1 Kings 22:51 - 2 Kings 8:15
Revised Geneva Translation
51 Ahaziah, the son of Ahab, began to reign over Israel in Samaria, in the seventeenth year of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, and reigned two years over Israel.
52 But he did evil in the sight of the 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, who made Israel sin.
53 For he served Baal, and worshipped him, and provoked the LORD God of Israel to wrath, according to all that his father had done.
1 Then, after the death of Ahab, Moab rebelled against Israel.
2 And Ahaziah fell through the lattice window in his upper chamber, which was in Samaria. So he was sick. Then he sent messengers, to whom he said, “Go. Inquire of Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron, if I shall recover from this, my disease.”
3 Then the Angel of the LORD said to Elijah the Tishbite, “Arise. Go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria, and say to them, “Is it not because there is no God in Israel that you go to inquire of Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron?
4 “Therefore, thus says the LORD: ‘You shall not come down from the bed on which you have gone up but shall die the death.’” So, Elijah departed.
5 And the messengers returned to him, to whom he said, “Why have you now returned?”
6 And they answered him, “A man came and met us, and said to us, ‘Go. Return to the king who sent you, and say to him, “Thus says the LORD: ‘Is it not because there is no God in Israel that you send to inquire of Baal-Zebub, the God of Ekron? Therefore, you shall not come down from the bed on which you have gone up but shall die the death.’”’”
7 And he said to them, “What kind of man was he who came and met you and told you these words?”
8 And they said to him, “He was a hairy man, and girded with a girdle of leather around his loins.” Then he said, “It is Elijah the Tishbite.”
9 Therefore, the king sent to him a captain over fifty, with his fifty, who went up to him. Behold, he sat on the top of a mountain, and he said to him, “O man of God, the king has commanded that you come down.”
10 But Elijah answered, and said to the captain over the fifty, “If I am a man of God, let fire come down from the sky and devour you and your fifty.” So, fire came down from the sky and devoured him and his fifty.
11 Again also, he sent to him another captain over fifty, with his fifty, who spoke, and said to him, “O man of God! The king commands thus, “Come down quickly!”
12 But Elijah answered, and said to them, “If I am a man of God, let fire come down from the sky and devour you and your fifty.” So, fire came down from the sky and devoured him and his fifty.
13 Yet again, he sent a third captain over fifty, with his fifty. And the third captain over fifty went up and came and fell on his knees before Elijah, and begged him, and said to him, “O man of God! Please let my life and the lives of these, your fifty servants, be precious in your sight!
14 “Behold, fire came down from the sky and devoured the two previous captains over fifty, with their fifties. Therefore, let my life now be precious in your sight!”
15 And the Angel of the LORD said to Elijah, “Go down with him, do not be afraid of his presence.” So, he arose and went down with him to the king.
16 And he said to him, “Thus says the LORD: ‘Because you have sent messengers to inquire of Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron (was it not because there was no God in Israel to inquire of His Word?), therefore you shall not come down off the bed on which you have gone up but shall die the death.’”
17 So he died, according to the Word of the LORD which Elijah had spoken. And Jehoram began to reign in his place, in the second year of Jehoram, the son of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, because he had no son.
18 Concerning the rest of the acts of Ahaziah, that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?
2 And when the LORD was ready to take up Elijah into Heaven by a whirlwind, Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal.
2 Then Elijah said to Elisha, “Please stay here. For the LORD has sent me to Bethel.” But Elisha said, “As the LORD lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you.” So, they came down to Bethel.
3 And the children of the Prophets who were in Bethel came out to Elisha, and said to him, “Do you know that the LORD will take away your master from over you this day?” And he said, “Yes, I know it. Hold your peace.”
4 Again, Elijah said to him, “Elisha, please wait here. For the LORD has sent me to Jericho.” But he said, “As the LORD lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you.” So, they came to Jericho.
5 And the children of the Prophets who were in Jericho came to Elisha, and said to him, “Do you know that the LORD will take away your master from over you this day?” And he said, “Yes, I know it. Hold your peace.”
6 Moreover, Elijah said to him, “Please wait here. For the LORD has sent me to Jordan.” But he said, “As the LORD lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you.” So, they both went.
7 And fifty men of the sons of the Prophets went and stood on the other side, far off. And those two stood by Jordan.
8 Then, Elijah took his cloak and wrapped it up and struck the waters. And they were divided here and there. And the two of them went over on the dry land.
