Bible in 90 Days Plan

¹Now in the eighteenth year of King Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, Abijam became king over Judah.

²He reigned for three years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Maacah the daughter of Abishalom.

³He walked in all the sins of his father which he had committed before him; and his heart was not wholly devoted to the LORD his God, like the heart of his father David.

⁴But for David’s sake the LORD his God gave him a lamp in Jerusalem, to raise up his son after him and to establish Jerusalem,

⁵because David did what was right in the sight of the LORD, and did not deviate from anything that He commanded him all the days of his life, except in the case of Uriah the Hittite.

⁶And there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all the days of his life.

⁷Now as for the rest of the acts of Abijam and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? And there was war between Abijam and Jeroboam.

⁸And Abijam lay down with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David; and his son Asa became king in his place.

⁹So in the twentieth year of Jeroboam the king of Israel, Asa began to reign as king of Judah.

¹⁰He reigned for forty-one years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Maacah the daughter of Abishalom.

¹¹Now Asa did what was right in the sight of the LORD, like his father David.

¹²He also removed the male cult prostitutes from the land and removed all the idols which his fathers had made.

¹³And even his mother Maacah, he also removed her from the position of queen mother, because she had made an abominable image as an Asherah; and Asa cut down her abominable image and burned it at the brook Kidron.

¹⁴But the high places were not eliminated; nevertheless Asa’s heart was wholly devoted to the LORD all his days.

¹⁵And he brought into the house of the LORD the holy gifts of his father and his own holy gifts: silver, gold, and valuable utensils.

¹⁶Now there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days.

¹⁷Baasha king of Israel marched against Judah and fortified Ramah in order to prevent anyone from going out or coming in to Asa king of Judah.

¹⁸Then Asa took all the silver and the gold that was left in the treasuries of the house of the LORD and the treasuries of the king’s house, and handed it over to his servants. And King Asa sent them to Ben-hadad the son of Tabrimmon, the son of Hezion, king of Aram, who lived in Damascus, saying,

¹⁹“Let’s make a treaty between you and me, as there was between my father and your father. Behold, I have sent you a gift of silver and gold; go, break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel so that he will withdraw from me.”

²⁰So Ben-hadad listened to King Asa and sent the commanders of his armies against the cities of Israel, and conquered Ijon, Dan, Abel-beth-maacah, and all Chinneroth, besides all the land of Naphtali.

²¹When Baasha heard about it, he stopped fortifying Ramah and remained in Tirzah.

²²Then King Asa made a proclamation to all Judah—no one was exempt—and they carried away the stones of Ramah and its timber with which Baasha had built fortifications. And King Asa built with them Geba of Benjamin and Mizpah.

²³Now as for the rest of all the acts of Asa and all his might, and all that he did and the cities which he built, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? But in the time of his old age he was diseased in his feet.

²⁴And Asa lay down with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of his father David; and his son Jehoshaphat reigned in his place.

²⁵Now Nadab the son of Jeroboam became king over Israel in the second year of Asa king of Judah, and he reigned over Israel for two years.

²⁶He did evil in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the way of his father and in his sin into which he misled Israel.

²⁷Then Baasha the son of Ahijah of the house of Issachar conspired against him, and Baasha struck and killed him at Gibbethon, which belonged to the Philistines, while Nadab and all Israel were laying siege to Gibbethon.

²⁸So Baasha killed him in the third year of Asa king of Judah, and reigned in his place.

²⁹And as soon as he was king, he struck and killed all the household of Jeroboam. He did not leave Jeroboam any persons alive, but kept killing until he had eliminated them, in accordance with the word of the LORD which He spoke by His servant Ahijah the Shilonite,

³⁰and because of the sins of Jeroboam which he committed, and into which he misled Israel, because of his provocation with which he provoked the LORD God of Israel to anger.

³¹Now as for the rest of the acts of Nadab and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?

³²And there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days.

³³In the third year of Asa king of Judah, Baasha the son of Ahijah became king over all Israel at Tirzah, and he reigned for twenty-four years.

³⁴And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the way of Jeroboam and in his sin into which he misled Israel.

¹Now the word of the LORD came to Jehu the son of Hanani against Baasha, saying,

²“Since I exalted you from the dust and made you leader over My people Israel, and you have walked in the way of Jeroboam and have misled My people Israel into sin, provoking Me to anger with their sins,

³behold, I am going to burn Baasha and his house, and I will make your house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat.

⁴Anyone belonging to Baasha who dies in the city, the dogs will eat; and anyone belonging to him who dies in the field, the birds of the sky will eat.”

⁵Now as for the rest of the acts of Baasha and what he did and his might, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?

⁶And Baasha lay down with his fathers and was buried in Tirzah, and his son Elah became king in his place.

⁷Moreover, the word of the LORD through the prophet Jehu the son of Hanani came against Baasha and his household, both because of all the evil that he did in the sight of the LORD, provoking Him to anger with the work of his hands, by being like the house of Jeroboam, and because he struck it.

⁸In the twenty-sixth year of Asa king of Judah, Elah the son of Baasha became king over Israel at Tirzah, and reigned for two years.

⁹And his servant Zimri, commander of half his chariots, conspired against him. Now Elah was in Tirzah drinking himself drunk in the house of Arza, who was in charge of the household in Tirzah.

¹⁰Then Zimri came in and struck him and put him to death in the twenty-seventh year of Asa king of Judah, and he became king in his place.

¹¹And when he became king, as soon as he sat on his throne, he killed all the household of Baasha; he did not leave a single male alive, either of his relatives or of his friends.

¹²So Zimri eliminated all the household of Baasha, in accordance with the word of the LORD which He spoke against Baasha through Jehu the prophet,

¹³for all the sins of Baasha and the sins of his son Elah, which they committed and into which they misled Israel, provoking the LORD God of Israel to anger with their idols.

¹⁴Now as for the rest of the acts of Elah and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?

¹⁵In the twenty-seventh year of Asa king of Judah, Zimri reigned for seven days in Tirzah. Now the people were camped against Gibbethon, which belonged to the Philistines.

¹⁶And the people who were camped heard it being said, “Zimri has conspired and has also struck and killed the king!” Therefore all Israel made Omri, the commander of the army, king over Israel that day in the camp.

¹⁷Then Omri and all Israel with him went up from Gibbethon and besieged Tirzah.

¹⁸When Zimri saw that the city was taken, he went into the citadel of the king’s house and burned the king’s house over himself with fire, and died,

¹⁹because of his sins which he committed, doing evil in the sight of the LORD, walking in the way of Jeroboam, and in his sin which he committed, misleading Israel into sin.

²⁰Now as for the rest of the acts of Zimri and his conspiracy which he carried out, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?

²¹Then the people of Israel were divided into two parts: half of the people followed Tibni the son of Ginath, to make him king; the other half followed Omri.

²²But the people who followed Omri prevailed over the people who followed Tibni the son of Ginath. And Tibni died and Omri became king.

²³In the thirty-first year of Asa king of Judah, Omri became king over Israel and reigned for twelve years; he reigned for six years at Tirzah.

