, the hostages as well, and returned to Samaria.

Jeroboam II Succeeds Jehoash (Joash) in Israel

^15 (K)Now as for the rest of the acts of Jehoash that he did, and his might and how he fought with Amaziah king of Judah, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?