1 Kings 16:21 - 2 Kings 4:37

New American Standard Bible

²¹ Then 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. ²² But the people who followed Omri prevailed over the people who followed Tibni the son of Ginath. And Tibni died and Omri became king. ²³ In 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 ^(A)Tirzah. ²⁴ And he purchased the hill ^[a]Samaria from Shemer for ^[b]two talents of silver; and he built on the hill, and named the city which he built ^[c](B)Samaria, after the name of Shemer, the owner of the hill.

²⁵ Now ^(C)Omri did evil in the sight of the Lord, and ^(D)acted more wickedly than all who were before him. ²⁶ For he ^(E)walked ^[d]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 ^[e]idols. ²⁷ Now as for the rest of the acts of Omri which he did and his might which he ^[f]displayed, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? ²⁸ And Omri ^[g]lay down with his fathers and was buried in Samaria; and his son Ahab became king in his place.

²⁹ Now 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. ³⁰ Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the Lord ^(F)more than all who were before him.

³¹ And as though it had been a trivial thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, ^(G)he married Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the ^(H)Sidonians, and went and served Baal, and worshiped him. ³² So he erected an altar for Baal at ^(I)the house of Baal, which he built in Samaria. ³³ Ahab also made ^(J)the ^[h]Asherah. So ^(K)Ahab did more to provoke the Lord God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel who were before him. ^34 (L)In 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.

Elijah Predicts Drought

17 Now Elijah the Tishbite, who was of ^[i](M)the settlers of Gilead, said to Ahab, “^(N)As the Lord, the God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, ^(O)there shall certainly be neither dew nor rain during these years, except by my word.” ² Then 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 ^[j]east of the Jordan. ⁴ And it shall be that you will drink from the brook, and ^(P)I have commanded the ravens to provide food for you there.” ⁵ So he went and did everything according to the word of the Lord, for he went and lived by the brook Cherith, which is ^[k]east of the Jordan. ⁶ And the ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he would drink from the brook. ⁷ But it happened after a while that the brook dried up, because there was no rain in the land.

⁸ Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, ⁹ “Arise, go to ^(Q)Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and stay there; behold, ^(R)I have commanded a widow there to provide food for you.” ¹⁰ So he arose and went to Zarephath, and when he came to the entrance of the city, behold, a widow was there gathering sticks; and ^(S)he called to her and said, “Please get me a little water in a ^[l]cup, so that I may drink.” ¹¹ As she was going to get it, he called to her and said, “Please bring me a piece of bread in your hand.” ¹² But she said, “^(T)As the Lord your God lives, ^(U)I have no food, only a handful of flour in the ^[m]bowl and a little oil in the jar; and behold, I am gathering ^[n]a few sticks so that I may go in and prepare it for me and my son, so that we may ^[o]eat it and ^(V)die.” ¹³ However, Elijah said to her, “Do not fear; go, do as you have said. Just make me a little bread loaf from ^[p]it first and bring it out to me, and afterward you may make one for yourself and for your son. ¹⁴ For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: ‘The ^[q]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.’” ¹⁵ So she went and did everything in accordance with the word of Elijah, and she and he and her household ate for many days. ¹⁶ The ^[r]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.

Elijah Raises the Widow’s Son

¹⁷ Now it happened after these things that the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, became sick; and his ^[s]condition became very grave, until at the end ^[t]he was no longer breathing. ¹⁸ So she said to Elijah, “^[u](W)Why is my business any of yours, you ^(X)man of God? Yet you have come to me to bring my wrongdoing to remembrance, and to put my son to death!” ¹⁹ But he said to her, “Give me your son.” Then he took him from her ^[v]arms and carried him up to the upstairs room where he was living, and laid him on his own bed. ²⁰ And he called to the Lord and said, “Lord, my God, have You also brought catastrophe upon the widow with whom I am ^[w]staying, by causing her son to die?” ^21 (Y)Then 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 ^[x]to him.” ²² And the Lord listened to the voice of Elijah, ^(Z)and the life of the boy returned ^[y]to him and he revived. ²³ Elijah 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.” ²⁴ Then the woman said to Elijah, “^(AA)Now I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is truth.”

Obadiah Meets Elijah

18 Now it happened ^(AB)after many days that the word of the Lord came to Elijah in the third year, saying, “Go, present yourself to Ahab, and ^(AC)I will provide rain on the face of the earth.” ² So Elijah went to present himself to Ahab. Now the famine was severe in Samaria. ³ Ahab summoned Obadiah, ^(AD)who was in charge of the household. (Now Obadiah ^[z](AE)feared the Lord greatly; ⁴ for ^(AF)when Jezebel killed the prophets of the Lord, Obadiah took a hundred prophets and hid them by fifties in a cave, and ^(AG)provided them with bread and water.) ⁵ Then 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.” ⁶ So they divided the land between them to ^[aa]survey it; Ahab went one way by himself, and Obadiah went another way by himself.

