The MacArthur Study Bible, NKJV

by John MacArthur

  33And while he was still talking with them, there was the messenger, coming down to him; and then the king said, “Surely this calamity is from the LORD; wwhy should I wait for the LORD any longer?”

  2 Kings 7

  The Syrians Flee

  1Then Elisha said, “Hear the word of the LORD. Thus says the LORD: a‘Tomorrow about this time a 1seah of fine flour shall be sold for a shekel, and two seahs of barley for a shekel, at the gate of Samaria.’ ”

  2bSo an officer on whose hand the king leaned answered the man of God and said, “Look, cif the LORD would make windows in heaven, could this thing be?” And he said, “In fact, you shall see it with your eyes, but you shall not eat of it.”

  The Syrians Flee

  3Now there were four leprous men dat the entrance of the gate; and they said to one another, “Why are we sitting here until we die?

  4“If we say, ‘We will enter the city,’ the famine is in the city, and we shall die there. And if we sit here, we die also. Now therefore, come, let us surrender to the earmy of the Syrians. If they keep us alive, we shall live; and if they kill us, we shall only die.”

  5And they rose at twilight to go to the camp of the Syrians; and when they had come to the outskirts of the Syrian camp, to their surprise no one was there.

  6For the LORD had caused the army of the Syrians fto hear the noise of chariots and the noise of horses—the noise of a great army; so they said to one another, “Look, the king of Israel has hired against us gthe kings of the Hittites and the kings of the Egyptians to attack us!”

  7Therefore they harose and fled at twilight, and left the camp intact—their tents, their horses, and their donkeys—and they fled for their lives.

  8And when these lepers came to the outskirts of the camp, they went into one tent and ate and drank, and carried from it silver and gold and clothing, and went and hid them; then they came back and entered another tent, and carried some from there also, and went and hid it.

  9Then they said to one another, “We are not doing right. This day is a day of good news, and we remain silent. If we wait until morning light, some 2punishment will come upon us. Now therefore, come, let us go and tell the king’s household.”

  10So they went and called to the gatekeepers of the city, and told them, saying, “We went to the Syrian camp, and surprisingly no one was there, not a human sound—only horses and donkeys tied, and the tents intact.”

  11And the gatekeepers called out, and they told it to the king’s household inside.

  12So the king arose in the night and said to his servants, “Let me now tell you what the Syrians have done to us. They know that we are ihungry; therefore they have gone out of the camp to 3hide themselves in the field, saying, ‘When they come out of the city, we shall catch them alive, and get into the city.’ ”

  13And one of his servants answered and said, “Please, let several men take five of the remaining horses which are left in the city. Look, they may either become like all the multitude of Israel that are left in it; or indeed, I say, they may become like all the multitude of Israel left from those who are consumed; so let us send them and see.”

  14Therefore they took two chariots with horses; and the king sent them in the direction of the Syrian army, saying, “Go and see.”

  15And they went after them to the Jordan; and indeed all the road was full of garments and weapons which the Syrians had thrown away in their haste. So the messengers returned and told the king.

  16Then the people went out and plundered the tents of the Syrians. So a seah of fine flour was sold for a shekel, and two seahs of barley for a shekel, jaccording to the word of the LORD.

  17Now the king had appointed the officer on whose hand he leaned to have charge of the gate. But the people trampled him in the gate, and he died, just kas the man of God had said, who spoke when the king came down to him.

  18So it happened just as the man of God had spoken to the king, saying, l“Two seahs of barley for a shekel, and a seah of fine flour for a shekel, shall be sold tomorrow about this time in the gate of Samaria.”

  19Then that officer had answered the man of God, and said, “Now look, if the LORD would make windows in heaven, could such a thing be?” And he had said, “In fact, you shall see it with your eyes, but you shall not eat of it.”

  20And so it happened to him, for the people trampled him in the gate, and he died.

