Print Page Options
Previous Prev Day Next DayNext

Bible in 90 Days

An intensive Bible reading plan that walks through the entire Bible in 90 days.
Duration: 88 days
Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition (DRA)
Version
1 Kings 16:21 - 2 Kings 4:37

21 Then were the people of Israel divided into two parts: one half of the people followed Thebni the son of Gineth, to make him king: and one half followed Amri.

22 But the people that were with Amri, prevailed over the people that followed Thebni the son of Gineth: and Thebni died, and Amri reigned.

23 In the one and thirtieth year of Asa king of Juda, Amri reigned over Israel twelve years: in Thersa he reigned six years.

24 And he bought the hill of Samaria of Semer for two talents of silver: and he built upon it, and he called the city which he built Samaria, after the name of Semer the owner of the hill.

25 And Amri did evil in the sight of the Lord, and acted wickedly above all that were before him.

26 And he walked in all the way of Jeroboam the son of Nabat, and in his sins wherewith he made Israel to sin: to provoke the Lord the God of Israel to anger with their vanities.

27 Now the rest of the acts of Amri, and the battles he fought, are they not written in the book of the words of the days of the kings of Israel?

28 And Amri slept with his fathers, and was buried in Samaria, and Achab his son reigned in his stead.

29 Now Achab the son of Amri reigned over Israel in the eight and thirtieth year of Asa king of Juda. And Achab the son of Amri reigned over Israel in Samaria two and twenty years.

30 And Achab the son of Amri did evil in the sight of the Lord above all that were before him.

31 Nor was it enough for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nabat: but he also took to wife Jezabel daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians. And he went, and served Baal, and adored him.

32 And he set up an altar for Baal in the temple of Baal, which he had built in Samaria,

33 And he planted a grove: and Achab did more to provoke the Lord the God of Israel, than all the kings of Israel that were before him.

34 In his days Hiel of Bethel built Jericho: in Abiram his firstborn he laid its foundations: and in his youngest son Segub he set up the gates thereof: according to the word of the Lord, which he spoke in the hand of Josue the son of Nun.

17 And Elias the Thesbite of the inhabitants of Galaad said to Achab: As the Lord liveth the God of Israel, in whose sight I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to the words of my mouth.

And the word of the Lord came to him, saying:

Get thee hence, and go towards the east and hide thyself by the torrent of Carith, which is over against the Jordan,

And there thou shalt drink of the torrent: and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there.

So he went, and did according to the word of the Lord: and going, he dwelt by the torrent Carith, which is over against the Jordan.

And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening, and he drank of tile torrent.

But after some time the torrent was dried up, for it had not rained upon the earth.

Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying:

Arise, and go to Sarephta of the Sidonians, and dwell there: for I have commanded a widow woman there to feed thee.

10 He arose, and went to Sarephta. And when he was come to the gate of the city, he saw the widow woman gathering sticks, and he called her, and said to her: Give me a little water in a vessel, that I may drink.

11 And when she was going to fetch it he called after her, saying: Bring me also, I beseech thee, a morsel of bread in thy hand.

12 And she answered: As the Lord thy God liveth, I have no bread, but only a handful of meal in a pot, and a little oil in a cruse: behold I am gathering two sticks that I may go in and dress it, for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die.

13 And Elias said to her: Fear not, but go, and do as thou hast said: but first make for me of the same meal a little hearth cake, and bring it to me: and after make for thyself and thy son.

14 For thus saith the Lord the God of Israel: The pot of meal shall not waste, nor the cruse of oil be diminished, until the day wherein the Lord will give rain upon the face of the earth.

15 She went and did according to the word of Elias: and he ate, and she, and her house: and from that day

16 The pot of meal wasted not, and the cruse of oil was not diminished, according to the word of the Lord, which he spoke in the hand of Elias.

17 And it came to pass after this that the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, fell sick, and the sickness was very grievous, so that there was no breath left in him.

