11

'AND' Moab rebelled against Israel 2 after the death of Ahab. °And Ahaziah fell down through the lattice in his upper chamber that was in Samaria, and was sick and he sent messengers, and said unto them, Go, inquire of Baal-zebub the god of Ekron whether (3 I shall recover of this 'sickness'. But

the angel of the LORD said to Elijah the Tishbite, Arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria, and say unto them, Is it because there is no God in Israel, that ye go to inquire of Baal-zebub the god of Ekron? 4 Now therefore thus saith the LORD,

Thou shalt not come down from 'the' bed whither thou art gone up, but shalt surely die. And Elijah departed. 5) And the messengers 'returned' unto him, 'and' he said unto them, Why is (6) it that ye are 'returned'? And they

said unto him, There came up a man to meet us, and said unto us, Go, turn again unto the king that sent you, and say unto him, Thus saith the LORD, IS it because there is no God in Israel, that thou sendest to inquire of Baalzebub the god of Ekron? therefore thou shalt not come down from the! bed whither thou art gone up, but 7 shalt surely die. And he said unto them, What manner of man was he which came up to meet you, and told 8 you these words? And they answered him, He was anꞌ hairy man, and girt with a girdle of leather about his loins. And he said, It is Elijah the Tishbite. 9 °Then the king sent unto him a captain of fifty with his fifty. And he went up to him: and, behold, he sat on the top of the hill. And he spake unto him, O man of God, the king (10 hath said, Come down. And Elijah

answered and said to the captain of fifty, If I be a man of God, let fire come down from heaven, and consume thee and thy fifty. And there came down fire from heaven, and consumed 11 him and his fifty. And again he sent unto him another captain of fifty with his fifty. And he answered and said unto him, O man of God, thus

1 Or, a man with a garment of hair!

hath the king said, Come down 12 quickly. And Elijah answered and said unto them, If I be a man of God, let fire come down from heaven, and consume thee and thy fifty. And the fire of God came down from heaven, 13) and consumed him and his fifty. And again he sent the captain of a third fifty with his fifty. And the third captain of fifty went up, and came and fell on his knees before Elijah, and besought him, and said unto him, O man of God, I pray thee, let my life, and the life of these fifty thy servants, be precious in thy sight. (14) Behold, there came fire down from heaven, and consumed' the two former captains of fifty with their fifties: 'but now let my life be precious in 15 thy sight. And the angel of the LORD said unto Elijah, Go down with him be not afraid of him. And he arose, and went down with him unto (16 the king. And he said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Forasmuch as thou hast sent messengers to inquire of Baal-zebub the god of Ekron, is it because there is no God in Israel to inquire of his word? therefore thou shalt not come down 'from the bed Iwhither thou art gone up, but shalt 17 surely die. So he died according to the word of the LORD which Elijah had spoken. And Jehoram 'began to reign in his stead in the second year of Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah because he had no son. 18 Now 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?

21)

And it came to pass, when the LORD would take up Elijah by a whirlwind into heaven, that Elijah went with (2 Elisha from Gilgal. And Elijah said unto Elisha, Tarry here, I pray thee; for the LORD hath sent me las far as Beth-el. And Elisha said, As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they went 3 down to Beth-el. "And the sons of the prophets that were at Beth-el came 2 Or, Idwelt

(then); 11 also; -II. 2 to.. (unto

forth to Elisha, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the LORD will take away thy master from thy head today? And he said, Yea, I know it; 4 hold yel your peace. °And Elijah

said unto him, Elisha, tarry here, I pray thee; for the LORD hath sent me to Jericho. And he said, As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they came to Jeri5 cho. And the sons of the prophets that were at Jericho came near to Elisha, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the LORD will take away thy master from thy head to-day? And he answered, Yea, I know it; hold 'yel 6) your peace. And Elijah said unto him, Tarry here, I pray thee; for the LORD hath sent me to Jordan. And he said, As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. 7 And they two went on. And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went, and stood over against them' afar off : 8 and they two stood by Jordan. And

Elijah took his mantle, and wrapped it together, and smote the waters, and they were divided hither and thither, so that they two went over on dry (9 ground. And it came to pass, 1when they were gone over, that Elijah said unto Elisha, Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be taken from thee. And Elisha said, I pray thee, let 2a double portion of thy spirit be upon 10 me. And he said, Thou hast asked

a hard thing: nevertheless, if thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee; but if not, it 11 shall not be so. And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, 'which' parted them both asunder; and Elijah went 12 up by a whirlwind into heaven. And

