Ahaziah fell through a window lattice in his upper chamber in Samaria and was injured. He sent messengers with these orders, "Go, ask Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron, if I will survive this injury."

Therefore this is what the Lord says, "You will not leave the bed you lie on, for you will certainly die!"'" So Elijah went on his way.

They replied, "A man came up to meet us. He told us, "Go back to the king who sent you and tell him, 'This is what the Lord says: "You must think there is no God in Israel! That explains why you are sending for an oracle from Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron. Therefore you will not leave the bed you lie on, for you will certainly die."'"

Elijah said to the king, "This is what the Lord says, 'You sent messengers to seek an oracle from Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron. You must think there is no God in Israel from whom you can seek an oracle! Therefore you will not leave the bed you lie on, for you will certainly die.'"

Elijah told Elisha, "Stay here, for the Lord has sent me to Bethel." But Elisha said, "As certainly as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you." So they went down to Bethel.

Elijah said to him, "Elisha, stay here, for the Lord has sent me to Jericho." But he replied, "As certainly as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you." So they went to Jericho.

Elijah said to him, "Stay here, for the Lord has sent me to the Jordan." But he replied, "As certainly as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you." So they traveled on together.

Elijah replied, "That's a difficult request! If you see me taken from you, may it be so, but if you don't, it will not happen."

He went out to the spring and threw the salt in. Then he said, "This is what the Lord says, 'I have purified this water. It will no longer cause death or fail to produce crops."

He sent this message to King Jehoshaphat of Judah: "The king of Moab has rebelled against me. Will you fight with me against Moab?" Jehoshaphat replied, "I will join you in the campaign; my army and horses are at your disposal."

for this is what the Lord says, 'You will not feel any wind or see any rain, but this valley will be full of water and you and your cattle and animals will drink.'

This is an easy task for the Lord; he will also hand Moab over to you.

You will defeat every fortified city and every important city. You must chop down every productive tree, stop up all the springs, and cover all the cultivated land with stones."

He said, "About this time next year you will be holding a son." She said, "No, my master! O prophet, do not lie to your servant!"

The mother of the child said, "As certainly as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you." So Elisha got up and followed her back.

Someone went out to the field to gather some herbs and found a wild vine. He picked some of its fruit, enough to fill up the fold of his robe. He came back, cut it up, and threw the slices into the stew pot, not knowing they were harmful.

But his attendant said, "How can I feed a hundred men with this?" He replied, "Set it before the people so they may eat, for this is what the Lord says, 'They will eat and have some left over.'"

The king of Syria said, "Go! I will send a letter to the king of Israel." So Naaman went, taking with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold, and ten suits of clothes.

Elisha sent out a messenger who told him, "Go and wash seven times in the Jordan; your skin will be restored and you will be healed."

His servants approached and said to him, "O master, if the prophet had told you to do some difficult task, you would have been willing to do it. It seems you should be happy that he simply said, "Wash and you will be healed."

But Elisha replied, "As certainly as the Lord lives (whom I serve), I will take nothing from you." Naaman insisted that he take it, but he refused.

Naaman said, "If not, then please give your servant a load of dirt, enough for a pair of mules to carry, for your servant will never again offer a burnt offering or sacrifice to a god other than the Lord.

Gehazi, the prophet Elisha's servant, thought, "Look, my master did not accept what this Syrian Naaman offered him. As certainly as the Lord lives, I will run after him and accept something from him."

Therefore Naaman's skin disease will afflict you and your descendants forever!" When Gehazi went out from his presence, his skin was as white as snow.

Let's go to the Jordan. Each of us will get a log from there and we will build a meeting place for ourselves there." He said, "Go."

The prophet's attendant got up early in the morning. When he went outside there was an army surrounding the city, along with horses and chariots. He said to Elisha, "Oh no, my master! What will we do?"

Then Elisha said to them, "This is not the right road or city. Follow me, and I will lead you to the man you're looking for." He led them to Samaria.

Now Elisha was sitting in his house with the community leaders. The king sent a messenger on ahead, but before he arrived, Elisha said to the leaders, "Do you realize this assassin intends to cut off my head?" Look, when the messenger arrives, shut the door and lean against it. His master will certainly be right behind him."

Elisha replied, "Hear the word of the Lord! This is what the Lord says, 'About this time tomorrow a seah of finely milled flour will sell for a shekel and two seahs of barley for a shekel at the gate of Samaria.'"

An officer who was the king's right-hand man responded to the prophet, "Look, even if the Lord made it rain by opening holes in the sky, could this happen so soon?" Elisha said, "Look, you will see it happen with your own eyes, but you will not eat any of the food!"

The king got up in the night and said to his advisers, "I will tell you what the Syrians have done to us. They know we are starving, so they left the camp and hid in the field, thinking, 'When they come out of the city, we will capture them alive and enter the city.'"

One of his advisers replied, "Pick some men and have them take five of the horses that are left in the city. (Even if they are killed, their fate will be no different than that of all the Israelite people -- we're all going to die!) Let's send them out so we can know for sure what's going on."

The prophet told the king, "Two seahs of barley will sell for a shekel, and a seah of finely milled flour for a shekel; this will happen about this time tomorrow in the gate of Samaria."

