Ahaziah had fallen through the lattice in his upper room, which [was] in Samaria, and he was injured. So he sent messengers, and he said to them, "Go, inquire of Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron, if I will survive this injury."

Then the angel of Yahweh spoke to Elijah the Tishbite, "Get up, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria and speak to them, 'Is it because there is no God in Israel that you [are] going to inquire of Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron?'

Then they said to him, "A man came up to meet us, and he said to us, 'Go, return to the king who sent you and speak to him, "Thus says Yahweh, 'Is it because there is no God in Israel that you [are] sending to inquire of Baal-Zebub the god of Ekron? Therefore the bed upon which you have gone, you will not come down from it, for you will surely die.'" '"

Behold, fire from heaven came down and consumed the first two commanders of fifty and their fifties, so then let my life be precious in your eyes."

and he said to him, "Thus says Yahweh, 'Because you have sent messengers to inquire of Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron--is it because there is no God in Israel [from whom] to inquire his word?--therefore the bed upon which you went, you shall not come down from it, for you shall surely die.'"

After they crossed over, Elijah said to Elisha, "Ask what I may do for you before I am taken away from you." Then Elisha said, "Please let there come to me a double portion of your spirit."

Then they said to him, "Look, there are with your servants fifty able men. Please let them go and look for your master, lest the Spirit of Yahweh has lifted him up and thrown him on one of the mountains or into one of the valleys," but he said, "You must not send them."

But they urged him until embarrassing [him], so he said, "Send them." So they sent fifty men, and they looked for three days, but they could not find him.

Then he went out to the spring of waters and threw the salt [into it] there and said, "Thus says Yahweh, 'I hereby purify these waters; let there be no longer any death or unproductiveness from it.'"

Then he went up from there [to] Bethel; as he [was] going up along the way, young boys came out from the city and mocked at him and said to him, "Go up, baldhead; go up, baldhead!"

Then he went from there to Mount Carmel and from there he returned [to] Samaria.

So the king of Israel and the king of Judah and the king of Edom went around, a way of seven days, but there was no water for the army or for the animals which {were with them}.

Then the king of Israel said, "Aha, Yahweh has called for these three kings to give them into the hand of Moab."

Then Jehoshaphat asked, "Is there no prophet of Yahweh here that we might inquire [guidance] from Yahweh?" One of the servants of the king of Israel answered and said, "Elisha the son of Shaphat is here, who poured water on the hands of Elijah."

Then Elisha said to the king of Israel, "{What do we have in common}? Go to the prophets of your father and to the prophets of your mother." Then the king of Israel said to him, "No, for Yahweh has called for these three kings to give them into the hand of Moab."

The cities they tore down, [on] every good tract of land they threw stones until it was filled up, every spring of water they stopped up, and every good tree they felled. They let the stone walls at Kir Hareseth remain, but the slingers surrounded and attacked it.

When the king of Moab saw that the battle was too heavy for him, he took with him seven hundred men who drew the sword to break through to the king of Edom, but they were not able.

It happened that when the containers were full, she said to her son, "Bring near me another container," but he said to her, "There is not another container." Then the olive oil stopped flowing.

It happened one day that Elisha passed through to Shunem where there [was] a wealthy woman, and she urged him to eat bread; so it happened each time he passed through, he would stop there to eat.

let us make a small enclosed room [upstairs] and put a bed, table, chair, and lampstand there for him, so that when he comes to us, he can turn and stay there.

One day it happened that he came there and went to the upper room and lay down there.

He said to him, "Please say to her, 'Look, you took all this trouble, showing care for us; what is there [for me] to do for you? To speak for you to the king or to the commander of the army?'" She said, "I [am] living among my people."

So she went and came to the man of God by Mount Carmel. It happened when the man of God saw her {at a distance}, he said to Gehazi his servant, "There is this Shunammite.

Gehazi crossed over before them, and he put the staff on the face of the boy; but there was no sound, and there was no sign of life, so he returned to meet him. He told him, saying, "The boy did not wake up."

They served the men to eat, but when they ate from the stew, they cried out and said, "There [is] death in the pot, man of God!" They were not able to eat [it].

Then he said, "Bring [some] flour," and he threw it into the pot. He then said, "Serve the people and let them eat." There was nothing harmful in the pot.

It happened that as soon as Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, he sent to the king, saying, "Why did you tear your clothes? Please may he come to me, that he might know that there is a prophet in Israel."

