2 Raja-raja 1:3

1:3 But the Lord’s angelic messenger told Elijah the Tishbite, “Get up, go to meet the messengers from the king of Samaria. Say this to them: ‘You must think there is no God in Israel! That explains why you are on your way to seek an oracle from Baal Zebub the god of Ekron. ¹ 

2 Raja-raja 1:13

1:13 The king ²  sent a third captain and his fifty soldiers. This third captain went up and fell ³  on his knees before Elijah. He begged for mercy, “Prophet, please have respect for my life and for the lives of these fifty servants of yours.

2 Raja-raja 2:6

2:6 Elijah said to him, “Stay here, for the Lord has sent me to the Jordan.” But he replied, “As certainly as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you.” So they traveled on together.

2 Raja-raja 4:39

4:39 Someone went out to the field to gather some herbs and found a wild vine. ⁴  He picked some of its fruit, ⁵  enough to fill up the fold of his robe. He came back, cut it up, and threw the slices ⁶  into the stew pot, not knowing they were harmful. ⁷ 

2 Raja-raja 5:1

Elisha Heals a Syrian General

5:1 Now Naaman, the commander of the king of Syria’s army, was esteemed and respected by his master, ⁸  for through him the Lord had given Syria military victories. But this great warrior had a skin disease. ⁹ 

2 Raja-raja 5:7

5:7 When the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes and said, “Am I God? Can I kill or restore life? Why does he ask me to cure a man of his skin disease? ¹⁰  Certainly you must see that he is looking for an excuse to fight me!” ¹¹ 

2 Raja-raja 5:20

5:20 Gehazi, the prophet Elisha’s servant, thought, ¹²  “Look, my master did not accept what this Syrian Naaman offered him. ¹³  As certainly as the Lord lives, I will run after him and accept something from him.”

2 Raja-raja 6:20

6:20 When they had entered Samaria, Elisha said, “O Lord, open their eyes, so they can see.” The Lord opened their eyes and they saw that they were in the middle of Samaria. ¹⁴ 

2 Raja-raja 7:8

7:8 When the men with a skin disease reached the edge of the camp, they entered a tent and had a meal. ¹⁵  They also took some silver, gold, and clothes and went and hid it all. ¹⁶  Then they went back and entered another tent. They looted it ¹⁷  and went and hid what they had taken.

2 Raja-raja 8:9

8:9 So Hazael went to visit Elisha. ¹⁸  He took along a gift, ¹⁹  as well as ²⁰  forty camel loads of all the fine things of Damascus. When he arrived, he stood before him and said, “Your son, ²¹  King Ben Hadad of Syria, has sent me to you with this question, ²²  ‘Will I recover from this sickness?’”

2 Raja-raja 9:6

9:6 So Jehu ²³  got up and went inside. Then the prophet ²⁴  poured the olive oil on his head and said to him, “This is what the Lord God of Israel says, ‘I have designated you as king over the Lord’s people Israel.

2 Raja-raja 9:14

9:14 Then Jehu son of Jehoshaphat son of Nimshi conspired against Joram.

Jehu the Assassin

Now Joram had been in Ramoth Gilead with the whole Israelite army, ²⁵  guarding against an invasion by King Hazael of Syria.

2 Raja-raja 9:21

9:21 Jehoram ordered, “Hitch up my chariot.” ²⁶  When his chariot had been hitched up, ²⁷  King Jehoram of Israel and King Ahaziah of Judah went out in their respective chariots ²⁸  to meet Jehu. They met up with him ²⁹  in the plot of land that had once belonged to Naboth of Jezreel.

2 Raja-raja 10:13

10:13 Jehu encountered ³⁰  the relatives ³¹  of King Ahaziah of Judah. He asked, “Who are you?” They replied, “We are Ahaziah’s relatives. We have come down to see how ³²  the king’s sons and the queen mother’s sons are doing.”

