Bible in 90 Days

King Omri of Israel

²¹ After Zimri died, some of the Israelites wanted Tibni son of Ginath to be king, but others wanted Omri. ²² Omri's followers were stronger than Tibni's, so Tibni was killed, and Omri became king of Israel ²³ in the thirty-first year of Asa's rule in Judah.

Omri ruled Israel for twelve years. The first six years he ruled from Tirzah, ²⁴ then he bought the hill of Samaria from Shemer for 6,000 pieces of silver. He built a town there and named it Samaria, after Shemer who had owned the hill.

²⁵ Omri did more evil things than any king before him. ²⁶ He acted just like Jeroboam and made the Lord God of Israel angry by causing the Israelites to sin and to worship idols.

²⁷ Everything else Omri did while he was king, including his brave deeds, is written in The History of the Kings of Israel. ²⁸ Omri died and was buried in Samaria, and his son Ahab became king.

King Ahab of Israel

²⁹ Ahab son of Omri became king of Israel in the thirty-eighth year of Asa's rule in Judah, and he ruled 22 years from Samaria.

³⁰ Ahab did more things to disobey the Lord than any king before him. ³¹ He acted just like Jeroboam. Even worse, he married Jezebel the daughter of King Ethbaal of Sidon^[a] and started worshiping Baal. ³² Ahab built an altar and temple for Baal in Samaria ³³ and set up a sacred pole^[b] for worshiping the goddess Asherah. Ahab did more to make the Lord God of Israel angry than any king of Israel before him.

^34 (A) While Ahab was king, a man from Bethel named Hiel rebuilt the town of Jericho. But while Hiel was laying the foundation for the town wall, his oldest son Abiram died. And while he was finishing the gates, his youngest son Segub died. This happened just as the Lord had told Joshua to say many years ago.^[c]

Elijah Stops the Rain

17 ^(B) Elijah was a prophet from Tishbe in Gilead.^[d] One day he went to King Ahab and said, “I'm a servant of the living Lord, the God of Israel. And I swear in his name that it won't rain until I say so. There won't even be any dew on the ground.”

² Later, the Lord said to Elijah, ³ “Leave and go across the Jordan River so you can hide near Cherith Creek. ⁴ You can drink water from the creek, and eat the food I've told the ravens to bring you.”

⁵ Elijah obeyed the Lord and went to live near Cherith Creek. ⁶ Ravens brought him bread and meat twice a day, and he drank water from the creek. ⁷ But after a while, it dried up because there was no rain.

Elijah Helps a Widow in Zarephath

⁸ The Lord told Elijah, ^9 (C) “Go to the town of Zarephath in Sidon and live there. I've told a widow in that town to give you food.”

¹⁰ When Elijah came near the town gate of Zarephath, he saw a widow gathering sticks for a fire. “Would you please bring me a cup of water?” he asked. ¹¹ As she left to get it, he asked, “Would you also please bring me a piece of bread?”

¹² The widow answered, “In the name of the living Lord your God, I swear that I don't have any bread. All I have is a handful of flour and a little olive oil. I'm on my way home now with these few sticks to cook what I have for my son and me. After that, we will starve to death.”

¹³ Elijah said, “Everything will be fine. Do what you said. Go home and fix something for you and your son. But first, please make a small piece of bread and bring it to me. ¹⁴ The Lord God of Israel has promised that your jar of flour won't run out and your bottle of oil won't dry up before he sends rain for the crops.”

¹⁵ The widow went home and did exactly what Elijah had told her. She and Elijah and her family had enough food for a long time. ¹⁶ The Lord kept the promise that his prophet Elijah had made, and she did not run out of flour or oil.

Elijah Brings a Boy Back to Life

¹⁷ Several days later, the son of the woman who owned the house^[e] got sick, and he kept getting worse, until finally he died.

¹⁸ The woman shouted at Elijah, “What have I done to you? I thought you were God's prophet. Did you come here to cause the death of my son as a reminder that I've sinned against God?”^[f]

¹⁹ “Bring me your son,” Elijah said. Then he took the boy from her arms and carried him upstairs to the room where he was staying. Elijah laid the boy on his bed ²⁰ and prayed, “Lord God, why did you do such a terrible thing to this woman? She's letting me stay here, and now you've let her son die.” ^21 (D) Elijah stretched himself out over the boy three times, while praying, “Lord God, bring this boy back to life!”

²² The Lord answered Elijah's prayer, and the boy started breathing again. ²³ Elijah picked him up and carried him downstairs. He gave the boy to his mother and said, “Look, your son is alive.”

²⁴ “You are God's prophet!” the woman replied. “Now I know that you really do speak for the Lord.”

Elijah Proves He Is the Lord's Prophet

18 ^1-2 For three years no rain fell in Samaria, and there was almost nothing to eat anywhere. The Lord said to Elijah, “Go and meet with King Ahab. I will soon make it rain.” So Elijah went to see Ahab.

^3-4 At that time Obadiah was in charge of Ahab's palace, but he faithfully worshiped the Lord. In fact, when Jezebel was trying to kill the Lord's prophets, Obadiah hid 100 of them in two caves and gave them food and water.

Ahab sent for Obadiah ⁵ and said, “We have to find something for our horses and mules to eat. If we don't, we will have to kill them. Let's look around every creek and spring in the country for some grass. ⁶ You go one way, and I'll go the other.” Then they left in separate directions.

⁷ As Obadiah was walking along, he met Elijah. Obadiah recognized him, bowed down, and asked, “Elijah, is it really you?”

⁸ “Yes. Go tell Ahab I'm here.”

⁹ Obadiah replied:

King Ahab would kill me if I told him that. And I haven't even done anything wrong. ¹⁰ I swear to you in the name of the living Lord your God that the king has looked everywhere for you. He sent people to look in every country, and when they couldn't find you, he made the leader of each country swear that you were not in that country. ¹¹ Do you really want me to tell him you're here?

