Old/New Testament

Elisha Prophesies Hope for Relief

7 Elisha said, “Hear the word of Yahweh: ‘Thus says Yahweh, “At this time tomorrow a seah of wheat bread flour will sell for a shekel, and two seahs of barley for a shekel in the gate of Samaria.’” ² Then the officer on whom the king relied^[a] answered the man of God and said, “Look, even if Yahweh is making windows in heaven, could this thing happen?” And he said, “Look, you will be seeing it with your eyes, but you shall not eat from it there.”

Four Lepers Report the Departure of the Arameans

³ Now four men who had a skin disease were at the entrance of the gate, and they said to each other,^[b] “Why are we sitting here until we die? ⁴ If we say, ‘Let us go into the city,’ the famine is in the city, and we shall die there; but if we sit here, we shall die. So then, come, let us fall into the camp of the Arameans. If they let us live, we shall live; but if they kill us, then we shall die.” ⁵ So they got up at dusk to go to the camp of the Arameans. They went up to the edge of the camp of the Arameans, and look, there was no man there! ⁶ Now the Lord had caused the camp of the Arameans to hear the sound of chariots, the sound of horses, and the sound of a great army. So they said to one another,^[c] “Look, the king of Israel has hired the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Egypt to come against us!” ⁷ So they got up and fled at dusk and left their tents, their horses, their donkeys, and the camp as it was, and they fled for their lives. ⁸ When these who had the skin disease came to the edge of the camp, they went into a certain tent and they ate, drank, and took from there silver and gold and clothes. Then they went and hid them, then returned and came to another tent, and they took from there and went and hid them.

⁹ Then they said to one another,^[d] “We are not doing right. This day is a day of good news! If we are silent and wait until the light of morning, they will find us and we will be punished.^[e] So then, come, let us go and tell the house of the king.” ¹⁰ When they came, they called to the gatekeepers of the city and told them, saying, “We came to the camp of the Arameans, and behold, there was no man or the voice of a man there! Only the horses and the donkeys were tied up, and the tents were left as they were.” ¹¹ Then the gatekeepers called and told it inside the house of the king. ¹² The king got up in the night and said to his servants, “Please let me tell you what the Arameans have done to us. The Arameans know that we are hungry, so they went out from the camp to hide in the field, saying, ‘When they go out from the city, we shall seize them alive and go into the city.’” ¹³ Then one of his servants replied and said, “Please let them take five of the remaining horses which remain in the city; behold, they are like all of the multitude of Israel that remain in it; they are like all the multitude of Israel who have perished. Let us send and see.” ¹⁴ So he took two charioteer horsemen, and the king sent after the camp of the Arameans, saying, “Go, find out,” ¹⁵ and they went after them to the Jordan. Look, all of the way was littered with clothes and equipment which the Arameans had thrown away in their haste. Then the messengers returned and told the king.

Prophecy Fulfilled

¹⁶ So the people went out and plundered the camp of the Arameans. A seah of wheat flour went for a shekel and two seahs of barley went for a shekel according to the word of Yahweh. ¹⁷ Then the king appointed the officer he was depending on over the gate, but the people trampled him and he died, according to that which the man of God had said which he spoke when the king came down to him. ¹⁸ It happened as the man of God spoke to the king, saying, “Two seahs of barley shall be sold for a shekel and a seah of wheat flour for a shekel at this time tomorrow in the gate of Samaria.” ¹⁹ Then the officer had replied to the man of God and said, “Look, even if Yahweh is opening the windows in heaven, could this thing happen?” And he had said, “Look you are about to see it with your eyes, but you will not eat from it.” ²⁰ So it had happened to him; the people trampled him in the gate and he died.

