2 Raja-raja 2:1

Elijah Makes a Swift Departure

2:1 Just before ¹  the Lord took Elijah up to heaven in a windstorm, Elijah and Elisha were traveling from Gilgal.

2 Raja-raja 3:1

Moab Fights with Israel

3:1 In the eighteenth year of King Jehoshaphat’s reign over Judah, Ahab’s son Jehoram became king over Israel in Samaria; ²  he ruled for twelve years.

2 Raja-raja 3:4

3:4 Now King Mesha of Moab was a sheep breeder. ³  He would send as tribute ⁴  to the king of Israel 100,000 male lambs and the wool of 100,000 rams.

2 Raja-raja 5:14

5:14 So he went down and dipped in the Jordan seven times, as the prophet had instructed. ⁵  His skin became as smooth as a young child’s ⁶  and he was healed.

2 Raja-raja 6:1

Elisha Makes an Ax Head Float

6:1 Some of the prophets ⁷  said to Elisha, “Look, the place where we meet with you ⁸  is too cramped ⁹  for us.

2 Raja-raja 6:8

Elisha Defeats an Army

6:8 Now the king of Syria was at war with Israel. He consulted his advisers, who said, “Invade ¹⁰  at such and such ¹¹  a place.”

2 Raja-raja 7:5

7:5 So they started toward ¹²  the Syrian camp at dusk. When they reached the edge of the Syrian camp, there was no one there.

2 Raja-raja 7:7

7:7 So they got up and fled at dusk, leaving behind their tents, horses, and donkeys. They left the camp as it was and ran for their lives.

2 Raja-raja 8:7

Elisha Meets with Hazael

8:7 Elisha traveled to Damascus while King Ben Hadad of Syria was sick. The king ¹³  was told, “The prophet ¹⁴  has come here.”

2 Raja-raja 9:1

Jehu Becomes King

9:1 Now Elisha the prophet summoned a member of the prophetic guild ¹⁵  and told him, “Tuck your robes into your belt, take this container ¹⁶  of olive oil in your hand, and go to Ramoth Gilead.

2 Raja-raja 9:11

9:11 When Jehu rejoined ¹⁷  his master’s servants, they ¹⁸  asked him, “Is everything all right? ¹⁹  Why did this madman visit you?” He replied, “Ah, it’s not important. You know what kind of man he is and the kinds of things he says.” ²⁰ 

2 Raja-raja 9:22

9:22 When Jehoram saw Jehu, he asked, “Is everything all right, Jehu?” He replied, “How can everything be all right as long as your mother Jezebel promotes idolatry and pagan practices?” ²¹ 

2 Raja-raja 10:1

Jehu Wipes Out Ahab’s Family

10:1 Ahab had seventy sons living in Samaria. ²²  So Jehu wrote letters and sent them to Samaria to the leading officials of Jezreel and to the guardians of Ahab’s dynasty. This is what the letters said, ²³ 

2 Raja-raja 13:1

Jehoahaz’s Reign over Israel

13:1 In the twenty-third year of the reign of Judah’s King Joash son of Ahaziah, Jehu’s son Jehoahaz became king over Israel. He reigned in Samaria ²⁴  for seventeen years.

2 Raja-raja 13:5-6

13:5 The Lord provided a deliverer ²⁵  for Israel and they were freed from Syria’s power. ²⁶  The Israelites once more lived in security. ²⁷  13:6 But they did not repudiate ²⁸  the sinful ways of the family ²⁹  of Jeroboam, who encouraged Israel to sin; they continued in those sins. ³⁰  There was even an Asherah pole ³¹  standing in Samaria.

2 Raja-raja 13:14

Elisha Makes One Final Prophecy

13:14 Now Elisha had a terminal illness. ³²  King Joash of Israel went down to visit him. ³³  He wept before him and said, “My father, my father! The chariot ³⁴  and horsemen of Israel!” ³⁵ 

2 Raja-raja 17:1

Hoshea’s Reign over Israel

17:1 In the twelfth year of King Ahaz’s reign over Judah, Hoshea son of Elah became king over Israel. He reigned in Samaria ³⁶  for nine years.

2 Raja-raja 18:9

18:9 In the fourth year of King Hezekiah’s reign (it was the seventh year of the reign of Israel’s King Hoshea, son of Elah), King Shalmaneser of Assyria marched ³⁷  up against Samaria ³⁸  and besieged it.

2 Raja-raja 20:12

Messengers from Babylon Visit Hezekiah

20:12 At that time Merodach-Baladan ³⁹  son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a gift to Hezekiah, for he had heard that Hezekiah was ill.

2 Raja-raja 21:15

21:15 because they have done evil in my sight ⁴⁰  and have angered me from the time their ancestors left Egypt right up to this very day!’”

2 Raja-raja 24:1

24:1 During Jehoiakim’s reign, ⁴¹  King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon attacked. ⁴²  Jehoiakim was his subject for three years, but then he rebelled against him. ⁴³ 

2 Raja-raja 24:8

Jehoiachin’s Reign over Judah

24:8 Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. ⁴⁴  His mother ⁴⁵  was Nehushta the daughter of Elnathan, from Jerusalem.

[2:1]  ¹ tn Or “when.”

[3:1]  ² map For location see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.

