Bible in 90 Days

Omri King of Israel

²¹ Then the people of Israel were divided. Half of the people supported making Tibni son of Ginath king. Half supported Omri. ²² But the people who were for Omri were stronger than the people who were for Tibni son of Ginath, so Tibni died, and Omri became king.

²³ In the thirty-first year of Asa king of Judah, Omri became king over Israel for twelve years. He ruled for six years in Tirzah. ²⁴ Then he bought the hill of Samaria from Shemer for two talents^[a] of silver. He built up the hill, and he named the city he built after Shemer, the owner of the hill of Samaria.^[b]

²⁵ Omri did evil in the eyes of the Lord. He committed more evil than all those who had gone before him. ²⁶ He walked in all the ways of Jeroboam son of Nebat and in the sin which he caused Israel to commit, provoking the Lord, the God of Israel, to anger with his useless idols. ²⁷ As for the rest of Omri’s acts, the things he did, and the mighty deeds he accomplished, are they not written in the annals of the kings of Israel? ²⁸ Omri rested with his fathers, and he was buried in Samaria. Then his son Ahab became king in his place.

Ahab Son of Omri, King of Israel

²⁹ Ahab son of Omri became king over Israel in the thirty-eighth year of Asa king of Judah. Ahab son of Omri ruled over Israel in Samaria for twenty-two years. ³⁰ Ahab son of Omri committed more evil in the eyes of the Lord than all those who had gone before him. ³¹ He considered it a trivial thing to walk in the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat. He married Jezebel daughter of Ethbaal, king of the Sidonians. He served Baal and bowed down to him. ³² He erected an altar to Baal in the house of Baal which he built in Samaria. ³³ Ahab made an Asherah pole and did even more to provoke the Lord God of Israel than all the kings of Israel who had gone before him.

³⁴ In the days of Ahab, Hiel of Bethel built Jericho. At the cost of his firstborn son Abiram, he laid its foundations, and at the cost of his youngest son Segub, he set up its gates. This fulfilled the word of the Lord which he had spoken through Joshua son of Nun.

Elijah Stops the Rain

17 Elijah from Tishbe, one of the settlers in Gilead, said to Ahab, “As surely as the Lord lives, the God of Israel before whom I stand, there will be no dew or rain during the coming years, except at my word.”

² Then the word of the Lord came to him: ³ “Leave this place and turn east. Hide yourself by the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan. ⁴ You will drink from the stream, and I will command the ravens to provide for you there.”

⁵ So Elijah went and did just as the Lord had said. He lived in the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan. ⁶ The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and in the evening, and he drank from the stream.

Elijah and the Widow of Zarephath

⁷ After some time the stream dried up because there had been no rain in the land. ⁸ Then the word of the Lord came to him: ⁹ “Get up! Go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and live there. I have commanded a woman there, a widow, to provide for you.”

¹⁰ So he got up and went to Zarephath. He came to the city gate, and there he saw a widow gathering sticks. He called to her and said, “Please give me a little water in a jar, so that I can have something to drink.”

¹¹ When she went to get it, he called to her, “Please bring me a piece of bread.”

¹² She said, “As surely as the Lord your God lives, I have no food except a handful of flour in a jar and a little olive oil in a pitcher. See, I am gathering a couple of sticks so that I can go and prepare it for myself and my son, so that we can eat it and then die.”

¹³ Elijah said to her, “Do not be afraid. Go and do just as you said. But first make a small loaf of bread for me from the flour and bring it out to me. Then go and make another for you and your son. ¹⁴ For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says. The jar of flour will not run out and the pitcher of oil will not become empty until the day the Lord sends rain to water the surface of the ground.”

¹⁵ So she went and did exactly as Elijah said. He and she, as well as her household, were able to eat for many days. ¹⁶ The jar of flour did not run out, and the pitcher of oil did not become empty, just as the Lord had said through Elijah.

The Widow’s Son Dies

¹⁷ After these events, the son of the woman who owned the house became ill. The illness became worse until he stopped breathing.

¹⁸ Then she said to Elijah, “What is the issue between us, man of God? Have you come to remind me of my sins and to kill my son?”

¹⁹ He said to her, “Bring your son to me.” Then he took him and carried him to the upstairs room where he was living, and he laid him on his bed. ²⁰ Then he cried out to the Lord, “O Lord, my God, have you sent tragedy on this woman with whom I am staying by killing her son?”

²¹ Then he stretched himself out on the boy three times, and he cried out to the Lord, “O Lord, my God, let this boy’s soul^[c] return to his body!” ²² The Lord listened to Elijah’s voice, and the boy’s soul returned to his body, and he came to life. ²³ Then Elijah took the boy and brought him down to the house from his upstairs room, and he gave him to his mother.

Elijah said, “See, your son is alive!”

²⁴ The woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is true.”

Elijah Confronts the Prophets of Baal and Asherah

18 After a long time, the word of the Lord came to Elijah. (It was during the third year.) He said, “Go and present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain to water the surface of the ground.” ² So Elijah went to present himself to Ahab.

Now the drought was severe in Samaria. ³ Ahab had summoned his servant Obadiah, the palace administrator. Obadiah was devoted to serving^[d] the Lord. ⁴ When Jezebel was exterminating the prophets of the Lord, Obadiah had taken one hundred prophets and kept them hidden in two caves, fifty in each cave, and he provided food and water for them.

⁵ Ahab said to Obadiah, “Go through the land to all the springs and all the streams. Maybe we will find enough grass so that we can keep the horses and mules alive, and we will not have to slaughter the cattle.” ⁶ In order to cover the whole land, they divided it between the two of them. Ahab went one way by himself, and Obadiah went another way by himself.

⁷ While Obadiah was on the way, Elijah suddenly met him. Obadiah recognized him and fell on his face and said, “Is that you, my lord Elijah?”

