2 Kings 3:1-8:15

International Children’s Bible

War Between Israel and Moab

3 Joram son of Ahab became king over Israel at Samaria. He began to rule in Jehoshaphat’s eighteenth year as king of Judah. Joram ruled 12 years. ² Joram did what the Lord said was wrong. But he was not like his father and mother. He removed the stone pillars his father had made for Baal. ³ But he continued to do the same sins Jeroboam son of Nebat had done. Jeroboam had caused the people of Israel to sin. And Joram did not stop doing these same sins.

⁴ Mesha king of Moab raised sheep. He had to give 100,000 lambs and the wool of 100,000 male sheep to the king of Israel. ⁵ But when Ahab died, the king of Moab turned against the king of Israel. ⁶ So King Joram went out from Samaria and gathered all Israel. ⁷ He sent messengers to Jehoshaphat king of Judah. He said, “The king of Moab has turned against me. Will you go with me against Moab in battle?”

Jehoshaphat said, “I will go with you. I am ready to join you. My soldiers and my horses are ready to join with your army.”

⁸ Jehoshaphat asked, “Which way should we go to attack?”

Joram answered, “Through the Desert of Edom.”

⁹ So the king of Israel went with the king of Judah and the king of Edom. They marched seven days. There was no more water for the army or for their animals that were with them. ¹⁰ The king of Israel said, “How terrible this is! Has the Lord called us three kings together so the Moabites can defeat us?”

¹¹ But Jehoshaphat asked, “Is there a prophet of the Lord here? We can ask the Lord through a prophet.”

An officer of the king of Israel answered, “Elisha son of Shaphat is here. He was Elijah’s servant.”

¹² Jehoshaphat said, “He speaks the Lord’s truth.” So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom went down to see Elisha.

¹³ Elisha spoke to the king of Israel. He said, “I have nothing to do with you! Go to the prophets of your father and to the prophets of your mother!”

The king of Israel said to Elisha, “No. The Lord has called us three kings together to let the Moabites defeat us.”

¹⁴ Elisha said, “I serve the Lord of heaven’s armies. As surely as he lives, I tell you the truth. I wouldn’t even look at you or notice you if Jehoshaphat king of Judah were not here. I respect him! ¹⁵ Now bring me someone who plays the harp.”

While the harp was being played, the Lord gave Elisha power. ¹⁶ Then Elisha said, “The Lord says to dig holes in the valley. ¹⁷ He says that you won’t see wind or rain. But the valley will be filled with water. Then you, your cattle and other animals will drink. ¹⁸ This is easy for the Lord to do. He will also let you defeat Moab. ¹⁹ You will destroy every strong, walled city and every important town. You will cut down every good tree. You will stop up all springs of water. You will ruin every good field with rocks.”

²⁰ The next morning, about the time the sacrifice was offered, there was water! It came from the direction of Edom and filled the valley.

²¹ All the Moabites had heard that the kings had come up to fight against them. They gathered everyone old enough to put on armor. And they waited at the border. ²² But when the Moabites got up early in the morning, the sun was shining on the water. They saw the water across from them. It looked as red as blood. ²³ The Moabites said, “This is blood! Surely the kings have fought and killed each other! Come, Moabites, let’s take what is valuable from the dead bodies!”

²⁴ The Moabites came to the camp of the Israelites. But the Israelites came out and fought them until they ran away. The Israelites went on into the land to fight the Moabites. ²⁵ They tore down the cities. They threw rocks on every good field and filled it. They stopped up all the springs of water. And they cut down all the good trees. Kir Hareseth was the only city with its stones still in place. But the men with slings surrounded Kir Hareseth and conquered it, too.

²⁶ The king of Moab saw that the battle was too strong for him. So he took 700 men with swords to break through to the king of Edom. But they could not break through. ²⁷ Then the king of Moab took his oldest son, who would have become king after him. And he offered his son as a burnt offering on the wall. So there was great anger against the Israelites. They left and went back to their own land.

A Widow Asks Elisha for Help

4 The wife of a man from a group of the prophets came to Elisha. She said, “Your servant, my husband, is dead! You know he honored the Lord. But now the man he owes money to is coming to take my two boys. He will make them his slaves!”

² Elisha answered, “How can I help you? Tell me, what do you have in your house?”