9 Now, when they had passed over, Elijah said to Elisha, “Ask what I shall do for you before I am taken from you.” And Elisha said, “Please let your spirit be double upon me.”
10 And he said, “You have asked a hard thing. If, when I am taken from you, you see me, you shall have it so. But if not, it shall not be.”
11 And as they went walking and talking, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, which separated the two of them. So, Elijah went up, in a whirlwind, into Heaven.
12 And Elisha saw it, and he cried, “My father! My father! The chariot of Israel and its horsemen!” And he no longer saw him. And he took his own clothes and tore them in two pieces.
13 He also took up the cloak of Elijah which fell from him and returned and stood by the bank of Jordan.
14 Afterward, he took the cloak of Elijah which fell from him and struck the waters, and said, “Where is the LORD God of Elijah?” And so, he also, after he had struck the waters, so that they were divided this way and that way, went over, Elisha.
15 And when the children of the Prophets who were at Jericho saw him on the other side, they said, “The spirit of Elijah does rest on Elisha!” And they came to meet him, and fell to the ground before him,
16 and said to him, “Behold, now, there are fifty strong men with your servants. Please let them go and seek your master, if so be that the Spirit of the LORD has taken him up and cast him upon some mountain or into some valley.” But he said, “You shall not send.”
17 Still, they urged him until he was ashamed. Therefore, he said, “Send.” So, they sent fifty men, who looked for three days but did not find him.
18 Therefore they returned to him (for he waited in Jericho). And he said to them, “Did I not say to you, ‘Do not go’?”
19 And the men of the city said to Elisha, “Behold, if you please. The situation of this city is pleasant, as you, my lord, see. But the water is bad, and the ground barren.”
20 Then he said, “Bring me a new jar, and put salt in it.” And they brought it to him.
21 And he went to the spring of the waters, and cast the salt there, and said, “Thus says the LORD: ‘I have healed this water. Death shall no longer come from it, nor barrenness.”
22 So the waters have been healed to this day, according to the Word of Elisha which he had spoken.
23 And he went up from there to Bethel. And as he was going up the road, little children came out of the city, and mocked him, and said to him, “Come up, you bald head! Come up, you bald head!”
24 And he turned back and looked at them and cursed them in the Name of the LORD. And two bears came out of the forest and tore forty-two of those children in pieces.
25 So, he went from there to Mount Carmel. And from there he returned to Samaria.
3 Now Jehoram, the son of Ahab, began to reign over Israel in Samaria, in the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, and reigned for twelve years.
2 And he worked evil in the sight of the LORD, but not like his father or like his mother. For he took away the image of Baal that his father had made.
3 Nevertheless, he clung to the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, who made Israel sin, and did not depart from them.
4 Then Mesha, king of Moab, had store of sheep and rendered a hundred thousand rams to the king of Israel, with the wool.
5 But after Ahab died, the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel.
6 Therefore, King Jehoram went out of Samaria in the same season, and counted all Israel.
7 And he went and sent to Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, saying, “The king of Moab has rebelled against me. Will you go with me to battle against Moab?” And he answered, “I will go up. I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses.”
8 Then he said, “What way shall we go up?” And he answered, “The way of the wilderness of Edom.”
9 So went the king of Israel and the king of Judah and the king of Edom. And after they had traveled on the way for seven days, they had no water for the army or for the cattle that followed them.
10 Therefore the king of Israel said, “Alas! For the LORD has called these three kings to give them into the hand of Moab!”
11 But Jehoshaphat said, “Is there not here a Prophet of the LORD, so that we may inquire of the LORD by him?” And one of the king of Israel’s servants answered, and said, “Here is Elisha, the son of Shaphat, who poured water on the hands of Elijah.”
12 Then Jehoshaphat said, “The Word of the LORD is with him.” Therefore, the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom went down to him.
13 And Elisha said to the king of Israel, “What have I to do with you? Go to the prophets of your father, and to the prophets of your mother.” And the king of Israel said to him, “No. For the LORD has called these three kings, to give them into the hand of Moab.”
14 Then Elisha said, “As the LORD of Hosts lives, in Whose sight I stand, if it were not that I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, I would not have looked toward you, nor seen you.
15 “But now, bring me a minstrel.” And when the minstrel played, the Hand of the LORD came upon him.