²⁴And he purchased the hill Samaria from Shemer for two talents of silver; and he built on the hill, and named the city which he built Samaria, after the name of Shemer, the owner of the hill.

²⁵Now Omri did evil in the sight of the LORD, and acted more wickedly than all who were before him.

²⁶For he walked entirely in the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat and in his sins into which he misled Israel, provoking the LORD God of Israel to anger with their idols.

²⁷Now as for the rest of the acts of Omri which he did and his might which he displayed, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?

²⁸And Omri lay down with his fathers and was buried in Samaria; and his son Ahab became king in his place.

²⁹Now Ahab the son of Omri became king over Israel in the thirty-eighth year of Asa king of Judah, and Ahab the son of Omri reigned over Israel in Samaria for twenty-two years.

³⁰Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the LORD more than all who were before him.

³¹And as though it had been a trivial thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, he married Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and went and served Baal, and worshiped him.

³²So he erected an altar for Baal at the house of Baal, which he built in Samaria.

³³Ahab also made the Asherah. So Ahab did more to provoke the LORD God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel who were before him.

³⁴In his days Hiel the Bethelite rebuilt Jericho; he laid its foundations with the loss of Abiram his firstborn, and set up its gates with the loss of his youngest son Segub, in accordance with the word of the LORD, which He spoke by Joshua the son of Nun.

¹Now Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the settlers of Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the LORD, the God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall certainly be neither dew nor rain during these years, except by my word.”

²Then the word of the LORD came to him, saying,

³“Go away from here and turn eastward, and hide yourself by the brook Cherith, which is east of the Jordan.

⁴And it shall be that you will drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to provide food for you there.”

⁵So he went and did everything according to the word of the LORD, for he went and lived by the brook Cherith, which is east of the Jordan.

⁶And the ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he would drink from the brook.

⁷But it happened after a while that the brook dried up, because there was no rain in the land.

⁸Then the word of the LORD came to him, saying,

⁹“Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and stay there; behold, I have commanded a widow there to provide food for you.”

¹⁰So he arose and went to Zarephath, and when he came to the entrance of the city, behold, a widow was there gathering sticks; and he called to her and said, “Please get me a little water in a cup, so that I may drink.”

¹¹As she was going to get it, he called to her and said, “Please bring me a piece of bread in your hand.”

¹²But she said, “As the LORD your God lives, I have no food, only a handful of flour in the bowl and a little oil in the jar; and behold, I am gathering a few sticks so that I may go in and prepare it for me and my son, so that we may eat it and die.”

¹³However, Elijah said to her, “Do not fear; go, do as you have said. Just make me a little bread loaf from it first and bring it out to me, and afterward you may make one for yourself and for your son.

¹⁴For this is what the LORD, the God of Israel says: ‘The bowl of flour shall not be used up, nor shall the jar of oil become empty, until the day that the LORD provides rain on the face of the earth.’ ”

¹⁵So she went and did everything in accordance with the word of Elijah, and she and he and her household ate for many days.

¹⁶The bowl of flour was not used up, nor did the jar of oil become empty, in accordance with the word of the LORD which He spoke through Elijah.

¹⁷Now it happened after these things that the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, became sick; and his condition became very grave, until at the end he was no longer breathing.

¹⁸So she said to Elijah, “Why is my business any of yours, you man of God? Yet you have come to me to bring my wrongdoing to remembrance, and to put my son to death!”

¹⁹But he said to her, “Give me your son.” Then he took him from her arms and carried him up to the upstairs room where he was living, and laid him on his own bed.

²⁰And he called to the LORD and said, “LORD, my God, have You also brought catastrophe upon the widow with whom I am staying, by causing her son to die?”

²¹Then he stretched himself out over the boy three times, and called to the LORD and said, “LORD, my God, please, let this boy’s life return to him.”

²²And the LORD listened to the voice of Elijah, and the life of the boy returned to him and he revived.

²³Elijah then took the boy and brought him down from the upstairs room into the house and gave him to his mother; and Elijah said, “See, your son is alive.”

²⁴Then the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the LORD in your mouth is truth.”

¹Now it happened after many days that the word of the LORD came to Elijah in the third year, saying, “Go, present yourself to Ahab, and I will provide rain on the face of the earth.”

²So Elijah went to present himself to Ahab. Now the famine was severe in Samaria.

³Ahab summoned Obadiah, who was in charge of the household. (Now Obadiah feared the LORD greatly;

⁴for when Jezebel killed the prophets of the LORD, Obadiah took a hundred prophets and hid them by fifties in a cave, and provided them with bread and water.)

⁵Then Ahab said to Obadiah, “Go through the land to all the springs of water and to all the river valleys; perhaps we will find grass and keep the horses and mules alive, and not have to kill some of the cattle.”

⁶So they divided the land between them to survey it; Ahab went one way by himself, and Obadiah went another way by himself.

⁷Now as Obadiah was on the way, behold, Elijah met him, and he recognized him and fell on his face and said, “Is it you, Elijah my master?”

⁸And he said to him, “It is I. Go, say to your master, ‘Behold, Elijah is here.’ ”

⁹But he said, “What sin have I committed, that you are handing your servant over to Ahab, to put me to death?

¹⁰As surely as the LORD your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom to which my master has not sent word to search for you; and whenever they say, ‘He is not here,’ he makes the kingdom or nation swear that they could not find you.

¹¹Yet now you are saying, ‘Go, say to your master, “Behold, Elijah is here!” ’

¹²And it will come about when I leave you that the Spirit of the LORD will carry you to where I do not know; so when I come and inform Ahab and he cannot find you, he will kill me, though I, your servant, have feared the LORD from my youth.

¹³Has it not been reported to my master what I did when Jezebel killed the prophets of the LORD, that I hid a hundred prophets of the LORD by fifties in a cave, and provided them with bread and water?

¹⁴Yet now you are saying, ‘Go, say to your master, “Behold, Elijah is here” ’; he will then kill me!”

¹⁵Then Elijah said, “As surely as the LORD of armies lives, before whom I stand, I will certainly present myself to him today.”

¹⁶So Obadiah went to meet Ahab and informed him; then Ahab went to meet Elijah.

¹⁷When Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab said to him, “Is this you, the cause of disaster to Israel?”

¹⁸He said, “I have not brought disaster to Israel, but you and your father’s house have, because you have abandoned the commandments of the LORD and you have followed the Baals.

¹⁹Now then, send orders and gather to me all Israel at Mount Carmel, together with 450 prophets of Baal and four hundred prophets of the Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.”

²⁰So Ahab sent orders among all the sons of Israel and brought the prophets together at Mount Carmel.

²¹Then Elijah approached all the people and said, “How long are you going to struggle with the two choices? If the LORD is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.” But the people did not answer him so much as a word.

²²Then Elijah said to the people, “I alone am left as a prophet of the LORD, while Baal’s prophets are 450 men.

²³Now have them give us two oxen; and have them choose the one ox for themselves and cut it up, and place it on the wood, but put no fire under it; and I will prepare the other ox and lay it on the wood, and I will not put a fire under it.

