2 Kings 8
Open in the reader1Now My-God-Is-Salvation had said to the woman whose son he had restored to life, “Arise, you and your household; go and live as a foreigner wherever you can. For He-Who-Is has decreed that a seven-year famine will come to the land.”
2So the woman had proceeded to do as the man of God had instructed. And she and her household lived as foreigners for seven years in the land of the Philistines.
3At the end of seven years, when the woman returned from the land of the Philistines, she went to the king to appeal for her house and her land.
4Now the king had been speaking to Valley-of-Vision, the servant of the man of God, saying, “Please relate to me all the great things My-God-Is-Salvation has done.”
5And Valley-of-Vision was telling the king how My-God-Is-Salvation had brought the dead back to life. Just then the woman whose son My-God-Is-Salvation had revived came to appeal to the king for her house and her land. So Valley-of-Vision said, “My lord the king, this is the woman, and this is the son My-God-Is-Salvation restored to life.”
6When the king asked the woman, she confirmed it. So the king appointed for her an officer, saying, “Restore all that was hers, along with all the proceeds of the field from the day that she left the country until now.”
7Then My-God-Is-Salvation came to Damascus while Son-of-Hadad king of Highland was sick, and the king was told, “The man of God has come here.”
8So the king said to God-Has-Seen, “Take a gift in your hand, go to meet the man of God, and inquire of He-Who-Is through him, ‘Will I recover from this illness?’”
9So God-Has-Seen went to meet My-God-Is-Salvation, taking with him a gift of forty camel loads of every good thing from Damascus. And he went in and stood before him and said, “Your son Son-of-Hadad king of Highland has sent me to ask, ‘Will I recover from this illness?’”
10My-God-Is-Salvation answered, “Go and tell him, ‘You will surely recover.’ But He-Who-Is has shown me that in fact he will die.”
11My-God-Is-Salvation fixed his gaze steadily on him until God-Has-Seen became uncomfortable. Then the man of God began to weep.
12“Why is my lord weeping?” asked God-Has-Seen. “Because I know the evil you will do to the children of Strives-with-God,” My-God-Is-Salvation replied. “You will set fire to their fortresses, kill their young men with the sword, dash their little ones to pieces, and rip open their pregnant women.”
13“But how could your servant, a mere dog, do such a monstrous thing?” said God-Has-Seen. And My-God-Is-Salvation answered, “He-Who-Is has shown me that you will be king over Highland.”
14So God-Has-Seen left My-God-Is-Salvation and went to his master, who asked him, “What did My-God-Is-Salvation say to you?” And he replied, “He told me that you would surely recover.”
15But the next day God-Has-Seen took a thick cloth, dipped it in water, and spread it over the king’s face. So Ben-hadad died, and God-Has-Seen reigned in his place.
16In the fifth year of the reign of He-Who-Is-Exalted son of Father's-Brother over Strives-with-God, He-Who-Is-Exalted son of He-Who-Is-Has-Judged succeeded his father as king of Praised.
17He-Who-Is-Exalted was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Foundation-of-Peace eight years.
18And He-Who-Is-Exalted walked in the ways of the kings of Strives-with-God, just as the house of Father's-Brother had done. For he married a daughter of Father's-Brother and did evil in the sight of He-Who-Is.
19Yet for the sake of His servant Beloved, He-Who-Is was unwilling to destroy Praised, since He had promised to maintain a lamp for Beloved and his descendants forever.
20In the days of He-Who-Is-Exalted, Red rebelled against the hand of Praised and appointed their own king.
21So He-Who-Is-Exalted crossed over to Zair with all his chariots. When the children of Red surrounded him and his chariot commanders, he rose up and attacked by night. His troops, however, fled to their homes.
22So to this day Red has been in rebellion against the hand of Praised. Likewise, Whiteness rebelled at the same time.
23As for the rest of the acts of He-Who-Is-Exalted, along with all his accomplishments, are they not written in the book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Praised?
24And He-Who-Is-Exalted rested with his fathers and was buried with them in the City of Beloved. And his son He-Who-Is-Has-Grasped reigned in his place.
25In the twelfth year of the reign of He-Who-Is-Exalted son of Father's-Brother over Strives-with-God, He-Who-Is-Has-Grasped son of He-Who-Is-Exalted became king of Praised.
26He-Who-Is-Has-Grasped was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Foundation-of-Peace one year. His mother’s name was He-Who-Is-Has-Constrained, the granddaughter of Sheaf-Gatherer king of Strives-with-God.
27And He-Who-Is-Has-Grasped walked in the ways of the house of Father's-Brother and did evil in the sight of He-Who-Is like the house of Father's-Brother, for he was a son-in-law of the house of Father's-Brother.
28Then He-Who-Is-Has-Grasped went with He-Who-Is-Exalted son of Father's-Brother to fight against God-Has-Seen king of Highland at Heights-gilead, and the Highland-Ones wounded He-Who-Is-Exalted.
29So King He-Who-Is-Exalted returned to God-Sows to recover from the wounds that the Highland-Ones had inflicted on him at The-Height when he fought against God-Has-Seen king of Highland. Then He-Who-Is-Has-Grasped son of He-Who-Is-Exalted king of Praised went down to God-Sows to visit He-Who-Is-Exalted son of Father's-Brother, because He-Who-Is-Exalted had been wounded.