The Shunammite’s Land Restored

8 Now Elisha had said to the woman^(A) whose son he had restored to life, “Go away with your family and stay for a while wherever you can, because the Lord has decreed a famine^(B) in the land that will last seven years.”^{(C) 2} The woman proceeded to do as the man of God said. She and her family went away and stayed in the land of the Philistines seven years.

³ At the end of the seven years she came back from the land of the Philistines and went to appeal to the king for her house and land. ⁴ The king was talking to Gehazi, the servant of the man of God, and had said, “Tell me about all the great things Elisha has done.” ⁵ Just as Gehazi was telling the king how Elisha had restored^(D) the dead to life, the woman whose son Elisha had brought back to life came to appeal to the king for her house and land.

Gehazi said, “This is the woman, my lord the king, and this is her son whom Elisha restored to life.” ⁶ The king asked the woman about it, and she told him.

Then he assigned an official to her case and said to him, “Give back everything that belonged to her, including all the income from her land from the day she left the country until now.”

Jehu Anointed King of Israel

9 The prophet Elisha summoned a man from the company^(A) of the prophets and said to him, “Tuck your cloak into your belt,^(B) take this flask of olive oil^(C) with you and go to Ramoth Gilead.^{(D) 2} When you get there, look for Jehu son of Jehoshaphat, the son of Nimshi. Go to him, get him away from his companions and take him into an inner room. ³ Then take the flask and pour the oil^(E) on his head and declare, ‘This is what the Lord says: I anoint you king over Israel.’ Then open the door and run; don’t delay!”

⁴ So the young prophet went to Ramoth Gilead. ⁵ When he arrived, he found the army officers sitting together. “I have a message for you, commander,” he said.

“For which of us?” asked Jehu.

“For you, commander,” he replied.

⁶ Jehu got up and went into the house. Then the prophet poured the oil^(F) on Jehu’s head and declared, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘I anoint you king over the Lord’s people Israel. ⁷ You are to destroy the house of Ahab your master, and I will avenge^(G) the blood of my servants^(H) the prophets and the blood of all the Lord’s servants shed by Jezebel.^{(I) 8} The whole house^(J) of Ahab will perish. I will cut off from Ahab every last male^(K) in Israel—slave or free.^{[a] 9} I will make the house of Ahab like the house of Jeroboam^(L) son of Nebat and like the house of Baasha^(M) son of Ahijah. ¹⁰ As for Jezebel, dogs^(N) will devour her on the plot of ground at Jezreel, and no one will bury her.’” Then he opened the door and ran.

¹¹ When Jehu went out to his fellow officers, one of them asked him, “Is everything all right? Why did this maniac^(O) come to you?”

“You know the man and the sort of things he says,” Jehu replied.

¹² “That’s not true!” they said. “Tell us.”

Jehu said, “Here is what he told me: ‘This is what the Lord says: I anoint you king over Israel.’”

¹³ They quickly took their cloaks and spread^(P) them under him on the bare steps. Then they blew the trumpet^(Q) and shouted, “Jehu is king!”