²⁴Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the LORD; and the God who answers by fire, He is God.” And all the people replied, “That is a good idea.”

²⁵So Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose the one ox for yourselves and prepare it first, since there are many of you, and call on the name of your god, but put no fire under the ox.”

²⁶Then they took the ox which was given them and they prepared it, and they called on the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying, “O Baal, answer us!” But there was no voice and no one answered. And they limped about the altar which they had made.

²⁷And at noon Elijah ridiculed them and said, “Call out with a loud voice, since he is a god; undoubtedly he is attending to business, or is on the way, or is on a journey. Perhaps he is asleep, and will awaken.”

²⁸So they cried out with a loud voice, and cut themselves according to their custom with swords and lances until blood gushed out on them.

²⁹When midday was past, they raved until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice; but there was no voice, no one answered, and no one paid attention.

³⁰Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come forward to me.” So all the people came forward to him. And he repaired the altar of the LORD which had been torn down.

³¹Then Elijah took twelve stones, corresponding to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the LORD had come, saying, “Israel shall be your name.”

³²And with the stones he built an altar in the name of the LORD; and he made a trench around the altar, large enough to hold two measures of seed.

³³Then he laid out the wood, and he cut the ox in pieces and placed it on the wood.

³⁴And he said, “Fill four large jars with water and pour it on the burnt offering and on the wood.” And he said, “Do it a second time,” so they did it a second time. Then he said, “Do it a third time,” so they did it a third time.

³⁵The water flowed around the altar, and he also filled the trench with water.

³⁶Then at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, Elijah the prophet approached and said, “LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, today let it be known that You are God in Israel and that I am Your servant, and that I have done all these things at Your word.

³⁷Answer me, LORD, answer me, so that this people may know that You, LORD, are God, and that You have turned their heart back.”

³⁸Then the fire of the LORD fell and consumed the burnt offering and the wood, and the stones and the dust; and it licked up the water that was in the trench.

³⁹When all the people saw this, they fell on their faces; and they said, “The LORD, He is God; the LORD, He is God!”

⁴⁰Then Elijah said to them, “Seize the prophets of Baal; do not let one of them escape.” So they seized them; and Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon, and slaughtered them there.

⁴¹Now Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink; for there is the sound of the roar of a heavy shower.”

⁴²So Ahab went up to eat and drink. But Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he bent down to the earth and put his face between his knees.

⁴³And he said to his servant, “Go up now, look toward the sea.” So he went up and looked, but he said, “There is nothing.” Yet Elijah said, “Go back” seven times.

⁴⁴And when he returned the seventh time, he said, “Behold, a cloud as small as a person’s hand is coming up from the sea.” And Elijah said, “Go up, say to Ahab, ‘Harness your chariot horses and go down, so that the heavy shower does not stop you.’ ”

⁴⁵Meanwhile the sky became dark with clouds and wind came up, and there was a heavy shower. And Ahab rode and went to Jezreel.

⁴⁶Then the hand of the LORD was on Elijah, and he belted his cloak around his waist and outran Ahab to Jezreel.

¹Now Ahab told Jezebel everything that Elijah had done, and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword.

²Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “So may the gods do to me and more so, if by about this time tomorrow I do not make your life like the life of one of them.”

³And he was afraid, and got up and ran for his life and came to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah; and he left his servant there.

⁴But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a broom tree; and he asked for himself to die, and said, “Enough! Now, LORD, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers.”

⁵Then he lay down and fell asleep under a broom tree; but behold, there was an angel touching him, and he said to him, “Arise, eat!”

⁶And he looked, and behold, there was at his head a round loaf of bread baked on hot coals, and a pitcher of water. So he ate and drank, and lay down again.

⁷But the angel of the LORD came back a second time and touched him, and said, “Arise, eat; because the journey is too long for you.”

⁸So he arose and ate and drank, and he journeyed in the strength of that food for forty days and forty nights to Horeb, the mountain of God.

⁹Then he came there to a cave and spent the night there; and behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and He said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

¹⁰And he said, “I have been very zealous for the LORD, the God of armies; for the sons of Israel have abandoned Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. And I alone am left; and they have sought to take my life.”

¹¹So He said, “Go out and stand on the mountain before the LORD.” And behold, the LORD was passing by! And a great and powerful wind was tearing out the mountains and breaking the rocks in pieces before the LORD; but the LORD was not in the wind. And after the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake.

¹²And after the earthquake, a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire, a sound of a gentle blowing.

¹³When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. And behold, a voice came to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

¹⁴Then he said, “I have been very zealous for the LORD, the God of armies; for the sons of Israel have abandoned Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. And I alone am left; and they have sought to take my life.”

¹⁵The LORD said to him, “Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus; and when you have arrived, you shall anoint Hazael king over Aram.

¹⁶You shall also anoint Jehu the son of Nimshi king over Israel; and you shall anoint Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah as prophet in your place.

¹⁷And it shall come about that the one who escapes from the sword of Hazael, Jehu shall put to death, and the one who escapes from the sword of Jehu, Elisha shall put to death.

¹⁸Yet I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal and every mouth that has not kissed him.”

¹⁹So he departed from there and found Elisha the son of Shaphat while he was plowing, with twelve yoke of oxen in front of him, and he with the twelfth. And Elijah came over to him and threw his cloak on him.

²⁰Then he left the oxen behind and ran after Elijah, and said, “Please let me kiss my father and my mother, then I will follow you.” And he said to him, “Go back, for what have I done to you?”

²¹So he returned from following him, and took the pair of oxen and sacrificed them, and cooked their meat with the implements of the oxen, and gave it to the people and they ate. Then he got up and followed Elijah and served him.

¹Now Ben-hadad, king of Aram, gathered all his army, and there were thirty-two kings with him, and horses and chariots. And he went up and besieged Samaria, and fought against it.

²Then he sent messengers to the city to Ahab, king of Israel, and said to him, “This is what Ben-hadad says:

³‘Your silver and your gold are mine; your most beautiful wives and children are also mine.’ ”

⁴And the king of Israel replied, “As you say, my lord, O king; I am yours, as well as all that I have.”

⁵Then the messengers returned and said, “Ben-hadad says this: ‘I did indeed send word to you, saying, “You shall give me your silver, your gold, your wives, and your children”;

⁶but about this time tomorrow I will send my servants to you, and they will search your house and the houses of your servants; and they will take in their hands everything that is pleasing to your eyes, and take it all away.’ ”

⁷Then the king of Israel summoned all the elders of the land and said, “Please be aware and see that this man is looking for trouble; for he sent me his demand for my wives, my children, my silver, and my gold, and I did not refuse him.”

⁸Then all the elders and all the people said to him, “Do not listen nor consent.”

⁹So he said to the messengers of Ben-hadad, “Tell my lord the king, ‘Everything that you sent as a demand to your servant at the first, I will do; but this thing I cannot do.’ ” Then the messengers departed, and brought him word again.

