2 Kings 1-5

New King James Version

God Judges Ahaziah

1 Moab ^(A)rebelled against Israel ^(B)after the death of Ahab.

² Now ^(C)Ahaziah fell through the lattice of his upper room in Samaria, and was injured; so he sent messengers and said to them, “Go, inquire of ^(D)Baal-Zebub,^[a] the god of ^(E)Ekron, whether I shall recover from this injury.” ³ But the ^[b]angel of the Lord said to Elijah the Tishbite, “Arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria, and say to them, ‘Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going to inquire of Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron?’ ⁴ Now therefore, thus says the Lord: ‘You shall not come down from the bed to which you have gone up, but you shall surely die.’ ” So Elijah departed.

⁵ And when the messengers returned to ^[c]him, he said to them, “Why have you come back?”

⁶ So they said to him, “A man came up to meet us, and said to us, ‘Go, return to the king who sent you, and say to him, “Thus says the Lord: ‘Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are sending to inquire of Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore you shall not come down from the bed to which you have gone up, but you shall surely die.’ ” ’ ”

⁷ Then he said to them, “What kind of man was it who came up to meet you and told you these words?”

⁸ So they answered him, ^(F)“A hairy man wearing a leather belt around his waist.”

And he said, ^(G)“It is Elijah the Tishbite.”

⁹ Then the king sent to him a captain of fifty with his fifty men. So he went up to him; and there he was, sitting on the top of a hill. And he spoke to him: “Man of God, the king has said, ‘Come down!’ ”

¹⁰ So Elijah answered and said to the captain of fifty, “If I am a man of God, then ^(H)let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men.” And fire came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty. ¹¹ Then he sent to him another captain of fifty with his fifty men.

And he answered and said to him: “Man of God, thus has the king said, ‘Come down quickly!’ ”

¹² So Elijah answered and said to them, “If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men.” And the fire of God came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty.

¹³ Again, he sent a third captain of fifty with his fifty men. And the third captain of fifty went up, and came and ^[d]fell on his knees before Elijah, and pleaded with him, and said to him: “Man of God, please let my life and the life of these fifty servants of yours ^(I)be precious in your sight. ¹⁴ Look, fire has come down from heaven and burned up the first two captains of fifties with their fifties. But let my life now be precious in your sight.”

¹⁵ And the ^[e]angel of the Lord said to Elijah, “Go down with him; do not be afraid of him.” So he arose and went down with him to the king. ¹⁶ Then he said to him, “Thus says the Lord: ‘Because you have sent messengers to inquire of Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron, is it because there is no God in Israel to inquire of His word? Therefore you shall not come down from the bed to which you have gone up, but you shall surely die.’ ”

¹⁷ So Ahaziah died according to the word of the Lord which Elijah had spoken. Because he had no son, ^(J)Jehoram^[f] 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 which he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?

Elijah Ascends to Heaven

2 And it came to pass, when the Lord was about to ^(K)take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, that Elijah went with ^(L)Elisha from Gilgal. ² Then Elijah said to Elisha, ^(M)“Stay here, please, for the Lord has sent me on to Bethel.”

But Elisha said, “As the Lord lives, and ^(N)as your soul lives, I will not leave you!” So they went down to Bethel.

³ Now ^(O)the sons of the prophets who were at Bethel came out to Elisha, and said to him, “Do you know that the Lord will take away your master ^[g]from over you today?”

And he said, “Yes, I know; keep silent!”

⁴ Then Elijah said to him, “Elisha, stay here, please, for the Lord has sent me on to Jericho.”

But he said, “As the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you!” So they came to Jericho.

⁵ Now the sons of the prophets who were at Jericho came to Elisha and said to him, “Do you know that the Lord will take away your master from over you today?”

So he answered, “Yes, I know; keep silent!”

⁶ Then Elijah said to him, “Stay here, please, for the Lord has sent me on to the Jordan.”

But he said, “As the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you!” So the two of them went on. ⁷ And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went and stood facing them at a distance, while the two of them stood by the Jordan. ⁸ Now Elijah took his mantle, rolled it up, and struck the water; and ^(P)it was divided this way and that, so that the two of them crossed over on dry ^(Q)ground.

⁹ And so it was, when they had crossed over, that Elijah said to Elisha, “Ask! What may I do for you, before I am taken away from you?”

Elisha said, “Please let a double portion of your spirit be upon me.”

