1 And Moab transgresseth against Israel after the death of Ahab,

² and Ahaziah falleth through the lattice in his upper chamber that [is] in Samaria, and is sick, and sendeth messengers, and saith unto them, `Go ye, inquire of Baal-Zebub god of Ekron if I recover from this sickness.'

³ And a messenger of Jehovah hath spoken unto Elijah the Tishbite, `Rise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria, and speak unto them, Is it because there is not a God in Israel -- ye are going to inquire of Baal Zebub god of Ekron?

⁴ and therefore, thus said Jehovah, The bed whither thou hast gone up, thou dost not come down from it, for thou dost certainly die;' and Elijah goeth on.

⁵ And the messengers turn back unto him, and he saith unto them, `What [is] this -- ye have turned back!'

⁶ And they say unto him, `A man hath come up to meet us, and saith unto us, Go, turn back unto the king who sent you, and ye have said unto him, Thus said Jehovah, Is it because there is not a God in Israel -- thou art sending to inquire of Baal-Zebub god of Ekron? therefore, the bed whither thou hast gone up, thou dost not come down from it, for thou dost certainly die.'

⁷ And he saith unto them, `What [is] the fashion of the man who hath come up to meet you, and speaketh unto you these words?'

⁸ And they say unto him, `A man -- hairy, and a girdle of skin girt about his loins;' and he saith, `He [is] Elijah the Tishbite.'

⁹ And he sendeth unto him a head of fifty and his fifty, and he goeth up unto him (and lo, he is sitting on the top of the hill), and he speaketh unto him, `O man of God, the king hath spoken, Come down.'

¹⁰ And Elijah answereth and speaketh unto the head of the fifty, `And if I [am] a man of God, fire doth come down from the heavens, and consume thee and thy fifty;' and fire cometh down from the heavens, and consumeth him and his fifty.

¹¹ And he turneth and sendeth unto him another head of fifty and his fifty, and he answereth and speaketh unto him, `O man of God, thus said the king, Haste, come down.'

¹² And Elijah answereth and speaketh unto them, `If I [am] a man of God, fire doth come down from the heavens, and consume thee and thy fifty;' and fire of God cometh down from the heavens, and consumeth him and his fifty.

¹³ And he turneth and sendeth a third head of fifty and his fifty, and the third head of fifty goeth up, and cometh in, and boweth on his knees over-against Elijah, and maketh supplication unto him, and speaketh unto him, `O man of God, let be precious, I pray thee, my soul and the soul of thy servants -- these fifty -- in thine eyes.

¹⁴ Lo, come down hath fire from the heavens, and consumeth the two heads of the former fifties and their fifties; and, now, let my soul be precious in thine eyes.'

¹⁵ And a messenger of Jehovah speaketh unto Elijah, `Go down with him, be not afraid of him;' and he riseth and goeth down with him unto the king,

¹⁶ and speaketh unto him, `Thus said Jehovah, Because that thou hast sent messengers to inquire of Baal-Zebub god of Ekron -- is it because there is not a God in Israel to inquire of His word? therefore, the bed whither thou hast gone up -- thou dost not come down from it, for thou dost certainly die.'

¹⁷ And he dieth, according to the word of Jehovah that Elijah spake, and Jehoram reigneth in his stead, in the second year of Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, for he had no son.

¹⁸ And the rest of the matters of Ahaziah that he did, are they not written on the book of the Chronicles of the kings of Israel?

2 And it cometh to pass, at Jehovah's taking up Elijah in a whirlwind to the heavens, that Elijah goeth, and Elisha, from Gilgal,

² and Elijah saith unto Elisha, `Abide, I pray thee, here, for Jehovah hath sent me unto Beth-El;' and Elisha saith, `Jehovah liveth, and thy soul liveth, if I leave thee;' and they go down to Beth-El.

³ And sons of the prophets who [are] in Beth-El come out unto Elisha, and say unto him, `Hast thou known that to-day Jehovah is taking thy lord from thy head?' and he saith, `I also have known -- keep silent.'