Joram Restores the Shunammite’s Land

8 Elisha spoke to the woman whose son he had restored to life, saying, “Get up and go, you and your household, and dwell as an alien wherever you can, for Yahweh has called for a famine, and it will come to the land for seven years.” ² So the woman got up and did according to the word of the man of God. She and her household went and dwelt as an alien in the land of the Philistines for seven years. ³ It happened at the end of seven years that the woman returned from the land of the Philistines and went out to appeal to the king for her household and for her properties.^{[f] 4} Now the king was speaking to Gehazi the servant of the man of God, saying, “Please tell me all of the great things which Elisha has done.” ⁵ It happened that as he was telling the king how he had restored the dead to life, suddenly the woman whose son he had restored to life was crying out to the king about her household and about her field. Then Gehazi said, “My lord the king, this is the woman and this is her son whom Elisha restored to life!” ⁶ So the king asked the woman, and she told him. So the king appointed for her a certain court official, saying, “Restore all that is hers and all the yield of the field from the day she left the land up to now.”

⁷ Elisha came to Damascus. Now Ben-Hadad king of Aram was ill, and he was told, “The man of God has come up here.” ⁸ Then the king said to Hazael, “Take a gift in your hand and go meet the man of God. Inquire of Yahweh from him, saying, ‘Shall I recover from this illness?’” ⁹ So Hazael went to meet him and took a gift in his hand of all of the good things of Damascus, a load on each of forty camels, and he came and stood before him. Then he said, “Your son Ben-Hadad king of Aram has sent me to you, saying, ‘Shall I recover from this illness?’” ¹⁰ Elisha said to him, “Go; say to him, ‘You shall certainly recover,’ but Yahweh has shown me that he certainly will die.” ¹¹ Then the man fixed his gaze and stared at him^[g] until he was ashamed and the man of God cried. ¹² Then Hazael asked, “Why is my lord crying?” He said, “Because I know what evil you will do to the Israelites.^[h] You will set their fortifications on fire,^[i] and you will kill their young men with the sword. Their little ones you will dash to pieces, and their pregnant women you will rip open!” ¹³ Then Hazael said, “But how could your servant, who is like a dog, do this great thing?” Elisha said, “Yahweh has shown me that you are to be king over Aram.” ¹⁴ So he departed from Elisha and came to his master. He asked him, “What did Elisha say to you.” So he said, “He said to me that you will certainly recover.” ¹⁵ On the next day, he took the bed cover, dipped it in the water, and spread it over his face so that he died. Then Hazael became king in his place.

Joram Reigns in Judah

¹⁶ Now in the fifth year of Joram son of Ahab, king of Israel, and Jehoshaphat king of Judah, Joram son of Jehoshaphat became the king of Judah.^{[j] 17} He was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. ¹⁸ He walked in the way of the kings of Israel as the house of Ahab had done, for the daughter of Ahab became his wife, and he did evil in the eyes of Yahweh. ¹⁹ Yet Yahweh was not willing to destroy Judah, for the sake of David his servant, as he had promised to give him a lamp for his sons always.

²⁰ In his days, Edom rebelled against the rule^[k] of Judah, and they set up a king over them. ²¹ So Joram crossed over to Zair and all the chariots with him. It happened that he arose by night and attacked Edom who had surrounded him and the commanders of the chariots; but the army fled to their tents. ²² So Edom has rebelled against the rule^[l] of Judah until this day; then Libnah also rebelled at that time. ²³ The remainder of the acts of Joram and all that he did, are they not written in the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Judah? ²⁴ So Joram slept with his ancestors,^[m] and he was buried with his ancestors^[n] in the city of David, and Ahaziah his son became king in place of him.

Ahaziah Succeeds Joram in Judah

²⁵ In the twelfth year of Joram the son of Ahab, king of Israel, Ahaziah the son of Joram became king of Judah. ²⁶ Ahaziah was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. The name of his mother was Athaliah daughter of Omri, king of Israel. ²⁷ He walked in the way of the house of Ahab and did evil in the eyes of Yahweh, as the house of Ahab; for he was the son-in-law of the house of Ahab.

²⁸ He went with Joram the son of Ahab for the battle against Hazael king of Aram at Ramoth-Gilead, and the Arameans wounded Joram. ²⁹ Joram the king returned to Jezreel to heal from the wounds which the Arameans had inflicted at Ramah when Hazael king of Aram fought him. Ahaziah the son of Joram, king of Judah, went down to see Joram the son of Ahab in Jezreel, for he was ill.