The woman said, “I don’t have anything there except a pot of oil.”

³ Then Elisha said, “Go and get empty jars from all your neighbors. Don’t ask for just a few. ⁴ Then you must go into your house and close the door. Only you and your sons will be there. Then pour oil into all the jars. Set the full ones to one side.”

⁵ She left Elisha and shut the door. Only she and her sons were in the house. As they brought the jars to her, she poured the oil. ⁶ When the jars were all full, she said to her son, “Bring me another jar.”

But he said, “There are no more jars.” Then the oil stopped flowing.

⁷ She went and told Elisha. Elisha said to her, “Go. Sell the oil and pay what you owe. You and your sons can live on what is left.”

The Shunammite Woman

⁸ One day Elisha went to Shunem. An important woman lived there. She begged Elisha to stay and eat. So every time Elisha passed by, he stopped there to eat. ⁹ The woman said to her husband, “I know that Elisha is a holy man of God. He passes by our house all the time. ¹⁰ Let’s make a small room on the roof.^[a] Let’s put a bed in the room for Elisha. And we can put a table, a chair and a lampstand there. Then when he comes by, he can stay there.”

¹¹ One day Elisha came to the woman’s house. He went to his room and rested. ¹² He said to his servant Gehazi, “Call the Shunammite.”

When the servant called her, she stood in front of him. ¹³ Elisha told his servant, “Now say to her, ‘You have gone to all this trouble for us. What can I do for you? Do you want me to speak to the king or the commander of the army for you?’”

The woman answered, “I live among my own people.”

¹⁴ Elisha said, “But what can we do for her?”

Gehazi answered, “She has no son, and her husband is old.”

¹⁵ Then Elisha said, “Call her.” So he called her, and she stood in the doorway. ¹⁶ Then Elisha said, “About this time next year, you will hold a son in your arms.”

The woman said, “No, master, man of God. Don’t lie to me!”

¹⁷ But the woman became pregnant. And she gave birth to a son at that time the next year as Elisha had told her.

¹⁸ The child grew. One day he went out to his father, who was with the men harvesting grain. ¹⁹ The boy said to his father, “My head! My head!”

The father said to his servant, “Carry him to his mother!” ²⁰ The servant took him to his mother. He lay on his mother’s lap until noon. Then he died. ²¹ She took him up and laid him on Elisha’s bed. Then she shut the door and went out.

²² She called to her husband. She said, “Send me one of the servants and one of the donkeys. Then I can go quickly to the man of God and come back.”

²³ The woman’s husband said, “Why do you want to go to him today? It isn’t the New Moon or the Sabbath day.”

She said, “It will be all right.”

²⁴ Then she saddled the donkey and said to her servant, “Lead on. Don’t slow down for me unless I tell you.” ²⁵ So she went to Elisha at Mount Carmel.

He saw her coming from far away. So he said to his servant Gehazi, “Look, there’s the Shunammite woman! ²⁶ Run to meet her! Say to her, ‘Are you all right? Is your husband all right? Is the child all right?’”

She answered, “Everything is all right.”

²⁷ Then she came to Elisha at the hill. She caught hold of his feet. Gehazi came near to pull her away. But Elisha said to him, “Let her alone. She’s very upset, and the Lord has not told me about it. He has hidden it from me.”

²⁸ She said, “Master, I didn’t tell you I wanted a son. I told you, ‘Don’t fool me.’”

²⁹ Then Elisha said to Gehazi, “Get ready. Take my walking stick in your hand and go quickly. If you meet anyone, don’t greet him. If anyone greets you, don’t answer him. Lay my walking stick on the face of the boy.”

³⁰ But the child’s mother said, “As surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I won’t leave you!” So he got up and followed her.

³¹ Gehazi went on ahead. He laid the walking stick on the child’s face. But the child did not talk or move. Then Gehazi went back to meet Elisha. He told Elisha, “The child has not awakened.”

³² Elisha came into the house. There was the child, lying dead on his bed. ³³ When Elisha entered the room, he shut the door. Only he and the child were in the room. Then Elisha prayed to the Lord. ³⁴ He went to the bed and lay on the child. He put his mouth on the child’s mouth. He put his eyes on the child’s eyes and his hands on the child’s hands. He stretched himself out on top of the child. Then the child’s skin became warm. ³⁵ Elisha turned away and walked around the room. Then he went back and put himself on the child again. Then the child sneezed seven times and opened his eyes.

