Bible in 90 Days

Civil War. ²¹ At that time the people of Israel were divided in two, half following Tibni, son of Ginath, to make him king, and half for Omri. ²² The partisans of Omri prevailed over those of Tibni, son of Ginath. Tibni died and Omri became king.

Reign of Omri. ²³ In the thirty-first year of Asa, king of Judah, Omri became king of Israel for twelve years; the first six of them he reigned in Tirzah.

²⁴ He then bought the mountain of Samaria from Shemer for two silver talents and built upon the mountain the city he named Samaria, after Shemer, the former owner. ²⁵ But Omri did what was evil in the Lord’s sight, more than any of his predecessors. ²⁶ In every way he imitated the sinful conduct of Jeroboam, son of Nebat, and the sin he had caused Israel to commit, thus provoking the Lord, the God of Israel, to anger by their idols.

²⁷ The rest of the acts of Omri, what he did and his valor, are recorded in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel. ²⁸ Omri rested with his ancestors; he was buried in Samaria, and Ahab his son succeeded him as king.

Reign of Ahab. ²⁹ Ahab, son of Omri, became king of Israel in the thirty-eighth year of Asa, king of Judah. Ahab, son of Omri, reigned over Israel in Samaria for twenty-two years.

³⁰ Ahab, son of Omri, did what was evil in the Lord’s sight more than any of his predecessors. ³¹ It was not enough for him to follow the sins of Jeroboam, son of Nebat. He even married Jezebel, daughter of Ethbaal, king of the Sidonians, and began to serve Baal, and worship him. ³² Ahab set up an altar to Baal in the house of Baal which he built in Samaria, ³³ and also made an asherah. Ahab did more to provoke the Lord, the God of Israel, to anger than any of the kings of Israel before him. ^34 (A)During his reign, Hiel from Bethel rebuilt Jericho. At the cost of Abiram, his firstborn son, he laid the foundation, and at the cost of Segub, his youngest son, he set up the gates, according to the word of the Lord spoken through Joshua, son of Nun.^[a]

IV. The Story of Elijah^[b]

Chapter 17

Elijah Proclaims a Drought.^{[c] 1} Elijah the Tishbite,^[d](B) from Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab: “As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, during these years there shall be no dew or rain except at my word.” ² The word of the Lord came to Elijah: ³ Leave here, go east and hide in the Wadi Cherith, east of the Jordan. ⁴ You shall drink of the wadi, and I have commanded ravens to feed you there. ⁵ So he left and did as the Lord had commanded. He left and remained by the Wadi Cherith, east of the Jordan. ^6 (C)Ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the wadi.

⁷ After some time, however, the wadi ran dry, because no rain had fallen in the land. ^8 (D)So the word of the Lord came to him: ⁹ Arise, go to Zarephath of Sidon and stay there. I have commanded a widow there to feed you. ¹⁰ He arose and went to Zarephath. When he arrived at the entrance of the city, a widow was there gathering sticks; he called out to her, “Please bring me a small cupful of water to drink.” ¹¹ She left to get it, and he called out after her, “Please bring along a crust of bread.” ¹² She said, “As the Lord, your God, lives, I have nothing baked; there is only a handful of flour in my jar and a little oil in my jug. Just now I was collecting a few sticks, to go in and prepare something for myself and my son; when we have eaten it, we shall die.” ¹³ Elijah said to her, “Do not be afraid. Go and do as you have said. But first make me a little cake and bring it to me. Afterwards you can prepare something for yourself and your son. ¹⁴ For the Lord, the God of Israel, says: The jar of flour shall not go empty, nor the jug of oil run dry, until the day when the Lord sends rain upon the earth.” ¹⁵ She left and did as Elijah had said. She had enough to eat for a long time—he and she and her household. ¹⁶ The jar of flour did not go empty, nor the jug of oil run dry, according to the word of the Lord spoken through Elijah.

^17 (E)Some time later the son of the woman, the owner of the house, fell sick, and his sickness grew more severe until he stopped breathing. ¹⁸ So she said to Elijah, “Why have you done this to me, man of God? Have you come to me to call attention to my guilt and to kill my son?” ¹⁹ Elijah said to her, “Give me your son.” Taking him from her lap, he carried him to the upper room where he was staying, and laid him on his own bed. ²⁰ He called out to the Lord: “Lord, my God, will you afflict even the widow with whom I am staying by killing her son?” ²¹ Then he stretched himself out upon the child three times and he called out to the Lord: “Lord, my God, let the life breath return to the body of this child.” ²² The Lord heard the prayer of Elijah; the life breath returned to the child’s body and he lived. ²³ Taking the child, Elijah carried him down into the house from the upper room and gave him to his mother. Elijah said, “See! Your son is alive.” ²⁴ The woman said to Elijah, “Now indeed I know that you are a man of God, and it is truly the word of the Lord that you speak.”

Chapter 18

Elijah Ends the Drought.^{[e] 1} Long afterward, in the third year, the word of the Lord came to Elijah: Go, present yourself to Ahab, that I may send rain upon the earth. ² So Elijah went to present himself to Ahab.

