2 Kings - Chapter 8

¹ Elisha had said to the woman whose son he had raised to life, 'Move away with your family, and live where you can in some foreign country, for Yahweh has called up a famine -- it is already coming on the country -- for seven years.'

² The woman hurried to do what the man of God had told her: she set out, she and her family, and for seven years she lived in Philistine territory.

³ When the seven years were over, the woman returned from Philistine territory and went to lodge a claim with the king for her house and land.

⁴ Now the king was talking to Gehazi, the servant of the man of God. 'Tell me', he was saying, 'all about the marvels which Elisha did.'

⁵ Gehazi was just telling the king how Elisha had raised the dead child to life, when the woman whose son Elisha had raised lodged her claim with the king for her house and land. 'My lord king,' Gehazi said, 'this is the very woman, and that is her son whom Elisha raised to life.'

⁶ The king questioned the woman, who told him the story. The king then delegated one of the officials to her with this order, 'See that all her property is restored to her, and all the revenue from her land from the day she left the country until now.'

⁷ Elisha went to Damascus. Ben-Hadad king of Aram was ill, and was told, 'The man of God has come all the way to us.'

⁸ Then the king said to Hazael, 'Take a present with you and go and meet the man of God; consult Yahweh through him, and find out if I shall recover from my illness.'

⁹ So Hazael went to meet Elisha, taking with him as a present the best that Damascus could offer, a load for forty camels. He arrived and, presenting himself, said, 'Your son Ben-Hadad king of Aram has sent me to ask you, "Shall I recover from my illness?"

¹⁰ Elisha replied, 'Go and tell him, "You might recover," though Yahweh has shown me that he will certainly die.'

¹¹ Then the face of the man of God went rigid, and his look grew strangely fixed, and he wept.

¹² 'Why', Hazael asked, 'does my lord weep?' 'Because I know', Elisha replied, 'what harm you will do to the Israelites: you will burn down their fortresses, put their picked warriors to the sword, dash their little children to pieces, disembowel their pregnant women.'

¹³ 'But what is your servant?' Hazael said. 'How could this dog achieve anything so great?' 'In a vision from Yahweh,' Elisha replied, 'I have seen you king of Aram.'

¹⁴ Leaving Elisha, Hazael went back to his master who asked, 'What did Elisha say to you?' He replied, 'He told me that you might recover.'

¹⁵ Next day he took a blanket, soaked it in water, and spread it over his face. So died Ben-Hadad, and Hazael succeeded him.

¹⁶ In the fifth year of Jehoram son of Ahab, king of Israel, Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat became king of Judah.

¹⁷ He was thirty-two years old when he came to the throne, and he reigned for eight years in Jerusalem.

¹⁸ He followed the example of the kings of Israel as the House of Ahab were doing; he had married one of Ahab's daughters; and he did what is displeasing to Yahweh.

¹⁹ But Yahweh was unwilling to destroy Judah, because of his servant David, and was faithful to the promise which he had made him to leave him a lamp for ever in his presence.

²⁰ In his time Edom threw off the domination of Judah and set up a king for itself.

²¹ Jehoram crossed to Zair, and with him all the chariots . . . Under cover of dark, he and his chariot commanders broke through the Edomites surrounding him; the people fled to their tents.

²² Even so, Edom threw off the domination of Judah, remaining free to the present day. Libnah also revolted at that time.

²³ The rest of the history of Jehoram, his entire career, is this not recorded in the Book of the Annals of the Kings of Judah?

²⁴ Then Jehoram fell asleep with his ancestors and was buried with them in the City of David; his son Ahaziah succeeded him.

²⁵ In the twelfth year of Jehoram son of Ahab, king of Israel, Ahaziah son of Jehoram, king of Judah, became king.

²⁶ Ahaziah was twenty-two years old when he came to the throne, and he reigned for one year in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Athaliah granddaughter of Omri king of Israel.

²⁷ He followed the example of the House of Ahab and did what is displeasing to Yahweh, as the House of Ahab were doing, to whom he was related by marriage.

²⁸ He went with Jehoram son of Ahab to make war on Hazael king of Aram at Ramoth in Gilead, but the Aramaeans wounded Jehoram.

²⁹ King Jehoram returned to Jezreel to recover from the wounds which he had received at Ramah, fighting against Hazael king of Aram. Ahaziah son of Jehoram, king of Judah, went down to Jezreel to visit Jehoram son of Ahab because he was ailing.

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