Bible in 90 Days
Omri, King of Israel
21 Then the Israelites were divided. Half of the people followed Tibni the son of Ginath and wanted to make him king. The other half of the people followed Omri. 22 But Omri’s followers were stronger than the followers of Tibni son of Ginath. Tibni died, and Omri became king.
23 Omri became king of Israel during Asa’s 31st year as the king of Judah. Omri ruled over Israel for 12 years. Six of those years he ruled from Tirzah. 24 Then Omri bought the hill of Samaria from Shemer for about 150 pounds[a] of silver. Omri built a city on that hill. He named the city Samaria after the name of its owner, Shemer.
25 Omri did what the Lord said was wrong. He was worse than all the kings who were before him. 26 He committed all the sins that Jeroboam son of Nebat had committed when he caused the Israelites to sin. They worshiped worthless idols, and this made the Lord, the God of Israel, very angry.
27 The rest of the story about Omri and the great things he did are written in the book, The History of the Kings of Israel. 28 Omri died and was buried in Samaria. His son Ahab became the new king after him.
Ahab, King of Israel
29 Ahab son of Omri became king of Israel during the 38th year that Asa was king of Judah. Ahab ruled Israel from the town of Samaria for 22 years. 30 He did what the Lord said was wrong. Ahab was worse than all the kings who were before him. 31 It was not enough for Ahab to commit the same sins that Jeroboam, son of Nebat, had done. Ahab also married Jezebel, daughter of King Ethbaal of Sidon. Then Ahab began to serve and worship Baal. 32 He built a temple and an altar in Samaria for worshiping Baal. 33 He also set up a sacred pole.[b] Ahab did more to make the Lord, the God of Israel, angry than all the other kings who were before him.
34 During Ahab’s time, Hiel from Bethel rebuilt the town of Jericho. When Hiel started work on the city, his oldest son Abiram died. And when Hiel built the gates of the city, his youngest son Segub died. This happened just as the Lord said it would happen when he spoke through Joshua son of Nun.[c]
Elijah and the Time Without Rain
17 Elijah was a prophet from the town of Tishbe in Gilead. He said to King Ahab, “I serve the Lord, the God of Israel. By his power, I promise that no dew or rain will fall for the next few years. The rain will fall only when I command it to fall.”
2 Then the Lord said to Elijah, 3 “Leave this place and go east. Hide near Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan River. 4 You can get your water from that stream, and I have commanded ravens to bring food to you there.” 5 So Elijah did what the Lord told him to do. He went to live near Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan River. 6 Ravens brought Elijah food every morning and every evening, and he drank water from the stream.
7 There was no rain, so after a while the stream became dry. 8 Then the Lord said to Elijah, 9 “Go to Zarephath in Sidon and stay there. There is a widow there that I commanded to take care of you.”
10 So Elijah went to Zarephath. He went to the town gate and saw a woman there gathering wood for a fire. She was a widow. Elijah said to her, “Would you bring me a small cup of water to drink?” 11 As she was going to get the water, Elijah said, “Bring me a piece of bread too, please.”
12 The woman answered, “I promise you, before the Lord your God, that I have nothing but a handful of flour in a jar and a little bit of olive oil in a jug. I came here to gather a few pieces of wood for a fire to cook our last meal. My son and I will eat it and then die from hunger.”
13 Elijah said to the woman, “Don’t worry. Go home and cook your food as you said. But first make a small piece of bread from the flour that you have and bring it to me. Then cook some for yourself and your son. 14 The Lord, the God of Israel, says, ‘That jar of flour will never be empty and the jug will always have oil in it. This will continue until the day the Lord sends rain to the land.’”
15 So the woman went home and did what Elijah told her to do. And Elijah, the woman, and her son had enough food for a long time. 16 The jar of flour and the jug of oil were never empty. This happened just as the Lord said through Elijah.
17 Some time later the woman’s son became sick. He became worse and worse until he stopped breathing. 18 Then the woman said to Elijah, “You are a man of God. Can you help me? Or did you come here only to remind me of my sins and to make my son die?”
19 Elijah said to her, “Give me your son.” He took the boy from her and carried him upstairs. He laid him on the bed in the room where he was staying. 20 Then Elijah cried out to the Lord. He said, “Lord my God, this widow is letting me stay in her house. Will you do this bad thing to her? Will you cause her son to die?” 21 Then Elijah lay on top of the boy three times. He prayed, “Lord my God, let this boy live again!”
22 The Lord answered Elijah’s prayer. The boy began breathing again and was alive. 23 Elijah carried the boy downstairs, gave him to his mother, and said, “Look, your son is alive!”
24 The woman answered, “Now I know that you really are a man from God. I know that the Lord really speaks through you!”
Elijah and the Prophets of Baal
18 During the third year that no rain fell, the Lord said to Elijah, “Go meet with King Ahab, and I will make it rain.” 2 So Elijah went to meet with Ahab.
The famine was very bad in Samaria. 3 So King Ahab told Obadiah to come to him. Obadiah was the man in charge of the king’s palace. (Obadiah was a true follower of the Lord. 4 One time when Jezebel was killing all the Lord’s prophets, Obadiah hid 100 prophets in two caves. He put 50 prophets in one cave and 50 prophets in another cave. Then he brought them food and water.) 5 King Ahab said to Obadiah, “Come with me. We will look at every spring and every stream in the land. We will see if we can find enough grass to keep our horses and mules alive. Then we will not have to kill our animals.” 6 They decided where each of them would go to look for water. Ahab went in one direction by himself, and Obadiah went in another direction by himself. 7 As Obadiah was walking along the road by himself, he looked up, and there was Elijah. Obadiah recognized him and bowed down to show his respect. He said, “Elijah? Is it really you, master?”
8 Elijah answered, “Yes, it is me. Now, go and tell your master, the king, that I am here.”
9 Obadiah said, “If I tell Ahab that I know where you are, he will kill me! I have done nothing wrong to you. Why do you want me to die? 10 As surely as the Lord your God lives, the king has been looking for you everywhere. He has sent people to every country to find you. He even made the rulers of those countries swear that you were not there. 11 Now you want me to go and tell him that you are here! 12 If I go tell King Ahab that you are here, the Spirit of the Lord might carry you away. Then when King Ahab comes here and cannot find you, he will kill me! I have followed the Lord since I was a boy. 13 Surely you have heard what I did when Jezebel was killing the Lord’s prophets. I hid 100 of the Lord’s prophets in caves. I put 50 prophets in one cave and 50 in another. I brought them food and water. 14 Now you want me to go and tell the king that you are here. The king will kill me!”
