der such unavoidable miseries, he had recourse
to prayer and supplication to God, and besought him to deliver him out
of the hands of Hazael, and not overlook him, and give him up into his
hands. Accordingly God accepted of his repentance instead of virtue; and
being desirous rather to admonish those that might repent, and not
to determine that they should be utterly destroyed, he granted him
deliverance from war and dangers. So the country having obtained peace,
returned again to its former condition, and flourished as before.

6. Now after the death of Jehoahaz, his son Joash took the kingdom, in
the thirty-seventh year of Jehoash, the king of the tribe of Judah. This
Joash then took the kingdom of Israel in Samaria, for he had the same
name with the king of Jerusalem, and he retained the kingdom sixteen
years. He was a good man, [17] and in his disposition was not at all
like his father. Now at this time it was that when Elisha the prophet,
who was already very old, and was now fallen into a disease, the king
of Israel came to visit him; and when he found him very near death, he
began to weep in his sight, and lament, to call him his father, and
his weapons, because it was by his means that he never made use of his
weapons against his enemies, but that he overcame his own adversaries
by his prophecies, without fighting; and that he was now departing this
life, and leaving him to the Syrians, that were already armed, and to
other enemies of his that were under their power; so he said it was not
safe for him to live any longer, but that it would be well for him to
hasten to his end, and depart out of this life with him. As the king was
thus bemoaning himself, Elisha comforted him, and bid the king bend
a bow that was brought him; and when the king had fitted the bow for
shooting, Elisha took hold of his hands and bid him shoot; and when he
had shot three arrows, and then left off, Elisha said, "If thou hadst
shot more arrows, thou hadst cut the kingdom of Syria up by the roots;
but since thou hast been satisfied with shooting three times only, thou
shalt fight and beat the Syrians no more times than three, that thou
mayst recover that country which they cut off from thy kingdom in the
reign of thy father." So when the king had heard that, he departed;
and a little while after the prophet died. He was a man celebrated
for righteousness, and in eminent favor with God. He also performed
wonderful and surprising works by pr