¹⁰Ben-hadad sent word to him and said, “May the gods do so to me and more so, if the dust of Samaria will be enough for handfuls for all the people who follow me.”

¹¹Then the king of Israel replied, “Tell him, ‘He who straps on his weapons had better not boast like one who takes them off.’ ”

¹²And when Ben-hadad heard this message, while he was drinking with the kings in the temporary shelters, he said to his servants, “Take your positions.” So they took their positions against the city.

¹³Now behold, a prophet approached Ahab king of Israel, and said, “This is what the LORD says: ‘Have you seen all this great multitude? Behold, I am going to hand them over to you today, and you shall know that I am the LORD.’ ”

¹⁴But Ahab said, “By whom?” So he said, “The LORD says this: ‘By the young men of the leaders of the provinces.’ ” Then he said, “Who will begin the battle?” And he said, “You will.”

¹⁵So he mustered the young men of the leaders of the provinces, and there were 232; and after them he mustered all the people, all the sons of Israel: seven thousand.

¹⁶They went out at noon, while Ben-hadad was drinking himself drunk in the temporary shelters with the thirty-two kings who were helping him.

¹⁷The young men of the leaders of the provinces went out first; and Ben-hadad sent out scouts, and they reported to him, saying, “Men have come out from Samaria.”

¹⁸Then he said, “If they have come out for peace, take them alive; or if they have come out for war, take them alive as well.”

¹⁹So these men went out from the city, the young men of the leaders of the provinces, and the army which followed them.

²⁰And they killed, each one, his man; and the Arameans fled and Israel pursued them, and Ben-hadad the king of Aram escaped on a horse with horsemen.

²¹The king of Israel also went out and struck the horses and chariots, and killed the Arameans in a great slaughter.

²²Then the prophet approached the king of Israel and said to him, “Go, show yourself courageous and be aware and see what you have to do; for at the turn of the year the king of Aram will march against you.”

²³Now the servants of the king of Aram said to him, “Their gods are gods of the mountains; for that reason they were stronger than we. But let us fight them in the plain, and we will certainly be stronger than they.

²⁴Carry out this plan: remove the kings, each from his place, and put governors in their place,

²⁵and muster an army like the army that you have lost, horse for horse and chariot for chariot. Then we will fight against them in the plain, and we will certainly be stronger than they.” And he listened to their voice and did so.

²⁶So at the turn of the year Ben-hadad mustered the Arameans and went up to Aphek to fight against Israel.

²⁷And the sons of Israel were mustered and given provisions, and they went to meet them; and the sons of Israel camped opposite them like two little flocks of goats, while the Arameans filled the country.

²⁸Then a man of God approached and spoke to the king of Israel, and said, “This is what the LORD says: ‘Since the Arameans have said, “The LORD is a god of mountains, but He is not a god of valleys,” therefore I will hand over to you all this great multitude, and you shall know that I am the LORD.’ ”

²⁹So they camped, one opposite the other, for seven days. And on the seventh day the battle was joined, and the sons of Israel killed of the Arameans a hundred thousand foot soldiers in a single day.

³⁰But the rest fled to Aphek into the city, and the wall fell on twenty-seven thousand men who were left. And Ben-hadad fled and came into the city, going from one inner room to another.

³¹But his servants said to him, “Behold now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings. Please let’s put sackcloth around our waists and ropes on our heads, and go out to the king of Israel; perhaps he will let you live.”

³²So they put sackcloth around their waists and ropes on their heads, and came to the king of Israel and said, “Your servant Ben-hadad says, ‘Please let me live.’ ” And Ahab said, “Is he still alive? He is my brother.”

³³Now the men took this as a good omen, and quickly accepting it from him, they said, “Your brother Ben-hadad.” Then he said, “Go, bring him.” Then Ben-hadad came out to him, and he had him mount the chariot.

³⁴And Ben-hadad said to him, “The cities which my father took from your father I will restore, and you can make streets for yourself in Damascus, as my father made in Samaria.” Ahab said, “And I will let you go with this covenant.” So he made a covenant with him and let him go.

³⁵Now a man from the sons of the prophets said to another by the word of the LORD, “Please strike me.” But the man refused to strike him.

³⁶Then he said to him, “Because you have not listened to the voice of the LORD, behold, as soon as you leave me, a lion will kill you.” And as soon as he left him a lion found him and killed him.

³⁷Then he found another man and said, “Please strike me.” And the man struck him, injuring him.

³⁸So the prophet departed and waited for the king by the road, and disguised himself with a bandage over his eyes.

³⁹And as the king passed by, he cried out to the king and said, “Your servant went out into the midst of the battle; and behold, a man turned aside and brought a man to me and said, ‘Guard this man; if for any reason he goes missing, then your life shall be forfeited in place of his life, or else you shall pay a talent of silver.’

⁴⁰Now while your servant was busy here and there, he disappeared.” And the king of Israel said to him, “So shall your judgment be; you yourself determined it.”

⁴¹Then he quickly took the bandage away from his eyes, and the king of Israel recognized him, that he was one of the prophets.

⁴²And the prophet said to him, “This is what the LORD says: ‘Since you have let go from your hand the man I had designated for destruction, your life shall be forfeited in place of his life, and your people in place of his people.’ ”

⁴³So the king of Israel went to his house sullen and furious, and came to Samaria.

¹Now it came about after these things that Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard which was in Jezreel beside the palace of Ahab, the king of Samaria.

²And Ahab spoke to Naboth, saying, “Give me your vineyard so that I may have it for a vegetable garden, because it is close beside my house, and I will give you a better vineyard in place of it; if you prefer, I will give you what it is worth in money.”

³But Naboth said to Ahab, “The LORD forbid me that I would give you the inheritance of my fathers!”

⁴So Ahab entered his house sullen and furious because of the answer that Naboth the Jezreelite had given to him, since he said, “I will not give you the inheritance of my fathers.” And he lay down on his bed and turned his face away, and ate no food.

⁵But Jezebel his wife came to him and said to him, “How is it that your spirit is so sullen that you are not eating food?”

⁶So he said to her, “It is because I was speaking to Naboth the Jezreelite and saying to him, ‘Give me your vineyard for money; or else, if it pleases you, I will give you a vineyard in place of it.’ But he said, ‘I will not give you my vineyard.’ ”

⁷Jezebel his wife said to him, “Do you now reign over Israel? Arise, eat bread, and let your heart be joyful; I will give you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.”

⁸So she wrote letters in Ahab’s name and sealed them with his seal, and sent the letters to the elders and to the nobles who were living with Naboth in his city.

⁹Now she had written in the letters, saying, “Proclaim a fast and seat Naboth at the head of the people;

¹⁰and seat two worthless men opposite him, and have them testify against him, saying, ‘You cursed God and the king.’ Then take him out and stone him to death.”

¹¹So the men of his city, the elders and the nobles who lived in his city, did just as Jezebel had sent word to them, just as it was written in the letters which she had sent them.

¹²They proclaimed a fast, and seated Naboth at the head of the people.