15 Elijah answered, “I serve the Lord All-Powerful. As surely as he lives, I promise that I will stand before the king today.”
16 So Obadiah went to King Ahab and told him where Elijah was. King Ahab went to meet Elijah.
17 When Ahab saw Elijah he said, “Is that really you, the troublemaker of Israel?”
18 Elijah answered, “I have not made trouble for Israel. You and your father’s family caused all the problems when you stopped obeying the Lord’s commands and began following the false gods. 19 Now tell all the people of Israel to meet me at Mount Carmel. Also bring the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of the goddess Asherah, who get their support from Queen Jezebel.”[d]
20 So Ahab called all the Israelites and those prophets to Mount Carmel. 21 Elijah came to all the people and said, “You must decide what you are going to do. How long will you keep jumping from one side to the other? If the Lord is the true God, follow him. But if Baal is the true God, then follow him!”
The people said nothing. 22 So Elijah said, “I am the only prophet of the Lord here, but there are 450 prophets of Baal. 23 So bring us two bulls. Let the prophets of Baal have one bull. Let them kill it, cut it into pieces, and then put the meat on the wood. But don’t start the fire. I will do the same with the other bull, and I will not start the fire either. 24 Prophets of Baal, pray to your god, and I will pray to the Lord. Whichever god answers the prayer and starts the fire is the true God.”
All the people agreed that this was a good idea.
25 Then Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “There are many of you, so you go first. Choose a bull and prepare it, but don’t start your fire.”
26 So the prophets took the bull that was given to them and prepared it. They started praying to Baal and prayed until noon. They said, “Baal, please answer us!” But there was no sound. No one answered. Then they began jumping around on the altar they had built.
27 At noon Elijah began to make fun of them. He said, “If Baal really is a god, maybe you should pray louder! Maybe he is busy. Maybe he is thinking about something, or maybe he stepped out for a moment! He could be sleeping! Maybe you should pray louder and wake him up!” 28 So the prophets prayed louder. They cut themselves with swords and spears. (This was the way they worshiped.) They cut themselves until they were bleeding all over. 29 The afternoon passed but the fire still had not started. The prophets were out of control and continued to act this way until the time came for the evening sacrifice. But nothing happened—there was no answer from Baal. There was no sound. There was no one listening.
30 Then Elijah said to all the people, “Now come here.” So they gathered around Elijah. The Lord’s altar had been torn down, so Elijah repaired it. 31 Elijah found twelve stones. There was one stone for each of the twelve tribes. These twelve tribes were named for the twelve sons of Jacob, the man who the Lord had named Israel. 32 Elijah used these stones to repair the altar to honor the Lord. He dug a small ditch around the altar. It was wide enough and deep enough to hold about 4 gallons[e] of water. 33 Then Elijah put the wood on the altar. He cut the bull into pieces and laid the pieces on the wood. 34 Then he said, “Fill four jars with water. Pour the water on the pieces of meat and on the wood.” Then Elijah said, “Do it again.” Then he said, “Do it a third time.” 35 The water ran down off the altar and filled the ditch.
36 At about the time for the afternoon sacrifice, the prophet Elijah approached the altar and prayed, “Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, I ask you now to prove that you are the God of Israel and that I am your servant. Show these people that it was you who commanded me to do all these things. 37 Lord, answer my prayer. Show these people that you, Lord, are God and that you are the one who is bringing them back to you.”
38 Then fire came down from the Lord and burned the sacrifice, the wood, the stones, and the ground around the altar. Then it dried up all the water in the ditch. 39 All the people saw this happen and bowed down to the ground and began saying, “The Lord is God! The Lord is God!”
40 Then Elijah said, “Get the prophets of Baal! Don’t let any of them escape!” So the people captured all the prophets. Then Elijah led them down to Kishon Creek and killed them all.
The Rain Comes Again
41 Then Elijah said to King Ahab, “Now go eat and drink. A heavy rain is coming.” 42 So King Ahab went to eat. At the same time Elijah climbed to the top of Mount Carmel. At the top of the mountain, Elijah bent down. He put his head between his knees. 43 Then Elijah said to his servant, “Go up higher and look toward the sea.”
The servant went and looked. He came back and said, “I saw nothing.” Elijah told him to go look again. This happened seven times. 44 The seventh time, the servant came back and said, “I saw a small cloud the size of a man’s fist that was coming in from the sea.”
Elijah told the servant, “Go tell King Ahab to get his chariot ready and go home now. If he does not leave now, the rain will stop him.”
45 After a short time the sky was covered with dark clouds. The wind began to blow, and a heavy rain began to fall. Ahab got in his chariot and started back to Jezreel. 46 The power of the Lord came to Elijah. He used his belt to hold up the bottom of his robe away from his feet. Then he ran ahead of King Ahab all the way to Jezreel.
Elijah at Mount Horeb (Sinai)
19 King Ahab told Jezebel everything that Elijah did and how Elijah had killed all the prophets of Baal with a sword. 2 So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah and said, “I swear that by this time tomorrow, you will be just as dead as those prophets. If I don’t succeed, may the gods do the same or worse to me.”
3 When Elijah heard this, he was afraid. So he ran away to save his life. He took his servant with him, and they went to Beersheba in Judah. Then Elijah left his servant in Beersheba 4 and walked for a whole day into the desert. Then he sat down under a bush and asked to die. He said, “I have had enough, Lord! Take my life. I am no better than my ancestors.”
5 Then Elijah lay down under the bush and went to sleep. An angel came to him and touched him. The angel said, “Get up and eat!” 6 Elijah looked around, and by his head there was a cake that had been baked over coals and a jar of water. He ate and drank and then went back to sleep.