⁸ Elijah answered him, “Yes, it is. Go and tell your master, ‘Elijah is here.’”

⁹ But Obadiah said, “How have I sinned that you would hand your servant over to Ahab for him to kill me? ¹⁰ As surely as the Lord your God lives, there is no country or kingdom where my master has not sent someone to look for you. When they said, ‘He is not here,’ then he made that kingdom and nation swear that they could not find you. ¹¹ But now you are telling me, ‘Go, tell your master that Elijah is here.’ ¹² As soon as I leave you, the Spirit of the Lord will carry you to some place I do not know. When I go to tell Ahab and he then does not find you, he will kill me, even though your servant has been devoted to the Lord since my youth.

¹³ “Has my lord not been told what I did when Jezebel was killing the prophets of the Lord? I kept one hundred of the prophets of the Lord hidden in two caves, fifty in each, and I provided food and water for them. ¹⁴ But now you are saying, ‘Go and tell your master that Elijah is here.’”

¹⁵ But Elijah said to him, “As surely as the Lord of Armies lives, before whom I stand, I will present myself to him today.” ¹⁶ So Obadiah went to meet Ahab, and he informed him. Then Ahab came to meet Elijah.

¹⁷ When Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab said to him, “Is that you, the one who brings trouble on Israel?”

¹⁸ Elijah said, “It is not I who have brought trouble on Israel, but rather you and your father’s house, because you abandoned the Lord’s commandments and followed the Baals. ¹⁹ But now gather all Israel before me on Mount Carmel, along with the four hundred fifty prophets of Baal and the four hundred prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.” ²⁰ So Ahab sent word to all the people of Israel, and he assembled the prophets on Mount Carmel.

²¹ Then Elijah said to all the people, “How long will you stagger around on two crutches? If the Lord is God, follow him. If Baal is God, follow him.” But the people did not answer him a single word.

²² Then Elijah said to the people, “I am the only one left of the Lord’s prophets, but the prophets of Baal total four hundred fifty men. ²³ Provide two bulls for us. Let them choose one bull for themselves and cut it up and place it on the firewood, but they are not to light the fire. I will prepare the other bull and place it on the firewood, but I will not light the fire. ²⁴ Then you will call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the Lord. The god who answers with fire, he is God.”

All the people said, “This proposal is good.”

²⁵ Then Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose for yourselves one bull, and you go first because there are so many of you. Call on the name of your god. But do not light the fire.”

²⁶ So they took the bull which had been given to them and prepared it. Then they called on the name of Baal from morning until noon, “Baal! Answer us!” But there was not a sound. No one answered. So they staggered^[e] around the altar which they had made.

²⁷ When noon came, Elijah mocked them: “Shout louder! He is a god, isn’t he? He may be deep in thought or busy or on a journey. Perhaps he is asleep and will wake up!” ²⁸ So they cried out with a loud voice, and according to their practice they cut themselves with daggers and spears until their blood flowed. ²⁹ After noon, they kept up a prophetic frenzy until the time of the evening sacrifice, but there was no sound. No one answered. There was no response.

³⁰ Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come here to me.” So they came to him, and he repaired the altar of the Lord, which had been torn down. ³¹ Elijah took twelve stones, one for each of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord had come and had proclaimed, “Your name shall be Israel.” ³² He built the stones into an altar in the name of the Lord. Around it he made a trench big enough to hold about twenty-five pounds^[f] of seed. ³³ He arranged the wood, cut up the bull, and placed it on the wood.

Then he said, “Fill four jars with water and pour it on the sacrifice and on the wood.” ³⁴ Then he said, “Do it again.” So they did it again. Then he said, “Do it a third time.” So they did it a third time. ³⁵ The water flowed all around the altar. It even filled the trench.

³⁶ When the time of the evening sacrifice had arrived, Elijah the prophet stood up and said, “O Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and that I have done all these things by your word. ³⁷ Answer me, Lord! Answer me so that this people will know that you, O Lord, are God and that you are turning their hearts back to you.”

³⁸ Fire from the Lord fell on the sacrifice and on the wood, the stones, and the dirt. It even licked up the water in the trench. ³⁹ When all the people saw this, they fell on their knees and said, “The Lord, he is God! The Lord, he is God!”

⁴⁰ Elijah said to them, “Seize the prophets of Baal! Do not let a single one of them escape!” So they seized them, and Elijah brought them down to the Kishon River and slaughtered them there.

⁴¹ Then Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink, for I hear the sound of a heavy rainstorm.” ⁴² So Ahab went to eat and drink, but Elijah went up to the top of Mount Carmel. He bent down to the ground and put his face between his knees. ⁴³ He said to his servant, “Go up and look toward the sea.”

So his servant went up and looked, and he said, “There is nothing.”

But seven times Elijah told him, “Go again.”

⁴⁴ On the seventh time the servant said, “There is a cloud as small as a man’s hand rising from the sea.”

Then Elijah said to him, “Go up and tell Ahab, ‘Hitch up your chariot and go down so that the rain does not stop you.’”

⁴⁵ Meanwhile, the skies got dark with clouds and wind, and there was a heavy rain. So Ahab got into his chariot and went to Jezre’el. ⁴⁶ But the hand of the Lord was on Elijah, and he hiked up his garments around his waist and ran ahead of Ahab until he came to Jezre’el.

Elijah Flees to the Wilderness

19 Then Ahab told Jezebel everything that Elijah had done, including the fact that he had killed all their prophets with the sword. ² So Jezebel sent a messenger to say to Elijah, “May the gods punish me severely and even double it, if by this time tomorrow I have not made your life like one of theirs.”