2 Raja-raja 10:23

10:23 Then Jehu and Jehonadab son of Rekab went to the temple of Baal. Jehu ³³  said to the servants of Baal, “Make sure there are no servants of the Lord here with you; there must be only servants of Baal.” ³⁴ 

2 Raja-raja 10:25

10:25 When he finished offering the burnt sacrifice, Jehu ordered the royal guard ³⁵  and officers, “Come in and strike them down! Don’t let any escape!” So the royal guard and officers struck them down with the sword and left their bodies lying there. ³⁶  Then they entered the inner sanctuary of the temple of Baal. ³⁷ 

2 Raja-raja 10:29

A Summary of Jehu’s Reign

10:29 However, Jehu did not repudiate the sins which Jeroboam son of Nebat had encouraged Israel to commit; the golden calves remained in Bethel ³⁸  and Dan. ³⁹ 

2 Raja-raja 11:9

11:9 The officers of the units of hundreds did just as ⁴⁰  Jehoiada the priest ordered. Each of them took his men, those who were on duty during the Sabbath as well as those who were off duty on the Sabbath, and reported ⁴¹  to Jehoiada the priest.

2 Raja-raja 11:12

11:12 Jehoiada ⁴²  led out the king’s son and placed on him the crown and the royal insignia. ⁴³  They proclaimed him king and poured olive oil on his head. ⁴⁴  They clapped their hands and cried out, “Long live the king!”

2 Raja-raja 11:18-19

11:18 All the people of the land went and demolished ⁴⁵  the temple of Baal. They smashed its altars and idols ⁴⁶  to bits. ⁴⁷  They killed Mattan the priest of Baal in front of the altar. Jehoiada the priest ⁴⁸  then placed guards at the Lord’s temple. 11:19 He took the officers of the units of hundreds, the Carians, the royal bodyguard, and all the people of land, and together they led the king down from the Lord’s temple. They entered the royal palace through the Gate of the Royal Bodyguard, ⁴⁹  and the king ⁵⁰  sat down on the royal throne.

2 Raja-raja 13:19

13:19 The prophet ⁵¹  got angry at him and said, “If you had struck the ground five or six times, you would have annihilated Syria! ⁵²  But now, you will defeat Syria only three times.”

2 Raja-raja 16:10

16:10 When King Ahaz went to meet with King Tiglath-pileser of Assyria in Damascus, he saw the altar there. ⁵³  King Ahaz sent to Uriah the priest a drawing of the altar and a blueprint for its design. ⁵⁴ 

2 Raja-raja 16:17

16:17 King Ahaz took off the frames of the movable stands, and removed the basins from them. He took “The Sea” ⁵⁵  down from the bronze bulls that supported it ⁵⁶  and put it on the pavement.

2 Raja-raja 17:4

17:4 The king of Assyria discovered that Hoshea was planning a revolt. ⁵⁷  Hoshea had sent messengers to King So ⁵⁸  of Egypt and had not sent his annual tribute to the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria arrested him and imprisoned him. ⁵⁹ 

2 Raja-raja 17:21

17:21 He tore Israel away from David’s dynasty, and Jeroboam son of Nebat became their king. ⁶⁰  Jeroboam drove Israel away ⁶¹  from the Lord and encouraged them to commit a serious sin. ⁶² 

2 Raja-raja 17:26

17:26 The king of Assyria was told, ⁶³  “The nations whom you deported and settled in the cities of Samaria do not know the requirements of the God of the land, so he has sent lions among them. They are killing the people ⁶⁴  because they do not know the requirements of the God of the land.”

2 Raja-raja 17:35

17:35 The Lord made an agreement ⁶⁵  with them ⁶⁶  and instructed them, “You must not worship other gods. Do not bow down to them, serve them, or offer sacrifices to them.

2 Raja-raja 18:12

18:12 This happened because they did not obey ⁶⁷  the Lord their God and broke his agreement with them. ⁶⁸  They did not pay attention to and obey all that Moses, the Lord’s servant, had commanded. ⁶⁹ 

2 Raja-raja 18:14

18:14 King Hezekiah of Judah sent this message to the king of Assyria, who was at Lachish, “I have violated our treaty. ⁷⁰  If you leave, I will do whatever you demand.” ⁷¹  So the king of Assyria demanded that King Hezekiah of Judah pay three hundred talents ⁷²  of silver and thirty talents of gold.