¹³Then the two worthless men came in and sat opposite him; and the worthless men testified against him, against Naboth, before the people, saying, “Naboth cursed God and the king.” So they took him outside the city and stoned him to death with stones.

¹⁴Then they sent word to Jezebel, saying, “Naboth has been stoned and is dead.”

¹⁵And when Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned and was dead, Jezebel said to Ahab, “Arise, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth, the Jezreelite, which he refused to give you for money; for Naboth is not alive, but dead.”

¹⁶When Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, Ahab got up to go down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, to take possession of it.

¹⁷Then the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying,

¹⁸“Arise, go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, who is in Samaria; behold, he is in the vineyard of Naboth, where he has gone down to take possession of it.

¹⁹And you shall speak to him, saying, ‘This is what the LORD says: “Have you murdered and also taken possession?” ’ And you shall speak to him, saying, ‘The LORD says this: “In the place where the dogs licked up the blood of Naboth, the dogs will lick up your blood, yours as well.” ’ ”

²⁰Then Ahab said to Elijah, “Have you found me, enemy of mine?” And he answered, “I have found you, because you have given yourself over to do evil in the sight of the LORD.

²¹Behold, I am bringing disaster upon you, and I will utterly sweep you away, and will eliminate from Ahab every male, both bond and free in Israel;

²²and I will make your house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah, because of the provocation with which you have provoked Me to anger, and because you have misled Israel into sin.

²³The LORD has also spoken of Jezebel, saying, ‘The dogs will eat Jezebel in the territory of Jezreel.’

²⁴The one belonging to Ahab, who dies in the city, the dogs will eat; and the one who dies in the field, the birds of the sky will eat.”

²⁵There certainly was no one like Ahab who gave himself over to do evil in the sight of the LORD, because Jezebel his wife incited him.

²⁶He also acted very despicably in following idols, conforming to everything that the Amorites had done, whom the LORD drove out from the sons of Israel.

²⁷Yet it came about, when Ahab heard these words, that he tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and fasted, and he lay in sackcloth and went about despondently.

²⁸Then the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying,

²⁹“Do you see how Ahab has humbled himself before Me? Because he has humbled himself before Me, I will not bring the disaster in his days; I will bring the disaster upon his house in his son’s days.”

¹Now three years passed without war between Aram and Israel.

²In the third year, Jehoshaphat the king of Judah came down to the king of Israel.

³Now the king of Israel said to his servants, “Are you aware that Ramoth-gilead belongs to us, yet we are hesitant to take it out of the hand of the king of Aram?”

⁴So he said to Jehoshaphat, “Will you go to battle with me at Ramoth-gilead?” And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, “Consider me yours, my people yours, and my horses yours!”

⁵However, Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, “Please request the word of the LORD first.”

⁶So the king of Israel assembled the prophets, about four hundred men, and said to them, “Should I go to battle against Ramoth-gilead or should I refrain?” And they said, “Go up, for the Lord will hand it over to the king.”

⁷But Jehoshaphat said, “Is there no longer a prophet of the LORD here, that we may inquire of him?”

⁸And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “There is still one man by whom we may inquire of the LORD, but I hate him, because he does not prophesy anything good regarding me, but only bad. He is Micaiah the son of Imlah.” But Jehoshaphat said, “May the king not say so.”

⁹Then the king of Israel summoned an officer and said, “Bring Micaiah son of Imlah quickly.”

¹⁰Now the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah were sitting, each on his throne, dressed in their robes, at the threshing floor at the entrance of the gate of Samaria; and all the prophets were prophesying before them.

¹¹Then Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah made horns of iron for himself and said, “This is what the LORD says: ‘With these you will gore the Arameans until they are destroyed!’ ”

¹²All the prophets were prophesying this as well, saying, “Go up to Ramoth-gilead and succeed, for the LORD will hand it over to the king.”

¹³Then the messenger who went to summon Micaiah spoke to him saying, “Behold now, the words of the prophets are unanimously favorable to the king. Please let your word be like the word of one of them, and speak favorably.”

¹⁴But Micaiah said, “As the LORD lives, whatever the LORD says to me, I shall speak it.”

¹⁵When he came to the king, the king said to him, “Micaiah, should we go to battle against Ramoth-gilead, or should we refrain?” And he said, “Go up and succeed, for the LORD will hand it over to the king!”

¹⁶Then the king said to him, “How many times must I make you swear that you will tell me nothing but the truth in the name of the LORD?”

¹⁷So he said, “I saw all Israel Scattered on the mountains, Like sheep that have no shepherd. And the LORD said, ‘These people have no master. Each of them is to return to his house in peace.’ ”

¹⁸Then the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Did I not tell you that he would not prophesy anything good regarding me, but only bad?”

¹⁹And Micaiah said, “Therefore, hear the word of the LORD. I saw the LORD sitting on His throne, and all the angels of heaven standing by Him on His right and on His left.

²⁰And the LORD said, ‘Who will entice Ahab to go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?’ And one spirit said this, while another said that.

²¹Then a spirit came forward and stood before the LORD, and said, ‘I will entice him.’

²²And the LORD said to him, ‘How?’ And he said, ‘I will go out and be a deceiving spirit in the mouths of all his prophets.’ Then He said, ‘You shall entice him, and you will also prevail. Go and do so.’

²³Now then, behold, the LORD has put a deceiving spirit in the mouth of all these prophets of yours; and the LORD has declared disaster against you.”

²⁴Then Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah approached and struck Micaiah on the cheek; and he said, “How did the Spirit of the LORD pass from me to speak to you?”

²⁵And Micaiah said, “Behold, you are going to see how on that day when you go from one inner room to another trying to hide yourself.”

²⁶Then the king of Israel said, “Take Micaiah and return him to Amon the governor of the city, and to Joash the king’s son;

²⁷and say, ‘This is what the king says: “Put this man in prison, and feed him enough bread and water to survive until I return safely.” ’ ”

²⁸But Micaiah said, “If you actually return safely, the LORD has not spoken by me.” And he said, “Listen, all you people!”

²⁹So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah went up against Ramoth-gilead.

³⁰And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “I will disguise myself and go into the battle, but you put on your robes.” So the king of Israel disguised himself and went into the battle.

³¹Now the king of Aram had commanded the thirty-two commanders of his chariots, saying, “Do not fight with the small or great, but only with the king of Israel.”

³²So when the commanders of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, they said, “Surely he is the king of Israel!” And they turned aside to fight against him, and Jehoshaphat cried out.

³³Then, when the commanders of the chariots saw that it was not the king of Israel, they turned back from pursuing him.

³⁴Now one man drew his bow at random and struck the king of Israel in a joint of the armor. So he said to the driver of his chariot, “Turn around and take me out of the battle, for I am severely wounded.”

³⁵The battle raged on that day, and the king was propped up in his chariot in front of the Arameans, and he died at evening, and the blood from the wound ran into the bottom of the chariot.

³⁶Then the word passed throughout the army close to sunset, saying, “Every man to his city, and every man to his country!”

³⁷So the king died and was brought to Samaria, and they buried the king in Samaria.

