Old/New Testament
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,[a] 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,[b] 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[c] 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[d] 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[e] 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[f] 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.[g]
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.
The Resurrection
24 On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women[a] went to the tomb, carrying the spices they had prepared. 2 They found that the stone had been rolled away from the tomb. 3 When they went in, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men stood by them in dazzling clothing. 5 The women were terrified and bowed down with their faces to the ground.
The men said to them, “Why are you looking for the living among the dead? 6 He is not here, but has been raised! Remember how he told you while he was still in Galilee 7 that the Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again?” 8 Then they remembered his words.
9 When they returned from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the rest. 10 It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them who told these things to the apostles. 11 Yet these words seemed to them like nonsense, and they did not believe them. 12 But Peter got up and ran to the tomb. Bending over to look in, he saw only the strips of linen cloth. He went home, amazed at what had happened.
On the Way to Emmaus
13 Now, on that same day, two of them were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles[b] from Jerusalem. 14 They were talking with each other about all of these things that had happened. 15 While they were talking and discussing this, Jesus himself approached and began to walk along with them. 16 But their eyes were kept from recognizing him. 17 He said to them, “What are you talking about as you walk along?” Saddened, they stopped.
18 One of them, named Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only visitor in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?”
19 “What things?” he asked them.
They replied, “The things concerning Jesus of Nazareth, a man who was a prophet, mighty in deed and word before God and all the people. 20 The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be condemned to death. And they crucified him. 21 But we were hoping that he was going to redeem Israel. Not only that, but besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened. 22 Also some women of our group amazed us. They were at the tomb early in the morning. 23 When they did not find his body, they came back saying that they had even seen a vision of angels, who said that he was alive. 24 Some of those who were with us went to the tomb. They found it just as the women had said, but they did not see him.”
25 He said to them, “How foolish you are and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and to enter his glory?” 27 Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.
28 As they approached the village where they were going, he acted as if he were going to travel farther. 29 But they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, since it is almost evening, and the day is almost over.”
So he went in to stay with them. 30 When he reclined at the table with them, he took the bread, blessed it, broke it, and began giving it to them. 31 Suddenly their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. Then he vanished from their sight. 32 They said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he was speaking to us along the road and while he was explaining the Scriptures to us?” 33 They got up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem. They found the Eleven and those who were with them assembled together. 34 They were saying, “The Lord really has been raised! He has appeared to Simon.” 35 They themselves described what had happened along the road, and how they recognized him when he broke the bread.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.