Ahaziah’s Forty-two Brothers Killed
12And he arose and departed and went to Samaria. On the way, at 5Beth Eked of the Shepherds,
13fJehu met with the brothers of Ahaziah king of Judah, and said, “Who are you?” So they answered, “We are the brothers of Ahaziah; we have come down to greet the sons of the king and the sons of the queen mother.”
14And he said, “Take them alive!” So they took them alive, and gkilled them at the well of 6Beth Eked, forty-two men; and he left none of them.
The Rest of Ahab’s Family Killed
15Now when he departed from there, he 7met hJehonadab the son of iRechab, coming to meet him; and he greeted him and said to him, “Is your heart right, as my heart is toward your heart?” And Jehonadab answered, “It is.” Jehu said, “If it is, jgive me your hand.” So he gave him his hand, and he took him up to him into the chariot.
16Then he said, “Come with me, and see my kzeal for the LORD.” So they had him ride in his chariot.
17And when he came to Samaria, lhe killed all who remained to Ahab in Samaria, till he had destroyed them, according to the word of the LORD mwhich He spoke to Elijah.
Worshipers of Baal Killed
18Then Jehu gathered all the people together, and said to them, n“Ahab served Baal a little, Jehu will serve him much.
19“Now therefore, call to me all the oprophets of Baal, all his servants, and all his priests. Let no one be missing, for I have a great sacrifice for Baal. Whoever is missing shall not live.” But Jehu acted deceptively, with the intent of destroying the worshipers of Baal.
20And Jehu said, 8“Proclaim a solemn assembly for Baal.” So they proclaimed it.
21Then Jehu sent throughout all Israel; and all the worshipers of Baal came, so that there was not a man left who did not come. So they came into the 9temple of Baal, and the ptemple of Baal was full from one end to the other.
22And he said to the one in charge of the wardrobe, “Bring out vestments for all the worshipers of Baal.” So he brought out vestments for them.
23Then Jehu and Jehonadab the son of Rechab went into the temple of Baal, and said to the worshipers of Baal, “Search and see that no servants of the LORD are here with you, but only the worshipers of Baal.”
24So they went in to offer sacrifices and burnt offerings. Now Jehu had appointed for himself eighty men on the outside, and had said, “If any of the men whom I have brought into your hands escapes, whoever lets him escape, it shall be qhis life for the life of the other.”
25Now it happened, as soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt offering, that Jehu said to the guard and to the captains, “Go in and kill them; let no one come out!” And they killed them with the edge of the sword; then the guards and the officers threw them out, and went into the 10inner room of the temple of Baal.
26And they brought the rsacred pillars out of the temple of Baal and burned them.
27Then they broke down the sacred pillar of Baal, and tore down the 11temple of Baal and smade it a refuse dump to this day.
28Thus Jehu destroyed Baal from Israel.
29However Jehu did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who had made Israel sin, that is, from tthe golden calves that were at Bethel and Dan.
30And the LORD usaid to Jehu, “Because you have done well in doing what is right in My sight, and have done to the house of Ahab all that was in My heart, vyour sons shall sit on the throne of Israel to the fourth generation.”
31But Jehu 12took no heed to walk in the law of the LORD God of Israel with all his heart; for he did not depart from wthe sins of Jeroboam, who had made Israel sin.
Death of Jehu
32In those days the LORD began to cut off parts of Israel; and xHazael conquered them in all the territory of Israel
33from the Jordan eastward: all the land of Gilead—Gad, Reuben, and Manasseh—from yAroer, which is by the River Arnon, including zGilead and Bashan.
34Now the rest of the acts of Jehu, all that he did, and all his might, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?
35So Jehu 13rested with his fathers, and they buried him in Samaria. Then aJehoahaz his son reigned in his place.
36And the period that Jehu reigned over Israel in Samaria was twenty-eight years.
2 Kings 11
Athaliah Reigns in Judah
(2 Chr. 22:10–12)
1When aAthaliah bthe mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was cdead, she arose and destroyed all the royal heirs.
2But 1Jehosheba, the daughter of King Joram, sister of dAhaziah, took 2Joash the son of Ahaziah, and stole him away from among the king’s sons who were being murdered; and they hid him and his nurse in the bedroom, from Athaliah, so that he was not killed.
3So he was hidden with her in the house of the LORD for six years, while Athaliah reigned over the land.
Joash Crowned King of Judah
(2 Chr. 23:1–11)
4In ethe seventh year Jehoiada sent and brought the captains of hundreds—of the bodyguards and the 3escorts—and brought them into the house of the LORD to him. And he made a covenant with them and took an oath from them in the house of the LORD, and showed them the king’s son.
5Then he commanded them, saying, “This is what you shall do: One-third of you who 4come on duty fon the Sabbath shall be keeping watch over the king’s house,
6“one-third shall be at the gate of Sur, and one-third at the gate behind the escorts. You shall keep the watch of the house, lest it be broken down.
7“The two 5contingents of you who go off duty on the Sabbath shall keep the watch of the house of the LORD for the king.
8“But you shall surround the king on all sides, every man with his weapons in his hand; and whoever comes within range, let him be put to death. You are to be with the king as he goes out and as he comes in.”