16 And he said, “Thus says the LORD: ‘Make this valley full of ditches.’
17 “For thus says the LORD: ‘You shall neither see wind nor see rain. Yet the valley shall be filled with water, so that you may drink, you and your cattle and your beasts.’
18 “But, this is a small thing in the sight of the LORD. For He will give Moab into your hand.
19 “And you shall strike every strong town, and every chief city, and shall fell every fair tree, and shall stop all the fountains of water and mar every good field with stones.”
20 And in the morning, when the Meat Offering was offered, behold, there came water by the way of Edom. And the country was filled with water.
21 And when all the Moabites heard that the kings had come up to fight against them, they gathered all who were able to put on harness, and upward, and stood at the border.
22 And they rose early in the morning, when the Sun arose upon the water. And the Moabites saw the water opposite them, as red as blood.
23 And they said, “This is blood! The kings are surely killed, and one has strickten another! Now, therefore, Moab, to the spoil!”
24 And when they came to the army of Israel, the Israelites rose up and struck the Moabites, so that they fled before them. But they invaded them and struck Moab.
25 And they destroyed the cities. And every man cast his stone on all the good fields and filled them. And they stopped all the fountains of water and felled all the good trees. Only in Kir Haraseth did they leave its stones. However, they went around it with slings and struck it.
26 And when the king of Moab saw that the battle was too fierce for him, he took with him seven hundred men who drew the sword, to break through to the king of Edom. But they could not.
27 Then, he took his eldest son, who should have reigned in his place, and offered him for a burnt offering upon the wall, so that Israel was very grieved. And they departed from him and returned to their country.
4 And one of the wives of the sons of the Prophets cried to Elisha, saying, “Your servant, my husband, is dead! And you know that your servant feared the LORD! And the creditor has come to take my two sons to be his bondmen.”
2 Then Elisha said to her, “What shall I do for you? Tell me, what do you have at home?” And she said, “Your handmaid has nothing at home, except a pitcher of oil.”
3 And he said, “Go around and borrow vessels from all your neighbors, empty vessels, and not just a few.
4 “And when you have come in, you shall shut the door upon yourself and upon your sons, and pour out into all those vessels, and set aside those that are full.”
5 So she departed from him and shut the door upon herself and upon her sons. And they brought to her, and she poured out.
6 And when the vessels were full, she said to her son, “Bring me another vessel.” And he said to her, “There are no more vessels.” And the oil ceased.
7 Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, “Go. Sell the oil and pay those to whom you are in debt, and you and your children live off the rest.”
8 And it happened at that time that Elisha came to Shunem. And while there, an older woman persuaded him to eat food. And whenever he passed by, he would turn in there to eat food.
9 And she said to her husband, “Behold, I know now that this is a holy man of God who continually passes by us.
10 “Please, let us make him a little chamber, with walls. And let us set him up a bed there, and a table, and a stool, and a candlestick, so that he may turn in there when he comes to us.”
11 And one day, he came there, and turned into the chamber, and lay in it,
12 and said to Gehazi, his servant, “Call this Shunammite.” And when he called her, she stood before him.
13 Then he said to him, “Say to her now, ‘Behold, you have had all this great care for us. What shall we do for you? Is there anything to be spoken to the king for you, or to the captain of the army?” And she answered, “I dwell among my own people.”
14 Again he said, “What is then to be done for her?” Then Gehazi answered, “Indeed, she has no son, and her husband is old.
15 Then he said, “Call her.” And he called her, and she stood in the door.
16 And he said, “At this time next year, according to the time of life, you shall embrace a son.” And she said, “Oh my Lord, you man of God, do not lie to your handmaid.”
17 So the woman conceived, and bore a son, in that same season, according to the time of life that Elisha had said to her.
18 And when the child was grown, it happened one day that he went out to his father, to the reapers.
19 And he said to his father, “My head, my head!” Who said to his servant, “Take him to his mother.”
20 And he took him and brought him to his mother. And he sat on her knees until noon and died.
21 Then she went up and laid him on the bed of the man of God and shut the door upon him and went out.
22 Then she called to her husband, and said, “Please send one of the young men and one of the donkeys with me, for I will hurry to the man of God, and come back.”
23 And he said, “Why would you go to him today? It is neither new moon nor Sabbath day.” And she answered, “All shall be well.”