  2 Kings 8

  The King Restores the Shunammite’s Land

  1Then Elisha spoke to the woman awhose son he had restored to life, saying, “Arise and go, you and your household, and stay wherever you can; for the LORD bhas called for a cfamine, and furthermore, it will come upon the land for seven years.”

  2So the woman arose and did according to the saying of the man of God, and she went with her household and dwelt in the land of the Philistines seven years.

  3It came to pass, at the end of seven years, that the woman returned from the land of the Philistines; and she went to make an appeal to the king for her house and for her land.

  4Then the king talked with dGehazi, the servant of the man of God, saying, “Tell me, please, all the great things Elisha has done.”

  5Now it happened, as he was telling the king how he had restored the dead to life, that there was the woman whose son he had erestored to life, appealing to the king for her house and for her land. And Gehazi said, “My lord, O king, this is the woman, and this is her son whom Elisha restored to life.”

  6And when the king asked the woman, she told him. So the king appointed a certain officer for her, saying, “Restore all that was hers, and all the proceeds of the field from the day that she left the land until now.”

  Death of Ben-Hadad

  7Then Elisha went to Damascus, and fBen-Hadad king of Syria was sick; and it was told him, saying, “The man of God has come here.”

  8And the king said to gHazael, h“Take a present in your hand, and go to meet the man of God, and iinquire of the LORD by him, saying, ‘Shall I recover from this disease?’ ”

  9So jHazael went to meet him and took a present with him, of every good thing of Damascus, forty camel-loads; and he came and stood before him, and said, “Your son Ben-Hadad king of Syria has sent me to you, saying, ‘Shall I recover from this disease?’ ”

  10And Elisha said to him, “Go, say to him, ‘You shall certainly recover.’ However the LORD has shown me that khe will really die.”

  11Then he 1set his countenance in a stare until he was ashamed; and the man of God lwept.

  12And Hazael said, “Why is my lord weeping?” He answered, “Because I know mthe evil that you will do to the children of Israel: Their strongholds you will set on fire, and their young men you will kill with the sword; and you nwill dash their children, and rip open their women with child.”

  13So Hazael said, “But what ois your servant—a dog, that he should do this gross thing?” And Elisha answered, p“The LORD has shown me that you will become king over Syria.”

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

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

  Jehoram Reigns in Judah

  (2 Chr. 21:1–20)

  16Now qin the fifth year of Joram the son of Ahab, king of Israel, Jehoshaphat having been king of Judah, rJehoram the son of Jehoshaphat began to reign as 2king of Judah.

  17He was sthirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem.

  18And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, just as the house of Ahab had done, for tthe daughter of Ahab was his wife; and he did evil in the sight of the LORD.

  19Yet the LORD would not destroy Judah, for the sake of His servant David, uas He promised him to give a lamp to him and his sons forever.

  20In his days vEdom revolte
d against Judah’s authority, wand made a king over themselves.

  21So 3Joram went to Zair, and all his chariots with him. Then he rose by night and attacked the Edomites who had surrounded him and the captains of the chariots; and the troops fled to their tents.

  22Thus Edom has been in revolt against Judah’s authority to this day. xAnd Libnah revolted at that time.

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

  24So Joram 4rested with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the City of David. Then yAhaziah5 his son reigned in his place.

  Ahaziah Reigns in Judah

  (2 Chr. 22:1–6)

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

  26Ahaziah was ztwenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Athaliah the granddaughter of Omri, king of Israel.

  27aAnd he walked in the way of the house of Ahab, and did evil in the sight of the LORD, like the house of Ahab, for he was the son-in-law of the house of Ahab.

  28Now he went bwith Joram the son of Ahab to war against Hazael king of Syria at cRamoth Gilead; and the Syrians wounded Joram.

  29Then dKing Joram went back to Jezreel to recover from the wounds which the Syrians had inflicted on him at 6Ramah, when he fought against Hazael king of Syria. eAnd Ahaziah the son of Jehoram, king of Judah, went down to see Joram the son of Ahab in Jezreel, because he was sick.