Now the famine in Samaria was severe, ³ and Ahab had summoned Obadiah, master of his palace, who greatly revered the Lord. ⁴ When Jezebel was slaughtering the prophets of the Lord, Obadiah took a hundred prophets, hid them away by fifties in caves, and supplied them with food and water. ⁵ Ahab said to Obadiah, “Go through the land to all sources of water and to all the wadies. We may find grass and keep the horses and mules alive, so that we shall not have to slaughter any of the beasts.” ⁶ Dividing the land to explore between them, Ahab went one way by himself, Obadiah another way by himself. ⁷ As Obadiah was on his way, Elijah met him. Recognizing him, Obadiah fell prostrate and asked, “Is it you, my lord Elijah?” ⁸ He said to him, “Yes. Go tell your lord, ‘Elijah is here!’”^{[f] 9} But Obadiah said, “What sin has your servant committed, that you are handing me over to Ahab to be killed? ¹⁰ As the Lord, your God, lives, there is no nation or kingdom where my lord has not sent in search of you. When they replied, ‘He is not here,’ he made each kingdom and nation swear they could not find you. ¹¹ And now you say, ‘Go tell your lord: Elijah is here!’ ¹² After I leave you, the spirit of the Lord will carry you to some place I do not know, and when I go to inform Ahab and he does not find you, he will kill me—though your servant has revered the Lord from his youth! ¹³ Have you not been told, my lord, what I did when Jezebel was murdering the prophets of the Lord—that I hid a hundred of the prophets of the Lord, fifty each in caves, and supplied them with food and water? ¹⁴ And now you say, ‘Go tell your lord: Elijah is here!’ He will kill me!” ¹⁵ Elijah answered, “As the Lord of hosts lives, whom I serve, I will present myself to him today.”

¹⁶ So Obadiah went to meet Ahab and informed him, and Ahab came to meet Elijah. ¹⁷ When Ahab saw Elijah, he said to him, “Is it you, you disturber of Israel?” ¹⁸ He answered, “It is not I who disturb Israel, but you and your father’s house, by forsaking the commands of the Lord and you by following the Baals. ¹⁹ Now summon all Israel to me on Mount Carmel, as well as the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal and the four hundred prophets of Asherah who eat at Jezebel’s table.” ²⁰ So Ahab summoned all the Israelites and had the prophets gather on Mount Carmel.

²¹ Elijah approached all the people and said, “How long will you straddle the issue? If the Lord is God, follow him; if Baal, follow him.” But the people did not answer him. ²² So Elijah said to the people, “I am the only remaining prophet of the Lord, and there are four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal. ²³ Give us two young bulls. Let them choose one, cut it into pieces, and place it on the wood, but start no fire. I shall prepare the other and place it on the wood, but shall start no fire. ²⁴ You shall call upon the name of your gods, and I will call upon the name of the Lord. The God who answers with fire is God.” All the people answered, “We agree!”

²⁵ Elijah then said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose one young bull and prepare it first, for there are more of you. Call upon your gods, but do not start the fire.” ²⁶ Taking the young bull that was turned over to them, they prepared it and called upon Baal from morning to noon, saying, “Baal, answer us!” But there was no sound, and no one answering. And they hopped around the altar they had prepared. ²⁷ When it was noon, Elijah taunted them: “Call louder, for he is a god; he may be busy doing his business, or may be on a journey. Perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened.” ²⁸ They called out louder and slashed themselves with swords and spears according to their ritual until blood gushed over them. ²⁹ Noon passed and they remained in a prophetic state until the time for offering sacrifice. But there was no sound, no one answering, no one listening.

³⁰ Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come here to me.” When they drew near to him, he repaired the altar of the Lord which had been destroyed. ³¹ He took twelve stones, for the number of tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the Lord had said: Israel shall be your name. ³² He built the stones into an altar to the name of the Lord, and made a trench around the altar large enough for two measures of grain. ³³ When he had arranged the wood, he cut up the young bull and laid it on the wood. ³⁴ He said, “Fill four jars with water and pour it over the burnt offering and over the wood.” “Do it again,” he said, and they did it again. “Do it a third time,” he said, and they did it a third time. ³⁵ The water flowed around the altar; even the trench was filled with the water. ³⁶ At the time for offering sacrifice, Elijah the prophet came forward and said, “Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. ^37 (F)Answer me, Lord! Answer me, that this people may know that you, Lord, are God and that you have turned their hearts back to you.” ³⁸ The Lord’s fire came down and devoured the burnt offering, wood, stones, and dust, and lapped up the water in the trench. ³⁹ Seeing this, all the people fell prostrate and said, “The Lord is God! The Lord is God!” ^40 (G)Then Elijah said to them, “Seize the prophets of Baal. Let none of them escape!” They seized them, and Elijah brought them down to the Wadi Kishon and there he slaughtered them. ⁴¹ Elijah then said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink, for there is the sound of a heavy rain.” ⁴² So Ahab went up to eat and drink, while Elijah went up to the top of Carmel, crouched down to the earth, and put his head between his knees. ⁴³ He said to his servant, “Go up and look out to sea.” He went up and looked, but reported, “There is nothing.” Seven times he said, “Go look again!” ⁴⁴ And the seventh time the youth reported, “There is a cloud as small as a man’s hand rising from the sea.” Elijah said, “Go and say to Ahab, ‘Harness up and go down the mountain before the rain stops you.’” ⁴⁵ All at once the sky grew dark with clouds and wind, and a heavy rain fell. Ahab mounted his chariot and headed for Jezreel. ⁴⁶ But the hand of the Lord was on Elijah. He girded up his clothing and ran before Ahab as far as the approaches to Jezreel.

Chapter 19

Flight to Horeb.^{[g] 1} Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done—that he had murdered all the prophets by the sword. ² Jezebel then sent a messenger to Elijah and said, “May the gods do thus to me and more, if by this time tomorrow I have not done with your life what was done to each of them.” ³ Elijah was afraid and fled for his life, going to Beer-sheba of Judah. He left his servant there ^4 (H)and went a day’s journey into the wilderness, until he came to a solitary broom tree and sat beneath it. He prayed for death: “Enough, Lord! Take my life, for I am no better than my ancestors.” ⁵ He lay down and fell asleep under the solitary broom tree, but suddenly a messenger^[h] touched him and said, “Get up and eat!” ⁶ He looked and there at his head was a hearth cake and a jug of water. After he ate and drank, he lay down again, ⁷ but the angel of the Lord came back a second time, touched him, and said, “Get up and eat or the journey will be too much for you!” ^8 (I)He got up, ate, and drank; then strengthened by that food, he walked forty days and forty nights to the mountain of God, Horeb.