³ Elijah was afraid,^[g] and he ran for his life. He went to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and he left his servant there. ⁴ But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness. There he sat down under a broom tree, where he prayed that he would die. He said, “I’ve had enough, Lord. Take my life, for I am no better than my fathers.” ⁵ Then he lay down and went to sleep under the broom tree.

Suddenly an angel touched him and said, “Get up and eat.”

⁶ Then he looked around, and near his head there was a loaf of bread baking on coals and a jar of water, so he ate and drank, and then he lay down again.

⁷ Then the angel of the Lord came back a second time and touched him and said, “Get up and eat, because the journey is too much for you.”

⁸ So he got up and ate and drank. Then, with the strength gained from that food, he walked for forty days and forty nights to Horeb, the mountain of God. ⁹ He came to a cave and spent the night there.

Then the word of the Lord suddenly came to him, saying, “Why are you here, Elijah?”

¹⁰ He said, “I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of Armies, but the people of Israel have abandoned your covenant. They have torn down your altars and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking to take my life.”

¹¹ Then the Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is passing by.” Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains and shattered rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind.

After the wind came an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake.

¹² After the earthquake there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire.

After the fire there was a soft, whispering voice.

¹³ When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak, and he went out and stood at the entrance to the cave. Then a voice came to him and said, “Why are you here, Elijah?”

¹⁴ He said, “I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of Armies, but the people of Israel have abandoned your covenant. They have torn down your altars and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking to take my life.”

¹⁵ Then the Lord said to him, “Go back the way you came and go to the Wilderness of Damascus. When you get there, you are to anoint Hazael as king over Aram. ¹⁶ You will also anoint Jehu son of Nimshi as king over Israel and Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah as prophet in your place. ¹⁷ Whoever escapes the sword of Hazael, Jehu will kill, and whoever escapes the sword of Jehu, Elisha will kill. ¹⁸ But I have preserved in Israel seven thousand whose knees have not bent to Baal and whose lips have not kissed him.”

Elijah Calls Elisha

¹⁹ So Elijah went from there and found Elisha son of Shaphat. Elisha was doing the plowing with twelve teams of oxen in front of him, and he himself was driving the twelfth team. Elijah crossed over to him and threw his cloak over him. ²⁰ Then Elisha left the oxen and ran after Elijah. He said, “Let me kiss my father and my mother good-bye! Then I will follow you.”

Then Elijah said, “Go back! For what have I done to you?”

²¹ So Elisha turned back from following him. Then he took the team of oxen and slaughtered them. Using the equipment from the oxen as fuel, he cooked the meat and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he got up, followed Elijah, and served him.

Ben Hadad Lays Siege to Samaria

20 Then Ben Hadad king of Aram, along with thirty-two kings, mobilized his whole army with their horses and chariots. He went up and laid siege to Samaria and fought against it. ² He sent messengers to Ahab king of Israel in the city, ³ who said to him, “This is what Ben Hadad says. Your silver and your gold are mine. The best of your wives and your children are mine.”

⁴ The king of Israel answered, “Just as you have said, my lord the king, I and all that I own are yours.”

⁵ The messengers came a second time and said, “This is what Ben Hadad says. I did indeed send word to you, saying, ‘You must give me your silver and your gold and your wives and your children.’ ⁶ So at this time tomorrow, I will send my servants to you, and they will search your palace and the houses of your officials, and they will gather up everything that you value and take it away.”

⁷ The king of Israel summoned all the elders of the land. “See how this man is looking for trouble. When he sent for my wives and my children, my silver and my gold, I did not refuse him.”

⁸ All the elders and all the people said to him, “Do not listen and do not agree to this!”

⁹ So he told Ben Hadad’s messengers, “Say this to your lord the king. Everything which you demanded of your servant the first time, I will do, but this thing I cannot do.” So the messengers brought his message back to the king.

¹⁰ Then Ben Hadad sent word to him: “May the gods punish me severely and even double it, if the dust left from Samaria will be enough to give a handful to each of those who follow me.”

¹¹ The king of Israel answered, “Tell him that someone who is putting his armor on should not boast like someone who is taking it off.”

¹² When he heard this message, Ben Hadad and his kings were in their tents drinking. He said to his servants, “Get ready!” and they took up positions against the city.

¹³ But then, at that time, a prophet came to Ahab king of Israel and said, “This is what the Lord says. Do you see all of this huge horde?^[h] Look, I am giving it into your hands today. Then you will know that I am the Lord.”

¹⁴ Then Ahab said, “Through whom will this happen?”

The prophet answered, “This is what the Lord says. It will be through the young officers from the provinces.”

He said, “Who will start the battle?”

He said, “You will.”

¹⁵ So Ahab inspected the young officers from the provinces and found that there were two hundred thirty-two. After inspecting them he inspected the whole army. The Israelites numbered seven thousand men. ¹⁶ They marched out at noon while Ben Hadad was getting drunk in his tent, along with the thirty-two kings who were supporting him. ¹⁷ So the young officers from the provinces marched out first. Ben Hadad sent out scouts, who told him, “Men are marching out of Samaria!”

¹⁸ Ben Hadad said, “If they have come out for peace, take them alive! Even if they have come out for war, take them alive!” ¹⁹ But when the young officers from the provinces and the army that was with them marched out, ²⁰ each of them killed his opponent. Then the Arameans fled, and Israel pursued them. Ben Hadad king of Aram fled on a horse with his charioteers.^[i]

²¹ The king of Israel marched out and attacked the horses and chariots. He inflicted a great defeat on Aram.

Ben Hadad Attacks Aphek

²² Afterward the prophet approached the king of Israel and said to him, “Strengthen your position and consider carefully what you should do, because next spring the king of Aram will attack you.”

