001:001 Moab rebelled against Israel after the death of Ahab.
001:002 Ahaziah fell down through the lattice in his upper chamber
that was in Samaria, and was sick: and he sent messengers,
and said to them, Go, inquire of Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron,
whether I shall recover of this sickness.
001:003 But the angel of Yahweh said to Elijah the Tishbite, Arise, go up
to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria, and tell them,
Is it because there is no God in Israel, that you go to inquire
of Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron?
001:004 Now therefore thus says Yahweh, You shall not come down
from the bed where you are gone up, but shall surely die.
Elijah departed.
001:005 The messengers returned to him, and he said to them, Why is it
that you have returned?
001:006 They said to him, There came up a man to meet us, and said
to us, Go, turn again to the king who sent you, and tell him,
Thus says Yahweh, Is it because there is no God in Israel,
that you send to inquire of Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron?
therefore you shall not come down from the bed where you
are gone up, but shall surely die.
001:007 He said to them, What manner of man was he who came up to meet you,
and told you these words?
001:008 They answered him, He was a hairy man, and girt with a belt
of leather about his waist. He said, It is Elijah the Tishbite.
001:009 Then [the king] sent to him a captain of fifty with his fifty.
He went up to him: and behold, he was sitting on the top
of the hill. He spoke to him, man of God, the king
has said, Come down.
001:010 Elijah answered to the captain of fifty, If I be a man of God,
let fire come down from the sky, and consume you and your fifty.
Fire came down from the sky, and consumed him and his fifty.
001:011 Again he sent to him another captain of fifty and his fifty.
He answered him, man of God, thus has the king said,
Come down quickly.
001:012 Elijah answered them, If I be a man of God, let fire come
down from the sky, and consume you and your fifty.
The fire of God came down from the sky, and consumed him
and his fifty.
001:013 Again he sent the captain of a third fifty with his fifty.
The third captain of fifty went up, and came and fell on his knees
before Elijah, and begged him, and said to him, man of God,
please let my life, and the life of these fifty your servants,
be precious in your sight.
001:014 Behold, fire came down from the sky, and consumed the two former
captains of fifty with their fifties; but now let my life
be precious in your sight.
001:015 The angel of Yahweh said to Elijah, Go down with him:
don't be afraid of him. He arose, and went down with him
to the king.
001:016 He said to him, Thus says Yahweh, Because you have sent messengers
to inquire of Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron, is it because
there is no God in Israel to inquire of his word? therefore
you shall not come down from the bed where you are gone up,
but shall surely die.
001:017 So he died according to the word of Yahweh which Elijah had spoken.
Jehoram began to reign in his place in the second year of Jehoram
the son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah; because he had no son.
001:018 Now the rest of the acts of Ahaziah which he did, aren't they
written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?
002:001 It happened, when Yahweh would take up Elijah by a whirlwind
into heaven, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal.
002:002 Elijah said to Elisha, Please wait here, for Yahweh has
sent me as far as Bethel. Elisha said, As Yahweh lives,
and as your soul lives, I will not leave you. So they went
down to Bethel.
002:003 The sons of the prophets who were at Bethel came forth to Elisha,
and said to him, "Do you know that Yahweh will take away
your master from your head today?" He said, "Yes, I know it;
hold your peace."
002:004 Elijah said to him, Elisha, please wait here, for Yahweh has sent
me to Jericho. He said, As Yahweh lives, and as your soul lives,
I will not leave you. So they came to Jericho.
002:005 The sons of the prophets who were at Jericho came near to Elisha,
and said to him, "Do you know that Yahweh will take away your
master from your head today?" He answered, "Yes, I know it.
Hold your peace."
002:006 Elijah said to him, "Please wait here, for Yahweh has sent
me to the Jordan." He said, "As Yahweh lives, and as your
soul lives, I will not leave you." They two went on.
002:007 Fifty men of the sons of the prophets went, and stood over
against them afar off: and they two stood by the Jordan.
002:008 Elijah took his mantle, and wrapped it together, and struck
the waters, and they were divided here and there, so that they
two went over on dry ground.
002:009 It happened, when they had gone over, that Elijah said
to Elisha, Ask what I shall do for you, before I am taken from you.
Elisha said, please let a double portion of your spirit
be on me.
002:010 He said, You have asked a hard thing: [nevertheless], if you
see me when I am taken from you, it shall be so to you;
but if not, it shall not be so.
002:011 It happened, as they still went on, and talked, that behold,
[there appeared] a chariot of fire, and horses of fire,
which parted them both apart; and Elijah went up by a
whirlwind into heaven.
002:012 Elisha saw it, and he cried, My father, my father, the chariots
of Israel and the horsemen of it! He saw him no more:
and he took hold of his own clothes, and tore them in two pieces.
002:013 He took up also the mantle of Elijah that fell from him,
and went back, and stood by the bank of the Jordan.
002:014 He took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and struck
the waters, and said, Where is Yahweh, the God of Elijah?
and when he also had struck the waters, they were divided
here and there; and Elisha went over.
002:015 When the sons of the prophets who were at Jericho over against him
saw him, they said, The spirit of Elijah does rest on Elisha.
They came to meet him, and bowed themselves to the
ground before him.
002:016 They said to him, See now, there are with your servants
fifty strong men; let them go, we pray you, and seek
your master, lest the Spirit of Yahweh has taken him up,
and cast him on some mountain, or into some valley.
He said, You shall not send.