18 And she said to Elias: What have I to do with thee, thou man of God? art thou come to me that my iniquities should be remembered, and that thou shouldst kill my son?

19 And Elias said to her: Give me thy son. And he took him out of her bosom, and carried him into the upper chamber where he abode, and laid him upon his own bed.

20 And he cried to the Lord, and said: O Lord my God, hast thou afflicted also the widow, with whom I am after a so maintained, so as to kill her son?

21 And he stretched, and measured himself upon the child three times, and cried to the Lord, and said: O Lord my God, let the soul of this child, I beseech thee, return into his body.

22 And the Lord heard the voice of Elias: and the soul of the child returned into him, and he revived.

23 And Elias took the child, and brought him down from the upper chamber to the house below, and delivered him to his mother, and said to her: Behold thy son liveth.

24 And the woman said to Elias: Now, by this I know that thou art a man of God, and the word of the Lord in thy mouth is true.

18 After many days the word of the Lord came to Elias, in the third year, saying: Go and shew thyself to Achab, that I may give rain upon the face of the earth.

And Elias went to shew himself to Achab, and there was a grievous famine in Samaria.

And Achab called Abdias the governor of his house: now Abdias feared the Lord very much.

For when Jezabel killed the prophets of the Lord, he took a hundred prophets and hid them by fifty and fifty in caves, and fed them with bread and water.

And Achab said to Abdias: Go into the land unto all fountains of waters, and into all valleys, to see if we can find grass, and save the horses and mules, that the beasts may not utterly perish.

And they divided the countries between them, that they might go round about them: Achab went one way, and Abdias another way by himself.

And as Abdias was in the way, Elias met him: and he knew him, and fell on his face, and said: Art thou my lord Elias?

And he answered: I am. Go, and tell thy master: Elias is here.

And he said: What have I sinned, that thou wouldst deliver me thy servant into the hand of Achab, that he should kill me?

10 As the Lord thy God liveth, there is no nation or kingdom, whither my lord hath not sent to seek thee: and when all answered: He is not here: he took an oath of every kingdom and nation, because thou wast not found.

11 And now thou sayest to me: Go, and tell thy master: Elias is here.

12 And when I am gone from thee, the spirit of the Lord will carry thee into a place that I know not: and I shall go in and tell Achab, and he not finding thee, will kill me: but thy servant feareth the Lord from his infancy.

13 Hath it not been told thee, my lord, what I did when Jezabel killed the prophets of the Lord, how I hid a hundred men of the prophets of the Lord, by fifty and fifty in caves, and fed them with bread and water?

14 And now thou sayest: Go, and tell thy master: Elias is here: that he may kill me.

15 And Elias said: As the Lord of hosts liveth, before whose face I stand, this day I will shew myself unto him.

16 Abdias therefore went to meet Achab, and told him: and Achab came to meet Elias.

17 And when he had seen him, he said: Art thou he that troublest Israel?

18 And he said: I have not troubled Israel, but thou and thy father's house, who have forsaken the commandments of the Lord, and have followed Baalim.

19 Nevertheless send now, and gather unto me all Israel, unto mount Carmel, and the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the groves four hundred, who eat at Jezabel's table.

20 Achab sent to all the children of Israel, and gathered together the prophets unto mount Carmel.

21 And Elias coming to all the people, said: How long do you halt between two sides? if the Lord be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people did not answer him a word.

22 And Elias said again to the people: I only remain a prophet of the Lord: but the prophets of Baal are four hundred and fifty men.

23 Let two bullocks be given us, and let them choose one bullock for themselves, and cut it in pieces and lay it upon wood, but put no fire under: and I will dress the other bullock, and lay it on wood, and put no fire under it.

24 Call ye on the names of your gods, and I will call on the name of my Lord: and the God that shall answer by fire, let him be God. And all the people answering said: A very good proposal.

25 Then Elias said to the prophets of Baal: Choose you one bullock and dress it first, because you are many: and call on the names of your gods, but put no fire under.

