2 Kings Chapter 13
Showing all 25 verses for 2 Kings Chapter 13.
The People's Bible is written by people, for the people. Each verse below shows:
"In the three and twentieth year of Joash the son of Ahaziah king of Judah Jehoahaz the son of Jehu began to reign over Israel in Samaria, and reigned seventeen years. "
"In the twenty-third year of Joash king of Judah's reign, Jehoahaz son of Jehu became king over Israel in Samaria, and he reigned for seventeen years."
I care about the wider picture of people's lives, not just isolated moments - I hold the whole, complicated story of a family, a community or a nation in view, even when it spans generations.
"And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, and followed the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which made Israel to sin; he departed not therefrom. "
"He did what was evil in the LORD's eyes, continuing the sins Jeroboam had led Israel into - he never turned away from them."
Just because a harmful pattern is inherited or familiar doesn't mean you're bound to repeat it - I invite you to break cycles that hurt you or others, even ones that have been "normal" in your family or community for as long as you can remember.
"And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he delivered them into the hand of Hazael king of Syria, and into the hand of Benhadad the son of Hazael, all their days. "
"So the LORD's anger burned against Israel, and he allowed them to fall under the power of Hazael, king of Syria, and his son Benhadad, throughout that whole period."
I don't enjoy watching anyone suffer, and consequences aren't punishment for its own sake - but I want you to see honestly how sustained harmful choices, personal or collective, tend to bring real, painful fallout, so you can choose a better way before the weight builds too high.
"And Jehoahaz besought the LORD, and the LORD hearkened unto him: for he saw the oppression of Israel, because the king of Syria oppressed them. "
"But Jehoahaz pleaded with the LORD, and the LORD listened to him, because he saw how badly the king of Syria was oppressing Israel."
You don't have to have your life sorted out before you're allowed to ask for help - I hear an honest cry for relief regardless of what came before it. Compassion isn't something you have to earn first.
"(And the LORD gave Israel a saviour, so that they went out from under the hand of the Syrians: and the children of Israel in their tents, as beforetime. "
💡 Highlighted words feature Jacobean 1611 tooltips to clarify shifted 17th-century English terms.
"So the LORD provided Israel with a deliverer, and they escaped Syrian control, and the Israelites returned to their normal lives, as before."
Don't assume help has to arrive in the form or from the person you expect - I work through more channels than you can always identify, and I ask you to stay open to relief coming in an unexpected shape.
"Nevertheless they departed not from the sins of the house of Jeroboam, who made Israel sin, but walked therein: and there remained the grove also in Samaria.) "
"Yet they didn't turn away from the sins of Jeroboam's dynasty that had led Israel into wrongdoing - they kept walking in them. The Asherah pole even remained standing in Samaria."
When you get relief from a painful season, don't stop there - use that breathing space to actually deal with what caused the trouble in the first place, or you're likely to find yourself back in the same place again.
"Neither did he leave of the people to Jehoahaz but fifty horsemen, and ten chariots, and ten thousand footmen; for the king of Syria had destroyed them, and had made them like the dust by threshing. "
"Jehoahaz was left with only fifty horsemen, ten chariots and ten thousand foot soldiers - because the king of Syria had crushed the rest of his army, grinding them down like dust under threshing."
I never ask you to pretend painful consequences didn't happen, or weren't severe - facing the full weight of where harmful choices led is part of genuine honesty, and it's exactly the ground on which real change and real compassion can begin.
"Now the rest of the acts of Jehoahaz, and all that he did, and his might, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? "
"As for the rest of what Jehoahaz did, and his achievements, isn't it all written in the official records of the kings of Israel?"
I'm less interested in a complete record of your achievements than in the honest shape of your character and your relationship with what matters most - that's what I'm really paying attention to in your story.
"And Jehoahaz slept with his fathers; and they buried him in Samaria: and Joash his son reigned in his stead. "
"Jehoahaz died and was buried in Samaria, and his son Joash became king after him."
Whatever you inherit from those who came before you, good or troubled, the choice of what to do with it in your own life and time is genuinely yours - I meet you where you are now, not where your predecessors left off.
"In the thirty and seventh year of Joash king of Judah began Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz to reign over Israel in Samaria, and reigned sixteen years. "
"In the thirty-seventh year of Joash king of Judah's reign, Jehoash son of Jehoahaz became king over Israel in Samaria, and reigned sixteen years."
Even when people or communities take very different paths, their stories often remain woven together in ways that matter - I don't lose track of any of it, even when the threads seem to run in opposite directions.
"And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD; he departed not from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel sin: but he walked therein. "
"He did what was evil in the LORD's eyes - he never abandoned any of the sins Jeroboam had led Israel into, but continued in them."
I can call something in your life genuinely wrong while still caring deeply for you as a person - conviction and compassion aren't opposites for me, and I never want you to think you have to be "good enough" first before I'll show up for you.
"And the rest of the acts of Joash, and all that he did, and his might wherewith he fought against Amaziah king of Judah, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? "
"As for the rest of what Joash did, his achievements, and how he fought against Amaziah king of Judah, isn't it all recorded in the official records of the kings of Israel?"
Sometimes the most important part of your story isn't the headline achievement, but a quieter moment underneath it - I look past the summary of what you accomplished to the meaningful, personal moments that shaped who you actually became.
"And Joash slept with his fathers; and Jeroboam sat upon his throne: and Joash was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel. "
"Joash died, and Jeroboam took his throne; Joash was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel."
Your life story doesn't have to be told or understood in a straight line - sometimes the moments that shaped you most only make full sense when you look back on them out of sequence, and that's alright.