7 Later the Lord’s angel came to him again, touched him, and said, “Get up and eat! If you don’t, you will not be strong enough to make the long trip.” 8 So Elijah got up. He ate and drank and felt strong. Then Elijah walked for 40 days and nights to Mount Horeb, the mountain of God. 9 There Elijah went into a cave and spent the night.
Then the Lord said to him, “Elijah, why are you here?”
10 Elijah answered, “Lord God All-Powerful, I have always served you the best I can, but the Israelites have broken their agreement with you. They destroyed your altars and killed your prophets. I am the only prophet left alive, and now they are trying to kill me!”
11 Then the Lord said to Elijah, “Go, stand in front of me on the mountain. I, the Lord, will pass by you.”[f] Then a very strong wind blew. The wind caused the mountains to break apart. It broke large rocks in front of the Lord. But that wind was not the Lord. After that wind, there was an earthquake. But that earthquake was not the Lord. 12 After the earthquake, there was a fire. But that fire was not the Lord. After the fire, there was a quiet, gentle voice.[g]
13 When Elijah heard the voice, he used his coat to cover his face and went to the entrance to the cave and stood there. Then a voice said to him, “Elijah, why are you here?”
14 Elijah said, “Lord God All-Powerful, I have always served you the best that I can, but the Israelites broke their agreement with you. They destroyed your altars and killed your prophets. I am the only prophet left alive, and now they are trying to kill me.”
15 The Lord said, “Go back. Take the road that leads to the desert around Damascus. Go into Damascus and anoint Hazael as king over Aram. 16 Then anoint Jehu son of Nimshi as king over Israel. Next, anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah. He will be the prophet who takes your place. 17 Jehu will kill anyone who escapes Hazael’s sword, and Elisha will kill anyone who escapes from Jehu’s sword. 18 I still have 7000 people in Israel who have never bowed down to Baal or kissed that idol.”
Elisha Becomes a Prophet
19 So Elijah left that place and went to find Elisha son of Shaphat. Elisha was plowing 12 acres of land and was working on the last acre when Elijah came.[h] Elijah went to Elisha and put his coat[i] on Elisha. 20 Elisha immediately left his oxen and ran after Elijah. Elisha said, “Let me kiss my mother and father goodbye. Then I will follow you.”
Elijah answered, “You can do that. I will not stop you.[j]”
21 Elisha turned away from him and went back. He killed the oxen and used the yoke for firewood. He boiled the meat, gave it to the people, and they all ate together. Then Elisha went to follow Elijah and became his helper.
Ben-Hadad and Ahab Go to War
20 King Ben-Hadad of Aram gathered his army together. There were 32 kings with him and many horses and chariots. They surrounded Samaria and attacked it. 2 The king sent messengers to King Ahab of Israel who was inside the city. 3 The message was, “Ben-Hadad says, ‘Your silver and your gold are mine, and so are the best of your wives and children.’”
4 The king of Israel answered, “Yes, my lord and king, I am yours now, and everything I have belongs to you.”
5 Then the messengers came back to Ahab. They said, “Ben-Hadad says, ‘I told you before that all of your silver and gold and your wives and children belong to me. So give them to me! 6 Tomorrow I will send my men to search through your house and through the houses of your officials. Give my men all of your valuables, and they will bring them back to me.’”
7 So King Ahab called a meeting of all the elders of his country and said, “Look, Ben-Hadad is looking for trouble. First he told me that I must give him my wives and children and my silver and gold. I agreed to give them to him.”
8 But the elders and all the people said, “Don’t obey him or do what he says.”
9 So Ahab sent a message to Ben-Hadad that said, “I will do what you said at first, but I cannot obey your second command.”
King Ben-Hadad’s men carried the message to the king. 10 Then they came back with another message from Ben-Hadad that said, “I will completely destroy Samaria. I promise that there will be nothing left of that city! There will not be enough of that city left for my men to find any souvenirs[k] to take home. May the gods destroy me if I don’t do this!”
11 King Ahab answered, “Tell Ben-Hadad that the man who puts on his armor should not boast as much as the man who lives long enough to take it off.”
12 King Ben-Hadad was drinking in his tent with the other rulers when the messengers came back and gave him the message from King Ahab. King Ben-Hadad commanded his men to prepare to attack the city, so the men moved into their places for the battle.
13 Then a prophet went to King Ahab and said, “King Ahab, the Lord says to you, ‘Do you see that great army? I will defeat that army for you today. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’”
14 Ahab said, “Who will you use to defeat them?”
The prophet answered, “The Lord says, ‘The young men who carry the weapons for the government officials.’”
Then the king asked, “Who should command the main army?”
The prophet answered, “You will.”
15 So Ahab gathered the young helpers of the government officials. There were 232 of these young men. Then the king called together the army of Israel. The total number was 7000.
16 King Ahab began his attack at noon, while King Ben-Hadad and the 32 kings were drinking and getting drunk in their tents. 17 The young helpers went out first. King Ben-Hadad’s men told him that some soldiers had come out of Samaria. 18 So Ben-Hadad said, “They might be coming to fight or they might be coming to ask for peace. Capture them alive.”
19 The young men of King Ahab were the first to come out, but the rest of the army of Israel was following them. 20 Each of the men of Israel killed the man who had come against him. So the men from Aram began to run away and the army of Israel chased them. King Ben-Hadad escaped on a horse with the chariots. 21 King Ahab led the army and attacked all the horses and chariots. So King Ahab made the Arameans suffer a great defeat.
22 Then the prophet went to King Ahab and said, “The king of Aram will come back to fight again next spring. So go back and strengthen your army and make careful plans to defend yourself against him.”
Ben-Hadad Attacks Again
23 King Ben-Hadad’s officers said to him, “The gods of Israel are mountain gods. We fought in a mountain area, so the Israelites won. If we fight them on level ground, we will win. 24 Also, don’t let the 32 kings command the armies. Put your commanders in charge of the armies. 25 Let’s gather an army like the one that was destroyed. Gather as many men, horses, and chariots as before, and fight the Israelites on level ground. Then we will win.” Ben-Hadad followed their advice and did what they said.