⁹ There he came to a cave, where he took shelter. But the word of the Lord came to him: Why are you here, Elijah? ¹⁰ He answered: “I have been most zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts, but the Israelites have forsaken your covenant. They have destroyed your altars and murdered your prophets by the sword. I alone remain, and they seek to take my life.” ^11 (J)Then the Lord said: Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord;^[i] the Lord will pass by. There was a strong and violent wind rending the mountains and crushing rocks before the Lord—but the Lord was not in the wind; after the wind, an earthquake—but the Lord was not in the earthquake; ¹² after the earthquake, fire—but the Lord was not in the fire; after the fire, a light silent sound.^[j]

¹³ When he heard this, Elijah hid his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. A voice said to him, Why are you here, Elijah? ^14 (K)He replied, “I have been most zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts, but the Israelites have forsaken your covenant. They have destroyed your altars and murdered your prophets by the sword. I alone remain, and they seek to take my life.” ^15 [k](L)The Lord said to him: Go back! Take the desert road to Damascus. When you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael as king of Aram. ^16 (M)You shall also anoint Jehu, son of Nimshi, as king of Israel, and Elisha, son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah, as prophet to succeed you. ¹⁷ Anyone who escapes the sword of Hazael, Jehu will kill. Anyone who escapes the sword of Jehu, Elisha will kill. ^18 (N)But I will spare seven thousand in Israel—every knee that has not bent to Baal, every mouth that has not kissed him.

^19 [l]Elijah set out, and came upon Elisha, son of Shaphat, as he was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen; he was following the twelfth. Elijah went over to him and threw his cloak on him. ^20 (O)Elisha left the oxen, ran after Elijah, and said, “Please, let me kiss my father and mother good-bye, and I will follow you.” Elijah answered, “Go back! What have I done to you?” ²¹ Elisha left him and, taking the yoke of oxen, slaughtered them; he used the plowing equipment for fuel to boil their flesh, and gave it to the people to eat. Then he left and followed Elijah to serve him.

V. The Story of Ahab^[m]

Chapter 20

Ahab’s Victories over Aram.^{[n] 1} Ben-hadad, king of Aram, gathered all his forces and, accompanied by thirty-two kings with horses and chariotry, set out to besiege and attack Samaria. ² He sent messengers to Ahab, king of Israel, within the city, ³ and said to him, “This is Ben-hadad’s message: ‘Your silver and gold are mine, and your wives and your fine children are mine.’” ⁴ The king of Israel answered, “Just as you say, my lord king, I and all I have are yours.” ⁵ But the messengers came again and said, “This is Ben-hadad’s message: ‘I sent you word: Give me your silver and gold, your wives and your children. ⁶ But now I say: At this time tomorrow I will send my servants to you, and they shall ransack your house and the houses of your servants. They shall seize and take away whatever you consider valuable.’” ⁷ The king of Israel then summoned all the elders of the land and said: “Understand clearly that this man is intent on evil. When he sent to me for my wives and children, my silver and my gold, I did not refuse him.” ⁸ All the elders and all the people said to him, “Do not listen. Do not give in.” ⁹ Accordingly he directed the messengers of Ben-hadad, “Say this: ‘To my lord the king: I will do all that you demanded of your servant the first time. But this I cannot do.’” The messengers left and reported this. ¹⁰ Ben-hadad then responded, “May the gods do thus to me and more, if there will remain enough dust in Samaria to make handfuls for all my followers.” ¹¹ The king of Israel replied, “Tell him, ‘Let not one who puts on armor boast like one who takes it off.’” ¹² Ben-hadad was drinking in the pavilions with the kings when he heard this reply. He commanded his servants, “Get ready!”; and they got ready to storm the city.

¹³ Then a prophet came up to Ahab, king of Israel, and said: “The Lord says, Do you see all this vast army? Today I am giving it into your power, that you may know that I am the Lord.” ¹⁴ But Ahab asked, “Through whom will it be given over?” He answered, “The Lord says, Through the aides of the provincial governors.” Then Ahab asked, “Who is to attack?” He replied, “You are.” ¹⁵ So Ahab mustered the aides of the provincial governors, two hundred thirty-two of them. Behind them he mustered all the Israelite soldiery, who numbered seven thousand in all. ^16 [o]They marched out at noon, while Ben-hadad was drinking heavily in the pavilions with the thirty-two kings who were his allies. ¹⁷ When the aides of the provincial governors marched out first, Ben-hadad received word, “Some men have marched out of Samaria.” ¹⁸ He answered, “Whether they have come out for peace or for war, take them alive.” ¹⁹ But when these had come out of the city—the aides of the provincial governors with the army following them— ²⁰ each of them struck down his man. The Arameans fled with Israel pursuing them, while Ben-hadad, king of Aram, escaped on a chariot horse. ²¹ Then the king of Israel went out and destroyed the horses and chariots. Thus he inflicted a severe defeat on Aram.