³⁶ Elisha called Gehazi and said, “Call the Shunammite!” And he did. When she came, Elisha said, “Pick up your son.” ³⁷ She came in and fell at Elisha’s feet. She bowed facedown to the floor. Then she picked up her son and went out.

Elisha and the Poison

³⁸ Elisha came to Gilgal again. There was a time of hunger in the land. A group of prophets was sitting in front of him. He said to his servant, “Put the large pot on the fire. Boil some stew for these men.”

³⁹ One of them went out into the field to gather plants. He found a wild vine. He picked fruit from the vine and filled his robe with it. Then he came and cut up the fruit into the pot. But they did not know what kind of fruit it was. ⁴⁰ Then they poured out the stew for the men to eat. But when they began to eat it, they shouted out, “Man of God! There’s death in the pot!” They could not eat it.

⁴¹ Elisha told them to bring some flour. Then he threw it into the pot. He said, “Pour it out for the people to eat.” And there was nothing harmful in the pot.

Elisha Multiplies Bread

⁴² A man from Baal Shalishah came to Elisha. He brought 20 loaves of barley bread from the first harvest to Elisha. He also brought fresh grain in his sack. Then Elisha said, “Give it to the people to eat.”

⁴³ Elisha’s servant said, “How can I feed 100 men with so little?”

But Elisha said, “Give the bread to the people to eat. This is what the Lord says: ‘They will eat and will have food left over.’” ⁴⁴ Then he gave it to them. The people ate and had food left over, as the Lord had said.

Naaman Is Healed

5 Naaman was commander of the army of the king of Aram. He was a great man to his master. He had much honor because the Lord had used him to give victory to Aram. He was a mighty and brave man. But he had a harmful skin disease.

² The Arameans had gone out to steal from the Israelites. And they had taken a little girl as a captive from Israel. This little girl served Naaman’s wife. ³ She said to her mistress, “I wish that my master would meet the prophet who lives in Samaria. He would heal Naaman of his disease.”

⁴ Naaman went to the king. He told him what the girl from Israel had said. ⁵ The king of Aram said, “Go now. And I will send a letter to the king of Israel.” So Naaman left and took about 750 pounds of silver. He also took about 150 pounds of gold and ten changes of clothes with him. ⁶ He brought the letter to the king of Israel. It read, “I am sending my servant Naaman to you. I’m sending him so you can heal him of his skin disease.”

⁷ The king of Israel read the letter. Then he tore his clothes to show how upset he was. He said, “I’m not God! I can’t kill and make alive again! Why does this man send someone with a harmful skin disease for me to heal? You can see that the king of Aram is trying to start trouble with me!”

⁸ Elisha, the man of God, heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes. So he sent a message to the king. It said, “Why have you become so upset that you tore your clothes? Let Naaman come to me. Then he will know there is a prophet in Israel!” ⁹ So Naaman went with his horses and chariots to Elisha’s house. And he stood outside the door.

¹⁰ Elisha sent a messenger to Naaman. The messenger said, “Go and wash in the Jordan River seven times. Then your skin will be healed, and you will be clean.”

¹¹ Naaman became angry and left. He said, “I thought Elisha would surely come out and stand before me. I thought he would call on the name of the Lord his God. I thought he would wave his hand over the place and heal the disease! ¹² Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, are better than all the waters of Israel! Why can’t I wash in them and become clean?” So Naaman went away very angry.

¹³ But Naaman’s servants came near and talked to him. They said, “My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, wouldn’t you have done it? Doesn’t it make more sense just to do it? After all, he only told you, ‘Wash, and you will be clean.’” ¹⁴ So Naaman went down and dipped in the Jordan seven times. He did just as Elisha had said. Then Naaman’s skin became new again. It was like the skin of a little boy. And Naaman was clean!

¹⁵ Naaman and all his group came back to Elisha. He stood before Elisha and said, “Look. I now know there is no God in all the earth except in Israel! Now please accept a gift from me.”

¹⁶ But Elisha said, “I serve the Lord. As surely as the Lord lives, I won’t accept anything.” Naaman urged him to take the gift, but he refused.