¹⁰ So he said, “You have asked a hard thing. Nevertheless, if you see me when I am taken from you, it shall be so for you; but if not, it shall not be so.” ¹¹ Then it happened, as they continued on and talked, that suddenly ^(R)a chariot of fire appeared with horses of fire, and separated the two of them; and Elijah ^(S)went up by a whirlwind into heaven.

¹² And Elisha saw it, and he cried out, ^(T)“My father, my father, the chariot of Israel and its horsemen!” So he saw him no more. And he took hold of his own clothes and tore them into two pieces. ¹³ He also took up the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and went back and stood by the bank of the Jordan. ¹⁴ Then he took the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and struck the water, and said, “Where is the Lord God of Elijah?” And when he also had struck the water, ^(U)it was divided this way and that; and Elisha crossed over.

¹⁵ Now when the sons of the prophets who were ^(V)from^[h] Jericho saw him, they said, “The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha.” And they came to meet him, and bowed to the ground before him. ¹⁶ Then they said to him, “Look now, there are fifty strong men with your servants. Please let them go and search for your master, ^(W)lest perhaps the Spirit of the Lord has taken him up and cast him upon some mountain or into some valley.”

And he said, “You shall not send anyone.”

¹⁷ But when they urged him till he was ^(X)ashamed, he said, “Send them!” Therefore they sent fifty men, and they searched for three days but did not find him. ¹⁸ And when they came back to him, for he had stayed in Jericho, he said to them, “Did I not say to you, ‘Do not go’?”

Elisha Performs Miracles

¹⁹ Then the men of the city said to Elisha, “Please notice, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord sees; but the water is bad, and the ground barren.”

²⁰ And he said, “Bring me a new bowl, and put salt in it.” So they brought it to him. ²¹ Then he went out to the source of the water, and ^(Y)cast in the salt there, and said, “Thus says the Lord: ‘I have ^[i]healed this water; from it there shall be no more death or barrenness.’ ” ²² So the water remains ^(Z)healed to this day, according to the word of Elisha which he spoke.

²³ Then he went up from there to Bethel; and as he was going up the road, some youths came from the city and mocked him, and said to him, “Go up, you baldhead! Go up, you baldhead!”

²⁴ So he turned around and looked at them, and ^(AA)pronounced a curse on them in the name of the Lord. And two female bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the youths.

²⁵ Then he went from there to ^(AB)Mount Carmel, and from there he returned to Samaria.

Moab Rebels Against Israel

3 Now ^(AC)Jehoram the son of Ahab became king over Israel at Samaria in the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and reigned twelve years. ² And he did evil in the sight of the Lord, but not like his father and mother; for he put away the sacred pillar of Baal ^(AD)that his father had made. ³ Nevertheless he persisted in ^(AE)the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who had made Israel sin; he did not depart from them.

⁴ Now Mesha king of Moab was a sheepbreeder, and he ^(AF)regularly paid the king of Israel one hundred thousand ^(AG)lambs and the wool of one hundred thousand rams. ⁵ But it happened, when ^(AH)Ahab died, that the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel.

⁶ So King Jehoram went out of Samaria at that time and mustered all Israel. ⁷ Then he went and sent to Jehoshaphat king of Judah, saying, “The king of Moab has rebelled against me. Will you go with me to fight against Moab?”

And he said, “I will go up; ^(AI)I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses.” ⁸ Then he said, “Which way shall we go up?”

And he answered, “By way of the Wilderness of Edom.”

⁹ So the king of Israel went with the king of Judah and the king of Edom, and they marched on that roundabout route seven days; and there was no water for the army, nor for the animals that followed them. ¹⁰ And the king of Israel said, “Alas! For the Lord has called these three kings together to deliver them into the hand of Moab.”

¹¹ But ^(AJ)Jehoshaphat said, “Is there no prophet of the Lord here, that we may inquire of the Lord by him?”

So one of the servants of the king of Israel answered and said, “Elisha the son of Shaphat is here, who ^(AK)poured^[j] water on the hands of Elijah.”

¹² And Jehoshaphat said, “The word of the Lord is with him.” So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom ^(AL)went down to him.

¹³ Then Elisha said to the king of Israel, ^(AM)“What have I to do with you? ^(AN)Go to ^(AO)the prophets of your father and the ^(AP)prophets of your mother.”