26 And they took the bullock which he gave them, and dressed it: and they called on the name of Baal from morning even till noon, saying: O Baal, hear us. But there was no voice, nor any that answered: and they leaped over the altar that they had made.

27 And when it was now noon, Elias jested at them, saying: Cry with a louder voice: for he is a God, and perhaps he is talking, or is in an inn, or on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep, and must be awaked.

28 So they cried with a loud voice, and cut themselves after their manner with knives and lancets, till they were all covered with blood.

29 And after midday was past, and while they were prophesying, the time was come of offering sacrifice, and there was no voice heard, nor did any one answer, nor regard them as they prayed:

30 Elias said to all the people: Come ye unto me. And the people coming near unto him, he repaired the altar of the Lord, that was broken down:

31 And he took twelve stones according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord came, saying: Israel shall be thy name.

32 And he built with the stones an altar to the name of the Lord: and he made a trench for water, of the breadth of two furrows round about the altar.

33 And he laid the wood in order, and cut the bullock in pieces, and laid it upon the wood.

34 And he said: Fill four buckets with water, and pour it upon the burnt offering, and upon the wood. And again he said: Do the same the second time. And when they had done it the second time, he said: Do the same also the third time. And they did so the third time.

35 And the water run round about the altar, and the trench was filled with water.

36 And when it was now time to offer the holocaust, Elias the prophet came near and said: O Lord God of Abraham, and Isaac, and Israel, shew this day that thou art the God of Israel, and I thy servant, and that according to thy commandment I have done all these things.

37 Hear me, O Lord, hear me: that this people may learn, that thou art the Lord God, and that thou hast turned their heart again.

38 Then the fire of the Lord fell, and consumed the holocaust, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.

39 And when all the people saw this, they fell on their faces, and they said: The Lord he is God, the Lord he is God.

40 And Elias said to them: Take the prophets of Baal, and let not one of them escape. And when they had taken them, Elias brought them down to the torrent Cison, and killed them there.

41 And Elias said to Achab: Go up, eat, and drink: for there is a sound of abundance of rain.

42 Achab went up to eat and drink: and Elias went up to the top of Carmel, and casting himself down upon the earth put his face between his knees,

43 And he said to his servant: Go up, and look toward the sea. And he went up, and looked, and said: There is nothing. And again he said to him: Return seven times.

44 And at the seventh time, behold, a little cloud arose out of the sea like a man's foot. And he said: Go up and say to Achab: Prepare thy chariot and go down, lest the rain prevent thee.

45 And while he turned himself this way and that way, behold the heavens grew dark, with clouds, and wind, and there fell a great rain. And Achab getting up went away to Jezrahel:

46 And the hand of the Lord was upon Elias, and he girded up his loins and ran before Achab, till he came to Jezrahel.

19 And Achab told Jezabel all that Elias had done, and how he had slain all the prophets with the sword.

And Jezabel sent a messenger to Elias, saying: Such and such things may the gods do to me, and add still more, if by this hour to morrow I make not thy life as the life of one of them.

Then Elias was afraid, and rising up he went whithersoever he had a mind: and he came to Bersabee of Juda, and left his servant there,

And he went forward, one day's journey into the desert. And when he was there, and sat under a juniper tree, he requested for his soul that he might die, and said: It is enough for me, Lord, take away my soul: for I am no better than my fathers.

And he cast himself down, and slept in the shadow of the juniper tree: and behold an angel of the Lord touched him, and said to him: Arise and eat.

He looked, and behold there was at his head a hearth cake, and a vessel of water: and he ate and drank, and he fell asleep again.

And the angel of the Lord came again the second time, and touched him, and said to him: Arise, eat: for thou hast yet a great way to go.

And he arose, and ate, and drank, and walked in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights, unto the mount of God, Horeb.

And when he was come thither, he abode in a cave: and behold the word of the Lord came unto him, and he said to him: What dost thou here, Elias?