26 So in the spring, Ben-Hadad gathered the men of Aram and went to Aphek to fight against Israel.
27 The Israelites also prepared for war and went to fight the army of Aram. They made their camp opposite the camp of Aram. The Aramean soldiers filled the land, but Israel’s army looked like two small flocks of goats.
28 A man of God came to the king of Israel with this message: “The Lord said, ‘The people of Aram said that I, the Lord, am a god of the mountains and not a god of the valleys. So I will let you defeat this great army. Then all of you will know that I am the Lord, wherever you are!’”
29 The armies were camped across from each other for seven days. On the seventh day the battle began. The Israelites killed 100,000 Aramean soldiers in one day. 30 The survivors ran away to the city of Aphek. The wall of the city fell on 27,000 of those soldiers. Ben-Hadad also ran away to the city and hid in a room. 31 His servants said to him, “We heard that the kings of Israel are merciful. Let’s dress in rough cloth with ropes on our heads.[l] Then let’s go to the king of Israel. Maybe he will let us live.”
32 They dressed in rough cloth with ropes on their heads. They came to the king of Israel. They said, “Your servant, Ben-Hadad, says, ‘Please let me live.’”
Ahab said, “Is he still alive? He is my brother.[m]”
33 Ben-Hadad’s men wanted King Ahab to say something to show that he would not kill King Ben-Hadad. When Ahab called Ben-Hadad his brother, the advisors quickly said, “Yes! Ben-Hadad is your brother.”
Ahab said, “Bring him to me.” So Ben-Hadad came to King Ahab. King Ahab asked him to get in the chariot with him.
34 Ben-Hadad said to him, “Ahab, I will give you the towns that my father took from your father. And you can put shops in Damascus, as my father did in Samaria.”
Ahab answered, “If you agree to this, I will let you go free.” So the two kings made a peace agreement. Then King Ahab let King Ben-Hadad go free.
A Prophet Speaks Against Ahab
35 One of the prophets told another prophet, “Hit me!” He said that because the Lord had commanded it. But the other prophet refused to hit him. 36 So the first prophet said, “You did not obey the Lord’s command. So a lion will kill you when you leave this place.” When the second prophet left, a lion killed him.
37 The first prophet went to another man and said, “Hit me!”
This man hit him and hurt the prophet. 38 So the prophet wrapped his face with a cloth. This way no one could see who he was. The prophet went and waited for the king by the road. 39 The king came by and the prophet said to him, “I went to fight in the battle. One of our men brought an enemy soldier to me. The man said, ‘Guard this man. If he runs away, you will have to give your life in his place or you will have to pay a fine of 75 pounds[n] of silver.’ 40 While I was busy doing other things, the man ran away.”
The king of Israel answered, “You admitted that you are guilty, so you know the answer. You must do what the man said.”
41 Then the prophet quickly took the cloth from his face, and the king of Israel saw that he was one of the prophets. 42 Then the prophet said to the king, “The Lord says to you, ‘You set free the man I said should die. So you will take his place—you and your people will die!’”
43 Then the king went back home to Samaria. He was worried and upset.
Naboth’s Vineyard
21 There was a vineyard near King Ahab’s palace in Samaria. A man from Jezreel named Naboth owned it. 2 One day Ahab said to Naboth, “Give me your vineyard that is near my palace. I want to make it a vegetable garden. I will give you a better vineyard in its place. Or, if you prefer, I will pay you for it.”
3 Naboth answered, “By the Lord, I will never give my land to you. This land belongs to my family.”
4 So Ahab went home angry and upset because Naboth told him, “I will not give you my family’s land.” Ahab went to bed, turned away from everyone, and refused to eat.
5 His wife Jezebel went to him and asked him, “Why are you upset? Why do you refuse to eat?”
6 Ahab answered, “I asked Naboth from Jezreel to give me his vineyard. I told him that I would pay him the full price. Or, if he preferred, I would give him another vineyard. But he refused to give it to me.”
7 Jezebel answered, “But you are the king over Israel! Get out of bed and eat something, and you will feel better. I will get Naboth’s vineyard for you.”
8 Then Jezebel wrote some letters. She signed Ahab’s name to them and used his seal to seal the letters. Then she sent them to the elders and important men who lived in the same town as Naboth. 9 This is what the letter said:
“Announce that there will be a day of fasting when the people will eat nothing. Then call all the people of the town together for a meeting. At the meeting we will talk about Naboth. 10 Find some men who will tell lies about Naboth. They should say that they heard Naboth speak against the king and against God. Then take Naboth out of the city and kill him with stones.”
11 So the elders and important men of Jezreel obeyed the command. 12 The leaders announced that there would be a day when all the people would eat nothing. On that day they called all the people together for a meeting. They put Naboth in a special place before the people. 13 Then two men told the people that they heard Naboth speak against God and the king. So the people carried Naboth out of the city and killed him with stones. 14 Then the leaders sent a message to Jezebel that said: “Naboth has been killed.”
15 When Jezebel heard this, she said to Ahab, “Naboth is dead. Now you can go and take the vineyard that you wanted.” 16 So Ahab went to the vineyard and took it for his own.
17 Then the Lord spoke to Elijah, the prophet from Tishbe: 18 “Go to King Ahab in Samaria. He will be at Naboth’s vineyard. He is there to take the vineyard as his own. 19 Tell Ahab that I, the Lord, say to him, ‘Ahab! You killed the man Naboth and now you are taking his land. So I, the Lord, tell you this: Where the dogs licked up the blood of Naboth, they will lick up your blood as well.’”
20 So Elijah went to Ahab. When Ahab saw him, he said, “Well, my enemy has found me again!”
Elijah answered, “Yes, I found you, because you have again sold yourself out to do what the Lord says is evil. 21 So this is what he says to you: ‘I will make something bad happen to you. I will kill you and every male in your family. 22 I will destroy your family just as I destroyed the families of King Jeroboam son of Nebat and King Baasha. I will do this to you because you have made me angry and you have caused the Israelites to sin.’ 23 The Lord also says this about your wife Jezebel: ‘Dogs will eat the body of Jezebel by the wall of the city of Jezreel. 24 As for the family of Ahab, whoever dies in the city will be eaten by dogs, and whoever dies in the fields will be eaten by birds.’”