When he returned to the man of God, he and all of his army, he came and stood before him and said, "Please now, I know that there is no God in all of the world except in Israel. So then, please take a gift from your servant."

As far as this matter, may Yahweh pardon your servant when my master goes [into] the house of Rimmon to worship there, and he [is] leaning himself on my arm, that I also bow down [in] the house of Rimmon: when I bow down [in] the house of Rimmon, may Yahweh please pardon your servant in this matter."

When he came to the citadel, he took them from their hand and put them in the house, then sent away the men so that they went.

Let us please go to the Jordan and each bring from there one log that we might make a place there for us to live." Then he said, "Do so."

Then the man of God said, "Where did it fall?" So he showed him the place, and then he cut off a stick and threw [it] there and made the iron ax float.

Then the man of God sent to the king of Israel, saying, "Take care while crossing over to this place, because [the] Arameans [are] descending there."

So the king of Israel sent to the place which the man of God said to him and warned him, so he was on guard there {continually}.

So he sent horses, chariots, and an oppressing army there. They arrived at night and surrounded the town.

It happened at the moment they came to Samaria, Elisha said, "O Yahweh, open the eyes of these that they may see," so Yahweh opened their eyes, and they saw, and look, the middle of Samaria!

And he said, "You shall not kill. Would you kill [those] whom you took captive with the sword or with the bow? Put food and water before them that they may eat and drink and then go to their master."

So he made a great feast for them, and they ate and drank; then he sent them, and they went to their master. And the bands of the Arameans did not come again into the land of Israel.

There was a great famine in Samaria, and behold, a siege [was] against it, until the head of a donkey [went] for eighty shekels of silver, and one fourth of the measure of the dung of doves [went] for five shekels of silver.

Then the officer {on whom the king relied} 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."

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."

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!

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.

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].

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]."

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.

Then Hazael asked, "Why [is] my lord crying?" He said, "Because I know what evil you will do to the {Israelites}. You will {set their fortifications on fire}, 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!"

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.

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}.

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!"

The dogs will eat Jezebel in the territory of Jezreel, and there shall not be {anyone to bury her}.'" Then he opened the door and fled.

Jehu mounted his chariot and went to Jezreel, for Joram [was] lying there, and Ahaziah king of Judah had gone down to visit Joram.

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?"

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:

'"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."

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.

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.

When he lifted up his face to the window, he asked, "Who [is] with me?" Two or three eunuchs looked down to him.

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.

When the letter came to them, they took the sons of the king, and they killed seventy men. Then they put their heads in baskets and sent them to him at Jezreel.

Then Jehu killed all of the remainder of the house of Ahab in Jezreel, all of his leaders, his close friends, and his priests, until there was no survivor left for him.

Next he went from there and found Jehonadab the son of Recab to meet him. He greeted him and asked him, "{Is your heart right with me as my heart is with you}?" Then Jehonadab said, "Yes, it is. Give your hand!" And he gave his hand and took him up to him on the chariot.

Jehu sent [word] through all of Israel, and all of the servants of Baal came; there did not remain a man who did not come. They came to the house of Baal so that the house of Baal was filled from {wall to wall}.

Then Jehu and Jehonadab the son of Recab came [to] the temple of Baal, and he said to the servants of Baal, "Search and see that there is none of the servants of Yahweh here with you; only those who serve Baal."

It happened that when he finished offering the burnt offering, Jehu said to the royal guard and to the officers, "Come and kill them; let no man go free!" So {they put them to the sword}, and the royal guard and the officers threw them out, then they went up to the citadel of the temple of Baal.

Then he brought out the son of the king, put the crown on him with the testimony, and they made him king, anointed him, clapped [their] hands, and said, "[Long] live the king!"

She looked, and there was the king standing by the pillar according to the custom. The commanders and the trumpeters [were] by the king, and all of the people of the land were rejoicing and blowing on the trumpets. Athaliah tore her clothes and she called, "Treason, treason!"

So {they grabbed her} as she went [by] the entranceway of the horses to the palace of the king, and she was killed there.

Then Jehoiada the priest took a certain chest and bored a hole in its lid, and he put it beside the altar to the right as a man enters into the temple of Yahweh; then the priests who were keepers of the threshold would put there all of the money brought into the temple.

Only, for the temple of Yahweh, there were not any silver basins, snuffers, bowls for drinking wine, trumpets, or any vessel of gold or silver from the money being brought [to] the temple of Yahweh.