⁷ Now as Obadiah was on the way, behold, Elijah met him, ^(AH)and he recognized him and fell on his face and said, “Is it you, Elijah my master?” ⁸ And he said to him, “It is I. Go, say to your master, ‘Behold, Elijah is here.’” ⁹ But he said, “What ^[ab]sin have I committed, that you are handing your servant over to Ahab, to put me to death? ^10 (AI)As 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. ¹¹ Yet now you are saying, ‘Go, say to your master, “Behold, Elijah is here!”’ ¹² And it will come about when I leave you ^(AJ)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 ^[ac]feared the Lord from my youth. ^13 (AK)Has it not been reported to my master what I did when Jezebel killed the prophets of the Lord, that I hid a hundred ^[ad]prophets of the Lord by fifties in a cave, and provided them with bread and water? ¹⁴ Yet now you are saying, ‘Go, say to your master, “Behold, Elijah is here”’; he will then kill me!” ¹⁵ Then Elijah said, “^(AL)As surely as the Lord of armies lives, before whom I stand, I will certainly present myself to him today.” ¹⁶ So Obadiah went to meet Ahab and informed him; then Ahab went to meet Elijah.

¹⁷ When Ahab saw Elijah, ^(AM)Ahab said to him, “Is this you, the cause of disaster to Israel?” ¹⁸ He said, “I have not brought disaster to Israel, but you and your father’s house have, because ^(AN)you have abandoned the commandments of the Lord and ^(AO)you have followed the Baals. ¹⁹ Now then, send orders and gather to me all Israel at ^(AP)Mount Carmel, ^(AQ)together with 450 prophets of Baal and four hundred prophets of ^[ae](AR)the Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.”

God or Baal on Mount Carmel

²⁰ So Ahab sent orders among all the sons of Israel and brought the prophets together at Mount Carmel. ²¹ Then Elijah approached all the people and said, “^(AS)How long are you going to ^[af]struggle with the two choices? ^(AT)If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.” But the people did not answer him so much as a word. ²² Then Elijah said to the people, “I ^(AU)alone am left as a prophet of the Lord, while Baal’s prophets are ^(AV)450 men. ²³ Now 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. ²⁴ Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the Lord; and ^(AW)the God who answers by fire, He is God.” And all the people replied, “^[ag]That is a good idea.”

²⁵ So 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.” ²⁶ Then they took the ox which ^[ah]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 ^(AX)no voice and no one answered. And they ^[ai]limped about the altar which ^[aj]they had made. ²⁷ And 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.” ²⁸ So they cried out with a loud voice, and ^(AY)cut themselves according to their custom with swords and lances until blood gushed out on them. ²⁹ When midday was past, they raved ^(AZ)until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice; but there was no voice, no one answered, and ^[ak]no one paid attention.

³⁰ Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come forward to me.” So all the people came forward to him. And ^(BA)he repaired the altar of the Lord which had been torn down. ³¹ Then 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, “^(BB)Israel shall be your name.” ³² And with the stones he built an altar in ^(BC)the name of the Lord; and he made a trench around the altar, large enough to hold two ^[al]measures of seed. ^33 (BD)Then he laid out the wood, and he cut the ox in pieces and placed it on the wood. ³⁴ And 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. ³⁵ The water flowed around the altar, and he also filled the trench with water.

Elijah’s Prayer

³⁶ Then ^(BE)at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, Elijah the prophet approached and said, “^(BF)Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, today let it be known that ^(BG)You are God in Israel and that I am Your servant, and that ^(BH)I have done all these things at Your word. ³⁷ Answer me, Lord, answer me, so that this people may know that You, Lord, are God, and that You have turned their heart back.” ³⁸ Then the ^(BI)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. ³⁹ When all the people saw this, they fell on their faces; and they said, “^(BJ)The Lord, He is God; the Lord, He is God!” ⁴⁰ Then 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 ^(BK)the brook Kishon, ^(BL)and slaughtered them there.

⁴¹ Now Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink; for there is the sound of the roar of a heavy shower.” ⁴² So Ahab went up to eat and drink. But Elijah went up to the top of ^(BM)Carmel; and he ^(BN)bent down to the earth and put his face between his knees. ⁴³ And 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. ⁴⁴ And when he returned the seventh time, he said, “Behold, ^(BO)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.’” ⁴⁵ Meanwhile the sky became dark with clouds and wind came up, and there was a heavy shower. And Ahab rode and went to ^(BP)Jezreel. ⁴⁶ Then ^(BQ)the hand of the Lord was on Elijah, and ^(BR)he ^[am]belted his cloak around his waist and ^[an]outran Ahab ^[ao]to Jezreel.

