2Kings:3-11
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*
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 .
*
And he wrought evil in the sight of the LORD ;
but not like his father ,
and like his mother :
for he put away the image of Baal that his father had made .
*
Nevertheless he cleaved unto the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat ,
which made Israel to sin ;
he departed not therefrom .
*
And Mesha king of Moab was a sheepmaster ,
and rendered unto the king of Israel an hundred thousand lambs ,
and an hundred thousand rams ,
with the wool .
*
But it came to pass ,
when Ahab was dead ,
that the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel .
*
And king Jehoram went out of Samaria the same time ,
and numbered all Israel .
*
And he went and sent to Jehoshaphat the king of Judah ,
saying ,
The king of Moab hath 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 .
*
And he said ,
Which way shall we go up ?
And he answered ,
The way through the wilderness of Edom .
*
So the king of Israel went ,
and the king of Judah ,
and the king of Edom :
and they fetched a compass of seven days '
journey :
and there was no water for the host ,
and for the cattle that followed them .
*
And the king of Israel said ,
Alas !
that the LORD hath called these three kings together ,
to deliver them into the hand of Moab !
*
But Jehoshaphat said ,
Is there not here a prophet of the LORD ,
that we may enquire of the LORD by him ?
And one of the king of Israel '
s servants answered and said ,
Here is Elisha the son of Shaphat ,
which poured water on the hands of Elijah .
*
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 .
*
And Elisha said unto the king of Israel ,
What have I to do with thee ?
get thee to the prophets of thy father ,
and to the prophets of thy mother .
And the king of Israel said unto him ,
Nay :
for the LORD hath called these three kings together ,
to deliver them into the hand of Moab .
*
And Elisha said ,
As the LORD of hosts liveth ,
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 .
*
But now bring me a minstrel .
And it came to pass ,
when the minstrel played ,
that the hand of the LORD came upon him .
*
And he said ,
Thus saith the LORD ,
Make this valley full of ditches .
*
For thus saith the LORD ,
Ye shall not see wind ,
neither shall ye see rain ;
yet that valley shall be filled with water ,
that ye may drink ,
both ye ,
and your cattle ,
and your beasts .
*
And this is but a light thing in the sight of the LORD :
he will deliver the Moabites also into your hand .
*
And ye shall smite every fenced city ,
and every choice city ,
and shall fell every good tree ,
and stop all wells of water ,
and mar every good piece of land with stones .
*
And it came to pass in the morning ,
when the meat offering was offered ,
that ,
behold ,
there came water by the way of Edom ,
and the country was filled with water .
*
And when all the Moabites heard that the kings were come up to fight against them ,
they gathered all that were able to put on armour ,
and upward ,
and stood in the border .
*
And they rose up early in the morning ,
and the sun shone upon the water ,
and the Moabites saw the water on the other side as red as blood :
*
And they said ,
This is blood :
the kings are surely slain ,
and they have smitten one another :
now therefore ,
Moab ,
to the spoil .
*
And 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 .
*
And they beat down the cities ,
and on every good piece of land cast every man his stone ,
and filled it ;
and they stopped all the wells of water ,
and felled all the good trees :
only in Kirharaseth left they the stones thereof ;
howbeit the slingers went about it ,
and smote it .
*
And when the king of Moab saw that the battle was too sore for him ,
he took with him seven hundred men that drew swords ,
to break through even unto the king of Edom :
but they could not .
*
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 against Israel :
and they departed from him ,
and returned to their own land .
*
Now there cried a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets unto Elisha ,
saying ,
Thy servant my husband is dead ;
and thou knowest that thy servant did fear the LORD :
and the creditor is come to take unto him my two sons to be bondmen .
*
And Elisha said unto her ,
What shall I do for thee ?
tell me ,
what hast thou in the house ?
And she said ,
Thine handmaid hath not any thing in the house ,
save a pot of oil .
*
Then he said ,
Go ,
borrow thee vessels abroad of all thy neighbours ,
even empty vessels ;
borrow not a few .
*
And when thou art come in ,
thou shalt shut the door upon thee and upon thy sons ,
and shalt pour out into all those vessels ,
and thou shalt set aside that which is full .
*
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 .
*
And it came to pass ,
when the vessels were full ,
that she said unto her son ,
Bring me yet a vessel .
And he said unto her ,
There is not a vessel more .
And the oil stayed .
*
Then she came and told the man of God .
And he said ,
Go ,
sell the oil ,
and pay thy debt ,
and live thou and thy children of the rest .
*
And it fell on a day ,
that Elisha passed to Shunem ,
where was a great woman ;
and she constrained him to eat bread .
And so it was ,
that as oft as he passed by ,
he turned in thither to eat bread .
*
And she said unto her husband ,
Behold now ,
I perceive that this is an holy man of God ,
which passeth by us continually .
*
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 candlestick :
and it shall be ,
when he cometh to us ,
that he shall turn in thither .
*
And it fell on a day ,
that he came thither ,
and he turned into the chamber ,
and lay there .
*
And he said to Gehazi his servant ,
Call this Shunammite .
And when he had called her ,
she stood before him .
*
And he said unto him ,
Say now unto her ,
Behold ,
thou hast been careful for us with all this care ;
what is to be done for thee ?
wouldest thou be spoken for to the king ,
or to the captain of the host ?
And she answered ,
I dwell among mine own people .
*
And he said ,
What then is to be done for her ?
And Gehazi answered ,
Verily she hath no child ,
and her husband is old .
*
And he said ,
Call her .
And when he had called her ,
she stood in the door .
