And his servants said to him, Behold now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings. Let us, we pray thee, put sackcloth on our loins, and ropes upon our heads, and go out to the king of Israel. Perhaps

So they girded sackcloth on their loins, and [put] ropes on their heads, and came to the king of Israel, and said, Thy servant Ben-hadad says, I pray thee, let me live. And he said, Is he yet alive? He is my brother.

Now the men observed diligently whether anything would come from him. And they quickly caught it, and they said, Thy brother Ben-hadad. Then he said, Go ye, bring him. Then Ben-hadad came forth to him, and he caused him to come up

And [Ben-hadad] said to him, The cities which my father took from thy father I will restore, and thou shall make streets for thee in Damascus as my father made in Samaria. And I, [said Ahab], will let thee go with this covenant. So

And a certain man of the sons of the prophets said by the word of LORD to his fellow, Smite me, I pray thee. And the man refused to smite him.

Then said he to him, Because thou have not obeyed the voice of LORD, behold, as soon as thou are departed from me, a lion shall kill thee. And as soon as he was departed from him, a lion found him, and killed him.

And as the king passed by, he cried out to the king, and he said, Thy servant went out into the midst of the battle, and, behold, a man turned aside, and brought a man to me, and said, Keep this man. If by any means he is missing,

And as thy servant was busy here and there, he was gone. And the king of Israel said to him, So shall thy judgment be, thyself have decided it.

And he said to him, Thus says LORD, Because thou have let go out of thy hand the man whom I had devoted to destruction, therefore thy life shall go for his life, and thy people for his people.

And the king of Israel went to his house heavy and displeased, and came to Samaria.

And it came to pass after these things, that Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard, which was in Jezreel, near by the palace of Ahab king of Samaria.

And Ahab spoke to Naboth, saying, Give me thy vineyard that I may have it for a garden of herbs because it is near to my house. And I will give thee for it a better vineyard than it, or, if it seem good to thee, I will give thee th

And Naboth said to Ahab, LORD forbid it of me that I should give the inheritance of my fathers to thee.

And Ahab came into his house heavy and displeased because of the word which Naboth the Jezreelite had spoken to him, for he had said, I will not give thee the inheritance of my fathers. And he laid himself down upon his bed, and tu

But Jezebel his wife came to him, and said to him, Why is thy spirit so sad that thou eat no bread?

And he said to her, Because I spoke to Naboth the Jezreelite, and said to him, Give me thy vineyard for money, or else, if it please thee, I will give thee [another] vineyard for it. And he answered, I will not give thee my vineyar

And Jezebel his wife said to him, Do thou now govern the kingdom of Israel? Arise, and eat bread, and let thy heart be merry. I will give thee the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.

So she wrote letters in Ahab's name, and sealed them with his seal, and sent the letters to the elders and to the nobles who were in his city, [and] who dwelt with Naboth.

And set two men, base fellows, before him, and let them bear witness against him, saying, Thou cursed God and the king. And then carry him out, and stone him to death.

And the men of his city, even the elders and the nobles who dwelt in his city, did as Jezebel had sent to them, according as it was written in the letters which she had sent to them.

And the two men, the base fellows, came in and sat before him. And the base fellows bore witness against him, even against Naboth, in the presence of the people, saying, Naboth cursed God and the king. Then they carried him forth o

Then they sent to Jezebel, saying, Naboth is stoned, and is dead.

And it came to pass, when Jezebel heard that Naboth was stoned, and was dead, that Jezebel said to Ahab, Arise, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, which he refused to give thee for money, for Naboth is not al

And it came to pass, when Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, that Ahab rose up to go down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite to take possession of it.

And the word of LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying,

Arise, go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, who dwells in Samaria. Behold, he is in the vineyard of Naboth where he has gone down to take possession of it.

And thou shall speak to him, saying, Thus says LORD, Have thou killed and also taken possession? And thou shall speak to him, saying, Thus says LORD, In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick thy blood, eve

And Ahab said to Elijah, Have thou found me, O my enemy? And he answered, I have found thee because thou have sold thyself to do that which is evil in the sight of LORD.

