1. Jehoahaz son of Jehu became king of Israel in the twenty-third year of Joash's rule in Judah. Jehoahaz ruled seventeen years from Samaria
2. and disobeyed the Lord by doing wrong. He never stopped following the example of Jeroboam, who had caused the Israelites to sin.
3. The Lord was angry with the Israelites, so he let King Hazael of Syria and his son Benhadad rule over them for a long time.
4. Jehoahaz prayed to the Lord for help, and the Lord saw how terribly Hazael was treating the Israelites. He answered Jehoahaz
5. by sending Israel a leader who rescued them from the Syrians, and the Israelites lived in peace as they had before.
6-7. But Hazael had defeated Israel's army so badly that Jehoahaz had only ten chariots, fifty cavalry troops, and ten thousand regular soldiers left in his army.The Israelites kept sinning and following the example of Jeroboam's family. They did not tear down the sacred poles that had been set up in Samaria for the worship of the goddess Asherah.
8. Everything else Jehoahaz did while he was king, including his brave deeds, is written in The History of the Kings of Israel.
9. Jehoahaz died and was buried in Samaria, and his son Jehoash became king.