10 And he answered: With zeal have I been zealous for the Lord God of hosts: for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant: they have thrown down thy altars, they have slain thy prophets with the sword, and I alone am left, and they seek my life to take it away.

11 And he said to him: Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord: and behold the Lord passeth, and a great and strong wind before the Lord over throwing the mountains, and breaking the rocks in pieces: the Lord is not in the wind, and after the wind an earthquake: the Lord is not in the earthquake.

12 And after the earthquake a fire: the Lord is not in the fire, and after the fire a whistling of a gentle air.

13 And when Elias heard it, he covered his face with his mantle, and coming forth stood in the entering in of the cave, and behold a voice unto him, saying: What dost thou here, Elias? And he answered:

14 With zeal have I been zealous for the Lord God of hosts: because the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant: they have destroyed thy altars, they have slain thy prophets with the sword, and I alone am left, and they seek my life to take it away.

15 And the Lord said to him: Go, and return on thy way through the desert to Damascus: and when thou art come thither, thou shalt anoint Hazael to be king over Syria.

16 And thou shalt anoint Jehu the son of Namsi to be king over Israel: and Eliseus the son of Saphat, of Abelmeula, thou shalt anoint to be prophet in thy room.

17 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall escape the sword of Hazael, shall be slain by Jehu: and whosoever shall escape the sword of Jehu, shall be slain by Eliseus.

18 And I will leave me seven thousand men in Israel, whose knees have not been bowed before Baal, and every mouth that hath not worshipped him kissing the hands.

19 And Elias departing from thence, found Eliseus the son of Saphat, ploughing with twelve yoke of oxen: and he was one of them that were ploughing with twelve yoke of oxen: and when Elias came up to him, he cast his mantle upon him.

20 And he forthwith left the oxen and ran after Elias, and said: Let me, I pray thee, kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow thee. And he said to him: Go, and return back: for that which was my part, I have done to thee.

21 And returning back from him, he took a yoke of oxen, and killed them, and boiled the flesh with the plough of the oxen, and gave to the people, and they ate: and rising up he went away, and followed Elias, and ministered to him.

20 And Benadad, king of Syria, gathered together all his host, and there were two and thirty kings with him, and horses, and chariots: and going up, he fought against Samaria, and besieged it.

And, sending messengers to Achab king of Israel into the city,

He said: Thus saith Benadad: Thy silver, and thy gold is mine: and thy wives, and thy goodliest children are mine.

And the king of Israel answered: According to thy word, my lord O king, I am thine, and all that I have.

And the messengers came again, and said: Thus saith Benadad, who sent us unto thee: Thy silver, and thy gold, and thy wives, and thy children thou shalt deliver up to me.

To morrow therefore at this same hour I will send my servants to thee, and they shall search thy house, and the houses of thy servants: and all that pleaseth them, they shall put in their hands, and take away.

And the king of Israel called all the ancients of the land, and said: Mark, and see that he layeth snares for us. For he sent to me for my wives, and for my children, and for my silver and gold: and I said not nay.

And all the ancients, and all the people said to him: Hearken not to him, nor consent to him.

Wherefore he answered the messengers of Benadad: Tell my lord the king: All that thou didst send for to me thy servant at first, I will do: but this thing I cannot do.

10 And the messengers returning brought him word. And he sent again and said: Such and such things may the gods do to me, and more may they add, if the dust of Samaria shall suffice for handfuls for all the people that follow me.

11 And the king of Israel answering, said: Tell him: Let not the girded boast himself as the ungirded.

12 And it came to pass, when Benadad heard this word, that he and the kings were drinking in pavilions, and he said to his servants: Beset the city. And they beset it.

13 And behold a prophet coming to Achab king of Israel, said to him: Thus saith the Lord: Hast thou seen all this exceeding great multitude, behold I will deliver them into thy hand this day: that thou mayest know that I am the Lord.