³⁸They washed out the chariot by the pool of Samaria, and the dogs licked up his blood (it was there that the prostitutes bathed themselves) in accordance with the word of the LORD which He had spoken.

³⁹Now as for the rest of the acts of Ahab and everything that he did, and the ivory house which he built and all the cities which he built, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?

⁴⁰So Ahab lay down with his fathers, and his son Ahaziah became king in his place.

⁴¹Now Jehoshaphat the son of Asa became king over Judah in the fourth year of Ahab king of Israel.

⁴²Jehoshaphat was thirty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned for twenty-five years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Azubah the daughter of Shilhi.

⁴³He walked entirely in the way of his father Asa; he did not turn aside from it, doing what was right in the sight of the LORD. However, the high places were not taken away; the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places.

⁴⁴Jehoshaphat also made peace with the king of Israel.

⁴⁵Now as for the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, and his might which he showed and how he made war, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?

⁴⁶And the remnant of the cult prostitutes who remained in the days of his father Asa, he eliminated from the land.

⁴⁷Now there was no king in Edom; a governor served as king.

⁴⁸Jehoshaphat built ships of Tarshish to go to Ophir for gold, but they did not go, because the ships were destroyed at Ezion-geber.

⁴⁹Then Ahaziah the son of Ahab said to Jehoshaphat, “Let my servants go with your servants in the ships.” But Jehoshaphat was not willing.

⁵⁰And Jehoshaphat lay down with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of his father David, and his son Jehoram became king in his place.

⁵¹Ahaziah the son of Ahab became king over Israel in Samaria in the seventeenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and he reigned over Israel for two years.

⁵²He did evil in the sight of the LORD and walked in the way of his father and in the way of his mother, and in the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who misled Israel into sin.

⁵³So he served Baal and worshiped him, and provoked the LORD God of Israel to anger, according to all that his father had done.

¹Now Moab broke with Israel after the death of Ahab.

²And Ahaziah fell through the window lattice in his upper chamber which was in Samaria, and became ill. So he sent messengers and said to them, “Go, inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, whether I will recover from this sickness.”

³But the angel of the LORD said to Elijah the Tishbite, “Arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria and say to them, ‘Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron?’

⁴Now therefore, this is what the LORD says: ‘You will not get down from the bed upon which you have lain, but you shall certainly die.’ ” Then Elijah departed.

⁵When the messengers returned to Ahaziah, he said to them, “Why have you returned?”

⁶They said to him, “A man came up to meet us and said to us, ‘Go, return to the king who sent you and say to him, “This is what the LORD says: ‘Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are sending messengers to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore you will not get down from the bed upon which you have lain, but you shall certainly die.’ ” ’ ”

⁷Then he said to them, “What did the man look like, who came up to meet you and spoke these words to you?”

⁸And they said to him, “He was a hairy man with a leather belt worn around his waist.” And he said, “It is Elijah the Tishbite.”

⁹Then the king sent to him a captain of fifty with his fifty men. And he went up to him, and behold, he was sitting on the top of the hill. And he said to him, “You man of God, the king says, ‘Come down.’ ”

¹⁰But Elijah replied to the captain of fifty, “If I am a man of God, may fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty.” Then fire came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty men.

¹¹So the king again sent to him another captain of fifty with his fifty men. And he said to him, “You man of God, this is what the king says: ‘Come down quickly!’ ”

¹²But Elijah replied to them, “If I am a man of God, may fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty.” Then the fire of God came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty men.

¹³So the king again sent the captain of a third fifty with his fifty men. When the third captain of fifty went up, he came and bowed down on his knees before Elijah, and begged him and said to him, “You man of God, please let my life and the lives of these fifty servants of yours be precious in your sight.

¹⁴Behold, fire came down from heaven and consumed the first two captains of fifty with their fifties; but now let my life be precious in your sight.”

¹⁵And the angel of the LORD said to Elijah, “Go down with him; do not be afraid of him.” So he got up and went down with him to the king.

¹⁶Then he said to him, “This is what the LORD says: ‘Since 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 will not get down from the bed upon which you have lain, but you shall certainly die.’ ”

¹⁷So Ahaziah died in accordance with the word of the LORD which Elijah had spoken. And since he had no son, Jehoram became king in his place in the second year of Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah.

¹⁸Now as for the rest of the acts of Ahaziah which he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?

¹Now it came about, when the LORD was about to bring Elijah up by a whirlwind to heaven, that Elijah left Gilgal with Elisha.

²And Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here please, for the LORD has sent me as far as Bethel.” But Elisha said, “As surely as the LORD lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they went down to Bethel.

³Then the sons of the prophets who were at Bethel went out to Elisha and said to him, “Are you aware that the LORD will take away your master from over you today?” And he said, “Yes, I am aware; say nothing about it.”

⁴And Elijah said to him, “Elisha, please stay here, for the LORD has sent me to Jericho.” But he said, “As surely as the LORD lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they came to Jericho.

⁵Then the sons of the prophets who were at Jericho approached Elisha and said to him, “Do you know that the LORD will take away your master from over you today?” And he answered, “Yes, I know; say nothing about it.”

⁶And Elijah said to him, “Please stay here, for the LORD has sent me to the Jordan.” But he said, “As surely as the LORD lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So the two of them went on.

⁷Now fifty men of the sons of the prophets went and stood opposite them at a distance, while the two of them stood by the Jordan.

⁸And Elijah took his coat, folded it, and struck the waters, and they were divided here and there, so that the two of them crossed over on dry ground.

⁹When they had crossed over, Elijah said to Elisha, “Ask me what I should do for you before I am taken from you.” And Elisha said, “Please let a double portion of your spirit be upon me.”

¹⁰He said, “You have asked a hard thing. Nevertheless, if you see me when I am taken from you, it shall be so for you; but if not, it shall not be so.”

¹¹And as they were walking along and talking, behold, a chariot of fire appeared with horses of fire, and they separated the two of them. Then Elijah went up by a whirlwind to heaven.

¹²And Elisha was watching it and he was crying out, “My father, my father, the chariot of Israel and its horsemen!” And he did not see Elijah again. Then he took hold of his own clothes and tore them in two pieces.

¹³He also took up the coat of Elijah that had fallen from him, and he went back and stood by the bank of the Jordan.

¹⁴Then he took the coat of Elijah that had fallen from him and struck the waters, and said, “Where is the LORD, the God of Elijah?” And when he also had struck the waters, they were divided here and there; and Elisha crossed over.

¹⁵Now when the sons of the prophets who were at Jericho opposite him saw him, they said, “The spirit of Elijah has settled on Elisha.” And they came to meet him and bowed down to the ground before him.

¹⁶Then they said to him, “Behold now, there are with your servants fifty strong men; please let them go and search for your master, in case the Spirit of the LORD has taken him up and cast him on some mountain or into some valley.” But he said, “You shall not send anyone.”

¹⁷Yet when they urged him until he was ashamed to refuse, he said, “Send them.” So they sent fifty men; and they searched for three days, but did not find him.

