| New Living Translation | NET Bible |
| 1Jehoahaz son of Jehu began to rule over Israel in the twenty-third year of King Joash’s reign in Judah. He reigned in Samaria seventeen years. | 1In the twenty-third year of the reign of Judah's King Joash son of Ahaziah, Jehu's son Jehoahaz became king over Israel. He reigned in Samaria for seventeen years. |
| 2But he did what was evil in the LORD’s sight. He followed the example of Jeroboam son of Nebat, continuing the sins that Jeroboam had led Israel to commit. | 2He did evil in the sight of the LORD. He continued in the sinful ways of Jeroboam son of Nebat who had encouraged Israel to sin; he did not repudiate those sins. |
| 3So the LORD was very angry with Israel, and he allowed King Hazael of Aram and his son Ben-hadad to defeat them repeatedly. | 3The LORD was furious with Israel and handed them over to King Hazael of Syria and to Hazael's son Ben Hadad for many years. |
| 4Then Jehoahaz prayed for the LORD’s help, and the LORD heard his prayer, for he could see how severely the king of Aram was oppressing Israel. | 4Jehoahaz asked for the LORD's mercy and the LORD responded favorably, for he saw that Israel was oppressed by the king of Syria. |
| 5So the LORD provided someone to rescue the Israelites from the tyranny of the Arameans. Then Israel lived in safety again as they had in former days. | 5The LORD provided a deliverer for Israel and they were freed from Syria's power. The Israelites once more lived in security. |
| 6But they continued to sin, following the evil example of Jeroboam. They also allowed the Asherah pole in Samaria to remain standing. | 6But they did not repudiate the sinful ways of the family of Jeroboam, who encouraged Israel to sin; they continued in those sins. There was even an Asherah pole standing in Samaria. |
| 7Finally, Jehoahaz’s army was reduced to 50 charioteers, 10 chariots, and 10,000 foot soldiers. The king of Aram had killed the others, trampling them like dust under his feet. | 7Jehoahaz had no army left except for fifty horsemen, ten chariots, and 10,000 foot soldiers. The king of Syria had destroyed his troops and trampled on them like dust. |
| 8The rest of the events in Jehoahaz’s reign—everything he did and the extent of his power—are recorded in The Book of the History of the Kings of Israel. | 8The rest of the events of Jehoahaz's reign, including all his accomplishments and successes, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Israel. |
| 9When Jehoahaz died, he was buried in Samaria. Then his son Jehoash became the next king. Jehoash Rules in Israel | 9Jehoahaz passed away and was buried in Samaria. His son Joash replaced him as king. |
| 10Jehoash son of Jehoahaz began to rule over Israel in the thirty-seventh year of King Joash’s reign in Judah. He reigned in Samaria sixteen years. | 10In the thirty-seventh year of King Joash's reign over Judah, Jehoahaz's son Jehoash became king over Israel. He reigned in Samaria for sixteen years. |
| 11But he did what was evil in the LORD’s sight. He refused to turn from the sins that Jeroboam son of Nebat had led Israel to commit. | 11He did evil in the sight of the LORD. He did not repudiate the sinful ways of Jeroboam son of Nebat who encouraged Israel to sin; he continued in those sins. |
| 12The rest of the events in Jehoash’s reign and everything he did, including the extent of his power and his war with King Amaziah of Judah, are recorded in The Book of the History of the Kings of Israel. | 12The rest of the events of Joash's reign, including all his accomplishments and his successful war with King Amaziah of Judah, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Israel. |
| 13When Jehoash died, he was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel. Then his son Jeroboam II became the next king. Elisha’s Final Prophecy | 13Joash passed away and Jeroboam succeeded him on the throne. Joash was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel. |
| 14When Elisha was in his last illness, King Jehoash of Israel visited him and wept over him. “My father! My father! I see the chariots and charioteers of Israel!” he cried. | 14Now Elisha had a terminal illness. King Joash of Israel went down to visit him. He wept before him and said, "My father, my father! The chariot and horsemen of Israel!" |
| 15Elisha told him, “Get a bow and some arrows.” And the king did as he was told. | 15Elisha told him, "Take a bow and some arrows," and he did so. |
| 16Elisha told him, “Put your hand on the bow,” and Elisha laid his own hands on the king’s hands. | 16Then Elisha told the king of Israel, "Aim the bow." He did so, and Elisha placed his hands on the king's hands. |
| 17Then he commanded, “Open that eastern window,” and he opened it. Then he said, “Shoot!” So he shot an arrow. Elisha proclaimed, “This is the LORD’s arrow, an arrow of victory over Aram, for you will completely conquer the Arameans at Aphek.” | 17Elisha said, "Open the east window," and he did so. Elisha said, "Shoot!" and he did so. Elisha said, "This arrow symbolizes the victory the LORD will give you over Syria. You will annihilate Syria in Aphek!" |
| 18Then he said, “Now pick up the other arrows and strike them against the ground.” So the king picked them up and struck the ground three times. | 18Then Elisha said, "Take the arrows," and he did so. He told the king of Israel, "Strike the ground!" He struck the ground three times and stopped. |
| 19But the man of God was angry with him. “You should have struck the ground five or six times!” he exclaimed. “Then you would have beaten Aram until it was entirely destroyed. Now you will be victorious only three times.” | 19The prophet got angry at him and said, "If you had struck the ground five or six times, you would have annihilated Syria! But now, you will defeat Syria only three times." |
| 20Then Elisha died and was buried. Groups of Moabite raiders used to invade the land each spring. | 20Elisha died and was buried. Moabite raiding parties invaded the land at the beginning of the year. |
| 21Once when some Israelites were burying a man, they spied a band of these raiders. So they hastily threw the corpse into the tomb of Elisha and fled. But as soon as the body touched Elisha’s bones, the dead man revived and jumped to his feet! | 21One day some men were burying a man when they spotted a raiding party. So they threw the dead man into Elisha's tomb. When the body touched Elisha's bones, the dead man came to life and stood on his feet. |
| 22King Hazael of Aram had oppressed Israel during the entire reign of King Jehoahaz. | 22Now King Hazael of Syria oppressed Israel throughout Jehoahaz's reign. |
| 23But the LORD was gracious and merciful to the people of Israel, and they were not totally destroyed. He pitied them because of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And to this day he still has not completely destroyed them or banished them from his presence. | 23But the LORD had mercy on them and felt pity for them. He extended his favor to them because of the promise he had made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He has been unwilling to destroy them or remove them from his presence to this very day. |
| 24King Hazael of Aram died, and his son Ben-hadad became the next king. | 24When King Hazael of Syria died, his son Ben Hadad replaced him as king. |
| 25Then Jehoash son of Jehoahaz recaptured from Ben-hadad son of Hazael the towns that had been taken from Jehoash’s father, Jehoahaz. Jehoash defeated Ben-hadad on three occasions, and he recovered the Israelite towns. | 25Jehoahaz's son Jehoash took back from Ben Hadad son of Hazael the cities that he had taken from his father Jehoahaz in war. Joash defeated him three times and recovered the Israelite cities. |
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