*
And he said ,
About this season ,
according to the time of life ,
thou shalt embrace a son .
And she said ,
Nay ,
my lord ,
thou man of God ,
do not lie unto thine handmaid .
*
And the woman conceived ,
and bare a son at that season that Elisha had said unto her ,
according to the time of life .
*
And when the child was grown ,
it fell on a day ,
that he went out to his father to the reapers .
*
And he said unto his father ,
My head ,
my head .
And he said to a lad ,
Carry him to his mother .
*
And when he had taken him ,
and brought him to his mother ,
he sat on her knees till noon ,
and then died .
*
And she went up ,
and laid him on the bed of the man of God ,
and shut the door upon him ,
and went out .
*
And she called unto her husband ,
and 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 .
*
And he said ,
Wherefore wilt thou go to him to day ?
it is neither new moon ,
nor sabbath .
And she said ,
It shall be well .
*
Then she saddled an ass ,
and said to her servant ,
Drive ,
and go forward ;
slack not thy riding for me ,
except I bid thee .
*
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 :
*
Run now ,
I pray thee ,
to meet her ,
and say unto her ,
Is it well with thee ?
is it well with thy husband ?
is it well with the child ?
And she answered ,
It is well .
*
And when she came to the man of God to the hill ,
she caught him by the feet :
but Gehazi came near to thrust her away .
And the man of God said ,
Let her alone ;
for her soul is vexed within her :
and the LORD hath hid it from me ,
and hath not told me .
*
Then she said ,
Did I desire a son of my lord ?
did I not say ,
Do not deceive me ?
*
Then he said to Gehazi ,
Gird up thy loins ,
and take my staff in thine hand ,
and go thy way :
if thou meet any man ,
salute him not ;
and if any salute thee ,
answer him not again :
and lay my staff upon the face of the child .
*
And the mother of the child said ,
As the LORD liveth ,
and as thy soul liveth ,
I will not leave thee .
And he arose ,
and followed her .
*
And Gehazi passed on before them ,
and laid the staff upon the face of the child ;
but there was neither voice ,
nor hearing .
Wherefore he went again to meet him ,
and told him ,
saying ,
The child is not awaked .
*
And when Elisha was come into the house ,
behold ,
the child was dead ,
and laid upon his bed .
*
He went in therefore ,
and shut the door upon them twain ,
and prayed unto the LORD .
*
And 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 :
and he stretched himself upon the child ;
and the flesh of the child waxed warm .
*
Then he returned ,
and walked in the house to and fro ;
and went up ,
and stretched himself upon him :
and the child sneezed seven times ,
and the child opened his eyes .
*
And he called Gehazi ,
and said ,
Call this Shunammite .
So he called her .
And when she was come in unto him ,
he said ,
Take up thy son .
*
Then she went in ,
and fell at his feet ,
and bowed herself to the ground ,
and took up her son ,
and went out .
*
And Elisha came again to Gilgal :
and there was a dearth in the land ;
and the sons of the prophets were sitting before him :
and he said unto his servant ,
Set on the great pot ,
and seethe pottage for the sons of the prophets .
*
And one went out into the field to gather herbs ,
and found a wild vine ,
and gathered thereof wild gourds his lap full ,
and came and shred them into the pot of pottage :
for they knew them not .
*
So they poured out for the men to eat .
And it came to pass ,
as they were eating of the pottage ,
that they cried out ,
and said ,
O thou man of God ,
there is death in the pot .
And they could not eat thereof .
*
But he said ,
Then bring meal .
And he cast it into the pot ;
and he said ,
Pour out for the people ,
that they may eat .
And there was no harm in the pot .
*
And there came a man from Baalshalisha ,
and brought the man of God bread of the firstfruits ,
twenty loaves of barley ,
and full ears of corn in the husk thereof .
And he said ,
Give unto the people ,
that they may eat .
*
And his servitor said ,
What ,
should I set this before an hundred men ?
He said again ,
Give the people ,
that they may eat :
for thus saith the LORD ,
They shall eat ,
and shall leave thereof .
*
So he set it before them ,
and they did eat ,
and left thereof ,
according to the word of the LORD .
*
Now Naaman ,
captain of the host of the king of Syria ,
was a great man with his master ,
and honourable ,
because by him the LORD had given deliverance unto Syria :
he was also a mighty man in valour ,
but he was a leper .
*
And the Syrians had gone out by companies ,
and had brought away captive out of the land of Israel a little maid ;
and she waited on Naaman '
s wife .
*
And she said unto her mistress ,
Would God my lord were with the prophet that is in Samaria !
for he would recover him of his leprosy .
*
And one went in ,
and told his lord ,
saying ,
Thus and thus said the maid that is of the land of Israel .
*
And the king of Syria said ,
Go to ,
go ,
and I will send a letter unto the king of Israel .
And he departed ,
and took with him ten talents of silver ,
and six thousand pieces of gold ,
and ten changes of raiment .
*
And he brought the letter to the king of Israel ,
saying ,
Now when this letter is come unto thee ,
behold ,
I have therewith sent Naaman my servant to thee ,
that thou mayest recover him of his leprosy .
*
And it came to pass ,
when the king of Israel had read the letter ,
that he rent his clothes ,
and said ,
Am I God ,
to kill and to make alive ,
that this man doth send unto me to recover a man of his leprosy ?
wherefore consider ,
I pray you ,
and see how he seeketh a quarrel against me .
*
And it was so ,
when Elisha the man of God had heard that the king of Israel had rent his clothes ,
that he sent to the king ,
saying ,
Wherefore hast thou rent thy clothes ?
let him come now to me ,
and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel .
*
So Naaman came with his horses and with his chariot ,
and stood at the door of the house of Elisha .
*
And Elisha sent a messenger unto him ,
saying ,
Go and wash in Jordan seven times ,
and thy flesh shall come again to thee ,
and thou shalt be clean .
*
But Naaman was wroth ,
and went away ,
and said ,
Behold ,
I thought ,
He will surely come out to me ,
and stand ,
and call on the name of the LORD his God ,
and strike his hand over the place ,
and recover the leper .
*
Are not Abana and Pharpar ,
rivers of Damascus ,
better than all the waters of Israel ?
may I not wash in them ,
and be clean ?
So he turned and went away in a rage .
*
And his servants came near ,
and spake unto him ,
and said ,
My father ,
if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing ,
wouldest thou not have done it ?
how much rather then ,
when he saith to thee ,
Wash ,
and be clean ?
*
Then went he down ,
and dipped himself seven times in Jordan ,
according to the saying of the man of God :
and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child ,
and he was clean .
*
And he returned to the man of God ,
he and all his company ,
and came ,
and stood before him :
and he said ,
Behold ,
now I know that there is no God in all the earth ,
but in Israel :
now therefore ,
I pray thee ,
take a blessing of thy servant .
*
But he said ,
As the LORD liveth ,
before whom I stand ,
I will receive none .
And he urged him to take it ;
but he refused .
*
And Naaman said ,
Shall there not then ,
I pray thee ,
be given to thy servant two mules '
burden of earth ?
for thy servant will henceforth offer neither burnt offering nor sacrifice unto other gods ,
but unto the LORD .
*
In this thing the LORD pardon thy servant ,
that when my master goeth into the house of Rimmon to worship there ,
and he leaneth on my hand ,
and I bow myself in the house of Rimmon :
when I bow down myself in the house of Rimmon ,
the LORD pardon thy servant in this thing .
*
And he said unto him ,
Go in peace .
So he departed from him a little way .
*
But Gehazi ,
the servant of Elisha the man of God ,
said ,
Behold ,
my master hath spared Naaman this Syrian ,
in not receiving at his hands that which he brought :
but ,
as the LORD liveth ,
I will run after him ,
and take somewhat of him .
*
So Gehazi followed after Naaman .
And when Naaman saw him running after him ,
he lighted down from the chariot to meet him ,
and said ,
Is all well ?
*
And he said ,
All is well .
My master hath sent me ,
saying ,
Behold ,
even now there be come to me from mount Ephraim two young men of the sons of the prophets :
give them ,
I pray thee ,
a talent of silver ,
and two changes of garments .
*
And Naaman said ,
Be content ,
take two talents .
And he urged him ,
and bound two talents of silver in two bags ,
with two changes of garments ,
and laid them upon two of his servants ;
and they bare them before him .
*
And when he came to the tower ,
he took them from their hand ,
and bestowed them in the house :
and he let the men go ,
and they departed .
*
But he went in ,
and stood before his master .
And Elisha said unto him ,
Whence comest thou ,
Gehazi ?
And he said ,
Thy servant went no whither .
*
And he said unto him ,
Went not mine heart with thee ,
when the man turned again from his chariot to meet thee ?
Is it a time to receive money ,
and to receive garments ,
and oliveyards ,
and vineyards ,
and sheep ,
and oxen ,
and menservants ,
and maidservants ?
*
The leprosy therefore of Naaman shall cleave unto thee ,
and unto thy seed for ever .
And he went out from his presence a leper as white as snow .
*
And the sons of the prophets said unto Elisha ,
Behold now ,
the place where we dwell with thee is too strait for us .
*
Let us go ,
we pray thee ,
unto Jordan ,
and take thence every man a beam ,
and let us make us a place there ,
where we may dwell .
And he answered ,
Go ye .
*
And one said ,
Be content ,
I pray thee ,
and go with thy servants .
And he answered ,
I will go .
*
So he went with them .
And when they came to Jordan ,
they cut down wood .
*
But as one was felling a beam ,
the axe head fell into the water :
and he cried ,
and said ,
Alas ,
master !
for it was borrowed .
*
And the man of God said ,
Where fell it ?
And he shewed him the place .
And he cut down a stick ,
and cast it in thither ;
and the iron did swim .
*
Therefore said he ,
Take it up to thee .
And he put out his hand ,
and took it .
*
Then the king of Syria warred against Israel ,
and took counsel with his servants ,
saying ,
In such and such a place shall be my camp .
*
And the man of God sent unto the king of Israel ,
saying ,
Beware that thou pass not such a place ;
for thither the Syrians are come down .
*
And the king of Israel sent to the place which the man of God told him and warned him of ,
and saved himself there ,
not once nor twice .
*
Therefore the heart of the king of Syria was sore troubled for this thing ;
and he called his servants ,
and said unto them ,
Will ye not shew me which of us is for the king of Israel ?
*
And one of his servants said ,
None ,
my lord ,
O king :
but Elisha ,
the prophet that is in Israel ,
telleth the king of Israel the words that thou speakest in thy bedchamber .
*
And he said ,
Go and spy where he is ,
that I may send and fetch him .
And it was told him ,
saying ,
Behold ,
he is in Dothan .
*
Therefore sent he thither horses ,
and chariots ,
and a great host :
and they came by night ,
and compassed the city about .
*
And when the servant of the man of God was risen early ,
and gone forth ,
behold ,
an host compassed the city both with horses and chariots .