24 Then she saddled a donkey, and said to her servant, “Drive and go forward. Do not slow down the pace for me unless I tell you.”
25 So, she went and came to the man of God, to Mount Carmel. And when the man of God saw her from a distance, he said to Gehazi, his servant, “Behold, the Shunammite.
26 “Run now, I say, to meet her, and say to her, ‘Are you well? Is your husband well? Is the child well?’” And she answered, “We are well.”
27 And when she came to the man of God, to the mountain, she caught him by his feet. And Gehazi went to her, to thrust her away. But the man of God said, “Let her alone! For her soul is troubled within her, and the LORD has hidden it from me, and has not told me.”
28 Then she said, “Did I desire a son of my lord? Did I not say, ‘Do not deceive me?’”
29 Then he said to Gehazi, “Gird your loins and take my staff in your hand and go your way. If you meet anyone, do not greet him. And if anyone greets you, do not answer him. And lay my staff upon the face of the child.”
30 And the mother of the child said, “As the LORD lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you.” Therefore, he arose and followed her.
31 But Gehazi had gone before them and had laid the staff upon the face of the child. But he neither spoke nor heard. Therefore, he returned to meet him and told him, saying, “The child is not awake.”
32 Then Elisha came into the house. And behold, the child was dead, and laid upon his bed.
33 Therefore, he went in and shut the door upon the two of them and prayed to the LORD.
34 Afterward, he went up and lay upon the child and put his mouth on his mouth and his eyes upon his eyes and his hands upon his hands and stretched himself upon him. And the flesh of the child grew warm.
35 And he went and walked up and down in the house and went up and spread himself upon him. Then, the child sneezed seven times and opened his eyes.
36 Then he called Gehazi, and said, “Call this Shunammite.” So, he called her, who came in to him. And he said to her, “Take your son.”
37 And she came and fell at his feet and bowed herself to the ground and took up her son and went out.
38 Afterward, Elisha returned to Gilgal. And a famine was in the land. And the children of the Prophets dwelt with him. And he said to his servant, “Set on the great pot and boil stew for the children of the Prophets.”
39 And one went out into the field to gather herbs and found, as it were, a wild vine and gathered wild gourds from it. His garment full, he came and shredded them into the pot of stew, for they did not know them.
40 So, they poured it out for the men to eat. And when they ate the stew, they cried out, and said, “O you man of God! Death is in the pot!” And they could not eat.
41 Then he said, “Bring flour.” And he cast it into the pot, and said, “Pour it out for the people, so that they may eat.” And there was no harm in the pot.
42 Then a man came from Baal Shalisha and brought the man of God food from the firstfruits: twenty loaves of barley and full ears of corn in the husk. And he said, “Give it to the people, so that they may eat.”
43 And his servant answered, “How should I set this before a hundred men?” He said again, “Give it to the people, so that they may eat. For thus says the LORD: ‘They shall eat, and some shall be left over.’”
44 So, he set it before them, and they ate. And some was left over, according to the Word of the LORD.
5 Now was there one Naaman, captain of the army of the king of Aram, a great man, and honorable in the sight of his lord, because by him the LORD had delivered the Aramites. He also was a mighty man and valiant, but a leper.
2 And the Aramites had gone out by bands and had taken a little maid from the land of Israel. And she served Naaman’s wife.
3 And she said to her mistress, “I wish my lord were with the Prophet that is in Samaria. He would soon deliver him of his leprosy.”
4 And he went in and told his lord, saying, “(Thus and thus) says the maid who is from the land of Israel.”
5 And the king of Aram said, “Go your way there. And I will send a letter to the king of Israel.” And he departed and took ten talents of silver with him, and six thousand pieces of gold, and ten changes of clothing,
6 and brought the letter to the king of Israel, which read to this effect, “Now when this letter has come to you, understand that I have sent you Naaman, my servant, so that you may heal him of his leprosy.”
7 And when the king of Israel had read the letter, he tore his clothes, and said, “Am I God, to kill and to give life that he sends to me, so that I could heal a man from his leprosy? Therefore, please consider and see how he seeks a quarrel against me.”
8 But when Elisha, the man of God, had heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, he sent to the king, saying, “Why have you torn your clothes? Let him come to me now, and he shall know that there is a Prophet in Israel.”