9gSo the captains of the hundreds did according to all that Jehoiada the priest commanded. Each of them took his men who were to be on duty on the Sabbath, with those who were going off duty on the Sabbath, and came to Jehoiada the priest.
10And the priest gave the captains of hundreds the spears and shields which had belonged to King David, hthat were in the temple of the LORD.
11Then the escorts stood, every man with his weapons in his hand, all around the king, from the right 6side of the temple to the left side of the temple, by the altar and the house.
12And he brought out the king’s son, put the crown on him, and gave him the iTestimony;7 they made him king and anointed him, and they clapped their hands and said, j“Long live the king!”
Death of Athaliah
(2 Chr. 23:12—24:1)
13kNow when Athaliah heard the noise of the escorts and the people, she came to the people in the temple of the LORD.
14When she looked, there was the king standing by la pillar according to custom; and the leaders and the trumpeters were by the king. All the people of the land were rejoicing and blowing trumpets. So Athaliah tore her clothes and cried out, “Treason! Treason!”
15And Jehoiada the priest commanded the captains of the hundreds, the officers of the army, and said to them, “Take her outside 8under guard, and slay with the sword whoever follows her.” For the priest had said, “Do not let her be killed in the house of the LORD.”
16So they seized her; and she went by way of the horses’ entrance into the king’s house, and there she was killed.
17mThen Jehoiada nmade a covenant between the LORD, the king, and the people, that they should be the LORD’s people, and also obetween the king and the people.
18And all the people of the land went to the ptemple of Baal, and tore it down. They thoroughly qbroke in pieces its altars and 9images, and rkilled Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars. And sthe priest appointed 10officers over the house of the LORD.
19Then he took the captains of hundreds, the bodyguards, the escorts, and all the people of the land; and they brought the king down from the house of t
he LORD, and went by way of the gate of the escorts to the king’s house. Then he sat on the throne of the kings.
20So all the people of the land rejoiced; and the city was quiet, for they had slain Athaliah with the sword in the king’s house.
21Jehoash was tseven years old when he became king.
2 Kings 12
Jehoash Repairs the Temple
(2 Chr. 24:1–14)
1In the seventh year of Jehu, aJehoash1 became king, and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Zibiah of Beersheba.
2Jehoash did what was right in the sight of the LORD all the days in which bJehoiada the priest instructed him.
3But cthe 2high places were not taken away; the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places.
4And Jehoash said to the priests, d“All the money of the dedicated gifts that are brought into the house of the LORD—each man’s ecensus3 money, each man’s fassessment money—and all the money that 4a man gpurposes in his heart to bring into the house of the LORD,
5“let the priests take it themselves, each from his constituency; and let them repair the 5damages of the temple, wherever any dilapidation is found.”
6Now it was so, by the twenty-third year of King Jehoash, hthat the priests had not repaired the damages of the temple.
7iSo King Jehoash called Jehoiada the priest and the other priests, and said to them, “Why have you not repaired the damages of the temple? Now therefore, do not take more money from your constituency, but deliver it for repairing the damages of the temple.”
8And the priests agreed that they would neither receive more money from the people, nor repair the damages of the temple.
9Then Jehoiada the priest took ja chest, bored a hole in its lid, and set it beside the altar, on the right side as one comes into the house of the LORD; and the priests who 6kept the door put kthere all the money brought into the house of the LORD.
10So it was, whenever they saw that there was much money in the chest, that the king’s lscribe7 and the high priest came up and 8put it in bags, and counted the money that was found in the house of the LORD.
11Then they gave the money, which had been apportioned, into the hands of those who did the work, who had the oversight of the house of the LORD; and they 9paid it out to the carpenters and builders who worked on the house of the LORD,
12and to masons and stonecutters, and for buying timber and hewn stone, to mrepair the damage of the house of the LORD, and for all that was paid out to repair the temple.
13However nthere were not made for the house of the LORD basins of silver, trimmers, sprinkling-bowls, trumpets, any articles of gold or articles of silver, from the money brought into the house of the LORD.
14But they gave that to the workmen, and they repaired the house of the LORD with it.
15Moreover othey did not require an account from the men into whose hand they delivered the money to be paid to workmen, for they dealt faithfully.
16pThe money from the trespass offerings and the money from the sin offerings was not brought into the house of the LORD. qIt belonged to the priests.
Hazael Threatens Jerusalem
17rHazael king of Syria went up and fought against Gath, and took it; then sHazael set his face to 10go up to Jerusalem.
18And Jehoash king of Judah ttook all the sacred things that his fathers, Jehoshaphat and Jehoram and Ahaziah, kings of Judah, had dedicated, and his own sacred things, and all the gold found in the treasuries of the house of the LORD and in the king’s house, and sent them to Hazael king of Syria. Then he went away from Jerusalem.
Death of Joash
(2 Chr. 24:23–27)
19Now the rest of the acts of 11Joash, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?
20And uhis servants arose and formed a conspiracy, and killed Joash in the house of 12the Millo, which goes down to Silla.