²³ The king of Aram’s officials said to him, “Their gods are gods of the hills. That is why they defeated us. But if we fight them on the plain, we will certainly defeat them. ²⁴ Now do this. Remove the kings from their positions as field commanders, and replace them with military officers. ²⁵ Then raise an army like the army you lost—horse for horse and chariot for chariot. Then if we fight them on the plain, we will certainly defeat them.” The king listened to them and did what they recommended.

²⁶ When spring came, Ben Hadad mobilized the army of Aram and went up to Aphek to wage war against Israel. ²⁷ The Israelites also were mobilized and given provisions, and they went out to confront the Arameans. The Israelites camped across from them, like two small flocks of goats, while the Arameans filled the land.

²⁸ Then the man of God approached and said to the king of Israel, “This is what the Lord says. Because the Arameans said, ‘The Lord is a god of the hills, but not a god of the valleys,’ I will give all of this huge horde into your hands. Then you will know that I am the Lord.”

²⁹ So they camped opposite each other for seven days. On the seventh day the battle was joined by both armies. The Israelites struck down the Arameans—one hundred thousand foot soldiers in one day. ³⁰ The survivors fled to the city of Aphek, and the wall fell on twenty-seven thousand of the survivors. Ben Hadad also fled and went into the city, to an inner room.

Ahab Spares Ben Hadad

³¹ Then his officials said to him, “Look, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful. So let us put sackcloth around our waists and ropes around our heads and go out to the king of Israel. Maybe he will spare your life.”

³² So they wrapped sackcloth around their waists and put ropes on their heads, and they went to the king of Israel and said, “Your servant, Ben Hadad, says, ‘Please spare my life.’”

Ahab said, “Is he still alive? He is my brother.”^[j]

³³ The men took this as a good omen, so they quickly latched on to what he said and responded, “Ben Hadad is your brother.”

Then Ahab said, “Go get him.” So Ben Hadad came out to him, and Ahab brought him up into his chariot.

³⁴ Ben Hadad said to him, “I will return the cities that my father took from your father, and you may put your own trading centers in Damascus, just as my father put them in Samaria.”

Then Ahab said, “Under these terms, I release you.” So he made a treaty^[k] with Ben Hadad and let him go.

God’s Judgment on Ahab

³⁵ Then by the word of the Lord one of the sons of the prophets^[l] said to his neighbor, “Strike me, please.” But the man refused to strike him. ³⁶ So he said to him, “Because you did not listen to the voice of the Lord, when you leave me, a lion will kill you.” When he left him, a lion found him and killed him.

³⁷ Then he found another man and said, “Strike me, please.” The man struck him and wounded him. ³⁸ The prophet went and stood before the king at the road and disguised himself with a bandage over his eyes.

³⁹ When the king was passing by, the prophet shouted to the king, “Your servant went out in the middle of the battle. Then someone brought a man to me and said, ‘Guard this man. If you can’t account for him, then it will be your life for his life, or you will have to pay a talent of silver.’ ⁴⁰ But while your servant was busy doing this and that, all of a sudden the man was gone!”

Then the king of Israel said to him, “That is your sentence. You have pronounced it on yourself.”

⁴¹ Then he quickly removed the bandage from his eyes, and the king of Israel recognized that he was one of the prophets.

⁴² He said to the king, “This is what the Lord says. Because you set a man free, whom I had devoted to destruction, it will be your life for his life and your people for his people.” ⁴³ The king of Israel headed for his palace sullen and angry, and he arrived in Samaria.

Naboth’s Vineyard

21 Some time passed after these events.

Naboth from Jezre’el had a vineyard in Jezre’el, next to the palace of Ahab king of Samaria. ² Ahab said to Naboth, “Give me your vineyard so I can use it as a vegetable garden, because it is beside my house, and I will give you a better vineyard in exchange. Or if you prefer, I will give you the purchase price in silver.”

³ But Naboth said to Ahab, “May I be cursed by the Lord, if I were to give you the inheritance from my fathers.”

⁴ Ahab went to his house sullen and angry because of what Naboth from Jezre’el had said to him, for he had said, “I will not give you the inheritance of my fathers.” Ahab lay down on his bed and turned his face away and would not eat anything.

⁵ Then his wife Jezebel came to him and said, “Why is your spirit so sullen, and why don’t you eat?”

⁶ Then he told her, “I said to Naboth from Jezre’el, ‘Sell your vineyard to me, or if you prefer, I will give you a vineyard in its place.’ But he said, ‘I will not give you my vineyard.’”

⁷ Then his wife Jezebel said to him, “Are you now acting like the king over Israel? Get up! Eat something, and cheer up. I will give you the vineyard of Naboth from Jezre’el.”

⁸ Then Jezebel wrote letters in Ahab’s name and sealed them with his seal. She sent the letters to the elders and nobles who were living in the city with Naboth. ⁹ She wrote in the letters, “Proclaim a fast and then seat Naboth at the head of the people. ¹⁰ Seat two wicked, worthless men opposite him and have them testify, ‘You cursed God and the king!’ Then take him out and stone him to death.”

¹¹ The men of the city—the elders and the nobles who lived there—did exactly as Jezebel had commanded them, exactly as she had written in the letters she had sent them. ¹² They proclaimed a fast and then seated Naboth at the head of the people. ¹³ They brought two wicked, worthless men and seated them opposite him. The wicked men testified against Naboth before the people, “Naboth cursed God and the king!” So they took him outside the city and stoned him to death. ¹⁴ Then they sent word to Jezebel, “Naboth has been stoned to death.”

¹⁵ When Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned to death, she said to Ahab, “Go and take possession of the vineyard of Naboth from Jezre’el, which he refused to sell to you, because Naboth is no longer alive but dead.” ¹⁶ When Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, he went and took possession of the vineyard of Naboth from Jezre’el.

The Lord Condemns Ahab

¹⁷ Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah from Tishbe:

²⁰ Then Ahab said to Elijah, “Have you found me, my enemy?”