¹⁸They returned to him while he was staying in Jericho; and he said to them, “Did I not say to you, ‘Do not go’?”

¹⁹Then the men of the city said to Elisha, “Behold now, the site of the city is pleasant, as my lord sees; but the water is bad and the land is unfruitful.”

²⁰And he said, “Bring me a new jar, and put salt in it.” So they brought it to him.

²¹Then he went out to the spring of water and threw salt in it and said, “This is what the LORD says: ‘I have purified these waters; there shall not come from there death or unfruitfulness any longer.’ ”

²²So the waters have been purified to this day, in accordance with the word of Elisha which he spoke.

²³Now he went up from there to Bethel; and as he was going up by the road, some young boys came out from the city and ridiculed him and said to him, “Go up, you baldhead; go up, you baldhead!”

²⁴When he looked behind him and saw them, he cursed them in the name of the LORD. Then two female bears came out of the woods and tore up forty-two of the boys.

²⁵He then went on from there to Mount Carmel, and from there he returned to Samaria.

¹Now Jehoram the son of Ahab became king over Israel at Samaria in the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and he reigned for twelve years.

²He did evil in the sight of the LORD, though not like his father and his mother; for he removed the memorial stone of Baal which his father had made.

³Nevertheless, he clung to the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, into which he misled Israel; he did not abandon them.

⁴Now Mesha the king of Moab was a sheep breeder, and he used to make tribute payments to the king of Israel of a hundred thousand lambs, and the wool of a hundred thousand rams.

⁵However, when King Ahab died, the king of Moab broke with the king of Israel.

⁶So King Jehoram left Samaria for battle at that time and mustered all Israel.

⁷Then he went and sent word to Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, saying, “The king of Moab has broken away from me. Will you go with me to fight against Moab?” And he said, “I will go up. Consider me yours, my people as your people, my horses as your horses.”

⁸Then he said, “Which way shall we go up?” And he answered, “The way of the wilderness of Edom.”

⁹So the king of Israel went with the king of Judah and the king of Edom, and they made a circuit of seven days’ journey. But there was no water for the army or for the cattle that followed them.

¹⁰Then the king of Israel said, “It is hopeless! For the LORD has called these three kings to hand them over to Moab!”

¹¹But Jehoshaphat said, “Is there no prophet of the LORD here, that we may inquire of the LORD by him?” And one of the king of Israel’s servants answered and said, “Elisha the son of Shaphat is here, who used to pour water on the hands of Elijah.”

¹²And Jehoshaphat said, “The word of the LORD is with him.” So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom went down to him.

¹³Now Elisha said to the king of Israel, “What business do you have with me? Go to your father’s prophets and your mother’s prophets.” But the king of Israel said to him, “No, for the LORD has called these three kings together to hand them over to Moab.”

¹⁴Elisha said, “As surely as the LORD of armies lives, before whom I stand, if I did not respect Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, I would not look at you nor see you.

¹⁵But now bring me a musician.” And it came about, when the musician played, that the hand of the LORD came upon him.

¹⁶And he said, “This is what the LORD says: ‘Make this valley full of trenches.’

¹⁷For the LORD says this: ‘You will not see wind, nor will you see rain; yet that valley shall be filled with water, so that you will drink, you, your livestock, and your other animals.

¹⁸And this is an insignificant thing in the sight of the LORD; He will also give the Moabites into your hand.

¹⁹Then you shall strike every fortified city and every choice city, and cut down every good tree and stop up all the springs of water, and spoil every good plot of land with stones.’ ”

²⁰And it happened in the morning about the time of offering the sacrifice, that behold, water came from the direction of Edom, and the country was filled with water.

²¹Now all the Moabites heard that the kings had come up to fight against them. And all who were able to put on armor and older were summoned and they took their positions on the border.

²²Then they got up early in the morning, and the sun shone on the water, and the Moabites saw the water opposite them as red as blood.

²³So they said, “This is blood; the kings must have fought each other, and they have killed one another. Now then, Moab, to the spoils!”

²⁴But when they came to the camp of Israel, the Israelites rose up and struck the Moabites, so that they fled from them; and the Israelites invaded the land, killing the Moabites.

²⁵So they destroyed the cities; and each one threw a stone on every plot of good land and filled it. So they stopped up every spring of water and cut down every good tree, until in Kir-hareseth only they left its stones; however, the rock slingers surrounded it and struck it.

²⁶When the king of Moab saw that the battle was too fierce for him, he took with him seven hundred men who drew swords, to break through to the king of Edom; but they could not.

²⁷Then the king of Moab took his oldest son who was to reign in his place, and offered him as a burnt offering on the wall. And great anger came upon Israel, and they departed from him and returned to their own land.

¹Now a woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha, saying, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared the LORD; and the creditor has come to take my two children to be his slaves.”

²So Elisha said to her, “What shall I do for you? Tell me, what do you have in the house?” And she said, “Your servant has nothing in the house except a jar of oil.”

³Then he said, “Go, borrow containers elsewhere for yourself, empty containers from all your neighbors—do not get too few.

⁴Then you shall come in and shut the door behind you and your sons, and pour into all these containers; and you shall set aside what is full.”

⁵So she left him and shut the door behind her and her sons; they began bringing the containers to her, and she poured the oil.

⁶When the containers were full, she said to her son, “Bring me another container.” But he said to her, “There are no more containers.” Then the oil stopped.

⁷So she came and told the man of God. And he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debt, and you and your sons can live on the rest.”

⁸Now a day came when Elisha went over to Shunem, where there was a prominent woman, and she urged him to eat food. And so it was, as often as he passed by, that he turned in there to eat food.

⁹And she said to her husband, “Behold now, I am aware that this is a holy man of God passing by us repeatedly.

¹⁰Please, let’s make a little walled upper room, and let’s set up a bed for him there, and a table, a chair, and a lampstand; then it shall be, when he comes to us, that he can turn in there.”

¹¹Now one day he came there, and turned in to the upper room and rested.

¹²Then he said to his servant Gehazi, “Call this Shunammite.” And when he had called her, she stood before him.

¹³And he said to him, “Say now to her, ‘Behold, you have taken trouble for us with all this care; what can I do for you? Would you like me to speak for you to the king or to the commander of the army?’ ” But she answered, “I live among my own people.”

¹⁴So he said, “What then is to be done for her?” And Gehazi answered, “It is a fact that she has no son, and her husband is old.”

¹⁵He then said, “Call her.” When he had called her, she stood in the doorway.

¹⁶Then he said, “At this season next year, you are going to embrace a son.” And she said, “No, my lord, you man of God, do not lie to your servant.”

¹⁷Now the woman conceived and gave birth to a son at that season the next year, as Elisha had told her.

¹⁸When the child was grown, the day came that he went out to his father, to the reapers.

¹⁹And he said to his father, “My head, my head!” And his father said to his servant, “Carry him to his mother.”

²⁰When he had carried him and brought him to his mother, he sat on her lap until noon, and then he died.

²¹And she went up and laid him on the bed of the man of God, and shut the door behind him and left.