002:017 When they urged him until he was ashamed, he said, Send.
They sent therefore fifty men; and they sought three days,
but didn't find him.
002:018 They came back to him, while he stayed at Jericho; and he said
to them, "Didn't I tell you, 'Don't go?'"
002:019 The men of the city said to Elisha, Behold, we pray you,
the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord sees:
but the water is bad, and the land miscarries.
002:020 He said, Bring me a new jar, and put salt therein.
They brought it to him.
002:021 He went forth to the spring of the waters, and cast salt therein,
and said, Thus says Yahweh, I have healed these waters;
there shall not be from there any more death or miscarrying.
002:022 So the waters were healed to this day, according to the word
of Elisha which he spoke.
002:023 He went up from there to Bethel; and as he was going up
by the way, some youths came out of the city and mocked him,
and said to him, Go up, you baldy; go up, you baldhead.
002:024 He looked behind him and saw them, and cursed them in the name
of Yahweh. Two female bears came out of the woods, and mauled
forty-two of those youths.
002:025 He went from there to Mount Carmel, and from there
he returned to Samaria.
003:001 Now Jehoram the son of Ahab began to reign over Israel in
Samaria in the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah,
and reigned twelve years.
003:002 He did that which was evil in the sight of Yahweh, but not like
his father, and like his mother; for he put away the pillar
of Baal that his father had made.
003:003 Nevertheless he cleaved to the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat,
with which he made Israel to sin; he didn't depart from it.
003:004 Now Mesha king of Moab was a sheep breeder; and he rendered
to the king of Israel the wool of one hundred thousand lambs,
and of one hundred thousand rams.
003:005 But it happened, when Ahab was dead, that the king of Moab
rebelled against the king of Israel.
003:006 King Jehoram went out of Samaria at that time,
and mustered all Israel.
003:007 He went and sent to Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, saying,
The king of Moab has rebelled against me: will you go
with me against Moab to battle? He said, I will go up:
I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses
as your horses.
003:008 He said, Which way shall we go up? He answered, The way
of the wilderness of Edom.
003:009 So the king of Israel went, and the king of Judah, and the king
of Edom; and they made a circuit of seven days' journey:
and there was no water for the army, nor for the animals
that followed them.
003:010 The king of Israel said, Alas! for Yahweh has called these
three kings together to deliver them into the hand of Moab.
003:011 But Jehoshaphat said, Isn't there here a prophet of Yahweh,
that we may inquire of Yahweh by him? One of the king of
Israel's servants answered, Elisha the son of Shaphat is here,
who poured water on the hands of Elijah.
003:012 Jehoshaphat said, The word of Yahweh is with him.
So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom
went down to him.
003:013 Elisha said to the king of Israel, What have I to do with you?
get you to the prophets of your father, and to the prophets
of your mother. The king of Israel said to him, No; for Yahweh
has called these three kings together to deliver them into
the hand of Moab.
003:014 Elisha said, As Yahweh of Armies lives, before whom I stand,
surely, were it not that I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat
the king of Judah, I would not look toward you, nor see you.
003:015 But now bring me a minstrel. It happened, when the minstrel played,
that the hand of Yahweh came on him.
003:016 He said, Thus says Yahweh, Make this valley full of trenches.
003:017 For thus says Yahweh, You shall not see wind, neither shall you
see rain; yet that valley shall be filled with water, and you
shall drink, both you and your livestock and your animals.
003:018 This is but a light thing in the sight of Yahweh:
he will also deliver the Moabites into your hand.
003:019 You shall strike every fortified city, and every choice city,
and shall fell every good tree, and stop all springs of water,
and mar every good piece of land with stones.
003:020 It happened in the morning, about the time of offering
the offering, that behold, there came water by the way of Edom,
and the country was filled with water.
003:021 Now when all the Moabites heard that the kings had come up
to fight against them, they gathered themselves together,
all who were able to put on armor, and upward, and stood
on the border.
003:022 They rose up early in the morning, and the sun shone on the water,
and the Moabites saw the water over against them as red as blood:
003:023 and they said, This is blood; the kings are surely destroyed,
and they have struck each man his fellow: now therefore,
Moab, to the spoil.
003:024 When they came to the camp of Israel, the Israelites rose
up and struck the Moabites, so that they fled before them;
and they went forward into the land smiting the Moabites.
003:025 They beat down the cities; and on every good piece of land they
cast every man his stone, and filled it; and they stopped
all the springs of water, and felled all the good trees,
until in Kir Hareseth [only] they left the stones of it;
however the men armed with slings went about it, and struck it.
003:026 When the king of Moab saw that the battle was too severe
for him, he took with him seven hundred men who drew sword,
to break through to the king of Edom; but they could not.
003:027 Then he took his eldest son who would have reigned in his place,
and offered him for a burnt offering on the wall.
There was great wrath against Israel: and they departed from him,
and returned to their own land.
004:001 Now there cried a certain woman of the wives of the sons
of the prophets to Elisha, saying, Your servant my husband
is dead; and you know that your servant did fear Yahweh:
and the creditor is come to take to him my two children
to be bondservants.
004:002 Elisha said to her, What shall I do for you? tell me;
what have you in the house? She said, Your handmaid has
nothing in the house, except a pot of oil.
004:003 Then he said, Go, borrow you vessels abroad of all your neighbors,
even empty vessels; borrow not a few.
004:004 You shall go in, and shut the door on you and on your sons,
and pour out into all those vessels; and you shall set aside
that which is full.