²² Then the prophet approached the king of Israel and said to him: “Go, regroup your forces. Understand clearly what you must do, for at the turning of the year^[p] the king of Aram will attack you.” ²³ Meanwhile the servants of the king of Aram said to him: “Their gods are mountain gods. That is why they defeated us. But if we fight them on level ground, we shall be sure to defeat them. ²⁴ This is what you must do: Take the kings from their posts and put prefects in their places. ²⁵ Raise an army as large as the army you have lost, horse for horse, chariot for chariot. Let us fight them on level ground, and we shall surely defeat them.” He took their advice and did this. ²⁶ At the turning of the year, Ben-hadad mustered Aram and went up to Aphek to fight against Israel. ²⁷ The Israelites, too, were mustered and supplied with provisions; then they went out to meet the enemy. The Israelites, encamped opposite, looked like little flocks of goats, while Aram covered the land. ²⁸ A man of God approached and said to the king of Israel: “The Lord says, Because Aram has said the Lord is a god of mountains, not a god of plains, I will give all this vast army into your power that you may know I am the Lord.” ²⁹ They were encamped opposite each other for seven days. On the seventh day battle was joined, and the Israelites struck down one hundred thousand foot soldiers of Aram in one day. ³⁰ The survivors fled into the city of Aphek, where the wall collapsed on twenty-seven thousand of them. Ben-hadad, too, fled, and took refuge within the city, in an inner room.

³¹ His servants said to him: “We have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings. Allow us, therefore, to garb ourselves in sackcloth, with cords around our heads, and go out to the king of Israel. Perhaps he will spare your life.” ³² Dressed in sackcloth girded at the waist and wearing cords around their heads, they went to the king of Israel and said, “Your servant Ben-hadad says, ‘Spare my life!’” He asked, “Is he still alive? He is my brother.”^{[q] 33} Hearing this as a good omen, the men quickly took him at his word and said, “Ben-hadad is your brother.” He answered, “Go and get him.” When Ben-hadad came out to him, the king had him mount his chariot. ³⁴ Ben-hadad said to him, “The cities my father took from your father I will restore, and you may set up bazaars for yourself in Damascus, as my father did in Samaria.” Ahab replied, “For my part, I will set you free on those terms.” So he made a covenant with him and then set him free.

Prophetic Condemnation. ³⁵ Acting on the word of the Lord, one of the guild prophets said to his companion, “Strike me.” But he refused to strike him. ³⁶ Then he said to him, “Since you did not obey the voice of the Lord, a lion will attack you when you leave me.” When he left him, a lion came upon him and attacked him.^{(P) 37} Then the prophet met another man and said, “Strike me.” The man struck him a blow and wounded him. ³⁸ The prophet went on and waited for the king on the road, disguising himself with a bandage over his eyes. ³⁹ As the king was passing, he called out to the king and said: “Your servant went into the thick of the battle, and suddenly someone turned and brought me a man and said, ‘Guard this man. If he is missing, you shall have to pay for his life with your life or pay out a talent of silver.’^{[r] 40} But while your servant was occupied here and there, the man disappeared.” The king of Israel said to him, “That is your sentence. You have decided it yourself.” ⁴¹ He quickly removed the bandage from his eyes, and the king of Israel recognized him as one of the prophets. ^42 (Q)He said to him: “The Lord says, Because you have set free the man I put under the ban,^[s] your life shall pay for his life, your people for his people.” ^43 (R)Disturbed and angry, the king of Israel set off for home and entered Samaria.

Chapter 21

Seizure of Naboth’s Vineyard.^{[t] 1} Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard in Jezreel next to the palace of Ahab, king of Samaria. Some time later, ² Ahab said to Naboth, “Give me your vineyard to be my vegetable garden, since it is close by, next to my house. I will give you a better vineyard in exchange, or, if you prefer, I will give you its value in money.” ³ Naboth said to Ahab, “The Lord forbid that I should give you my ancestral heritage.”^{[u] 4} Ahab went home disturbed and angry at the answer Naboth the Jezreelite had given him: “I will not give you my ancestral heritage.” Lying down on his bed, he turned away and would not eat. ⁵ His wife Jezebel came to him and said to him, “Why are you so sullen that you will not eat?” ⁶ He answered her, “Because I spoke to Naboth the Jezreelite and said to him, ‘Sell me your vineyard, or, if you prefer, I will give you a vineyard in exchange.’ But he said, ‘I will not give you my vineyard.’” ⁷ Jezebel his wife said to him, “What a king of Israel you are! Get up! Eat and be cheerful. I will give you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.”

⁸ So she wrote letters in Ahab’s name and, having sealed them with his seal, sent them to the elders and to the nobles who lived in the same city with Naboth. ⁹ This is what she wrote in the letters: “Proclaim a fast and set Naboth at the head of the people. ¹⁰ Next, set two scoundrels opposite him to accuse him: ‘You have cursed God and king.’ Then take him out and stone him to death.”

¹¹ His fellow citizens—the elders and the nobles who dwelt in his city—did as Jezebel had ordered in the letters she sent them. ¹² They proclaimed a fast and set Naboth at the head of the people. ¹³ Two scoundrels came in and sat opposite Naboth, and the scoundrels accused him in the presence of the people, “Naboth has cursed God and king.” And they led him out of the city and stoned him to death. ¹⁴ Then they sent word to Jezebel: “Naboth has been stoned to death.”

¹⁵ When Jezebel learned that Naboth had been stoned to death, she said to Ahab, “Go, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite which he refused to sell you, because Naboth is not alive, but dead.” ¹⁶ When Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, he started on his way down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, to take possession of it.

Prophetic Condemnation. ¹⁷ Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite: ¹⁸ Go down to meet Ahab, king of Israel, who is in Samaria. He will be in the vineyard of Naboth, where he has gone to take possession. ^19 (S)Tell him: “Thus says the Lord: After murdering, do you also take possession?” And tell him, “Thus says the Lord: In the place where the dogs licked up the blood of Naboth, the dogs shall lick up your blood, too.”