14 And Achab said: By whom? And he said to him: Thus saith the Lord: By the servants of the princes of the provinces. And he said: Who shall begin to fight? And he said: Thou.

15 So he mustered the servants of the princes of the provinces, and he found the number of two hundred and thirty-two: and he mustered after them the people, all the children of Israel, seven thousand:

16 And they went out at noon. But Benadad was drinking himself drunk in his pavilion, and the two and thirty kings with him, who were come to help him.

17 And the servants of the princes of the provinces went out first. And Benadad sent. And they told him, saying: There are men come out of Samaria.

18 And he said: Whether they come for peace, take them alive: or whether they come to fight, take them alive.

19 So the servants of the princes of the provinces went out, and the rest of the army followed:

20 And every one slew the man that came against him: and the Syrians fled, and Israel pursued after them. And Benadad king of Syria fled away on horseback with his horsemen.

21 But the king of Israel going out overthrew the horses and chariots, and slew the Syrians with a great slaughter.

22 (And a prophet coming to the king of Israel, said to him: Go, and strengthen thyself, and know, and see what thou dost: for the next year the king of Syria will come up against thee.)

23 But the servants of the king of Syria said to him: Their gods are gods of the hills, therefore they have overcome us: but it is better that we should fight against them in the plains, and we shall overcome them.

24 Do thou therefore this thing: Remove all the kings from thy army, and put captains in their stead:

25 And make up the number of soldiers that have been slain of thine, and horses according to the former horses, and chariots according to the chariots which thou hadst before: and we will fight against them in the plains, and thou shalt see that we shall overcome them. He believed their counsel and did so.

26 Wherefore at the return of the year, Benadad mustered the Syrians, ancient up to Aphec, to fight against Israel.

27 And the children of Israel were mustered, and taking victuals went out on the other side, and camped over against them, like two little flocks of goats: but the Syrians filled the land.

28 (And a man of God coming, said to the king of Israel: Thus saith the Lord: Because the Syrians have said: The Lord is God of the hills, but is not God of the valleys: I will deliver all this great multitude into thy hand, and you shall know that I am the Lord.)

29 And both sides set their armies in array one against the other seven days, and on the seventh day the battle was fought: and the children of Israel slew of the Syrians a hundred thousand footmen in one day.

30 And they that remained fled to Aphec, into the city: and the wall fell upon seven and twenty thousand men, that were left. And Benadad fleeing went into the city, into a chamber that was within a chamber.

31 And his servants said to him: Behold, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful: so let us put sackcloth on our loins, and ropes on our heads, and go out to the king of Israel: perhaps he will save our lives.

32 So they girded sackcloth on their loins, and put ropes on their heads, and came to the king of Israel, and said to him: Thy servant Benadad saith: I beseech thee let me have my life. And he said: If he be yet alive he is my brother.

33 The men took this for a sign: and in haste caught the word out of his mouth, and said: Thy brother Benadad. And he said to them: Go, and bring him to me. Then Benadad came out to him, and he lifted him up into his chariot.

34 And he said to him: The cities which my father took from thy father, I will restore: and do thou make thee streets in Damascus, as my father made in Samaria, and having made a league I will depart from thee. So he made a league with him, and let him go.

35 Then a certain man of the sons of the prophets said to his companion in the word of the Lord: Strike me. But he would not strike.

36 Then he said to him: Because thou wouldst not hearken to the word of the Lord, behold then shalt depart from me, and a lion shall slay thee. And when he was gone a little from him, a lion found him, and slew him.

37 Then he found another man, and said to him: Strike me. And he struck him, and wounded him.

38 So the prophet went, and met the king in the way, and disguised himself by sprinkling dust on his face and his eyes.

39 And as the king passed by, he cried to the king, and said: Thy servant went out to fight hand to hand: and when a certain man was run away, one brought him to me, and said: Keep this man: and if he shall slip away, thy life shall be for his life, or thou shalt pay a talent of silver.

