Chapter 8
1 Now Elisha had spoken to the woman whose son he had restored to life , saying , " Arise , and go , you and your household , and stay for a while wherever you can ; for the LORD has called for a famine . It will also come on the land for seven years ."
2 The woman arose , and did according to the man of God’s word . She went with her household , and lived in the land of the Philistines for seven years .
3 At the end of seven years , the woman returned from the land of the Philistines . Then she went out to beg the king for her house and for her land .
4 Now the king was talking with Gehazi the servant of the man of God, saying , " Please tell me all the great things that Elisha has done ."
5 As he was telling the king how he had restored to life him who was dead , behold , the woman whose son he had restored to life begged the king for her house and for her land . Gehazi said, " My lord, O king , this is the woman , and this is her son , whom Elisha restored to life ."
6 When the king asked the woman, she told him . So the king appointed to her a certain officer , saying, " Restore all that was hers, and all the fruits of the field since the day that she left the land , even until now ."
7 Elisha came to Damascus ; and Benhadad the king of Syria was sick . He was told , " The man of God has come here ."
8 The king said to Hazael , " Take a present in your hand , and go meet the man of God , and enquire of the LORD by him , saying, ‘ Will I recover from this sickness ?’"
9 So Hazael went to meet him and took a present with him , even of every good thing of Damascus , forty camels ’ burden , and came and stood before him and said, " Your son Benhadad king of Syria has sent me to you , saying, ‘ Will I recover from this sickness ?’"
10 Elisha said to him , " Go , tell him , ‘ You will surely recover ;’ however the LORD has shown me that he will surely die ."
11 He settled his gaze steadfastly on him , until he was ashamed. Then the man of God wept .
12 Hazael said, " Why do you weep , my lord?" He answered, " Because I know the evil that you will do to the children of Israel . You will set their strongholds on fire, and you will kill their young men with the sword , and will dash their little ones in pieces , and rip up their pregnant women ."
13 Hazael said , " But what is your servant , who is but a dog , that he could do this great thing ?" Elisha answered , " The LORD has shown me that you will be king over Syria."
14 Then he departed from Elisha , and came to his master, who said to him , " What did Elisha say to you ?" He answered, " He told me that you would surely recover ."
15 On the next day , he took a thick cloth , dipped it in water , and spread it on the king ’s face , so that he died . Then Hazael reigned in his place .
16 In the fifth year of Joram the son of Ahab king of Israel , Jehoshaphat being king of Judah then , Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah began to reign .
17 He was thirty-two years old when he began to reign . He reigned eight years in Jerusalem .
18 He walked in the way of the kings of Israel , as did Ahab’s house , for he married Ahab’s daughter . He did that which was evil in the LORD ’s sight .
19 However, the LORD would not destroy Judah , for David his servant ’s sake , as he promised him to give to him a lamp for his children always .
20 In his days Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah , and made a king over themselves .
21 Then Joram crossed over to Zair , and all his chariots with him ; and he rose up by night and struck the Edomites who surrounded him with the captains of the chariots ; and the people fled to their tents.
22 So Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah to this day . Then Libnah revolted at the same time .
23 The rest of the acts of Joram , and all that he did , aren’t they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah ?
24 Joram slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in David ’s city ; and Ahaziah his son reigned in his place .
25 In the twelfth year of Joram the son of Ahab king of Israel , Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah began to reign .
26 Ahaziah was twenty-two years old when he began to reign ; and he reigned one year in Jerusalem . His mother’s name was Athaliah the daughter of Omri king of Israel .
27 He walked in the way of Ahab’s house and did that which was evil in the LORD ’s sight , as did Ahab’s house , for he was the son-in-law of Ahab’s house .
28 He went with Joram the son of Ahab to war against Hazael king of Syria at Ramoth Gilead , and the Syrians wounded Joram .
29 King Joram returned to be healed in Jezreel from the wounds which the Syrians had given him at Ramah , when he fought against Hazael king of Syria. Ahaziah the son of Jehoram , king of Judah , went down to see Joram the son of Ahab in Jezreel , because he was sick .