Elijah Flees from Jezebel

19 Now Ahab told Jezebel everything that Elijah had done, and ^[ap](BS)how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. ² Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “^(BT)So may the gods do to me and more so, if by about this time tomorrow I do not make your ^[aq]life like the ^[ar]life of one of them.” ³ And he ^[as]was afraid, and got up and ran for his ^[at]life and came to ^(BU)Beersheba, which belongs to Judah; and he left his servant there. ⁴ But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a broom tree; and ^(BV)he asked for himself to die, and said, “Enough! Now, Lord, take my ^[au]life, for I am no better than my fathers.” ⁵ Then he lay down and fell asleep under a broom tree; but behold, there was ^(BW)an angel touching him, and he said to him, “Arise, eat!” ⁶ And 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. ⁷ But 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.” ⁸ So he arose and ate and drank, and he journeyed in the strength of that food for ^(BX)forty days and forty nights to ^(BY)Horeb, the mountain of God.

Elijah at Horeb

⁹ Then he came there to a cave and spent the night there; and behold, ^(BZ)the word of the Lord came to him, and He said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” ¹⁰ And he said, “^(CA)I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of armies; for the sons of Israel have abandoned Your covenant, ^(CB)torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. And ^(CC)I alone am left; and they have sought to take my life.”

¹¹ So He said, “^(CD)Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord was passing by! And ^(CE)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. ¹² And after the earthquake, a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire, ^(CF)a sound of a gentle blowing. ¹³ When Elijah heard it, ^(CG)he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. And behold, ^(CH)a voice came to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” ¹⁴ Then he said, “^(CI)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.”

¹⁵ The Lord said to him, “Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus; and when you have arrived, ^(CJ)you shall anoint Hazael king over Aram. ¹⁶ You shall also anoint ^(CK)Jehu the son of Nimshi king over Israel; and you shall anoint ^(CL)Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah as prophet in your place. ¹⁷ And it shall come about that the ^(CM)one who escapes from the sword of Hazael, Jehu ^(CN)shall put to death, and the one who escapes from the sword of Jehu, Elisha shall put to death. ^18 (CO)Yet I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal and every mouth that has not ^(CP)kissed him.”

¹⁹ So 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 ^(CQ)his cloak on him. ²⁰ Then he left the oxen behind and ran after Elijah, and said, “Please ^(CR)let me kiss my father and my mother, then I will follow you.” And he said to him, “Go back, for ^[av]what have I done to you?” ²¹ So he returned from following him, and took the pair of oxen and sacrificed them, and ^(CS)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.

War with Aram

20 Now ^(CT)Ben-hadad, king of Aram, gathered all his army, ^(CU)and there were thirty-two kings with him, and horses and chariots. And he went up and ^(CV)besieged Samaria, and fought against it. ² Then 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.’” ⁴ And the king of Israel replied, “As ^[aw]you say, my lord, O king; I am yours, as well as all that I have.” ⁵ Then the messengers returned and said, “Ben-hadad says ^[ax]this: ‘I did indeed send word to you, saying, “You shall give me your silver, your gold, your wives, and your children”; ⁶ but 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.’”

⁷ Then the king of Israel summoned all the elders of the land and said, “Please be aware and ^(CW)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.” ⁸ Then all the elders and all the people said to him, “Do not listen nor consent.” ⁹ So 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. ¹⁰ Ben-hadad sent word to him and said, “May ^(CX)the gods do so to me and more so, ^[ay]if the dust of Samaria will be enough for handfuls for all the people who ^[az]follow me.” ¹¹ Then the king of Israel replied, “Tell him, ‘^(CY)He who straps on his weapons had better not boast like one who takes them off.’” ¹² And when Ben-hadad heard this message, while ^(CZ)he was drinking ^[ba]with the kings in the ^[bb]temporary shelters, he said to his servants, “Take your positions.” So they took their positions against the city.

Ahab Victorious

¹³ Now behold, a prophet approached Ahab king of Israel, and said, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Have you seen all this great multitude? Behold, ^(DA)I am going to hand them over to you today, and ^(DB)you shall know that I am the Lord.’” ¹⁴ But 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.” ¹⁵ So 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.

¹⁶ They went out at noon, while ^(DC)Ben-hadad was drinking himself drunk in the ^[bc]temporary shelters ^[bd]with the thirty-two kings who were helping him. ¹⁷ The 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.” ^18 (DD)Then he said, “If they have come out ^[be]for peace, take them alive; or if they have come out for war, take them alive as well.”

¹⁹ So these men went out from the city, the young men of the leaders of the provinces, and the army which followed them. ²⁰ And they ^[bf]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. ²¹ The king of Israel also went out and struck the horses and chariots, and ^[bg]killed the Arameans in a great slaughter.

²² Then ^(DE)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 ^(DF)at ^[bh]the turn of the year the king of Aram will march against you.”

²³ Now the servants of the king of Aram said to him, “^(DG)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. ²⁴ Carry out this ^[bi]plan: remove the kings, each from his place, and put governors in their place, ²⁵ and ^[bj]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.

