The Shunammite’s Land Restored
1Elisha said to the woman whose son he had restored to life, “Get up and go, you and your household, and stay wherever you can, for Yahweh has decreed a famine, and it will strike the land for seven years.” 2So the woman got up and did as the man of God had said. She and her household went and stayed in the land of the Philistines for seven years. 3At the end of the seven years, the woman returned from the land of the Philistines and went to appeal to the king for her house and her land. 4Now the king was talking with Gehazi, the servant of the man of God, saying, “Tell me about all the great things Elisha has done.” 5And just as Gehazi was telling the king how Elisha had restored the dead boy to life, the woman whose son he had restored came to appeal to the king for her house and her land. Gehazi said, “My lord the king, this is the woman, and this is her son whom Elisha restored to life.” 6The king asked the woman about it, and she told him. So the king assigned her an official and said, “Restore everything that belonged to her, along with all the income from her land from the day she left the country until now.”
Hazael Becomes King of Aram
7Elisha went to Damascus, where Ben-hadad, king of Aram, was sick. When he was told, “The man of God has come here,” 8the king said to Hazael, “Take a gift with you and go meet the man of God. Inquire of Yahweh through him — ask whether I will recover from this illness.” 9So Hazael went to meet him, taking with him a gift of every good thing from Damascus — forty camel-loads. He came and stood before him and said, “Your son Ben-hadad, king of Aram, has sent me to ask: Will I recover from this illness?” 10Elisha said to him, “Go and tell him, ‘You will surely recover’ — but Yahweh has shown me that he will in fact die.” 11Then Elisha stared at him steadily until Hazael grew ashamed, and the man of God wept. 12Hazael asked, “Why is my lord weeping?” He answered, “Because I know the harm you will do to the Israelites. You will set their fortresses on fire, kill their young men with the sword, dash their little children to the ground, and rip open their pregnant women.” 13Hazael said, “How could your servant, a mere dog, do such a great thing?” Elisha answered, “Yahweh has shown me that you will become king over Aram.” 14Then Hazael left Elisha and returned to his master, who asked him, “What did Elisha say to you?” He answered, “He told me that you would surely recover.” 15But the next day Hazael took a thick cloth, dipped it in water, and spread it over the king’s face, and he died. And Hazael became king in his place.
Jehoram Reigns over Judah
16In the fifth year of Joram son of Ahab, king of Israel — Jehoshaphat then being king of Judah — Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat began to reign as king of Judah. 17He was thirty-two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. 18He walked in the way of the kings of Israel, just as the house of Ahab had done, for he had married a daughter of Ahab, and he did what was evil in the eyes of Yahweh. 19Yet Yahweh was not willing to destroy Judah, for the sake of his servant David, since he had promised to give David and his descendants a lamp forever. 20In his days Edom rebelled against Judah’s control and set up its own king. 21So Jehoram crossed over to Zair with all his chariots. He rose by night and struck down the Edomites who had surrounded him and the commanders of his chariots, but his troops fled to their tents. 22Edom has been in rebellion against Judah’s control to this day. Libnah also rebelled at that same time. 23The rest of the acts of Jehoram, and everything he did — are they not recorded in the Annals of the Kings of Judah? 24Jehoram slept with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the City of David, and Ahaziah his son reigned in his place.
Ahaziah Reigns over Judah
25In the twelfth year of Joram son of Ahab, king of Israel, Ahaziah son of Jehoram, king of Judah, began to reign. 26Ahaziah was twenty-two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Athaliah, daughter of Omri, king of Israel. 27He walked in the way of the house of Ahab and did what was evil in the eyes of Yahweh, just as the house of Ahab had done, for he was related by marriage to the house of Ahab. 28He went with Joram son of Ahab to fight against Hazael, king of Aram, at Ramoth-gilead, and the Arameans wounded Joram. 29So King Joram returned to Jezreel to recover from the wounds the Arameans had inflicted on him at Ramah, in his battle against Hazael, king of Aram. And Ahaziah son of Jehoram, king of Judah, went down to Jezreel to visit Joram son of Ahab, because he was wounded.
