She came and fell at his feet and bowed down to the ground; then she picked up her son and went out.

So Elisha returned to Gilgal. Now the famine [was] in the land, and the sons of the prophets were sitting before him. He said to his servant, put on the large pot and cook a stew for the sons of the prophets.

He said, "Peace. My master has sent me saying, 'Look, {just now} two servants from the hill country of Ephraim came to me, from the sons of the prophets. Please give them a talent of silver and two sets of clothing.'"

Then the sons of the prophets said to Elisha, "Please look; the place where we are living before you [is] too cramped for us.

The king said to her, "{What is the problem}?" Then the woman said, "This woman said to me, 'Give me your son, and let us eat him today, then tomorrow we will eat my son.'

So we cooked my son and ate him, and I said to her the next day, 'Give your son that we may eat him.' But she had hidden her son."

Then he said, "May God do to me and thus may he add, if the head of Elisha the son of Shaphat remains on him today!"

Now Elisha [was] sitting in his house and the elders [were] sitting with him, and [the king] dispatched a man from before him, but before the messenger came to him, he said to the elders, "Did you see that this son of a murderer has sent to remove my head? Look, when the messenger comes, close the door; and you must {hold the door closed against him}. [Is] not the sound of the feet of his master behind him?"

Elisha spoke to the woman whose son he had restored to life, saying, "Get up and go, you and your household, and dwell as an alien wherever you can, for Yahweh has called for a famine, and it will come to the land [for] seven years."

It happened that as he [was] telling the king how he had restored the dead to life, suddenly the woman whose son he had restored to life [was] crying out to the king about her household and about her field. Then Gehazi said, "My lord the king, this [is] the woman and this is her son whom Elisha restored to life!"

So Hazael went to meet him and took a gift in his hand of all of the good things of Damascus, a load [on each] of forty camels, and he came and stood before him. Then he said, "Your son Ben-Hadad king of Aram has sent me to you, saying, 'Shall I recover from this illness?'"

Now in the fifth year of Joram son of Ahab, king of Israel, and Jehoshaphat king of Judah, Joram son of Jehoshaphat became the king of Judah.

Yet Yahweh was not willing to destroy Judah, for the sake of David his servant, as he had promised to give him a lamp for his sons always.

So Joram slept with his ancestors, and he was buried with his ancestors in the city of David, and Ahaziah his son became king in place of him.

In the twelfth year of Joram the son of Ahab, king of Israel, Ahaziah the son of Joram became king of Judah.

He walked in the way of the house of Ahab and did evil in the eyes of Yahweh, as the house of Ahab; for he [was] the son-in-law of the house of Ahab.

He went with Joram the son of Ahab for the battle against Hazael king of Aram at Ramoth-Gilead, and the Arameans wounded Joram.

Joram the king returned to Jezreel to heal from the wounds which the Arameans had inflicted at Ramah when Hazael king of Aram fought him. Ahaziah the son of Joram, king of Judah, went down to see Joram the son of Ahab in Jezreel, for he [was] ill.

Now Elisha the prophet called for one of the sons of the prophets, and he said to him, "Gird your loins, and take this flask of olive oil in your hand, and go to Ramoth-Gilead.

Go there and look there for Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat the son of Nimshi. Go, for you must cause him to arise from among his brothers, and you must bring him into an {inner room}.

I will make the house of Ahab like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah.

So Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat the son of Nimshi conspired against Joram. Now Joram was keeping guard in Ramoth-Gilead, he and all of Israel, because of the {threat} of Hazael king of Aram.

So the sentinel reported, saying, "He went up to them, but he did not return, and the driving [is] like the driving of Jehu the son of Nimshi, for he drives with madness."

In the eleventh year of Joram the son of Ahab, Ahaziah had become king over Judah.

Ahab had seventy sons in Samaria, and Jehu wrote letters, and he sent them to Samaria to the officials of Jezreel, to the elders and to the guardians of Ahab, saying,

"Now, when this letter comes to you and your master's sons [are] with you, the chariots [are] with you, the horses, a fortified city, and weapons,

then you must select the best and the most suitable from the sons of your master, and you must place [him] on the throne of his father, and they must fight for the house of your masters."

Then he wrote to them a second letter, saying, "If you [are] for me, and you [are] listening to my voice, take the heads of the men of the sons of your master and come to me at [this] time tomorrow at Jezreel." Now the sons of the king, seventy men, [were] with the leaders of the city who were raising them.

When the letter came to them, they took the sons of the king, and they killed seventy men. Then they put their heads in baskets and sent them to him at Jezreel.

Then the messenger came and told him, saying, "They have brought the heads of the king's sons," and he said, "Put them [in] two piles [at] the entrance of the gate until morning."

Next he went from there and found Jehonadab the son of Recab to meet him. He greeted him and asked him, "{Is your heart right with me as my heart is with you}?" Then Jehonadab said, "Yes, it is. Give your hand!" And he gave his hand and took him up to him on the chariot.