Another Aramean War

²⁶ So ^(DH)at ^[bk]the turn of the year Ben-hadad mustered the Arameans and went up to ^(DI)Aphek to fight against Israel. ²⁷ And 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, ^(DJ)while the Arameans filled the country. ²⁸ Then ^(DK)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, “^(DL)The Lord is a god of mountains, but He is not a god of valleys,” therefore ^(DM)I will hand over to you all this great multitude, and you shall know that I am the Lord.’” ²⁹ So they camped, one opposite the other, for seven days. And on the seventh day the battle was joined, and the sons of Israel ^[bl]killed of the Arameans a hundred thousand foot soldiers in a single day. ³⁰ But the rest fled to ^(DN)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 ^(DO)inner room to another.

³¹ But ^(DP)his servants said to him, “Behold now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings. Please let’s ^(DQ)put sackcloth ^[bm]around our waists and ropes on our heads, and go out to the king of Israel; perhaps he will let ^[bn]you live.” ³² So ^(DR)they put sackcloth ^[bo]around their waists and ropes on their heads, and came to the king of Israel and said, “^(DS)Your servant Ben-hadad says, ‘Please let ^[bp]me live.’” And Ahab said, “Is he still alive? He is my brother.” ³³ Now the men took this as a good omen, and quickly ^[bq]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. ³⁴ And Ben-hadad said to him, “^(DT)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.

³⁵ Now a man from ^(DU)the sons of the prophets said to ^[br]another ^(DV)by the word of the Lord, “Please strike me.” But the man refused to strike him. ³⁶ Then he said to him, “Because you have not listened to the voice of the Lord, behold, as soon as you leave me, ^(DW)a lion will ^[bs]kill you.” And as soon as he left him a lion found him and ^[bt]killed him. ³⁷ Then he found another man and said, “Please strike me.” And the man struck him, ^[bu]injuring him. ³⁸ So the prophet departed and waited for the king by the road, and ^(DX)disguised himself with a bandage over his eyes. ³⁹ And 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, ^(DY)then your life shall be forfeited in place of his life, or else you shall pay a ^[bv]talent of silver.’ ⁴⁰ Now 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.” ⁴¹ Then he quickly took the bandage away from his eyes, and the king of Israel recognized him, that he was one of the prophets. ⁴² And 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, ^(DZ)your ^[bw]life shall be forfeited in place of his ^[bx]life, and your people in place of his people.’” ⁴³ So ^(EA)the king of Israel went to his house sullen and furious, and came to Samaria.

Ahab Covets Naboth’s Vineyard

21 Now it came about after these things that Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard which was in ^(EB)Jezreel beside the palace of Ahab, the king of Samaria. ² And Ahab spoke to Naboth, saying, “^(EC)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 ^[by]you prefer, I will give you what ^[bz]it is worth in money.” ³ But Naboth said to Ahab, “The Lord forbid me ^(ED)that I would give you the inheritance of my fathers!” ^4 (EE)So Ahab entered his house sullen and furious because of the ^[ca]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 ^[cb]food.

⁵ But Jezebel his wife came to him and said to him, “How is it that your spirit is so sullen that you are not eating ^[cc]food?” ⁶ So 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.’” ⁷ Jezebel his wife said to him, “^(EF)Do you now ^[cd]reign over Israel? Arise, eat bread, and let your heart be joyful; I will give you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.”

^8 (EG)So she wrote letters in Ahab’s name and sealed them with his seal, and sent the letters to ^(EH)the elders and to the nobles who were living with Naboth in his city. ⁹ Now she had written in the letters, saying, “Proclaim a fast and seat Naboth at the head of the people; ¹⁰ and seat two ^(EI)worthless men opposite him, and have them testify against him, saying, ‘^(EJ)You ^[ce]cursed God and the king.’ Then take him out and ^(EK)stone him ^[cf]to death.”

Jezebel’s Plot

¹¹ So 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. ¹² They ^(EL)proclaimed a fast, and seated Naboth at the head of the people. ¹³ Then the two worthless men came in and sat opposite him; and the worthless men testified against him, against Naboth, before the people, saying, “Naboth ^[cg]cursed God and the king.” ^(EM)So they took him outside the city and stoned him ^[ch]to death with stones. ¹⁴ Then they sent word to Jezebel, saying, “Naboth has been stoned and is dead.”

¹⁵ And 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.” ¹⁶ When Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, Ahab got up to go down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, to take possession of it.

¹⁷ Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, ¹⁸ “Arise, go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, ^(EN)who is in Samaria; behold, he is in the vineyard of Naboth, where he has gone down to take possession of it. ¹⁹ And you shall speak to him, saying, ‘This is what the Lord says: “^(EO)Have you murdered and also taken possession?”’ And you shall speak to him, saying, ‘The Lord says this: “^(EP)In the place where the dogs licked up the blood of Naboth, the dogs will lick up your blood, yours as well.”’”