⁴ And Elijah saith to him, `Elisha, abide, I pray thee, here, for Jehovah hath sent me to Jericho;' and he saith, `Jehovah liveth, and thy soul liveth, if I leave thee;' and they come in to Jericho.

⁵ And sons of the prophets who [are] in Jericho come nigh unto Elisha, and say unto him, `Hast thou known that to-day Jehovah is taking thy lord from thy head?' and he saith, `I also have known -- keep silent.'

⁶ And Elijah saith to him, `Abide, I pray thee, here, for Jehovah hath sent me to the Jordan;' and he saith, `Jehovah liveth, and thy soul liveth, if I leave thee;' and they go on both of them,

⁷ -- and fifty men of the sons of the prophets have gone on, and stand over-against afar off -- and both of them have stood by the Jordan.

⁸ And Elijah taketh his robe, and wrappeth [it] together, and smiteth the waters, and they are halved, hither and thither, and they pass over both of them on dry land.

⁹ And it cometh to pass, at their passing over, that Elijah hath said unto Elisha, `Ask, what do I do for thee before I am taken from thee?' and Elisha saith, `Then let there be, I pray thee, a double portion of thy spirit unto me;'

¹⁰ and he saith, `Thou hast asked a hard thing; if thou dost see me taken from thee, it is to thee so; and if not, it is not.'

¹¹ And it cometh to pass, they are going, going on and speaking, and lo, a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and they separate between them both, and Elijah goeth up in a whirlwind, to the heavens.

¹² And Elisha is seeing, and he is crying, `My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and its horsemen;' and he hath not seen him again; and he taketh hold on his garments, and rendeth them into two pieces.

¹³ And he taketh up the robe of Elijah, that fell from off him, and turneth back and standeth on the edge of the Jordan,

¹⁴ and he taketh the robe of Elijah that fell from off him, and smiteth the waters, and saith, `Where [is] Jehovah, God of Elijah -- even He?' and he smiteth the waters, and they are halved, hither and thither, and Elisha passeth over.

¹⁵ And they see him -- the sons of the prophets who [are] in Jericho -- over-against, and they say, `Rested hath the spirit of Elijah on Elisha;' and they come to meet him, and bow themselves to him to the earth,

¹⁶ and say unto him, `Lo, we pray thee, there are with thy servants fifty men, sons of valour: let them go, we pray thee, and they seek thy lord, lest the Spirit of Jehovah hath taken him up, and doth cast him on one of the hills, or into one of the valleys;' and he saith, `Ye do not send.'

¹⁷ And they press upon him, till he is ashamed, and he saith, `Send ye;' and they send fifty men, and they seek three days, and have not found him;

¹⁸ and they turn back unto him -- and he is abiding in Jericho -- and he saith unto them, `Did I not say unto you, Do not go?'

¹⁹ And the men of the city say unto Elisha, `Lo, we pray thee, the site of the city [is] good, as my lord seeth, and the waters [are] bad, and the earth sterile.'

²⁰ And he saith, `Bring to me a new dish, and place there salt;' and they bring [it] unto him,

²¹ and he goeth out unto the source of the waters, and casteth there salt, and saith, `Thus said Jehovah, I have given healing to these waters; there is not thence any more death and sterility.'

²² And the waters are healed unto this day, according to the word of Elisha, that he spake.

²³ And he goeth up thence to Beth-El, and he is going up in the way, and little youths have come out from the city, and scoff at him, and say to him, `Go up, bald-head! go up, bald-head!'

²⁴ And he looketh behind him, and seeth them, and declareth them vile in the name of Jehovah, and two bears come out of the forest, and rend of them forty and two lads.

²⁵ And he goeth thence unto the hill of Carmel, and thence he hath turned back to Samaria.

3 And Jehoram son of Ahab hath reigned over Israel, in Samaria, in the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and he reigneth twelve years,

² and doth the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah, only not like his father, and like his mother, and he turneth aside the standing-pillar of Baal that his father made;

³ only to the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat that he caused Israel to sin he hath cleaved, he hath not turned aside from it.