[3:4]  ³ tn For a discussion of the meaning of term (נֹקֵד, noqed), see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 43.

[3:4]  ⁴ tn The vav + perfect here indicates customary action contemporary with the situation described in the preceding main clause. See IBHS 533-34 §32.2.3e.

[5:14]  ⁵ tn Heb “according to the word of the man of God.”

[5:14]  ⁶ tn Heb “and his skin was restored, like the skin of a small child.”

[6:1]  ⁷ tn Heb “the sons of the prophets.”

[6:1]  ⁸ tn Heb “sit before you.”

[6:1]  ⁹ tn Heb “narrow, tight.”

[6:8]  ¹⁰ tc The verb form used here is difficult to analyze. On the basis of the form נְחִתִּים (nÿkhitim) in v. 9 from the root נָחַת (nakhat), it is probably best to emend the verb to תִּנְחְתוּ (tinkhÿtu; a Qal imperfect form from the same root). The verb נָחַת in at least two other instances carries the nuance “go down, descend” in a military context. For a defense of this view, see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 72.

[6:8]  ¹¹ sn The advisers would have mentioned a specific location, but the details are not significant to the narrator’s purpose, so he simply paraphrases here.

[7:5]  ¹² tn Heb “they arose to go to.”

[8:7]  ¹³ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:7]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “man of God” (also a second time in this verse and in v. 11).

[9:1]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “one of the sons of the prophets.”

[9:1]  ¹⁶ tn Or “flask.”

[9:11]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “went out to.”

[9:11]  ¹⁸ tc The MT has the singular, “he said,” but many witnesses correctly read the plural.

[9:11]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “Is there peace?”

[9:11]  ²⁰ tn Heb “He said, ‘You, you know the man and his thoughts.’” Jehu tries to deflect their question by reminding them that the man is an eccentric individual who says strange things. His reply suggests that the man said nothing of importance. The translation seeks to bring out the tone and intent of Jehu’s reply.

[9:22]  ²¹ tn Heb “How [can there be] peace as long as the adulterous acts of Jezebel your mother and her many acts of sorcery [continue]?” In this instance “adulterous acts” is employed metaphorically for idolatry. As elsewhere in the OT, worshiping other gods is viewed as spiritual adultery and unfaithfulness to the one true God. The phrase “many acts of sorcery” could be taken literally, for Jezebel undoubtedly utilized pagan divination practices, but the phrase may be metaphorical, pointing to her devotion to pagan customs in general.

[10:1]  ²² map For location see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.

[10:1]  ²³ tn Heb “to the officers of Jezreel, the elders, and to the guardians of Ahab, saying.” It is not certain why the officials of Jezreel would be in Samaria. They may have fled there after they heard what happened to Joram and before Jehu entered the city. They would have had time to flee while Jehu was pursuing Ahaziah.

[13:1]  ²⁴ map For location see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.

[13:5]  ²⁵ sn The identity of this unnamed “deliverer” is debated. For options see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 143.

[13:5]  ²⁶ tn Heb “and they went from under the hand of Syria.”

[13:5]  ²⁷ tn Heb “and the sons of Israel lived in their tents as before.”

[13:6]  ²⁸ tn Heb “they did not turn away from.”

[13:6]  ²⁹ tn Heb “house.”

[13:6]  ³⁰ tc Heb “in it he walked.” The singular verb (הָלַךְ, halakh) is probably due to an error of haplography and should be emended to the plural (הָלְכּוּ, halÿku). Note that a vav immediately follows (on the form וְגַם, vÿgam).

[13:6]  ³¹ tn Or “an image of Asherah”; ASV, NASB “the Asherah”; NCV “the Asherah idol.”

[13:6]  sn Asherah was a leading deity of the Canaanite pantheon, wife/sister of El and goddess of fertility. She was commonly worshiped at shrines in or near groves of evergreen trees, or, failing that, at places marked by wooden poles. These were to be burned or cut down (Deut 12:3; 16:21; Judg 6:25, 28, 30; 2 Kgs 18:4).

[13:14]  ³² tn Heb “Now Elisha was ill with the illness by which he would die.”

[13:14]  ³³ tn Heb “went down to him.”

[13:14]  ³⁴ tn Though the noun is singular here, it may be collective, in which case it could be translated “chariots.”

[13:14]  ³⁵ sn By comparing Elisha to a one-man army, the king emphasizes the power of the prophetic word. See the note at 2:12.

[17:1]  ³⁶ map For location see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.

[18:9]  ³⁷ tn Heb “went” (also in v. 13).

[18:9]  ³⁸ map For location see Map2 B1; Map4 D3; Map5 E2; Map6 A4; Map7 C1.

[20:12]  ³⁹ tc The MT has “Berodach-Baladan,” but several Hebrew, Greek, Aramaic, and Latin witnesses agree with the parallel passage in Isa 39:1 and read “Merodach-Baladan.”

[21:15]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “in my eyes.”

[24:1]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “In his days.”

[24:1]  ⁴² tn Heb “came up.” Perhaps an object (“against him”) has been accidentally omitted from the text. See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 306.

[24:1]  ⁴³ tn The Hebrew text has “and he turned and rebelled against him.”

[24:8]  ⁴⁴ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[24:8]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “the name of his mother.”