¹⁷ Then Naaman said, “If you won’t take the gift, then please give me some dirt. Give me as much as two of my mules can carry. From now on I’ll not offer any burnt offering or sacrifice to any other gods. I’ll only offer sacrifices to the Lord. ¹⁸ But let the Lord pardon me for this: My master goes into the temple of Rimmon^[b] to worship. When he goes, he will lean on my arm. Then I must bow in that temple. May the Lord pardon me when I do that.”

¹⁹ Elisha said to him, “Go in peace.”

Naaman left Elisha and went a short way. ²⁰ Gehazi was the servant of Elisha the man of God. Gehazi thought, “My master has not accepted what Naaman the Aramean brought. As surely as the Lord lives, I’ll run after him. I’ll get something from him.” ²¹ So he went after him.

Naaman saw someone running after him. So he got off the chariot to meet Gehazi. He said, “Is everything all right?”

²² Gehazi said, “Everything is all right. My master has sent me. He said, ‘Two young men just came to me. They are from the group of the prophets in the mountains of Ephraim. Please give them 75 pounds of silver and two changes of clothes.’”

²³ Naaman said, “Please take 150 pounds.” He urged Gehazi to take it. He tied 150 pounds of silver in two bags with two changes of clothes. Then he gave them to two of his servants. They carried them for Gehazi. ²⁴ When they came to the hill, Gehazi took these things from Naaman’s servants. And he put them in the house. He let Naaman’s servants go, and they left.

²⁵ Then he came in and stood before his master. Elisha said to him, “Where have you been, Gehazi?”

Gehazi said, “I didn’t go anywhere.”

²⁶ But Elisha said to him, “My spirit was with you. I knew when the man turned from his chariot to meet you. This isn’t a time to receive money, clothes, olives and grapes. It isn’t a time to receive sheep, oxen, male servants and female servants. ²⁷ Naaman’s skin disease will come on you and your children forever.” When Gehazi left Elisha, he had the disease. He was as white as snow.

An Axhead Floats

6 The group of the prophets said to Elisha, “The place where we meet with you is too small for us. ² Let’s go to the Jordan River. There every man can get a pole. And let’s build a place there to live.”

Elisha said, “Go.”

³ One of them said, “Please go with us.”

Elisha said, “I will go.” ⁴ So he went with them. When they arrived at the Jordan, they cut down some trees. ⁵ As one man was cutting down a tree, the head of his ax fell into the water. He yelled, “Oh, my master! I borrowed that ax!”

⁶ Elisha asked, “Where did it fall?” The man showed Elisha the place. Then Elisha cut down a stick and threw it into the water. It made the iron head float. ⁷ Elisha said, “Pick up the axhead.” Then the man reached out and took it.

Elisha and the Blinded Arameans

⁸ The king of Aram was at war with Israel. He had a council meeting with his officers. He said, “I will set up my camp in this place.”

⁹ But Elisha sent a message to the king of Israel. It said, “Be careful! Don’t pass that place. The Arameans are going down there!”

¹⁰ The king of Israel checked the place about which Elisha had warned him. Elisha warned him several times. So the king added guards in those places.

¹¹ The king of Aram was angry about this. He called his officers together. He said to them, “Tell me who of us is working for the king of Israel.”

¹² One of the officers of the king of Aram said, “No, my master and king. It’s Elisha, the prophet from Israel. He can tell you what you speak in your bedroom.”

¹³ The king said, “Go and find him. Then I can send men and catch him.”

The servants came back and reported, “He is in Dothan.”

¹⁴ Then the king sent horses, chariots and a large army to Dothan. They arrived at night and surrounded the city.

¹⁵ The servant of Elisha got up early. When he went out, he saw an army with horses and chariots all around the city. The servant said to Elisha, “Oh, my master, what can we do?”

¹⁶ Elisha said, “Don’t be afraid. The army that fights for us is larger than the one against us.”

¹⁷ Then Elisha prayed, “Lord, open my servant’s eyes. Let him see.”

The Lord opened the eyes of the young man. And he saw that the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.

¹⁸ As the enemy came down toward Elisha, he prayed to the Lord. He said, “Make these people blind.” So the Lord made the Aramean army blind, as Elisha had asked.