Then Jehu and Jehonadab the son of Recab came [to] the temple of Baal, and he said to the servants of Baal, "Search and see that there is none of the servants of Yahweh here with you; only those who serve Baal."

Only Jehu did not turn aside from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat [by] which he caused Israel to sin; [namely,] the calf-shaped idols of gold which [were in] Bethel and Dan.

Yahweh said to Jehu, "Because you have done well by doing right in my eyes and you have done to the house of Ahab according to all that [was] in my heart; [therefore,] sons of the fourth generation will sit for you on the throne of Israel."

So Jehu slept with his ancestors, and they buried him in Samaria, and Jehoahaz his son became king in his place.

Now Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, so she prepared to destroy all of the offspring of the royal family.

But Jehosheba the daughter of King Joram and sister of Ahaziah took Jehoash the son of Ahaziah, and she stole him from among the sons of the king who were being put to death, [putting] him and his nurse in the inner bedroom. So they hid him from the presence of Athaliah, and he was not killed.

But in the seventh year Jehoiada sent and took the commanders of the hundreds of the Carites and the runners, and he brought them to himself to the temple of Yahweh. Then he {made} a covenant with them and made them swear in the house of Yahweh and showed them the son of the king.

Then he brought out the son of the king, put the crown on him with the testimony, and they made him king, anointed him, clapped [their] hands, and said, "[Long] live the king!"

Jozabad the son of Shimeath and Jehozabad the son of Shomer, his servants, struck him and killed him, so they buried him with his ancestors in the city of David. Then Amaziah his son became king in his place.

In the twenty-third year of Joash the son of Ahaziah, king of Judah, Jehoahaz the son of Jehu became king over Israel in Samaria, [reigning] seventeen years.

But he did evil in the eyes of Yahweh, and he went after the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat with which he had caused Israel to sin, and he did not depart from it.

So the {anger of Yahweh was kindled} against Israel, and he gave them into the hand of Hazael king of Aram and into the hand of Ben-Hadad the son of Hazael {repeatedly}.

Then Jehoahaz slept with his ancestors and they buried him in Samaria, and Jehoash his son became king in his place.

In the thirty-seventh year of Joash king of Judah, Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz became king over Israel in Samaria, [reigning] sixteen years.

He did evil in the eyes of Yahweh; he did not depart from all of the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat which he caused Israel to sin, [but] walked in it.

When Hazael king of Aram died, his son Ben-Hadad became king in his place.

Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz returned and took the cities from the hand of Ben-Hadad the son of Hazael which he had taken from the hand of Jehoahaz his father in the war. Three times Jehoash defeated him and recovered the towns of Israel.

In the second year of Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz king of Israel, Amaziah the son of Jehoash king of Judah began to reign.

But the sons of the killers he did not kill, as it is written in the scroll of the law of Moses which Yahweh had commanded, saying, "Fathers should not be killed because of children, and children should not be killed because of fathers; but a man should die because of his [own] sin."

Then Amaziah sent messengers to Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz the son of Jehu king of Israel, saying, "Come let us meet {face-to-face}."

So Jehoash the king of Israel sent to Amaziah, saying, "The thornbush which is in Lebanon sent to the cedar which is in Lebanon, saying, 'Give your daughter to my son as wife,' but an animal of the field which [is] in Lebanon passed by and trampled the thornbush.

Jehoash king of Israel captured Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Jehoash, the son of Ahaziah, at Beth-Shemesh. Then they came [to] Jerusalem, and he broke down the wall of Jerusalem from the Gate of Ephraim up to the Corner Gate, four hundred cubits!

Then Jehoash slept with his ancestors and was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel, and Jeroboam his son reigned in his place.

Amaziah the son of Jehoash king of Judah lived fifteen years after the death of Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz king of Israel.

In the fifteenth year of Amaziah the son of Jehoash king of Judah, Jeroboam the son of Jehoash king of Israel began to reign in Samaria, [reigning] forty-one years.

But he did evil in the eyes of Yahweh; he did not depart from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat which he caused Israel to sin.

He restored the boundary of Israel from Lebo-Hamath up to the sea of the Arabah, according to the word of Yahweh which he spoke by the hand of his servant Jonah the son of Amittai the prophet, who was from Gath-Hepher.

Yahweh did not decree to blot out the name of Israel from under the heavens, so he saved them by the hand of Jeroboam the son of Jehoash.

So Jeroboam slept with his ancestors the kings of Israel, and his son Zechariah became king in his place.

In the twenty-seventh year of Jeroboam king of Israel, Azariah the son of Amaziah king of Judah began to reign.

Yahweh struck the king, and he was infected with a skin disease until the day of his death. He lived in a separate house, [while] Jotham the son of the king [was] over the house, governing the people of the land.

So Azariah slept with his ancestors, and they buried him with his ancestors in the city of David, and Jotham his son became king in his place.

In the thirty-eighth year of Azariah king of Judah, Zechariah the son of Jeroboam reigned over Israel in Samaria for six months.