25 So Ahab sold himself out to do what the Lord says is evil. There is no one who did as much evil as Ahab and his wife Jezebel, who caused him to do these things. 26 Ahab committed the terrible sin of worshiping those filthy idols, just as the Amorites did. And that is why the Lord took the land from them and gave it to the Israelites.
27 When Ahab heard what Elijah said, he tore his clothes to show how sad he was. Then he put on sackcloth and refused to eat. He even slept in these clothes. He was very sad and upset.
28 The Lord said to the prophet Elijah from Tishbe, 29 “Look, Ahab has humbled himself before me. So I will not make that disaster happen during his lifetime. I will wait until his son is king. Then I will destroy his family.”
Micaiah Warns King Ahab
22 For the next two years there was peace between Israel and Aram. 2 Then during the third year, King Jehoshaphat of Judah went to visit King Ahab of Israel.
3 Ahab asked his officials, “Remember when the king of Aram took Ramoth Gilead from us? That city is ours, so why have we done nothing to get it back?” 4 So Ahab asked King Jehoshaphat, “Will you join with us to go fight the Arameans at Ramoth Gilead?”
Jehoshaphat answered, “Yes, you and I will be as one—my men and my horses will be as yours. 5 But first let’s ask the Lord for advice.”
6 So Ahab called a meeting of the prophets. There were about 400 prophets at that time. Ahab asked the prophets, “Should I go and attack the Arameans at Ramoth Gilead or not?”
The prophets answered Ahab, “Yes, because the Lord will let you defeat Ramoth Gilead.”
7 But Jehoshaphat said, “Doesn’t the Lord have another prophet here? Let’s ask him the same question.”
8 King Ahab answered, “Yes, there is another prophet. His name is Micaiah son of Imlah. But I hate him because he will not say anything good about me when he speaks for the Lord. He always says things that I don’t like.”
Jehoshaphat said, “The king should not say that!”
9 So King Ahab told one of his officers to go and find Micaiah.
10 At that time the two kings were sitting on their thrones, with their royal robes on, at the judgment place near the gates of Samaria. All the prophets were standing before them, prophesying. 11 One of the prophets was named Zedekiah son of Kenaanah. Zedekiah made some iron horns[o] and said to Ahab, “The Lord says, ‘You will use these iron horns to fight against the army of Aram. You will defeat them and destroy them.’” 12 All the other prophets agreed with Zedekiah and said, “Your army should march now to go fight against the Arameans at Ramoth Gilead. You will win the battle. The Lord will let you defeat them.”
13 While this was happening, the officer went to find Micaiah. When he found him, the officer told him, “All the other prophets have said that the king will succeed, so you should say the same thing.”
14 But Micaiah answered, “As surely as the Lord lives, I can say only what the Lord says.”
15 Micaiah went and stood before King Ahab. The king asked him, “Micaiah, should we go and attack the Arameans at Ramoth Gilead or not?”
Micaiah answered, “Yes, go and be successful! The Lord will let you take the city.”
16 But Ahab answered, “How many times do I have to tell you? Tell me the truth. What does the Lord say?”
17 So Micaiah answered, “I can see the army of Israel scattered all over the hills, like sheep with no one to lead them. This is what the Lord says: ‘These men have no leaders. Let them go home in peace.’”
18 Then Ahab said to Jehoshaphat, “See, I told you! This prophet never says anything good about me. He always says something bad.”
19 But Micaiah said, “Listen to this message from the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on his throne. All of heaven’s army was standing around him, some on his left side and some on his right side. 20 The Lord said, ‘Which of you will go fool Ahab into attacking the Arameans at Ramoth Gilead so that he will be killed?’ The angels discussed many different plans. 21 Then a spirit[p] went and stood before the Lord and said, ‘I will fool him!’ The Lord asked, ‘How will you do it?’ 22 The spirit answered, ‘I will go to Ahab’s prophets and cause them to tell lies.’ So the Lord said, ‘Yes, that will fool Ahab. Go out and do that.’
23 “So that is what has happened here. The Lord made your prophets lie to you. The Lord himself decided to bring this disaster to you.”
24 Then the prophet Zedekiah went to Micaiah and hit him on the face. Zedekiah said, “How is it that the Spirit of the Lord left me to speak through you?”
25 Micaiah answered, “Look, what I said will happen! And you will see it one day when you are in a secret room somewhere hiding.”
26 Then King Ahab ordered one of his officers to arrest Micaiah. Ahab said, “Arrest him and take him to Amon the governor of the city and prince Joash. 27 Tell them to put Micaiah in prison. Give him nothing but bread and water to eat. Keep him there until I come home from the battle.”
28 Micaiah said, “Listen to me, everyone! Ahab, if you come back alive from the battle, the Lord has not spoken through me.”
The Battle at Ramoth Gilead
29 King Ahab of Israel and King Jehoshaphat of Judah went to fight the Arameans at Ramoth Gilead. 30 Ahab said to Jehoshaphat, “Disguise yourself when you go into battle, but wear your own clothes. And I will disguise myself.” The king of Israel went into battle dressed like an ordinary soldier.
31 The king of Aram had 32 chariot commanders. He gave them this command, “Don’t go after anyone except the king of Israel, no matter how important they are.” 32 When the commanders saw King Jehoshaphat, they thought he was the king of Israel, and so they went to kill him. Jehoshaphat started shouting. 33 When the commanders saw that he was not King Ahab, they stopped chasing him.
34 Then a soldier in the distance pulled back as far as he could on his bow and shot an arrow into the air. The arrow happened to hit the king of Israel in a small hole where his armor was fastened together. King Ahab said to his chariot driver, “I’ve been hit! Turn the chariot around and take me off the battlefield!”
35 The armies continued to fight while King Ahab was propped up in his chariot. He was leaning against the sides of the chariot, looking out toward the Arameans. His blood ran down onto the floor of the chariot. Later in the evening, he died. 36 At sunset all the Israelites cheered when they were told to go home. So they all went back to their hometowns.
37 And that is how King Ahab died. Some men carried his body to Samaria and buried him there. 38 They took his chariot to the large pool in Samaria to clean it. The dogs licked up Ahab’s blood while the prostitutes washed the chariot. This happened just as the Lord said it would.