^20 [v]Ahab said to Elijah, “Have you found me out, my enemy?” He said, “I have found you. Because you have given yourself up to doing evil in the Lord’s sight, ^21 (T)I am bringing evil upon you: I will consume you and will cut off every male belonging to Ahab, whether bond or free, in Israel. ²² I will make your house like that of Jeroboam, son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha, son of Ahijah, because you have provoked me by leading Israel into sin.”

²³ Against Jezebel, too, the Lord declared: The dogs shall devour Jezebel in the confines of Jezreel.

²⁵ Indeed, no one gave himself up to the doing of evil in the sight of the Lord as did Ahab, urged on by his wife Jezebel. ²⁶ He became completely abominable by going after idols, just as the Amorites had done, whom the Lord drove out of the Israelites’ way.

²⁷ When Ahab heard these words, he tore his garments and put on sackcloth over his bare flesh. He fasted, slept in the sackcloth, and went about subdued. ²⁸ Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, ^29 (U)Have you seen how Ahab has humbled himself before me? Since he has humbled himself before me, I will not bring the evil in his time. I will bring the evil upon his house in his son’s time.

Chapter 22

Ahab’s Defeat by Aram.^{[w] 1} Three years passed without war between Aram and Israel. ² In the third year, however, King Jehoshaphat of Judah came down to the king of Israel. ³ The king of Israel said to his servants, “Do you not know that Ramoth-gilead is ours and we are doing nothing to take it from the king of Aram?” ⁴ He asked Jehoshaphat, “Will you come with me to fight against Ramoth-gilead?” Jehoshaphat answered the king of Israel, “You and I are as one, and your people and my people, your horses and my horses as well.”

Prophetic Condemnation. ⁵ Jehoshaphat also said to the king of Israel, “Seek the word of the Lord at once.” ⁶ The king of Israel assembled the prophets, about four hundred of them, and asked, “Shall I go to fight against Ramoth-gilead or shall I refrain?” They said, “Attack. The Lord will give it into the power of the king.”^{[x] 7} But Jehoshaphat said, “Is there no other prophet of the Lord here we might consult?” ⁸ The king of Israel answered, “There is one other man through whom we might consult the Lord; but I hate him because he prophesies not good but evil about me. He is Micaiah, son of Imlah.” Jehoshaphat said, “Let not the king say that.” ⁹ So the king of Israel called an official and said to him, “Get Micaiah, son of Imlah, at once.”

¹⁰ The king of Israel and Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, were seated, each on his throne, clothed in their robes of state in the square at the entrance of the gate of Samaria, and all the prophets were prophesying before them. ^11 (V)Zedekiah, son of Chenaanah, made himself two horns of iron^[y] and said, “The Lord says, With these you shall gore Aram until you have destroyed them.” ¹² The other prophets prophesied in a similar vein, saying: “Attack Ramoth-gilead and conquer! The Lord will give it into the power of the king.”

¹³ Meanwhile, the messenger who had gone to call Micaiah said to him, “Look now, the prophets are unanimously predicting good for the king. Let your word be the same as any of theirs; speak a good word.” ¹⁴ Micaiah said, “As the Lord lives, I shall speak whatever the Lord tells me.”

¹⁵ When he came to the king, the king said to him, “Micaiah, shall we go to fight at Ramoth-gilead, or shall we refrain?” He said, “Attack and conquer! The Lord will give it into the power of the king.” ¹⁶ But the king answered him, “How many times must I adjure you to tell me nothing but the truth in the name of the Lord?” ^17 [z]So Micaiah said:

¹⁸ The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Did I not tell you, he does not prophesy good about me, but only evil?” ^19 [aa]Micaiah continued: “Therefore hear the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord seated on his throne, with the whole host of heaven standing to his right and to his left. ²⁰ The Lord asked: Who will deceive Ahab, so that he will go up and fall on Ramoth-gilead?^[ab] And one said this, another that, ²¹ until this spirit came forth and stood before the Lord, saying, ‘I will deceive him.’ The Lord asked: How? ²² He answered, ‘I will go forth and become a lying spirit in the mouths of all his prophets.’ The Lord replied: You shall succeed in deceiving him. Go forth and do this. ²³ So now, the Lord has put a lying spirit in the mouths of all these prophets of yours; the Lord himself has decreed evil against you.”

²⁴ Thereupon Zedekiah, son of Chenaanah, came up and struck Micaiah on the cheek, saying, “Has the spirit of the Lord, then, left me to speak with you?” ²⁵ Micaiah said, “You shall find out on the day you go into an inner room to hide.” ²⁶ The king of Israel then said, “Seize Micaiah and take him back to Amon, prefect of the city, and to Joash, the king’s son, ²⁷ and say, ‘This is the king’s order: Put this man in prison and feed him scanty rations of bread and water until I come back in safety.’” ^28 (W)But Micaiah said, “If you return in safety, the Lord has not spoken through me.” (He also said, “Hear, O peoples, all of you.”)^[ac]

Ahab at Ramoth-gilead. ²⁹ The king of Israel and Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, went up to Ramoth-gilead, ³⁰ and the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “I will disguise myself and go into battle, but you put on your own robes.” So the king of Israel disguised himself and entered the battle. ³¹ In the meantime the king of Aram had given his thirty-two chariot commanders the order, “Do not fight with anyone, great or small, except the king of Israel alone.”

³² When the chariot commanders saw Jehoshaphat, they cried out, “There is the king of Israel!” and wheeled to fight him. But Jehoshaphat cried out, ³³ and the chariot commanders, seeing that he was not the king of Israel, turned away from him. ³⁴ But someone drew his bow at random, and hit the king of Israel between the joints of his breastplate. He ordered his charioteer, “Rein about and take me out of the ranks, for I am wounded.”