Elijah said, “I have found you, because you sold yourself to do evil in the eyes of the Lord, who says, ²¹ ‘I am bringing disaster against you, and I will burn you up. I will cut off from Ahab in Israel all those who urinate against the wall,^[m] both bound and free.^{[n] 22} I will make your house like the house of Jeroboam son of Nebat and like the house of Ba’asha son of Ahijah, because you have provoked me to anger and caused Israel to sin.’

²³ “Concerning Jezebel the Lord says, ‘Dogs will eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezre’el.’ ²⁴ The dead who belong to Ahab in the city the dogs will eat, and the dead in the country the birds of the air will eat.”

²⁵ There had never been anyone like Ahab, who sold himself to do evil in the eyes of the Lord, incited by his wife Jezebel. ²⁶ He committed obscene acts by following filthy idols, like everything that the Amorites had done, for which the Lord drove them out before the people of Israel. ²⁷ But when Ahab heard these words, he cried out and tore his clothes. He put on sackcloth and fasted. He slept in sackcloth and went around in a subdued manner.

²⁸ Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah from Tishbe, saying, ²⁹ “Have you seen how Ahab has humbled himself before me? Because he has humbled himself before me, I will not bring this disaster during his days, but during the days of his son I will bring disaster upon his house.”

Jehoshaphat Visits Ahab

22 Three years went by without any warfare between Aram and Israel. ² In the third year Jehoshaphat king of Judah went down to visit the king of Israel.

³ The king of Israel said to his officials, “Don’t you know that Ramoth Gilead belongs to us? But we have done nothing to take it from the king of Aram.” ⁴ Then he said to Jehoshaphat, “Will you come with me to wage war at Ramoth Gilead?”

Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, “I am like you. My people are like your people. My horses are like your horses.”

⁵ But Jehoshaphat also said to the king of Israel, “First seek the word of the Lord.”

⁶ So the king of Israel assembled the prophets, four hundred men, and he said to them, “Should I go up to make war at Ramoth Gilead or should I refrain?”

They said, “Go up, for the Lord^[o] will give it into the hand of the king.”

⁷ But Jehoshaphat said, “Is there no longer a prophet of the Lord here who can inquire of the Lord for us?”

⁸ Then the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “There is one man who could inquire of the Lord for us, but I hate him because he does not prophesy anything good about me, but only bad. He is Micaiah son of Imlah.”

Jehoshaphat said, “The king should not talk like that.”

⁹ So the king of Israel summoned one of his court officials and said, “Quickly bring Micaiah son of Imlah here.”

¹⁰ Now the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah were seated, each on his own throne, arrayed in their robes. They were sitting by the threshing floor at the entrance to the gate of Samaria. All the prophets were prophesying before them.

¹¹ Zedekiah son of Kena’anah had made iron horns for himself, and he said, “This is what the Lord says. With these you will gore Aram to death.” ¹² All the prophets were prophesying in this same way: “Go up to Ramoth Gilead and triumph, for the Lord will give it into the hand of the king.”

A Lying Spirit

¹³ The messenger who was sent to summon Micaiah said to him, “Pay attention to the words of the prophets. With one mouth they are promising good things to the king. Let your words be like the words of one of them and say something good.”

¹⁴ But Micaiah said, “As surely as the Lord lives, whatever the Lord says to me, that is what I will say.”

¹⁵ Then he came to the king, and the king asked him, “Micaiah, should we go up to make war on Ramoth Gilead, or should we refrain?”

He answered him, “Go up and triumph, for the Lord will give them into the hand of 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 Then Micaiah said, “I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains like sheep that have no shepherd, and the Lord said, ‘They have no masters. Each one should return to his home in peace.’”

¹⁸ Then the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Didn’t I tell you that he does not prophesy anything good about me, but only bad?”

The Lord’s Proclamation Against Ahab

¹⁹ Then Micaiah said:

²⁴ Then Zedekiah son of Kena’anah came up and struck Micaiah on his cheek and said, “Where is this pathway on which the spirit of the Lord has traveled from me to speak to you?”

²⁵ Micaiah said, “Listen to me. You will see it on the day you go into the inner room to hide.”

²⁶ Then the king of Israel said, “Seize Micaiah and take him back to Amon, the administrator of the city, and to Joash son of the king. ²⁷ Then say, ‘This is what the king says. Put this man in prison and feed him nothing more than bread and water until I come back safely.’”

²⁸ Then Micaiah said, “If you ever come back safely, then the Lord has not spoken through me.” Then he said, “Hear this, you people, all of you!”

Ahab Dies in Battle

²⁹ Then the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah went up to Ramoth Gilead.

³⁰ The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “I will disguise myself when I go into the battle, but you wear your robes.” So the king of Israel disguised himself and went into battle.

³¹ The king of Aram had ordered his thirty-two chariot commanders, “Do not fight with anyone small or great, but only against the king of Israel.”

³² When the chariot commanders saw Jehoshaphat, they said, “That is the king of Israel!” They turned to fight against him, and Jehoshaphat cried for help.

³³ When the chariot commanders realized that he was not the king of Israel, they stopped pursuing him. ³⁴ But a man shot an arrow at random and struck the king of Israel in the seam between two parts of his armor.

So Ahab said to his chariot driver, “Turn around and take me out of the battle, because I have been wounded.”

³⁵ The battle went on all that day, and the king was propped up in his chariot facing Aram. He died in the evening, and the blood from his wound ran down onto the floor of the chariot. ³⁶ Then, as the sun was going down, a cry went up through the army: “Every man to his own city and every man to his own land!”

³⁷ So the king died, and they brought him to Samaria, and they buried the king in Samaria. ³⁸ They washed the chariot at the pool of Samaria, and dogs licked up his blood, and the prostitutes bathed there, in fulfillment of the word which the Lord had spoken.