¹² What if the Lord's Spirit takes you away as soon as I leave? When Ahab comes to get you, he won't find you. Then he will surely kill me.

I have worshiped the Lord since I was a boy. ¹³ I even hid 100 of the Lord's prophets in caves when Jezebel was trying to kill them. I also gave them food and water. ¹⁴ Do you really want me to tell Ahab you're here? He will kill me!

¹⁵ Elijah said, “I'm a servant of the living Lord All-Powerful, and I swear in his name that I will meet with Ahab today.”

¹⁶ Obadiah left and told Ahab where to find Elijah.

Ahab went to meet Elijah, ¹⁷ and when he saw him, Ahab shouted, “There you are, the biggest troublemaker in Israel!”

¹⁸ Elijah answered:

You're the troublemaker—not me! You and your family have disobeyed the Lord's commands by worshiping Baal.

¹⁹ Call together everyone from Israel to meet me on Mount Carmel. Be sure to bring along the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of Asherah who eat at Jezebel's table.

²⁰ Ahab got everyone together, then they went to meet Elijah on Mount Carmel. ²¹ Elijah stood in front of them and said, “How much longer will you try to have things both ways? If the Lord is God, worship him! But if Baal is God, worship him!”

The people did not say a word.

²² Then Elijah continued:

I am the Lord's only prophet, but Baal has 450 prophets.

²³ Bring us two bulls. Baal's prophets can take one of them, kill it, and cut it into pieces. Then they can put the meat on the wood without lighting the fire. I will do the same thing with the other bull, and I won't light a fire under it either.

²⁴ The prophets of Baal will pray to their god, and I will pray to the Lord. The one who answers by starting the fire is God.

“That's a good idea,” everyone agreed.

²⁵ Elijah said to Baal's prophets, “There are more of you, so you go first. Pick out a bull and get it ready, but don't light the fire. Then pray to your god.”

²⁶ They chose their bull, then they got it ready and prayed to Baal all morning, asking him to start the fire. They danced around the altar and shouted, “Answer us, Baal!” But there was no answer.

²⁷ At noon, Elijah began making fun of them. “Pray louder!” he said. “Baal must be a god. Maybe he's daydreaming or using the toilet or traveling somewhere. Or maybe he's asleep, and you have to wake him up.”

²⁸ The prophets kept shouting louder and louder, and they cut themselves with swords and knives until they were bleeding. This was the way they worshiped, ²⁹ and they kept it up until time for the evening sacrifice. But there was no answer of any kind.

³⁰ Elijah told everyone to gather around him while he repaired the Lord's altar. ^31-32 (E) Then he used twelve stones to build an altar in honor of the Lord. Each stone stood for one of the tribes of Israel, which was the name the Lord had given to their ancestor Jacob. Elijah dug a ditch around the altar, large enough to hold about 14 liters. ³³ He placed the wood on the altar, then they cut the bull into pieces and laid the meat on the wood.

He told the people, “Fill four large jars with water and pour it over the meat and the wood.” After they did this, ³⁴ he told them to do it two more times. They did exactly as he said ³⁵ until finally, the water ran down the altar and filled the ditch.

³⁶ When it was time for the evening sacrifice, Elijah prayed:

Our Lord, you are the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel. Now, prove that you are the God of this nation,^[g] and that I, your servant, have done this at your command. ³⁷ Please answer me, so these people will know that you are the Lord God, and that you will turn their hearts back to you.^[h]

³⁸ The Lord immediately sent fire, and it burned up the sacrifice, the wood, and the stones. It scorched the ground everywhere around the altar and dried up every drop of water in the ditch. ³⁹ When the crowd saw what had happened, they all bowed down and shouted, “The Lord is God! The Lord is God!”

⁴⁰ Just then, Elijah said, “Grab the prophets of Baal! Don't let any of them get away.”

So the people captured the prophets and took them to Kishon River, where Elijah killed every one of them.

It Starts To Rain

⁴¹ Elijah told Ahab, “Get something to eat and drink. I hear a heavy rain coming.”

^42 (F) Ahab left, but Elijah climbed back to the top of Mount Carmel. Then he stooped down with his face almost to the ground ⁴³ and said to his servant, “Look toward the sea.”

The servant left. And when he came back, he said, “I looked, but I didn't see anything.” Elijah told him to look seven more times.

⁴⁴ After the seventh time the servant replied, “I see a small cloud coming this way. But it's no bigger than a fist.”

Elijah told him, “Tell Ahab to get his chariot ready and start home now. Otherwise, the rain will stop him.”

^45-46 A few minutes later, it got very cloudy and windy, and rain started pouring down. So Elijah wrapped his coat around himself, and the Lord gave him strength to run all the way to Jezreel. Ahab followed in his chariot.

Elijah Runs Away from Ahab and Jezebel

19 Ahab told his wife Jezebel what Elijah had done and that he had killed the prophets. ² She sent a message to Elijah: “You killed my prophets. Now I'm going to kill you! I pray that the gods will punish me even more severely if I don't do it by this time tomorrow.”

³ Elijah was afraid when he got her message, and he ran to the town of Beersheba in Judah. He left his servant there, ^4 (G) then walked another whole day into the desert. Finally, he came to a large bush and sat down in its shade. He begged the Lord, “I've had enough. Just let me die! I'm no better off than my ancestors.” ⁵ Then he lay down in the shade and fell asleep.

Suddenly an angel woke him up and said, “Get up and eat.” ⁶ Elijah looked around, and by his head was a jar of water and some baked bread. He sat up, ate and drank, then lay down and went back to sleep.

⁷ Soon the Lord's angel woke him again and said, “Get up and eat, or else you'll get too tired to travel.” ⁸ So Elijah sat up and ate and drank.