²⁰ Then Ahab said to Elijah, “^(EQ)Have you found me, enemy of mine?” And he ^[ci]answered, “I have found you, ^(ER)because you have given yourself over to do evil in the sight of the Lord. ²¹ Behold, I am bringing disaster upon you, and I ^(ES)will utterly sweep you away, and will eliminate from Ahab every male, both ^[cj]bond and free in Israel; ²² and ^(ET)I will make your house ^(EU)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 ^(EV)have misled Israel into sin. ²³ The Lord has also spoken of Jezebel, saying, ‘^(EW)The dogs will eat Jezebel in the ^[ck]territory of Jezreel.’ ^24 (EX)The 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.”

^25 (EY)There certainly was no one like Ahab who gave himself over to do evil in the sight of the Lord, ^[cl]because Jezebel his wife incited him. ^26 (EZ)He also acted very despicably in following idols, ^(FA)conforming to everything that the Amorites had done, whom the Lord drove out from the sons of Israel.

²⁷ Yet it came about, when Ahab heard these words, that ^(FB)he tore his clothes and put ^[cm]on sackcloth and fasted, and he lay in sackcloth and went about despondently. ²⁸ Then 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 ^(FC)in his son’s days.”

Ahab’s Third Campaign against Aram

22 Now ^[cn]three years passed without war between Aram and Israel. ^2 (FD)In the third year, ^(FE)Jehoshaphat the king of Judah came down to the king of Israel. ³ Now the king of Israel said to his servants, “Are you aware that ^(FF)Ramoth-gilead belongs to us, yet we are hesitant to take it out of the hand of the king of Aram?” ⁴ So he said to Jehoshaphat, “Will you go to battle with me at Ramoth-gilead?” And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, “^[co](FG)Consider me yours, my people yours, and my horses yours!”

⁵ However, Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, “Please request the word of the Lord ^[cp]first.” ⁶ So ^(FH)the king of Israel assembled the ^[cq]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.” ⁷ But ^(FI)Jehoshaphat said, “Is there no longer a prophet of the Lord here, that we may inquire of him?” ⁸ And 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.” ⁹ Then the king of Israel summoned an officer and said, “Bring Micaiah son of Imlah quickly.” ¹⁰ Now 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 ^(FJ)all the prophets were prophesying before them. ¹¹ Then Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah made ^(FK)horns of iron for himself and said, “This is what the Lord says: ‘^(FL)With these you will gore the Arameans until they are destroyed!’” ¹² All 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.”

Micaiah Predicts Defeat

¹³ Then the messenger who went to summon Micaiah spoke to him saying, “Behold now, the words of the prophets are ^[cr]unanimously favorable to the king. Please let your word be like the word of one of them, and speak favorably.” ¹⁴ But Micaiah said, “^(FM)As the Lord lives, whatever ^(FN)the Lord says to me, I shall speak it.”

¹⁵ When 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, “^(FO)Go up and succeed, for the Lord will hand it over to the king!” ¹⁶ Then 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?” ¹⁷ So he said,

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

¹⁹ And Micaiah said, “Therefore, hear the word of the Lord. ^(FR)I saw the Lord sitting on His throne, and ^(FS)all the ^[cs]angels of heaven standing by Him on His right and on His left. ²⁰ And the Lord said, ‘Who will ^[ct]entice Ahab to go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?’ And one spirit said this, while another said that. ²¹ Then a spirit came forward and stood before the Lord, and said, ‘I will ^[cu]entice him.’ ²² And the Lord said to him, ‘How?’ And he said, ‘I will go out and ^(FT)be a deceiving spirit in the mouths of all his prophets.’ Then He said, ‘You shall ^[cv]entice him, and you will also prevail. Go and do so.’ ²³ Now then, behold, ^(FU)the Lord has put a deceiving spirit in the mouth of all these prophets of yours; and the Lord has declared disaster against you.”

²⁴ Then ^(FV)Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah approached and struck Micaiah on the cheek; and he said, “^(FW)How did the Spirit of the Lord pass from me to speak to you?” ²⁵ And Micaiah said, “Behold, you are going to see how on that day when you ^(FX)go from one inner room to ^[cw]another trying to hide yourself.” ²⁶ Then the king of Israel said, “Take Micaiah and return him to Amon the governor of the city, and to Joash the king’s son; ²⁷ and say, ‘This is what the king says: “^(FY)Put this man in prison, and feed him enough bread and water to survive until I ^[cx]return safely.”’” ²⁸ But Micaiah said, “^(FZ)If you actually return ^[cy]safely, the Lord has not spoken by me.” And he said, “^(GA)Listen, all you people!”

Defeat and Death of Ahab

²⁹ So ^(GB)the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah went up against Ramoth-gilead. ³⁰ And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “^(GC)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. ³¹ Now ^(GD)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.” ³² So 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. ³³ Then, when the commanders of the chariots saw that it was not the king of Israel, they turned back from pursuing him.

³⁴ Now one man drew his bow at random and struck the king of Israel ^[cz]in a joint of the armor. So he said to the driver of his chariot, “Turn ^[da]around and take me out of the battle, ^(GE)for I am severely wounded.” ³⁵ The battle ^[db]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. ^36 (GF)Then the word passed throughout the army close to sunset, saying, “Every man to his city, and every man to his ^[dc]country!”

