II Kings 8

¹Now Elisha had said to the woman whose son he had given back to life, Go now, with all the people of your house, and get a living-place for yourselves wherever you are able; for by the word of the Lord, there will be great need of food in the land; and this will go on for seven years.

²So the woman got up and did as the man of God said; and she and the people of her house were living in the land of the Philistines for seven years.

³And when the seven years were ended, the woman came back from the land of the Philistines and went to the king with a request for her house and her land.

⁴Now the king was talking with Gehazi, the servant of the man of God, saying, Now, give me an account of all the great things Elisha has done.

⁵And while he was giving the king the story of how Elisha had given life to the dead, the woman whose son had come back to life came to the king with a request for her house and her land. And Gehazi said, My lord king, this is the woman and this is her son, whose life Elisha gave back to him.

⁶And in answer to the king's questions, the woman gave him all the story. So the king gave orders to one of his unsexed servants, saying, Give her back all her property, and all the produce of her fields from the day when she went away from the land up till now.

⁷And Elisha came to Damascus; and Ben-hadad, king of Aram, was ill; and they said to him, The man of God has come.

⁸Then the king said to Hazael, Take an offering with you, and go to see the man of God and get directions from the Lord by him, saying, Am I going to get better from my disease?

⁹So Hazael went to see him, taking with him forty camels with offerings on their backs of every sort of good thing from Damascus; and when he came before him, he said, Your son Ben-hadad, king of Aram, has sent me to you, saying, Will I get better from this disease?

¹⁰And Elisha said to him, Go, say to him, You will certainly get better; but the Lord has made it clear to me that only death is before him.

¹¹And he kept his eyes fixed on him till he was shamed, and the man of God was overcome with weeping.

¹²And Hazael said, Why is my lord weeping? Then he said in answer, Because I see the evil which you will do to the children of Israel: burning down their strong towns, putting their young men to death with the sword, smashing their little ones against the stones, and cutting open the women who are with child.

¹³And Hazael said, How is it possible that your servant, who is only a dog, will do this great thing? And Elisha said, The Lord has made it clear to me that you will be king over Aram.

¹⁴Then he went away from Elisha and came in to his master, who said to him, What did Elisha say to you? And his answer was, He said that you would certainly get well.

¹⁵Now on the day after, Hazael took the bed-cover, and making it wet with water, put it over Ben-hadad's face, causing his death: and Hazael became king in his place.

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

¹⁷He was thirty-two years old when he became king; and he was ruling in Jerusalem for eight years.

¹⁸He went in the ways of the kings of Israel, as the family of Ahab did: for the daughter of Ahab was his wife; and he did evil in the eyes of the Lord.

¹⁹But it was not the Lord's purpose to send destruction on Judah, because of David his servant, to whom he had given his word that he would have a light for ever.

²⁰In his time, Edom made themselves free from the rule of Judah, and took a king for themselves.

²¹Then Joram went over to Zair, with all his war-carriages; ... made an attack by night on the Edomites, whose forces were all round him, ... the captains of the war-carriages; and the people went in flight to their tents.

²²So Edom made themselves free from the rule of Judah to this day. And at the same time, Libnah made itself free.

²³Now the rest of the acts of Joram, and all he did, are they not recorded in the book of the history of the kings of Judah?

²⁴And Joram went to rest with his fathers and was put into the earth with his fathers in the town of David: and Ahaziah his son became king in his place.

²⁵In the twelfth year that Joram, the son of Ahab, was king of Israel, Ahaziah, the son of Jehoram, king of Judah, became king;

²⁶Ahaziah was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he was ruling in Jerusalem for one year. His mother's name was Athaliah, the daughter of Omri, king of Israel.

²⁷He went in the ways of the family of Ahab, and did evil in the eyes of the Lord as the family of Ahab did, for he was a son-in-law of the family of Ahab.

²⁸He went with Joram, the son of Ahab, to make war on Hazael, king of Aram, at Ramoth-gilead: and Joram was wounded by the Aramaeans.