But the king of Israel said to him, “No, for the Lord has called these three kings together to deliver them into the hand of Moab.”

¹⁴ And Elisha said, ^(AQ)“As the Lord of hosts lives, before whom I stand, surely were it not that I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, I would not look at you, nor see you. ¹⁵ But now bring me ^(AR)a musician.”

Then it happened, when the musician ^(AS)played, that ^(AT)the hand of the Lord came upon him. ¹⁶ And he said, “Thus says the Lord: ^(AU)‘Make this valley full of ^[k]ditches.’ ¹⁷ For thus says the Lord: ‘You shall not see wind, nor shall you see rain; yet that valley shall be filled with water, so that you, your cattle, and your animals may drink.’ ¹⁸ And this is a simple matter in the sight of the Lord; He will also deliver the Moabites into your hand. ¹⁹ Also you shall attack every fortified city and every choice city, and shall cut down every good tree, and stop up every spring of water, and ruin every good piece of land with stones.”

²⁰ Now it happened in the morning, when ^(AV)the grain offering was offered, that suddenly water came by way of Edom, and the land was filled with water.

²¹ And when all the Moabites heard that the kings had come up to fight against them, all who were able to bear arms and older were ^[l]gathered; and they stood at the border. ²² Then they rose up early in the morning, and the sun was shining on the water; and the Moabites saw the water on the other side as red as blood. ²³ And they said, “This is blood; the kings have surely struck swords and have killed one another; now therefore, Moab, to the spoil!”

²⁴ So when they came to the camp of Israel, Israel rose up and attacked the Moabites, so that they fled before them; and they entered their land, killing the Moabites. ²⁵ Then they destroyed the cities, and each man threw a stone on every good piece of land and filled it; and they stopped up all the springs of water and cut down all the good trees. But they left the stones of ^(AW)Kir Haraseth intact. However the slingers surrounded and attacked it.

²⁶ And when the king of Moab saw that the battle was too fierce for him, he took with him seven hundred men who drew swords, to break through to the king of Edom, but they could not. ²⁷ Then ^(AX)he took his eldest son who would have reigned in his place, and offered him as a burnt offering upon the wall; and there was great ^[m]indignation against Israel. ^(AY)So they departed from him and returned to their own land.

Elisha and the Widow’s Oil^(AZ)

4 A certain woman of the wives of ^(BA)the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha, saying, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared the Lord. And the creditor is coming ^(BB)to take my two sons to be his slaves.”

² So Elisha said to her, “What shall I do for you? Tell me, what do you have in the house?” And she said, “Your maidservant has nothing in the house but a jar of oil.”

³ Then he said, “Go, borrow vessels from everywhere, from all your neighbors—empty vessels; ^(BC)do not gather just a few. ⁴ And when you have come in, you shall shut the door behind you and your sons; then pour it into all those vessels, and set aside the full ones.”

⁵ So she went from him and shut the door behind her and her sons, who brought the vessels to her; and she poured it out. ⁶ Now it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said to her son, “Bring me another vessel.”

And he said to her, “There is not another vessel.” So the oil ceased. ⁷ Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debt; and you and your sons live on the rest.”

Elisha Raises the Shunammite’s Son^(BD)

⁸ Now it happened one day that Elisha went to ^(BE)Shunem, where there was a ^[n]notable woman, and she ^[o]persuaded him to eat some food. So it was, as often as he passed by, he would turn in there to eat some food. ⁹ And she said to her husband, “Look now, I know that this is a holy man of God, who passes by us regularly. ¹⁰ Please, let us make ^[p]a small upper room on the wall; and let us put a bed for him there, and a table and a chair and a lampstand; so it will be, whenever he comes to us, he can turn in there.”

¹¹ And it happened one day that he came there, and he turned in to the upper room and lay down there. ¹² Then he said to ^(BF)Gehazi his servant, “Call this Shunammite woman.” When he had called her, she stood before him. ¹³ And he said to him, “Say now to her, ‘Look, you have been concerned for us with all this care. What can I do for you? Do you want me to speak on your behalf to the king or to the commander of the army?’ ”

She answered, “I dwell among my own people.”

¹⁴ So he said, “What then is to be done for her?”

And Gehazi answered, “Actually, she has no son, and her husband is old.”

¹⁵ So he said, “Call her.” When he had called her, she stood in the doorway. ¹⁶ Then he said, ^[q]“About this time next year you shall embrace a son.”