39 The rest of what King Ahab did during the time he ruled is written in the book, The History of the Kings of Israel. That book tells about all the cities he built and about all the ivory that he used to decorate his palace. 40 Ahab died and was buried with his ancestors. His son Ahaziah became the next king after him.
Summary of Jehoshaphat’s Rule
41 Jehoshaphat son of Asa became the king of Judah in Ahab’s fourth year as king of Israel. 42 Jehoshaphat was 35 years old when he became king, and he ruled in Jerusalem for 25 years. His mother was Azubah, the daughter of Shilhi. 43 Like his father Asa, Jehoshaphat was good and did everything that the Lord wanted, but he did not destroy the high places. The people continued offering sacrifices and burning incense there.
44 Jehoshaphat made a peace agreement with the king of Israel. 45 Jehoshaphat was very brave and fought many wars. The rest of what he did is written in the book, The History of the Kings of Judah.
46 Jehoshaphat forced all the men and women who sold their bodies for sex to leave the places of worship. They had served in these places of worship while his father Asa was king.
47 In those days Edom did not have a king; it was ruled by a governor who was chosen by the king of Judah.
48 King Jehoshaphat built some cargo ships. He wanted the ships to sail to Ophir for gold, but they never went there—they were destroyed in their home port at Ezion Geber. 49 Then King Ahaziah of Israel offered to put some of his own sailors with Jehoshaphat’s men on the ships,[q] but Jehoshaphat refused to accept his help.
50 Jehoshaphat died and was buried with his ancestors in the City of David. Then his son Jehoram became the next king.
Ahaziah, King of Israel
51 Ahaziah was the son of Ahab. He became king of Israel during the 17th year that King Jehoshaphat ruled Judah. Ahaziah ruled in Samaria for two years. 52 He sinned against the Lord just as his parents, Ahab and Jezebel, did. He caused Israel to sin just as Jeroboam son of Nebat did. 53 Ahaziah served the false god Baal and worshiped him, just as his father did before him. He did all the things that his father did to make the Lord, the God of Israel, angry.
A Message for Ahaziah
1 After King Ahab died, Moab broke away from Israel’s rule.
2 One day Ahaziah was on the roof of his house in Samaria. He fell down through the wooden bars on top of his house and was badly hurt. He called messengers and told them, “Go to the priests of Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron, and ask them if I will get well from my injuries.”
3 But the Lord’s angel said to Elijah the Tishbite, “King Ahaziah has sent some messengers from Samaria. Go meet those men and ask them, ‘There is a God in Israel, so why are you men going to ask questions of Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron? 4 Since you did this, the Lord says, You will not get up from your bed. You will die!’” Then Elijah left.
5 When messengers came back to Ahaziah, he asked them, “Why did you come back so soon?”
6 The messengers said to Ahaziah, “A man came up to meet us and told us to go back to the king who sent us and tell him what the Lord says: ‘There is a God in Israel, so why did you send messengers to ask questions of Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron? Since you did this, you will not get up from your bed. You will die!’”
7 Ahaziah said to the messengers, “What did the man look like who met you and told you this?”
8 They answered Ahaziah, “This man was wearing a hairy coat[r] with a leather belt around his waist.”
Then Ahaziah said, “That was Elijah the Tishbite.”
Ahaziah Calls for Elijah
9 Ahaziah sent a captain and 50 men to Elijah. The captain went to Elijah, who was sitting on top of a hill. The captain said to Elijah, “Man of God, the king says, ‘Come down!’”
10 Elijah answered the captain of 50, “If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and destroy you and your 50 men!”
So fire came down from heaven and destroyed the captain and his 50 men.
11 Ahaziah sent another captain with 50 men to Elijah. He said to Elijah, “Man of God, the king says, ‘Come down quickly!’”
12 Elijah told the captain and his 50 men, “If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and destroy you and your 50 men!”
Then God’s fire came down from heaven and destroyed the captain and his 50 men.
13 Ahaziah sent a third captain with 50 men. The third captain came to Elijah. He fell down on his knees and begged Elijah, saying to him, “Man of God, I ask you, please let my life and the lives of your 50 servants be valuable to you. 14 Fire came down from heaven and destroyed the first two captains and their 50 men. But now, have mercy and let us live!”
15 The Lord’s angel said to Elijah, “Go with the captain. Don’t be afraid of him.”
So Elijah went with the captain to see King Ahaziah.
16 Elijah told Ahaziah, “This is what the Lord says: ‘There is a God in Israel, so why did you send messengers to ask questions of Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron? Since you did this, you will not get up from your bed. You will die!’”
Joram Takes Ahaziah’s Place
17 Ahaziah died, just as the Lord said through Elijah. Ahaziah did not have a son, so Joram became the new king after Ahaziah. He began to rule during the second year that Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat was the king of Judah.
18 The other things that Ahaziah did are written in the book, The History of the Kings of Israel.
The Lord Makes Plans to Take Elijah
2 It was near the time for the Lord to take Elijah by a whirlwind up into heaven. Elijah and Elisha started to leave Gilgal.
2 Elijah said to Elisha, “Please stay here, because the Lord told me to go to Bethel.”
But Elisha said, “I promise, as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you.” So the two men went down to Bethel.
3 The group of prophets[s] at Bethel came to Elisha and said to him, “Do you know that the Lord will take your master away from you today?”
Elisha said, “Yes, I know. Don’t talk about it.”
4 Elijah said to Elisha, “Please stay here, because the Lord told me to go to Jericho.”
But Elisha said, “I promise, as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you!” So the two men went to Jericho.
5 The group of prophets at Jericho came to Elisha and said to him, “Do you know that the Lord will take your master away from you today?”
Elisha answered, “Yes, I know. Don’t talk about it.”
6 Elijah said to Elisha, “Please stay here, because the Lord told me to go to the Jordan River.”
Elisha answered, “I promise, as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you!” So the two men went on.
7 There were 50 men from the group of prophets who followed them. Elijah and Elisha stopped at the Jordan River. The 50 men stood far away from Elijah and Elisha. 8 Elijah took off his coat, folded it, and hit the water with it. The water separated to the right and to the left. Then Elijah and Elisha crossed the river on dry ground.