004:005 So she went from him, and shut the door on her and on her sons;
they brought [the vessels] to her, and she poured out.
004:006 It happened, when the vessels were full, that she said to her son,
Bring me yet a vessel. He said to her, There isn't another vessel.
The oil stayed.
004:007 Then she came and told the man of God. He said, Go, sell the oil,
and pay your debt, and live you and your sons of the rest.
004:008 It fell on a day, that Elisha passed to Shunem, where was
a great woman; and she constrained him to eat bread.
So it was, that as often as he passed by, he turned in there
to eat bread.
004:009 She said to her husband, See now, I perceive that this is a holy
man of God, that passes by us continually.
004:010 Let us make, Please, a little chamber on the wall;
and let us set for him there a bed, and a table, and a seat,
and a lamp stand: and it shall be, when he comes to us,
that he shall turn in there.
004:011 It fell on a day, that he came there, and he turned into
the chamber and lay there.
004:012 He said to Gehazi his servant, Call this Shunammite.
When he had called her, she stood before him.
004:013 He said to him, Say now to her, Behold, you have been careful
for us with all this care; what is to be done for you? would
you be spoken for to the king, or to the captain of the army?
She answered, I dwell among my own people.
004:014 He said, What then is to be done for her? Gehazi answered,
Most certainly she has no son, and her husband is old.
004:015 He said, Call her. When he had called her, she stood in the door.
004:016 He said, At this season, when the time comes round, you shall
embrace a son. She said, No, my lord, you man of God,
do not lie to your handmaid.
004:017 The woman conceived, and bore a son at that season, when the time
came round, as Elisha had said to her.
004:018 When the child was grown, it fell on a day, that he went out
to his father to the reapers.
004:019 He said to his father, My head, my head. He said to his servant,
Carry him to his mother.
004:020 When he had taken him, and brought him to his mother, he sat
on her knees until noon, and then died.
004:021 She went up and laid him on the bed of the man of God,
and shut [the door] on him, and went out.
004:022 She called to her husband, and said, Please send me one of
the servants, and one of the donkeys, that I may run to the man
of God, and come again.
004:023 He said, Why will you go to him today? it is neither new moon
nor Sabbath. She said, It shall be well.
004:024 Then she saddled a donkey, and said to her servant, Drive,
and go forward; don't slacken me the riding, except I bid you.
004:025 So she went, and came to the man of God to Mount Carmel.
It happened, when the man of God saw her afar off, that he said
to Gehazi his servant, Behold, yonder is the Shunammite:
004:026 please run now to meet her, and ask her, Is it well with you?
is it well with your husband? is it well with the child?
She answered, It is well.
004:027 When she came to the man of God to the hill, she caught hold
of his feet. Gehazi came near to thrust her away; but the man
of God said, Let her alone: for her soul is vexed within her;
and Yahweh has hid it from me, and has not told me.
004:028 Then she said, Did I desire a son of my lord? Didn't I say,
Do not deceive me?
004:029 Then he said to Gehazi, Gird up your waist, and take my
staff in your hand, and go your way: if you meet any man,
Don't greet him; and if anyone greets you, don't answer him again:
and lay my staff on the face of the child.
004:030 The mother of the child said, As Yahweh lives, and as your
soul lives, I will not leave you. He arose, and followed her.
004:031 Gehazi passed on before them, and laid the staff on the face
of the child; but there was neither voice, nor hearing.
Therefore he returned to meet him, and told him, saying, The child
has not awakened.
004:032 When Elisha was come into the house, behold, the child was dead,
and laid on his bed.
004:033 He went in therefore, and shut the door on them both,
and prayed to Yahweh.
004:034 He went up, and lay on the child, and put his mouth on his mouth,
and his eyes on his eyes, and his hands on his hands:
and he stretched himself on him; and the flesh of the
child grew warm.
004:035 Then he returned, and walked in the house once back and forth;
and went up, and stretched himself on him: and the child
sneezed seven times, and the child opened his eyes.
004:036 He called Gehazi, and said, Call this Shunammite.
So he called her. When she was come in to him, he said,
Take up your son.
004:037 Then she went in, and fell at his feet, and bowed herself
to the ground; and she took up her son, and went out.
004:038 Elisha came again to Gilgal. There was a dearth in the land;
and the sons of the prophets were sitting before him;
and he said to his servant, Set on the great pot, and boil
stew for the sons of the prophets.
004:039 One went out into the field to gather herbs, and found a wild vine,
and gathered of it wild gourds his lap full, and came and shred
them into the pot of stew; for they didn't recognize them.
004:040 So they poured out for the men to eat. It happened,
as they were eating of the stew, that they cried out,
and said, man of God, there is death in the pot.
They could not eat of it.
004:041 But he said, Then bring meal. He cast it into the pot;
and he said, Pour out for the people, that they may eat.
There was no harm in the pot.
004:042 There came a man from Baal Shalishah, and brought the man
of God bread of the first fruits, twenty loaves of barley,
and fresh ears of grain in his sack. He said, Give to the people,
that they may eat.
004:043 His servant said, What, should I set this before a hundred men?
But he said, Give the people, that they may eat; for thus
says Yahweh, They shall eat, and shall leave of it.
004:044 So he set it before them, and they ate, and left of it,
according to the word of Yahweh.
005:001 Now Naaman, captain of the army of the king of Syria,
was a great man with his master, and honorable, because by him
Yahweh had given victory to Syria: he was also a mighty man
of valor, [but he was] a leper.