And his servant said unto him ,
Alas ,
my master !
how shall we do ?
*
And he answered ,
Fear not :
for they that be with us are more than they that be with them .
*
And Elisha prayed ,
and said ,
LORD ,
I pray thee ,
open his eyes ,
that he may see .
And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man ;
and he saw :
and ,
behold ,
the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha .
*
And when they came down to him ,
Elisha prayed unto the LORD ,
and said ,
Smite this people ,
I pray thee ,
with blindness .
And he smote them with blindness according to the word of Elisha .
*
And Elisha said unto them ,
This is not the way ,
neither is this the city :
follow me ,
and I will bring you to the man whom ye seek .
But he led them to Samaria .
*
And it came to pass ,
when they were come into Samaria ,
that Elisha said ,
LORD ,
open the eyes of these men ,
that they may see .
And the LORD opened their eyes ,
and they saw ;
and ,
behold ,
they were in the midst of Samaria .
*
And the king of Israel said unto Elisha ,
when he saw them ,
My father ,
shall I smite them ?
shall I smite them ?
*
And he answered ,
Thou shalt not smite them :
wouldest thou smite those whom thou hast taken captive with thy sword and with thy bow ?
set bread and water before them ,
that they may eat and drink ,
and go to their master .
*
And he prepared great provision for them :
and when they had eaten and drunk ,
he sent them away ,
and they went to their master .
So the bands of Syria came no more into the land of Israel .
*
And it came to pass after this ,
that Benhadad king of Syria gathered all his host ,
and went up ,
and besieged Samaria .
*
And there was a great famine in Samaria :
and ,
behold ,
they besieged it ,
until an ass '
s head was sold for fourscore pieces of silver ,
and the fourth part of a cab of dove '
s dung for five pieces of silver .
*
And as the king of Israel was passing by upon the wall ,
there cried a woman unto him ,
saying ,
Help ,
my lord ,
O king .
*
And he said ,
If the LORD do not help thee ,
whence shall I help thee ?
out of the barnfloor ,
or out of the winepress ?
*
And the king said unto her ,
What aileth thee ?
And she answered ,
This woman said unto me ,
Give thy son ,
that we may eat him to day ,
and we will eat my son to morrow .
*
So we boiled my son ,
and did eat him :
and I said unto her on the next day ,
Give thy son ,
that we may eat him :
and she hath hid her son .
*
And it came to pass ,
when the king heard the words of the woman ,
that he rent his clothes ;
and he passed by upon the wall ,
and the people looked ,
and ,
behold ,
he had sackcloth within upon his flesh .
*
Then he said ,
God do so and more also to me ,
if the head of Elisha the son of Shaphat shall stand on him this day .
*
But Elisha sat in his house ,
and the elders sat with him ;
and the king sent a man from before him :
but ere the messenger came to him ,
he said to the elders ,
See ye how this son of a murderer hath sent to take away mine head ?
look ,
when the messenger cometh ,
shut the door ,
and hold him fast at the door :
is not the sound of his master '
s feet behind him ?
*
And while he yet talked with them ,
behold ,
the messenger came down unto him :
and he said ,
Behold ,
this evil is of the LORD ;
what should I wait for the LORD any longer ?
*
Then Elisha said ,
Hear ye the word of the LORD ;
Thus saith the LORD ,
To morrow about this time shall a measure of fine flour be sold for a shekel ,
and two measures of barley for a shekel ,
in the gate of Samaria .
*
Then a lord on whose hand the king leaned answered the man of God ,
and said ,
Behold ,
if the LORD would make windows in heaven ,
might this thing be ?
And he said ,
Behold ,
thou shalt see it with thine eyes ,
but shalt not eat thereof .
*
And there were four leprous men at the entering in of the gate :
and they said one to another ,
Why sit we here until we die ?
*
If we say ,
We will enter into the city ,
then the famine is in the city ,
and we shall die there :
and if we sit still here ,
we die also .
Now therefore come ,
and let us fall unto the host of the Syrians :
if they save us alive ,
we shall live ;
and if they kill us ,
we shall but die .
*
And they rose up in the twilight ,
to go unto the camp of the Syrians :
and when they were come to the uttermost part of the camp of Syria ,
behold ,
there was no man there .
*
For the Lord had made the host of the Syrians to hear a noise of chariots ,
and a noise of horses ,
even the noise of a great host :
and they said one to another ,
Lo ,
the king of Israel hath hired against us the kings of the Hittites ,
and the kings of the Egyptians ,
to come upon us .
*
Wherefore they arose and fled in the twilight ,
and left their tents ,
and their horses ,
and their asses ,
even the camp as it was ,
and fled for their life .
*
And when these lepers came to the uttermost part of the camp ,
they went into one tent ,
and did eat and drink ,
and carried thence silver ,
and gold ,
and raiment ,
and went and hid it ;
and came again ,
and entered into another tent ,
and carried thence also ,
and went and hid it .
*
Then they said one to another ,
We do not well :
this day is a day of good tidings ,
and we hold our peace :
if we tarry till the morning light ,
some mischief will come upon us :
now therefore come ,
that we may go and tell the king '
s household .
*
So they came and called unto the porter of the city :
and they told them ,
saying ,
We came to the camp of the Syrians ,
and ,
behold ,
there was no man there ,
neither voice of man ,
but horses tied ,
and asses tied ,
and the tents as they were .
*
And he called the porters ;
and they told it to the king '
s house within .
*
And the king arose in the night ,
and said unto his servants ,
I will now shew you what the Syrians have done to us .