But the officer replied to the prophet, "Look, even if the Lord made it rain by opening holes in the sky, could this happen so soon?" Elisha said, "Look, you will see it happen with your own eyes, but you will not eat any of the food!"

Now Elisha advised the woman whose son he had brought back to life, "You and your family should go and live somewhere else for a while, for the Lord has decreed that a famine will overtake the land for seven years."

So the king told Hazael, "Take a gift and go visit the prophet. Request from him an oracle from the Lord. Ask him, 'Will I recover from this sickness?'"

So Hazael went to visit Elisha. He took along a gift, as well as forty camel loads of all the fine things of Damascus. When he arrived, he stood before him and said, "Your son, King Ben Hadad of Syria, has sent me to you with this question, 'Will I recover from this sickness?'"

Elisha said to him, "Go and tell him, 'You will surely recover,' but the Lord has revealed to me that he will surely die."

Hazael asked, "Why are you crying, my master?" He replied, "Because I know the trouble you will cause the Israelites. You will set fire to their fortresses, kill their young men with the sword, smash their children to bits, and rip open their pregnant women."

Hazael said, "How could your servant, who is as insignificant as a dog, accomplish this great military victory?" Elisha answered, "The Lord has revealed to me that you will be the king of Syria."

You will destroy the family of your master Ahab. I will get revenge against Jezebel for the shed blood of my servants the prophets and for the shed blood of all the Lord's servants.

Ahab's entire family will die. I will cut off every last male belonging to Ahab in Israel, including even the weak and incapacitated.

I will make Ahab's dynasty like those of Jeroboam son of Nebat and Baasha son of Ahijah.

Dogs will devour Jezebel on the plot of ground in Jezreel; she will not be buried.'" Then he opened the door and ran away.

"Know for sure that I saw the shed blood of Naboth and his sons yesterday," says the Lord, "and that I will give you what you deserve right here in this plot of land," says the Lord.' So now pick him up and throw him into this plot of land, just as the Lord said."

When they went back and told him, he said, "The Lord's word through his servant, Elijah the Tishbite, has come to pass. He warned, 'In the plot of land at Jezreel, dogs will devour Jezebel's flesh.

Jezebel's corpse will be like manure on the surface of the ground in the plot of land at Jezreel. People will not be able to even recognize her.'"

So the palace supervisor, the city commissioner, the leaders, and the guardians sent this message to Jehu, "We are your subjects! Whatever you say, we will do. We will not make anyone king. Do what you consider proper."

Jehu assembled all the people and said to them, "Ahab worshiped Baal a little; Jehu will worship him with great devotion.

So now, bring to me all the prophets of Baal, as well as all his servants and priests. None of them must be absent, for I am offering a great sacrifice to Baal. Any of them who fail to appear will lose their lives." But Jehu was tricking them so he could destroy the servants of Baal.

They went inside to offer sacrifices and burnt offerings. Now Jehu had stationed eighty men outside. He had told them, "If any of the men inside get away, you will pay with your lives!"

The Lord said to Jehu, "You have done well. You have accomplished my will and carried out my wishes with regard to Ahab's dynasty. Therefore four generations of your descendants will rule over Israel."

He ordered them, "This is what you must do. One third of the unit that is on duty during the Sabbath will guard the royal palace.

Another third of you will be stationed at the Foundation Gate. Still another third of you will be stationed at the gate behind the royal guard. You will take turns guarding the palace.

The two units who are off duty on the Sabbath will guard the Lord's temple and protect the king.

Elisha said, "Open the east window," and he did so. Elisha said, "Shoot!" and he did so. Elisha said, "This arrow symbolizes the victory the Lord will give you over Syria. You will annihilate Syria in Aphek!"

The prophet got angry at him and said, "If you had struck the ground five or six times, you would have annihilated Syria! But now, you will defeat Syria only three times."

King Jehoash of Israel sent this message back to King Amaziah of Judah, "A thornbush in Lebanon sent this message to a cedar in Lebanon, 'Give your daughter to my son as a wife.' Then a wild animal of Lebanon came by and trampled down the thorn.

His assassination brought to fulfillment the Lord's word to Jehu, "Four generations of your descendants will rule over Israel." That is exactly what happened.

King Ahaz ordered Uriah the priest, "On the large altar offer the morning burnt sacrifice, the evening grain offering, the royal burnt sacrifices and grain offering, the burnt sacrifice for all the people of Israel, their grain offering, and their libations. Sprinkle all the blood of the burnt sacrifice and other sacrifices on it. The bronze altar will be for my personal use."

Instead you must worship the Lord your God; then he will rescue you from the power of all your enemies."

King Hezekiah of Judah sent this message to the king of Assyria, who was at Lachish, "I have violated our treaty. If you leave, I will do whatever you demand." So the king of Assyria demanded that King Hezekiah of Judah pay three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold.

Perhaps you will tell me, 'We are trusting in the Lord our God.' But Hezekiah is the one who eliminated his high places and altars and then told the people of Judah and Jerusalem, 'You must worship at this altar in Jerusalem.'