Elisha saw it, and he cried, My father, my father, the chariots' of Israel and the horsemen thereof! And he saw him no more: and he took hold of his own clothes, and rent them in two 13 pieces. He took up also the mantle

of Elijah that fell from him, and went back, and stood by the bank of Jordan. 14 And he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and smote the waters, and said, Where is the LORD, the God of Elijah? and when he also had smitten the waters, they were divided

hither and thither: and Elisha went 15 over. And when the sons of the prophets which were at Jericho 'over against him saw him, they said, The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha. And they came to meet him, and bowed themselves to the ground be16 fore him. And they said unto him, Behold now, there be with thy servants fifty strong men; let them go, we pray thee, and seek thy master: lest peradventure the spirit of the LORD hath taken him up, and cast him upon some mountain, or into some valley. And he said, Ye shall not send. 17 And when they urged him till he was ashamed, he said, Send. They sent therefore fifty men; and they sought 18 three days, but found him not. And

19

they came back to him, while he tarried at Jericho; land' he said unto them, Did I not say unto you, Go not?

And the men of the city said unto Elisha, Behold, we pray thee, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord seeth but the water is naught, 20 and the land miscarrieth'. And he said, Bring me a new cruse, and put salt therein. And they brought it to (21 him. And he went forth unto the spring of the waters, and cast salt therein', and said, Thus saith the LORD, I have healed these waters; there shall not be from thence any 22 more death or "miscarrying!. So the waters were healed unto this day, according to the word' of Elisha which he spake.

*23

And he went up from thence unto Beth-el: and as he was going up by the way, there came forth little children out of the city, and mocked him, and said unto him, Go up, thou bald * 24 head; go up, thou bald head. And he looked behind him and saw them, and cursed them in the name of the LORD. And there came forth two shebears out of the wood, and tare forty 25 and two children of them. And he went from thence to mount Carmel, and from thence he returned to Samaria.

for he put away the pillar of Baal 3 that his father had made. Nevertheless he cleaved unto the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, wherewith he made Israel to sin; he departed not therefrom.

4) Now Mesha king of Moab was a sheepmaster; and he rendered unto the king of Israel the wool loft an hundred thousand lambs, and of 5 an hundred thousand rams. "But it came to pass, when Ahab was dead, that the king of Moab rebelled against 6 the king of Israel. And king Jehoram went out of Samaria 'at that' time, (7 and mustered' all Israel. And he went and sent to Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, saying, The king of Moab hath rebelled against me: wilt thou go with me against Moab to battle? And he said, I will go up: I am as thou art, my people as thy people, my horses as thy horses. 8 And he said, Which way shall we go up? And he answered, The way lofi 9 the wilderness of Edom. °So the king of Israel went, and the king of Judah, and the king of Edom: and they made a circuit of seven days' journey and there was no water for the host, nor for the beasts' that 10 followed them. "And the king of Israel said, Alas! for the LORD hath called these three kings together to deliver them into the hand of Moab. 11) But Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of the LORD, that we may inquire of the LORD by him? And one of the king of Israel's servants answered and said, Elisha the son of Shaphat is here, which poured 12 water on the hands of Elijah. And Jehoshaphat said, The word of the LORD is with him. So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king 13 of Edom went down to him. ° And Elisha said unto the king of Israel, What have I to do with thee? get thee to the prophets of thy father, and to the prophets of thy mother. And the king of Israel said unto him, Nay: for the LORD hath called these three kings together to deliver them into 14 the hand of Moab. "And Elisha said, As the LORD of hosts liveth, before whom I stand, surely, were it not that I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, I would not look

15 toward thee, nor see thee. now bring me a minstrel.