Jehu Anointed Prophetically to Rule in Place of Joram of Israel

9 Now Elisha the prophet called for one of the sons of the prophets, and he said to him, “Gird your loins, and take this flask of olive oil in your hand, and go to Ramoth-Gilead. ² Go there and look there for Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat the son of Nimshi. Go, for you must cause him to arise from among his brothers, and you must bring him into an inner room.^{[o] 3} You must take the flask of olive oil and pour it out on his head. You must say, ‘Thus says Yahweh, “I hereby anoint you as king over Israel.”’ Then you must open the door and flee; do not linger!”

⁴ So the young man, servant of the prophet, went to Ramoth-Gilead. ⁵ He came, and look, the commanders of the army were sitting there. He said, “I have a word for you, O commander!” Jehu said, “For whom? For all of us?” And he said, “For you, O commander!” ⁶ He got up and went to the house, and poured the olive oil on his head and said to him, “Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel: ‘I hereby anoint you as king over the people of Yahweh, over Israel. ⁷ You will destroy the house of Ahab your master, and you will avenge the blood of my servants the prophets and the blood of all of the servants of Yahweh, from the hand of Jezebel. ⁸ All of the house of Ahab will perish, and I shall cut off all males^[p] from Ahab, both bond and free. ⁹ I will make the house of Ahab like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah. ¹⁰ The dogs will eat Jezebel in the territory of Jezreel, and there shall not be anyone to bury her.’”^[q] Then he opened the door and fled.

Jehu Assassinates Joram

¹¹ Then Jehu came out to the officers of his master, and they said to him, “Peace? Why did this madman come to you?” And he said to them, “You know the man and his foolish talk.” ¹² Then they said, “Liar. Please tell us.” He said, “Thus and so^[r] he said to me, saying, ‘Thus says Yahweh, “I hereby anoint you as king over Israel.”’” ¹³ So they hastened each one to take his cloak, and they spread them under him on the bare steps, blew on the trumpet, and said, “Jehu is king!”

¹⁴ So Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat the son of Nimshi conspired against Joram. Now Joram was keeping guard in Ramoth-Gilead, he and all of Israel, because of the threat^[s] of Hazael king of Aram. ¹⁵ But Joram the king had returned to heal in Jezreel from the wound which the Arameans had inflicted on him when he fought with Hazael king of Aram. Jehu said, “If this is what you want,^[t] do not let him go out as a fugitive from the city to go to make it known in Jezreel.” ¹⁶ Jehu mounted his chariot and went to Jezreel, for Joram was lying there, and Ahaziah king of Judah had gone down to visit Joram. ¹⁷ Now the watchman was standing on the tower in Jezreel, and he saw the company of Jehu when he came, and he said, “I see a company.” Joram said, “Take a horseman and send him to meet them.” And he said, “Is it peace?” ¹⁸ So the rider of the horse went out to meet him, and he said, “Thus the king asks, ‘Is it peace?’” Then Jehu said, “What do you have to do with peace?^[u] Turn after me.” Then the watchman reported, saying, “The messenger went up to them, but he did not return.” ¹⁹ Then he sent out a second horseman, and he came to them and said, “Thus the king asks, ‘Is it peace?’” Then Jehu said, “What do you have to do with peace?^[v] Turn after me.” ²⁰ So the sentinel reported, saying, “He went up to them, but he did not return, and the driving is like the driving of Jehu the son of Nimshi, for he drives with madness.”

²¹ Then Joram said, “Get ready,” so he got his chariot ready. Joram king of Israel went out, and Ahaziah king of Judah, each with his chariot. They went out to meet Jehu, and they found him at the tract of land of Naboth the Jezreelite. ²² When Joram saw Jehu, he asked, “Is it peace?” And he said, “What peace is there while the prostitutions of your mother Jezebel and her sorceries are numerous?” ²³ Joram turned his chariot^[w] and fled and said to Ahaziah, “It’s treason, Ahaziah!” ²⁴ Then Jehu drew his bow^[x] and shot Joram between his shoulders so that the arrow went out from his heart, and he slumped down in his chariot. ²⁵ He said to Bidkar his third servant, “Lift him out and throw him on the plot of the field of Naboth the Jezreelite, for remember, you and I were with the pair of chariots behind Ahab his father when Yahweh pronounced this oracle against him: ²⁶ ‘“Since I saw the blood of Naboth and the blood of his children yesterday,” declares Yahweh, “I will requite it for you in this tract of land,” declares Yahweh.’ So then lift him out and throw him on the tract of land according to the word of Yahweh.”