2 Raja-raja 18:17

18:17 The king of Assyria sent his commanding general, the chief eunuch, and the chief adviser ⁷³  from Lachish to King Hezekiah in Jerusalem, ⁷⁴  along with a large army. They went up and arrived at Jerusalem. They went ⁷⁵  and stood at the conduit of the upper pool which is located on the road to the field where they wash and dry cloth. ⁷⁶ 

2 Raja-raja 18:27

18:27 But the chief adviser said to them, “My master did not send me to speak these words only to your master and to you. ⁷⁷  His message is also for the men who sit on the wall, for they will eat their own excrement and drink their own urine along with you.” ⁷⁸ 

2 Raja-raja 19:23

19:23 Through your messengers you taunted the sovereign master, ⁷⁹ 

‘With my many chariots ⁸⁰ 

I climbed up the high mountains,

the slopes of Lebanon.

I cut down its tall cedars,

and its best evergreens.

I invaded its most remote regions, ⁸¹ 

its thickest woods.

2 Raja-raja 19:28

19:28 Because you rage against me,

and the uproar you create has reached my ears; ⁸² 

I will put my hook in your nose, ⁸³ 

and my bridle between your lips,

and I will lead you back the way

you came.”

2 Raja-raja 19:37

19:37 One day, ⁸⁴  as he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch, ⁸⁵  his sons ⁸⁶  Adrammelech and Sharezer struck him down with the sword. ⁸⁷  They escaped to the land of Ararat; his son Esarhaddon replaced him as king.

2 Raja-raja 23:3

23:3 The king stood by the pillar and renewed ⁸⁸  the covenant before the Lord, agreeing to follow ⁸⁹  the Lord and to obey his commandments, laws, and rules with all his heart and being, ⁹⁰  by carrying out the terms ⁹¹  of this covenant recorded on this scroll. All the people agreed to keep the covenant. ⁹² 

[1:3]  ¹ tn Heb “Is it because there is no God in Israel [that] you are going to inquire of Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron?” The translation seeks to bring out the sarcastic tone of the rhetorical question.

[1:13]  ² tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:13]  ³ tn Heb “went up and approached and kneeled.”

[4:39]  ⁴ tn Heb “a vine of the field.”

[4:39]  ⁵ tn Heb “[some] of the gourds of the field.”

[4:39]  ⁶ tn Heb “he came and cut [them up].”

[4:39]  ⁷ tc The Hebrew text reads, “for they did not know” (יָדָעוּ, yada’u) but some emend the final shureq (וּ, indicating a third plural subject) to holem vav (וֹ, a third masculine singular pronominal suffix on a third singular verb) and read “for he did not know it.” Perhaps it is best to omit the final vav as dittographic (note the vav at the beginning of the next verb form) and read simply, “for he did not know.” See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 59.

[5:1]  ⁸ tn Heb “was a great man before his master and lifted up with respect to the face.”

[5:1]  ⁹ tn For a discussion of מְצֹרָע (mÿtsora’), traditionally translated “leprous,” see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 63. Naaman probably had a skin disorder of some type, not leprosy/Hansen’s disease.

[5:7]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “Am I God, killing and restoring life, that this one sends to me to cure a man from his skin disease?” In the Hebrew text this is one lengthy rhetorical question, which has been divided up in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[5:7]  ¹¹ tn Heb “Indeed, know and see that he is seeking an occasion with respect to me.”

[5:20]  ¹² tn Heb “said” (i.e., to himself).

[5:20]  ¹³ tn Heb “Look, my master spared this Syrian Naaman by not taking from his hand what he brought.”

[6:20]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and they saw, and look, [they were] in the middle of Samaria.”

[7:8]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “they ate and drank.”

[7:8]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “and they hid [it].”

[7:8]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “and they took from there.”

[8:9]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “him”; the referent (Elisha) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:9]  ¹⁹ tn The Hebrew text also has “in his hand.”