  2 Kings 9

  Jehu Anointed King of Israel

  1And Elisha the prophet called one of athe sons of the prophets, and said to him, b“Get1 yourself ready, take this flask of oil in your hand, cand go to Ramoth Gilead.

  2“Now when you arrive at that place, look there for Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat, the son of Nimshi, and go in and make him rise up from among dhis associates, and take him to an inner room.

  3“Then etake the flask of oil, and pour it on his head, and say, ‘Thus says the LORD: “I have anointed you king over Israel.” ’ Then open the door and flee, and do not delay.”

  4So the young man, the servant of the prophet, went to Ramoth Gilead.

  5And when he arrived, there were the captains of the army sitting; and he said, “I have a message for you, Commander.” Jehu said, “For which one of us?” And he said, “For you, Commander.”

  6Then he arose and went into the house. And he poured the oil on his head, and said to him, f“Thus says the LORD God of Israel: ‘I have anointed you king over the people of the LORD, over Israel.

  7‘You shall strike down the house of Ahab your master, that I may gavenge the blood of My servants the prophets, and the blood of all the servants of the LORD, hat the hand of Jezebel.

  8‘For the whole house of Ahab shall perish; and iI will cut off from Ahab all jthe males in Israel, both kbond and free.

  9‘So I will make the house of Ahab like the house of lJeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of mBaasha the son of Ahijah.

  10n‘The dogs shall eat Jezebel on the plot of ground at Jezreel, and there shall be none to bury her.’ ” And he opened the door and fled.

  11Then Jehu came out to the servants of his master, and one said to him, “Is all well? Why did othis madman come to you?” And he said to them, “You know the man and his babble.”

  12And they said, “A lie! Tell us now.” So he said, “Thus and thus he spoke to me, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD: “I have anointed you king over Israel.” ’ ”

  13Then each man hastened pto take his garment and put it 2under him on the top of the steps; and they blew trumpets, saying, “Jehu is king!”

  Joram of Israel Killed

  14So Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat, the son of Nimshi, conspired against qJoram. (Now Joram had been defending Ramoth Gilead, he and all Israel, against Hazael king of Syria.

  15But rKing 3Joram had returned to Jezreel to recover from the wounds which the Syrians had inflicted on him when he fought with Hazael king of Syria.) And Jehu said, “If you are so minded, let no one leave or escape from the city to go and tell it in Jezreel.”

  16So Jehu rode in a chariot and went to Jezreel, for Joram was laid up there; sand Ahaziah king of Judah had come down to see Joram.

  17Now a watchman stood on the tower in Jezreel, and he saw the company of Jehu as he came, and said, “I see a company of men.” And Joram said, “Get a horseman and send him to meet them, and let him say, 4‘Is it peace?’ ”

  18So the horseman went to meet him, and said, “Thus says the king: ‘Is it peace?’ ” And Jehu said, “What have you to do with peace? 5Turn around and follow me.” So the watchman reported, saying, “The messenger went to them, but is not coming back.”

  19Then he sent out a second horseman who came to them, and said, “Thus says the king: ‘Is it peace?’ ” And Jehu answered, “What have you to do with peace? Turn around and follow me.”

  20So the watchman reported, saying, “He went up to them and is not coming back; and the driving is like the driving of Jehu the son of Nimshi, for he drives furiously!”

  21Then Joram said, 6“Make ready.” And his chariot was made ready. Then tJoram king of Israel and Ahaziah king of Judah went out, each in his chariot; and they went out to meet Jehu, and 7met him uon the property of Naboth the Jezreelite.

  22Now it happened, when Joram saw Jehu, that he said, “Is it peace, Jehu?” So he answered, “What peace, as long as the harlotries of your mother Jezebel and her witchcraft are so many?”

  23Then Joram turned around and fled, and said to Ahaziah, “Treachery, Ahaziah!”

  24Now Jehu 8drew his bow with full strength and shot Jehoram between his arms; and the arrow came out at his heart, and he sank down in his chariot.

