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¹Now Moab rebelled against Israel after the death of Ahab.

²Ahaziah [the king of Israel] fell through the lattice (grid) in his upper chamber which was in Samaria, and became sick [from the injury]. So he sent messengers, saying to them, "Go, inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, if 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?'

⁴Therefore this is what the LORD says: 'You [Ahaziah] will not leave the bed on which you lie, but you will certainly die.'" So Elijah departed.

⁵When the messengers returned to Ahaziah, he said to them, "Why have you returned [so soon]?"

⁶They replied, "A man came up to meet us and said to us, 'Go, return to the king who sent you and tell him, "Thus says the LORD: 'Is it because there is no God in Israel that you send to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore you will not leave the bed on which you lie, but you will certainly die.'"'"

⁷The king asked them, "What was the appearance of the man who came up to meet you and said these things to you?"

⁸They answered him, "He was a hairy man with a [wide] leather band bound around his loins." And Ahaziah said, "It is Elijah the Tishbite."

⁹Then the king sent to Elijah a captain of fifty with his fifty [fighting men to seize the prophet]. And he went up to him, and behold, he was sitting on the top of a hill. And the captain said to him, "Man of God, the king says, 'Come down.'"

¹⁰Elijah replied to the captain of fifty, "So if I am a man of God, then let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty [fighting men]." Then fire fell from heaven and consumed him and his fifty.

¹¹So King Ahaziah again sent to him another captain of fifty with his fifty [fighting men]. And he said to him, "Man of God, thus says the king, 'Come down quickly.'"

¹²Elijah answered them, "If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty [fighting men]." And the fire of God came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty.

¹³So Ahaziah again sent a captain of a third fifty with his fifty [fighting men]. And the third captain of fifty went up and came bowed down on his knees before Elijah, and begged him [for compassion] and said to him, "O man of God, please let my life and the lives of your servants, these fifty, 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."

¹⁵The angel of the LORD said to Elijah, "Go down with him; do not be afraid of him." So he stood and went down with him to the king.

¹⁶Then Elijah said to Ahaziah, "Thus says the LORD: 'Since you have sent messengers to inquire of Baal-zebub, god of Ekron—is it because there is no God in Israel to inquire of His word?—therefore you will not leave the bed on which you lie, but will certainly die.'"

¹⁷So Ahaziah [the son of King Ahab] died in accordance with the word of the LORD which Elijah had spoken. And because he had no son, Jehoram [his younger brother] became king [of Israel, the northern kingdom] in his place in the second year of Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah [the southern kingdom].

¹⁸Now 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?

¹When the LORD was about to take Elijah up to heaven by a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were traveling from Gilgal.

²And Elijah said to Elisha, "Please stay here, for the LORD has sent me to Bethel." But Elisha replied, "As the LORD lives and as your soul lives, I will not leave you." So they went down to Bethel.

³Now the sons of the prophets who were at Bethel came out to Elisha and said to him, "Do you know that the LORD will take your master away from you today?" He said, "Yes, I know it; be quiet [about it]."

⁴Elijah said to him, "Elisha, please stay here, for the LORD has sent me to Jericho." But he said, "As the LORD lives and as your soul lives, I will not leave you." So they came to Jericho.

⁵The sons of the prophets who were at Jericho approached Elisha and said to him, "Do you know that the LORD will take your master away from you today?" And he answered, "Yes, I know it; be quiet [about it]."

⁶Elijah said to him, "Please stay here, for the LORD has sent me to the Jordan." But he said, "As the LORD lives and as your soul lives, I will not leave you." So the two of them went on.

⁷Fifty men of the sons of the prophets also went and stood opposite them [to watch] at a distance; and the two of them stood by the Jordan.

⁸And Elijah took his mantle (coat) and rolled it up and struck the waters, and they were divided this way and that, so that the two of them crossed over on dry ground.

⁹And when they had crossed over, Elijah said to Elisha, "Ask what I shall 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 for a difficult thing. However, if you see me when I am taken from you, it shall be so for you; but if not, it shall not be so."

¹¹As they continued along and talked, behold, a chariot of fire with horses of fire [appeared suddenly and] separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind.

¹²Elisha saw it and cried out, "My father, my father, the chariot of Israel and its horsemen!" And he no longer saw Elijah. Then he took hold of his own clothes and tore them into two pieces [in grief].

¹³He picked up the mantle of Elijah that fell off him, and went back and stood by the bank of the Jordan.

¹⁴He took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him and struck the waters and said, "Where is the LORD, the God of Elijah?" And when he too had struck the waters, they divided this way and that, and Elisha crossed over.

¹⁵When the sons of the prophets who were [watching] opposite at Jericho saw him, they said, "The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha." And they came to meet him and bowed down to the ground before him [in respect].

