1 In the twenty-third year of the reign of Joash son of Ahaziah as king of Judah, Jehoahaz son of Jehu became king of Israel, and he ruled in Samaria for seventeen years.
2 Like King Jeroboam before him, he sinned against the Lord and led Israel into sin; he never gave up his evil ways.
3 So the Lord was angry with Israel, and he allowed King Hazael of Syria and his son Benhadad to defeat Israel time after time.
4 Then Jehoahaz prayed to the Lord, and the Lord, seeing how harshly the king of Syria was oppressing the Israelites, answered his prayer.
5 The Lord sent Israel a leader, who freed them from the Syrians, and so the Israelites lived in peace, as before.