005:002 The Syrians had gone out in bands, and had brought away captive
out of the land of Israel a little maiden; and she waited
on Naaman's wife.
005:003 She said to her mistress, Would that my lord were with the prophet
who is in Samaria! then would he recover him of his leprosy.
005:004 One went in, and told his lord, saying, Thus and thus said
the maiden who is of the land of Israel.
005:005 The king of Syria said, Go now, and I will send a letter
to the king of Israel. He departed, and took with him
ten talents of silver, and six thousand [pieces] of gold,
and ten changes of clothing.
005:006 He brought the letter to the king of Israel, saying, Now when this
letter is come to you, behold, I have sent Naaman my servant
to you, that you may recover him of his leprosy.
005:007 It happened, when the king of Israel had read the letter,
that he tore his clothes, and said, Am I God, to kill and to
make alive, that this man does send to me to recover a man
of his leprosy? but consider, I pray you, and see how he seeks
a quarrel against me.
005:008 It was so, when Elisha the man of God heard that the king
of Israel had torn his clothes, that he sent to the king,
saying, Why have you torn your clothes? let him come now to me,
and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel.
005:009 So Naaman came with his horses and with his chariots,
and stood at the door of the house of Elisha.
005:010 Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, Go and wash in the
Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall come again to you,
and you shall be clean.
005:011 But Naaman was angry, and went away, and said, Behold, I thought,
He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on
the name of Yahweh his God, and wave his hand over the place,
and recover the leper.
005:012 Aren't Abanah and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than
all the waters of Israel? may I not wash in them, and be clean?
So he turned and went away in a rage.
005:013 His servants came near, and spoke to him, and said,
My father, if the prophet had bid you do some great thing,
wouldn't you have done it? how much rather then, when he says
to you, Wash, and be clean?
005:014 Then went he down, and dipped [himself] seven times
in the Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God;
and his flesh came again like the flesh of a little child,
and he was clean.
005:015 He returned to the man of God, he and all his company,
and came, and stood before him; and he said, See now,
I know that there is no God in all the earth, but in Israel:
now therefore, please take a present from your servant.
005:016 But he said, As Yahweh lives, before whom I stand, I will
receive none. He urged him to take it; but he refused.
005:017 Naaman said, If not, yet, please let there be given to your servant
two mules' burden of earth; for your servant will henceforth
offer neither burnt offering nor sacrifice to other gods,
but to Yahweh.
005:018 In this thing Yahweh pardon your servant: when my master
goes into the house of Rimmon to worship there, and he leans
on my hand, and I bow myself in the house of Rimmon, when I
bow myself in the house of Rimmon, Yahweh pardon your servant
in this thing.
005:019 He said to him, Go in peace. So he departed from him
a little way.
005:020 But Gehazi the servant of Elisha the man of God, said, Behold,
my master has spared this Naaman the Syrian, in not receiving
at his hands that which he brought: as Yahweh lives,
I will run after him, and take somewhat of him.
005:021 So Gehazi followed after Naaman. When Naaman saw one running
after him, he alighted from the chariot to meet him, and said,
Is all well?
005:022 He said, All is well. My master has sent me, saying, Behold,
even now there are come to me from the hill country of Ephraim
two young men of the sons of the prophets; please give them
a talent of silver, and two changes of clothing.
005:023 Naaman said, Be pleased to take two talents. He urged him,
and bound two talents of silver in two bags, with two
changes of clothing, and laid them on two of his servants;
and they bore them before him.
005:024 When he came to the hill, he took them from their hand,
and bestowed them in the house; and he let the men go,
and they departed.
005:025 But he went in, and stood before his master. Elisha said to him,
Whence come you, Gehazi? He said, Your servant went no where.
005:026 He said to him, Didn't my heart go with you, when the man turned
from his chariot to meet you? Is it a time to receive money,
and to receive garments, and olive groves and vineyards,
and sheep and oxen, and male servants and female servants?
005:027 The leprosy therefore of Naaman shall cleave to you,
and to your seed forever. He went out from his presence
a leper [as white] as snow.
006:001 The sons of the prophets said to Elisha, See now, the place
where we dwell before you is too strait for us.
006:002 Let us go, we pray you, to the Jordan, and take there every man
a beam, and let us make us a place there, where we may dwell.
He answered, Go you.
006:003 One said, Be pleased, I pray you, to go with your servants.
He answered, I will go.
006:004 So he went with them. When they came to the Jordan,
they cut down wood.
006:005 But as one was felling a beam, the axe head fell into the water;
and he cried, and said, Alas, my master! for it was borrowed.
006:006 The man of God asked, "Where did it fall?" He showed him the place.
He cut down a stick, threw it in there, and made the iron float.
006:007 He said, "Take it." So he put out his hand and took it.
006:008 Now the king of Syria was warring against Israel; and he took
counsel with his servants, saying, In such and such a place
shall be my camp.
006:009 The man of God sent to the king of Israel, saying, Beware that you
not pass such a place; for there the Syrians are coming down.
006:010 The king of Israel sent to the place which the man of God
told him and warned him of; and he saved himself there,
not once nor twice.
006:011 The heart of the king of Syria was sore troubled for this thing;
and he called his servants, and said to them, Won't you show
me which of us is for the king of Israel?
006:012 One of his servants said, No, my lord, O king; but Elisha,
the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel
the words that you speak in your bedchamber.
