2 Kings 8

8 ¹Elisha had told the woman whose son he revived, "Rise, go, you and your household, and stay wherever you can, for our Father has called for the famine, coming on the land seven years."

²The woman rose, did as the man of our Father said, and went, she and her household, to live in Philistine land seven years. ³After seven years the woman returned from Philistia and went to plead with the king for her house and land. ⁴The king was talking with Gehazi, servant of the man of our Father: "Tell me all the great things Elisha has done." ⁵While Gehazi was telling the king how Elisha revived the dead, the woman whose son he revived came crying to the king for her house and field. Gehazi said, "My lord the king, this is the woman, and this is her son Elisha revived."

⁶The king asked the woman, and she explained. So he assigned her one official: "Restore everything of hers, plus all the field's produce from the day she left the land until now."

The Father Reveals Hazael's Rise

⁷Elisha came to Damascus. Ben-hadad king of Aram, being sick, was told, "The man of God has come here."

⁸The king told Hazael, "Take a gift, go meet the man of God, and ask the LORD through him: Will I recover from this sickness?"

⁹Hazael went to meet him, taking a gift of all Damascus's good things, forty camel-loads. He stood before Elisha: "Your son Ben-hadad king of Aram sent me to ask, 'Will I recover from this illness?'"

¹⁰Elisha said, "Go tell him, 'You will surely recover,' but our Father showed me he will certainly die." ¹¹He held his gaze until Hazael was ashamed. Then the man of our Father wept.

¹²"Why does my lord weep?" Hazael asked. He answered, "Because I know the harm you'll do to Israelites: burn their fortresses, kill their young men with the sword, dash their little ones to the ground, and rip open their pregnant women."

¹³Hazael replied, "What is your servant, a mere dog, that he should do this great thing?" Elisha answered, "Our Father has shown me you will become king over Aram."

¹⁴Hazael left Elisha and returned to his master, who asked, "What did Elisha say?" He replied, "He told me you would surely recover."

¹⁵Next day, Hazael took the thick cloth, dipped it in water, spread it over the king's face, and he died. Hazael reigned instead.

Jehoram Reigns in Judah

¹⁶In year five of Ahab's son Joram, Israel's king, when Jehoshaphat was king of Judah, Jehoshaphat's son Jehoram began reigning as Judah's king. ¹⁷He was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. ¹⁸He followed the ways of Israel's kings, as Ahab's house did, for he had married Ahab's daughter. And he did what was evil in the eyes of our Father. ¹⁹Yet our Father would not destroy Judah, for David his servant's sake, as he promised to give a lamp to David and to his sons forever.

²⁰In his days Edom rebelled against the rule of Judah and set up its own king. ²¹Joram crossed to Zair with all his chariots, rose by night, struck the Edomites surrounding him and the chariot commanders, but the troops fled to their tents. ²²To this day Edom has rebelled against Judah's rule. Libnah rebelled at the same time. ²³The rest of Joram's acts, everything he did—aren't they written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? ²⁴Joram died, buried with his fathers in the City of David; his son Ahaziah reigned in his place.

Ahaziah Reigns in Judah

²⁵In Joram son of Ahab king of Israel's twelfth year, Ahaziah son of Jehoram king of Judah began ruling. ²⁶Ahaziah became king at twenty-two; he reigned one year in Jerusalem. His mother Athaliah was granddaughter of Omri king of Israel. ²⁷He walked the way of Ahab's house, did evil in our Father's eyes like Ahab's house, since he was son-in-law to Ahab's house.

²⁸He went with Joram son of Ahab to fight Hazael king of Aram at Ramoth-gilead, where Arameans wounded Joram. ²⁹King Joram went back to Jezreel to heal from wounds the Arameans dealt him at Ramah, fighting Hazael king of Aram. Ahaziah son of Jehoram, king of Judah, went down to see the wounded Joram son of Ahab at Jezreel.