Yahweh gave Israel a savior, and they went out from under the hand of Aram. So the {Israelites} lived in their tents as {formerly}.

For there was no army left over for Jehoahaz except for fifty horsemen, ten chariots, and ten thousand infantry, for the king of Aram had destroyed them and made them as the dust at threshing.

Then he said, "Take the arrows," so he took [them]. He said to the king of Israel, "Strike the ground," so he struck three times and stopped.

[Yet] the man of God became angry against him and said, "For striking five or six times, then you would have defeated Aram until finishing [them], but now you will defeat Aram [only] three times."

And it happened that they [were] burying a man; suddenly they saw the marauding band, so they threw the man in the grave of Elisha. [As he] went [in], the man touched the bones of Elisha, and became alive and got up on his feet!

Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz returned and took the cities from the hand of Ben-Hadad the son of Hazael which he had taken from the hand of Jehoahaz his father in the war. Three times Jehoash defeated him and recovered the towns of Israel.

They conspired against him in Jerusalem, so he fled to Lachish. But they sent [men] after him to Lachish, and they killed him there.

For Yahweh saw that the misery of Israel was very bitter, whether bond or free, but there was no helper for Israel.

Menahem exacted the money from Israel, from all {the very rich}, to give to the king of Assyria fifty shekels of silver for each one. Then the king of Assyria returned and did not stay there in the land.

He walked in the way of the kings of Israel; he even let his son pass through the fire according to the detestable things of the nations which Yahweh drove out from before the {Israelites}.

At that time, Rezin king of Aram recovered Elath for Aram and drove out the Judeans from Elath. The Arameans came to Elath and have lived there until this day.

Then King Ahaz commanded Uriah the priest, saying, "On the great altar burn the morning burnt offering and the grain offering of the evening, the burnt offering of the king and his grain offering, the burnt offering of all of the people of the land, their offerings, their libations, and all of the blood of the burnt offerings, the blood of the sacrifices you must dash on it. But the bronze altar shall be for me to inquire [by]."

So the king of Assyria went up in all the land, then he went up [to] Samaria and besieged it [for] three years.

Now [this] happened because the {Israelites} had sinned against Yahweh their God when he brought them up from the land of Egypt from under the hand of Pharaoh the king of Egypt and they feared other gods.

The {Israelites} secretly did things which [were] not right, against Yahweh their God; they built high places for themselves in all their towns, from the watchtower up to the fortified city.

They burned incense there on all the high places, like the nations which Yahweh deported before them, and they did evil things to provoke Yahweh.

But they did not listen and they stiffened their necks, like the necks of their ancestors who did not believe in Yahweh their God.

They rejected his statutes, his covenant which he {made} with their ancestors, and his warnings which he gave to them; and they went after the idols, became vain, and [went] after all the nations which [were] all around them, which Yahweh had commanded them not to do as they [did].

They abandoned all the commands of Yahweh their God and made for themselves two molten calf-shaped idols; they made a pole of Asherah worship and bowed down to the army of the heavens and served Baal.

They made their sons and their daughters pass through the fire, they practiced divination and read omens, and they sold themselves to do evil in the eyes of Yahweh to provoke him.

Even Judah did not keep the commands of Yahweh their God, and they walked in the customs of Israel which they introduced,

It happened that when they began living there, they did not fear Yahweh, so Yahweh sent lions among them, and they were killing them.

Then the king of Assyria commanded, saying, "Release one of the priests whom you deported from there, and let him go and settle there. Let him teach them the customs of the God of the land."

Yet every nation was making their gods, and they put them in the shrine of the high places that the Samaritans had made, every nation in their cities in which they [were] living.

The Arvites made Nibhaz and Tartak; the Sepharvites were burning their children in the fire to Adrammelech and Anammelech the gods of Sepharvaim.

Yahweh they were fearing, but their gods they were serving, according to the customs of the nations from which they were deported.

Until this day they [are] doing according to their former customs; none of them [are] fearing Yahweh, and none of them [are] doing according to their statutes, to their decisions, to the law, or to the commands that Yahweh commanded the descendants of Jacob [to] which he had given the name Israel.

They did not listen but kept on doing according to their former customs.

So these nations were fearing Yahweh, but they were serving their idols, as were their children and their children's children; as their ancestors did, they [are] doing until this day.

He trusted in Yahweh the God of Israel; there was no one like him, before or after, among all the kings of Judah.