"Now Elisha was fallen sick of his sickness whereof he died. And Joash the king of Israel came down unto him, and wept over his face, and said, O my father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof. "
"Elisha had become sick with the illness that would kill him. Joash, king of Israel, went to visit him, wept over him, and cried, "My father, my father! You are Israel's chariots and horsemen!""
However far you've drifted from living the way you know is right, I never want that distance to stop you from recognising and honouring real goodness when you see it, or from grieving honestly when someone who embodied it is gone. That grief itself is a kind of honesty I welcome.
"And Elisha said unto him, Take bow and arrows. And he took unto him bow and arrows. "
"Elisha told him, "Get a bow and arrows." So he got a bow and arrows."
I don't ask you to hoard your gifts until conditions are perfect, or to stop giving simply because your strength is fading - even a last act, offered honestly with whatever you have left, can carry real weight and lasting meaning.
"And he said to the king of Israel, Put thine hand upon the bow. And he put his hand upon it: and Elisha put his hands upon the king’s hands. "
"Then he said to the king, "Put your hand on the bow." The king did, and Elisha placed his own hands over the king's hands."
When you have wisdom or strength to offer someone, I'd rather you offer it the way Elisha does here - close, personal, hands-on - than from a cold distance. Real guidance often looks like walking alongside someone, not just issuing instructions.
"And he said, Open the window eastward. 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 thou shalt smite the Syrians in Aphek, till thou have consumed them. "
"He said, "Open the window facing east." He opened it. Then Elisha said, "Shoot!" And he shot. Elisha said, "This is the LORD's arrow of victory - victory over Syria. You will defeat the Syrians completely at Aphek.""
Small, deliberate acts of faith and commitment can carry more weight than you'd expect - I ask you to give your whole intention to the good you commit to, however small the gesture might look from the outside.
"And he said, Take the arrows. And he took them. And he said unto the king of Israel, Smite upon the ground. And he smote thrice, and stayed. "
"Then Elisha said, "Take the arrows." He took them. Elisha told the king, "Strike the ground." He struck it three times, and then stopped."
I notice the difference between a flash of feeling and follow-through - genuine devotion isn't just an emotional moment, it's sustained commitment carried all the way through. I want your good intentions to run deep enough to finish what they start.
"And the man of God was wroth with him, and said, Thou shouldest have smitten five or six times; then hadst thou smitten Syria till thou hadst consumed it: whereas now thou shalt smite Syria but thrice. "
"Elisha was angry with him and said, "You should have struck the ground five or six times - then you would have defeated Syria completely. But now you'll only defeat Syria three times.""
I'm not looking for perfect performance from you, but I do want your whole heart when an opportunity for real good is placed in front of you - half-measures tend to produce half-results, not because I'm keeping score, but because that's simply how wholehearted commitment works.
"And Elisha died, and they buried him. And the bands of the Moabites invaded the land at the coming in of the year. "
"Elisha died and was buried. Then, at the start of the next year, Moabite raiding parties invaded the land."
When someone significant to you is gone, I know the world doesn't stop to give you space to grieve - it can feel unfair that trouble keeps coming anyway. I'm with you in both the grief and the ongoing difficulty, not just in the pause between them.
"And it came to pass, as they were burying a man, that, behold, they spied a band of men; and they cast the man into the sepulchre of Elisha: and when the man was let down, and touched the bones of Elisha, he revived, and stood up on his feet. "
"As some men were burying a body, they spotted a raiding party coming and hastily threw the corpse into Elisha's tomb. As soon as the body touched Elisha's bones, the man came back to life and stood up."
The good you do in this life, done in genuine love, doesn't simply stop the moment you're gone - it keeps rippling outward in ways you may never see or plan for. That's part of why I ask you to invest in real goodness now, not for the credit, but because its effects genuinely outlast you.
"But Hazael king of Syria oppressed Israel all the days of Jehoahaz. "
"Hazael, king of Syria, oppressed Israel throughout the entire reign of Jehoahaz."
I don't minimise how long-lasting the fallout from harmful patterns can be - sometimes it shapes an entire chapter of a life, not just a moment. But even a long, hard season is not the whole story, and I remain present through every year of it.
"And the LORD was gracious unto them, and had compassion on them, and had respect unto them, because of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and would not destroy them, neither cast he them from his presence as yet. "
"But the LORD was gracious to Israel, had compassion on them, and cared about them because of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob - he wasn't willing to destroy them or banish them from his presence, not yet."
Whatever pattern of harm you've fallen into, or however deserved your current struggle might feel, I want you to know my commitment to you doesn't hinge on your recent record. There's an older, deeper promise behind my care for you that your worst seasons can't cancel out.
"So Hazael king of Syria died; and Benhadad his son reigned in his stead. "
"Hazael, king of Syria, died, and his son Benhadad became king after him."
Not every hard situation in your life needs to be defeated by your own effort alone - some things resolve simply because time moves forward and circumstances change. I ask you to keep faith and patience even while waiting for shifts that are genuinely beyond your control.
"And Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz took again out of the hand of Benhadad the son of Hazael the cities, which he had taken out of the hand of Jehoahaz his father by war. Three times did Joash beat him, and recovered the cities of Israel. "
"Jehoash, son of Jehoahaz, recaptured from Benhadad, son of Hazael, the cities that Benhadad had taken by force from his father Jehoahaz. Joash defeated him three times and recovered Israel's cities."
When your effort has been less than everything you could have given, don't assume that means no good outcome is possible at all - even limited faithfulness still bears real fruit. I'd rather you learn from a partial result and give more fully next time than despair over what wasn't achieved.