40 And whilst I in a hurry turned this way and that, on a sudden he was not to be seen. And the king of Israel said to him: This is thy judgment, which thyself hast decreed.

41 But he forthwith wiped off the dust from his face, and the king of Israel knew him, that he was one of the prophets.

42 And he said to him: Thus saith the Lord: Because thou hast let go out of thy hand a man worthy of death, thy life shall be for his life, and thy people for his people.

43 And the king of Israel returned to his house, slighting to hear, and raging came into Samaria.

21 And after these things, Naboth the Jezrahelite, who was in Jezrahel, had at that time a vineyard near the palace of Achab king of Samaria.

And Achab spoke to Naboth, saying: Give me thy vineyard, that I may make me a garden of herbs, because it is nigh, and adjoining to my house, and I will give thee for it a better vineyard: or if thou think it more convenient for thee, I will give thee the worth of it in money.

Naboth answered him: The Lord be merciful to me, and not let me give thee the inheritance of my fathers.

And Achab came into his house angry and fretting, because of the word that Naboth the Jezrahelite had spoken to him, saying: I will not give thee the inheritance of my fathers. And casting himself upon his bed, he turned away his face to the wall, and would eat no bread.

And Jezabel his wife went in to him, and said to him: What is the matter that thy soul is so grieved? and why eatest thou no bread?

And he answered her: I spoke to Naboth the Jezrahelite, and said to him: Give me thy vineyard, and take money for it: or if it please thee, I will give thee a better vineyard for it. And he said: I will not give thee my vineyard.

Then Jezabel his wife said to him: Thou art of great authority indeed, and governest well the kingdom of Israel. Arise, and eat bread, and be of good cheer, I will give thee the vineyard of Naboth the Jezrahelite.

So she wrote letter's in Achab's name, and sealed them with his ring, and sent them to the ancients, and the chief men that were in his city, and that dwelt with Naboth.

And this was the tenor of the letters: Proclaim a fast, and make Naboth sit among the chief of the people,

10 And suborn two men, sons of Belial against him, and let them bear false witness: that he hath blasphemed God and the king: and then carry him out, and stone him, and so let him die.

11 And the men of his city, the ancients and nobles, that dwelt with him in the city, did as Jezabel had commanded them, and as it was written in the letters which she had sent to them:

12 They proclaimed a fast, and made Naboth sit among the chief of the people.

13 And bringing two men, sons of the devil, they made them sit against him: and they, like men of the devil, bore witness against him before the people, saying: Naboth hath blasphemed God and the king: wherefore they brought him forth without the city, and stoned him to death.

14 And they sent to Jezabel, saying: Naboth is stoned, and is dead.

15 And it came to pass when Jezabel heard that Naboth was stoned, and dead, that she said to Achab: Arise and take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezrahelite, who would not agree with thee, and give it thee for money: for Naboth is not alive, but dead.

16 And when Achab heard this, to wit, that Naboth was dead, he arose, and went down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezrahelite, to take possession of it.

17 And the word of the Lord came to Elias the Thesbite, saying:

18 Arise, and go down to meet Achab king of Israel, who is in Samaria: behold he is going down to the vineyard of Naboth, to take possession of it:

19 And thou shalt speak to him, saying: Thus saith the Lord: Thou hast slain, moreover also thou hast taken possession. And after these words thou shalt add: Thus saith the Lord: In this place, wherein the dogs have licked the blood of Naboth, they shall lick thy blood also.

20 And Achab said to Elias: Hast thou found me thy enemy? He said: I have found thee, because thou art sold, to do evil in the sight of the Lord.

21 Behold I will bring evil upon thee, and I will cut down thy posterity, and I will kill of Achab him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up, and the last in Israel.

22 And I will make thy house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nabat, and like the house of Baasa the son of Ahias: for what thou hast done, to provoke me to anger, and for making Israel to sin.