9 Then Naaman came with his horses, and with his chariots, and stood at the door of the house of Elisha.
10 And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, “Go and wash yourself in Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall come back to you, and you shall be cleansed.”
11 But Naaman was angry and went away, and said, “Behold, I thought to myself, ‘He will surely come out and stand and call on the Name of the LORD his God and put his hand on the place and heal the leprosy.’
12 “Are not Abanah and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? May I not wash myself in them and be cleansed?” So, he turned and departed in displeasure.
13 But his servants came and spoke to him, and said, “Father, if the Prophet had commanded you a great thing, would you not have done it? How much more then, when he says to you, ‘Wash, and be clean?’”
14 Then he went down and washed himself seven times in Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God. And his flesh came back, like the flesh of a little child. And he was clean.
15 And he turned back to the man of God (he and all his company), and came and stood before him, and said, “Behold now, I know that there is no God in all the world but in Israel. Now, therefore, please receive a reward from your servant.”
16 But he said, “As the LORD lives (before Whom I stand), I will not receive it.” And he tried to persuade him to take it. But he refused.
17 Moreover, Naaman said, “Shall there not be given two mules’ load of this earth to your servant? For from now on, your servant will offer neither burnt sacrifice nor offering to any other god except to the LORD.
18 “In this may the LORD be merciful to your servant: that when my master goes into the House of Rimmon, to worship there, and leans on my hand, and I bow myself in the House of Rimmon—when I do bow down in the House of Rimmon—that the LORD be merciful to your servant in this point.”
19 To whom he said, “Go in peace.” So, he departed from him, about half a day’s journey of ground.
20 And Gehazi, the servant of Elisha, the man of God, said, “Behold, my master has spared this Aramite, Naaman, not receiving those things from his hand that he brought. As the LORD lives, I will run after him and take something from him.”
21 So, Gehazi followed speedily after Naaman. And when Naaman saw him running after him, he dismounted the chariot to meet him, and said, “Is all well?”
22 And he answered, “All is well. My master has sent me, saying, “Behold, two young men have come to me from Mount Ephraim, of the children of the Prophets. Please give them a talent of silver and two changes of clothes.”
23 And Naaman said, “Yes. Take two talents.” And he broke open some bundles and bound two talents of silver in two bags, with two changes of garments, and gave them to two of his servants, so that they might bear them before him.
24 And when he came to the tower, he took them out of their hands and laid them in the house and sent away the men. And they departed.
25 Then, he went in and stood before his master. And Elisha said to him, “Where did you go, Gehazi?” And he said, “Your servant went nowhere.”
26 But he said to him, “Did not my heart go with you when the man turned back from his chariot to meet you? Is this a time to take money, and to receive garments and olives and vineyards and sheep and oxen and menservants and maidservants?
27 “The leprosy, therefore, of Naaman shall cling to you, and to your seed, forever.” And he went out from his presence as a leper, white as snow.
6 And the children of the Prophets said to Elisha, “If you please, the place where we dwell with you is too small for us.
2 “Let us now go to Jordan, so that every man may take a beam from there and make us a place to dwell.” And he answered, “Go.”
3 And one said, “Please agree to go with your servants.” And he answered, “I will go.”
4 So he went with them. And when they came to Jordan, they cut down wood.
5 And as one was cutting down a tree, the iron fell into the water. Then he cried, and said, “Alas master, for it was borrowed!”
6 And the man of God said, “Where did it fall?” And he showed him the place. Then he cut down a piece of wood and cast it in there. And he caused the iron to float.
7 Then he said, “Pick it up for yourself.” And he stretched out his hand and took it.
8 Then the king of Aram warred against Israel, and took counsel with his servants, and said, “In (such and such a place) shall be my camp.”
9 Therefore, the man of God sent to the king of Israel, saying, “Beware that you do not go over to such a place. For the Aramites have come down there.”
10 So, the king of Israel sent to the place which the man of God told him, and warned him of, and saved himself from there, not just once or twice.
11 And the heart of the king of Aram was troubled for this thing. Therefore, he called his servants, and said to them, “Will you not show me which of us is for the king of Israel?”
12 Then one of his servants said, “None, my lord, O king. But Elisha the Prophet, who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the words that you speak in your private chamber.”
13 And he said, “Go and spy out where he is, so that I may send and fetch him.” And one told him, saying, “Behold, he is in Dothan.”