They know that we be hungry ;
therefore are they gone out of the camp to hide themselves in the field ,
saying ,
When they come out of the city ,
we shall catch them alive ,
and get into the city .
*
And one of his servants answered and said ,
Let some take ,
I pray thee ,
five of the horses that remain ,
which are left in the city , (
behold ,
they are as all the multitude of Israel that are left in it :
behold ,
I say ,
they are even as all the multitude of the Israelites that are consumed :)
and let us send and see .
*
They took therefore two chariot horses ;
and the king sent after the host of the Syrians ,
saying ,
Go and see .
*
And they went after them unto Jordan :
and ,
lo ,
all the way was full of garments and vessels ,
which the Syrians had cast away in their haste .
And the messengers returned ,
and told the king .
*
And the people went out ,
and spoiled the tents of the Syrians .
So a measure of fine flour was sold for a shekel ,
and two measures of barley for a shekel ,
according to the word of the LORD .
*
And the king appointed the lord on whose hand he leaned to have the charge of the gate :
and the people trode upon him in the gate ,
and he died ,
as the man of God had said ,
who spake when the king came down to him .
*
And it came to pass as the man of God had spoken to the king ,
saying ,
Two measures of barley for a shekel ,
and a measure of fine flour for a shekel ,
shall be to morrow about this time in the gate of Samaria :
*
And that lord answered the man of God ,
and said ,
Now ,
behold ,
if the LORD should make windows in heaven ,
might such a thing be ?
And he said ,
Behold ,
thou shalt see it with thine eyes ,
but shalt not eat thereof .
*
And so it fell out unto him :
for the people trode upon him in the gate ,
and he died .
*
Then spake Elisha unto the woman ,
whose son he had restored to life ,
saying ,
Arise ,
and go thou and thine household ,
and sojourn wheresoever thou canst sojourn :
for the LORD hath called for a famine ;
and it shall also come upon the land seven years .
*
And the woman arose ,
and did after the saying of the man of God :
and she went with her household ,
and sojourned in the land of the Philistines seven years .
*
And it came to pass at the seven years '
end ,
that the woman returned out of the land of the Philistines :
and she went forth to cry unto the king for her house and for her land .
*
And the king talked with Gehazi the servant of the man of God ,
saying ,
Tell me ,
I pray thee ,
all the great things that Elisha hath done .
*
And it came to pass ,
as he was telling the king how he had restored a dead body to life ,
that ,
behold ,
the woman ,
whose son he had restored to life ,
cried to the king for her house and for her land .
And Gehazi said ,
My lord ,
O king ,
this is the woman ,
and this is her son ,
whom Elisha restored to life .
*
And when the king asked the woman ,
she told him .
So the king appointed unto her a certain officer ,
saying ,
Restore all that was hers ,
and all the fruits of the field since the day that she left the land ,
even until now .
*
And Elisha came to Damascus ;
and Benhadad the king of Syria was sick ;
and it was told him ,
saying ,
The man of God is come hither .
*
And the king said unto Hazael ,
Take a present in thine hand ,
and go ,
meet the man of God ,
and enquire of the LORD by him ,
saying ,
Shall I recover of this disease ?
*
So Hazael went to meet him ,
and took a present with him ,
even of every good thing of Damascus ,
forty camels '
burden ,
and came and stood before him ,
and said ,
Thy son Benhadad king of Syria hath sent me to thee ,
saying ,
Shall I recover of this disease ?
*
And Elisha said unto him ,
Go ,
say unto him ,
Thou mayest certainly recover :
howbeit the LORD hath shewed me that he shall surely die .
*
And he settled his countenance stedfastly ,
until he was ashamed :
and the man of God wept .
*
And Hazael said ,
Why weepeth my lord ?
And he answered ,
Because I know the evil that thou wilt do unto the children of Israel :
their strong holds wilt thou set on fire ,
and their young men wilt thou slay with the sword ,
and wilt dash their children ,
and rip up their women with child .
*
And Hazael said ,
But what ,
is thy servant a dog ,
that he should do this great thing ?
And Elisha answered ,
The LORD hath shewed me that thou shalt be king over Syria .
*
So he departed from Elisha ,
and came to his master ;
who said to him ,
What said Elisha to thee ?
And he answered ,
He told me that thou shouldest surely recover .
*
And it came to pass on the morrow ,
that he took a thick cloth ,
and dipped it in water ,
and spread it on his face ,
so that he died :
and Hazael reigned in his stead .
*
And in the fifth year of Joram the son of Ahab king of Israel ,
Jehoshaphat being then king of Judah ,
Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah began to reign .
*
Thirty and two years old was he when he began to reign ;
and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem .
*
And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel ,
as did the house of Ahab :
for the daughter of Ahab was his wife :
and he did evil in the sight of the LORD .
*
Yet the LORD would not destroy Judah for David his servant '
s sake ,
as he promised him to give him alway a light ,
and to his children .
*
In his days Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah ,
and made a king over themselves .
*
So Joram went over to Zair ,
and all the chariots with him :
and he rose by night ,
and smote the Edomites which compassed him about ,
and the captains of the chariots :
and the people fled into their tents .
*
Yet Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah unto this day .
Then Libnah revolted at the same time .
*
And the rest of the acts of Joram ,
and all that he did ,
are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah ?
*
And Joram slept with his fathers ,
and was buried with his fathers in the city of David :
and Ahaziah his son reigned in his stead .
*
In the twelfth year of Joram the son of Ahab king of Israel did Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah begin to reign .