^35 (X)The battle grew fierce during the day, and the king, who was propped up in his chariot facing the Arameans, died in the evening. The blood from his wound flowed to the bottom of the chariot. ³⁶ At sunset a cry went through the army, “Every man to his city, every man to his land!”

³⁷ And so the king died, and came back to Samaria, and they buried him there. ^38 (Y)When they washed out the chariot at the pool of Samaria, the dogs licked up his blood and prostitutes bathed there, as the Lord had prophesied.

³⁹ The rest of the acts of Ahab, with all that he did, including the ivory house he built and all the cities he built, are recorded in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel. ⁴⁰ Ahab rested with his ancestors, and his son Ahaziah succeeded him as king.

Reign of Jehoshaphat. ⁴¹ Jehoshaphat, son of Asa, became king of Judah in the fourth year of Ahab, king of Israel. ⁴² Jehoshaphat was thirty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned twenty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Azubah, daughter of Shilhi.

⁴³ He walked in the way of Asa his father unceasingly, doing what was right in the Lord’s sight. ⁴⁴ Nevertheless, the high places did not disappear, and the people still sacrificed on the high places and burned incense there. ⁴⁵ Jehoshaphat also made peace with the king of Israel.

⁴⁶ The rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, with his valor, what he did and how he fought, are recorded in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah. ⁴⁷ He removed from the land the rest of the pagan priests who had remained in the reign of Asa his father. ⁴⁸ There was no king in Edom, but an appointed regent. ⁴⁹ Jehoshaphat made Tarshish ships to go to Ophir for gold; but in fact the ships did not go, because they were wrecked at Ezion-geber. ⁵⁰ That was the time when Ahaziah, son of Ahab, had said to Jehoshaphat, “Let my servants accompany your servants in the ships.” But Jehoshaphat would not agree. ⁵¹ Jehoshaphat rested with his ancestors; he was buried with his ancestors in the City of David his father, and his son Jehoram succeeded him as king.

Reign of Ahaziah.^{[ad] 52} Ahaziah, son of Ahab, became king over Israel in Samaria in the seventeenth year^[ae] of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah; he reigned two years over Israel.

⁵³ He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, walking in the way of his father, his mother, and Jeroboam, son of Nebat, who caused Israel to sin. ⁵⁴ He served Baal and worshiped him, thus provoking the Lord, the God of Israel, just as his father had done.

Chapter 1

Reign of Ahaziah, Continued. ¹ After Ahab’s death, Moab rebelled against Israel.^(Z)

² Ahaziah fell through the lattice of his roof terrace at Samaria and was injured. So he sent out messengers with the instructions: “Go and inquire of Baalzebub,^[af] the god of Ekron, whether I shall recover from this injury.”

³ Meanwhile, the messenger of the Lord said to Elijah the Tishbite: Go and meet the messengers of Samaria’s king, and tell them: “Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going to inquire of Baalzebub, the god of Ekron?” ⁴ For this, the Lord says: You shall not leave the bed upon which you lie; instead, you shall die. And Elijah departed. ⁵ The messengers then returned to Ahaziah, who asked them, “Why have you returned?” ⁶ They answered, “A man met us and said to us, ‘Go back to the king who sent you and tell him: The Lord says: Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are sending to inquire of Baalzebub, the god of Ekron? For this you shall not leave the bed upon which you lie; instead, you shall die.’” ⁷ The king asked them, “What was the man like who met you and said these things to you?” ⁸ They replied, “He wore a hairy garment^[ag] with a leather belt around his waist.” “It is Elijah the Tishbite!” he exclaimed.

⁹ Then the king sent a captain with his company of fifty men after Elijah. The prophet was seated on a hilltop when he found him. He said, “Man of God, the king commands you, ‘Come down.’” ¹⁰ Elijah answered the captain, “Well, if I am a man of God, may fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men.” And fire came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty men.^{(AA) 11} The king sent another captain with his company of fifty men after Elijah. He shouted up and said, “Man of God, the king says, ‘Come down immediately!’” ¹² Elijah answered them, “If I am a man of God, may fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men.” And divine fire^[ah] came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty men. ¹³ The king sent a third captain with his company of fifty men. When the third captain had climbed the hill, he fell to his knees before Elijah, pleading with him. He said, “Man of God, let my life and the lives of these fifty men, your servants, count for something in your sight! ¹⁴ Already fire has come down from heaven, consuming the first two captains with their companies of fifty men. But now, let my life count for something in your sight!” ¹⁵ Then the messenger of the Lord said to Elijah: Go down with him; you need not be afraid of him. So Elijah left and went down with him to the king. ¹⁶ He declared to the king: “Thus says the Lord: Because you sent messengers to inquire of Baalzebub, the god of Ekron—do you think there is no God in Israel to inquire of?—you shall not leave the bed upon which you lie; instead you shall die.”^(AB)

¹⁷ Ahaziah died according to the word of the Lord spoken by Elijah. Since he had no son, Joram^[ai] succeeded him as king, in the second year of Joram, son of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah.

¹⁸ The rest of the acts of Ahaziah, which he did, are recorded in the book of chronicles of the kings of Israel.

VI. Elisha Succeeds Elijah^[aj]

Chapter 2

Elijah’s Journey. ¹ When the Lord was about to take Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind, he and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal.^[ak]

² Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here, please. The Lord has sent me on to Bethel.” Elisha replied, “As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they went down to Bethel. ³ The guild prophets who were in Bethel went out to Elisha and asked him, “Do you know that today the Lord will take your master from you?” He replied, “Yes, I know that. Be still.”