The food and water made him strong enough to walk 40 more days. At last, he reached Mount Sinai,^[i] the mountain of God, ⁹ and he spent the night there in a cave.

The Lord Appears to Elijah

While Elijah was on Mount Sinai, the Lord asked, “Elijah, why are you here?”

^10 (H) He answered, “Lord God All-Powerful, I've always done my best to obey you. But your people have broken their solemn promise to you. They have torn down your altars and killed all your prophets, except me. And now they are even trying to kill me!”

¹¹ “Go out and stand on the mountain,” the Lord replied. “I want you to be there when I pass by.”

All at once, a strong wind shook the mountain and shattered the rocks. But the Lord was not in the wind. Next, there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. ¹² Then there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire.

Finally, there was a gentle breeze,^{[j] 13} and when Elijah heard it, he covered his face with his coat. He went out and stood at the entrance to the cave.

A voice asked, “Elijah, why are you here?”

¹⁴ Elijah answered, “Lord God All-Powerful, I've always done my best to obey you. But your people have broken their solemn promise to you. They have torn down your altars and killed all your prophets, except me. And now they are even trying to kill me!”

^15 (I) The Lord said:

Elijah, you can go back to the desert near Damascus. And when you get there, appoint^[k] Hazael to be king of Syria. ^16 (J) Then appoint Jehu son of Nimshi to be king of Israel, and Elisha son of Shaphat^[l] to take your place as my prophet.

¹⁷ Hazael will start killing the people who worship Baal. Jehu will kill those who escape from Hazael, and Elisha will kill those who escape from Jehu.

^18 (K) But 7,000 Israelites have refused to worship Baal, and they will live.

Elisha Becomes Elijah's Assistant

¹⁹ Elijah left and found Elisha plowing a field with a pair of oxen. There were eleven other men in front of him, and each one was also plowing with a pair of oxen. Elijah went over and put his own coat on Elisha.^[m]

²⁰ Elisha stopped plowing and ran after him. “Let me kiss my parents goodbye, then I'll go with you,” he said.

“You can go,” Elijah said. “But remember what I've done for you.”

²¹ Elisha left and took his oxen with him. He killed them and boiled them over a fire he had made with the wood from his plow. He gave the meat to the people who were with him, and they ate it. Then he left with Elijah and became his assistant.

Syria Attacks Israel

20 King Benhadad of Syria^[n] called his army together. He was joined by 32 other kings with their horses and chariots, and together they marched to Samaria and attacked. ² Benhadad sent a messenger to tell King Ahab of Israel, ³ “Ahab, give me your silver and gold, your wives,^[o] and your strongest sons!”

⁴ “Your Majesty,” Ahab replied, “everything I have is yours, including me.”

⁵ Later, Benhadad sent another messenger to say to Ahab, “I already told you to give me your silver and gold, your wives, and your children. ⁶ But tomorrow at this time, I will send my officials into your city to search your palace and the houses of your officials. They will take everything else that you^[p] own.”

⁷ Ahab called a meeting with the leaders of Israel and said, “Benhadad is causing real trouble. He told me to give him my wives and children, as well as my silver and gold. And I agreed.”

⁸ “Don't listen to him!” they answered. “You don't have to do what he says.”

⁹ So Ahab sent someone to tell Benhadad, “Your Majesty, I'll give you my silver and gold, and even my wives and children. But I won't let you have anything else.”

When Benhadad got his answer, ¹⁰ he replied, “I'll completely destroy Samaria! There won't even be enough of it left for my soldiers to carry back in their hands. If I don't do it, I pray that the gods will punish me terribly.”

¹¹ Ahab then answered, “Benhadad, don't brag before the fighting even begins. Wait and see if you live through it.”

¹² Meanwhile, Benhadad and the other kings had been drinking in their tents. But when Ahab's reply came, he ordered his soldiers to prepare to attack Samaria, and they all got ready.

¹³ At that very moment, a prophet ran up to Ahab and said, “You can see that Benhadad's army is very strong. But the Lord has promised to help you defeat them today. Then you will know that the Lord is in control.”

¹⁴ “Who will fight the battle?” Ahab asked.

The prophet answered, “The young bodyguards who serve the district officials.”

“But who will lead them into battle?” Ahab asked.

“You will!” the prophet replied.

¹⁵ So Ahab called together the 232 young soldiers and the 7,000 troops in Israel's army, and he got them ready to fight the Syrians.

Israel Defeats the Syrians

^16-17 At noon, King Ahab and his Israelite army marched out of Samaria, with the young soldiers in front.

King Benhadad of Syria and the 32 kings with him were drunk when the scouts he had sent out ran up to his tent, shouting, “We just now saw soldiers marching out of Samaria!”

¹⁸ “Take them alive!” Benhadad ordered. “I don't care if they have come out to fight or to surrender.”

¹⁹ The young soldiers led Israel's troops into battle, ²⁰ and each of them attacked and killed an enemy soldier. The rest of the Syrian army turned and ran, and the Israelites went after them. Benhadad and some others escaped on horses, ²¹ but Ahab and his soldiers followed them and captured^[q] their horses and chariots.

Ahab and Israel's army crushed the Syrians.

²² Later, the prophet^[r] went back and warned Ahab, “Benhadad will attack you again next spring. Build up your troops and make sure you have some good plans.”

Syria Attacks Israel Again

²³ Meanwhile, Benhadad's officials went to him and explained:

Israel's gods are mountain gods. We fought Israel's army in the hills, and that's why they defeated us. But if we fight them on flat land, there's no way we can lose.

²⁴ Here's what you should do. First, get rid of those 32 kings and put army commanders in their places. ²⁵ Then get more soldiers, horses, and chariots, so your army will be as strong as it was before. We'll fight Israel's army on flat land and wipe them out.

Benhadad agreed and did what they suggested.

²⁶ In the spring, Benhadad got his army together, and they marched to the town of Aphek to attack Israel. ²⁷ The Israelites also prepared to fight. They marched out to meet the Syrians, and the two armies camped across from each other. The Syrians covered the whole area, but the Israelites looked like two little flocks of goats.

²⁸ The prophet went to Ahab and said, “The Syrians think the Lord is a god of the hills and not of the valleys. So he has promised to help you defeat their powerful army. Then you will know that the Lord is in control.”

²⁹ For seven days the two armies stayed in their camps, facing each other. Then on the seventh day the fighting broke out, and before sunset the Israelites had killed 100,000 Syrian troops. ³⁰ The rest of the Syrian army ran back to Aphek, but the town wall fell and crushed 27,000 of them.

Benhadad also escaped to Aphek and hid in the back room of a house. ³¹ His officials said, “Your Majesty, we've heard that Israel's kings keep their agreements. We will wrap sackcloth around our waists, put ropes around our heads, and ask Ahab to let you live.”

³² They dressed in sackcloth and put ropes on their heads, then they went to Ahab and said, “Your servant Benhadad asks you to let him live.”

“Is he still alive?” Ahab asked. “Benhadad is like a brother to me.”

³³ Benhadad's officials were trying to figure out what Ahab was thinking, and when he said “brother,” they quickly replied, “You're right! You and Benhadad are like brothers.”

“Go get him,” Ahab said.

When Benhadad came out, Ahab had him climb up into his chariot.

³⁴ Benhadad said, “I'll give back the towns my father took from your father. And you can have shops in Damascus, just as my father had in Samaria.”

Ahab replied, “If you do these things, I'll let you go free.” Then they signed a peace treaty, and Ahab let Benhadad go.

A Prophet Condemns Ahab

³⁵ About this time the Lord commanded a prophet to say to a friend, “Hit me!” But the friend refused, ^36 (L) and the prophet told him, “You disobeyed the Lord, and as soon as you walk away, a lion will kill you.” The friend left, and suddenly a lion killed him.

³⁷ The prophet found someone else and said, “Hit me!” So this man beat him up.

³⁸ The prophet left and put a bandage over his face to disguise himself. Then he went and stood beside the road, waiting for Ahab to pass by.

³⁹ When Ahab went by, the prophet shouted, “Your Majesty, right in the heat of battle, someone brought a prisoner to me and told me to guard him. He said if the prisoner got away, I would either be killed or forced to pay 3,000 pieces of silver. ⁴⁰ But I got busy doing other things, and the prisoner escaped.”

Ahab answered, “You will be punished just as you have said.”

⁴¹ The man quickly tore the bandage off his face, and Ahab saw that he was one of the prophets. ⁴² The prophet said, “The Lord told you to kill Benhadad, but you let him go. Now you will die in his place, and your people will die in place of his people.”

⁴³ Ahab went back to Samaria, angry and depressed.

Jezebel Has Naboth Killed

21 Naboth owned a vineyard in Jezreel near King Ahab's palace.

² One day, Ahab said, “Naboth, your vineyard is near my palace. Give it to me so I can turn it into a vegetable garden. I'll give you a better vineyard or pay whatever you want for yours.”

³ Naboth answered, “This vineyard has always been in my family. I won't let you have it.”

⁴ So Ahab went home, angry and depressed because of what Naboth had told him. He lay on his bed, just staring at the wall and refusing to eat a thing.

⁵ Jezebel his wife came in and asked, “What's wrong? Why won't you eat?”

⁶ “I asked Naboth to sell me his vineyard or to let me give him a better one,” Ahab replied. “And he told me I couldn't have it.”

⁷ “Aren't you the king of Israel?” Jezebel asked. “Get out of bed and eat something! Don't worry, I'll get Naboth's vineyard for you.”

^8-10 Jezebel wrote a letter to each of the leaders of the town where Naboth lived. In the letters she said:

Call everyone together and tell them to go without eating^[s] today. When they come together, give Naboth a seat at the front. Get two liars to sit facing him and swear that Naboth has cursed God and the king. Then take Naboth outside and stone him to death!

She signed Ahab's name to the letters and sealed them with his seal. Then she sent them to the town leaders.

¹¹ After receiving her letters, they did exactly what she had asked. ¹² They told the people that it was a day to go without eating, and when they all came together, they seated Naboth at the front. ¹³ The two liars came in and sat across from Naboth. Then they accused him of cursing God and the king, so the people dragged Naboth outside and stoned him to death.

¹⁴ The leaders of Jezreel sent a message back to Jezebel that said, “Naboth is dead.”

¹⁵ As soon as Jezebel got their message, she told Ahab, “Now you can have the vineyard Naboth refused to sell. He's dead.” ¹⁶ Ahab got up and went to take over the vineyard.

Elijah Condemns Ahab

¹⁷ The Lord said to Elijah the prophet, ¹⁸ “King Ahab of Israel is in Naboth's vineyard right now, taking it over. ¹⁹ Go tell him that I say, ‘Ahab, you murdered Naboth and took his property. And so, in the very spot where dogs licked up Naboth's blood, they will lick up your blood.’ ”

When Elijah found him, ²⁰ Ahab said, “So, my enemy, you found me at last.”

Elijah answered:

Yes, I did! Ahab, you have managed to do everything the Lord hates. ²¹ Now you will be punished. You and every man and boy in your family will die, whether slave or free. ²² Your whole family will be wiped out, just like the families of King Jeroboam and King Baasha. You've made the Lord very angry by sinning and causing the Israelites to sin.

^23 (M) And as for Jezebel, dogs will eat her body there in Jezreel. ²⁴ Dogs will also eat the bodies of your relatives who die in town, and vultures will eat the bodies of those who die in the country.

^25-29 When Ahab heard this, he tore his clothes in sorrow and wore sackcloth day and night. He was depressed and refused to eat.

Some time later, the Lord said, “Elijah, do you see how sorry Ahab is for what he did? I won't punish his family while he is still alive. I'll wait until his son is king.”

No one was more determined than Ahab to disobey the Lord. And Jezebel encouraged him. Worst of all, he had worshiped idols, just as the Amorites^[t] had done before the Lord forced them out of the land and gave it to Israel.

Micaiah Warns Ahab about Disaster

(2 Chronicles 18.2-27)

22 For the next three years there was peace between Israel and Syria. ² During the third year King Jehoshaphat of Judah went to visit King Ahab of Israel.

³ Ahab asked his officials, “Why haven't we tried to get Ramoth in Gilead back from the Syrians? It belongs to us.” ⁴ Then he asked Jehoshaphat, “Would you go to Ramoth with me and attack the Syrians?”

“Just tell me what to do,” Jehoshaphat answered. “My army and horses are at your command. ⁵ But first, let's ask the Lord.”

⁶ Ahab sent for about 400 prophets and asked, “Should I attack the Syrians at Ramoth?”

“Yes!” the prophets answered. “The Lord will help you defeat them.”

⁷ But Jehoshaphat said, “Just to make sure, is there another of the Lord's prophets we can ask?”

⁸ “We could ask Micaiah son of Imlah,” Ahab said. “But I hate Micaiah. He always has bad news for me.”

“Don't say that!” Jehoshaphat replied. ⁹ Then Ahab sent someone to bring Micaiah as soon as possible.

¹⁰ All this time, Ahab and Jehoshaphat were dressed in their royal robes and were seated on their thrones at the threshing place near the gate of Samaria. They were listening to the prophets tell them what the Lord had said.

¹¹ Zedekiah son of Chenaanah was one of the prophets. He had made some horns out of iron and shouted, “Ahab, the Lord says you will attack the Syrians like a bull with iron horns and wipe them out!”

¹² All the prophets agreed that Ahab should attack the Syrians at Ramoth, and they promised that the Lord would help him defeat them.

¹³ Meanwhile, the messenger who went to get Micaiah whispered, “Micaiah, all the prophets have good news for Ahab. Now go and say the same thing.”

¹⁴ “I'll say whatever the living Lord tells me to say,” Micaiah replied.

¹⁵ Then Micaiah went to Ahab, and Ahab asked, “Micaiah, should I attack the Syrians at Ramoth?”

“Yes!” Micaiah answered. “The Lord will help you defeat them.”

¹⁶ “Micaiah, I've told you over and over to tell me the truth!” Ahab shouted. “What does the Lord really say?”

^17 (N) He answered, “In a vision^[u] I saw Israelite soldiers walking around in the hills like sheep without a shepherd to guide them. The Lord said, ‘This army has no leader. They should go home and not fight.’ ”

¹⁸ Ahab turned to Jehoshaphat and said, “I told you he would bring bad news!”

^19 (O) Micaiah replied:

Listen to this! I also saw the Lord seated on his throne with every creature in heaven gathered around him. ²⁰ The Lord asked, “Who can trick Ahab and make him go to Ramoth where he will be killed?”

They talked about it for a while, ²¹ then finally a spirit came forward and said to the Lord, “I can trick Ahab.”

“How?” the Lord asked.

²² “I'll make Ahab's prophets lie to him.”

“Good!” the Lord replied. “Now go and do it.”

²³ This is exactly what has happened, Ahab. The Lord made all your prophets lie to you, and he knows you will soon be destroyed.

²⁴ Zedekiah walked up to Micaiah and slapped him on the face. Then he asked, “Do you really think the Lord would speak to you and not to me?”

²⁵ Micaiah answered, “You'll find out on the day you have to hide in the back room of some house.”

²⁶ Ahab shouted, “Arrest Micaiah! Take him to Prince Joash and Governor Amon of Samaria. ²⁷ Tell them to put him in prison and to give him nothing but bread and water until I come back safely.”

²⁸ Micaiah said, “If you do come back, I was wrong about what the Lord wanted me to say.” Then he told the crowd, “Don't forget what I said!”

Ahab Dies at Ramoth

(2 Chronicles 18.28-34)

²⁹ Ahab and Jehoshaphat led their armies to Ramoth in Gilead. ³⁰ Before they went into battle, Ahab said, “Jehoshaphat, I'll disguise myself, but you wear your royal robe.” Then Ahab disguised himself and went into battle.

³¹ The king of Syria had ordered his 32 chariot commanders to attack only Ahab. ³² So when they saw Jehoshaphat in his robe, they thought he was Ahab and started to attack him. But when Jehoshaphat shouted out to them, ³³ they realized he wasn't Ahab, and they left him alone.

³⁴ However, during the fighting a soldier shot an arrow without even aiming, and it hit Ahab where two pieces of his armor joined. He shouted to his chariot driver, “I've been hit! Get me out of here!”

³⁵ The fighting lasted all day, with Ahab propped up in his chariot so he could see the Syrian troops. He bled so much that the bottom of the chariot was covered with blood, and by evening he was dead.

³⁶ As the sun was going down, someone in Israel's army shouted to the others, “Retreat! Go back home!”

³⁷ Ahab's body was taken to Samaria and buried there. ³⁸ Some workers washed his chariot near a spring in Samaria, and prostitutes washed themselves in his blood.^[v] Dogs licked Ahab's blood off the ground, just as the Lord had warned.

³⁹ Everything else Ahab did while he was king, including the towns he strengthened and the palace he built and furnished with ivory, is written in The History of the Kings of Israel. ⁴⁰ Ahab died, and his son Ahaziah became king.

King Jehoshaphat of Judah

(2 Chronicles 20.31—21.1)

⁴¹ Jehoshaphat son of Asa became 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 from Jerusalem for 25 years. His mother was Azubah daughter of Shilhi.

^43-46 Jehoshaphat obeyed the Lord, just as his father Asa had done, and during his rule he was at peace with the king of Israel.

He got rid of the rest of the prostitutes^[w] from the local shrines, but he did not destroy the shrines, and they were still used as places for offering sacrifices.

Everything else Jehoshaphat did while he was king, including his brave deeds and military victories, is written in The History of the Kings of Judah.

⁴⁷ The country of Edom had no king at the time, so a lower official ruled the land.

⁴⁸ Jehoshaphat had seagoing ships^[x] built to sail to Ophir for gold. But they were wrecked at Ezion-Geber and never sailed. ⁴⁹ Ahaziah son of Ahab offered to let his sailors go with Jehoshaphat's sailors, but Jehoshaphat refused.

⁵⁰ Jehoshaphat died and was buried beside his ancestors in Jerusalem,^[y] and his son Jehoram became king.

King Ahaziah of Israel

⁵¹ Ahaziah son of Ahab became king of Israel in the seventeenth year of Jehoshaphat's rule in Judah, and he ruled two years from Samaria.

⁵² Ahaziah disobeyed the Lord, just as his father, his mother, and Jeroboam had done. They all led Israel to sin. ⁵³ Ahaziah worshiped Baal and made the Lord God of Israel very angry, just as his father had done.

The Lord Condemns Ahaziah

1 ^1-2 Soon after King Ahab of Israel died, the country of Moab rebelled against his son King Ahaziah.^[z]

One day, Ahaziah fell through the wooden slats around the porch on the flat roof of his palace in Samaria, and he was badly injured. So he sent some messengers to the town of Ekron^[aa] with orders to ask the god Baalzebub if he would get well.

³ About the same time, an angel from the Lord sent Elijah the prophet from Tishbe to say to the king's messengers, “Ahaziah has rejected Israel's own God by sending you to ask Baalzebub about his injury. ⁴ Tell him that because he has done this, he's on his deathbed!” And Elijah did what he was told.

⁵ When the messengers returned to Ahaziah, he asked, “Why are you back so soon?”

⁶ “A man met us along the road with a message for you from the Lord,” they answered. “The Lord wants to know why you sent us to ask Baalzebub about your injury and why you don't believe there's a God in Israel. The man also told us that the Lord says you're going to die.”

⁷ “What did the man look like?” Ahaziah asked.

^8 (P) “He was hairy^[ab] and had a leather belt around his waist,” they answered.

“It must be Elijah!” replied Ahaziah. ⁹ So at once he sent an army officer and 50 soldiers to meet Elijah.

Elijah was sitting on top of a hill^[ac] at the time. The officer went up to him and said, “Man of God,^[ad] the king orders you to come down and talk with him.”

^10 (Q) “If I am a man of God,” Elijah answered, “God will send down fire on you and your 50 soldiers.” Fire immediately came down from heaven and burned up the officer and his men.

¹¹ Ahaziah sent another officer and 50 more soldiers to Elijah. The officer said, “Man of God, the king orders you to come see him at once.”

¹² “If I am a man of God,” Elijah answered, “fire will destroy you and your 50 soldiers.” And God sent down fire^[ae] from heaven on the officer and his men.

¹³ Ahaziah sent a third army officer and 50 more soldiers. This officer went up to Elijah, then he got down on his knees and begged, “Man of God, please be kind to me and these 50 servants of yours. Let us live! ¹⁴ Fire has already wiped out the other officers and their soldiers. Please don't let it happen to me.”

¹⁵ The angel from the Lord said to Elijah, “Go with him and don't be afraid.” So Elijah got up and went with the officer.

¹⁶ When Elijah arrived, he told Ahaziah, “The Lord wants to know why you sent messengers to Ekron to ask Baalzebub about your injury. Don't you believe there's a God in Israel? Ahaziah, because you did that, the Lord says you will die.”

¹⁷ Ahaziah died, just as the Lord had said. But since Ahaziah had no sons, Joram^[af] his brother^[ag] then became king. This happened in the second year that Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat was king of Judah.^{[ah] 18} Everything else Ahaziah did while he was king is written in The History of the Kings of Israel.

The Lord Takes Elijah Away

2 Not long before the Lord took Elijah up into heaven in a strong wind, Elijah and Elisha were leaving Gilgal. ² Elijah said to Elisha, “The Lord wants me to go to Bethel, but you must stay here.”

Elisha replied, “I swear by the living Lord and by your own life that I will stay with you no matter what!” And he went with Elijah to Bethel.

³ A group of prophets who lived there asked Elisha, “Do you know that today the Lord is going to take away your master?”

“Yes, I do,” Elisha answered. “But don't remind me of it.”

⁴ Elijah then said, “Elisha, now the Lord wants me to go to Jericho, but you must stay here.”

Elisha replied, “I swear by the living Lord and by your own life, that I will stay with you no matter what!” And he went with Elijah to Jericho.

⁵ A group of prophets who lived there asked Elisha, “Do you know that today the Lord is going to take away your master?”

“Yes, I do,” Elisha answered. “But don't remind me of it.”

⁶ Elijah then said to Elisha, “Now the Lord wants me to go to the Jordan River, but you must stay here.”

Elisha replied, “I swear by the living Lord and by your own life that I will never leave you!” So the two of them walked on together.

⁷ Fifty prophets followed Elijah and Elisha from Jericho, then stood at a distance and watched as the two men walked toward the river. ⁸ When they got there, Elijah took off his coat, then he rolled it up and struck the water with it. At once a path opened up through the river, and the two of them walked across on dry ground.

^9 (R) After they had reached the other side, Elijah said, “Elisha, the Lord will soon take me away. What can I do for you before that happens?”

Elisha answered, “Please give me twice as much of your power as you give the other prophets, so I can be the one who takes your place as their leader.”

¹⁰ “It won't be easy,” Elijah answered. “It can happen only if you see me as I am being taken away.”

¹¹ Elijah and Elisha were walking along and talking, when suddenly there appeared between them a flaming chariot pulled by fiery horses. At once, a strong wind took Elijah up into heaven. ^12 (S) Elisha saw this and shouted, “Israel's cavalry and chariots have taken my master away!”^[ai] After Elijah had gone, Elisha tore his clothes in sorrow.

¹³ Elijah's coat had fallen off, so Elisha picked it up and walked back to the Jordan River. ¹⁴ He struck the water with the coat and wondered, “Will the Lord perform miracles for me as he did for Elijah?” As soon as Elisha did this, a dry path opened up through the water, and he walked across.

¹⁵ When the prophets from Jericho saw what happened, they said to each other, “Elisha now has Elijah's power.”

They walked over to him, bowed down, ¹⁶ and said, “There are 50 strong men here with us. Please let them go look for your master. Maybe the Spirit of the Lord carried him off to some mountain or valley.”

“No,” Elisha replied, “they won't find him.”

¹⁷ They kept begging until he was embarrassed to say no. He finally agreed, and the prophets sent the men out. They looked three days for Elijah but never found him. ¹⁸ They returned to Jericho, and Elisha said, “I told you that you wouldn't find him.”

Elisha Makes the Water Pure at Jericho

¹⁹ One day the people of Jericho said, “Elisha, you can see that our city is in a good spot. But the water from our spring is so bad that it even keeps our crops from growing.”

²⁰ He replied, “Put some salt in a new bowl and bring it to me.”

They brought him the bowl of salt, ²¹ and he carried it to the spring. He threw the salt into the water and said, “The Lord has made this water pure again. From now on you'll be able to grow crops, and no one will starve.”

²² The water has been fine ever since, just as Elisha said.

Some Boys Make Fun of Elisha

²³ Elisha left and headed toward Bethel. Along the way some boys started making fun of him by shouting, “Go away, baldy! Get out of here!”

²⁴ Elisha turned around and stared at the boys. Then he cursed them in the name of the Lord. At once two bears ran out of the woods and ripped to pieces 42 of the boys.

²⁵ Elisha went up to Mount Carmel, then returned to Samaria.

King Joram of Israel

3 Joram^[aj] son of Ahab became king of Israel in Jehoshaphat's eighteenth year as king of Judah.^[ak] Joram ruled twelve years from Samaria ² and disobeyed the Lord by doing wrong. He tore down the stone image his father had made to honor Baal, and so he wasn't as sinful as his parents. ³ But he kept doing the sinful things that Jeroboam son of Nebat had led Israel to do.^[al]

The Country of Moab Rebels against Israel

⁴ For many years the country of Moab had been controlled by Israel and was forced to pay taxes to the kings of Israel. King Mesha of Moab raised sheep, so he paid the king of Israel 100,000 lambs and the wool from 100,000 rams. ⁵ But soon after the death of Ahab, Mesha rebelled against Israel.

⁶ One day, Joram left Samaria and called together Israel's army. ⁷ He sent this message to King Jehoshaphat of Judah, “The king of Moab has rebelled. Will you go with me to attack him?”

“Yes, I will,” Jehoshaphat answered. “I'm on your side, and my soldiers and horses are at your command. ⁸ But which way should we go?”

“We will march through Edom Desert,” Joram replied.

⁹ So Joram, Jehoshaphat, and the king of Edom led their troops out. But seven days later, there was no drinking water left for them or their animals. ¹⁰ Joram cried out, “This is terrible! The Lord must have led us out here to be captured by Moab's army.”

¹¹ Jehoshaphat said, “Which of the Lord's prophets is with us? We can find out from him what the Lord wants us to do.”

One of Joram's officers answered, “Elisha son of Shaphat is here. He was one of Elijah's closest followers.”

¹² Jehoshaphat replied, “He can give us the Lord's message.”

The three kings went over to Elisha, ¹³ and he asked Joram, “Why did you come to me? Go talk to the prophets of the foreign gods your parents worshiped.”^[am]

“No,” Joram answered. “It was the Lord who led us out here, so that Moab's army could capture us.”

¹⁴ Elisha said to him, “I serve the Lord All-Powerful, and as surely as he lives, I swear I wouldn't even look at you if I didn't respect King Jehoshaphat.” ¹⁵ Then Elisha said, “Send for someone who can play the harp.”

The harpist began playing, and the Lord gave Elisha this message for Joram:

¹⁶ The Lord says that this dry riverbed will be filled with water.^{[an] 17} You won't feel any wind or see any rain, but there will be plenty of water for you and your animals.

¹⁸ That simple thing isn't all the Lord is going to do. He will also help you defeat Moab's army. ¹⁹ You will capture all their walled cities and important towns. You will chop down every good tree and stop up every spring of water, then ruin their fertile fields by covering them with rocks.

²⁰ The next morning, while the sacrifice was being offered, water suddenly started flowing from the direction of Edom, and it flooded the land.

²¹ Meanwhile, the people of Moab had heard that the three kings were coming to attack them. They had called together all of their fighting men, from the youngest to the oldest, and these troops were now standing at their border, ready for battle. ²² When they got up that morning, the sun was shining across the water, making it look red. The Moabite troops took one look ²³ and shouted, “Look at that blood! The armies of those kings must have fought and killed each other. Come on, let's go take what's left in their camp.”

²⁴ But when they arrived at Israel's camp, the Israelite soldiers came out and attacked them, until they turned and ran away. Israel's army chased them all the way back to Moab, and even there they kept up the attack.^{[ao] 25} The Israelites destroyed the Moabite towns. They chopped down the good trees and stopped up the springs of water, then covered the fertile fields with rocks.

Finally, the only city left standing was Kir-Hareseth, but soldiers armed with slings surrounded and attacked it. ²⁶ King Mesha of Moab saw that he was about to be defeated. So he took along 700 soldiers with swords and tried to break through the front line where the Edomite troops were positioned. But he failed. ²⁷ He then grabbed his oldest son who was to be the next king and sacrificed him as an offering on the city wall. The Israelite troops were so horrified that^[ap] they left the city and went back home.

Elisha Helps a Poor Widow

4 One day the widow of one of the Lord's prophets said to Elisha, “You know that before my husband died, he was a follower of yours and a worshiper of the Lord. But he owed a man some money, and now that man is on his way to take my two sons as his slaves.”

² “Maybe there's something I can do to help,” Elisha said. “What do you have in your house?”

“Sir, I have nothing but a small bottle of olive oil.”

³ Elisha told her, “Ask your neighbors for their empty jars. And after you've borrowed as many as you can, ⁴ go home and shut the door behind you and your sons. Then begin filling the jars with oil and set each one aside as you fill it.” ⁵ The woman left.

Later, when she and her sons were back inside their house, the two sons brought her the jars, and she began filling them.

⁶ At last, she said to one of her sons, “Bring me another jar.”

“We don't have any more,” he answered, and the oil stopped flowing from the small bottle.

⁷ After she told Elisha what had happened, he said, “Sell the oil and use part of the money to pay what you owe the man. You and your sons can live on what is left.”

Elisha Brings a Rich Woman's Son Back to Life

⁸ Once, while Elisha was in the town of Shunem,^[aq] he met a rich woman who invited him to her home for dinner. After that, whenever he was in Shunem, he would have a meal there with her and her husband.

⁹ Some time later the woman said to her husband, “I'm sure the man who comes here so often is a prophet of God. ¹⁰ Why don't we build him a small room on the flat roof of our house? We can put a bed, a table and chair, and an oil lamp in it. Then whenever he comes, he can stay with us.”

¹¹ The next time Elisha was in Shunem, he stopped at their house and went up to his room to rest. ^12-13 He said to his servant Gehazi, “This woman has been very helpful. Have her come up here to the roof for a moment.” She came, and Elisha told Gehazi to say to her, “You've gone to a lot of trouble for us, and we want to help you. Is there something we can request the king or army commander to do?”^[ar]

The woman answered, “With my relatives nearby, I have everything I need.”

¹⁴ “Then what can we do for her?” Elisha asked Gehazi.

Gehazi replied, “I do know that her husband is old, and that she doesn't have a son.”

¹⁵ “Ask her to come here again,” Elisha told his servant. He called for her, and she came and stood in the doorway of Elisha's room.

^16 (T) Elisha said to her, “Next year at this time, you'll be holding your own baby son in your arms.”

“You're a man of God,” the woman replied. “Please don't lie to me.”

¹⁷ But a few months later, the woman got pregnant. She gave birth to a son, just as Elisha had promised.

¹⁸ One day while the boy was still young, he was out in the fields with his father, where the workers were harvesting the crops. ¹⁹ Suddenly he shouted, “My head hurts. It hurts a lot!”

“Carry him back to his mother,” the father said to his servant. ²⁰ The servant picked up the boy and carried him to his mother. The boy lay on her lap all morning, and by noon he was dead. ²¹ She carried him upstairs to Elisha's room and laid him across the bed. Then she walked out and shut the door behind her.

²² The woman called to her husband, “I need to see the prophet. Let me use one of the donkeys. Send a servant along with me, and let me leave now, so I can get back quickly.”

²³ “Why do you need to see him today?” her husband asked. “It's not the Sabbath or time for the New Moon Festival.”

“That's all right,” she answered. ²⁴ She saddled the donkey and said to her servant, “Let's go. And don't slow down unless I tell you to.” ²⁵ She left at once for Mount Carmel to talk with Elisha.^[as]

When Elisha saw her coming, he said, “Gehazi, look! It's the woman from Shunem. ²⁶ Run and meet her. And ask her if everything is all right with her and her family.”

“Everything is fine,” she answered Gehazi. ²⁷ But as soon as she got to the top of the mountain, she went over and grabbed Elisha by the feet.

Gehazi started toward her to push her away, when Elisha said, “Leave her alone! Don't you see how sad she is? But the Lord hasn't told me why.”

²⁸ The woman said, “Sir, I begged you not to get my hopes up, and I didn't even ask you for a son.”

²⁹ “Gehazi, get ready and go to her house,” Elisha said. “Take along my walking stick, and when you get there, lay it on the boy's face. Don't stop to talk to anyone, even if they try to talk to you.”

³⁰ But the boy's mother said to Elisha, “I swear by the living Lord and by your own life that I won't leave without you.” So Elisha got up and went with them.

³¹ Gehazi ran on ahead and laid Elisha's walking stick on the boy's face, but the boy didn't move or make a sound. Gehazi ran back to Elisha and said, “The boy didn't wake up.”

³² Elisha arrived at the woman's house and went straight to his room, where he saw the boy's body on his bed. ³³ He walked in, shut the door, and prayed to the Lord. ^34 (U) Then he got on the bed and stretched out over the dead body, with his mouth on the boy's mouth, his eyes on his eyes, and his hand on his hands. As he lay there, the boy's body became warm. ³⁵ Elisha got up and walked back and forth in the room, then he went back and leaned over the boy's body. The boy sneezed seven times and opened his eyes.

³⁶ Elisha called out to Gehazi, “Ask the boy's mother to come here.” Gehazi did, and when she was at the door, Elisha said, “You can take your son.”

³⁷ She came in and bowed down at Elisha's feet. Then she picked up her son and left.