*
Two and twenty years old was Ahaziah when he began to reign ;
and he reigned one year in Jerusalem .
And his mother '
s name was Athaliah ,
the daughter of Omri king of Israel .
*
And he walked in the way of the house of Ahab ,
and did evil in the sight of the LORD ,
as did the house of Ahab :
for he was the son in law of the house of Ahab .
*
And he went with Joram the son of Ahab to the war against Hazael king of Syria in Ramothgilead ;
and the Syrians wounded Joram .
*
And king Joram went back to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds which the Syrians had given him at Ramah ,
when he fought against Hazael king of Syria .
And Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah went down to see Joram the son of Ahab in Jezreel ,
because he was sick .
*
And Elisha the prophet called one of the children of the prophets ,
and said unto him ,
Gird up thy loins ,
and take this box of oil in thine hand ,
and go to Ramothgilead :
*
And when thou comest thither ,
look out there Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat the son of Nimshi ,
and go in ,
and make him arise up from among his brethren ,
and carry him to an inner chamber ;
*
Then take the box of oil ,
and pour it on his head ,
and say ,
Thus saith the LORD ,
I have anointed thee king over Israel .
Then open the door ,
and flee ,
and tarry not .
*
So the young man ,
even the young man the prophet ,
went to Ramothgilead .
*
And when he came ,
behold ,
the captains of the host were sitting ;
and he said ,
I have an errand to thee ,
O captain .
And Jehu said ,
Unto which of all us ?
And he said ,
To thee ,
O captain .
*
And he arose ,
and went into the house ;
and he poured the oil on his head ,
and said unto him ,
Thus saith the LORD God of Israel ,
I have anointed thee king over the people of the LORD ,
even over Israel .
*
And thou shalt smite the house of Ahab thy master ,
that I may avenge the blood of my servants the prophets ,
and the blood of all the servants of the LORD ,
at the hand of Jezebel .
*
For the whole house of Ahab shall perish :
and I will cut off from Ahab him that pisseth against the wall ,
and him that is shut up and left in Israel :
*
And I will make the house of Ahab like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat ,
and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah :
*
And the dogs shall eat Jezebel in the portion of Jezreel ,
and there shall be none to bury her .
And he opened the door ,
and fled .
*
Then Jehu came forth to the servants of his lord :
and one said unto him ,
Is all well ?
wherefore came this mad fellow to thee ?
And he said unto them ,
Ye know the man ,
and his communication .
*
And they said ,
It is false ;
tell us now .
And he said ,
Thus and thus spake he to me ,
saying ,
Thus saith the LORD ,
I have anointed thee king over Israel .
*
Then they hasted ,
and took every man his garment ,
and put it under him on the top of the stairs ,
and blew with trumpets ,
saying ,
Jehu is king .
*
So Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat the son of Nimshi conspired against Joram . (
Now Joram had kept Ramothgilead ,
he and all Israel ,
because of Hazael king of Syria .
*
But king Joram was returned to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds which the Syrians had given him ,
when he fought with Hazael king of Syria .)
And Jehu said ,
If it be your minds ,
then let none go forth nor escape out of the city to go to tell it in Jezreel .
*
So Jehu rode in a chariot ,
and went to Jezreel ;
for Joram lay there .
And Ahaziah king of Judah was come down to see Joram .
*
And there stood a watchman on the tower in Jezreel ,
and he spied the company of Jehu as he came ,
and said ,
I see a company .
And Joram said ,
Take an horseman ,
and send to meet them ,
and let him say ,
Is it peace ?
*
So there went one on horseback to meet him ,
and said ,
Thus saith the king ,
Is it peace ?
And Jehu said ,
What hast thou to do with peace ?
turn thee behind me .
And the watchman told ,
saying ,
The messenger came to them ,
but he cometh not again .
*
Then he sent out a second on horseback ,
which came to them ,
and said ,
Thus saith the king ,
Is it peace ?
And Jehu answered ,
What hast thou to do with peace ?
turn thee behind me .
*
And the watchman told ,
saying ,
He came even unto them ,
and cometh not again :
and the driving is like the driving of Jehu the son of Nimshi ;
for he driveth furiously .
*
And Joram said ,
Make ready .
And his chariot was made ready .
And Joram king of Israel and Ahaziah king of Judah went out ,
each in his chariot ,
and they went out against Jehu ,
and met him in the portion of Naboth the Jezreelite .
*
And it came to pass ,
when Joram saw Jehu ,
that he said ,
Is it peace ,
Jehu ?
And he answered ,
What peace ,
so long as the whoredoms of thy mother Jezebel and her witchcrafts are so many ?
*
And Joram turned his hands ,
and fled ,
and said to Ahaziah ,
There is treachery ,
O Ahaziah .
*
And Jehu drew a bow with his full strength ,
and smote Jehoram between his arms ,
and the arrow went out at his heart ,
and he sunk down in his chariot .
*
Then said Jehu to Bidkar his captain ,
Take up ,
and cast him in the portion of the field of Naboth the Jezreelite :
for remember how that ,
when I and thou rode together after Ahab his father ,
the LORD laid this burden upon him ;
*
Surely I have seen yesterday the blood of Naboth ,
and the blood of his sons ,
saith the LORD ;
and I will requite thee in this plat ,
saith the LORD .
Now therefore take and cast him into the plat of ground ,
according to the word of the LORD .
*
But when Ahaziah the king of Judah saw this ,
he fled by the way of the garden house .
And Jehu followed after him ,
and said ,
Smite him also in the chariot .
And they did so at the going up to Gur ,
which is by Ibleam .