006:013 He said, Go and see where he is, that I may send and get him.
It was told him, saying, Behold, he is in Dothan.
006:014 Therefore sent he there horses, and chariots, and a great army:
and they came by night, and surrounded the city.
006:015 When the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth,
behold, an army with horses and chariots was round about the city.
His servant said to him, Alas, my master! how shall we do?
006:016 He answered, Don't be afraid; for those who are with us are
more than those who are with them.
006:017 Elisha prayed, and said, Yahweh, Please open his eyes,
that he may see. Yahweh opened the eyes of the young man;
and he saw: and behold, the mountain was full of horses
and chariots of fire round about Elisha.
006:018 When they came down to him, Elisha prayed to Yahweh,
and said, Please smite this people with blindness.
He struck them with blindness according to the word of Elisha.
006:019 Elisha said to them, This is not the way, neither is this the city:
follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom you seek.
He led them to Samaria.
006:020 It happened, when they were come into Samaria, that Elisha said,
Yahweh, open the eyes of these men, that they may see.
Yahweh opened their eyes, and they saw; and behold,
they were in the midst of Samaria.
006:021 The king of Israel said to Elisha, when he saw them, My father,
shall I strike them? shall I strike them?
006:022 He answered, You shall not strike them: would you strike those
whom you have taken captive with your sword and with your bow?
set bread and water before them, that they may eat and drink,
and go to their master.
006:023 He prepared great provision for them; and when they had eaten
and drunk, he sent them away, and they went to their master.
The bands of Syria came no more into the land of Israel.
006:024 It happened after this, that Benhadad king of Syria gathered
all his army, and went up, and besieged Samaria.
006:025 There was a great famine in Samaria: and behold, they besieged it,
until a donkey's head was sold for eighty [pieces] of silver,
and the fourth part of a kab of dove's dung for five
[pieces] of silver.
006:026 As the king of Israel was passing by on the wall, there cried
a woman to him, saying, Help, my lord, O king.
006:027 He said, If Yahweh doesn't help you, whence shall I help you?
out of the threshing floor, or out of the winepress?
006:028 The king said to her, What ails you? She answered, This woman
said to me, Give your son, that we may eat him today,
and we will eat my son tomorrow.
006:029 So we boiled my son, and ate him: and I said to her on the next day,
Give your son, that we may eat him; and she has hid her son.
006:030 It happened, when the king heard the words of the woman,
that he tore his clothes (now he was passing by on the wall);
and the people looked, and behold, he had sackcloth within
on his flesh.
006:031 Then he said, God do so to me, and more also, if the head
of Elisha the son of Shaphat shall stand on him this day.
006:032 But Elisha was sitting in his house, and the elders were
sitting with him; and [the king] sent a man from before him:
but before the messenger came to him, he said to the elders,
See you how this son of a murderer has sent to take away
my head? behold, when the messenger comes, shut the door,
and hold the door fast against him: isn't the sound of his
master's feet behind him?
006:033 While he was yet talking with them, behold, the messenger came
down to him: and he said, Behold, this evil is of Yahweh;
why should I wait for Yahweh any longer?
007:001 Elisha said, Hear you the word of Yahweh: thus says
Yahweh, Tomorrow about this time shall a measure of fine flour
be [sold] for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel,
in the gate of Samaria.
007:002 Then the captain on whose hand the king leaned answered the man
of God, and said, Behold, if Yahweh should make windows
in heaven, might this thing be? He said, Behold, you shall
see it with your eyes, but shall not eat of it.
007:003 Now there were four leprous men at the entrance of the gate:
and they said one to another, Why sit we here until we die?
007:004 If we say, We will enter into the city, then the famine is
in the city, and we shall die there; and if we sit still here,
we die also. Now therefore come, and let us fall to the army
of the Syrians: if they save us alive, we shall live;
and if they kill us, we shall but die.
007:005 They rose up in the twilight, to go to the camp of the Syrians;
and when they were come to the outermost part of the camp
of the Syrians, behold, there was no man there.
007:006 For the Lord had made the army of the Syrians to hear a noise
of chariots, and a noise of horses, even the noise of a great army:
and they said one to another, Behold, the king of Israel has
hired against us the kings of the Hittites, and the kings
of the Egyptians, to come on us.
007:007 Therefore they arose and fled in the twilight, and left their tents,
and their horses, and their donkeys, even the camp as it was,
and fled for their life.
007:008 When these lepers came to the outermost part of the camp,
they went into one tent, and ate and drink, and carried
there silver, and gold, and clothing, and went and hid it;
and they came back, and entered into another tent, and carried
there also, and went and hid it.
007:009 Then they said one to another, We aren't doing right.
This day is a day of good news, and we hold our peace:
if we wait until the morning light, punishment will overtake us;
now therefore come, let us go and tell the king's household.
007:010 So they came and called to the porter of the city; and they
told them, saying, We came to the camp of the Syrians,
and, behold, there was no man there, neither voice of man,
but the horses tied, and the donkeys tied, and the tents
as they were.
007:011 He called the porters; and they told it to the king's
household within.
007:012 The king arose in the night, and said to his servants,
I will now show you what the Syrians have done to us.
They know that we are hungry; therefore are they gone out
of the camp to hide themselves in the field, saying, When they
come out of the city, we shall take them alive, and get
into the city.
007:013 One of his servants answered, Please let some take five
of the horses that remain, which are left in the city
(behold, they are as all the multitude of Israel who are
left in it; behold, they are as all the multitude of Israel
who are consumed); and let us send and see.