²²Then she called to her husband and said, “Please send me one of the servants and one of the donkeys, so that I may run to the man of God and return.”

²³But he said, “Why are you going to him today? It is neither new moon nor Sabbath.” So she just said, “It will be fine.”

²⁴Then she saddled the donkey and said to her servant, “Drive the donkey and go on; do not slow down the pace for me unless I tell you.”

²⁵So she went on and came to the man of God at Mount Carmel. When the man of God saw her at a distance, he said to Gehazi his servant, “Behold, that person there is the Shunammite.

²⁶Please run now to meet her and say to her, ‘Is it going well for you? Is it going well for your husband? Is it going well for the child?’ ” Then she answered, “It is going well.”

²⁷But she came to the man of God at the hill and took hold of his feet. And Gehazi came up to push her away, but the man of God said, “Leave her alone, for her soul is troubled within her; and the LORD has concealed it from me and has not informed me.”

²⁸Then she said, “Did I ask for a son from my lord? Did I not say, ‘Do not give me false hope’?”

²⁹Then he said to Gehazi, “Get ready and take my staff in your hand, and go; if you meet anyone, do not greet him, and if anyone greets you, do not reply to him. And lay my staff on the boy’s face.”

³⁰The mother of the boy said, “As surely as the LORD lives and you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So he got up and followed her.

³¹Then Gehazi went on ahead of them and laid the staff on the boy’s face, but there was no sound or response. So he returned to meet him and informed him, saying, “The boy has not awakened.”

³²When Elisha entered the house, behold the boy was dead, laid on his bed.

³³So he entered and shut the door behind them both, and he prayed to the LORD.

³⁴Then he got up on the bed and lay on the child, and put his mouth on his mouth, his eyes on his eyes, his hands on his hands, and he bent down on him; and the flesh of the child became warm.

³⁵Then he returned and walked in the house back and forth once, and went up and bent down on him; and the boy sneezed seven times, then the boy opened his eyes.

³⁶And he called Gehazi and said, “Call this Shunammite.” So he called her. And when she came to him, he said, “Pick up your son.”

³⁷Then she came in and fell at his feet and bowed down to the ground, and she picked up her son and left.

³⁸When Elisha returned to Gilgal, there was a famine in the land. As the sons of the prophets were sitting in front of him, he said to his servant, “Put on the large pot and boil stew for the sons of the prophets.”

³⁹Then one went out into the field to gather mallow, and found a wild vine and gathered from it his lap full of wild gourds; and he came and sliced them into the pot of stew, because they did not know what they were.

⁴⁰So they poured it out for the men to eat. But as they were eating the stew, they cried out and said, “You man of God, there is death in the pot!” And they were unable to eat.

⁴¹Then he said, “Bring flour.” And he threw it into the pot, and said, “Pour it out for the people that they may eat.” Then there was nothing harmful in the pot.

⁴²Now a man came from Baal-shalishah, and brought the man of God bread of the first fruits, twenty loaves of barley and fresh grain in his sack. And Elisha said, “Give them to the people that they may eat.”

⁴³But his attendant said, “How am I to serve this to a hundred men?” Nevertheless he said, “Give them to the people that they may eat, for this is what the LORD says: ‘They shall eat and have some left over.’ ”

⁴⁴So he served it to them, and they ate and had some left over, in accordance with the word of the LORD.

¹Now Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Aram, was a great man in the view of his master, and eminent, because by him the LORD had given victory to Aram. The man was also a valiant warrior, but afflicted with leprosy.

²Now the Arameans had gone out in bands and had taken captive a little girl from the land of Israel; and she waited on Naaman’s wife.

³And she said to her mistress, “If only my master were with the prophet who is in Samaria! Then he would cure him of his leprosy.”

⁴And Naaman went in and told his master, saying, “The girl who is from the land of Israel spoke such and such.”

⁵Then the king of Aram said, “Go now, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel.” So he departed and took with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold, and ten changes of clothes.

⁶And he brought the letter to the king of Israel, which said, “And now as this letter comes to you, behold, I have sent Naaman my servant to you, so that you may cure him of his leprosy.”

⁷But when the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes and said, “Am I God, to kill and to keep alive, that this man is sending word to me to cure a man of his leprosy? But consider now, and see how he is seeking a quarrel against me.”

⁸Now it happened, when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, that he sent word to the king, saying, “Why did you tear your clothes? Just have him come to me, and he shall learn that there is a prophet in Israel.”

⁹So Naaman came with his horses and his chariots, and stood at the doorway of Elisha’s house.

¹⁰And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, “Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh will be restored to you and you will be clean.”

¹¹But Naaman was furious and went away, and he said, “Behold, I thought, ‘He will certainly come out to me, and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, and wave his hand over the site and cure the leprosy.’

¹²Are Abanah and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, not better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?” So he turned and went away in a rage.

¹³Then his servants approached and spoke to him, saying, “My father, had the prophet told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more then, when he says to you, ‘Wash, and be clean’?”

¹⁴So he went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, in accordance with the word of the man of God; and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.

¹⁵Then he returned to the man of God with all his company, and came and stood before him. And he said, “Behold now, I know that there is no God in all the earth, except in Israel; so please accept a gift from your servant now.”

¹⁶But he said, “As surely as the LORD lives, before whom I stand, I will accept nothing.” And he urged him to accept it, but he refused.

¹⁷Then Naaman said, “If not, please let your servant be given two mules’ load of earth; for your servant will no longer offer a burnt offering nor a sacrifice to other gods, but to the LORD.

¹⁸Regarding this matter may the LORD forgive your servant: when my master goes into the house of Rimmon to worship there, and he leans on my hand and I bow down in the house of Rimmon, when I bow down in the house of Rimmon, may the LORD please forgive your servant in this matter.”

¹⁹He said to him, “Go in peace.” So he went some distance from him.

²⁰But Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, thought, “Behold, my master has spared this Naaman the Aramean, by not accepting from his hand what he brought. As the LORD lives, I will run after him and take something from him.”

²¹So Gehazi pursued Naaman. When Naaman saw someone running after him, he came down from the chariot to meet him and said, “Is everything well?”

²²And he said, “Everything is well. My master has sent me, saying, ‘Behold, just now two young men of the sons of the prophets have come to me from the hill country of Ephraim. Please give them a talent of silver and two changes of clothes.’ ”

²³Naaman said, “Be sure to take two talents.” And he urged him, and tied up two talents of silver in two bags with two changes of clothes, and gave them to two of his servants; and they carried them before him.

²⁴When he came to the hill, he took them from their hand and deposited them in the house, and he sent the men away, and they departed.

²⁵But he went in and stood before his master. And Elisha said to him, “Where have you been, Gehazi?” And he said, “Your servant went nowhere.”

²⁶Then he said to him, “Did my heart not go with you, when the man turned from his chariot to meet you? Is it a time to accept money and to accept clothes, olive groves, vineyards, sheep, oxen, and male and female slaves?

²⁷Therefore, the leprosy of Naaman shall cling to you and to your descendants forever.” So he went out from his presence afflicted with leprosy, as white as snow.