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The Lord was angry with Israel and for a long time gave them into the power of Hazael, king of Aram, and of Ben-hadad, son of Hazael. Then Jehoahaz entreated the Lord, who heard him, since he saw the oppression to which the king of Aram had subjected Israel.(A) So the Lord gave Israel a savior,[a] and the Israelites, freed from the power of Aram, dwelt in their own tents as formerly. Nevertheless, they did not desist from the sins the house of Jeroboam had caused Israel to commit, but persisted in them. The Asherah[b] remained even in Samaria.(B) No army was left to Jehoahaz, except fifty horses with ten chariots and ten thousand foot soldiers, since the king of Aram had destroyed them and trampled them like dust.

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Footnotes

  1. 13:5 A savior: i.e., a military leader (cf. Jgs 3:9, 15). Here the identity of the savior is unclear, but the reappearance of a militant Elisha in this chapter after an absence of several chapters and nearly thirty years suggests the narrator may have had him in mind. Two generations later Joash’s grandson, Jeroboam II, will also “save” Israel (14:27).
  2. 13:6 Asherah: see note on Ex 34:13.

So the Lord’s anger(A) burned against Israel, and for a long time he kept them under the power(B) of Hazael king of Aram and Ben-Hadad(C) his son.

Then Jehoahaz sought(D) the Lord’s favor, and the Lord listened to him, for he saw(E) how severely the king of Aram was oppressing(F) Israel. The Lord provided a deliverer(G) for Israel, and they escaped from the power of Aram. So the Israelites lived in their own homes as they had before. But they did not turn away from the sins(H) of the house of Jeroboam, which he had caused Israel to commit; they continued in them. Also, the Asherah pole[a](I) remained standing in Samaria.

Nothing had been left(J) of the army of Jehoahaz except fifty horsemen, ten chariots and ten thousand foot soldiers, for the king of Aram had destroyed the rest and made them like the dust(K) at threshing time.

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Kings 13:6 That is, a wooden symbol of the goddess Asherah; here and elsewhere in 2 Kings