And he fled to Megiddo ,
and died there .
*
And his servants carried him in a chariot to Jerusalem ,
and buried him in his sepulchre with his fathers in the city of David .
*
And in the eleventh year of Joram the son of Ahab began Ahaziah to reign over Judah .
*
And when Jehu was come to Jezreel ,
Jezebel heard of it ;
and she painted her face ,
and tired her head ,
and looked out at a window .
*
And as Jehu entered in at the gate ,
she said ,
Had Zimri peace ,
who slew his master ?
*
And he lifted up his face to the window ,
and said ,
Who is on my side ?
who ?
And there looked out to him two or three eunuchs .
*
And he said ,
Throw her down .
So they threw her down :
and some of her blood was sprinkled on the wall ,
and on the horses :
and he trode her under foot .
*
And when he was come in ,
he did eat and drink ,
and said ,
Go ,
see now this cursed woman ,
and bury her :
for she is a king '
s daughter .
*
And they went to bury her :
but they found no more of her than the skull ,
and the feet ,
and the palms of her hands .
*
Wherefore they came again ,
and told him .
And he said ,
This is the word of the LORD ,
which he spake by his servant Elijah the Tishbite ,
saying ,
In the portion of Jezreel shall dogs eat the flesh of Jezebel :
*
And the carcase of Jezebel shall be as dung upon the face of the field in the portion of Jezreel ;
so that they shall not say ,
This is Jezebel .
*
And Ahab had seventy sons in Samaria .
And Jehu wrote letters ,
and sent to Samaria ,
unto the rulers of Jezreel ,
to the elders ,
and to them that brought up Ahab '
s children ,
saying ,
*
Now as soon as this letter cometh to you ,
seeing your master '
s sons are with you ,
and there are with you chariots and horses ,
a fenced city also ,
and armour ;
*
Look even out the best and meetest of your master '
s sons ,
and set him on his father '
s throne ,
and fight for your master '
s house .
*
But they were exceedingly afraid ,
and said ,
Behold ,
two kings stood not before him :
how then shall we stand ?
*
And he that was over the house ,
and he that was over the city ,
the elders also ,
and the bringers up of the children ,
sent to Jehu ,
saying ,
We are thy servants ,
and will do all that thou shalt bid us ;
we will not make any king :
do thou that which is good in thine eyes .
*
Then he wrote a letter the second time to them ,
saying ,
If ye be mine ,
and if ye will hearken unto my voice ,
take ye the heads of the men your master '
s sons ,
and come to me to Jezreel by to morrow this time .
Now the king '
s sons ,
being seventy persons ,
were with the great men of the city ,
which brought them up .
*
And it came to pass ,
when the letter came to them ,
that they took the king '
s sons ,
and slew seventy persons ,
and put their heads in baskets ,
and sent him them to Jezreel .
*
And there came a messenger ,
and told him ,
saying ,
They have brought the heads of the king '
s sons .
And he said ,
Lay ye them in two heaps at the entering in of the gate until the morning .
*
And it came to pass in the morning ,
that he went out ,
and stood ,
and said to all the people ,
Ye be righteous :
behold ,
I conspired against my master ,
and slew him :
but who slew all these ?
*
Know now that there shall fall unto the earth nothing of the word of the LORD ,
which the LORD spake concerning the house of Ahab :
for the LORD hath done that which he spake by his servant Elijah .
*
So Jehu slew all that remained of the house of Ahab in Jezreel ,
and all his great men ,
and his kinsfolks ,
and his priests ,
until he left him none remaining .
*
And he arose and departed ,
and came to Samaria .
And as he was at the shearing house in the way ,
*
Jehu met with the brethren of Ahaziah king of Judah ,
and said ,
Who are ye ?
And they answered ,
We are the brethren of Ahaziah ;
and we go down to salute the children of the king and the children of the queen .
*
And he said ,
Take them alive .
And they took them alive ,
and slew them at the pit of the shearing house ,
even two and forty men ;
neither left he any of them .
*
And when he was departed thence ,
he lighted on Jehonadab the son of Rechab coming to meet him :
and he saluted him ,
and said to him ,
Is thine heart right ,
as my heart is with thy heart ?
And Jehonadab answered ,
It is .
If it be ,
give me thine hand .
And he gave him his hand ;
and he took him up to him into the chariot .
*
And he said ,
Come with me ,
and see my zeal for the LORD .
So they made him ride in his chariot .
*
And when he came to Samaria ,
he slew all that remained unto Ahab in Samaria ,
till he had destroyed him ,
according to the saying of the LORD ,
which he spake to Elijah .
*
And Jehu gathered all the people together ,
and said unto them ,
Ahab served Baal a little ;
but Jehu shall serve him much .
*
Now therefore call unto me all the prophets of Baal ,
all his servants ,
and all his priests ;
let none be wanting :
for I have a great sacrifice to do to Baal ;
whosoever shall be wanting ,
he shall not live .
But Jehu did it in subtilty ,
to the intent that he might destroy the worshippers of Baal .
*
And Jehu said ,
Proclaim a solemn assembly for Baal .
And they proclaimed it .
*
And Jehu sent through all Israel :
and all the worshippers of Baal came ,
so that there was not a man left that came not .
And they came into the house of Baal ;
and the house of Baal was full from one end to another .
*
And he said unto him that was over the vestry ,
Bring forth vestments for all the worshippers of Baal .
And he brought them forth vestments .
*
And Jehu went ,
and Jehonadab the son of Rechab ,
into the house of Baal ,
and said unto the worshippers of Baal ,
Search ,
and look that there be here with you none of the servants of the LORD ,
but the worshippers of Baal only .