14 So he sent horses there, and chariots, and a mighty army. And they came by night and surrounded the city.
15 And when the servant of the man of God arose early to go out, behold, an army surrounded the city with horses and chariots. Then his servant said to him, “Alas, master, what shall we do?”
16 And he answered, “Do not fear. For those who are with us, are more than those who are with them.”
17 Then Elisha prayed, and said, “LORD, I pray, open his eyes so that he may see.” And the LORD opened the eyes of the servant. And he looked, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire, all around Elisha.
18 So they came down to him. But Elisha prayed to the LORD, and said, “Strike this people, I pray, with blindness.” And He struck them with blindness, according to the Word of Elisha.
19 And Elisha said to them, “This is not the way, nor is this the city. Follow me, and I will lead you to the man whom you seek.” But he led them to Samaria.
20 And when they had come to Samaria, Elisha said, “LORD, open their eyes so that they may see.” And the LORD opened their eyes, and they saw. And behold, they were in the midst of Samaria.
21 And the king of Israel said to Elisha when he saw them, “My father, shall I beat them? Shall I beat them?”
22 And he answered, “You shall not beat them. Do you beat those whom you have taken with your sword, and with your bow? Set bread and water before them, so that they may eat and drink and go to their master.”
23 And he made great preparation for them. And when they ate and drank, he sent them away. And they went to their master. So, the bands of Aram no longer came into the land of Israel.
24 But afterward, Ben-Hadad, king of Aram, gathered all his army and went up and besieged Samaria.
25 So, there was a great famine in Samaria. For lo, they besieged it until a donkey’s head was at eighty pieces of silver, and a twenty-fourth of a seah of dove’s dung at five pieces of silver.
26 And as the king of Israel was going upon the wall, a woman cried to him, saying, “Help, my lord, O king!”
27 And he said, “The LORD does not help you. How could I help you with the barn or with the wine press?
28 Also the king said to her, “What ails you?” And she answered, “This woman said to me, ‘Give your son so that we may eat him today. And we will eat my son tomorrow.’
29 “So we boiled my son and ate him. And I said to her the next day, ‘Give your son so that we may eat him.’ But she has hidden her son.”
30 And when the king had heard the words of the woman, he tore his clothes. And as he went upon the wall, the people looked. And behold, he had sackcloth underneath, upon his flesh.
31 And he said, “God do so to me and more also if the head of Elisha, the son of Shaphat, shall stay on him this day.”
32 Now Elisha sat in his house. And the elders sat with him. And the king sent a man before him. But before the messenger came to him, he said to the elders, “Do you not see how this murderer’s son has sent to take away my head? Take heed when the messenger comes. Shut the door and handle him roughly at the door. Is not the sound of his master’s feet behind him?”
33 While he still talked with them, behold, the messenger came down to him, and said, “Behold, this misery comes from the LORD. Should I wait on the LORD any longer?”
7 Then Elisha said, “Hear the Word of the LORD! Thus says the LORD: ‘Tomorrow at this time, a measure of fine flour shall be sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, in the gate of Samaria.’”
2 Then a prince on whose hand the king leaned answered the man of God, and said, “Though the LORD can make windows in the sky, could this thing happen?” And he said, “Behold, you shall see it with your eyes. But you shall not eat of it.”
3 Now there were four leprous men at the entrance of the gate. And they said one to another, “Why sit here until we die?
4 “If we say, ‘We will enter into the city,’ the famine is in the city, and we shall die there. And if we sit here, we die also. Now, therefore, come and let us fall into the camp of the Aramites. If they save our lives, we shall live. And if they kill us, we are already dead.”
5 So they rose up in the twilight, to go to the camp of the Aramites. And when they had come to the outermost part of the camp of the Aramites, lo, there was no man there.
6 For the LORD had caused the camp of the Aramites to hear a noise of chariots and a noise of horses (a noise of a great army), so that they said one to another, “Behold, the king of Israel has hired the kings of the Hittites against us, and the kings of the Egyptians, to come upon us!”
7 Therefore, they arose and fled in the twilight, and left their tents and their horses and their donkeys — the camp as it was — and fled for their lives.