007:014 They took therefore two chariots with horses; and the king
sent after the army of the Syrians, saying, Go and see.
007:015 They went after them to the Jordan: and behold, all the way
was full of garments and vessels, which the Syrians
had cast away in their haste. The messengers returned,
and told the king.
007:016 The people went out, and plundered the camp of the Syrians.
So a measure of fine flour was [sold] for a shekel, and two
measures of barley for a shekel, according to the word of Yahweh.
007:017 The king appointed the captain on whose hand he leaned to have
the charge of the gate: and the people trod on him in the gate,
and he died as the man of God had said, who spoke when the king
came down to him.
007:018 It happened, as the man of God had spoken to the king, saying,
Two measures of barley for a shekel, and a measure of fine
flour for a shekel, shall be tomorrow about this time
in the gate of Samaria;
007:019 and that captain answered the man of God, and said, Now, behold,
if Yahweh should make windows in heaven, might such a thing
be? and he said, Behold, you shall see it with your eyes,
but shall not eat of it:
007:020 it happened even so to him; for the people trod on him in the gate,
and he died.
008:001 Now Elisha had spoken to the woman, whose son he had restored
to life, saying, Arise, and go you and your household, and sojourn
wherever you can sojourn: for Yahweh has called for a famine;
and it shall also come on the land seven years.
008:002 The woman arose, and did according to the word of the man of God;
and she went with her household, and sojourned in the land
of the Philistines seven years.
008:003 It happened at the seven years' end, that the woman returned
out of the land of the Philistines: and she went forth to cry
to the king for her house and for her land.
008:004 Now the king was talking with Gehazi the servant of the man
of God, saying, Please tell me all the great things that
Elisha has done.
008:005 It happened, as he was telling the king how he had restored to life
him who was dead, that behold, the woman, whose son he had restored
to life, cried to the king for her house and for her land.
Gehazi said, My lord, O king, this is the woman, and this
is her son, whom Elisha restored to life.
008:006 When the king asked the woman, she told him. So the king appointed
to her a certain officer, saying, Restore all that was hers,
and all the fruits of the field since the day that she left
the land, even until now.
008:007 Elisha came to Damascus; and Benhadad the king of Syria was sick;
and it was told him, saying, The man of God is come here.
008:008 The king said to Hazael, Take a present in your hand, and go,
meet the man of God, and inquire of Yahweh by him, saying,
Shall I recover of this sickness?
008:009 So Hazael went to meet him, and took a present with him,
even of every good thing of Damascus, forty camels'
burden, and came and stood before him, and said, Your son
Benhadad king of Syria has sent me to you, saying, Shall I
recover of this sickness?
008:010 Elisha said to him, Go, tell him, You shall surely recover;
however Yahweh has shown me that he shall surely die.
008:011 He settled his gaze steadfastly [on him], until he was ashamed:
and the man of God wept.
008:012 Hazael said, Why weeps my lord? He answered, Because I
know the evil that you will do to the children of Israel:
their strongholds will you set on fire, and their young men
will you kill with the sword, and will dash in pieces their
little ones, and rip up their women with child.
008:013 Hazael said, But what is your servant, who is but a dog,
that he should do this great thing? Elisha answered,
Yahweh has shown me that you shall be king over Syria.
008:014 Then he departed from Elisha, and came to his master;
who said to him, What said Elisha to you? He answered,
He told me that you would surely recover.
008:015 It happened on the next day, that he took the coverlet, and dipped
it in water, and spread it on his face, so that he died:
and Hazael reigned in his place.
008:016 In the fifth year of Joram the son of Ahab king
of Israel, Jehoshaphat being then king of Judah, Jehoram the son
of Jehoshaphat king of Judah began to reign.
008:017 Thirty-two years old was he when he began to reign;
and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem.
008:018 He walked in the way of the kings of Israel, as did the house
of Ahab: for he had the daughter of Ahab as wife; and he did
that which was evil in the sight of Yahweh.
008:019 However Yahweh would not destroy Judah, for David his
servant's sake, as he promised him to give to him a lamp
for his children always.
008:020 In his days Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah,
and made a king over themselves.
008:021 Then Joram passed over to Zair, and all his chariots with him:
and he rose up by night, and struck the Edomites who surrounded him,
and the captains of the chariots; and the people fled
to their tents.
008:022 So Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah to this day.
Then did Libnah revolt at the same time.
008:023 The rest of the acts of Joram, and all that he did, aren't they
written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?
008:024 Joram slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers
in the city of David; and Ahaziah his son reigned in his place.
008:025 In the twelfth year of Joram the son of Ahab king of Israel
did Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah begin to reign.
008:026 Twenty-two years old was Ahaziah when he began to reign;
and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. His mother's name
was Athaliah the daughter of Omri king of Israel.
008:027 He walked in the way of the house of Ahab, and did that which
was evil in the sight of Yahweh, as did the house of Ahab;
for he was the son-in-law of the house of Ahab.
008:028 He went with Joram the son of Ahab to war against Hazael king
of Syria at Ramoth Gilead: and the Syrians wounded Joram.
008:029 King Joram returned to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds
which the Syrians had given him at Ramah, when he fought
against Hazael king of Syria. Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king
of Judah went down to see Joram the son of Ahab in Jezreel,
because he was sick.
