The Daily Audio Bible

The Lord Speaks to Ahaziah

1 Now Moab turned against Israel after the death of Ahab. ² Ahaziah fell through the window of his second-floor room in Samaria, and lay sick. So he sent men with news, saying to them, “Go and ask Baalzebub the god of Ekron if I will get well again from this sickness.” ³ But the angel of the Lord said to Elijah the Tishbite, “Get up and go meet the men sent from the king of Samaria. Say to them, ‘Are you going to ask Baal-zebub the god of Ekron because there is no God in Israel?’ ⁴ This is what the Lord says. ‘You will not leave the bed on which you lie. You will die for sure.’” Then Elijah left.

⁵ When the men returned to Ahaziah, he said to them, “Why have you returned?” ⁶ They said, “A man came up to meet us. He said to us, ‘Go and return to the king who sent you. Tell him, “This is what the Lord says. ‘Are you asking Baal-zebub the god of Ekron because there is no God in Israel? So you will not leave the bed on which you lie. You will die for sure.’”’” ⁷ Ahaziah said to them, “What kind of man was he who came to meet you and said this to you?” ⁸ They answered, “He was a man with much hair. He wore a piece of leather around his body.” Ahaziah said, “It is Elijah the Tishbite.”

⁹ Then the king sent a captain with fifty of his men to take Elijah. The captain went up to him and saw Elijah sitting on the top of the hill. He said to him, “O man of God, the king says, ‘Come down.’” ¹⁰ Elijah said to the captain of fifty men, “If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and destroy you and your fifty men.” Then fire came down from heaven and destroyed him and his fifty men. ¹¹ So Ahaziah sent to him another captain with fifty men. The captain said to Elijah, “O man of God, the king says, ‘Be quick to come down.’” ¹² Elijah answered them, “If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and destroy you and your fifty men.” Then the fire of God came down from heaven and destroyed him and his fifty men. ¹³ So Ahaziah sent to him a third captain with fifty men. When the third captain of fifty men went up, he came and put his face to the ground in front of Elijah. He begged him and said, “O man of God, I beg you. Let my life and the lives of these fifty servants of yours be of great worth in your eyes. ¹⁴ Fire came down from heaven and destroyed the first two captains with their armies of fifty. But now let my life be of great worth in your eyes.” ¹⁵ The angel of the Lord said to Elijah, “Go down with him. Do not be afraid of him.” So Elijah got up and went with him to the king. ¹⁶ Then Elijah said to Ahaziah, “This is what the Lord says. ‘You have sent men to ask of Baal-zebub the god of Ekron. Is it because there is no God in Israel to ask of His Word? So now you will not leave the bed on which you lie. You will die for sure.’”

¹⁷ So Ahaziah died, just as the word of the Lord had said through Elijah. Because Ahaziah had no son, Jehoram his brother became king in his place, in the second year of Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah. ¹⁸ Now the rest of the acts of Ahaziah, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?

Elijah Is Taken Up to Heaven

2 When the Lord was about to take Elijah up to heaven by a wind-storm, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal. ² Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here, I ask you. For the Lord has sent me as far as Bethel.” But Elisha said, “As the Lord lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they went down to Bethel. ³ Then the sons of the men who spoke for God at Bethel came out to Elisha. They said to him, “Do you know that the Lord will take Elijah from you today?” And he said, “Yes, I know. Say no more.” ⁴ Elijah said to him, “Elisha, I ask you to stay here. For the Lord has sent me to Jericho.” But Elisha said, “As the Lord lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they came to Jericho. ⁵ The sons of the men who spoke for God at Jericho came to Elisha. They said to him, “Do you know that the Lord will take Elijah from you today?” And he answered, “Yes, I know. Say no more.” ⁶ Then Elijah said to him, “I ask you to stay here. For the Lord has sent me to the Jordan.” And Elisha said, “As the Lord lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So the two of them went on.

⁷ Now fifty sons of the men who tell what will happen in the future went and stood on the other side of the Jordan River a long way off from the two of them who were standing by the Jordan. ⁸ Then Elijah took his coat and rolled it up and hit the water. And the water divided to one side and to the other, so the two of them crossed the Jordan on dry ground. ⁹ When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, “Ask what I should do for you before I am taken from you.” And Elisha said, “I ask you, let twice the share of your spirit be upon me.” ¹⁰ Elijah said, “You have asked a hard thing. But if you see me when I am taken from you, it will be given to you. But if not, it will not be so.” ¹¹ As they went on and talked, a war-wagon of fire and horses of fire came between them. And Elijah went up by a wind-storm to heaven. ¹² Elisha saw it and cried out, “My father, my father, the war-wagon of Israel and its horsemen!” And he saw Elijah no more. Then he took hold of his own clothes and tore them in two pieces. ¹³ He picked up Elijah’s coat that had fallen from him. And he returned and stood by the side of the Jordan. ¹⁴ He took Elijah’s coat that fell from him, and hit the water and said, “Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah?” When he hit the water, it was divided to one side and to the other, and Elisha crossed the Jordan.

¹⁵ The sons of the men who tell what will happen in the future at Jericho saw him. And they said, “The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha.” They came to meet him and bowed to the ground in front of him. ¹⁶ They said to him, “Now see, there are fifty strong men with your servants. Let them go and look for your teacher. It might be that the Spirit of the Lord has taken him up and put him down on some mountain or into some valley.” And Elisha said, “Do not send them.” ¹⁷ But they talked to him until he was ashamed, and he said, “Send them.” So they sent fifty men to look for Elijah. But after three days they did not find him. ¹⁸ They returned to Elisha while he was staying at Jericho. And he said to them, “Did I not tell you, ‘Do not go’?”