8 And when these lepers came to the outermost part of the camp, they entered into one tent, and ate and drank, and carried silver and gold from there, and clothing, and went and hid it. Afterward, they returned and entered into another tent and carried from there, and went and hid it,
9 then said to one another, “We do not do well. This day is a day of good news, and we hold our peace. If we wait until daylight, some mischief will come upon us. Now, therefore, come. Let us go and tell the king’s household.
10 So, they came and called the porters of the city and told them, saying, “We came to the camp of the Aramites. And lo, there was neither man there, nor voice of man, but tied horses and donkeys. And the tents are as they were.”
11 And the porters cried and declared to the king’s house within.
12 Then the king arose in the night and said to his servants, “I will now show you what the Aramites have done to us. They know that we are famished. Therefore, they have gone out of the camp to hide themselves in the field, saying, ‘When they come out of the city, we shall catch them alive and get into the city.’”
13 And one of his servants answered, and said, “Let me now take five of the horses that remain and are left in the city. Behold, they are either as all the multitude of Israel who are left in it, or they are as the multitude of the Israelites who are consumed. And we will send to see.”
14 So, they took two chariots of horses. And the king sent them after the army of the Aramites, saying, “Go and see.”
15 And they went after them, to Jordan. And lo, the whole way was full of clothes and vessels which the Aramites had cast from them in their haste. And the messengers returned and told the king.
16 Then the people went out and plundered the camp of the Aramites. So a measure of fine flour was at a shekel, and two measures of barley at a shekel, according to the Word of the LORD.
17 And the king gave the prince on whose hand he leaned the charge of the gate. But the people tread upon him in the gate. And he died, as the man of God had said, who spoke it when the king came down to him.
18 And it happened at that time, as the man of God had spoken to the king, saying, “Two measures of barley at a shekel and a measure of fine flour shall be at a shekel, tomorrow about this time in the gate of Samaria.”
19 But the prince had answered the man of God, and said, “Though the LORD can make windows in the sky, could it so happen?” And he had said, “Behold, you shall see it with your eyes. But you shall not eat of it.”
20 And so it happened to him. For the people tread upon him in the gate. And he died.
8 Then Elisha spoke to the woman whose son he had restored to life, saying, “Up and go, you and your House, and sojourn where you can sojourn. For the LORD has called for a famine. And it shall come upon the land for seven years.”
2 And the woman arose and did according to the saying of the man of God and went, both she and her household, and sojourned in the land of the Philistines for seven years.
3 And at the end of seven years, the woman returned out of the land of the Philistines and went out to call upon the king for her House and for her land.
4 And the king talked with Gehazi, the servant of the man of God, saying, “Please tell me all the great acts that Elisha has done.”
5 And as he told the king how he had restored one dead to life, behold, the woman whose son he had raised to life called upon the king for her House and for her land. Then Gehazi said, “My lord, O king! This is the woman, and this is her son, whom Elisha restored to life.”
6 And when the king asked the woman, she told him. So the king appointed a eunuch for her, saying, “Restore all that are hers, and all the fruits of her land, since the day she left the land until this time.”
7 Then, Elisha came to Damascus. And Ben-Hadad, the king of Aram, was sick. And someone told him, saying, “The man of God has come here.”
8 And the king said to Hazael, “Take a present in your hand, and go meet the man of God, so that you may inquire of the LORD by him, saying, ‘Shall I recover from this disease?’”
9 So Hazael went to meet him, and took the present in his hand, and of every good thing of Damascus, the burden of forty camels, and came and stood before him, and said, “Your son Ben-Hadad, king of Aram, has sent me to you, saying, ‘Shall I recover from this disease?’”
10 And Elisha said to him, “Go. Say to him, ‘You shall recover.’ However, the LORD has shown me that he shall surely die.”
11 And he looked upon him steadfastly, until Hazael was ashamed. And the man of God wept.
12 And Hazael said, “Why does my lord weep?” And he answered, “Because I know the evil that you shall do to the children of Israel. You shall set their strong cities on fire, and shall kill their young men with the sword, and shall dash their infants against the stones, and tear their women with child in pieces.”
13 Then Hazael said, “What? Your servant is a dog. But I do this great thing?” And Elisha answered, “The LORD has shown me that you shall be king of Aram.”
14 So he departed from Elisha, and came to his master, who said to him, “What did Elisha say to you?” And he answered, “He told me that you should recover.”
15 And the next day, he took a thick cloth and dipped it in water and spread it on his face and he died. And Hazael reigned in his place.
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