³⁹ As for the rest of Ahab’s acts and everything he did, and the ivory house he built, and all the cities he built, are they not written in the annals of the kings of Israel? ⁴⁰ Ahab rested with his fathers. Then his son Ahaziah became king in his place.

Jehoshaphat Son of Asa, King of Judah

⁴¹ Jehoshaphat 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 ruled in Jerusalem for twenty-five years. The name of his mother was Azubel daughter of Shilhi.

⁴³ Jehoshaphat walked in all the ways of his father Asa. He did not turn from them. He did what is right in the eyes of the Lord. But the high places were not removed. The people were still sacrificing and burning incense on the high places. ⁴⁴ Jehoshaphat was at peace with the king of Israel.^[p]

⁴⁵ As for the rest of Jehoshaphat’s acts, the mighty deeds which he did, and the wars he fought, are they not written in the annals of the kings of Judah?

⁴⁶ He removed from the land the rest of the male shrine prostitutes who remained from the days of his father Asa. ⁴⁷ There was no king in Edom, but rather a governor represented the king.

⁴⁸ Jehoshaphat constructed trading ships^[q] to go to Ophir for gold, but they never set out, because the ships were wrecked at Ezion Geber.^{[r] 49} Then Ahaziah son of Ahab said to Jehoshaphat, “Let my servants go with your servants in ships,” but Jehoshaphat was not willing.

⁵⁰ Jehoshaphat rested with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of his father David. Then his son Jehoram became king in his place.

Ahaziah Son of Ahab, King of Israel

⁵¹ Ahaziah son of Ahab became king of Israel in Samaria in the seventeenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah. He ruled over Israel for two years. ⁵² He did evil in the eyes of the Lord and walked in the ways of his father and in the ways of his mother and in the ways of Jeroboam son of Nebat, who caused Israel to sin. ⁵³ He served Baal and bowed down to him, and he provoked the Lord, the God of Israel, to anger in all the same ways that his father did.

God’s Judgment on Ahaziah

1 Moab rebelled against Israel after the death of Ahab. ² Ahaziah had fallen through the lattice of his upstairs room in Samaria, and he was injured. So he sent messengers and told them, “Go, inquire of Baal Zebub,^[s] the god of Ekron, whether I will survive this injury.”

³ But an angel of the Lord said to Elijah from Tishbe, “Get up. Go meet the messengers of the king of Samaria and say to them, ‘Is there no God in Israel, so that you are going to seek out Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron? ⁴ Therefore, this is what the Lord says. You will not get up from the bed you have gotten into. You will certainly die.’” So Elijah went.

⁵ The messengers returned to the king, so he said to them, “Why have you come back?”

⁶ They told him, “A man came up to meet us and told us, ‘Go back to the king who sent you and tell him: This is what the Lord says. Is there no God in Israel, so that you are sending men to inquire of Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore, you will not get up from the bed you have gotten into. You will surely die.’”

⁷ He said to them, “How would you describe the man who came up to meet you and said these words to you?”

⁸ They told him, “He was dressed in clothing made of hair,^[t] with a leather belt tied around his waist.”

Then Ahaziah said, “That was Elijah from Tishbe!”

⁹ So he sent a captain of fifty men to Elijah. He went up to him, and there Elijah was, sitting on top of a hill. Then the captain said to him, “Man of God, the king says, ‘Come down!’”

¹⁰ Then Elijah answered the captain, “If I am a man of God, let fire fall from the sky^[u] and consume you and your fifty men!” Then fire fell from the sky and consumed him and his fifty men.

¹¹ Then the king sent another captain of fifty men to him, and the captain said, “Man of God, this is what the king says: ‘Come down at once!’”

¹² Elijah answered, “If I am a man of God, then let fire fall from the sky and consume you and your fifty men!” Then the fire of God fell from the sky and consumed him and his fifty men.

¹³ So the king sent a third captain with his fifty men. The third captain went and got down on his knees before Elijah and begged for mercy. He said to Elijah, “Man of God, let my life and the lives of these fifty servants of yours be precious in your eyes. ¹⁴ Look, fire from the sky fell and consumed the first two captains and their companies of fifty men. But now, let the lives of your servants be precious.”

¹⁵ Then the angel of the Lord said to Elijah, “Go down with him. Do not fear him.” So Elijah stood up and went down with him to the king. ¹⁶ Then Elijah told the king, “This is what the Lord says. Because you sent messengers to inquire of Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron—Is there no God in Israel to inquire of?—therefore, you will not get up from the bed you have gotten into. You will certainly die.”

¹⁷ Then he died according to the word of the Lord which Elijah had spoken. Because Ahaziah did not have a son, Jehoram^[v] became king in his place in the second year of Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah. ¹⁸ As for the rest of Ahaziah’s acts which he did, are they not written in the annals of the kings of Israel?

Elijah Ascends to Heaven

2 When the Lord was about to take Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind, Elijah was traveling with Elisha from Gilgal. ² Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here, for the Lord has sent me to Bethel.”

But Elisha said, “As surely as the Lord lives and as your soul lives, I will not leave you.” So they went down to Bethel.

³ The sons of the prophets^[w] who were in Bethel came out to Elisha and said to him, “Do you know that today the Lord is taking your master away from you?”

Then he said, “Yes, I know. Be quiet.”

⁴ Then Elijah said to him, “Elisha, stay here because the Lord has sent me to Jericho.”

But he said, “As surely as the Lord lives and as your soul lives, I will not leave you.” So they went to Jericho.

⁵ Then the sons of the prophets who were in Jericho approached Elisha and said to him, “Do you know that today the Lord is taking your master away from you?”

He said, “Yes, I know. Be quiet.”