"But

And it

came to pass, when the minstrel played, that the hand of the LORD 16 came upon him. And he said, Thus

saith the LORD, Make this valley full 17 of trenches'. For thus saith the LORD, Ye shall not see wind, neither shall ye see rain, yet that valley shall be filled with water: and ye shall drink, both ye and your cattle and your 18) beasts. And this is but a light thing in the sight of the LORD: he will also deliver the Moabites into your hand. 19 And ye shall smite every fenced city, and every choice city, and shall fell every good tree, and stop all 'fountains of water, and mar every good piece of 20) land with stones. And it came to pass in the morning, 'about the time of offering the 'oblation', that, behold, there came water by the way of Edom, and the country was filled with 21 water. Now! when all the Moabites heard that the kings were come up to fight against them, they gathered themselves together, all that were able to put on armour, and upward, 22 and stood on the border. And they rose up early in the morning, and the sun shone upon the water, and the Moabites saw the water 'over against 23 them as red as blood: and they said,

This is blood; the kings are surely 'destroyed', and they have smitten leach man his fellow now therefore, 24 Moab, to the spoil. And when they came to the camp of Israel, the Israelites rose up and smote the Moabites, so that they fled before them: 'and' they went forward into the land 25) smiting the Moabites. And they beat down the cities; and on every good piece of land they cast every man his stone, and filled it; and they stopped all the 'fountains of water, and felled all the good trees: until in Kir-hareseth only they left the stones thereof; howbeit the slingers (26 went about it, and smote it. °And

when the king of Moab saw that the battle was too sore for him, he took with him seven hundred men that drew sword, to break through unto the king of Edom: but they could 27 not. Then he took his eldest son that should have reigned in his stead, and offered him for a burnt offering

3 Or, were called together

Heb. gird themselves with a girdle. Or, have surely fought together 6 Heb. into it.

41

upon the wall. And there was great Iwrath against Israel: and they departed from him, and returned to their own land.

Now there cried a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets unto Elisha, saying, Thy servant my husband is dead: and thou knowest that thy servant did fear the LORD and the creditor is come to take unto him my two children to be 2 bondmen. And Elisha said unto her, What shall I do for thee? tell me ; what hast thou in the house? And she said, Thine handmaid hath not any thing in the house, save a pot of 3 oil. Then he said, Go, borrow thee vessels abroad of all thy neighbours, even empty vessels; borrow not a (4) few. And thou shalt go1 in, 'and' shut the door upon thee and upon thy sons, and pour out into all those vessels; and thou shalt set aside that 5 which is full. So she went from him, and shut the door upon her and upon her sons; they brought the vessels 6 to her, and she poured out. And it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said unto her son, Bring me yet a vessel. And he said unto her, There is not a vessel more. And 7 the oil stayed. Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, Go, sell the oil, and pay thy debt, and live thou and thy sons of the rest. 8 And it fell on a day, that Elisha passed to Shunem, where was a great woman; and she constrained him to eat bread. And so it was, that as oft as he passed by, he turned in thither 9 to eat bread. And she said unto her husband, Behold now, I perceive that this is an holy man of God, which 10) passeth by us continually. Let us make, I pray thee, a little chamber

2on the wall; and let us set for him there a bed, and a table, and a stool, and a candlestick and it shall be, when he cometh to us, that he shall 11 turn in thither. And it fell on a day, that he came thither, and he turned 12 into the chamber and lay there. And he said to Gehazi his servant, Call this Shunammite. And when he had called her, she stood before him. 13 And he said unto him, Say now unto her, Behold, thou hast been careful for us with all this care; what is to be done for thee? wouldest thou be spoken for to the king, or to the cap

1 Or, there camel great wrath \upon

Israel

2 Or, with walls!

tain of the host? And she answered, I dwell among mine own people. 14 And he said, What then is to be done for her? And Gehazi answered, Verily she hath no 'son', and her hus15 band is old. And he said, Call her.

And when he had called her, she 16 stood in the door. And he said, 'At this season, 'when' the time cometh round', thou shalt embrace a son. And she said, Nay, my lord, thou man of God, do not lie unto thine hand17) maid. And the woman conceived, and bare a son at that season, 'when' the time came round, as Elisha had 18 said unto her. And when the child was grown, it fell on a day, that he went out to his father to the reapers. 19 °And he said unto his father, My head, my head. And he said to his serv20 ant', Carry him to his mother. And

when he had taken him, and brought him to his mother, he sat on her knees 21 till noon, and then died. And she went up, and laid him on the bed of the man of God, and shut the door 22 upon him, and went out. And she

called unto her husband, and said, Send me, I pray thee, one of the 'servants', and one of the asses, that I may run to the man of God, and 23 come again. And he said, Where