And she said, “No, my lord. Man of God, ^(BG)do not lie to your maidservant!”

¹⁷ But the woman conceived, and bore a son when the appointed time had come, of which Elisha had told her.

¹⁸ And the child grew. Now it happened one day that he went out to his father, to the reapers. ¹⁹ And he said to his father, “My head, my head!”

So he said to a servant, “Carry him to his mother.” ²⁰ When he had taken him and brought him to his mother, he sat on her knees till noon, and then died. ²¹ And she went up and laid him on the bed of the man of God, shut the door upon him, and went out. ²² Then she called to her husband, and said, “Please send me one of the young men and one of the donkeys, that I may run to the man of God and come back.”

²³ So he said, “Why are you going to him today? It is neither the ^(BH)New Moon nor the Sabbath.”

And she said, ^[r]“It is well.” ²⁴ Then she saddled a donkey, and said to her servant, “Drive, and go forward; do not slacken the pace for me unless I tell you.” ²⁵ And so she departed, and went to the man of God ^(BI)at Mount Carmel.

So it was, when the man of God saw her afar off, that he said to his servant Gehazi, “Look, the Shunammite woman! ²⁶ Please run now to meet her, and say to her, ‘Is it well with you? Is it well with your husband? Is it well with the child?’ ”

And she answered, “It is well.” ²⁷ Now when she came to the man of God at the hill, she caught him by the feet, but Gehazi came near to push her away. But the man of God said, “Let her alone; for her soul is in deep distress, and the Lord has hidden it from me, and has not told me.”

²⁸ So she said, “Did I ask a son of my lord? ^(BJ)Did I not say, ‘Do not deceive me’?”

²⁹ Then he said to Gehazi, ^(BK)“Get^[s] yourself ready, and take my staff in your hand, and be on your way. If you meet anyone, ^(BL)do not greet him; and if anyone greets you, do not answer him; but ^(BM)lay my staff on the face of the child.”

³⁰ And the mother of the child said, ^(BN)“As the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, I will not ^(BO)leave you.” So he arose and followed her. ³¹ Now Gehazi went on ahead of them, and laid the staff on the face of the child; but there was neither voice nor hearing. Therefore he went back to meet him, and told him, saying, “The child has ^(BP)not awakened.”

³² When Elisha came into the house, there was the child, lying dead on his bed. ³³ He ^(BQ)went in therefore, shut the door behind the two of them, ^(BR)and prayed to the Lord. ³⁴ And he went up and lay on the child, and put his mouth on his mouth, his eyes on his eyes, and his hands on his hands; and ^(BS)he stretched himself out on the child, and the flesh of the child became warm. ³⁵ He returned and walked back and forth in the house, and again went up ^(BT)and stretched himself out on him; then ^(BU)the child sneezed seven times, and the child opened his eyes. ³⁶ And he called Gehazi and said, “Call this Shunammite woman.” So he called her. And when she came in to him, he said, “Pick up your son.” ³⁷ So she went in, fell at his feet, and bowed to the ground; then she ^(BV)picked up her son and went out.

Elisha Purifies the Pot of Stew

³⁸ And Elisha returned to ^(BW)Gilgal, and there was a ^(BX)famine in the land. Now the sons of the prophets were ^(BY)sitting before him; and he said to his servant, “Put on the large pot, and boil stew for the sons of the prophets.” ³⁹ So one went out into the field to gather herbs, and found a wild vine, and gathered from it a lapful of wild gourds, and came and sliced them into the pot of stew, though they did not know what they were. ⁴⁰ Then they served it to the men to eat. Now it happened, as they were eating the stew, that they cried out and said, “Man of God, there is ^(BZ)death in the pot!” And they could not eat it.

⁴¹ So he said, “Then bring some flour.” And ^(CA)he put it into the pot, and said, “Serve it to the people, that they may eat.” And there was nothing harmful in the pot.

Elisha Feeds One Hundred Men^(CB)

⁴² Then a man came from ^(CC)Baal Shalisha, ^(CD)and brought the man of God bread of the firstfruits, twenty loaves of barley bread, and newly ripened grain in his knapsack. And he said, “Give it to the people, that they may eat.”

⁴³ But his servant said, ^(CE)“What? Shall I set this before one hundred men?”