*
And when they went in to offer sacrifices and burnt offerings ,
Jehu appointed fourscore men without ,
and said ,
If any of the men whom I have brought into your hands escape ,
he that letteth him go ,
his life shall be for the life of him .
*
And it came to pass ,
as soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt offering ,
that Jehu said to the guard and to the captains ,
Go in ,
and slay them ;
let none come forth .
And they smote them with the edge of the sword ;
and the guard and the captains cast them out ,
and went to the city of the house of Baal .
*
And they brought forth the images out of the house of Baal ,
and burned them .
*
And they brake down the image of Baal ,
and brake down the house of Baal ,
and made it a draught house unto this day .
*
Thus Jehu destroyed Baal out of Israel .
*
Howbeit from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat ,
who made Israel to sin ,
Jehu departed not from after them ,
to wit ,
the golden calves that were in Bethel ,
and that were in Dan .
*
And the LORD said unto Jehu ,
Because thou hast done well in executing that which is right in mine eyes ,
and hast done unto the house of Ahab according to all that was in mine heart ,
thy children of the fourth generation shall sit on the throne of Israel .
*
But Jehu took no heed to walk in the law of the LORD God of Israel with all his heart :
for he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam ,
which made Israel to sin .
*
In those days the LORD began to cut Israel short :
and Hazael smote them in all the coasts of Israel ;
*
From Jordan eastward ,
all the land of Gilead ,
the Gadites ,
and the Reubenites ,
and the Manassites ,
from Aroer ,
which is by the river Arnon ,
even Gilead and Bashan .
*
Now the rest of the acts of Jehu ,
and all that he did ,
and all his might ,
are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel ?
*
And Jehu slept with his fathers :
and they buried him in Samaria .
And Jehoahaz his son reigned in his stead .
*
And the time that Jehu reigned over Israel in Samaria was twenty and eight years .
*
And when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead ,
she arose and destroyed all the seed royal .
*
But Jehosheba ,
the daughter of king Joram ,
sister of Ahaziah ,
took Joash the son of Ahaziah ,
and stole him from among the king '
s sons which were slain ;
and they hid him ,
even him and his nurse ,
in the bedchamber from Athaliah ,
so that he was not slain .
*
And he was with her hid in the house of the LORD six years .
And Athaliah did reign over the land .
*
And the seventh year Jehoiada sent and fetched the rulers over hundreds ,
with the captains and the guard ,
and brought them to him into the house of the LORD ,
and made a covenant with them ,
and took an oath of them in the house of the LORD ,
and shewed them the king '
s son .
*
And he commanded them ,
saying ,
This is the thing that ye shall do ;
A third part of you that enter in on the sabbath shall even be keepers of the watch of the king '
s house ;
*
And a third part shall be at the gate of Sur ;
and a third part at the gate behind the guard :
so shall ye keep the watch of the house ,
that it be not broken down .
*
And two parts of all you that go forth on the sabbath ,
even they shall keep the watch of the house of the LORD about the king .
*
And ye shall compass the king round about ,
every man with his weapons in his hand :
and he that cometh within the ranges ,
let him be slain :
and be ye with the king as he goeth out and as he cometh in .
*
And the captains over the hundreds did according to all things that Jehoiada the priest commanded :
and they took every man his men that were to come in on the sabbath ,
with them that should go out on the sabbath ,
and came to Jehoiada the priest .
*
And to the captains over hundreds did the priest give king David '
s spears and shields ,
that were in the temple of the LORD .
*
And the guard stood ,
every man with his weapons in his hand ,
round about the king ,
from the right corner of the temple to the left corner of the temple ,
along by the altar and the temple .
*
And he brought forth the king '
s son ,
and put the crown upon him ,
and gave him the testimony ;
and they made him king ,
and anointed him ;
and they clapped their hands ,
and said ,
God save the king .
*
And when Athaliah heard the noise of the guard and of the people ,
she came to the people into the temple of the LORD .
*
And when she looked ,
behold ,
the king stood by a pillar ,
as the manner was ,
and the princes and the trumpeters by the king ,
and all the people of the land rejoiced ,
and blew with trumpets :
and Athaliah rent her clothes ,
and cried ,
Treason ,
Treason .
*
But Jehoiada the priest commanded the captains of the hundreds ,
the officers of the host ,
and said unto them ,
Have her forth without the ranges :
and him that followeth her kill with the sword .
For the priest had said ,
Let her not be slain in the house of the LORD .
*
And they laid hands on her ;
and she went by the way by the which the horses came into the king '
s house :
and there was she slain .
*
And Jehoiada made a covenant between the LORD and the king and the people ,
that they should be the LORD '
S people ;
between the king also and the people .
*
And all the people of the land went into the house of Baal ,
and brake it down ;
his altars and his images brake they in pieces thoroughly ,
and slew Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars .
And the priest appointed officers over the house of the LORD .
*
And he took the rulers over hundreds ,
and the captains ,
and the guard ,
and all the people of the land ;
and they brought down the king from the house of the LORD ,
and came by the way of the gate of the guard to the king '
s house .
And he sat on the throne of the kings .
*
And all the people of the land rejoiced ,
and the city was in quiet :
and they slew Athaliah with the sword beside the king '
s house .
*
Seven years old was Jehoash when he began to reign .
*
In the seventh year of Jehu Jehoash began to reign ;
and forty years reigned he in Jerusalem .
And his mother '
s name was Zibiah of Beersheba .
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