9 After they crossed the river, Elijah said to Elisha, “What do you want me to do for you before God takes me away from you?”
Elisha said, “I ask you for a double share of your spirit on me.”
10 Elijah said, “You have asked a hard thing. If you see me when I am taken from you, it will happen. But if you don’t see me when I am taken from you, it will not happen.”
The Lord Takes Elijah Into Heaven
11 Elijah and Elisha were walking and talking together. Suddenly, some horses and a chariot came and separated Elijah from Elisha. The horses and the chariot were like fire. Then Elijah was carried up into heaven in a whirlwind.
12 Elisha saw it, and shouted, “My father! My father! The chariot of Israel and his horses![t]”
Elisha never saw Elijah again. Elisha grabbed his own clothes and tore them in two to show his sadness. 13 Elijah’s coat had fallen to the ground, so Elisha picked it up. He went back and stood at the edge of the Jordan River. 14 He hit the water and said, “Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah?” Just as Elisha hit the water, the water separated to the right and to the left! Then Elisha crossed the river.
The Prophets Ask for Elijah
15 When the group of prophets at Jericho saw Elisha, they said, “Elijah’s spirit is now on Elisha!” They came to meet Elisha. They bowed very low to the ground before him. 16 They said, “Look, we have 50 good men. Please let them go and look for your master. Maybe the Lord’s Spirit has taken Elijah up and dropped him on some mountain or in some valley.”
But Elisha answered, “No, don’t send men to look for Elijah!”
17 The group of prophets begged Elisha until he was embarrassed. Then Elisha said, “Send the men to look for Elijah.”
The group of prophets sent the 50 men to look for Elijah. They looked three days, but they could not find him. 18 So the men went to Jericho where Elisha was staying and told him. Elisha said to them, “I told you not to go.”
Elisha Makes the Water Good
19 The men of the city said to Elisha, “Sir, you can see this city is in a nice place, but the water is bad. That is why the land cannot grow crops.”
20 Elisha said, “Bring me a new bowl and put salt in it.”
They brought the bowl to Elisha. 21 Then he went out to the place where the water began flowing from the ground. Elisha threw the salt into the water and said, “The Lord said, ‘I am making this water pure! From now on this water will not cause any more death or keep the land from growing crops.’”
22 The water became pure and is still good today. It happened just as Elisha had said.
Some Boys Make Fun of Elisha
23 Elisha went from that city to Bethel. He was walking up the hill to the city, and some boys were coming down out of the city. They began making fun of him. They said, “Go away, you bald-headed man! Go away, you bald-headed man!”
24 Elisha looked back and saw them. He asked the Lord to cause bad things to happen to them. Then two bears came out of the forest and attacked the boys. There were 42 boys ripped apart by the bears.
25 Elisha left Bethel and went to Mount Carmel and from there he went back to Samaria.
Jehoram Becomes King of Israel
3 Joram son of Ahab became king over Israel at Samaria. He began to rule during Jehoshaphat’s 18th year as king of Judah. Joram ruled 12 years. 2 He did what the Lord said was wrong. But he was not like his father and mother, because he removed the pillar that his father had made for worshiping Baal. 3 But he continued to do the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat who had caused the Israelites to sin. Joram did not stop committing the sins of Jeroboam.
Moab Breaks Away From Israel
4 Mesha was the king of Moab. He owned many sheep. He gave the wool of 100,000 lambs and 100,000 rams to the king of Israel. 5 But when Ahab died, the king of Moab broke away from the rule of the king of Israel.
6 Then King Joram went out of Samaria and gathered together all the men of Israel. 7 Joram sent messengers to Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah. Joram said, “The king of Moab has broken away from my rule. Will you go with me to fight against Moab?”
Jehoshaphat said, “Yes, I will go with you. We will join together as one army. My people will be like your people, and my horses will be like your horses.”
The Three Kings Ask Elisha for Advice
8 Jehoshaphat asked Joram, “Which way should we go?”
Joram answered, “We should go through the desert of Edom.”
9 So the king of Israel went with the king of Judah and the king of Edom. They traveled around for seven days. There was not enough water for the army or for their animals. 10 Finally, the king of Israel said, “Oh, I think the Lord really brought us three kings together only to let the Moabites defeat us!”
11 But Jehoshaphat said, “Surely one of the Lord’s prophets is here. Let’s ask the prophet what the Lord says we should do.”
One of the servants of the king of Israel said, “Elisha son of Shaphat is here. Elisha was Elijah’s servant.[u]”
12 Jehoshaphat said, “The Lord’s word is with Elisha.”
So the king of Israel, Jehoshaphat, and the king of Edom went down to see Elisha.
13 Elisha said to the king of Israel, “What do you want from me? Go to the prophets of your father and mother.”
The king of Israel said to Elisha, “No, we have come to see you because the Lord called us three kings together to let the Moabites defeat us.”
14 Elisha said, “I respect King Jehoshaphat of Judah, and I serve the Lord All-Powerful. As surely as he lives, I came here only because of Jehoshaphat. I tell you the truth, if he were not here, I would not pay any attention to you. I would ignore you completely. 15 But now bring me someone who plays the harp.”
When the person played the harp, the Lord’s power[v] came on Elisha. 16 Then Elisha said, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Dig holes in the valley.’ 17 Yes, this is what the Lord says: ‘You will not see wind or rain, but that valley will be filled with water. Then you and your cattle and other animals will have water to drink.’ 18 This is an easy thing for the Lord to do. He will also help you defeat the Moabites. 19 You will attack every strong city and every good city. You will cut down every good tree. You will stop up all the springs of water. You will ruin every good field with stones.”
20 In the morning, at the time for the morning sacrifice, water began flowing from the direction of Edom and filled the valley.
21 The Moabites heard that the kings had come up to fight against them. So they gathered together all the men old enough to wear armor and waited at the border. 22 The Moabites got up early that morning. The rising sun was shining on the water in the valley, and it looked like blood to the Moabites. 23 They said, “Look at the blood! The kings must have fought against each other. They must have destroyed each other. Let’s go take the valuable things from the dead bodies!”
