Elisha died and was buried. ¹  Moabite raiding parties invaded ²  the land at the beginning of the year. ³ 

The king of Assyria marched through ¹  the whole land. He attacked Samaria and besieged it for three years.

The Edomites had again invaded and defeated Judah and carried off captives.

After these faithful deeds were accomplished, King Sennacherib of Assyria invaded Judah. He besieged the fortified cities, intending to seize them. ¹ 

For a nation ¹  has invaded ²  our ³  land. There are so many of them they are too numerous to count. ⁴  Their teeth are like those ⁵  of a lion; they tear apart their prey like a lioness. ⁶ 

Now the Ammonites, Moabites, and men from Mount Seir are coming! ¹  When Israel came from the land of Egypt, you did not allow them to invade these lands. ²  They bypassed them and did not destroy them.

Then the king of the north ¹  will advance against the empire of the king of the south, but will withdraw to his own land.

But a messenger came to Saul saying, “Come quickly, for the Philistines have raided the land!”

At an appointed time he will again invade the south, but this latter visit will not turn out the way the former one did.

They attacked Judah and swept through it. ¹  They carried off everything they found in the royal palace, ²  including his sons and wives. None of his sons was left, except for his youngest, Ahaziah.

I listened and my stomach churned; ¹  the sound made my lips quiver. My frame went limp, as if my bones were decaying, ²  and I shook as I tried to walk. ³  I long ⁴  for the day of distress to come upon ⁵  the people who attack us.

He will give us peace. ¹  Should the Assyrians try to invade our land and attempt to set foot in our fortresses, ²  we will send ³  against them seven ⁴  shepherd-rulers, ⁵  make that eight commanders. ⁶ 

Whenever the Israelites planted their crops, ¹  the Midianites, Amalekites, and the people from the east would attack them. ² 

At the beginning ¹  of the year the Syrian army attacked ²  Joash ³  and invaded Judah and Jerusalem. They wiped out all the leaders of the people and sent all the plunder they gathered to the king of Damascus.

The Philistines had raided the cities of Judah in the lowlands ¹  and the Negev. They captured and settled in Beth Shemesh, Aijalon, Gederoth, Soco and its surrounding villages, Timnah and its surrounding villages, and Gimzo and its surrounding villages.

They will rule ¹  the land of Assyria with the sword, the land of Nimrod ²  with a drawn sword. ³  Our king ⁴  will rescue us from the Assyrians should they attempt to invade our land and try to set foot in our territory.

So the Philistines were defeated; they did not invade Israel again. The hand of the Lord was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel.

Pul ¹  king of Assyria invaded the land, and Menahem paid ²  him ³  a thousand talents ⁴  of silver to gain his support ⁵  and to solidify his control of the kingdom. ⁶ 

During Jehoiakim’s reign, ¹  King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon attacked. ²  Jehoiakim was his subject for three years, but then he rebelled against him. ³ 

Five hundred men of Simeon, led by Pelatiah, Neariah, Rephaiah, and Uzziel, the sons of Ishi, went to the hill country of Seir