⁴ Elijah said to him, “Elisha, stay here, please. The Lord has sent me on to Jericho.” Elisha replied, “As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they came to Jericho. ⁵ The guild prophets who were in Jericho approached Elisha and asked him, “Do you know that today the Lord will take your master from you?” He replied, “Yes, I know that. Be still.”

⁶ Elijah said to him, “Stay here, please. The Lord has sent me on to the Jordan.” Elisha replied, “As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So the two went on together. ⁷ Fifty of the guild prophets followed and stood facing them at a distance, while the two of them stood next to the Jordan.

Elisha Succeeds Elijah. ⁸ Elijah took his mantle, rolled it up and struck the water: it divided, and the two of them crossed over on dry ground.^(AC)

^9 (AD)When they had crossed over, Elijah said to Elisha, “Request whatever I might do for you, before I am taken from you.” Elisha answered, “May I receive a double portion of your spirit.”^{[al] 10} He replied, “You have asked something that is not easy. Still, if you see me taken up from you, your wish will be granted; otherwise not.” ¹¹ As they walked on still conversing, a fiery chariot and fiery horses came between the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind,^{(AE) 12} and Elisha saw it happen. He cried out, “My father! my father!^[am] Israel’s chariot and steeds!” Then he saw him no longer.

He gripped his own garment, tore it into two pieces, ¹³ and picked up the mantle which had fallen from Elijah. Then he went back and stood at the bank of the Jordan. ¹⁴ Wielding the mantle which had fallen from Elijah, he struck the water and said, “The Lord, the God of Elijah—where is he now?”^[an] He struck the water: it divided, and he crossed over.

Elisha’s Journey. ¹⁵ The guild prophets in Jericho, who were on the other side, saw him and said, “The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha.” They went to meet him, bowing to the ground before him.^{(AF) 16} They said, “Among your servants are fifty brave men. Let them go in search of your master. Perhaps the spirit of the Lord has lifted him up and left him on some mountain or in some valley.” He answered, “Do not send them.”^{(AG) 17} But they kept urging him, until he was embarrassed and said, “Send them.” So they sent the fifty men, who searched for three days without finding him.^{(AH) 18} When they returned to Elisha in Jericho, where he was staying, he said to them, “Did I not tell you not to go?”

^19 (AI)The inhabitants of the city complained to Elisha, “The site of the city is fine indeed, as my lord can see, but the water is bad and the land sterile.” ²⁰ Elisha said, “Bring me a new bowl and put salt into it.” When they had brought it to him, ²¹ he went out to the spring and threw salt into it, saying, “Thus says the Lord: I have purified this water. Never again shall death or sterility come from it.” ²² And the water has stayed pure even to this day, according to the word Elisha had spoken.

^23 [ao]From there Elisha went up to Bethel. While he was on the way, some little boys came out of the city and jeered at him: “Go away, baldy; go away, baldy!” ²⁴ The prophet turned and saw them, and he cursed them in the name of the Lord. Then two she-bears came out of the woods and tore forty-two of the children to pieces.

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

VII. Stories of Elisha and Joram^[ap]

Chapter 3

Reign of Joram of Israel. ¹ Joram, son of Ahab, became king over Israel in Samaria in the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, and he reigned twelve years.^[aq]

^2 (AJ)He did what was evil in the Lord’s sight, though not like his father and mother. He did away with the pillar of Baal that his father had made, ³ but he still held fast unceasingly to the sins which Jeroboam, son of Nebat, caused Israel to commit.

War Against Moab: Drought. ^4 [ar]Now Mesha, king of Moab, who raised sheep, used to pay the king of Israel as tribute a hundred thousand lambs and the wool of a hundred thousand rams. ⁵ But when Ahab died, the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel. ⁶ King Joram set out from Samaria and mustered all Israel. ^7 (AK)Then he sent Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, the message: “The king of Moab has rebelled against me. Will you come with me to Moab to fight?” He replied, “I will. You and I are as one, your people and my people, and your horses and my horses as well.” ⁸ He said, “By what route shall we attack?” and the other said, “By way of the wilderness of Edom.”

⁹ So the king of Israel set out, accompanied by the king of Judah and the king of Edom. After a roundabout journey of seven days the water gave out for the army and for the animals with them. ¹⁰ The king of Israel exclaimed, “Alas! The Lord has called three kings together only to deliver us into the power of Moab.” ¹¹ But Jehoshaphat asked, “Is there no prophet of the Lord here through whom we may inquire of the Lord?” One of the servants of the king of Israel replied, “Elisha, son of Shaphat, who poured water on the hands of Elijah,^[as] is here.” ¹² Jehoshaphat agreed, “He has the word of the Lord.” So the king of Israel, along with Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom, went down to Elisha. ¹³ Elisha asked the king of Israel, “What do you want with me? Go to the prophets of your father and to the prophets of your mother.” The king of Israel replied, “No, the Lord has called these three kings together only to deliver us into the power of Moab.” ¹⁴ Then Elisha said, “As the Lord of hosts lives, whom I serve, were it not that I respect Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, I should neither look at you nor notice you at all. ¹⁵ Now get me a minstrel.” When the minstrel played, the hand of the Lord came upon Elisha, ¹⁶ and he announced: “Thus says the Lord: Provide many catch basins in this wadi. ¹⁷ For the Lord says: Though you will see neither wind nor rain, yet this wadi will be filled with water for you to drink, and for your livestock and pack animals. ¹⁸ And since the Lord does not consider this enough, he will also deliver Moab into your power. ¹⁹ You shall destroy every fortified city and every choice city, fell every fruit tree, stop up all the springs, and ruin every fertile field with stones.”^(AL)

²⁰ In the morning, at the time of the sacrifice, water came from the direction of Edom and filled the land.

