1   Elisha said to the woman whose son he had restored to life, ‘Go away at once with your household and find lodging where you can, for the Lord has decreed a seven years’ famine and it has already come upon the land.’ 2   The woman acted at once on the word of the man of God and went away with her household; and she stayed in the Philistine country for seven years. 3   When she came back at the end of the seven years, she sought an audience of the king to appeal for the return of her house and land. 4   Now the king was questioning Gehazi, the servant of the man of God, about all the great things Elisha had done; and, 5   as he was describing to the king how he had brought the dead to life, the selfsame woman began appealing to the king for her house and her land. ‘My lord king,’ said Gehazi, ‘this is the very woman, and this is her son whom Elisha brought to life.’ 6   The king asked the woman about it, and she told him. Then he entrusted the case to a eunuch and ordered him to restore all her property to her, with all the revenues from her land from the time she left the country till that day.

7   Elisha came to Damascus, at a time when Ben-hadad king of Aram was ill; 8   and when he was told that the man of God had arrived, he bade Hazael take a gift with him and go to the man of God and inquire of the Lord through him whether he would recover from his illness. 9   Hazael went, taking with him as a gift all kinds of wares of Damascus, forty camel-loads. When he came into the prophet's presence, he said, ‘Your son Ben-hadad king of Aram has sent me to you to ask whether he will recover from his illness.’ 10   ‘Go and tell him that he will recover,’ he answered; ‘but the Lord has revealed to me that in fact he will die.’ 11   The man of God stood there with set face like a man stunned, until he could bear it no longer; then he wept. 12   ‘Why do you weep, my lord?’ said Hazael. He answered, ‘Because I know the harm you will do to the Israelites: you will set their fortresses on fire and put their young men to the sword; you will dash their children to the ground and you will rip open their pregnant women.’ 13   But Hazael said, ‘But I am a dog, a mere nobody; how can I do this great thing?’ Elisha answered, ‘The Lord has revealed to me that you will be king of Aram.’ 14   Hazael left Elisha and returned to his master, who asked him what Elisha had said.

Elisha and the end of the house of Ahab 15   ‘He told me that you would recover’, he replied. But the next day he took a blanket and, after dipping it in water, laid it over the king's face, and he died; and Hazael succeeded him.

16   In the fifth year of Jehoram son of Ahab king of Israel, ^note Joram son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah became king. 17    ^noteHe was thirty-two years old when he came to the throne, and he reigned in Jerusalem for eight years. 18   He followed the practices of the kings of Israel as the house of Ahab had done, for he had married Ahab's daughter; and he did what was wrong in the eyes of the Lord. 19   But for his servant David's sake the Lord was unwilling to destroy Judah, since he had promised to give him and ^note his sons a flame, to burn for all time.

20   During his reign Edom revolted against Judah and set up its own king. 21   Joram crossed over to Zair with all his chariots. He and his chariot-commanders set out by night, but they were surrounded by the Edomites and defeated, ^note whereupon the people fled to their tents. 22   So Edom has remained independent of Judah to this day; Libnah also revolted at the same time. 23   The other acts and events of Joram's reign are recorded in the annals of the kings of Judah. 24   So Joram rested with his forefathers and was buried with them in the city of David, and his son Ahaziah succeeded him.

25    ^noteIn the twelfth year of Jehoram son of Ahab king of Israel, Ahaziah son of Joram king of Judah became king. 26   Ahaziah was twenty-two years old when he came to the throne, and he reigned in Jerusalem for one year; his mother was Athaliah granddaughter ^note of Omri king of Israel. 27   He followed the practices of the house of Ahab and did what was wrong in the eyes of the Lord like the house of Ahab, for he was connected with that house by marriage. 28   He allied himself with Jehoram son of Ahab to fight against Hazael king of Aram at Ramoth-gilead; but King Jehoram was wounded by the Aramaeans, 29   and returned to Jezreel to recover from the wounds which were inflicted on him at Ramoth ^note in battle with Hazael king of Aram; and because of his illness Ahaziah son of Joram king of Judah went down to Jezreel to visit him.

Previous section

Next section