009:001 Elisha the prophet called one of the sons of the prophets,
and said to him, Gird up your waist, and take this vial of oil
in your hand, and go to Ramoth Gilead.
009:002 When you come there, look out there Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat
the son of Nimshi, and go in, and make him arise up from among
his brothers, and carry him to an inner chamber.
009:003 Then take the vial of oil, and pour it on his head, and say,
Thus says Yahweh, I have anointed you king over Israel.
Then open the door, and flee, and don't wait.
009:004 So the young man, even the young man the prophet,
went to Ramoth Gilead.
009:005 When he came, behold, the captains of the army were sitting;
and he said, I have an errand to you, captain. Jehu said,
To which of us all? He said, To you, O captain.
009:006 He arose, and went into the house; and he poured the oil
on his head, and said to him, Thus says Yahweh, the God
of Israel, I have anointed you king over the people of Yahweh,
even over Israel.
009:007 You shall strike the house of Ahab your master, that I may
avenge the blood of my servants the prophets, and the blood
of all the servants of Yahweh, at the hand of Jezebel.
009:008 For the whole house of Ahab shall perish; and I will cut off
from Ahab everyone who urinates against a wall,{or, male} and
him who is shut up and him who is left at large in Israel.
009:009 I will make the house of Ahab like the house of Jeroboam the son
of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah.
009:010 The dogs shall eat Jezebel in the portion of Jezreel, and there
shall be none to bury her. He opened the door, and fled.
009:011 Then Jehu came forth to the servants of his lord:
and one said to him, Is all well? why came this mad fellow to you?
He said to them, You know the man and what his talk was.
009:012 They said, It is false; tell us now. He said, Thus and thus
spoke he to me, saying, Thus says Yahweh, I have anointed
you king over Israel.
009:013 Then they hurried, and took every man his garment, and put it
under him on the top of the stairs, and blew the trumpet,
saying, Jehu is king.
009:014 So Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat the son of Nimshi conspired
against Joram. (Now Joram was keeping Ramoth Gilead,
he and all Israel, because of Hazael king of Syria;
009:015 but king Joram was returned to be healed in Jezreel of
the wounds which the Syrians had given him, when he fought
with Hazael king of Syria.) Jehu said, If this be your mind,
then let none escape and go forth out of the city, to go
to tell it in Jezreel.
009:016 So Jehu rode in a chariot, and went to Jezreel; for Joram lay there.
Ahaziah king of Judah was come down to see Joram.
009:017 Now the watchman was standing on the tower in Jezreel, and he spied
the company of Jehu as he came, and said, I see a company.
Joram said, Take a horseman, and send to meet them, and let
him say, Is it peace?
009:018 So there went one on horseback to meet him, and said, Thus says
the king, Is it peace? Jehu said, What have you to do with peace?
turn you behind me. The watchman told, saying, The messenger
came to them, but he isn't coming back.
009:019 Then he sent out a second on horseback, who came to them,
and said, Thus says the king, Is it peace? Jehu answered,
What have you to do with peace? turn you behind me.
009:020 The watchman told, saying, He came even to them, and isn't
coming back: and the driving is like the driving of Jehu
the son of Nimshi; for he drives furiously.
009:021 Joram said, Make ready. They made ready his chariot.
Joram king of Israel and Ahaziah king of Judah went out,
each in his chariot, and they went out to meet Jehu,
and found him in the portion of Naboth the Jezreelite.
009:022 It happened, when Joram saw Jehu, that he said, Is it
peace, Jehu? He answered, What peace, so long as the prostitution
of your mother Jezebel and her witchcraft abound?
009:023 Joram turned his hands, and fled, and said to Ahaziah, There
is treachery, Ahaziah.
009:024 Jehu drew his bow with his full strength, and struck Joram
between his arms; and the arrow went out at his heart,
and he sunk down in his chariot.
009:025 Then said [Jehu] to Bidkar his captain, Take up, and cast
him in the portion of the field of Naboth the Jezreelite;
for remember how that, when I and you rode together after Ahab
his father, Yahweh laid this burden on him:
009:026 Surely I have seen yesterday the blood of Naboth, and the blood
of his sons, says Yahweh; and I will requite you in this plat,
says Yahweh. Now therefore take and cast him into the plat
[of ground], according to the word of Yahweh.
009:027 But when Ahaziah the king of Judah saw this, he fled by the way
of the garden house. Jehu followed after him, and said,
Smite him also in the chariot: [and they struck him] at
the ascent of Gur, which is by Ibleam. He fled to Megiddo,
and died there.
009:028 His servants carried him in a chariot to Jerusalem, and buried
him in his tomb with his fathers in the city of David.
009:029 In the eleventh year of Joram the son of Ahab began Ahaziah
to reign over Judah.
009:030 When Jehu was come to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it;
and she painted her eyes, and attired her head, and looked
out at the window.
009:031 As Jehu entered in at the gate, she said, Is it peace, you Zimri,
your master's murderer?
009:032 He lifted up his face to the window, and said, Who is on my
side? who? There looked out to him two or three eunuchs.
009:033 He said, Throw her down. So they threw her down; and some
of her blood was sprinkled on the wall, and on the horses:
and he trod her under foot.
009:034 When he was come in, he ate and drink; and he said, See now to this
cursed woman, and bury her; for she is a king's daughter.
009:035 They went to bury her; but they found no more of her than the skull,
and the feet, and the palms of her hands.