⁶ Then Elijah said to him, “Stay here because the Lord has sent me to the Jordan.”

But he said, “As surely as the Lord lives and as your soul lives, I will not leave you.” So the two of them went on.

⁷ Then fifty men from the sons of the prophets came and stood and watched them from a distance, while the two of them were standing at the Jordan. ⁸ Elijah took his cloak, folded it together, and struck the water. The water divided to the right and to the left. Then the two of them crossed on dry land.

⁹ When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, “Ask me for whatever I can do for you before I am taken from you.”

Then Elisha said, “Let there be a double portion of your spirit on me.”

¹⁰ He said, “You have asked for a difficult thing. If you see me being taken from you, it will surely be yours. But if not, then it will not.”

¹¹ While they were walking and talking, suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire came and separated them. So Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind. ¹² Elisha was watching and crying out, “My father! My father! Israel’s chariot and its charioteers!” Then he did not see him anymore. He grabbed his clothing, and he ripped it into two pieces.

¹³ Then he picked up Elijah’s cloak, which had fallen from him. He returned and stood at the edge of the Jordan. ¹⁴ He took Elijah’s cloak, which had fallen from him, and he struck the water and said, “Where now is the Lord, the God of Elijah? Yes, where is he?” As soon as he struck the water, it divided to the right and to the left so that Elisha could cross.

¹⁵ When the sons of the prophets, who were watching him from Jericho, saw this, they said, “Elijah’s spirit is resting on Elisha.” They went to meet him and bowed down to the ground in front of him.

¹⁶ They said to him, “Look, here are your servants, fifty strong men. Please, let them go and search for your master in case the Spirit of the Lord lifted him up and then set him down on one of the mountains or in one of the valleys.”

But he said, “Don’t send them.”

¹⁷ But they urged him to the point of embarrassment, so he said, “Send them.” So they sent the fifty men. They searched for three days, but they did not find him.

¹⁸ When they returned to Elisha, he was staying in Jericho. He said to them, “Didn’t I say to you, ‘Don’t go’?”

Elisha Demonstrates God’s Power

¹⁹ Then the men of the city said to Elisha, “Look, the site of the city is good, as my lord can see, but the water is bad, and the land deprives people of children.”

²⁰ So he said, “Bring me a new dish and put salt in it.” So they brought it to him.

²¹ Then he went out to the spring and threw the salt in. He said, “This is what the Lord says. I have healed this water. No longer will death or loss of children come from it.” ²² So the water has remained healed to this day, according to the word which Elisha spoke.

²³ He went up from there to Bethel. While he was going up on the road, young boys came out from the city and mocked him. They said, “Go up, baldy! Go up, baldy!”

²⁴ So he turned around and looked at them and cursed them in the name of the Lord. Then two female bears came out of the woods, and they tore forty-two boys to pieces. ²⁵ From there Elisha went to Mount Carmel, and then he returned to Samaria.

Jehoram’s War With Moab

3 Now Jehoram^[x] son of Ahab became king over Israel in Samaria in the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and he ruled as king for twelve years. ² He did evil in the eyes of the Lord but not as his father and mother had done. He removed the sacred memorial stones for Baal which his father had made, ³ but he clung to the sins which Jeroboam son of Nebat caused Israel to commit. He did not turn from them.

⁴ Mesha king of Moab raised sheep. He brought tribute to the king of Israel consisting of one hundred thousand lambs and the wool of one hundred thousand rams.

⁵ When Ahab died, the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel. ⁶ So King Jehoram went out from Samaria at that time, and he mobilized all Israel. ⁷ He sent a message to Jehoshaphat king of Judah: “Moab has rebelled against me. Will you go with me to wage war against Moab?”

Jehoshaphat replied, “I will go with you. I am like you. My people are like your people. My horses are like your horses.” ⁸ Then Jehoshaphat asked, “By what road should we go up?”

Jehoram answered, “By the road through the wilderness of Edom.”

⁹ Then the king of Israel, the king of Judah, and the king of Edom marched for seven days by a roundabout way. There was no water for the army or for the animals which were along with them.

¹⁰ Then the king of Israel said, “This is terrible! The Lord has summoned these three kings to give them into the hand of Moab!”

¹¹ But Jehoshaphat said, “Is there no prophet of the Lord here, so that we may inquire of the Lord through him?”

One of the servants of the king of Israel answered, “Elisha son of Shaphat, who used to pour water on the hands of Elijah, is here.”

¹² Then Jehoshaphat said, “The word of the Lord is in him.” So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom went down to meet him.

¹³ Elisha said to the king of Israel, “What do we have in common? Go to your father’s prophets and your mother’s prophets!”

Then the king of Israel said to him, “No, for the Lord has summoned these three kings to give them into the hand of Moab.”

¹⁴ Then Elisha said, “As surely as the Lord of Armies lives, before whom I stand, if I did not respect the presence of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, I would not look at you or notice you. ¹⁵ But now bring me a musician.”

While the musician was playing, the hand of the Lord came upon Elisha. ¹⁶ He said, “This is what the Lord says. Make this valley full of ditches. ¹⁷ Yes, this is what the Lord says: You will not see wind. You will not see rain. But this valley will be full of water and you will drink—you and your livestock and your animals. ¹⁸ This is nothing in the eyes of the Lord. He will also give Moab into your hands. ¹⁹ You will destroy all their fortified cities and all their main towns. You will cut down every good tree. You will stop up every spring of water. You will ruin every good plot of land with stones.”

²⁰ In the morning, at the time for the regular offering, suddenly there was water coming from the direction of Edom. So the land was full of water.

