2 Kings 8:1-9:13

Contemporary English Version

The Woman from Shunem Is Given Back Her Land

8 ^(A) Elisha told the woman whose son he had brought back to life,^[a] “The Lord has warned that there will be no food here for seven years. Take your family and go live somewhere else for a while.” ² The woman did exactly what Elisha had said and went to live in Philistine territory.

She and her family lived there seven years. ³ Then she returned to Israel and immediately begged the king to give back her house and property.

⁴ Meanwhile, the king was asking Gehazi the servant of Elisha about the amazing things Elisha had been doing. ⁵ While Gehazi was telling him that Elisha had brought a dead boy back to life, the woman and her son arrived.

“Here's the boy, Your Majesty,” Gehazi said. “And this is his mother.”

⁶ The king asked the woman to tell her story, and she told him everything that had happened. He then said to one of his officials, “I want you to make sure that this woman gets back everything that belonged to her, including the money her crops have made since the day she left Israel.”

Hazael Kills Benhadad

⁷ Some time later Elisha went to the capital city of Damascus to visit King Benhadad of Syria, who was sick. And when Benhadad was told he was there, ⁸ he said to Hazael,^[b] “Go meet with Elisha the man of God and get him to ask the Lord if I will get well. And take along a gift for him.”

⁹ Hazael left with forty camel loads of the best things made in Damascus as a gift for Elisha. He found the prophet and said, “Your servant, King Benhadad, wants to know if he will get well.”

¹⁰ “Tell him he will,” Elisha said to Hazael. “But the Lord has already told me that Benhadad will definitely die.” ¹¹ Elisha stared at him until Hazael was embarrassed, then Elisha began crying.^[c]

¹² “Sir, why are you crying?” Hazael asked.

Elisha answered, “Because I know the terrible things you will do to the people of Israel. You will burn down their walled cities and slaughter their young men. You will even crush the heads of their babies and rip open their pregnant women.”

^13 (B) “How could I ever do anything like that?” Hazael replied. “I'm only a servant and don't have that kind of power.”

“Hazael, the Lord has told me that you will be the next king of Syria.”

¹⁴ Hazael went back to Benhadad and told him, “Elisha said that you will get well.” ¹⁵ But the very next day, Hazael got a thick blanket; he soaked it in water and held it over Benhadad's face until he died. Hazael then became king.

King Jehoram of Judah

(2 Chronicles 21.2-20)

¹⁶ Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat became king of Judah in Joram's fifth year as king of Israel, while Jehoshaphat was still king of Judah.^{[d] 17} Jehoram was 32 years old when he became king, and he ruled 8 years from Jerusalem.

¹⁸ Jehoram disobeyed the Lord by doing wrong. He married Ahab's daughter and was as sinful as Ahab's family and the kings of Israel. ^19 (C) But the Lord refused to destroy Judah, because he had promised his servant David that someone from his family would always rule in Judah.

^20 (D) While Jehoram was king, the people of Edom rebelled and chose their own king. ²¹ So Jehoram^[e] and his cavalry marched to Zair, where the Edomite army surrounded him and his commanders. During the night he attacked the Edomites, but he was defeated, and his troops escaped to their homes.^{[f] 22} Judah was never able to regain control of Edom. Even the town of Libnah^[g] rebelled at that time.

²³ Everything else Jehoram did while he was king is written in The History of the Kings of Judah. ²⁴ Jehoram died and was buried beside his ancestors in Jerusalem.^[h] His son Ahaziah then became king.

King Ahaziah of Judah

(2 Chronicles 22.1-6)

²⁵ Ahaziah son of Jehoram became king of Judah in the twelfth year of Joram's rule in Israel. ²⁶ Ahaziah was 22 years old when he became king, and he ruled from Jerusalem for only one year. His mother was Athaliah, a granddaughter of King Omri of Israel. ²⁷ Since Ahaziah was related to Ahab's family,^[i] he acted just like them and disobeyed the Lord by doing wrong.

²⁸ Ahaziah went with King Joram of Israel to attack King Hazael and the Syrian troops at Ramoth in Gilead. Joram was wounded in that battle, ²⁹ so he went to the town of Jezreel to recover. Ahaziah went there to visit him.

Jehu Becomes King of Israel

9 One day, Elisha called for one of the other prophets and said:

Take this bottle of olive oil and get ready to go to the town of Ramoth in Gilead. ² When you get there, find Jehu son of Jehoshaphat and grandson of Nimshi. Take him to a place where the two of you can be alone, ³ then pour olive oil on his head to show that he is the new king. Say to him, “The Lord has chosen you to be king of Israel.” Then leave quickly—don't wait around for anything!

⁴ The young prophet left for Ramoth. ⁵ When he arrived, the army officers were meeting together. “Sir, I have a message for you,” he said.

“For which one of us?” Jehu asked.

“You, sir,” the prophet answered. ^6 (E) So Jehu got up and went inside.^[j] The prophet poured olive oil on Jehu's head and told him:

The Lord God of Israel has this message for you: “I am the Lord, and I have chosen you to be king of my people Israel. ⁷ I want you to wipe out the family of Ahab, so Jezebel will be punished for killing the prophets and my other servants. ⁸ Every man and boy in Ahab's family must die, whether slave or free. ⁹ His whole family must be destroyed, just like the families of Jeroboam son of Nebat and Baasha son of Ahijah. ^10 (F) As for Jezebel, her body will be eaten by dogs in the town of Jezreel. There won't be enough left of her to bury.”

Then the young prophet opened the door and ran out.

¹¹ Jehu went back to his officers, and one of them asked, “What did that crazy prophet want? Is everything all right?”

“You know him and how he talks,” Jehu answered.

¹² “No, we don't. What did he say?” they asked.

“He had a message from the Lord,” Jehu replied. “He said that the Lord has chosen me to be the next king of Israel.”

¹³ They quickly grabbed their coats and spread them out on the steps where Jehu was standing. Someone blew a trumpet, and everyone shouted, “Jehu is king!”