²⁹So King Joram went back to Jezreel to get well from the wounds which the bowmen had given him at Ramah, when he was fighting against Hazael, king of Aram. And Ahaziah, the son of Jehoram, king of Judah, went down to see Joram, the son of Ahab, in Jezreel, because he was ill.

II Kings 8

¹Now Elisha had spoken to the woman, whose son he had restored to life, saying, "Arise, and go, you and your household, and stay for a while wherever you can; for the Lord has called for a famine. It shall also come on the land seven years."

²The woman arose, and did according to the word of the man of God. She went with her household, and lived in the land of the Philistines seven years.

³It happened at the seven years' end, that the woman returned out of the land of the Philistines. Then she went forth to cry to the king for her house and for her land.

⁴Now the king was talking with Gehazi the servant of the man of God, saying, "Please tell me all the great things that Elisha has done."

⁵It happened, as he was telling the king how he had restored to life him who was dead, that behold, the woman, whose son he had restored to life, cried to the king for her house and for her land. Gehazi said, "My lord, O king, this is the woman, and this is her son, whom Elisha restored to life."

⁶When the king asked the woman, she told him. So the king appointed to her a certain officer, saying, "Restore all that was hers, and all the fruits of the field since the day that she left the land, even until now."

⁷Elisha came to Damascus; and Benhadad the king of Syria was sick. It was told him, saying, "The man of God has come here."

⁸The king said to Hazael, "Take a present in your hand, and go, meet the man of God, and inquire of the Lord by him, saying, 'Will I recover from this sickness?'"

⁹So Hazael went to meet him, and took a present with him, even of every good thing of Damascus, forty camels' burden, and came and stood before him, and said, "Your son Benhadad king of Syria has sent me to you, saying, 'Will I recover from this sickness?'"

¹⁰Elisha said to him, "Go, tell him, 'You shall surely recover;' however the Lord has shown me that he shall surely die."

¹¹He settled his gaze steadfastly on him, until he was ashamed. Then the man of God wept.

¹²Hazael said, "Why do you weep, my lord?" He answered, "Because I know the evil that you will do to the children of Israel. You will set their strongholds on fire, and you will kill their young men with the sword, and will dash in pieces their little ones, and rip up their women with child."

¹³Hazael said, "But what is your servant, who is but a dog, that he should do this great thing?" Elisha answered, "The Lord has shown me that you will be king over Syria."

¹⁴Then he departed from Elisha, and came to his master, who said to him, "What did Elisha say to you?" He answered, "He told me that you would surely recover."

¹⁵It happened on the next day, that he took a thick cloth, dipped it in water, and spread it on his face, so that he died. Then Hazael reigned in his place.

¹⁶In the fifth year of Joram the son of Ahab king of Israel, Jehoshaphat being king of Judah then, Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah began to reign.

¹⁷He was thirty-two years old when he began to reign. He reigned eight years in Jerusalem.

¹⁸He walked in the way of the kings of Israel, as did the house of Ahab; for he had the daughter of Ahab as wife. He did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord.

¹⁹However the Lord would not destroy Judah, for David his servant's sake, as he promised him to give to him a lamp for his children always.

²⁰In his days Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah, and made a king over themselves.

²¹Then Joram passed over to Zair, and all his chariots with him: and he rose up by night, and struck the Edomites who surrounded him, and the captains of the chariots; and the people fled to their tents.

²²So Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah to this day. Then Libnah revolted at the same time.

²³The rest of the acts of Joram, and all that he did, aren't they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?

²⁴Joram slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David; and Ahaziah his son reigned in his place.

²⁵In the twelfth year of Joram the son of Ahab king of Israel, Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah began to reign.

²⁶Twenty-two years old was Ahaziah when he began to reign; and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Athaliah the daughter of Omri king of Israel.

²⁷He walked in the way of the house of Ahab, and did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, as did the house of Ahab; for he was the son-in-law of the house of Ahab.

²⁸He went with Joram the son of Ahab to war against Hazael king of Syria at Ramoth Gilead: and the Syrians wounded Joram.

²⁹King Joram returned to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds which the Syrians had given him at Ramah, when he fought against Hazael king of Syria. Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah went down to see Joram the son of Ahab in Jezreel, because he was sick.