The enemy broke through the city walls,<n id="1" /> and all the soldiers tried to escape. They left the city during the night.<n id="2" /> They went through the gate between the two walls that is near the king&#8217;s garden.<n id="3" /> (The Babylonians were all around the city.) Then they headed for the Jordan Valley.<n id="4" />

Joram passed away<n id="1" /> and was buried with his ancestors in the city of David. His son Ahaziah replaced him as king.p>

&#8220;You have with you the sons of your master, chariots and horses, a fortified city, and weapons. So when this letter arrives,<n id="1" />

All the people of the land celebrated, for the city had rest now that they had killed Athaliah with the sword in the royal palace.p>

Azariah passed away<n id="1" /> and was buried<n id="2" /> with his ancestors in the city of David. His son Jotham replaced him as king.p>

Jotham passed away<n id="1" /> and was buried with his ancestors in the city of his ancestor David. His son Ahaz replaced him as king.p>

Ahaz passed away<n id="1" /> and was buried with his ancestors in the city of David. His son Hezekiah replaced him as king.p>

<p class="bodytext">But each of these nations made<n id="1" /> its own gods and put them in the shrines on the high places that the people of Samaria<n id="2" /> had made. Each nation did this in the cities where they lived.

He defeated the Philistines as far as Gaza and its territory, from the watchtower to the city fortress.<n id="1" />p>

The king of Assyria deported the people of Israel<n id="1" /> to Assyria. He settled them in Halah, along the Habor (the river of Gozan), and in the cities of the Medes.

<t /><p class="bodytext">In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah&#8217;s reign, King Sennacherib of Assyria marched up against all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them.

Don&#8217;t let Hezekiah talk you into trusting in the <sc>Lordsc> when he says, &#8220;The <sc>Lordsc> will certainly rescue us; this city will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.&#8221;

<n id="1" /><p class="poetry">Certainly you must have heard!<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">Long ago I worked it out,p> <p class="poetry">In ancient times I planned<n id="3" /> it;p> <p class="poetry">and now I am bringing it to pass.p> <p class="poetry">The plan is this:p> <p class="poetry">Fortified cities will crashp> <p class="poetry">into heaps of ruins.<n id="4" />p>

<p class="bodytext">The king got up in the night and said to his advisers,<n id="1" /> &#8220;I will tell you what the Syrians have done to us. They know we are starving, so they left the camp and hid in the field, thinking, &#8216;When they come out of the city, we will capture them alive and enter the city.&#8217;&#8221;

<p class="bodytext">He went up from there to Bethel.<n id="1" /> As he was traveling up the road, some young boys<n id="2" /> came out of the city and made fun of him, saying, &#8220;Go on up, baldy! Go on up, baldy!&#8221;

They tore down the cities and each man threw a stone into every cultivated field until they were covered.<n id="1" /> They stopped up every spring and chopped down every productive tree.p> <p class="bodytext">Only Kir Hareseth was left intact,<n id="2" /> but the slingers surrounded it and attacked it.

<p class="bodytext">The prophet&#8217;s<n id="1" /> attendant got up early in the morning. When he went outside there was an army surrounding the city, along with horses and chariots. He said to Elisha,<n id="2" /> &#8220;Oh no, my master! What will we do?&#8221;

Then Elisha said to them, &#8220;This is not the right road or city. Follow me, and I will lead you to the man you&#8217;re looking for.&#8221; He led them to Samaria.<n id="1" />p>

So they went and called out to the gatekeepers<n id="1" /> of the city. They told them, &#8220;We entered the Syrian camp and there was no one there. We didn&#8217;t even hear a man&#8217;s voice.<n id="2" /> But the horses and donkeys are still tied up, and the tents remain up.&#8221;<n id="3" />

But King Joram had returned to Jezreel to recover from the wounds he received from the Syrians<n id="1" /> when he fought against King Hazael of Syria.<n id="2" /> Jehu told his supporters,<n id="3" /> &#8220;If you really want me to be king,<n id="4" /> then don&#8217;t let anyone escape from the city to go and warn Jezreel.&#8221;