³⁷ So the king died and was brought to Samaria, and they buried the king in Samaria. ³⁸ They washed out the chariot by the pool of Samaria, and the dogs licked up his blood (it was there that the prostitutes bathed themselves) ^(GG)in accordance with the word of the Lord which He had spoken. ³⁹ Now as for the rest of the acts of Ahab and everything that he did, and ^(GH)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? ⁴⁰ So Ahab ^[dd]lay down with his fathers, and his son Ahaziah became king in his place.

The New Rulers

^41 (GI)Now Jehoshaphat the son of Asa became king over Judah in the fourth year of Ahab king of Israel. ⁴² Jehoshaphat 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. ^43 (GJ)He walked ^[de]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. ^(GK)However, the high places were not taken away; the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places. ^44 (GL)Jehoshaphat also made peace with the king of Israel.

⁴⁵ Now as for the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, and his might which he showed and how he made war, are they not written ^(GM)in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? ⁴⁶ And the remnant of ^(GN)the cult prostitutes who remained in the days of his father Asa, he eliminated from the land.

⁴⁷ Now ^(GO)there was no king in Edom; a governor served as king. ⁴⁸ Jehoshaphat built ^(GP)ships of Tarshish to go to ^(GQ)Ophir for gold, but ^(GR)they did not go, because the ships were destroyed at ^(GS)Ezion-geber. ⁴⁹ Then Ahaziah the son of Ahab said to Jehoshaphat, “Let my servants go with your servants in the ships.” But Jehoshaphat was not willing. ^50 (GT)And Jehoshaphat ^[df]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.

⁵¹ Ahaziah the son of Ahab ^(GU)became king over Israel in Samaria in the seventeenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and he reigned over Israel for two years. ⁵² He did evil in the sight of the Lord and ^(GV)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. ^53 (GW)So he served Baal and worshiped him, and provoked the Lord God of Israel to anger, according to all that his father had done.

Ahaziah’s Messengers Meet Elijah

1 Now ^(GX)Moab broke with Israel after the death of Ahab. ² And 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, ^(GY)inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, ^(GZ)whether I will recover from this sickness.” ³ But the angel of the Lord said to ^(HA)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 ^(HB)Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron?’ ⁴ Now therefore, this is what the Lord says: ‘^[dg](HC)You will not get down from the bed upon which you have lain, but you shall certainly die.’” Then Elijah departed.

⁵ When the messengers returned to ^[dh]Ahaziah, he said to them, “^[di]Why have you returned?” ⁶ They 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 ^(HD)to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore ^[dj]you will not get down from the bed upon which you have lain, but you shall certainly die.’”’” ⁷ Then he said to them, “What ^[dk]did the man look like, who came up to meet you and spoke these words to you?” ⁸ And they said to him, “^(HE)He was a hairy man with a leather ^[dl]belt worn around his waist.” And he said, “It is Elijah the Tishbite.”

⁹ Then the king ^(HF)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.’” ¹⁰ But Elijah replied to the captain of fifty, “If I am a man of God, ^(HG)may fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty.” ^(HH)Then fire came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty men.

¹¹ So 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!’” ¹² But 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.

¹³ So the king ^(HI)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. ¹⁴ Behold, fire came down from heaven and consumed the first two captains of fifty with their fifties; but now let my ^[dm]life be precious in your sight.” ¹⁵ And ^(HJ)the angel of the Lord said to Elijah, “Go down with him; ^(HK)do not be afraid of him.” So he got up and went down with him to the king. ¹⁶ Then he said to him, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Since you have sent messengers ^(HL)to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron—is it because there is no God in Israel to inquire of His word? Therefore ^[dn]you will not get down from the bed upon which you have lain, but you shall certainly die.’”

Jehoram Reigns over Israel

¹⁷ So 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 ^(HM)in the second year of Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah. ¹⁸ Now 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?

Elijah Taken to Heaven

2 Now it came about, when the Lord was about to ^(HN)bring Elijah up by a ^[do]whirlwind to heaven, that Elijah left ^(HO)Gilgal with ^(HP)Elisha. ² And Elijah said to Elisha, “^(HQ)Stay here please, for the Lord has sent me as far as ^(HR)Bethel.” But Elisha said, “^(HS)As surely as the Lord lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they went down to Bethel. ³ Then ^(HT)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 ^[dp]you today?” And he said, “Yes, I am aware; say nothing about it.”

⁴ And Elijah said to him, “Elisha, please ^(HU)stay here, for the Lord has sent me to ^(HV)Jericho.” But he said, “^(HW)As surely as the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they came to Jericho. ⁵ Then ^(HX)the sons of the prophets who were at Jericho approached Elisha and said to him, “^(HY)Do you know that the Lord will take away your master from over ^[dq]you today?” And he ^[dr]answered, “Yes, I know; say nothing about it.” ⁶ And Elijah said to him, “Please ^(HZ)stay here, for the Lord has sent me to ^(IA)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.

