Then Hazael king of Syria went up, and fought against Gath, and took it; and Hazael set his face to go up to Jerusalem.
Parallel translations
- KJV Then Hazael king of Syria went up, and fought against Gath, and took it: and Hazael set his face to go up to Jerusalem.
- BSB At that time Hazael king of Aram marched up and fought against Gath and captured it. Then he decided to attack Jerusalem.
- NKJV Hazael king of Syria went up and fought against Gath, and took it; then Hazael set his face to go up to Jerusalem.
- NASB Then Hazael the king of Aram went up and fought against Gath and captured it, and Hazael was intent on going up against Jerusalem.
- NLT About this time King Hazael of Aram went to war against Gath and captured it. Then he turned to attack Jerusalem.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Hazael of Syria captures Gath and turns toward Jerusalem. A serious military threat presses upon Judah.
Overview
The Syrian king's advance after taking Gath endangers the capital itself. This external pressure tests Joash's reign and the nation's trust in God. The looming threat sets up the king's costly response and reflects the ongoing consequences of Judah's incomplete faithfulness.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- 2 Chr 24:23–24At the end of the year, the army of the Syrians came up against him: and they came to Judah and Jerusalem, and destroyed all the princes of the people from among the people, and sent all their plunder to the king of Damascus.
- 1 Kgs 2:39–40At the end of three years, two of Shimei’s slaves ran away to Achish, son of Maacah, king of Gath. They told Shimei, saying, “Behold, your slaves are in Gath.”
- 1 Sam 27:2David arose, and passed over, he and the six hundred men who were with him, to Achish the son of Maoch, king of Gath.
- Luke 9:51It came to pass, when the days were near that he should be taken up, he intently set his face to go to Jerusalem,
- Jer 42:15now therefore hear Yahweh’s word, O remnant of Judah: Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel, says, ‘If you indeed set your faces to enter into Egypt, and go to live there;
- 2 Kgs 8:12–15Hazael said, “Why do you weep, my lord?” He answered, “Because I know the evil that you will do to the children of Israel. You will set their strongholds on fire, and you will kill their young men with the sword, and will dash their little ones in pieces, and rip up their pregnant women.”
- 1 Kgs 19:17He who escapes from the sword of Hazael, Jehu will kill; and he who escapes from the sword of Jehu, Elisha will kill.
- Luke 9:53They didn’t receive him, because he was traveling with his face set towards Jerusalem.
- 1 Chr 18:1After this, David defeated the Philistines and subdued them, and took Gath and its towns out of the hand of the Philistines.
- 1 Chr 8:13and Beriah, and Shema, who were heads of fathers’ households of the inhabitants of Aijalon, who put to flight the inhabitants of Gath;
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Christ at the center
Amid the long decline toward exile, the promise to David's house refuses to die; the flickering lamp kept burning anticipates the coming King who will not fail or be cut off.
How 2 Kings 12:17 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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