He said again, “Give it to the people, that they may eat; for thus says the Lord: ^(CF)‘They shall eat and have some left over.’ ” ⁴⁴ So he set it before them; and they ate ^(CG)and had some left over, according to the word of the Lord.

Naaman’s Leprosy Healed

5 Now ^(CH)Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Syria, was ^(CI)a great and honorable man in the eyes of his master, because by him the Lord had given victory to Syria. He was also a mighty man of valor, but a leper. ² And the Syrians had gone out ^(CJ)on^[t] raids, and had brought back captive a young girl from the land of Israel. She ^[u]waited on Naaman’s wife. ³ Then she said to her mistress, “If only my master were with the prophet who is in Samaria! For he would heal him of his leprosy.” ⁴ And Naaman went in and told his master, saying, “Thus and thus said the girl who is from the land of Israel.”

⁵ Then the king of Syria said, “Go now, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel.”

So he departed and ^(CK)took with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold, and ten changes of clothing. ⁶ Then he brought the letter to the king of Israel, which said,

⁷ And it happened, when the king of Israel read the letter, that he tore his clothes and said, “Am I ^(CL)God, to kill and make alive, that this man sends a man to me to heal him of his leprosy? Therefore please consider, and see how he seeks a quarrel with me.”

⁸ So it was, when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, that he sent to the king, saying, “Why have you torn your clothes? Please let him come to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel.”

⁹ Then Naaman went with his horses and chariot, and he stood at the door of Elisha’s house. ¹⁰ And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, “Go and ^(CM)wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored to you, and you shall be clean.” ¹¹ But Naaman became furious, and went away and said, “Indeed, I said to myself, ‘He will surely come out to me, and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, and wave his hand over the place, and heal the leprosy.’ ¹² Are not the ^[v]Abanah and the Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?” So he turned and went away in a rage. ¹³ And his ^(CN)servants came near and spoke to him, and said, “My father, if the prophet had told you to do something great, would you not have done it? How much more then, when he says to you, ‘Wash, and be clean’?” ¹⁴ So he went down and dipped seven times in the Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God; and his ^(CO)flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and ^(CP)he was clean.

¹⁵ And he returned to the man of God, he and all his aides, and came and stood before him; and he said, “Indeed, now I know that there is ^(CQ)no God in all the earth, except in Israel; now therefore, please take ^(CR)a gift from your servant.”

¹⁶ But he said, ^(CS)“As the Lord lives, before whom I stand, ^(CT)I will receive nothing.” And he urged him to take it, but he refused.

¹⁷ So Naaman said, “Then, if not, please let your servant be given two mule-loads of earth; for your servant will no longer offer either burnt offering or sacrifice to other gods, but to the Lord. ¹⁸ Yet in this thing may the Lord pardon your servant: when my master goes into the temple of Rimmon to worship there, and ^(CU)he leans on my hand, and I bow down in the temple of Rimmon—when I bow down in the temple of Rimmon, may the Lord please pardon your servant in this thing.”

¹⁹ Then he said to him, “Go in peace.” So he departed from him a short distance.

Gehazi’s Greed

²⁰ But ^(CV)Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, said, “Look, my master has spared Naaman this Syrian, while not receiving from his hands what he brought; but as the Lord lives, I will run after him and take something from him.” ²¹ So Gehazi pursued Naaman. When Naaman saw him running after him, he got down from the chariot to meet him, and said, “Is all well?”

²² And he said, “All is ^(CW)well. My master has sent me, saying, ‘Indeed, just now two young men of the sons of the prophets have come to me from the mountains of Ephraim. Please give them a talent of silver and two changes of garments.’ ”

²³ So Naaman said, “Please, take two talents.” And he urged him, and bound two talents of silver in two bags, with two changes of garments, and handed them to two of his servants; and they carried them on ahead of him. ²⁴ When he came to ^[w]the citadel, he took them from their hand, and stored them away in the house; then he let the men go, and they departed. ²⁵ Now he went in and stood before his master. Elisha said to him, “Where did you go, Gehazi?”

And he said, “Your servant did not go anywhere.”

²⁶ Then he said to him, “Did not my heart go with you when the man turned back from his chariot to meet you? Is it ^(CX)time to receive money and to receive clothing, olive groves and vineyards, sheep and oxen, male and female servants? ²⁷ Therefore the leprosy of Naaman ^(CY)shall cling to you and your descendants forever.” And he went out from his presence ^(CZ)leprous, as white as snow.