21For 13Jozachar the son of Shimeath and Jehozabad the son of 14Shomer, his servants, struck him. So he died, and they buried him with his fathers in the City of David. Then vAmaziah his son reigned in his place.
2 Kings 13
Jehoahaz Reigns in Israel
1In the twenty-third year of aJoash1 the son of Ahaziah, king of Judah, bJehoahaz the son of Jehu became king over Israel in Samaria, and reigned seventeen years.
2And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, and followed the csins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who had made Israel sin. He did not 2depart from them.
3Then dthe anger of the LORD was aroused against Israel, and He delivered them into the hand of eHazael king of Syria, and into the hand of fBen-Hadad the son of Hazael, all their days.
4So Jehoahaz gpleaded with the LORD, and the LORD listened to him; for hHe saw the oppression of Israel, because the king of Syria oppressed them.
5iThen the LORD gave Israel a deliverer, so that they escaped from under the hand of the Syrians; and the children of Israel dwelt in their tents as before.
6Nevertheless they did not depart from the sins of the house of Jeroboam, who had made Israel sin, but walked in them; jand the 3wooden image also remained in Samaria.
7For He left of the army of Jehoahaz only fifty horsemen, ten chariots, and ten thousand foot soldiers; for the king of Syria had destroyed them kand made them llike the dust at threshing. The Assyrian Empire
8Now the rest of the acts of Jehoahaz, all that he did, and his might, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?
9So Jehoahaz 4rested with his fathers, and they buried him in Samaria. Then 5Joash his son reigned in his place.
Jehoash Reigns in Israel
10In the thirty-seventh year of Joash king of Judah, 6Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz became king over Israel in Samaria, and reigned sixteen years.
11And he did evil in the sight of the LORD. He did not depart from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel sin, but walked in them.
12mNow the rest of the acts of Joash, nall that he did, and ohis might with which he fought against Amaziah king of Judah, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?
13So Joash prested7 with his fathers. Then Jeroboam sat on his throne. And Joash was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel.
Death of Elisha
14Elisha had become sick with the illness of which he would die. Then Joash the king of Israel came down to him, and wept over his face, and said, “O my father, my father, qthe chariots of Israel and their horsemen!”
15And Elisha said to him, “Take a bow and some arrows.” So he took himself a bow and some arrows.
16Then he said to the king of Israel, “Put your hand on the bow.” So he put his hand on it, and Elisha put his hands on the king’s hands.
17And he said, “Open the east window”; and he opened it. Then Elisha said, “Shoot”; and he shot. And he said, “The arrow of the LORD’s deliverance and the arrow of deliverance from Syria; for you must strike the Syrians at rAphek till you have destroyed them.”
18Then he said, “Take the arrows”; so he took them. And he said to the king of Israel, “Strike the ground”; so he struck three times, and stopped.
19And the man of God was angry with him, and said, “You should have struck five or six times; then you would have struck Syria till you had destroyed it! sBut now you will strike Syria only three times.”
20Then Elisha 8died, and they buried him. And the traiding bands from Moab invaded the land in the spring of the year.
21So it was, as they were burying a man, that suddenly they spied a band of raiders; and they put the man in the tomb of Elisha; and when the man was let down and touched the bones of Elisha, he revived and stood on his feet.
Israel Recaptures Cities from Syria
22And uHazael king of Syria oppressed Israel all the days of Jehoahaz.
23But the LORD was vgracious to them, had compassion on them, and wregarded them, xbecause of His covenant with Abraham
, Isaac, and Jacob, and would not yet destroy them or cast them from His presence.
24Now Hazael king of Syria died. Then Ben-Hadad his son reigned in his place.
25And 9Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz recaptured from the hand of Ben-Hadad, the son of Hazael, the cities which he had taken out of the hand of Jehoahaz his father by war. yThree times Joash defeated him and recaptured the cities of Israel.
2 Kings 14
Amaziah Reigns in Judah
(2 Chr. 25:1—26:2)
1In athe second year of Joash the son of Jehoahaz, king of Israel, bAmaziah the son of Joash, king of Judah, became king.
2He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jehoaddan of Jerusalem.
3And he did what was right in the sight of the LORD, yet not like his father David; he did everything cas his father Joash had done.
4dHowever the 1high places were not taken away, and the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places.
5Now it happened, as soon as the kingdom was established in his hand, that he executed his servants ewho had murdered his father the king.
6But the children of the murderers he did not execute, according to what is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, in which the LORD commanded, saying, f“Fathers shall not be put to death for their children, nor shall children be put to death for their fathers; but a person shall be put to death for his own sin.”
7gHe killed ten thousand Edomites in hthe Valley of Salt, and took 2Sela by war, iand called its name Joktheel to this day.
8jThen Amaziah sent messengers to 3Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz, the son of Jehu, king of Israel, saying, “Come, let us face one another in battle.”
9And Jehoash king of Israel sent to Amaziah king of Judah, saying, k“The thistle that was in Lebanon sent to the lcedar that was in Lebanon, saying, ‘Give your daughter to my son as wife’; and a wild beast that was in Lebanon passed by and trampled the thistle.
The MacArthur Study Bible, NKJV Page 184