Judah also failed to keep the commandments of the <sc>Lordsc> their God; they followed Israel&#8217;s example.<n id="1" />

So the <sc>Lordsc> rejected all of Israel&#8217;s descendants; he humiliated<n id="1" /> them and handed them over to robbers, until he had thrown them from his presence.

<t /><p class="bodytext">In the third year of the reign of Israel&#8217;s King Hoshea son of Elah, Ahaz&#8217;s son Hezekiah became king over Judah.

He trusted in the <sc>Lordsc> God of Israel; in this regard there was none like him among the kings of Judah either before or after.<n id="1" />

After three years he captured it (in the sixth year of Hezekiah&#8217;s reign); in the ninth year of King Hoshea&#8217;s reign over Israel Samaria was captured.

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.

<p class="poetry">Whom have you taunted and hurled insults at?p> <p class="poetry">At whom have you shouted,<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">and looked so arrogantly?<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">At the Holy One of Israel!<n id="3" />p>

But they did not obey,<n id="1" /> and Manasseh misled them so that they sinned more than the nations whom the <sc>Lordsc> had destroyed from before the Israelites.p>

So this is what the <sc>Lordsc> God of Israel says, &#8216;I am about to bring disaster on Jerusalem and Judah. The news will reverberate in the ears of those who hear about it.<n id="1" />

and she said to them: &#8220;This is what the <sc>Lordsc> God of Israel says: &#8216;Say this to the man who sent you to me:

Jehoshaphat asked, &#8220;Is there no prophet of the <sc>Lordsc> here that we might seek the <sc>Lordsc>&#8217;s direction?&#8221;<n id="1" /> One of the servants of the king of Israel answered, &#8220;Elisha son of Shapat is here; he used to be Elijah&#8217;s servant.&#8221;<n id="2" />

So he took his firstborn son, who was to succeed him as king, and offered him up as a burnt sacrifice on the wall. There was an outburst of divine anger against Israel,<n id="1" /> so they broke off the attack<n id="2" /> and returned to their homeland.p>

The king of Syria said, &#8220;Go! I will send a letter to the king of Israel.&#8221; So Naaman<n id="1" /> went, taking with him ten talents<n id="2" /> of silver, six thousand shekels of gold,<n id="3" /> and ten suits of clothes.

He brought the letter to king of Israel. It read: &#8220;This is a letter of introduction for my servant Naaman,<n id="1" /> whom I have sent to be cured of his skin disease.&#8221;

When the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes and said, &#8220;Am I God? Can I kill or restore life? Why does he ask me to cure a man of his skin disease?<n id="1" /> Certainly you must see that he is looking for an excuse to fight me!&#8221;<n id="2" />p>

<p class="bodytext">When Elisha the prophet<n id="1" /> heard that the king had torn his clothes, he sent this message to the king, &#8220;Why did you tear your clothes? Send him<n id="2" /> to me so he may know there is a prophet in Israel.&#8221;

This made the king of Syria upset.<n id="1" /> So he summoned his advisers<n id="2" /> and said to them, &#8220;One of us must be helping the king of Israel.&#8221;<n id="3" />

One of his advisers said, &#8220;No, my master, O king. The prophet Elisha who lives in Israel keeps telling the king of Israel the things you say in your bedroom.&#8221;

The <sc>Lordsc> had caused the Syrian camp to hear the sound of chariots and horses and a large army. Then they said to one another, &#8220;Look, the king of Israel has paid the kings of the Hittites and Egypt to attack us!&#8221;

Hazael asked, &#8220;Why are you crying, my master?&#8221; He replied, &#8220;Because I know the trouble you will cause the Israelites. You will set fire to their fortresses, kill their young men with the sword, smash their children to bits, and rip open their pregnant women.&#8221;