Jehu Orders the Assassination of Ahaziah

²⁷ When Ahaziah king of Judah saw, he fled the way of Beth-Haggen. Jehu pursued after him and said, “Shoot him also, in the chariot.” They shot him at the ascent of Gur which is in Ibleam, and he fled to Megiddo, but he died there. ²⁸ Then his officers carried him to Jerusalem, and they buried him in his tomb with his ancestors^[y] in the city of David. ²⁹ In the eleventh year of Joram the son of Ahab, Ahaziah had become king over Judah.

Jezebel Loses Her High Position

³⁰ When Jehu came to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it, so she painted her eyes with black eye paint and adorned her head and looked through the window. ³¹ Now Jehu had come in the gate, so she said, “Is it peace, O Zimri, murderer of his master?” ³² When he lifted up his face to the window, he asked, “Who is with me?” Two or three eunuchs looked down to him. ³³ So he said, “Throw her down.” So they threw her down, and her blood spattered on the wall and on the horses, and they trampled her. ³⁴ Then he came and ate and drank, and said, “Please take care of this cursed one and bury her, for she is the daughter of a king.” ³⁵ When they went to bury her, they could not find her, except the skull, the feet, and the palms of the hands. ³⁶ They returned and told him, and he said, “This is the word of Yahweh which he spoke by the hand of his servant Elijah the Tishbite, saying, ‘On the plot of ground of Jezreel, the dogs shall eat the flesh of Jezebel.’” ³⁷ So the dead body of Jezebel became dung on the surface spread on the field in the plot of ground of Jezreel, so one cannot say, “This is Jezebel.”

The Prologue to John’s Gospel

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² This one was in the beginning with God. ³ All things came into being through him, and apart from him not one thing came into being that^[a] has come into being. ⁴ In him was life, and the life was the light of humanity.^{[b] 5} And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome^[c] it.

⁶ A man came, sent from God, whose name was^[d] John. ⁷ This one came for a witness, in order that he could testify about the light, so that all would believe through him. ⁸ That one was not the light, but came^[e] in order that he could testify about the light. ⁹ The true light, who gives light to every person, was coming into the world. ¹⁰ He was in the world, and the world came into being through him, and the world did not recognize^[f] him. ¹¹ He came to his own things, and his own people did not receive him. ¹² But as many as received him—to those who believe in his name—he gave to them authority to become children of God, ¹³ who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of a husband, but of God.

¹⁴ And the Word became flesh and took up residence among us, and we saw his glory, glory as of the one and only from the Father, full of grace and truth. ¹⁵ John testified about him and cried out, saying, “This one was he about whom I said, ‘The one who comes after me is ahead of me, because he existed before me.’” ¹⁶ For from his fullness we have all received, and grace after grace. ¹⁷ For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came about through Jesus Christ. ¹⁸ No one has seen God at any time; the one and only, God, the one who is in the bosom of the Father—that one has made him^[g] known.

John the Baptist Testifies to Jesus

¹⁹ And this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent^[h] priests and Levites from Jerusalem so that they could ask him, “Who are you?” ²⁰ And he confessed—and he did not deny, and confessed—“I am not the Christ!” ²¹ And they asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?” And he said, “I am not!” “Are you the Prophet?”^[i] And he answered, “No!” ²² Then they said to him, “Who are you, so that we can give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?”

²³ He said,

just as Isaiah the prophet said.” ²⁴ (And they had been sent from the Pharisees.) ²⁵ And they asked him and said to him, “Why then are you baptizing, if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”

²⁶ John answered them, saying, “I baptize with water. In your midst stands one whom you do not know— ²⁷ the one who comes after me, of whom I am not worthy to untie^[k] the strap of his sandal!” ²⁸ These things took place in Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing.