Bible in 90 Days

²¹ Then the people of Israel were divided into two parts: half of the people followed Tibni, the son of Ginath, to make him king; and half followed Omri.

²² But the people that followed Omri prevailed against the people that followed Tibni, the son of Ginath; so Tibni died, and Omri reigned.

²³ In the year thirty-one of Asa, king of Judah, Omri began to reign over Israel, and he reigned twelve years; he reigned six years in Tirzah.

²⁴ And he bought the mountain of Samaria of Shemer for two talents of silver and built on the mount and called the name of the city which he built, after the name of Shemer, lord of the hill, Samaria.

²⁵ And Omri wrought evil in the eyes of the LORD and did worse than all that were before him.

²⁶ For he walked in all the way of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, and in his sin with which he made Israel sin, provoking the LORD God of Israel to anger with their vanities.

²⁷ Now the rest of the acts of Omri which he did and his might that he showed, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?

²⁸ So Omri slept with his fathers and was buried in Samaria; and Ahab, his son, reigned in his stead.

²⁹ ¶ And in the year thirty-eight of Asa, king of Judah, Ahab, the son of Omri, began to reign over Israel. And Ahab the son of Omri, reigned over Israel in Samaria twenty-two years.

³⁰ And Ahab, the son of Omri, did evil in the sight of the LORD above all that were before him,

³¹ for it was as a light thing unto him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, and he took to wife Jezebel, the daughter of Ethbaal, king of the Zidonians, and went and served Baal and worshipped him.

³² And he raised up an altar to Baal in the house of Baal, which he had built in Samaria.

³³ Ahab also made groves, and Ahab did more to provoke the LORD God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel that were before him.

³⁴ In his time Hiel, the Bethelite, rebuilt Jericho. He laid the foundation thereof in Abiram, his firstborn, and set up the gates thereof in his youngest son Segub, according to the word of the LORD, which he had spoken by Joshua the son of Nun.

17 ¶ Then Elijah, the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the LORD God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word.

² And the word of the LORD came unto him, saying,

³ Leave this place and turn to the east and hide thyself by the brook Cherith, that is before the Jordan,

⁴ and thou shalt drink of the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there.

⁵ So he went and did according unto the word of the LORD; for he went and dwelt by the brook Cherith, that is before the Jordan.

⁶ And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning and bread and flesh in the evening, and he drank from the brook.

⁷ And it came to pass after a while that the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land.

⁸ ¶ And the word of the LORD came unto him, saying,

⁹ Arise, go to Zarephath of Zidon, and thou shalt dwell there; behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee.

¹⁰ So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, the widow woman was there gathering of sticks; and he called to her and said, Bring me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel, that I may drink.

¹¹ And as she was going to fetch it, he called to her again and said, Bring me also, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thy hand.

¹² And she said, As the LORD thy God lives, I have no baked bread, but only a handful of meal in a pitcher and a little oil in a cruse; and now I was gathering two sticks that I may go in and prepare it for me and my son, that we may eat it and die.

¹³ And Elijah said unto her, Fear not; go and do as thou hast said; but first make me a little cake of bread baked under the ashes and bring it unto me, and afterwards thou shalt make for thee and for thy son.

¹⁴ For thus hath said the LORD God of Israel, The pitcher of meal shall not be consumed, neither shall the cruse of oil fail until that day when the LORD shall send rain upon the earth.

¹⁵ And she went and did as Elijah told her; and he and she and her house ate for many days.

¹⁶ And the pitcher of meal was not consumed, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the LORD which he spoke by Elijah.

¹⁷ ¶ And it came to pass after these things that the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, fell sick; and his sickness was so severe that there was no breath left in him.

¹⁸ And she said unto Elijah, What have I to do with thee, O thou man of God? Art thou come unto me to call my iniquity to remembrance and to cause my son to die?

¹⁹ And he said unto her, Give me thy son. And he took him out of her bosom and carried him up into the chamber where he abode and laid him upon his own bed.

²⁰ And he cried unto the LORD and said, O LORD my God, hast thou even brought evil upon the widow, with whom I sojourn, by killing her son?

²¹ And he stretched himself upon the child three times and cried unto the LORD and said, O LORD my God, I pray thee, let this child’s soul come into him again.

²² And the LORD heard the voice of Elijah, and the soul of the child came into him again, and he revived.

²³ And Elijah took the child and brought him down out of the chamber into the house and delivered him unto his mother, and Elijah said, See, thy son lives.

²⁴ Then the woman said to Elijah, Now by this I know that thou art a man of God and that the word of the LORD is true in thy mouth.

18 ¶ And it came to pass after many days that the word of the LORD came to Elijah in the third year, saying, Go, show thyself unto Ahab; and I will send rain upon the earth.

² And Elijah went to show himself unto Ahab. And there was a severe famine in Samaria.

³ And Ahab called Obadiah, who was the governor of his house. (Now Obadiah feared the LORD greatly,

⁴ for when Jezebel cut off the prophets of the LORD, Obadiah took one hundred prophets and hid them in groups of fifty in caves and sustained them with bread and water.)

⁵ And Ahab said unto Obadiah, Go through the land to all the fountains of water and to all the brooks; peradventure we may find herbage to save the horses and mules alive that we not lose all the beasts.

⁶ So they divided the land between them to pass throughout it; Ahab went one way by himself, and Obadiah went another way by himself.

⁷ And as Obadiah was in the way, Elijah met him; and when he recognized him, he fell on his face, and said, Art thou not my lord Elijah?

⁸ And he answered him, I am; go, tell thy lord, Behold Elijah. {Heb. The LORD is God}

⁹ And he said, In what have I sinned that thou should deliver thy slave into the hand of Ahab, for him to slay me?

¹⁰ As the LORD thy God lives, there is no nation or kingdom where my lord has not sent to seek thee; and when they all said, He is not here; he has caused kingdoms and nations to swear an oath if they have found thee or not.

¹¹ And now thou sayest, Go, tell thy lord, Behold Elijah.

¹² And it shall come to pass as soon as I am gone from thee, that the Spirit of the LORD shall carry thee where I know not; and so when I come and tell Ahab, and he cannot find thee, he shall slay me; but I, thy slave, fear the LORD from my youth.

¹³ Was it not told my lord what I did when Jezebel slew the prophets of the LORD, how I hid one hundred men of the LORD’s prophets in groups of fifty in caves and sustained them with bread and water?

¹⁴ And now thou sayest, Go, tell thy lord, Behold Elijah; and he shall slay me.

¹⁵ And Elijah said unto him, As the LORD of the hosts lives, before whom I stand, I will surely show myself unto him today.

¹⁶ Then Obadiah went to meet Ahab and told him, and Ahab came to meet Elijah.

¹⁷ ¶ And it came to pass when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said unto him, Art thou he that troubles Israel?

¹⁸ And he answered, I have not troubled Israel; but thou and thy father’s house, in that ye have forsaken the commandments of the LORD, and thou hast followed Baalim.

¹⁹ Now therefore send and gather to me all Israel unto Mount Carmel, and the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal, and the four hundred prophets of the groves, who eat at Jezebel’s table.

²⁰ Then Ahab sent unto all the sons of Israel and gathered the prophets together unto Mount Carmel.

²¹ ¶ And Elijah came near unto all the people and said, How long shall ye halt between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him. And the people did not answer him a word.

²² Then Elijah spoke again unto the people, I, even I only, remain a prophet of the LORD; but Baal’s prophets are four hundred and fifty men.

²³ Give us, therefore, two bullocks, and let them choose one bullock for themselves and cut it in pieces and lay it on wood and put no fire under it; and I will dress the other bullock and lay it on wood and put no fire under it.

²⁴ And invoke ye in the name of your gods, and I will invoke in the name of the LORD; and it shall be that the God that answers by fire is God. And all the people answered and said, It is well spoken.

²⁵ So Elijah said unto the prophets of Baal, Choose you one bullock for yourselves and dress it first, for ye are many, and invoke in the name of your gods, but put no fire under it.

²⁶ And they took the bullock which was given them, and they dressed it and invoked in the name of Baal from morning even until noon, saying, O Baal, answer us. But there was no voice nor anyone that answered. And they jumped up and down near the altar which they had made.

²⁷ And it came to pass at noon that Elijah mocked them and said, Cry aloud, for he is a god; peradventure he is talking or he had to go to the latrine, or he is on a journey, or he sleeps and will awake.

²⁸ And they cried aloud and cut themselves after their manner with knives and lancets until the blood gushed out upon them.

²⁹ And when midday was past, even so they prophesied until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, and there was neither voice nor anyone that answered nor anyone that heard.

³⁰ Then Elijah said unto all the people, Come near unto me. And all the people came near unto him. And he repaired the altar of the LORD that was broken down.

³¹ And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, unto whom the word of the LORD came, saying, Israel shall be thy name;

³² and with the stones he built an altar in the name of the LORD; then he made a trench round about the altar, as great as would contain two measures of seed.

³³ And he put the wood in order and cut the bullock in pieces and laid it on the wood and said, Fill four pitchers with water and pour it on the burnt sacrifice and on the wood.

³⁴ And he said, Do it the second time, and they did it the second time. And he said, Do it the third time, and they did it the third time.

³⁵ So that the water ran round about the altar, and he had filled the trench also with water.

³⁶ And it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near and said, LORD God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel and that I am thy slave and that I have done all these things at thy word.

³⁷ Answer me, O LORD, answer me, that this people may know that thou art the LORD God and that thou shalt convert their heart back again to thee.

³⁸ Then fire of the LORD fell, which consumed the burnt sacrifice and the wood and the stones and the dust and licked up the water that was in the trench.

³⁹ And seeing it, all the people fell on their faces, and they said, The LORD, he is the God; the LORD, he is the God.

⁴⁰ And Elijah said unto them, Seize the prophets of Baal; let not one of them escape. And they seized them; and Elijah took them down to the brook Kishon and slew them there.

⁴¹ ¶ Then Elijah said to Ahab, Go up, eat and drink; for there is a sound of abundance of rain.

⁴² So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel, and he cast himself down upon the earth and put his face between his knees

⁴³ and said to his slave, Go up now, look toward the sea. And he went up and looked and said, There is nothing. And he said, Go again seven times.

⁴⁴ And the seventh time he said, Behold, a little cloud like the palm of a man’s hand arises out of the sea. And he said, Go and say to Ahab, Prepare thy chariot and descend that the rain not stop thee.

⁴⁵ And it came to pass in the meanwhile that the heavens became black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Ahab rode and went to Jezreel.

⁴⁶ And the hand of the LORD was upon Elijah, who girded up his loins and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.

19 ¶ And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done and of how he had slain all the prophets with the sword.

² Then Jezebel sent a messenger unto Elijah, saying, So let the gods do to me, and more also, if by tomorrow at this time I have not made thy person as one of them.

³ And when he saw that, he arose and departed to save his life and came to Beersheba, which is in Judah, and left his servant there.

⁴ But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness and came and sat down under a juniper tree; and desiring to die, he said, It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life, for I am not better than my fathers.

⁵ And as he lay and slept under a juniper tree, behold, then an angel touched him and said unto him, Arise and eat.

⁶ Then he looked and behold, there was a cake baked on the coals and a cruse of water at his head. And he ate and drank and went back to sleep.

⁷ And the angel of the LORD came again the second time and touched him and said, Arise and eat, for there is a great journey before thee.

⁸ And he arose and ate and drank and went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights unto Horeb, the mount of God.

⁹ ¶ And there he went into a cave, where he lodged; and the word of the LORD came to him, and he said unto him, What doest thou here, Elijah?

¹⁰ And he replied, I have been very jealous for the LORD God of the hosts, for the sons of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left, and they seek me to take my life.

¹¹ And he said, Go forth and stand upon the mount before the LORD. And, behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake.

¹² And after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire, a still small voice,

¹³ Which when Elijah heard it, he covered his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the door of the cave. And, behold, there came a voice unto him, saying, What doest thou here, Elijah?

¹⁴ And he replied, I have been very jealous for the LORD God of the hosts because the sons of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left, and they seek me to take my life.

¹⁵ And the LORD said unto him, Go, return on thy way by the wilderness of Damascus; and thou shalt arrive there and anoint Hazael to be king over Syria;

¹⁶ and Jehu, the son of Nimshi, thou shalt anoint to be king over Israel; and Elisha, the son of Shaphat of Abelmeholah, thou shalt anoint to be prophet in thy place.

¹⁷ And it shall be that he that escapes the sword of Hazael, Jehu shall slay; and he that escapes from the sword of Jehu, Elisha shall slay.

¹⁸ And I will cause seven thousand to remain in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which has not kissed him.

¹⁹ ¶ So he departed from there and found Elisha, the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he with the twelfth. And Elijah passed by him and cast his mantle upon him.

²⁰ So he left the oxen and ran after Elijah and said, Let me, I pray thee, kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow thee. And he said unto him, Go back again, for what have I done to thee?

²¹ And he returned back from him and took a yoke of oxen and slew them and boiled their flesh with the instruments of the oxen and gave unto the people and they ate. Then he arose and went after Elijah and served him.

20 ¶ Then Benhadad, the king of Syria, gathered all his host together; and there were thirty-two kings with him and horses and chariots; and he went up and besieged Samaria and warred against it.

² And he sent messengers to Ahab, king of Israel, into the city and said unto him, Thus hath Benhadad said,

³ Thy silver and thy gold is mine; thy wives also and thy children, even the goodliest, are mine.

⁴ And the king of Israel answered and said, My lord, O king, according to thy word, I am thine and all that I have.

⁵ And the messengers came again and said, Thus hath Benhadad said, Although I have sent unto thee, saying, Thou shalt deliver me thy silver and thy gold and thy wives and thy children,

⁶ yet I will send my slaves unto thee tomorrow about this time, and they shall search thy house and the houses of thy slaves; and it shall be that whatever is precious in thine eyes, they shall put it in their hand and take it away.

⁷ Then the king of Israel called all the elders of the land and said, Understand, I pray you, and see how this man seeks only evil, for he sent unto me for my wives and for my children and for my silver and for my gold, and I denied him not.

⁸ And all the elders and all the people said unto him, Hearken not unto him, nor consent.

⁹ So he said unto the messengers of Benhadad, Tell my lord the king, All that thou didst send for to thy slave at the first I will do, but this thing I may not do. And the messengers departed and brought him word again.

¹⁰ And Benhadad sent unto him again and said, The gods do so unto me, and more also, that the dust of Samaria shall not be enough for the open hands of all the people that follow me.

¹¹ And the king of Israel answered and said, Tell him, Let not him that girds on his harness boast as he that puts it off.

¹² ¶ And when he heard this word, as he was drinking with the kings in the pavilions, he said unto his slaves, Set yourselves in array. And they set themselves in array against the city.

¹³ And, behold, there came a prophet unto Ahab, king of Israel, saying, Thus hath the LORD said, Hast thou seen all this great multitude? Behold, I will deliver it into thy hand today, that thou shalt know that I am the LORD.

¹⁴ And Ahab said, By whom? And he said, Thus hath the LORD said, Even by the young men of the princes of the provinces. Then he said, Who shall begin the battle? And he answered, Thou.

¹⁵ Then he numbered the young men of the princes of the provinces, and they were two hundred and thirty-two: and after them he numbered all the people, even all the sons of Israel, being seven thousand.

¹⁶ And they went out at noon. But Benhadad was drinking himself drunk in the pavilions, he and the kings, the thirty-two kings that helped him.

¹⁷ And the young men of the princes of the provinces went out first. And Benhadad had sent out men who warned him, saying, There are men come out of Samaria.

¹⁸ Then he said, If they have come out for peace, take them alive; or if they have come out for war, take them alive.

¹⁹ So these young men of the princes of the provinces came out of the city, and the army followed after them.

²⁰ And each one smote the man that came against him; and the Syrians fled; and Israel pursued them. And Benhadad, the king of Syria, escaped on a horse with some of the horsemen.

²¹ And the king of Israel went out and smote the horsemen and the chariots and smote the Syrians with a great slaughter.

²² ¶ And the prophet came to the king of Israel and said unto him, Go, strengthen thyself, and consider, and see what thou must do, for at the return of the year the king of Syria will come up against thee.

²³ And the slaves of the king of Syria said unto him, Their gods are gods of the mountains; therefore, they were stronger than we; but let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they.

²⁴ Therefore, do this: Remove the kings from their positions and put captains in their place.

²⁵ And prepare another army like the army that thou hast lost, horse for horse and chariot for chariot; then we will fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they. And he hearkened unto their voice, and did so.

²⁶ And it came to pass at the return of the year, that Benhadad numbered the Syrians and went up to Aphek, to fight against Israel.

²⁷ And the sons of Israel were numbered and took provisions and went against them; and the sons of Israel pitched before them like two little flocks of kids; but the Syrians filled the land.

²⁸ Then the man of God came and spoke unto the king of Israel and said, Thus hath the LORD said, Because the Syrians have said, The LORD is God of the mountains, but he is not God of the valleys, therefore, I will deliver all this great multitude into thy hand that ye may know that I am the LORD.

²⁹ And they pitched one over against the other seven days. And so it was that in the seventh day the battle was joined; and the sons of Israel slew of the Syrians one hundred thousand footmen in one day.

³⁰ But the rest fled to Aphek into the city, and the wall fell upon twenty-seven thousand of the men that were left. And Benhadad also fled and came into the city, into an inner chamber.

³¹ ¶ Then his slaves said unto him, Behold now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings; let us, I pray thee, put sackcloth on our loins and ropes upon our heads and go out to the king of Israel; peradventure he will give thee thy life.

³² So they girded sackcloth on their loins and put ropes on their heads and came to the king of Israel and said, Thy slave Benhadad saith, I pray thee, let me live. And he replied, If he is yet alive, he is my brother.

³³ Now these men took this as a good omen and quickly took this word from his mouth, and they said, Thy brother Benhadad! And he said, Go ye, bring him. Then Benhadad came forth to him, and he caused him to come up into the chariot.

³⁴ And Benhadad said unto him, The cities, which my father took from thy father, I will restore; and thou shalt make plazas for thee in Damascus, as my father made in Samaria, and I will leave here confederated with thee. So he made a covenant with him and sent him away.

³⁵ Then a certain man of the sons of the prophets said unto his neighbour by the word of the LORD, Smite me, I pray thee. And the man refused to smite him.

³⁶ Then said he unto him, Because thou hast not obeyed the voice of the LORD, behold, as soon as thou art departed from me, a lion shall smite thee. And as soon as he was departed from him, a lion found him and smote him.

³⁷ Then he found another man and said, Smite me, I pray thee. And the man smote him and wounded him.

³⁸ So the prophet departed and waited for the king by the way and disguised himself with a veil over his eyes.

³⁹ And as the king passed by, he cried unto the king, and he said, Thy slave went out into the midst of the battle; and, behold, a man turned aside and brought a man unto me and said, Guard this man; if by any means he should get away, then shall thy life be for his life, or else thou shalt pay a talent of silver.

⁴⁰ And when thy slave was busy here and there, he disappeared. Then the king of Israel said unto him, So shall thy sentence be; thou thyself hast decided it.

⁴¹ Then he quickly took the veil away from his face; and the king of Israel recognized that he was of the prophets.

⁴² And he said unto him, Thus hath the LORD said, Because thou hast let go out of thy hand the man of my anathema, therefore, thy life shall go for his life and thy people for his people.

⁴³ And the king of Israel went to his house, sad and angry, and came to Samaria.

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

² And Ahab spoke unto Naboth, saying, Give me thy vineyard that I may have it for a garden of herbs because it is next to my house, and I will give thee for it a better vineyard than it; or if it seems good unto thee, I will give thee the worth of it in money.

³ And Naboth replied unto Ahab, The LORD keep me from giving thee the inheritance of my fathers.

⁴ And Ahab came into his house, sad and angry, because of the word which Naboth of Jezreel had spoken to him, for he had said, I will not give thee the inheritance of my fathers. And he lay down upon his bed and turned away his face and would eat no bread.

⁵ ¶ And Jezebel, his wife, came to him and said unto him, Why is thy spirit so sad that thou dost eat no bread?

⁶ And he said unto her, Because I spoke with Naboth of Jezreel and said unto him, Give me thy vineyard for money; or else, if it please thee, I will give thee another vineyard for it; and he answered, I will not give thee my vineyard.

⁷ And Jezebel, his wife, said unto him, Dost thou now govern the kingdom of Israel? Arise and eat bread and let thy heart be merry; I will give thee the vineyard of Naboth of Jezreel.

⁸ So she wrote letters in Ahab’s name and sealed them with his seal and sent the letters unto the elders and to the nobles that were in his city dwelling with Naboth.

⁹ And she wrote in the letters, saying, Proclaim a fast and set Naboth at the head of the people

¹⁰ and set two men, sons of Belial, before him, to bear witness against him, saying, Thou didst blaspheme God and the king. And then carry him out and stone him that he may die.

¹¹ And the men of his city, even the elders and the nobles who were the inhabitants in his city, did as Jezebel had sent unto them and as it was written in the letters which she had sent unto them.

¹² They proclaimed a fast and set Naboth at the head of the people.

¹³ Then the two men, sons of Belial, came in and sat before him; and those men of Belial witnessed against Naboth, in the presence of the people, saying, Naboth blasphemed God and the king. Then they carried him forth out of the city, and stoned him with stones that he died.

¹⁴ Then they sent to Jezebel, saying, Naboth has been stoned and is dead.

¹⁵ And it came to pass when Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned and was dead that she said to Ahab, Arise, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth of Jezreel which he refused to give thee for money, for Naboth is not alive, but dead.

¹⁶ And it came to pass when Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, that Ahab rose up to go down to the vineyard of Naboth of Jezreel, to take possession of it.

¹⁷ ¶ Then the word of the LORD came to Elijah, the Tishbite, saying,

¹⁸ Arise, go down to meet Ahab, king of Israel, who is in Samaria; behold, he is in the vineyard of Naboth, where he is gone down to possess it.

¹⁹ And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus hath the LORD said, Hast thou murdered and also taken possession? And thou shalt speak unto him again, saying, Thus hath the LORD said, In the same place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth shall the dogs also lick thy blood, even thine.

²⁰ And Ahab said to Elijah, Hast thou found me, O my enemy? And he answered, I have found thee because thou hast sold thyself to work evil in the sight of the LORD.

²¹ Behold, I will bring evil upon thee and will burn away thy posterity and will cut off from Ahab him that pisses against the wall and he that is kept and he that is left in Israel.

²² And I will make thy house like the house of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat and like the house of Baasha, the son of Ahijah, for the provocation with which thou hast provoked me to anger and made Israel to sin.

²³ And of Jezebel, the LORD has also spoken, saying, The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the rampart of Jezreel.

²⁴ Him that dies of Ahab in the city, the dogs shall eat, and him that dies in the field, shall the fowls of the air eat.

²⁵ (Truly there was none like unto Ahab, who sold himself to work wickedness in the sight of the LORD, because Jezebel his wife incited him.

²⁶ He was very abominable, following idols, according to all the things that the Amorites did, whom the LORD cast out before the sons of Israel.)

²⁷ And it came to pass, when Ahab heard those words, that he rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his flesh and fasted and slept in sackcloth and went softly.

²⁸ Then the word of the LORD came to Elijah, the Tishbite, saying,

²⁹ Seest thou how Ahab has humbled himself before me? Because he has humbled himself before me, I will not bring the evil in his days, but in his son’s days I will bring the evil upon his house.

22 ¶ And they continued three years without war between Syria and Israel.

² And it came to pass in the third year, that Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, came down to the king of Israel.

³ And the king of Israel said unto his slaves, Know ye that Ramoth in Gilead is ours, and we are late in not taking it out of the hand of the king of Syria?

⁴ And he said unto Jehoshaphat, Wilt thou go with me to battle to Ramothgilead? And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, I am as thou art, my people as thy people, my horses as thy horses.

⁵ And Jehoshaphat said unto the king of Israel, Enquire, I pray thee, at the word of the LORD today.

⁶ Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, about four hundred men, and said unto them, Shall I go against Ramothgilead to battle, or shall I forbear? And they said, Go up, for the Lord shall deliver it into the hand of the king.

⁷ And Jehoshaphat said, Is there even yet a prophet of the LORD here that we might enquire of him?

⁸ And the king of Israel replied unto Jehoshaphat, There is yet one man, Micaiah, the son of Imlah, by whom we may enquire of the LORD; but I hate him, for he does not prophesy good concerning me, but evil. And Jehoshaphat said, Let not the king say so.

⁹ Then the king of Israel called a eunuch and said, Bring Micaiah, the son of Imlah, here quickly.

¹⁰ And the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, sat each on his throne, having put on their robes, in the plaza at the entrance of the gate of Samaria, and all the prophets prophesied before them.

¹¹ And Zedekiah, the son of Chenaanah, made himself horns of iron, and he said, Thus hath the LORD said, With these shalt thou push the Syrians until thou have consumed them.

¹² And all the prophets prophesied so, saying, Go up to Ramothgilead and be prospered, for the LORD shall deliver it into the king’s hand.

¹³ And the messenger that had gone to call Micaiah spoke unto him, saying, Behold now, the words of the prophets declare good unto the king with one mouth; now let thy word, I pray thee, be like the word of one of them and speak that which is good.

¹⁴ And Micaiah said, As the LORD lives, all that the LORD says unto me, that will I speak.

¹⁵ ¶ So he came to the king. And the king said unto him, Micaiah, shall we go against Ramothgilead to battle, or shall we forbear? And he answered him, Go and be prospered, for the LORD shall deliver it into the hand of the king.

¹⁶ And the king said unto him, How many times shall I adjure thee that thou tell me nothing but that which is true in the name of the LORD?

¹⁷ Then he said, I saw all Israel scattered upon the mountains as sheep without a shepherd; and the LORD said, These have no master; let them return each man to his house in peace.

¹⁸ And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, Did I not tell thee that he would not prophesy good concerning me, but evil?

¹⁹ Then he said, Hear thou, therefore, the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on his throne and all the host of the heavens standing by him on his right hand and on his left.

²⁰ And the LORD said, Who shall persuade Ahab that he may go up and fall at Ramothgilead? And one said in this manner and another said in that manner.

²¹ And there came forth a spirit and stood before the LORD and said, I will persuade him.

²² And the LORD said unto him, In what manner? And he said, I will go forth, and I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And he said, Thou shalt persuade him, and prevail also; go forth and do so.

²³ Now, therefore, behold, the LORD has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets, and the LORD has decreed evil concerning thee.

²⁴ Then Zedekiah, the son of Chenaanah, went near and smote Micaiah on the cheek and said, Which way did the Spirit of the LORD go from me to speak unto thee?

²⁵ And Micaiah said, Behold, thou shalt see in that day when thou shalt go into an inner chamber to hide thyself.

²⁶ Then the king of Israel said, Take Micaiah and carry him back unto Amon, the governor of the city, and to Joash, the king’s son

²⁷ and say, Thus hath the king said, Put this fellow in the prison and feed him with bread of affliction and with water of affliction, until I return in peace.

²⁸ And Micaiah said, If thou return at all in peace, the LORD has not spoken by me. Then he said, Hearken, O people, every one of you.

²⁹ ¶ So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, went up to Ramothgilead.

³⁰ And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, I will disguise myself and enter into the battle, but put thou on thy robes. And the king of Israel disguised himself and went into the battle.

³¹ But the king of Syria commanded his thirty-two captains that had rule over his chariots, saying, Fight neither with small nor great, but only with the king of Israel.

³² And when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, they said, Surely this is the king of Israel. And they turned aside to fight against him, but Jehoshaphat cried out.

³³ And it came to pass, when the captains of the chariots perceived that it was not the king of Israel, that they turned back from pursuing him.

³⁴ But a certain man, shooting his bow in perfection, smote the king of Israel between the joints of his coat of mail; therefore, he said unto the driver of his chariot, Turn thy hand and carry me out of the host, for I am wounded.

³⁵ And the battle had increased that day, and the king was stayed up in his chariot against the Syrians and died in the evening, and the blood ran out of the wound into the midst of the chariot.

³⁶ And at the going down of the sun there went a proclamation throughout the camp, saying, Every man to his city and every man to his own land.

³⁷ So the king died and was brought to Samaria, and they buried the king in Samaria.

³⁸ And they washed the chariot in the pool of Samaria, and they also washed his armour; {Heb. fornications} and the dogs licked up his blood, according unto the word of the LORD which he had spoken.

³⁹ Now the rest of the acts of Ahab and all that he did, and the ivory house which he made and all the cities that he built, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?

⁴⁰ So Ahab slept with his fathers, and Ahaziah, his son, reigned in his stead.

⁴¹ ¶ And Jehoshaphat, the son of Asa, began to reign over Judah in the fourth year of Ahab, king of Israel.

⁴² Jehoshaphat was thirty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Azubah, the daughter of Shilhi.

⁴³ And he walked in all the ways of Asa, his father; he turned not aside from it, doing that which was right in the eyes of the LORD. Nevertheless, the high places were not taken away, for the people offered and burnt incense yet in the high places.

⁴⁴ And Jehoshaphat made peace with the king of Israel.

⁴⁵ Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat and his might that he showed and how he warred, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?

⁴⁶ And the remnant of the male cult prostitutes, which had remained from the days of his father Asa, he consumed out of the land.

⁴⁷ There was then no king in Edom; there was a president instead of a king.

⁴⁸ Jehoshaphat had made ships in Tharshish to go to Ophir for gold, but they did not go, for the ships were broken at Eziongeber.

⁴⁹ Then Ahaziah, the son of Ahab, said unto Jehoshaphat, Let my slaves go with thy slaves in the ships. But Jehoshaphat would not.

⁵⁰ And Jehoshaphat slept with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of David, his father, and Jehoram, his son, reigned in his stead.

⁵¹ Ahaziah, the son of Ahab, began to reign over Israel in Samaria in the year seventeen of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, and reigned two years over Israel.

⁵² And he did evil in the sight of the LORD and walked in the way of his father and in the way of his mother and in the way of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, who made Israel sin,

⁵³ for he served Baal and worshipped him and provoked to anger the LORD God of Israel, according to all that his father had done.hhhhhhhhh

1 ¶ Then Moab rebelled against Israel after the death of Ahab.

² And Ahaziah fell down through a lattice in his upper chamber that was in Samaria and was sick, and he sent messengers and said unto them, Go, enquire of Baalzebub, the god of Ekron, whether I shall recover of this disease.

³ But the angel of the LORD said to Elijah, the Tishbite, Arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria, and thou shalt say unto them, Is there no God in Israel, that ye go to enquire of Baalzebub, the god of Ekron?

⁴ Now therefore, thus hath the LORD said, Thou shalt not come down from that bed on which thou art gone up, but shalt surely die. And Elijah departed.

⁵ And when the messengers turned back unto him, he said unto them, Why are ye now turned back?

⁶ And they said unto him, We met a man who said unto us, Go, turn again unto the king that sent you and say unto him, Thus hath the LORD said, Is there no God in Israel, that thou dost send to enquire of Baalzebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore thou shalt not come down from that bed on which thou art gone up, but shalt surely die.

⁷ Then he said unto them, What manner of man was he who came up to meet you and told you these words?

⁸ And they answered him, He was a hairy man and girt with a girdle of leather about his loins. And he said, It is Elijah, the Tishbite.

⁹ ¶ Then the king sent unto him a captain of fifty with his fifty. And he went up to him, and, behold, he sat on the top of a mountain. And he spoke unto him, Man of God, the king has commanded thee to come down.

¹⁰ And Elijah answered and said to the captain of fifty, If I am a man of God, then let fire come down from heaven, and consume thee and thy fifty. And fire came down from heaven, that consumed him and his fifty.

¹¹ Again also he sent unto him another captain of fifty with his fifty. And he answered and said unto him, O man of God, thus hath the king said, Come down quickly.

¹² And Elijah answered and said unto them, If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume thee and thy fifty. And the fire of God came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty.

¹³ And he sent again a captain of the third fifty with his fifty. And the third captain of fifty went up and came and fell on his knees before Elijah and besought him and said unto him, O man of God, I pray thee, let my life and the life of these fifty thy slaves, be precious in thy sight.

¹⁴ Behold, fire has come down from heaven and burnt up the two captains of the former fifties with their fifties; therefore, let my soul now be precious in thy sight.

¹⁵ Then the angel of the LORD said unto Elijah, Go down with him; do not be afraid of him. And he arose and went down with him unto the king.

¹⁶ And he said unto him, Thus hath the LORD said, Forasmuch as thou hast sent messengers to enquire of Baalzebub, the god of Ekron, peradventure is there no God in Israel to enquire of his word? Therefore, thou shalt not come down off that bed on which thou art gone up, but shalt surely die.

¹⁷ So he died according to the word of the LORD which Elijah had spoken. And Jehoram (son of Ahab) reigned in his stead, in the second year of Jehoram, the son of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, because Ahaziah had no son.

¹⁸ Now the rest of the acts of Ahaziah which he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?

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

² And Elijah said unto Elisha, Tarry here, I pray thee; for the LORD has sent me to Bethel. And Elisha said unto him, As the LORD lives and as thy soul lives, I will not leave thee. So they went down to Bethel.

³ And the sons of the prophets that were at Bethel came forth to Elisha and said unto him, Knowest thou that the LORD will take away thy master from thy head today? And he said, Yes, I know it; be silent.

⁴ And Elijah said unto him again, Elisha, tarry here, for the LORD has sent me to Jericho. And he said, As the LORD lives and as thy soul lives, I will not leave thee. So they came to Jericho.

⁵ And the sons of the prophets that were at Jericho came to Elisha and said unto him, Knowest thou that the LORD will take away thy master from thy head today? And he answered, Yes, I know it; be silent.

⁶ And Elijah said unto him, Tarry, I pray thee, here, for the LORD has sent me to the Jordan. And he said, As the LORD lives and as thy soul lives, I will not leave thee. And thus the two went on.

⁷ And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went and stood in front of them afar off; and the two of them stood by the Jordan.

⁸ And Elijah took his mantle and wrapped it together and smote the waters, and they separated to one side and the other so that they both went over on dry ground.

⁹ ¶ And when they had gone over, Elijah said unto Elisha, Ask what I shall do for thee before I am taken away from thee. And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me.

¹⁰ And he said, Thou hast asked a difficult thing. If thou shalt see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee, but if not, it shall not be so.

¹¹ And it came to pass, as they still went on and talked, that, behold, a chariot of fire with horses of fire separated the two, and Elijah went up into heaven in a whirlwind.

¹² And as Elisha saw it, he cried, My father, my father, the chariot of Israel and the horsemen thereof. And he saw him no more, and he took hold of his own clothes and rent them in two pieces.

¹³ ¶ And lifting up the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, he went back and stood by the bank of the Jordan.

¹⁴ And taking up the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, he smote the waters, and said, Where is the LORD God of Elijah? And when he smote the waters, they separated to one side and the other, and Elisha went over.

¹⁵ And seeing him, the sons of the prophets who were at Jericho said, The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha. And they came to meet him and bowed themselves to the ground before him.

¹⁶ And they said unto him, Behold now, there are fifty strong men with thy slaves; let them go and seek thy master; peradventure the Spirit of the LORD has taken him up and cast him upon some mountain or into some valley. And he said, Do not send them.

¹⁷ But when they urged him until he was ashamed, he said, Send. They sent therefore fifty men, and they sought him three days, but did not find him.

¹⁸ And when they came again to him (for he tarried at Jericho), he said unto them, Did I not tell you to not go?

¹⁹ ¶ And the men of the city said unto Elisha, Behold, the seat of this city is good, as my lord sees, but the water is evil, and the ground barren.

²⁰ Then he said, Bring me a new cruse and put salt in it. And they brought it to him.

²¹ And he went forth unto the springs of the waters and cast the salt in there and said, Thus hath the LORD said, I have healed these waters; there shall be no more death or barrenness in them.

²² So the waters were healed unto this day, according to the word which Elisha spoke.

²³ Then he went up from there unto Bethel, and as he was going up by the way, the young men {or servants} of the city came forth and mocked him, saying, Go up, thou bald head; go up, thou bald head.

²⁴ And he turned back and looked on them and cursed them in the name of the LORD. And two bears came forth out of the forest and tore apart forty-two young men of them.

²⁵ And he went from there to Mount Carmel, and from there he returned to Samaria.

3 ¶ Now Jehoram, the son of Ahab, began to reign over Israel in Samaria the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, and reigned twelve years.

² And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, but not like his father and like his mother, for he put away the images of Baal that his father had made.

³ Nevertheless, he cleaved unto the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, who made Israel sin; he did not depart from them.

⁴ And Mesha, king of Moab, was a pastor and rendered unto the king of Israel one hundred thousand lambs and one hundred thousand rams, with the wool.

⁵ But it came to pass, when Ahab was dead, that the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel.

⁶ ¶ And King Jehoram went out of Samaria the same time and numbered all Israel.

⁷ And he went and sent to Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, saying, The king of Moab has rebelled against me; wilt thou go with me against Moab to battle? And he said, I will go up; I am as thou art, my people as thy people and my horses as thy horses.

⁸ And he said, Which way shall we go up? And he answered, The way through the wilderness of Edom.

⁹ So the king of Israel went and the king of Judah and the king of Edom, and as they walked round about seven days’ journey through the desert, there was no water for the host or for the beasts that followed them.

¹⁰ Then the king of Israel said, Alas! The LORD has called these three kings together, to deliver them into the hand of Moab!

¹¹ But Jehoshaphat said, Is there not a prophet of the LORD here, that we may enquire of the LORD by him? And one of the king of Israel’s slaves answered and said, Here is Elisha, the son of Shaphat, who poured water on the hands of Elijah.

¹² And Jehoshaphat said, The word of the LORD is with him. So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom went down to him.

¹³ Then Elisha said unto the king of Israel, What have I to do with thee? Go to the prophets of thy father and to the prophets of thy mother. And the king of Israel said unto him, No, for the LORD has called these three kings together, to deliver them into the hand of Moab.

¹⁴ And Elisha said, As the LORD of the hosts lives, before whom I stand, surely, were it not that I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, I would not look toward thee nor see thee.

¹⁵ But now bring me a minstrel. And when the minstrel played, the hand of the LORD came upon him;

¹⁶ and he said, Thus hath the LORD said, Make this valley full of ditches.

¹⁷ For thus hath the LORD said, Ye shall not see wind, neither shall ye see rain; yet this valley shall be filled with water, that ye may drink, both ye and your livestock and your beasts.

¹⁸ And this is but a light thing in the sight of the LORD; he will also deliver the Moabites into your hands.

¹⁹ And ye shall smite every fenced city and every choice city and shall fell every good tree and stop every fountain of water and mar every good piece of land with stones.

²⁰ ¶ And it came to pass in the morning, when the present was offered, that water came by the way of Edom, and the land was filled with water.

²¹ And when all the Moabites heard that the kings were come up to fight against them, they gathered all that were able to gird on a girdle and upward and stood in the border.

²² And when they rose up early in the morning, and the sun shone upon the water, and the Moabites saw the water before them as red as blood;

²³ and they said, This is blood; the kings are surely slain, and they have smitten one another. Now therefore, Moab, to the spoil.

²⁴ But when they came to the camp of Israel, the Israelites rose up and smote the Moabites so that they fled before them, but they went forward smiting the Moabites, even in their country.

²⁵ And they beat down the cities, and on every good piece of land each man cast his stone and filled it, and they stopped all the fountains of water and felled all the good trees until they left their stones only in Kirharaseth, for the slingers went about it and smote it.

²⁶ And when the king of Moab saw that the battle was overcoming him, he took with him seven hundred men that drew swords to break through unto the king of Edom, but they could not.

²⁷ Then he took his eldest son that should have reigned in his stead and offered him for a burnt offering upon the wall. And there was great indignation in Israel, and they departed from him and returned to their own land.

4 ¶ Now a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets cried unto Elisha, saying, Thy slave, my husband, is dead; and thou knowest that thy slave feared the LORD; and the creditor is come to take my two sons to be his slaves.

² And Elisha said unto her, What shall I do for thee? Tell me what thou hast in the house? And she said, Thy handmaid has nothing in the house except a flask of oil.

³ And he said, Go, borrow vessels from all thy neighbours, empty vessels; borrow not a few.

⁴ Then enter in and shut the door upon thee and upon thy sons and pour out into all those vessels, and as each one is full, set it aside.

⁵ So she went from him and shut the door upon her and upon her sons, who brought the vessels to her, and she poured out the oil.

⁶ And when the vessels were full, she said unto her son, Bring me yet another vessel. And he said unto her, There are no more vessels. Then the oil stopped flowing.

⁷ Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, Go, sell this oil and pay thy debtors and live thou and thy sons of the rest.

⁸ ¶ And it also happened that one day Elisha passed through Shunem, where there was an important woman, and she constrained him to eat bread. And so it was, that as often as he passed by, he turned in there to eat bread.

⁹ And she said to her husband, Behold now, I perceive that this is a holy man of God, who passes by us continually.

¹⁰ Let us make a little chamber, I pray thee, on the wall, and let us set for him there a bed and a table and a stool and a lampstand so that when he comes to us, he shall turn in there.

¹¹ And it came to pass one day that he came there, and he turned into the chamber and slept there.

¹² Then he said to Gehazi, his servant, Call this Shunammite. And when he had called her, she stood before him.

¹³ And he said unto Gehazi, Say now unto her, Behold, thou hast been diligent for us with all this care; what shall I do for thee? Dost thou have need that I speak for thee unto the king or to the captain of the host? And she answered, I dwell among my own people.

¹⁴ And he said, What then shall we do for her? And Gehazi answered, Verily she has no child, and her husband is old.

¹⁵ Then he said, Call her. And when he had called her, she stood in the door.

¹⁶ And he said, At the appointed time, according to the time of life, thou shalt embrace a son. And she said, No, my lord, thou man of God, do not deceive thy handmaid.

¹⁷ But the woman conceived and gave birth to a son at the appointed time that Elisha had said unto her, according to the time of life.

¹⁸ ¶ And when the child was grown, it came to pass one day, that he went out to his father to the reapers.

¹⁹ And he said unto his father, My head, my head. And he said to a servant, Carry him to his mother.

²⁰ And when he had taken him and brought him to his mother, he sat on her knees until noon and then died.

²¹ Then she went up and laid him on the bed of the man of God and shut the door upon him and went out.

²² And calling her husband, she said, Send me, I pray thee, one of the young men and one of the asses that I may run to the man of God and come again.

²³ And he said, Why must thou go to him today? It is neither new moon nor sabbath. And she said, Peace.

²⁴ Then she caused the ass to be saddled and said to her servant, Lead and go forward; slack not the pace for me except I bid thee.

²⁵ So she went and came unto the man of God to Mount Carmel. And it came to pass, when the man of God saw her afar off, that he said to Gehazi, his servant, Behold, yonder is that Shunammite.

²⁶ Run now, I pray thee, to meet her and say unto her, Dost thou have peace? And thy husband? And the child? And she answered, Peace.

²⁷ And when she came to the man of God in the mountain, she caught him by the feet. And Gehazi came near to thrust her away; but the man of God said, Let her alone, for her soul is bitter within her; and the LORD has hid it from me and has not revealed it to me.

²⁸ Then she said, Did I desire a son of my lord? Did I not say, Do not deceive me?

²⁹ Then he said to Gehazi, Gird up thy loins and take my staff in thy hand and go; if thou meet anyone, salute him not; and if anyone salutes thee, answer him not again, and lay my staff upon the face of the child.

³⁰ Then the mother of the child said, As the LORD lives and as thy soul lives, I will not leave thee. And he arose and followed her.

³¹ And Gehazi had gone on before them and had laid the staff upon the face of the child, but there was neither voice, nor attention. Therefore he went again to meet him and told him, saying, The child is not awaked.

³² And when Elisha was come into the house, behold, the child was laid dead upon his bed.

³³ He went in therefore and shut the door upon both of them and prayed unto the LORD.

³⁴ Then he went up and lay upon the child and put his mouth upon his mouth and his eyes upon his eyes and his hands upon his hands; thus he stretched himself upon the child; and the flesh of the child waxed warm.

³⁵ Then he returned and walked through the house to and fro and went up and stretched himself upon him again; and the child sneezed seven times, and the child opened his eyes.

³⁶ And he called Gehazi and said, Call this Shunammite. So he called her. And as she was coming in unto him, he said, Take up thy son.

³⁷ Then she entered in and fell at his feet and bowed herself to the ground and took up her son and went out.