⁷ Now ^(IB)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. ⁸ And Elijah ^(IC)took his coat, folded it, and ^(ID)struck the waters, and they were divided here and there, so that the two of them crossed over on dry ground.

⁹ When 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 ^(IE)double portion of your spirit be upon me.” ¹⁰ He said, “You have asked a hard thing. Nevertheless, if you ^(IF)see me when I am taken from you, it shall be so for you; but if not, it shall not be so.” ¹¹ And as they were walking along and talking, behold, ^(IG)a chariot of fire appeared with horses of fire, and they separated the two of them. Then Elijah went up by a ^[ds]whirlwind to heaven. ¹² And Elisha was watching it and he was crying out, “^(IH)My father, my father, the chariot of Israel and its horsemen!” And he did not see ^[dt]Elijah again. Then ^(II)he took hold of his own clothes and tore them in two pieces. ¹³ He also took up the coat of Elijah that had fallen from him, and he went back and stood by the bank of the Jordan. ¹⁴ Then 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 ^(IJ)struck the waters, they were divided here and there; and Elisha crossed over.

Elisha Succeeds Elijah

¹⁵ Now when ^(IK)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. ¹⁶ Then 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 ^(IL)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.” ¹⁷ Yet when ^(IM)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. ¹⁸ They returned to him while he was staying in Jericho; and he said to them, “Did I not say to you, ‘Do not go’?”

¹⁹ Then 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 ^[du]is unfruitful.” ²⁰ And he said, “Bring me a new jar, and put salt ^[dv]in it.” So they brought it to him. ²¹ Then he went out to the spring of water and ^(IN)threw salt ^[dw]in it and said, “This is what the Lord says: ‘I have ^[dx]purified these waters; there shall not come from there death or ^[dy]unfruitfulness any longer.’” ²² So the waters have been ^[dz]purified to this day, in accordance with the word of Elisha which he spoke.

²³ Now 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 ^(IO)ridiculed him and said to him, “Go up, you baldhead; go up, you baldhead!” ²⁴ When he looked behind him and saw them, he ^(IP)cursed them in the name of the Lord. Then two female bears came out of the woods and tore up forty-two ^[ea]of the boys. ²⁵ He then went on from there to ^(IQ)Mount Carmel, and from there he returned to Samaria.

Jehoram Meets Moabite Rebellion

3 Now Jehoram the son of Ahab became king over Israel at Samaria ^(IR)in the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and he reigned for twelve years. ² He did evil in the sight of the Lord, though not like his father and his mother; for ^(IS)he removed the memorial stone of Baal ^(IT)which his father had made. ³ Nevertheless, ^(IU)he clung to the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, into ^(IV)which he misled Israel; he did not abandon them.

⁴ Now Mesha the king of Moab was a sheep breeder, and he ^(IW)used to make tribute payments to the king of Israel of a hundred thousand lambs, and the wool of a hundred thousand rams. ⁵ However, ^(IX)when King Ahab died, the king of Moab broke with the ^[eb]king of Israel. ⁶ So King Jehoram left Samaria for battle ^[ec]at that time and mustered all Israel. ⁷ Then 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. ^[ed](IY)Consider me yours, my people as your people, my horses as your horses.” ⁸ Then he said, “Which way shall we go up?” And he ^[ee]answered, “The way of the wilderness of Edom.”

⁹ So ^(IZ)the king of Israel went with ^(JA)the king of Judah and ^(JB)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 ^[ef]followed them. ¹⁰ Then the king of Israel said, “It is hopeless! For the Lord has called these three kings to hand them over to Moab!” ¹¹ But Jehoshaphat said, “^(JC)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, “^(JD)Elisha the son of Shaphat is here, ^(JE)who used to pour water on the hands of Elijah.” ¹² And 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.

¹³ Now Elisha said to the king of Israel, “^[eg]What business do you have with me? ^(JF)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.” ¹⁴ Elisha said, “^(JG)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. ¹⁵ But now ^(JH)bring me a ^[eh]musician.” And it came about, when the ^[ei]musician played, that ^(JI)the hand of the Lord came upon him. ¹⁶ And he said, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Make this valley ^[ej]full of trenches.’ ¹⁷ For the Lord says this: ‘You will not see wind, nor will you see rain; yet that valley ^(JJ)shall be filled with water, so that you will drink, you, your livestock, and your other animals. ¹⁸ And this is an ^(JK)insignificant thing in the sight of the Lord; He will also give the Moabites into your hand. ^19 (JL)Then you shall strike every fortified city and every choice city, and ^[ek]cut down every good tree and stop up all the springs of water, and spoil every good plot of land with stones.’” ²⁰ And it happened in the morning ^(JM)about the time of offering the sacrifice, that behold, water came from the direction of Edom, and the country was filled with water.