He did evil in the eyes of Yahweh as his ancestors had done. He did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat which he caused Israel to sin.

Shallum the son of Jabesh conspired against him, struck him in front of the people, killed him, and reigned in his place.

This is the word of Yahweh which he spoke to Jehu, saying, "Sons of a fourth [generation] shall sit for you on the throne of Israel," and it was so.

Shallum the son of Jabesh began to reign in the thirty-ninth year of Uzziah king of Judah, and he reigned {a full month} in Samaria.

Then Menahem the son of Gadi came up from Tirzah, and he came [to] Samaria and struck down Shallum the son of Jabesh in Samaria and killed him. Then he became king in place of him.

In the thirty-ninth year of Azariah king of Judah, Menahem the son of Gadi began to reign over Israel [for] ten years in Samaria.

But he did evil in the eyes of Yahweh. He did not depart all of his days from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat which he caused Israel to sin.

So Menahem slept with his ancestors, and Pekahiah his son became king in his place.

In the fiftieth year of Azariah king of Judah, Pekahiah the son of Menahem began to reign over Israel in Samaria [for] two years.

But he did evil in the eyes of Yahweh. He did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat which he caused Israel to sin.

Pekah the son of Remaliah, his captain, conspired against him, so he attacked him in Samaria in the citadel fortress of [the] palace of the king, with Argob and Arieh. With him [also were] fifty men from the children of the Gileadites, and he killed him and became king in his place.

In the fifty-second year of Azariah king of Judah, Pekah the son of Remaliah began to reign over Israel in Samaria [for] twenty years.

He did evil in the eyes of Yahweh. He did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat which he caused Israel to sin.

Hoshea the son of Elah conspired against Pekah the son of Remaliah, and he attacked and killed him. He reigned in place of him in the twentieth year of Jotham the son of Uzziah.

In the second year of Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, Jotham the son of Uzziah king of Judah began to reign.

(Now, in those days, Yahweh began to send Rezin the king of Aram and Pekah the son of Remaliah against Judah.)

So Jotham slept with his ancestors and was buried with his ancestors in the city of David his ancestor, and his son Ahaz became king in his place.

In the seventeenth year of Pekah the son of Remaliah, Ahaz the son of Jotham king of Judah began to reign.

He walked in the way of the kings of Israel; he even let his son pass through the fire according to the detestable things of the nations which Yahweh drove out from before the {Israelites}.

Then Rezin the king of Aram went up [with] Pekah the son of Remaliah king of Israel against Jerusalem for battle, and they besieged Ahaz but were not able to {defeat} him.

Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria, saying, "I [am] your servant and your son. Come up and rescue me from the hand of the king of Aram and from the hand of the king of Israel who are rising up against me."

So Ahaz slept with his ancestors and was buried with his ancestors in the city of David, and Hezekiah his son reigned in his place.

In the twelfth year of Ahaz the king of Judah, Hoshea the son of Elah began to reign over Israel in Samaria, [reigning] nine years.

They made their sons and their daughters pass through the fire, they practiced divination and read omens, and they sold themselves to do evil in the eyes of Yahweh to provoke him.

For he had torn Israel from the house of David, and they made Jeroboam the son of Nebat king, but Jeroboam detached Israel from following Yahweh, and he made them sin a great sin.

It happened in the third year of Hoshea the son of Elah king of Israel, that Hezekiah the son of Ahaz king of Judah became king.

It happened in the fourth year of King Hezekiah, that [is,] the seventh year of Hoshea the son of Elah king of Israel, Shalmaneser king of Assyria came against Samaria and laid siege against her.

Then they called to the king, so Eliakim the son of Hilkiah who [was] over the palace, Shebna the secretary, and Joah the son of Asaph the recorder, came out to them.

Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah and Shebna and Joah said to the chief commander, "Please speak to your servants in Aramaic, for we [are] understanding, but you must not speak Judean with us in the ears of the people who [are] on the wall."

Eliakim the son of Hilkiah who was over the palace, and Shebna the secretary, and Joah the son of Asaph the recorder came to Hezekiah [with] torn clothes, and they told him the words of the chief commander.

He sent Eliakim who [was] over the palace, Shebna the secretary, the elders, and the priests, [all] clothed in sackcloth, to Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz.

Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, "Thus says Yahweh the God of Israel, 'What you have prayed to me about Sennacherib king of Assyria I have heard.

It happened that he [was] worshiping in the temple of Nisroch his god, and Adrammelech and Sharezer struck him with the sword. Then they escaped [into] the land of Ararat, and Esarhaddon his son became king in his place.

In those days Hezekiah became {deathly ill}, and Isaiah the son of Amoz the prophet came to him and said to him, "Thus says Yahweh, 'Command your house, for you [are about] to die; you will not recover.'"

At that time, Berodak-Baladan the son of Baladan king of {Babylon} sent letters and a gift to Hezekiah, for he had heard that Hezekiah had been ill.

'Your sons who went out from you, whom you brought forth, will be taken, and they shall be eunuchs in the temple of the king of Babylon.'"