2 Kings 13:7

7 Nothing was left of Jehoahaz's army after Hazael's oppression except for fifty cavalry, ten chariots, and ten thousand infantry. The king of Aram had decimated the rest, leaving behind him mostly chaff.

2 Kings 13:7 Meaning and Commentary

2 Kings 13:7

Neither did he leave of the people to Jehoahaz but fifty
horsemen
This is to be connected with ( 2 Kings 13:4 ) , the verses ( 2 Kings 12:5 2 Kings 12:6 ) , being to be read in a parenthesis, as in our version, and to be understood of the king of Syria, who left no more to the king of Israel, not of the people of the land, but of his army, than fifty horsemen, all the rest being either taken and carried captive by him, or slain:

and ten chariots;
military chariots, with the men they carried:

and ten thousand footmen;
foot soldiers; to so small a number was his army reduced through wars with the Syrians:

for the king of Syria had destroyed them, and had made them like the
dust by threshing:
as corn or chaff may be reduced to dust by too much threshing; or as mire and clay by treading on it.

2 Kings 13:7 In-Context

5 So God provided a savior for Israel who brought them out from under Aram's oppression. The children of Israel were again able to live at peace in their own homes.
6 But it didn't make any difference: They didn't change their lives, didn't turn away from the Jeroboam-sins that now characterized Israel, including the sex-and-religion shrines of Asherah still flourishing in Samaria.
7 Nothing was left of Jehoahaz's army after Hazael's oppression except for fifty cavalry, ten chariots, and ten thousand infantry. The king of Aram had decimated the rest, leaving behind him mostly chaff.
8 The rest of the life and times of Jehoahaz, the record of his accomplishments, are written in The Chronicles of the Kings of Israel.
9 Jehoahaz died and was buried with his ancestors in Samaria. His son Jehoash succeeded him as king.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.