¹⁶Then they said to Elisha, "Behold now, there are among your servants fifty strong men; please let them go and search for your master. It may be that the Spirit of the LORD has taken him up and cast him on some mountain or into some valley." And he said, "You shall not send anyone."

¹⁷But when they urged him until he was embarrassed [to refuse them], he said, "Send them." So they sent fifty men, and they searched for three days but did not find Elijah.

¹⁸They returned to Elisha while he was staying at Jericho; and he said to them, "Did I not tell you, 'Do not go'?"

¹⁹Then the men of the city said to Elisha, "Look, this city is in a pleasant place, as my lord [Elisha] sees; but the water is bad and the land is barren."

²⁰He said, "Bring me a new jar, and put salt in it." So they brought it to him.

²¹Then Elisha went to the spring of water and threw the salt in it and said, "Thus says the LORD: 'I [not the salt] have purified and healed these waters; there shall no longer be death or barrenness because of it.'"

²²So the waters have been purified to this day, in accordance with the word spoken by Elisha.

²³Then Elisha went up from Jericho to Bethel. On the way, young boys came out of the city and mocked him and said to him, "Go up, you baldhead! Go up, you baldhead!"

²⁴When he turned around and looked at them, he cursed them in the name of the LORD. Then two female bears came out of the woods and tore to pieces forty-two of the boys.

²⁵Elisha went from there to Mount Carmel, and from there he returned to Samaria.

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

²He did evil in the sight of the LORD, but not like his father and mother; for he put away the sacred pillar of Baal that his father had made.

³Nevertheless, he continued in the [idolatrous] sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel sin; he did not depart from them.

⁴Mesha the king of Moab was a sheep breeder, and he used to pay [an annual tribute] to the king of Israel 100,000 lambs and the wool of 100,000 rams.

⁵But when Ahab died, the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel.

⁶So King Jehoram left Samaria at that time and assembled all [the fighting men of] Israel.

⁷Then he went and sent word to Jehoshaphat king of Judah, saying, "The king of Moab has rebelled against me. Will you go with me to fight against Moab?" And he replied, "I will go; I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses."

⁸Jehoram said, "Which way shall we go up?" Jehoshaphat answered, "The way through the Wilderness of Edom."

⁹So the king of Israel went with the king of Judah and the king of Edom. 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, "We are doomed, for the LORD has called these three kings to be handed over to Moab."

¹¹But Jehoshaphat said, "Is there no prophet of the LORD here from whom we may inquire of the LORD?" One of the servants of the king of Israel answered, "Elisha the son of Shaphat is here, who used to pour water over Elijah's hands."

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

¹³Now Elisha said to the king of Israel, "What business do you have with me? Go to the prophets of your [wicked] father [Ahab] and to the prophets of your [pagan] mother [Jezebel]." But the king of Israel said to him, "No, for the LORD has called these three kings together to be handed over to Moab."

¹⁴Elisha said, "As the LORD of hosts (armies) lives, before whom I stand, were it not that I have regard for Jehoshaphat king of Judah, I would not look at you nor see you [king of Israel].

¹⁵But now bring me a musician." And it came about while the musician played, that the hand (power) of the LORD came upon Elisha.

¹⁶He said, "Thus says the LORD, 'Make this valley (the Arabah) full of trenches.'

¹⁷For thus says the LORD, 'You will not see wind or rain, yet that valley will be filled with water, so you and your cattle and your other animals may drink.

¹⁸This is but a simple thing in the sight of the LORD; He will also hand over the Moabites to you.

¹⁹You shall strike every fortified city and every choice (principal) city, and cut down every good tree and stop up all sources of water, and ruin every good piece of land with stones.'"

²⁰It happened in the morning, when the sacrifice was offered, that suddenly water came [miraculously] from the area of Edom, and the country was filled with water.

²¹Now all the Moabites heard that the [three] kings had come up to fight against them, and all who were able to put on armor, as well as those who were older, were summoned and stood [together in battle formation] at the border.

²²When they got up early the next morning, the sun shone on the water, and the Moabites saw the water across from them as red as blood.

²³And they said, "This is blood! Clearly the kings have fought together, and have killed one another. Now then, Moab, to the spoil [and the plunder of the dead soldiers]!"

²⁴But 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, killing the Moabites [as they went].

²⁵They destroyed the [walls of the] cities, and each man threw a stone on every piece of good land, covering it [with stones]. And they stopped up all the springs of water and cut down all the good trees, until they left nothing in Kir-hareseth [Moab's capital city] but its stones. Then the [stone] slingers surrounded the city and destroyed it.

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

²⁷Then the king of Moab took his eldest son, who was to reign in his place, and offered him [publicly] as a burnt offering [to Chemosh] on the [city] wall [horrifying everyone]. And there was great wrath against Israel, and Israel's allies [Judah and Edom] withdrew from King Jehoram and returned to their own land.