²¹ All Moab heard that the kings had come up to fight against them. They summoned all those who were old enough to strap on a sword and took their stand at the border. ²² They got up early in the morning as the rising sun was shining on the water. When the Moabites saw the water from a distance, it was red like blood. ²³ They said, “Look! Blood! The kings fought and killed each other. Now, get to the plunder, Moab!” ²⁴ So they went to Israel’s camp, but Israel rose up and struck Moab, and the Moabites fled from them. Israel advanced against them to strike down Moab.^[y]

²⁵ Israel tore down the cities. Each man threw a stone on every good plot of land and covered all of them. They stopped up every spring, and they cut down every good tree. Only in Kir Hareseth were the stones left standing. Then the troops armed with slings surrounded it and attacked it. ²⁶ When the king of Moab saw that he was losing the battle, he took seven hundred swordsmen to break through to the king of Edom, but they were not able to do it. ²⁷ So he took his firstborn son, who would have become king in his place, and he offered him as a burnt offering on the wall. There was great anger against Israel, so they withdrew from him and returned to their own country.

Elisha Multiplies the Widow’s Oil

4 The wife of one of the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha, “Your servant, my husband, is dead. You know that your servant feared the Lord. But now the moneylender is coming to take my two sons as slaves.”

² Then Elisha said to her, “What can I do for you? Tell me, what do you have in your house?”

She said, “Your servant has nothing at all in the house except a jar of olive oil.”

³ He told her, “Go and ask all your neighbors for jars—empty jars. Don’t ask for only a few. ⁴ Then go inside and shut the door behind you and your sons. Then pour oil into all the jars. When each one is full, set it aside.”

⁵ So she went and shut the door to her house behind her and her sons. They brought the jars, and she poured. ⁶ When a jar was filled, she said to her son, “Bring me another jar.”

Finally he said, “There aren’t any more.” Then the oil stopped.

⁷ So she went and told the man of God. He said, “Go and sell the oil and pay your debt. Then you and your sons can live off what’s left.”

Elisha and the Woman of Shunem

⁸ One day Elisha went to Shunem. A wealthy woman lived there, and she urged him to eat a meal with her. So whenever he passed by, he would stop there for a meal.

⁹ Then she said to her husband, “Listen. I know that the man who passes by here all the time is a holy man of God. ¹⁰ Let’s make a small upper room on the roof, and let’s put a bed, a table, a chair, and a lamp there for him. Then whenever he comes to us, he can stay there.”

¹¹ One day when Elisha came there, he went into the room and lay down. ¹² Then he said to Gehazi his servant, “Call the woman of Shunem.” He called her, and she stood in front of him.

¹³ Then Elisha said to Gehazi, “Tell her, ‘You have been very concerned about us. What can we do for you? Is there something we can request for you from the king or from the commander of the army?’”

She said, “I am living among my own people.”

¹⁴ Then he said, “What can be done for her?”

Then Gehazi said, “Well, she has no son, and her husband is old.”

¹⁵ He said, “Call her.” So he called her, and she stood at the doorway.

¹⁶ Then he said to her, “At this time next year, you will be holding a son.”

But she said, “No, my lord, you man of God. Do not deceive your servant.”

¹⁷ But the woman conceived, and she gave birth to a son at that same time of year, just as Elisha said to her.

Elisha Raises the Boy From the Dead

¹⁸ The boy grew up, and one day he went out to his father, who was with the reapers. ¹⁹ Then he said to his father, “My head! My head!”

His father said to his servant, “Carry him to his mother.” ²⁰ So he picked him up and carried him to his mother, and the boy sat on her lap until noon. Then he died.

²¹ Then she went up and laid him on the bed of the man of God. She shut the door behind her and went out. ²² Then she called to her husband and said, “Send one of the servants to me with one of the donkeys, so that I can run to the man of God and come back.”

²³ He said, “Why are you going to him today? It’s not the new moon, and it’s not the Sabbath.”

But she said, “It’s all right.”

²⁴ Then she saddled the donkey and said to her servant, “Lead the way. Don’t slow down for me unless I tell you.”

²⁵ So she went to the man of God at Mount Carmel.

When the man of God saw her from a distance, he said to his servant Gehazi, “Look! That’s the woman from Shunem! ²⁶ Now run to meet her and say, ‘Are you all right? Is your husband all right? Is your son all right?’”

She answered, “We’re all right.”

²⁷ Then she came to the man of God at the mountain, and she grasped his feet. Gehazi stepped forward to push her away, but the man of God said, “Leave her alone, for her soul is in distress, but the Lord has hidden it from me. He has not told me.”

²⁸ Then she said, “Did I ask my lord for a son? Didn’t I say, ‘Don’t give me false hope’?”

²⁹ Then Elisha said to Gehazi, “Hike up your garments for travel,^[z] and take my staff in your hand and go! If you meet someone, do not greet him, and if someone greets you, do not answer. Put my staff on the boy’s face.”

³⁰ But the boy’s mother said, “As surely as the Lord lives and your soul lives, I will not leave you.” So he got up and followed her. ³¹ Gehazi went ahead of them and put the staff on the boy’s face. But there was no sound, and there was no response. So he went back to Elisha and told him, “The boy did not wake up.”

³² When Elisha came to the house, there the boy was—dead, lying on his bed. ³³ So he went in and he shut the door behind the two of them. Then he prayed to the Lord. ³⁴ He got up and lay down on top of the boy. He put his mouth to the boy’s mouth, his eyes to the boy’s eyes, his palms to the boy’s palms. Then he bent down over him, and the boy’s flesh became warm. ³⁵ He went back into the house and paced back and forth. Then he went up and bent down over him, and the boy sneezed seven times. Then the boy opened his eyes.

³⁶ Then Elisha called Gehazi and said, “Call the woman of Shunem!” So he called her, and she came in. He said, “Pick up your son.” ³⁷ So she came in and fell at Elisha’s feet and bowed down to the ground. Then she picked up her son and went out.