Study Desk

Then Elisha said to the king of Israel, "Put your hand on the bow." So the king put his hand on the bow, and Elisha put his hands on the king's hands.

"Open the east window," said Elisha. So he opened it and Elisha said, "Shoot!" So he shot. Then Elisha declared, "This is the LORD's arrow of victory, the arrow of victory over Aram, for you shall strike the Arameans in Aphek until you have put an end to them."

Then Elisha said, "Take the arrows!" So he took them, and Elisha said to the king of Israel, "Strike the ground!" So he struck the ground three times and stopped.

Once, as the Israelites were burying a man, suddenly they saw a band of raiders, so they threw the man's body into Elisha's tomb. And when he touched the bones of Elisha, the man was revived and stood up on his feet.

Then Jehoash son of Jehoahaz took back from Ben-hadad son of Hazael the cities that Hazael had taken in battle from his father Jehoahaz. Jehoash defeated Ben-hadad three times, and so recovered the cities of Israel.

You have indeed defeated Edom, and your heart has become proud. Glory in that and stay at home. Why should you stir up trouble so that you fall-you and Judah with you?"

And the LORD afflicted the king with leprosy until the day he died, so that he lived in a separate house while his son Jotham had charge of the palace and governed the people of the land.

So the word of the LORD spoken to Jehu was fulfilled: "Four generations of your sons will sit on the throne of Israel."

At that time Menahem, starting from Tirzah, attacked Tiphsah and everyone in its vicinity, because they would not open their gates. So he attacked Tiphsah and ripped open all the pregnant women.

Menahem exacted this money from each of the wealthy men of Israel-fifty shekels of silver from each man-to give to the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria withdrew and did not remain in the land.

So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, saying, "I am your servant and your son. Come up and save me from the hands of the kings of Aram and Israel, who are rising up against me."

So the king of Assyria listened to him, marched up to Damascus, and captured it. He took its people to Kir as captives and put Rezin to death.

So Uriah the priest did just as King Ahaz had commanded.

But the king of Assyria discovered that Hoshea had conspired to send envoys to King So of Egypt, and that he had not paid tribute to the king of Assyria as in previous years. Therefore the king of Assyria arrested Hoshea and put him in prison.

So the LORD was very angry with Israel, and He removed them from His presence. Only the tribe of Judah remained,

So the LORD rejected all the descendants of Israel. He afflicted them and delivered them into the hands of plunderers, until He had banished them from His presence.

Finally, the LORD removed Israel from His presence, as He had declared through all His servants the prophets. So Israel was exiled from their homeland into Assyria, where they are to this day.

Now when the settlers first lived there, they did not worship the LORD, so He sent lions among them, which killed some of them.

So they spoke to the king of Assyria, saying, "The peoples that you have removed and placed in the cities of Samaria do not know the requirements of the God of the land. Because of this, He has sent lions among them, which are indeed killing them off."

So the new residents worshiped the LORD, but they also appointed for themselves priests of all sorts to serve in the shrines of the high places.