Powerful Works of Elisha

¹⁹ Then the men of the city said to Elisha, “See, it is pleasing to live in this city, as my lord sees. But the water is bad. And the land does not bring fruit.” ²⁰ Elisha said, “Bring me a new jar, and put salt in it.” So they brought it to him. ²¹ Then he went out to the well of water and threw salt into it, and said, “This is what the Lord says, ‘I have made this water pure. It will not cause death or loss of fruit any more.’” ²² So the water has been pure to this day, just as Elisha said.

²³ Then he left there and went to Bethel. On the way, some young boys came out from the city and made fun of him. They said to him, “Go up, you man with no hair! Go up, you man with no hair!” ²⁴ He looked behind him and saw them, and cursed them in the name of the Lord. Then two female bears came from among the trees and tore up forty-two of the boys. ²⁵ Elisha went from there to Mount Carmel, then returned to Samaria.

⁴² As Paul and Barnabas went out of the Jewish place of worship, the people asked them to talk about these things on the next Day of Rest. ⁴³ The people went from the place of worship. Many Jews and others who had become Jews followed Paul and Barnabas as they talked to the Jews. They told them to keep on trusting in the loving-favor of God.

Paul and Barnabas Go to the People Who Are Not Jews

⁴⁴ Almost all of the people of the town came to hear the Word of God on the next Day of Rest. ⁴⁵ The Jews were filled with jealousy when they saw so many people. They spoke against the things Paul said by saying he was wrong. They also spoke against God. ⁴⁶ Paul and Barnabas said to the people in plain words, “We must preach the Word of God to you first. But because you put it aside, you are not good enough for life that lasts forever. So we will go to the people who are not Jews. ⁴⁷ The Lord gave us a work to do. He said, ‘You are to be a light to the people who are not Jews. You are to preach so that men over all the earth can be saved from the punishment of their sins.’” ^(A)

⁴⁸ The people who were not Jews were glad when they heard this. They were thankful for the Word of God. Those who were chosen for life that lasts forever believed. ⁴⁹ The Word of God was preached over all that land.

⁵⁰ The Jews worked on the feelings of the women who were religious and respected. They worked on the leading men of the city also. They worked against Paul and Barnabas and made them leave their city. ⁵¹ But Paul and Barnabas shook the dust off from their feet against them and went to the city of Iconium. ⁵² The missionaries were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.

Paul and Barnabas Preach in Iconium

14 In the city of Iconium, Paul and Barnabas went into the Jewish place of worship. They preached with power and many people became Christians. These people were Jews and Greeks. ² But the Jews who did not want to believe worked against those who were not Jews. They made them turn against the Christians. ³ Paul and Barnabas stayed there a long time preaching with the strength the Lord gave. God helped them to do powerful works when they preached which showed He was with them. ⁴ The people of the city were divided. Some were on the side of the Jews. Some were on the side of the missionaries. ⁵ All the people and the leaders tried to hurt them and throw stones at them.

Paul and Barnabas Go to Lystra

⁶ When Paul and Barnabas heard this, they got away and went to the cities of Lystra and Derbe in Lycaonia and to the country close by. ⁷ They stayed there and kept on preaching the Good News.

God Cares for His People

139 O Lord, You have looked through me and have known me. ² You know when I sit down and when I get up. You understand my thoughts from far away. ³ You look over my path and my lying down. You know all my ways very well. ⁴ Even before I speak a word, O Lord, You know it all. ⁵ You have closed me in from behind and in front. And You have laid Your hand upon me. ⁶ All You know is too great for me. It is too much for me to understand.

⁷ Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I run away from where You are? ⁸ If I go up to heaven, You are there! If I make my bed in the place of the dead, You are there! ⁹ If I take the wings of the morning or live in the farthest part of the sea, ¹⁰ even there Your hand will lead me and Your right hand will hold me. ¹¹ If I say, “For sure the darkness will cover me and the light around me will be night,” ¹² even the darkness is not dark to You. And the night is as bright as the day. Darkness and light are the same to You.

¹³ For You made the parts inside me. You put me together inside my mother. ¹⁴ I will give thanks to You, for the greatness of the way I was made brings fear. Your works are great and my soul knows it very well. ¹⁵ My bones were not hidden from You when I was made in secret and put together with care in the deep part of the earth. ¹⁶ Your eyes saw me before I was put together. And all the days of my life were written in Your book before any of them came to be.

¹⁷ Your thoughts are of great worth to me, O God. How many there are! ¹⁸ If I could number them, there would be more than the sand. When I awake, I am still with You.

¹⁹ If only You would kill the sinful, O God, and the men of blood would go away from me! ²⁰ For they speak against You in sin. Those who hate You use Your name in a wrong way. ²¹ Do I not hate those who hate You, O Lord? And do I not hate those who rise up against You? ²² I hate them with the strongest hate. They have become men who hate me.

²³ Look through me, O God, and know my heart. Try me and know my thoughts. ²⁴ See if there is any sinful way in me and lead me in the way that lasts forever.

¹⁹ He who loves sin loves making trouble. He who opens his door wide for trouble is looking for a way to be destroyed.

²⁰ He who has a sinful heart finds no good. He who has a sinful tongue falls into sin.

²¹ A foolish son is a sorrow to his father, and the father of a fool has no joy.