  25Then Jehu said to Bidkar his captain, “Pick him up, and throw him into the tract of the field of Naboth the Jezreelite; for remember, when you and I were riding together behind Ahab his father, that vthe LORD laid this wburden upon him:

  26‘Surely I saw yesterday the blood of Naboth and the blood of his sons,’ says the LORD, x‘and I will repay you 9in this plot,’ says the LORD. Now therefore, take and throw him on the plot of ground, according to the word of the LORD.”

  Ahaziah of Judah Killed

  (2 Chr. 22:7–9)

  27But when Ahaziah king of Judah saw this, he fled by the road to 10Beth Haggan. So Jehu pursued him, and said, 11“Shoot him also in the chariot.” And they shot him at the Ascent of Gur, which is by Ibleam. Then he fled to yMegiddo, and died there.

  28And his servants carried him in the chariot to Jerusalem, and buried him in his tomb with his fathers in the City of David.

  29In the eleventh year of Joram the son of Ahab, Ahaziah had become king over Judah.

  Jezebel’s Violent Death

  30Now when Jehu had come to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it; zand she put paint on her eyes and adorned her head, and looked through a window.

  31Then, as Jehu entered at the gate, she said, a“Is it peace, Zimri, murderer of your master?”

  32And he looked up at the window, and said, “Who is on my side? Who?” So two or three eunuchs looked out at him.

  33Then he said, “Throw her down.” So they threw her down, and some of her blood spattered on the wall and on the horses; and he trampled her underfoot.

  34And when he had gone in, he ate and drank. Then he said, “Go now, see to this accursed woman, and bury her, for bshe was a king’s daughter.”

  35So they went to bury her, but they found no more of her than the skull and the feet and the palms of her hands.

  36Therefore they came back and told him. And he said, “This is the word of the LORD, which He spoke by His servant Elijah the Tishbite, saying, c‘On the plot of ground at Jezreel dogs shall eat the flesh of Jezebel;

  37‘and the corpse of Jezebel shall be das refuse on the surface of the field, in the plot at Jezreel, so that they shall not say, “Her
e lies Jezebel.” ’ ”

  2 Kings 10

  Ahab’s Seventy Sons Killed

  1Now Ahab had seventy sons in Samaria. And Jehu wrote and sent letters to Samaria, to the rulers of 1Jezreel, to the elders, and to 2those who reared Ahab’s sons, saying:

  2Now as soon as this letter comes to you, since your master’s sons are with you, and you have chariots and horses, a fortified city also, and weapons,

  3choose the 3best qualified of your master’s sons, set him on his father’s throne, and fight for your master’s house.

  4But they were exceedingly afraid, and said, “Look, atwo kings could not 4stand up to him; how then can we stand?”

  5And he who was in charge of the house, and he who was in charge of the city, the elders also, and those who reared the sons, sent to Jehu, saying, “We are your servants, we will do all you tell us; but we will not make anyone king. Do what is good in your sight.”

  6Then he wrote a second letter to them, saying:

  If you are for me and will obey my voice, take the heads of the men, your master’s sons, and come to me at Jezreel by this time tomorrow.

  Now the king’s sons, seventy persons, were with the great men of the city, who were rearing them.

  7So it was, when the letter came to them, that they took the king’s sons and bslaughtered seventy persons, put their heads in baskets and sent them to him at Jezreel.

  8Then a messenger came and told him, saying, “They have brought the heads of the king’s sons.” And he said, “Lay them in two heaps at the entrance of the gate until morning.”

  9So it was, in the morning, that he went out and stood, and said to all the people, “You are righteous. Indeed cI conspired against my master and killed him; but who killed all these?

  10“Know now that nothing shall dfall to the earth of the word of the LORD which the LORD spoke concerning the house of Ahab; for the LORD has done what He spoke eby His servant Elijah.”

  11So Jehu killed all who remained of the house of Ahab in Jezreel, and all his great men and his close acquaintances and his priests, until he left him none remaining.