[8:9]  ²⁰ tn Heb “and.” It is possible that the conjunction is here explanatory, equivalent to English “that is.” In this case the forty camel loads constitute the “gift” and one should translate, “He took along a gift, consisting of forty camel loads of all the fine things of Damascus.”

[8:9]  ²¹ sn The words “your son” emphasize the king’s respect for the prophet.

[8:9]  ²² tn Heb “saying.”

[9:6]  ²³ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jehu) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[9:6]  ²⁴ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the prophet) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[9:14]  ²⁵ tn Heb “he and all Israel.”

[9:21]  ²⁶ tn The words “my chariot” are added for clarification.

[9:21]  ²⁷ tn Heb “and he hitched up his chariot.”

[9:21]  ²⁸ tn Heb “each in his chariot and they went out.”

[9:21]  ²⁹ tn Heb “they found him.”

[10:13]  ³⁰ tn Heb “found.”

[10:13]  ³¹ tn Or “brothers.”

[10:13]  ³² tn Heb “for the peace of.”

[10:23]  ³³ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jehu) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[10:23]  ³⁴ tn Heb “Search carefully and observe so that there are not here with you any servants of the Lord, only the servants of Baal.”

[10:25]  ³⁵ tn Heb “runners.”

[10:25]  ³⁶ tn Heb “and they threw.” No object appears. According to M. Cogan and H. Tadmor (II Kings [AB], 116), this is an idiom for leaving a corpse unburied.

[10:25]  ³⁷ tn Heb “and they came to the city of the house of Baal.” It seems unlikely that a literal city is meant. Some emend עִיר (’ir), “city,” to דְּבִיר (dÿvir) “holy place,” or suggest that עִיר is due to dittography of the immediately preceding עַד (’ad) “to.” Perhaps עִיר is here a technical term meaning “fortress” or, more likely, “inner room.”

[10:29]  ³⁸ map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.

[10:29]  ³⁹ tn Heb “Except the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat which he caused Israel to commit, Jehu did not turn aside from after them – the golden calves which [were in] Bethel and which [were] in Dan.”

[11:9]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “according to all that.”

[11:9]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “came.”

[11:12]  ⁴² tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jehoiada) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[11:12]  ⁴³ tn The Hebrew term עֵדוּת (’edut) normally means “witness” or “testimony.” Here it probably refers to some tangible symbol of kingship, perhaps a piece of jewelry such as an amulet or neck chain. See the discussion in M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 128. Some suggest that a document is in view, perhaps a copy of the royal protocol or of the stipulations of the Davidic covenant. See HALOT 790-91 s.v. עֵדוּת.

[11:12]  ⁴⁴ tn Or “they made him king and anointed him.”

[11:18]  ⁴⁵ tn Or “tore down.”

[11:18]  ⁴⁶ tn Or “images.”

[11:18]  ⁴⁷ tn The Hebrew construction translated “smashed…to bits” is emphatic. The adverbial infinitive absolute (הֵיטֵב [hetev], “well”) accompanying the Piel form of the verb שָׁבַר (shavar), “break,” suggests thorough demolition.

[11:18]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “the priest.” Jehoiada’s name is added for clarification.

[11:19]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “the Gate of the Runners of the House of the King.”

[11:19]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[13:19]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “man of God.”

[13:19]  ⁵² tn Heb “[It was necessary] to strike five or six times, then you would strike down Syria until destruction.” On the syntax of the infinitive construct, see GKC 349 §114.k.

[16:10]  ⁵³ tn Heb “in Damascus.”

[16:10]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “the likeness of the altar and its pattern for all its work.”

[16:17]  ⁵⁵ sn See the note at 1 Kgs 7:23.

[16:17]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “that [were] under it.”

[17:4]  ⁵⁷ tn Heb “and the king of Assyria found in Hoshea conspiracy.”

[17:4]  ⁵⁸ sn For discussion of this name, see HALOT 744 s.v. סוֹא and M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 196.

[17:4]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “and bound him in the house of confinement.”

[17:21]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb “and they made Jeroboam son of Nebat king.”