24 The Moabites came to the Israelite camp, but the Israelites came out and attacked the Moabite army. The Moabites ran away from the Israelites. The Israelites followed them into Moab to fight them. 25 The Israelites destroyed the cities. They threw their stones[w] at every good field in Moab. They stopped up all the springs of water and cut down all the good trees. The Israelites fought all the way to Kir Hareseth. The soldiers surrounded Kir Hareseth and attacked it too.
26 The king of Moab saw that the battle was too strong for him, so he took 700 men with swords to break through to the king of Edom. But they were not able to do it. 27 Then the king of Moab took his oldest son, who would become the next king after him. On the wall around the city, the king of Moab offered his son as a burnt offering. This upset the Israelites very much. So the Israelites left the king of Moab and went back to their own land.
A Prophet’s Widow Asks Elisha for Help
4 A man from the group of prophets[x] had a wife. This man died, and his wife cried out to Elisha, “My husband was like a servant to you. Now he is dead! You know he honored the Lord. But he owed money to a man. Now that man is coming to take my two boys and make them his slaves!”
2 Elisha answered, “How can I help you? Tell me, what do you have in your house?”
The woman said, “I don’t have anything in the house except a jar of olive oil.”
3 Then Elisha said, “Go and borrow bowls from all your neighbors. They must be empty. Borrow plenty of bowls. 4 Then go to your house and close the doors. Only you and your sons will be in the house. Then pour the oil into all the bowls. Fill them, and put them in a separate place.”
5 So the woman left Elisha, went into her house, and shut the door. Only she and her sons were in the house. Her sons brought the bowls to her and she poured oil. 6 She filled many bowls. Finally, she said to her son, “Bring me another bowl.”
But all the bowls were full. One of the sons said to her, “There aren’t any more bowls.” Then the oil in the jar was finished!
7 When she told the man of God what had happened, Elisha said to her, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debt. You and your sons can live on the money that is left.”
A Woman in Shunem Gives Elisha a Room
8 One day Elisha went to Shunem, where an important woman lived. She asked Elisha to stop and eat at her house. So every time Elisha went through that place, he stopped there to eat.
9 The woman said to her husband, “Look, I can see that Elisha is a holy man of God. He passes by our house all the time. 10 Please, let’s make a little room on the roof[y] for him. Let’s put a bed in this room and a table, a chair, and a lampstand. Then when he comes to our house, he can have this room for himself.”
11 One day Elisha came to the woman’s house. He went to this room and rested there. 12 Elisha said to his servant Gehazi, “Call this Shunammite woman.”
The servant called the Shunammite woman, and she stood in front of Elisha. 13 Elisha told his servant, “Now say to her, ‘Look, you have done your best to take care of us. What can we do for you? Do you want us to speak to the king for you, or to the captain of the army?’”
She answered, “I am fine living here among my own people.”
14 Elisha said to Gehazi, “What can we do for her?”
He answered, “I know! She does not have a son, and her husband is old.”
15 Then Elisha said, “Call her.”
So Gehazi called the woman. She came and stood at his door. 16 Elisha said, “About this time next spring, you will be holding your own baby boy in your arms.”
The woman said, “No, sir! Man of God, don’t lie to me!”
The Woman in Shunem Has a Son
17 But the woman did become pregnant and gave birth to a son that next spring, just as Elisha had said.
18 The boy grew. One day the boy went out into the fields to see his father and the men cutting the grain. 19 The boy said to his father, “Oh, my head! My head hurts!”
The father said to his servant, “Carry him to his mother!”
20 The servant took the boy to his mother. The boy sat on his mother’s lap until noon. Then he died.
The Woman Goes to See Elisha
21 The woman laid the boy on the bed of Elisha, the man of God. Then she shut the door to that room and went outside. 22 She called to her husband and said, “Please send me one of the servants and a donkey. Then I will go quickly to get the man of God and come back.”
23 The woman’s husband said, “Why would you want to go to the man of God today? It isn’t the New Moon or Sabbath day.”
She said, “Goodbye!”[z]
24 Then she put a saddle on a donkey and said to her servant, “Let’s go, and hurry! Go slow only when I tell you.”
25 The woman went to Mount Carmel to get the man of God.
The man of God saw the Shunammite woman coming from far away and said to his servant Gehazi, “Look, there’s the Shunammite woman! 26 Please run now to meet her! Say to her, ‘Are you all right? Is your husband all right? Is the child all right?’”
She answered, “Everything is all right.”[aa]
27 But the Shunammite woman went up the hill to the man of God. She bowed down and touched Elisha’s feet. Gehazi came near to pull her away. But the man of God said to Gehazi, “Leave her alone! She’s very upset, and the Lord didn’t tell me about it. He hid this news from me.”
28 Then she said, “Sir, I never asked for a son. I told you, ‘Don’t trick me!’”
29 Then Elisha said to Gehazi, “Get ready to go. Take my walking stick and go! If you meet anyone along the way, don’t even stop to say hello to him. If anyone says hello to you, don’t answer. Put my walking stick on the child’s face.”
30 But the child’s mother said, “I promise, as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave without you!”
So Elisha got up and followed her.
31 Gehazi arrived at the house before Elisha and the Shunammite woman. Gehazi laid the walking stick on the child’s face, but the child did not talk or show any sign that he heard anything. Then Gehazi came back to meet Elisha and said, “The child will not wake up!”
The Woman’s Son Comes Back to Life
32 Elisha went into the house, and there was the child, lying dead on his bed. 33 Elisha went into the room and shut the door. He and the child were alone in the room now. Then he prayed to the Lord. 34 Elisha went to the bed and lay on the child. He put his eyes on the child’s eyes, his mouth on the child’s mouth, and his hands on the child’s hands. He lay there on top of the child until the child’s body became warm.
35 Then Elisha turned away and walked around the room. He went back and lay on the child until the child sneezed seven times and opened his eyes.
36 Elisha called Gehazi and said, “Call the Shunammite woman!”
Gehazi called her, and she came to Elisha. Elisha said, “Pick up your son.”
37 Then the Shunammite woman went into the room and bowed down at Elisha’s feet. Then she picked up her son and went out.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International