009:036 Therefore they came back, and told him. He said, This is
the word of Yahweh, which he spoke by his servant Elijah
the Tishbite, saying, In the portion of Jezreel shall the dogs
eat the flesh of Jezebel;
009:037 and the body of Jezebel shall be as dung on the face of the field
in the portion of Jezreel, so that they shall not say,
This is Jezebel.
010:001 Now Ahab had seventy sons in Samaria. Jehu wrote letters,
and sent to Samaria, to the rulers of Jezreel, even the elders,
and to those who brought up [the sons of] Ahab, saying,
010:002 Now as soon as this letter comes to you, seeing your master's
sons are with you, and there are with you chariots and horses,
a fortified city also, and armor;
010:003 look you out the best and meet of your master's sons, and set
him on his father's throne, and fight for your master's house.
010:004 But they were exceedingly afraid, and said, Behold, the two
kings didn't stand before him: how then shall we stand?
010:005 He who was over the household, and he who was over the city,
the elders also, and those who brought up [the children],
sent to Jehu, saying, We are your servants, and will do
all that you shall bid us; we will not make any man king:
you do that which is good in your eyes.
010:006 Then he wrote a letter the second time to them, saying,
If you be on my side, and if you will listen to my voice,
take the heads of the men your master's sons, and come to me
to Jezreel by tomorrow this time. Now the king's sons,
being seventy persons, were with the great men of the city,
who brought them up.
010:007 It happened, when the letter came to them, that they took
the king's sons, and killed them, even seventy persons,
and put their heads in baskets, and sent them to him to Jezreel.
010:008 There came a messenger, and told him, saying, They have brought
the heads of the king's sons. He said, Lay you them in two
heaps at the entrance of the gate until the morning.
010:009 It happened in the morning, that he went out, and stood,
and said to all the people, You are righteous:
behold, I conspired against my master, and killed him;
but who struck all these?
010:010 Know now that there shall fall to the earth nothing of the word
of Yahweh, which Yahweh spoke concerning the house of Ahab:
for Yahweh has done that which he spoke by his servant Elijah.
010:011 So Jehu struck all that remained of the house of Ahab in Jezreel,
and all his great men, and his familiar friends, and his priests,
until he left him none remaining.
010:012 He arose and departed, and went to Samaria. As he was at
the shearing house of the shepherds in the way,
010:013 Jehu met with the brothers of Ahaziah king of Judah, and said,
Who are you? They answered, We are the brothers of Ahaziah:
and we go down to Greet the children of the king and the children
of the queen.
010:014 He said, Take them alive. They took them alive, and killed
them at the pit of the shearing house, even two and forty men;
neither left he any of them.
010:015 When he was departed there, he lighted on Jehonadab the son
of Rechab coming to meet him; and he greeted him, and said
to him, Is your heart right, as my heart is with your heart?
Jehonadab answered, It is. If it be, give me your hand.
He gave him his hand; and he took him up to him into the chariot.
010:016 He said, Come with me, and see my zeal for Yahweh.
So they made him ride in his chariot.
010:017 When he came to Samaria, he struck all who remained to Ahab
in Samaria, until he had destroyed him, according to the word
of Yahweh, which he spoke to Elijah.
010:018 Jehu gathered all the people together, and said to them,
Ahab served Baal a little; but Jehu will serve him much.
010:019 Now therefore call to me all the prophets of Baal,
all his worshippers, and all his priests; let none be wanting:
for I have a great sacrifice [to do] to Baal; whoever shall
be wanting, he shall not live. But Jehu did it in subtlety,
to the intent that he might destroy the worshippers of Baal.
010:020 Jehu said, Sanctify a solemn assembly for Baal.
They proclaimed it.
010:021 Jehu sent through all Israel: and all the worshippers of
Baal came, so that there was not a man left that didn't come.
They came into the house of Baal; and the house of Baal was
filled from one end to another.
010:022 He said to him who was over the vestry, Bring forth vestments
for all the worshippers of Baal. He brought them forth vestments.
010:023 Jehu went, and Jehonadab the son of Rechab, into the house of Baal;
and he said to the worshippers of Baal, Search, and look
that there be here with you none of the servants of Yahweh,
but the worshippers of Baal only.
010:024 They went in to offer sacrifices and burnt offerings.
Now Jehu had appointed him eighty men outside, and said,
If any of the men whom I bring into your hands escape,
[he who lets him go], his life shall be for the life of him.
010:025 It happened, as soon as he had made an end of offering
the burnt offering, that Jehu said to the guard and to
the captains, Go in, and kill them; let none come forth.
They struck them with the edge of the sword; and the guard
and the captains cast them out, and went to the city of
the house of Baal.
010:026 They brought forth the pillars that were in the house of Baal,
and burned them.
010:027 They broke down the pillar of Baal, and broke down the house
of Baal, and made it a latrine, to this day.
010:028 Thus Jehu destroyed Baal out of Israel.
010:029 However from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat,
with which he made Israel to sin, Jehu didn't depart from
after them, [to wit], the golden calves that were in Bethel,
and that were in Dan.
010:030 Yahweh said to Jehu, Because you have done well in executing
that which is right in my eyes, [and] have done to the house
of Ahab according to all that was in my heart, your sons
of the fourth generation shall sit on the throne of Israel.
010:031 But Jehu took no heed to walk in the law of Yahweh, the God
of Israel, with all his heart: he didn't depart from the sins
of Jeroboam, with which he made Israel to sin.
010:032 In those days Yahweh began to cut off from Israel: