King Jehoahaz of Israel
1 In the twenty-third year of the reign of Joash son of Ahaziah as king of Judah, Jehoahaz son of Jehu became king of Israel, and he ruled in Samaria for seventeen years. 2 Like King Jeroboam before him, he sinned against the Lord and led Israel into sin; he never gave up his evil ways. 3 So the Lord was angry with Israel, and he allowed King Hazael of Syria and his son Benhadad to defeat Israel time after time. 4 Then Jehoahaz prayed to the Lord, and the Lord, seeing how harshly the king of Syria was oppressing the Israelites, answered his prayer. 5 The Lord sent Israel a leader, who freed them from the Syrians, and so the Israelites lived in peace, as before. 6 But they still did not give up the sins into which King Jeroboam had led Israel, but kept on committing them; and the image of the goddess Asherah remained in Samaria.
7 Jehoahaz had no armed forces left except fifty cavalry troops, ten chariots, and ten thousand foot soldiers, because the king of Syria had destroyed the rest, trampling them down like dust.
8 Everything else that Jehoahaz did and all his brave deeds are recorded in The History of the Kings of Israel. 9 He died and was buried in Samaria, and his son Jehoash succeeded him as king.
King Jehoash of Israel
10 In the thirty-seventh year of the reign of King Joash of Judah, Jehoash son of Jehoahaz became king of Israel, and he ruled in Samaria for sixteen years. 11 He too sinned against the Lord and followed the evil example of King Jeroboam, who had led Israel into sin. 12 Everything else that Jehoash did, including his bravery in the war against King Amaziah of Judah, is recorded in The History of the Kings of Israel. 13 Jehoash died and was buried in the royal tombs in Samaria, and his son Jeroboam II succeeded him as king.
The Death of Elisha
14 The prophet Elisha was sick with a fatal disease, and as he lay dying, King Jehoash of Israel went to visit him. “My father, my father!” he exclaimed as he wept. “You have been the mighty defender of Israel!”
15 “Get a bow and some arrows,” Elisha ordered him. Jehoash got them, 16 and Elisha told him to get ready to shoot. The king did so, and Elisha placed his hands on the king's hands. 17 Then, following the prophet's instructions, the king opened the window that faced toward Syria. “Shoot the arrow!” Elisha ordered. As soon as the king shot the arrow, the prophet exclaimed, “You are the Lord's arrow, with which he will win victory over Syria. You will fight the Syrians in Aphek until you defeat them.”
18 Then Elisha told the king to take the other arrows and strike the ground with them. The king struck the ground three times, and then stopped. 19 This made Elisha angry, and he said to the king, “You should have struck five or six times, and then you would have won complete victory over the Syrians; but now you will defeat them only three times.”
20 Elisha died and was buried.
Every year bands of Moabites used to invade the land of Israel. 21 One time during a funeral, one of those bands was seen, and the people threw the corpse into Elisha's tomb and ran off. As soon as the body came into contact with Elisha's bones, the man came back to life and stood up.
War between Israel and Syria
22 King Hazael of Syria oppressed the Israelites during all of Jehoahaz' reign, 23 but the Lord was kind and merciful to them. He would not let them be destroyed, but helped them because of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He has never forgotten his people.
24 At the death of King Hazael of Syria his son Benhadad became king. 25 Then King Jehoash of Israel defeated Benhadad three times and recaptured the cities that had been taken by Benhadad during the reign of Jehoahaz, the father of Jehoash.
Joahas ma rire ombara mOisrael
1 Mombura oitjamirongo vivari nandatu youhona wa Joas, omuzandu wa Ahasia, ombara ya Juda, Joahohas, omuzandu wa Jehu, otja rira ombara mOisrael; neye wa honapara oure wozombura omurongo na hambombari mOsamaria. 2 Eye wa tura ondjo komurungu wa Muhona tjimuna ombara Jerobeam, omuzandu wa Nebat, ngwa ri po komurungu we; nu wina wa pora Ovaisrael ku Muhona. Eye ke na pa isa ozondjira ze ozombi. 3 Muhona otja ṱomazenge na Israel; neye wa isa Hasael, ombara ya Sirie, nomuzandu we Benhadad kutja ve havere Israel aruhe. 4 Joahohas wa kumba ku Muhona, nu Muhona tja muna ombara ya Sirie tji mai ṋiṋikiza Ovaisrael noutwe nai, otja zuvira ongumbiro ye. 5 Muhona wa pendurira Ovaisrael omukuture, ngwe ve kutura kOvasirie, nOvaisrael otji va kara mohange tjimuna indu rukuru. 6 Nungwari owo ingee kave isire omauvi ngu va katukisirwe i Jerobeam; nu va panḓera pu wo. Notjiserekarera tjomukuru wotjisenginina oserekaze Asera wina tja kara mOsamaria.
7 Joahohas ka hupire notjimbumba tjovita; pa hupa ovakavire omirongo vitano, nomatemba wovita omurongo novarwe wovita vopehi omayovi omurongo uriri, ombara ya Sirie tjinga aya nyonene imba ovakwao, mba hupa, naye we ve ṱukuṱurire tjimuna oruuma.
8 Oviṋa avihe vyarwe Joahohas mbya tjita nouvanḓe we vya tjangwa mEkuruhungi rOzombara za Israel. 9 Eye wa koka na pakwa mOsamaria, nomuzandu we Joahohas we mu pingena mouhona.
Joas ma rire ombara mOisrael
10 Mombura oitjamirongo vitatu na hambombari youhona wa Joas, ombara ya Juda, Jehoas, omuzandu wa Joahohas, otja rira ombara mOisrael; neye wa honapara mOsamaria oure wozombura omurongo na hamboumwe. 11 Eye wina wa tura ondjo komurungu wa Muhona na kongorere otjihorera otjivi tjombara Jerobeam ngwa katukisire Ovaisrael. 12 Oviṋa avihe vyarwe Joas mbya tjita, nouvanḓe we tja rwisa Amasja, ombara ya Juda, vya tjangwa mEkuruhungi rOzombara za Israel. 13 Joas wa koka na pakwa momaendo wouhona mOsamaria, nomuzandu we Jerobeam II we mu pingena mouhona.
Onḓiro ya Elisa
14 Omuprofete Elisa wa vera omutjise omuzeu; nu tja ri pokukoka, Joas, ombara ya Israel, we kemuvarura. Eye wa ura ama riri na tja: “Tate, tate, ove wa ri omuyeure omunamasa wa Israel!”
15 Elisa we mu rakiza na tja: “Eta outa noviku!” Joas we vi eta, 16 nu Elisa we mu raera kutja e rirongere okuyaha. Ombara ya tjita nao, nu Elisa wa twa omake we pomake wombara. 17 Nu ombara ya paturura oruiho ndwa hungama kOsirie otja komaraerero womuprofete Elisa. Nu Elisa we mu rakiza na tja: “Yumba otjiku!” Mokamanga ombara tji ya zu nokuyumba otjiku, ingwi omuprofete otja ravaera nai: “Oove ngu u ri otjiku tja Muhona, eye tji ma toṋa na tjo Ovasirie. Mo rwisa Ovasirie mOafek, nga tji we ve havere.”
18 Elisa wa raera kutja ombara i toore oviku mbi ovikwao nu i tone na vyo ehi. Ombara ya tona ehi potutatu; tjazumba ai hirimana. 19 Ihi tja pindikisire Elisa, neye wa tja nai kombara: “Andakuzu wa tono ehi povikando vitano poo hamboumwe otjo havera Ovasirie oparukaze; nungwari nambano mo ve havere ovikando vitatu uriri.”
20 Elisa wa koka na pakwa.
Nombura aihe ovira vyovapunde vyOvamoab aavi rwisa Ovaisrael. 21 Otjikando tjimwe, mombakero yomundu worive, otjira tjimwe tjOvamoab tja munika mbo, novandu va yumba orurova ndwi meyendo ra Elisa, nave tupuka. Mokamanga orurova ndwi tji rwa ṱuna komaṱupa wa Elisa, ingwi omukoke otja rira omunamuinyo, na kurama.
Ovita pokati kOvaisrael nOvasirie
22 Hasael, ombara ya Sirie, wa ṋiṋikiza Ovaisrael moure woruveze aruhe rwouhona wa Joahohas; 23 nungwari Muhona wa ṱondjenda na kara notjari nOvaisrael. Eye ke ve isire kutja ve yandekwe, nungwari we ve vatera mena romerikutiropamwe eye nga tjita na Abraham na Isak na Jakob. Ke na pa zemba otjiwaṋa tje.
24 Hasael, ombara ya Sirie, tja koka, omuzandu we Benhadad otja rira ombara. 25 Joas, ombara ya Israel, wa havera Benhadad ovikando vitatu na kambura ovihuro vyawo rukwao mbya huurirwe i Benhadad moruveze rwouhona wa Joahohas, ihe ya Joas.