Now make a deal with my master the king of Assyria, and I will give you two thousand horses, provided you can find enough riders for them.

Certainly you will not refuse one of my master's minor officials and trust in Egypt for chariots and horsemen.

But the chief adviser said to them, "My master did not send me to speak these words only to your master and to you. His message is also for the men who sit on the wall, for they will eat their own excrement and drink their own urine along with you."

Don't let Hezekiah talk you into trusting in the Lord when he says, "The Lord will certainly rescue us; this city will not be handed over to the king of Assyria."

until I come and take you to a land just like your own -- a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olive trees and honey. Then you will live and not die. Don't listen to Hezekiah, for he is misleading you when he says, "The Lord will rescue us."

Perhaps the Lord your God will hear all these things the chief adviser has spoken on behalf of his master, the king of Assyria, who sent him to taunt the living God. When the Lord your God hears, perhaps he will punish him for the things he has said. So pray for this remnant that remains.'"

Look, I will take control of his mind; he will receive a report and return to his own land. I will cut him down with a sword in his own land."'"

"Tell King Hezekiah of Judah this: 'Don't let your God in whom you trust mislead you when he says, "Jerusalem will not be handed over to the king of Assyria."

Certainly you have heard how the kings of Assyria have annihilated all lands. Do you really think you will be rescued?

Now, O Lord our God, rescue us from his power, so that all the kingdoms of the earth will know that you, Lord, are the only God."

Certainly you must have heard! Long ago I worked it out, In ancient times I planned it; and now I am bringing it to pass. The plan is this: Fortified cities will crash into heaps of ruins.

Because you rage against me, and the uproar you create has reached my ears; I will put my hook in your nose, and my bridle between your lips, and I will lead you back the way you came."

This will be your confirmation that I have spoken the truth: This year you will eat what grows wild, and next year what grows on its own from that. But in the third year you will plant seed and harvest crops; you will plant vines and consume their produce.

Those who remain in Judah will take root in the ground and bear fruit.

For a remnant will leave Jerusalem; survivors will come out of Mount Zion. The intense devotion of the sovereign Lord to his people will accomplish this.

So this is what the Lord says about the king of Assyria: "He will not enter this city, nor will he shoot an arrow here. He will not attack it with his shield-carrying warriors, nor will he build siege works against it.

He will go back the way he came. He will not enter this city," says the Lord.

I will shield this city and rescue it for the sake of my reputation and because of my promise to David my servant.'"

In those days Hezekiah was stricken with a terminal illness. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz visited him and told him, "This is what the Lord says, 'Give your household instructions, for you are about to die; you will not get well.'"

"Please, Lord. Remember how I have served you faithfully and with wholehearted devotion, and how I have carried out your will." Then Hezekiah wept bitterly.

"Go back and tell Hezekiah, the leader of my people: 'This is what the Lord God of your ancestor David says: "I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Look, I will heal you. The day after tomorrow you will go up to the Lord's temple.

I will add fifteen years to your life and rescue you and this city from the king of Assyria. I will shield this city for the sake of my reputation and because of my promise to David my servant."'"

Hezekiah had said to Isaiah, "What is the confirming sign that the Lord will heal me and that I will go up to the Lord's temple the day after tomorrow?"

Isaiah replied, "This is your sign from the Lord confirming that the Lord will do what he has said. Do you want the shadow to move ahead ten steps or to go back ten steps?"

Look, a time is coming when everything in your palace and the things your ancestors have accumulated to this day will be carried away to Babylon; nothing will be left,' says the Lord.

Some of your very own descendants whom you father will be taken away and will be made eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.'"

Hezekiah said to Isaiah, "The Lord's word which you have announced is appropriate." Then he added, "At least there will be peace and stability during my lifetime."

He built altars in the Lord's temple, about which the Lord had said, "Jerusalem will be my home."

He put an idol of Asherah he had made in the temple, about which the Lord had said to David and to his son Solomon, "This temple in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, will be my permanent home.

I will not make Israel again leave the land I gave to their ancestors, provided that they carefully obey all I commanded them, the whole law my servant Moses ordered them to obey."

So this is what the Lord God of Israel says, 'I am about to bring disaster on Jerusalem and Judah. The news will reverberate in the ears of those who hear about it.

I will destroy Jerusalem the same way I did Samaria and the dynasty of Ahab. I will wipe Jerusalem clean, just as one wipes a plate on both sides.

I will abandon this last remaining tribe among my people and hand them over to their enemies; they will be plundered and robbed by all their enemies,

This will happen because they have abandoned me and offered sacrifices to other gods, angering me with all the idols they have made. My anger will ignite against this place and will not be extinguished!'"

Therefore I will allow you to die and be buried in peace. You will not have to witness all the disaster I will bring on this place.'"'" Then they reported back to the king.

The Lord announced, "I will also spurn Judah, just as I spurned Israel. I will reject this city that I chose -- both Jerusalem and the temple, about which I said, "I will live there."

Gedaliah took an oath so as to give them and their troops some assurance of safety. He said, "You don't need to be afraid to submit to the Babylonian officials. Settle down in the land and submit to the king of Babylon. Then things will go well for you."