11:17 Jehoiada then drew up a covenant between the Lord and the king and people, stipulating that they should be loyal to the Lord. 12
18:28 The chief adviser then stood there and called out loudly in the Judahite dialect, 19 “Listen to the message of the great king, the king of Assyria.
19:14 Hezekiah took the letter 20 from the messengers and read it. 21 Then Hezekiah went up to the Lord’s temple and spread it out before the Lord.
24:1 During Jehoiakim’s reign, 26 King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon attacked. 27 Jehoiakim was his subject for three years, but then he rebelled against him. 28
1 tn Heb “Where is the road we will go up?”
2 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jehoram) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
3 tn Heb “they.”
4 tc The consonantal text (Kethib) suggests, “and they went, striking down,” but the marginal reading (Qere) is “they struck down, striking down.” For a discussion of the textual problem, see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 46.
5 tn Heb “knees.”
6 map For location see Map2-B1; Map4-D3; Map5-E2; Map6-A4; Map7-C1.
7 tn Heb “from their hand.”
8 tn Heb “and he sent the men away and they went.”
9 tn Heb “So may God do to me, and so may he add.”
10 tn Heb “if the head of Elisha son of Shaphat stays on him today.”
11 sn Note how the young prophet greatly expands the message Elisha had given to him. In addition to lengthening the introductory formula (by adding “the God of Israel”) and the official declaration that accompanies the act of anointing (by adding “the
12 tn Heb “and Jehoiada made a covenant between the
13 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elisha) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
14 tn Heb “Cause your hand to ride on the bow.”
15 tn Heb “and he caused his hand to ride.”
16 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elisha) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
17 tn Heb “and he took [them].”
18 tn Heb “let us look at each other [in the] face.” The expression refers here to meeting in battle. See v. 11.
19 tn The Hebrew text also has, “and he spoke and said.”
20 tc The MT has the plural, “letters,” but the final mem is probably dittographic (note the initial mem on the form that immediately follows). Some Greek and Aramaic witnesses have the singular.
21 tc The MT has the plural suffix, “them,” but this probably reflects a later harmonization to the preceding textual corruption (of “letter” to “letters”). The parallel passage in Isa 37:14 has the singular suffix.
22 tn Heb “walked before you.” For a helpful discussion of the background and meaning of this Hebrew idiom, see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 254.
23 tn Heb “and with a complete heart.”
24 tn Heb “and that which is good in your eyes I have done.”
25 tn Heb “wept with great weeping.”
26 tn Heb “In his days.”
27 tn Heb “came up.” Perhaps an object (“against him”) has been accidentally omitted from the text. See M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 306.
28 tn The Hebrew text has “and he turned and rebelled against him.”