²¹ Meanwhile, all Moab had heard that the kings had come to war against them; troops from the youngest on up were mobilized and stationed at the border. ²² When they rose early that morning, the sun was shining across the water. The Moabites saw the water as red as blood, ²³ and said, “This is blood! The kings have fought among themselves and killed one another. Quick! To the spoils, Moab!” ²⁴ But when they reached the camp of Israel, the Israelites rose up and attacked the Moabites, who fled from them. They ranged through the countryside destroying Moab— ²⁵ leveling the cities, each one casting the stones onto every fertile field and filling it, stopping up every spring, felling every fruit tree, until only the stones of Kir-hareseth^[at] remained. Then the slingers surrounded and attacked it. ²⁶ When he saw that the battle was going against him, the king of Moab took seven hundred swordsmen to break through to the king of Edom, but he failed. ²⁷ So he took his firstborn, who was to succeed him as king, and offered him as a burnt offering upon the wall. The wrath against Israel^[au] was so great that they gave up the siege and returned to their own land.^(AM)

Chapter 4

The Widow’s Oil. ^1 (AN)A certain woman, the widow of one of the guild prophets, cried out to Elisha: “My husband, your servant, is dead. You know that he revered the Lord, yet now his creditor has come to take my two children into servitude.”^{[av] 2} Elisha answered her, “What am I to do for you? Tell me what you have in the house.” She replied, “This servant of yours has nothing in the house but a jug of oil.” ³ He said, “Go out, borrow vessels from all your neighbors—as many empty vessels as you can. ⁴ Then come back and close the door on yourself and your children; pour the oil into all the vessels, and as each is filled, set it aside.” ⁵ So she went out. She closed the door on herself and her children and, as they handed her the vessels, she would pour in oil. ⁶ When all the vessels were filled, she said to her son, “Bring me another vessel.” He answered, “There is none left.” And then the oil stopped. ⁷ She went and told the man of God, who said, “Go sell the oil to pay off your creditor; with what remains, you and your children can live.”

Elisha Raises the Shunammite’s Son. ⁸ One day Elisha came to Shunem, where there was a woman of influence, who pressed him to dine with her. Afterward, whenever he passed by, he would stop there to dine. ⁹ So she said to her husband, “I know that he is a holy man of God. Since he visits us often, ¹⁰ let us arrange a little room on the roof and furnish it for him with a bed, table, chair, and lamp, so that when he comes to us he can stay there.”^(AO)

¹¹ One day Elisha arrived and stayed in the room overnight. ¹² Then he said to his servant Gehazi, “Call this Shunammite woman.” He did so, and when she stood before Elisha, ¹³ he told Gehazi, “Say to her, ‘You have troubled yourself greatly for us; what can we do for you? Can we say a good word for you to the king or to the commander of the army?’” She replied, “I am living among my own people.”^{[aw] 14} Later Elisha asked, “What can we do for her?” Gehazi answered, “She has no son, and her husband is old.” ¹⁵ Elisha said, “Call her.” He did so, and when she stood at the door, ¹⁶ Elisha promised, “This time next year you will be cradling a baby son.” She said, “My lord, you are a man of God; do not deceive your servant.”^{(AP) 17} Yet the woman conceived, and by the same time the following year she had given birth to a son, as Elisha had promised; ¹⁸ and the child grew up healthy.^(AQ)

One day the boy went out to his father among the reapers. ¹⁹ He said to his father, “My head! My head!” And his father said to the servant, “Carry him to his mother.” ²⁰ The servant picked him up and carried him to his mother; he sat in her lap until noon, and then died. ²¹ She went upstairs and laid him on the bed of the man of God. Closing the door on him, she went out ²² and called to her husband, “Let me have one of the servants and a donkey. I must go quickly to the man of God, and I will be back.” ²³ He asked, “Why are you going to him today? It is neither the new moon nor the sabbath.” But she said, “It is all right.” ²⁴ When the donkey was saddled, she said to her servant, “Lead on! Do not stop my donkey unless I tell you.” ²⁵ She kept going till she reached the man of God on Mount Carmel. When he saw her at a distance, the man of God said to his servant Gehazi: “There is the Shunammite! ²⁶ Hurry to meet her, and ask if everything is all right with her, with her husband, and with the boy.” “Everything is all right,” she replied. ²⁷ But when she reached the man of God on the mountain, she clasped his feet. Gehazi came near to push her away, but the man of God said: “Let her alone, she is in bitter anguish; the Lord hid it from me and did not let me know.” ²⁸ She said, “Did I ask my lord for a son? Did I not say, ‘Do not mislead me’?” ²⁹ He said to Gehazi, “Get ready for a journey. Take my staff with you and be off; if you meet anyone, give no greeting,^[ax] and if anyone greets you, do not answer. Lay my staff upon the boy.” ³⁰ But the boy’s mother cried out: “As the Lord lives and as you yourself live, I will not release you.” So he started back with her.

³¹ Meanwhile, Gehazi had gone on ahead and had laid the staff upon the boy, but there was no sound, no response. He returned to meet Elisha and told him, “The boy has not awakened.” ³² When Elisha reached the house, he found the boy dead, lying on the bed. ³³ He went in, closed the door on them both, and prayed to the Lord. ³⁴ Then he lay upon the child on the bed, placing his mouth upon the child’s mouth, his eyes upon the eyes, and his hands upon the hands. As Elisha stretched himself over the child, the boy’s flesh became warm.^{(AR) 35} He arose, paced up and down the room, and then once more stretched himself over him, and the boy sneezed seven times and opened his eyes.^{(AS) 36} Elisha summoned Gehazi and said, “Call the Shunammite.” He called her, and she came to him, and Elisha said to her, “Take your son.” ³⁷ She came in and fell at his feet in homage; then she took her son and left.