⁴ And Mesha king of Moab was a sheep-master, and he rendered to the king of Israel a hundred thousand lambs, and a hundred thousand rams, [with] wool,

⁵ and it cometh to pass at the death of Ahab, that the king of Moab transgresseth against the king of Israel.

⁶ And king Jehoram goeth out in that day from Samaria, and inspecteth all Israel,

⁷ and goeth and sendeth unto Jehoshaphat king of Judah, saying, `The king of Moab hath transgressed against me; dost thou go with me unto Moab for battle?' and he saith, `I go up, as I, so thou; as my people, so thy people; as my horses, so thy horses.

⁸ And he saith, `Where [is] this -- the way we go up?' and he saith, `The way of the wilderness of Edom.'

⁹ And the king of Israel goeth, and the king of Judah, and the king of Edom, and they turn round the way seven days, and there hath been no water for the camp, and for the cattle that [are] at their feet,

¹⁰ and the king of Israel saith, `Alas, for Jehovah hath called for these three kings, to give them into the hand of Moab.'

¹¹ And Jehoshaphat saith, `Is there not here a prophet of Jehovah, and we seek Jehovah by him?' And one of the servants of the king of Israel answereth and saith, `Here [is] Elisha son of Shaphat, who poured water on the hands of Elijah.'

¹² And Jehoshaphat saith, `The word of Jehovah is with him;' and go down unto him do the king of Israel, and Jehoshaphat, and the king of Edom.

¹³ And Elisha saith unto the king of Israel, `What -- to me and to thee? go unto the prophets of thy father, and unto the prophets of thy mother;' and the king of Israel saith to him, `Nay, for Jehovah hath called for these three kings to give them into the hand of Moab.'

¹⁴ And Elisha saith, `Jehovah of Hosts liveth, before whom I have stood; for unless the face of Jehoshaphat king of Judah I am lifting up, I do not look unto thee, nor see thee;

¹⁵ and now, bring to me a minstrel; and it hath been, at the playing of the minstrel, that the hand of Jehovah is on him,

¹⁶ and he saith, `Thus said Jehovah, Make this valley ditches -- ditches;

¹⁷ for thus said Jehovah, Ye do not see wind, nor do ye see rain, and that valley is full of water, and ye have drunk -- ye, and your cattle, and your beasts.

¹⁸ `And this hath been light in the eyes of Jehovah, and he hath given Moab into your hand,

¹⁹ and ye have smitten every fenced city, and every choice city, and every good tree ye cause to fall, and all fountains of waters ye stop, and every good portion ye mar with stones.'

²⁰ And it cometh to pass in the morning, at the ascending of the [morning]-present, that lo, waters are coming in from the way of Edom, and the land is filled with the waters,

²¹ and all Moab have heard that the kings have come up to fight against them, and they are called together, from every one girding on a girdle and upward, and they stand by the border.

²² And they rise early in the morning, and the sun hath shone on the waters, and the Moabites see, from over-against, the waters red as blood,

²³ and say, `Blood this [is]; the kings have been surely destroyed, and they smite each his neighbour; and now for spoil, Moab!'

²⁴ And they come in unto the camp of Israel, and the Israelites rise, and smite the Moabites, and they flee from their face; and they enter into Moab, so as to smite Moab,

²⁵ and the cities they break down, and [on] every good portion they cast each his stone, and have filled it, and every fountain of water they stop, and every good tree they cause to fall -- till one had left its stones in Kir-Haraseth, and the slingers go round and smite it.

²⁶ And the king of Moab seeth that the battle has been too strong for him, and he taketh with him seven hundred men, drawing sword, to cleave through unto the king of Edom, and they have not been able,

²⁷ and he taketh his son, the first-born who reigneth in his stead, and causeth him to ascend -- a burnt-offering on the wall, and there is great wrath against Israel, and they journey from off him, and turn back to the land.