¹⁹ Elisha said to them, “This is not the right road. This is not the right city. Follow me. I’ll take you to the man you are looking for.” Then Elisha led them to Samaria.

²⁰ After they entered Samaria, Elisha said, “Lord, open these men’s eyes so they can see.” So the Lord opened their eyes. And the Aramean army saw that they were inside the city of Samaria!

²¹ The king of Israel saw the Aramean army. He said to Elisha, “My father, should I kill them? Should I kill them?”

²² Elisha answered, “Don’t kill them. You wouldn’t kill people whom you captured with your sword and bow. Give them food and water. And let them eat and drink. Then let them go home to their master.” ²³ So he prepared a great feast for the Aramean army. They ate and drank. Then the king sent them away. They went home to their master. The soldiers of Aram did not come anymore into the land of Israel.

A Time of Hunger

²⁴ Later, Ben-Hadad king of Aram gathered all his army. He went to surround and attack Samaria. ²⁵ There was a time of terrible hunger in Samaria. It was so bad that a donkey’s head was sold for about two pounds of silver. Half of a pint of dove’s dung sold for about two ounces of silver.

²⁶ The king of Israel was passing by on the wall. A woman yelled out to him, “Help me, my master and king!”

²⁷ The king said, “If the Lord doesn’t help you, how can I? Can I get help from the threshing floor or from the winepress?” ²⁸ Then the king said to her, “What is your trouble?”

She answered, “This woman said to me, ‘Give up your son so we can eat him today. Then we will eat my son tomorrow.’ ²⁹ So we boiled my son and ate him. Then the next day I said to her, ‘Give up your son so we can eat him.’ But she had hidden him.”

³⁰ When the king heard the woman’s words, he tore his clothes to show how upset he was. He walked along the wall. The people looked and saw he had on rough cloth under his clothes. This was to show his sadness. ³¹ He said, “The head of Elisha son of Shaphat will be taken from his body today! May God punish me terribly if this doesn’t happen!”

³² The king sent a messenger to Elisha. Elisha was sitting in his house. And the elders were sitting with him. But before the messenger arrived, Elisha spoke to them. He said, “See, this murderer is sending men to take off my head. When the messenger arrives, shut the door. Hold it and don’t let him in. The sound of his master’s feet is behind him.”

³³ While Elisha was still talking with the leaders, the king came. He said, “This trouble has come from the Lord. Why should I wait for the Lord any longer?”

7 Elisha said, “Listen to the Lord’s word. This is what he says: ‘About this time tomorrow 7 quarts of fine flour will be sold for two-fifths of an ounce of silver. And 13 quarts of barley will be sold for two-fifths of an ounce of silver. This will happen at the gate of Samaria.’”

² Then the officer who was close to the king answered Elisha. He said, “Even if the Lord opened windows in heaven, that couldn’t happen.”

Elisha said, “Because you have said that, you will see it with your eyes. But you will not eat any of it.”

³ There were four men with a harmful skin disease at the entrance to the city gate. They said to each other, “Why do we sit here until we die? ⁴ A time of hunger is in the city. So if we go into the city, we will die there. If we stay here, we will die. So let’s go to the Aramean camp. If they let us live, we will live. If they kill us, then we die.”

⁵ So they got up at twilight. And they went to the Aramean camp. But when they arrived, no one was there. ⁶ The Lord had caused the Aramean army to hear the sound of chariots, horses and a large army. They had said to each other, “The king of Israel has hired the Hittite and Egyptian kings to attack us!” ⁷ So they ran away in the twilight. They left their tents, horses and donkeys. They left the camp standing and ran for their lives.

⁸ The men with the skin disease came to the edge of the camp. Then they went into one of the tents. They ate and drank. They carried silver, gold and clothes out of the camp and hid them. Then they came back and entered another tent. They carried things from this tent and hid them, also. ⁹ Then they said to each other, “We’re doing wrong. Today we have good news, but we are silent. If we wait until the sun comes up, we’ll be punished. Let’s go now and tell the people in the king’s palace.”

¹⁰ So they went and called to the gatekeepers of the city. They said, “We went to the Aramean camp. But no one is there. We didn’t hear anyone. The horses and donkeys were still tied up, and the tents were still standing.” ¹¹ Then the gatekeepers shouted out and told the people in the palace.

¹² So the king got up in the night. He said to his officers, “I’ll tell you what the Arameans are doing to us. They know we are hungry. They have gone out of the camp to hide in the field. They’re saying, ‘When the Israelites come out of the city, we’ll capture them alive. Then we’ll enter the city.’”

¹³ One of his officers answered, “Let some men take five horses still left in the city. These men are like all the Israelites who are left. They are also about to die. Let’s send them to see what has happened.”

¹⁴ So the men took two chariots with horses. The king sent them after the Aramean army. He told them, “Go and see what has happened.” ¹⁵ The men followed the Aramean army as far as the Jordan River. The road was full of clothes and equipment. The Arameans had thrown these things away as they had hurried away. So the messengers came back and told the king. ¹⁶ Then the people went out and took valuable things from the Aramean camp. So 7 quarts of fine flour were sold for two-fifths of an ounce of silver. And 13 quarts of barley were sold for two-fifths of an ounce of silver. It happened just as the Lord had said.

¹⁷ The king chose the officer who was close to him to guard the gate. But the people ran over the officer so that he died. This happened just as the man of God had told the king. Elisha had said it when the king came to his house. ¹⁸ He had said, “Thirteen quarts of barley and 7 quarts of fine flour will each sell for two-fifths of an ounce of silver. It will happen about this time tomorrow at the gate of Samaria.”

¹⁹ But the officer had answered, “Even if the Lord opened windows in heaven, that couldn’t happen.” And Elisha had told him, “Because you have said that, you will see it with your eyes. But you won’t eat any of it.” ²⁰ It happened to the officer just that way. The people ran over him in the gate, and he died.

The Shunammite Regains Her Land

8 Elisha talked to the woman whose son he had brought back to life. He said, “Get up and go with your family. Stay any place you can. This is because the Lord has called for a time of hunger. It will last seven years.” ² So the woman got up and did as the man of God said. She left with her family. And they stayed in the land of the Philistines for seven years. ³ After seven years she came back from the land of the Philistines. She went to beg the king for her house and land back. ⁴ The king was talking with Gehazi. He was the servant of the man of God. The king had said to Gehazi, “Please tell me all the great things Elisha has done.” ⁵ Now Gehazi was telling the king how Elisha had brought a dead person back to life. Just then the woman whose son Elisha had brought back to life came and begged the king for her house and land.

Gehazi said, “My master and king, this is the woman. And this is the son Elisha brought back to life.”

⁶ The king asked the woman, and she told him about it. Then the king chose an officer to help her. The king said, “Give the woman everything that is hers. Give her all the money made from her land from the day she left until now.”

Ben-Hadad Is Killed

⁷ Elisha went to Damascus. Now Ben-Hadad king of Aram was sick. Someone told him, “The man of God has come here.”

⁸ Then the king said to Hazael, “Take a gift in your hand and go meet him. Ask the Lord through him if I will get well from my sickness.”

⁹ So Hazael went to meet Elisha. He took with him a gift. It was 40 camels loaded with every good thing in Damascus. He came and stood before Elisha. Hazael said, “Your son Ben-Hadad king of Aram sent me to you. He asks if he will get well from his sickness.”

¹⁰ Then Elisha said to Hazael, “Go and tell Ben-Hadad, ‘You will surely get well.’ But the Lord has told me he will really die.” ¹¹ Elisha stared at Hazael until Hazael felt ashamed. Then Elisha cried.

¹² Hazael asked, “Why are you crying, master?”

Elisha answered, “Because I know what evil you will do to the Israelites. You will burn their strong, walled cities with fire. You will kill their young men with swords. You will throw their babies to the ground. You will split open their pregnant women.”

¹³ Hazael said, “I, your servant, am only a dog. How could I do such things?”

Elisha answered, “The Lord has shown me that you will be king over Aram.”

¹⁴ Then Hazael left Elisha and came to his master. Ben-Hadad said to Hazael, “What did Elisha say to you?”

Hazael answered, “He told me that you will surely get well.” ¹⁵ But the next day Hazael took a blanket and dipped it in water. Then he put it over Ben-Hadad’s face, and he died. So Hazael became king in Ben-Hadad’s place.