Ahaziah’s Messengers Meet Elijah

1 Now Moab rebelled against Israel after the death of Ahab. ² Ahaziah [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 ^[a]Ekron, if I will recover from this sickness.” ³ But the angel of the Lord said to Elijah the ^[b]Tishbite, “^[c]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?’ ⁴ Therefore 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.

⁵ When the messengers returned to Ahaziah, he said to them, “Why have you returned [so soon]?” ⁶ They 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.’”’” ⁷ The king asked them, “What was the appearance of the man who came up to meet you and said these things to you?” ⁸ They answered him, “He was a ^[d]hairy man with a [wide] leather ^[e]band bound around his loins.” And Ahaziah said, “It is Elijah the Tishbite.”

⁹ Then 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.’” ¹⁰ Elijah 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.

¹¹ So 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.’” ¹² Elijah 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.

¹³ So 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. ¹⁴ Behold, 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.” ¹⁵ The 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. ¹⁶ Then 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.’”

Jehoram Reigns over Israel

¹⁷ So 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 ^[f]second year of Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah [the southern kingdom]. ¹⁸ Now 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?

Elijah Taken to Heaven

2 When the Lord was about to take Elijah up to heaven by a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were traveling from Gilgal. ² And 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. ³ Now the ^[g]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].”

⁴ Elijah 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. ⁵ The 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].” ⁶ Elijah 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.

⁷ Fifty 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. ⁸ And 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.

⁹ And 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 ^[h]portion of your spirit be upon me.” ¹⁰ He 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.” ¹¹ As 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. ¹² Elisha 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]. ¹³ He picked up the mantle of Elijah that fell off him, and went back and stood by the bank of the Jordan. ¹⁴ He 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.

Elisha Succeeds Elijah

¹⁵ When 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]. ¹⁶ Then 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.” ¹⁷ But 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. ¹⁸ They returned to Elisha while he was staying at Jericho; and he said to them, “Did I not tell you, ‘Do not go’?”

¹⁹ Then 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 ^[i]is barren.” ²⁰ He said, “Bring me a new jar, and put ^[j]salt in it.” So they brought it to him. ²¹ Then 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.’” ²² So the waters have been purified to this day, in accordance with the word spoken by Elisha.

²³ Then Elisha went up from Jericho to ^[k]Bethel. On the way, young boys came out of the city and mocked him and said to him, “Go up, you ^[l]baldhead! Go up, you baldhead!” ²⁴ When 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. ²⁵ Elisha went from there to Mount Carmel, and from there he returned to Samaria.

Jehoram Meets Moab Rebellion

3 Jehoram the son of Ahab became king over Israel in Samaria in the ^[m]eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and reigned twelve years. ² He 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. ³ Nevertheless, he continued in the [idolatrous] sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel sin; he did not depart from them.

^4 [n]Mesha 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. ⁵ But when Ahab died, the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel. ⁶ So King Jehoram left Samaria at that time and assembled all [the fighting men of] Israel. ⁷ Then 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.” ⁸ Jehoram said, “Which way shall we go up?” Jehoshaphat answered, “The way through the Wilderness of Edom.”

⁹ So 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. ¹⁰ Then the king of Israel said, “We are doomed, for the Lord has called these three kings to be handed over to Moab.” ¹¹ But 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 ^[o]used to pour water over Elijah’s hands.” ¹² 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 Elisha.

¹³ Now 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.” ¹⁴ Elisha 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]. ¹⁵ But now bring me a musician.” And it came about while the musician played, that the hand (power) of the Lord came upon Elisha. ¹⁶ He said, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Make this valley (the Arabah) full of trenches.’ ¹⁷ For 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. ¹⁸ This is but a simple thing in the sight of the Lord; He will also hand over the Moabites to you. ¹⁹ You 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.’” ²⁰ It 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.

²¹ Now all the Moabites heard that the [three] kings had come up to fight against them, and all ^[p]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. ²² When 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. ²³ And 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]!” ²⁴ But 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]. ²⁵ They 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. ²⁶ When 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. ²⁷ Then the king of Moab took his ^[q]eldest son, who was to reign in his place, and ^[r]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.

The Resurrection

24 But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, the women went to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared [to finish anointing the body].^{(A) 2} And they found the [large, circular] stone rolled back from the tomb, ³ but when they went inside, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. ⁴ While they were perplexed and wondering about this, suddenly, two men in dazzling clothing stood near them; ⁵ and as the women were terrified and were bowing their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why are you looking for the living One among the dead? ⁶ He is not here, but has risen. Remember how He told you, while He was still in Galilee, ⁷ saying that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinful men, and be crucified, and on the third day rise [from death to life].”^{(B) 8} And they remembered His words, ⁹ and after returning from the tomb, they reported all these things to the eleven [apostles] and to all the rest. ¹⁰ Now they were Mary Magdalene and Joanna [the wife of Chuza, Herod’s steward] and Mary the mother of James; also the other women with them were telling these things to the apostles. ¹¹ But their report seemed to them like idle talk and nonsense, and they would not believe them. ¹² But Peter got up and ran to the tomb. Stooping [at the small entrance] and looking in, he saw only the linen ^[a]wrappings; and he went away, wondering about what had happened.^(C)

The Road to Emmaus

¹³ And then, that very day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, which was about ^[b]seven miles from Jerusalem.^{(D) 14} And they were talking with each other about all these things which had taken place. ¹⁵ While they were talking and discussing it, Jesus Himself came up and began walking with them. ¹⁶ But their eyes were [miraculously] prevented from recognizing Him. ¹⁷ Then Jesus asked them, “What are you discussing with one another as you walk along?” And they stood still, looking brokenhearted. ¹⁸ One of them, named Cleopas, answered Him, “Are you the only stranger visiting Jerusalem who is unaware of the things which have happened here in these [recent] days?” ¹⁹ He asked, “What things?” And they replied, “The things about Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet powerful in deed and word in the sight of God and all the people, ²⁰ and how the chief priests and our rulers handed Him over to be sentenced to death, and crucified Him. ²¹ But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel and set our nation free. Indeed, besides all this, it is the third day since these things happened. ²² And also some of the women among us shocked us. They were at the tomb early in the morning, ²³ and they did not find His body. Then they came back, saying that they had even seen a vision of angels who said that He was alive! ²⁴ Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just exactly as the women had said, but they did not see Him.” ²⁵ Then Jesus said to them, “O foolish men, and slow of heart to trust and believe in everything that the prophets have spoken! ²⁶ Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and [only then to] enter His glory?” ²⁷ Then beginning with Moses and [throughout] all the [writings of the] prophets, He explained and interpreted for them the things referring to Himself [found] in all the Scriptures.

²⁸ Then they approached the village where they were going, and He acted as if He were going farther. ²⁹ But they urged Him [not to go on], saying, “Stay with us, because it is almost evening, and the day has just about ended.” So He went inside to stay with them. ³⁰ And it happened that as He reclined at the table with them, He took the bread and blessed it, and breaking it, He began giving it to them. ³¹ Then their eyes were [suddenly] opened [by God] and they [clearly] recognized Him; and He vanished from their sight. ³² They said to one another, “Were not our hearts burning within us while He was talking with us on the road and opening the Scriptures to us?” ³³ They got up that very hour and went back to Jerusalem, and found the eleven [apostles] gathered together and those who were with them, ³⁴ saying, “The Lord has really risen and has appeared to Simon [Peter]!” ³⁵ They began describing in detail what had happened on the road, and how Jesus was recognized by them when He broke the bread.