And I will make thy house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah for the provocation with which thou have provoked me to anger, and have made Israel to sin.

(But there was none like Ahab, who sold himself to do that which was evil in the sight of LORD, whom Jezebel his wife stirred up.

And he did very abominably in following idols, according to all that the Amorites did whom LORD cast out before the sons of Israel.)

And it came to pass, when Ahab heard those words, that he tore his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his flesh, and fasted, and lay in sackcloth, and went softly.

And the word of LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying,

And it came to pass in the third year, that Jehoshaphat the king of Judah came down to the king of Israel.

And the king of Israel said to his servants, Know ye that Ramoth-gilead is ours, and we are still, and do not take it out of the hand of the king of Syria?

And he said to Jehoshaphat, Will thou go with me to battle to Ramoth-gilead? And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, I am as thou are, my people as thy people, my horses as thy horses.

And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, Inquire first, I pray thee, for the word of LORD.

Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, about four hundred men, and said to them, Shall I go against Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall I forbear? And they said, Go up, for LORD will deliver it into the hand of the k

And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, there is yet one man by whom we may inquire of LORD, Micaiah the son of Imlah, but I hate him, for he does not prophesy good concerning me, but evil. And Jehoshaphat said, Let not the kin

And all the prophets prophesied so, saying, Go up to Ramoth-gilead, and prosper, for LORD will deliver it into the hand of the king.

And the messenger who went to call Micaiah spoke to him, saying, Behold now, the words of the prophets [declare] good to the king with one mouth. Let thy word, I pray thee, be like the word of one of them, and speak thou good.

And Micaiah said, As LORD lives, what LORD says to me, that I will speak.

And when he came to the king, the king said to him, Micaiah, shall we go to Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall we forbear? And he answered him, Go up and prosper, and LORD will deliver it into the hand of the king.

And the king said to him, How many times shall I adjure thee that thou speak to me nothing but the truth in the name of LORD?

And he said, I saw all Israel scattered upon the mountains, as sheep that have no shepherd. And LORD said, These have no master, let them return every man to his house in peace.

And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, Did I not tell thee that he would not prophesy good concerning me, but evil?

And LORD said to him, With what? And he said, I will go forth, and will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And he said, Thou shall entice him, and shall also prevail. Go forth, and do so.

Then Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah came near, and smote Micaiah on the cheek, and said, Which way did the Spirit of LORD go from me to speak to thee?

And Micaiah said, Behold, thou shall see on that day when thou shall go into an inner chamber to hide thyself.

And the king of Israel said, Take Micaiah, and carry him back to Amon the governor of the city, and to Joash the king's son,

So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah went up to Ramoth-gilead.

And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, I will disguise myself, and go into the battle, but put thou on thy robes. And the king of Israel disguised himself, and went into the battle.

Now the king of Syria had commanded the thirty-two captains of his chariots, saying, Fight neither with small nor great, except only with the king of Israel.

And it came to pass, when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, that they said, Surely it is the king of Israel, and they turned aside to fight against him. And Jehoshaphat cried out.

And it came to pass, when the captains of the chariots saw that it was not the king of Israel, that they turned back from pursuing him.

And a certain man drew his bow at a venture, and smote the king of Israel between the joints of the armor. Therefore he said to the driver of his chariot, Turn thy hand, and carry me out of the army, for I am severely wounded.

And the battle increased that day. And the king was propped up in his chariot against the Syrians. And he died at evening, and the blood ran out of the wound into the bottom of the chariot.

And there went a cry throughout the army about the going down of the sun, saying, Every man to his city, and every man to his country.

So the king died, and was brought to Samaria, and they buried the king in Samaria.

And they washed the chariot by the pool of Samaria, and the dogs licked up his blood (now the harlots washed themselves [there]), according to the word of LORD which he spoke.

And Jehoshaphat the son of Asa began to reign over Judah in the fourth year of Ahab king of Israel.

Jehoshaphat was thirty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty-five years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Azubah the daughter of Shilhi.

Jehoshaphat made ships of Tarshish to go to Ophir for gold, but they did not go, for the ships were broken at Ezion-geber.