fore wilt thou go to him to-day? it is neither new moon nor sabbath. And 24) she said, "It shall be well. Then she saddled an ass, and said to her servant, Drive, and go forward; 'slacken' me not the riding, except I bid thee. 25 So she went, and came unto the man of God to mount Carmel. And it came to pass, when the man of God saw her afar off, that he said to Gehazi his servant, Behold, yonder is 26) the Shunammite: run, I pray thee, now to meet her, and say unto her, Is it well with thee? is it well with thy husband? is it well with the child? 27) And she answered, It is well. And

when she came to the man of God to the hill, she caught hold of his feet. And Gehazi came near to thrust her away; but the man of God said, Let her alone for her soul is vexed within her; and the LORD hath hid it from me, and hath not told me. 28 Then she said, Did I desire a son of

my lord? did I not say, Do not de29 ceive me? Then he said to Gehazi, Gird up thy loins, and take my staff in thine hand, and go thy way: if Heb. liveth, or, reviveth. 5 Heb. Peace. 6 Heb. bitter.

thou meet any man, salute him not; and if any salute thee, answer him not again and lay my staff upon the face 30 of the child. And the mother of the child said, As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. And he arose, and followed her. 31 And Gehazi passed on before them, and laid the staff upon the face of the child; but there was neither voice, nor 'hearing. Wherefore he 'returnedi to meet him, and told him, saying, 32 The child is not awaked. And when Elisha was come into the house, behold, the child was dead, and laid 33 upon his bed. He went in therefore, and shut the door upon them twain, 34 and prayed unto the LORD. ° And he went up, and lay upon the child, and put his mouth upon his mouth, and his eyes upon his eyes, and his hands upon his hands: and he stretched himself upon him; and the flesh of 35 the child waxed warm. "Then he returned, and walked in the house lonce to and fro; and went up, and 2stretched himself upon him: 3and the child sneezed seven times, and 36 the child opened his eyes. And he called Gehazi, and said, Call this Shunammite. So he called her. And when she was come in unto him, he 37 said, Take up thy son. "Then she went in, and fell at his feet, and bowed herself to the ground; and she took up her son, and went out.

38

And Elisha came again to Gilgal: and there was a dearth in the land; and the sons of the prophets were sitting before him: and he said unto his servant, Set on the great pot, and seethe pottage for the sons of the 39 prophets. And one went out into the field to gather herbs, and found a wild vine, and gathered thereof wild gourds his lap full, and came and shred them into the pot of pottage: (40 for they knew them not. So they poured out for the men to eat. And

it came to pass, as they were eating of the pottage, that they cried out, and said, O man of God, there is death in the pot. And they could 41 not eat thereof. But he said, Then bring meal. And he cast it into the pot; and he said, Pour out for the people, that they may eat. And there was no harm in the pot.

42

And there came a man from Baalshalishah, and brought the man of God bread of the firstfruits, twenty loaves of barley, and 'fresh' ears of corn in his sack'. And he said, Give unto the people, that they may 43 eat. And his servant said, What, should I set this before an hundred men? But he said, Give the people, that they may eat; for thus saith the LORD, They shall eat, and shall leave 44 thereof. So he set it before them, and they did eat, and left thereof, according to the word of the LORD.

51

Now Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria, was a great man 7with his master, and honourable, because by him the LORD had given 851 victory unto Syria: he was also a mighty man of1 valour, but he was a 2 leper. And the Syrians had gone out lin bands', and had brought away captive out of the land of Israel a little maid; and she waited on Naaman's 3) wife. "And she said unto her mistress, Would God my lord were with the prophet that is in Samaria! 'then! would he recover him of his leprosy. 4 °And 1oone went in, and told his lord,

saying, Thus and thus said the maid 5 that is of the land of Israel. And the king of Syria said, Go to, go, and I will send a letter unto the king of Israel. And he departed, and took with him ten talents of silver, and six thousand pieces of gold, and ten (6 changes of raiment. And he brought the letter to the king of Israel, saying, And now when this letter is come unto thee, behold, I have sent Naaman my servant to thee, that thou mayest 7 recover him of his leprosy. And it came to pass, when the king of Israel had read the letter, that he rent his clothes, and said, Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man doth send unto me to recover a man of his leprosy? but consider, I pray you, and see how he seeketh 12a quarrel (8 against me. And it was so, when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had rent his clothes, that he sent to the king, saying, Wherefore hast thou rent thy clothes? let him come now to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel. 9 So Naaman came with his horses and with his chariots', and stood at