²¹ Now all the Moabites heard that the kings had come up to fight against them. And all who were able to ^[el]put on armor and older were summoned and they took their positions on the border. ²² Then 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. ²³ So they said, “This is blood; the kings must have fought each other, and they have killed one another. Now then, Moab, to the spoils!” ²⁴ But 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 ^[em]the land, ^[en]killing the Moabites. ^25 (JN)So 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 ^[eo]cut down every good tree, until in ^(JO)Kir-hareseth only they left its stones; however, the rock slingers surrounded it and struck it. ²⁶ When 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. ²⁷ Then the king of Moab took his oldest son who was to reign in his place, and ^(JP)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.

The Widow’s Oil

4 Now a woman of the wives of ^(JQ)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 ^(JR)the creditor has come to take my two children to be his slaves.” ² So 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 ^(JS)a jar of oil.” ³ Then he said, “Go, ^[ep]borrow containers ^[eq]elsewhere for yourself, empty containers from all your neighbors—do not get too few. ⁴ Then 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.” ⁵ So she left him and shut the door behind her and her sons; they began bringing the containers to her, and she poured the oil. ⁶ When ^(JT)the containers were full, she said to her son, “Bring me another container.” But he said to her, “There ^[er]are no more containers.” Then the oil stopped. ⁷ So she came and told ^(JU)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.”

The Shunammite Woman

⁸ Now a day came when Elisha went over to ^(JV)Shunem, where there was a ^[es]prominent woman, and she urged him to eat ^[et]food. And so it was, as often as he passed by, that he turned in there to eat ^[eu]food. ⁹ And she said to her husband, “Behold now, I am aware that this is a holy ^(JW)man of God passing by us repeatedly. ¹⁰ Please, let’s ^(JX)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.”

¹¹ Now ^[ev]one day he came there, and turned in to the upper room and ^[ew]rested. ¹² Then he said to his servant ^(JY)Gehazi, “Call this Shunammite.” And when he had called her, she stood before him. ¹³ And he said to him, “Say now to her, ‘Behold, you have taken trouble for us with all this ^[ex]care; what can I do for you? ^[ey]Would you like me to speak for you to the king or to the commander of the army?’” But she ^[ez]answered, “I live among my own people.” ¹⁴ So he said, “What then is to be done for her?” And Gehazi ^[fa]answered, “It is a fact that she has no son, and her husband is old.” ¹⁵ He then said, “Call her.” When he had called her, she stood in the doorway. ¹⁶ Then he said, “^(JZ)At this season ^[fb]next year, you are going to embrace a son.” And she said, “No, my lord, you man of God, ^(KA)do not lie to your servant.”

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

The Shunammite’s Son

¹⁸ When the child was grown, the day came that he went out to his father, to the reapers. ¹⁹ And he said to his father, “My head, my head!” And his father said to his servant, “Carry him to his mother.” ²⁰ When he had carried him and brought him to his mother, he sat on her ^[fd]lap until noon, and then he died. ²¹ And she went up and ^(KB)laid him on the bed of ^(KC)the man of God, and shut the door behind him and left. ²² Then 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.” ²³ But he said, “Why are you going to him today? It is neither ^(KD)new moon nor Sabbath.” So she just said, “It will be fine.” ²⁴ Then she saddled the donkey and said to her servant, “Drive the donkey and go on; do not slow down ^[fe]the pace for me unless I tell you.” ²⁵ So she went on and came to the man of God at ^(KE)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. ²⁶ Please 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 ^[ff]answered, “It is going well.” ²⁷ But she came to the man of God ^(KF)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 ^[fg]troubled within her; and the Lord has concealed it from me and has not informed me.” ²⁸ Then she said, “Did I ask for a son from my lord? Did I not say, ‘^(KG)Do not give me false hope’?”

²⁹ Then he said to Gehazi, “^[fh](KH)Get ready and ^(KI)take my staff in your hand, and go; if you meet anyone, do not ^[fi](KJ)greet him, and if anyone ^[fj]greets you, do not reply to him. And ^(KK)lay my staff on the boy’s face.” ³⁰ The mother of the boy said, “^(KL)As surely as the Lord lives and you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So he got up and followed her. ³¹ Then Gehazi went on ahead of them and laid the staff on the boy’s face, but there was no sound or ^[fk]response. So he returned to meet him and informed him, saying, “The boy ^(KM)has not awakened.”

³² When Elisha entered the house, behold the boy was dead, laid on his bed. ³³ So he entered and ^(KN)shut the door behind them both, and he prayed to the Lord. ³⁴ Then ^(KO)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. ³⁵ Then he returned and walked in the house back and forth once, and went up and ^(KP)bent down on him; and the boy sneezed seven times, then the boy opened his eyes. ³⁶ And he called Gehazi and said, “Call this Shunammite.” So he called her. And when she came to him, he said, “Pick up your son.” ³⁷ Then she came in and fell at his feet and bowed down to the ground, and ^(KQ)she picked up her son and left.