Then Ahaziah the son of Ahab said to Jehoshaphat, Let my servants go with thy servants in the ships. But Jehoshaphat would not.

Ahaziah the son of Ahab began to reign over Israel in Samaria in the seventeenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and he reigned two years over Israel.

And he did that which was evil in the sight of LORD, and walked in the way of his father, and in the way of his mother, and in the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, how he made Israel to sin.

And he served Baal, and worshipped him, and provoked to anger LORD, the God of Israel, according to all that his father had done.

And Ahaziah fell down through the lattice in his upper chamber that was in Samaria, and was sick. And he sent messengers, and said to them, Go, inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, whether I shall recover of this sickness.

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

Now therefore thus says LORD, Thou shall not come down from the bed where thou have gone up, but shall surely die. And Elijah departed.

And the messengers returned to him, and he said to them, Why is it that ye are returned?

And they said to him, There came up a man to meet us, and said to us, Go, turn again to the king that sent you, and say to him, Thus says LORD, Is it because there is no God in Israel that thou send to inquire of Baal-zebub, the go

And he said to them, What manner of man was he who came up to meet you, and told you these words?

Then [the king] sent to him a captain of fifty with his fifty. And he went up to him, and, behold, he was sitting on the top of the hill. And he spoke to him, O man of God, the king has 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 him and his fifty.

And again he sent to him another captain of fifty and his fifty. And he answered and said to him, O man of God, thus has the king said, Come down quickly.

And Elijah answered and said to 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, 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 to him, O man of God, I pray thee, let my life, and the

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 thy sight.

And the agent of LORD said to Elijah, Go down with him; do not be afraid of him. And he arose, and went down with him to the king.

And he said to him, Thus says LORD, Inasmuch as thou have 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 shall not come down from the bed w

So he died according to the word of 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.

And it came to pass, when LORD would take up Elijah by a whirlwind into heaven, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal.

And Elijah said to Elisha, Remain here, I pray thee, for LORD has sent me as far as Bethel. And Elisha said, As LORD lives, and as thy soul lives, I will not leave thee. So they went down to Bethel.

And the sons of the prophets who were at Bethel came forth to Elisha, and said to him, Do thou know that LORD will take away thy master from thy head today? And he said, Yes, I know it; hold ye your peace.

And Elijah said to him, Elisha, remain here, I pray thee, for LORD has sent me to Jericho. And he said, As LORD lives, and as thy soul lives, I will not leave thee. So they came to Jericho.

And the sons of the prophets who were at Jericho came near to Elisha, and said to him, Do thou know that LORD will take away thy master from thy head today? And he answered, Yes, I know it; hold ye your peace.

And Elijah said to him, Remain here, I pray thee, for LORD has sent me to the Jordan. And he said, As LORD lives, and as thy soul lives, I will not leave thee. And the two went on.

And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went, and stood opposite them afar off. And the two stood by the Jordan.

And Elijah took his mantle, and wrapped it together, and struck the waters, and they were divided here and there, so that the two went over on dry ground.

And it came to pass, when they were gone over, that Elijah said to Elisha, Ask what I shall do for thee before I am taken from thee. And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me.

And he said, Thou have asked a hard thing. [Nevertheless], if thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so to thee, but if not, it 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 divided them both apart. And Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.

And Elisha saw it, and he cried, My father, my father, the chariots of Israel and the horsemen of it! And he saw him no more. And he took hold of his own clothes, and tore them in two pieces.

And when the sons of the prophets who were at Jericho opposite him saw him, they said, The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha. And they came to meet him, and bowed themselves to the ground before him.

And they said to him, Behold now, there are fifty strong men with thy servants. Let them go, we pray thee, and seek thy master, lest the Spirit of LORD has taken him up, and cast him upon some mountain, or into some valley. And he

And they came back to him while he remained at Jericho. And he said to them, Did I not say to you, Do not go?

And the men of the city said to Elisha, Behold, we pray thee, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord sees, but the water is bad, and the ground barren.

And he said, Bring me a new cruse, and put salt therein. And they brought it to him.

And he went forth to the spring of the waters, and cast salt therein, and said, Thus says LORD, I have healed these waters. There shall not be from there any more death or barren land.