[17:21]  ⁶¹ tc The consonantal text (Kethib) assumes the verb is נָדָא (nada’), an alternate form of נָדָה (nadah), “push away.” The marginal reading (Qere) assumes the verb נָדָח (nadakh), “drive away.”

[17:21]  ⁶² tn Heb “a great sin.”

[17:26]  ⁶³ tn Heb “and they said to the king of Assyria, saying.” The plural subject of the verb is indefinite.

[17:26]  ⁶⁴ tn Heb “Look they are killing them.”

[17:35]  ⁶⁵ tn Or “covenant.”

[17:35]  ⁶⁶ sn That is, the descendants of Jacob/Israel (see v. 35b).

[18:12]  ⁶⁷ tn Heb “listen to the voice of.”

[18:12]  ⁶⁸ tn Heb “his covenant.”

[18:12]  ⁶⁹ tn Heb “all that Moses, the Lord’s servant, had commanded, and they did not listen and they did not act.”

[18:14]  ⁷⁰ tn Or “I have done wrong.”

[18:14]  ⁷¹ tn Heb “Return from upon me; what you place upon me, I will carry.”

[18:14]  ⁷² tn The Hebrew term כִּכָּר (kikkar, “circle”) refers generally to something that is round. When used of metals it can refer to a disk-shaped weight made of the metal or to a standard unit of weight, generally regarded as a talent. Since the accepted weight for a talent of metal is about 75 pounds, this would have amounted to about 22,500 pounds of silver and 2,250 pounds of gold.

[18:17]  ⁷³ sn For a discussion of these titles see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 229-30.

[18:17]  ⁷⁴ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[18:17]  ⁷⁵ tn Heb “and they went up and came.”

[18:17]  ⁷⁶ tn Heb “the field of the washer.”

[18:27]  ⁷⁷ tn Heb “To your master and to you did my master send me to speak these words?” The rhetorical question expects a negative answer.

[18:27]  ⁷⁸ tn Heb “[Is it] not [also] to the men…?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Yes, it is.”

[18:27]  sn The chief adviser alludes to the horrible reality of siege warfare, when the starving people in the besieged city would resort to eating and drinking anything to stay alive.

[19:23]  ⁷⁹ tn The word is אֲדֹנָי (’adonai), “lord,” but some Hebrew mss have יְהוָה (yehvah), “Lord.”

[19:23]  ⁸⁰ tc The consonantal text (Kethib) has בְּרֶכֶב (bÿrekhev), but this must be dittographic (note the following רִכְבִּי [rikhbi], “my chariots”). The marginal reading (Qere) בְּרֹב (bÿrov), “with many,” is supported by many Hebrew mss and ancient versions, as well as the parallel passage in Isa 37:24.

[19:23]  ⁸¹ tn Heb “the lodging place of its extremity.”

[19:28]  ⁸² tc Heb “and your complacency comes up into my ears.” The parallelism is improved if שַׁאֲנַנְךְ (sha’anankh), “your complacency,” is emended to שַׁאֲוַנְךְ (sha’avankh), “your uproar.” See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 237-38.

[19:28]  ⁸³ sn The word picture has a parallel in Assyrian sculpture. See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 238.

[19:37]  ⁸⁴ sn The assassination probably took place in 681 b.c.

[19:37]  ⁸⁵ sn No such Mesopotamian god is presently known. Perhaps the name is a corruption of Nusku.

[19:37]  ⁸⁶ tc Although “his sons” is absent in the Kethib, it is supported by the Qere, along with many medieval Hebrew mss and the ancient versions. Cf. Isa 37:38.

[19:37]  ⁸⁷ sn Extra-biblical sources also mention the assassination of Sennacherib, though they refer to only one assassin. See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 239-40.

[23:3]  ⁸⁸ tn Heb “cut,” that is, “made, agreed to.”

[23:3]  ⁸⁹ tn Heb “walk after.”

[23:3]  ⁹⁰ tn Or “soul.”

[23:3]  ⁹¹ tn Heb “words.”

[23:3]  ⁹² tn Heb “stood in the covenant.”