23 And of Jezabel also the Lord spoke, saying: The dogs shall eat Jezabel in the field of Jezrahel.

24 If Achab die in the city, the dogs shall eat him: but if he die in the field, the birds of the air shall eat him.

25 Now there was not such another as Achab, who was sold to do evil in the sight of the Lord: for his wife Jezabel set him on,

26 And he became abominable, insomuch that he followed the idols which the Amorrhites had made, whom the Lord destroyed before the face of the children of Israel.

27 And when Achab had heard these words, he rent his garments, and put haircloth upon his flesh, and fasted and slept in sackcloth, and walked with his head cast down.

28 And the word of the Lord came to Elias the Thesbite, saying:

29 Hast thou not seen Achab humbled before me? therefore, because he hath humbled himself for my sake, I will not bring the evil in his days, but in his son's days will I bring the evil upon his house.

22 And there passed three years without war between Syria and Israel.

And in the third year, Josaphat king of Juda came down to the king of Israel.

(And the king of Israel said to his servants: Know ye not-that Ramoth Galaad is ours, and we neglect to take it out of the hand of the king of Syria?)

And he said to Josaphat: Wilt thou come with me to battle to Ramoth Galaad?

And Josaphat said to the king of Israel: As I am, so art thou: my people and thy people are one: and my horsemen, thy horsemen. And Josaphat said to the king of Israel: Inquire, I beseech thee, this day, the word of the Lord.

Then the king of Israel assembled the prophets, about four hundred men, and he said to them: Shall I go to Ramoth Galaad to fight, or shall I forbear? They answered: Go up, and the Lord will deliver it into the hand of the king.

And Josaphat said: Is there not here some prophet of the Lord, that we may inquire by him?

And the king of Israel said to Josaphat: There is one man left, by whom we may inquire of the Lord: Micheas the son of Jemla; but I hate him, for he doth not prophesy good to me, but evil. And Josaphat said: Speak not so, O king.

Then the king of Israel called an eunuch, and said to him: Make haste, and bring hither Micheas the son of Jemla.

10 Then the king of Israel, and Josaphat king of Juda, sat each on his throne clothed with royal robes, in a court by the entrance of the gate of Samaria, and all the prophets prophesied before them.

11 And Sedecias the son of Chanaana made himself horns of iron, and said: Thus saith the Lord: With these shalt thou push Syria, till thou destroy it.

12 And all the prophets prophesied in like manner, saying: Go up to Ramoth Galaad, and prosper, for the Lord will deliver it into the king's hands.

13 And the messenger, that went to call Micheas, spoke to him, saying: Behold the words of the prophets with one mouth declare good things to the king: let thy word therefore be like to theirs, and speak that which is good.

14 But Micheas said to him: As the Lord liveth, whatsoever the Lord shall say to me, that will I speak.

15 So he came to the king, and the king said to him: Micheas, shall we go to Ramoth Galaad to battle, or shall we forbear? He answered him: Go up, and prosper, and the Lord shall deliver it into the king's hands.

16 But the king said to him: I adjure thee again and again, that thou tell me nothing but that which is true in the name of the Lord.

17 And he said: I saw all Israel scattered upon the hills, like sheep that have no shepherd: and the Lord said: These have no master: let every man of them return to his house in peace.

18 (Then the king of Israel said to Josaphat: Did I not tell thee, that he prophesieth no good to me, but always evil?)

19 And he added and said: Hear thou therefore the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on his throne, and all the army of heaven standing by him on the right hand and on the left:

20 And the Lord said: Who shall deceive Achab king of Israel, that he may go up, and fall at Ramoth Galaad? And one spoke words of this manner, and another otherwise.

21 And there came forth a spirit, and stood before the Lord, and said: I will deceive him. And the Lord said to him: By what means?

22 And he said: I will go forth, and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And the Lord said: Thou shalt deceive him, and shalt prevail: a go forth, and do so.

23 Now therefore behold the Lord hath given a lying spirit in the mouth of all thy prophets that are here, and the Lord hath spoken evil against thee.

24 And Sedecias the son of Chanaana came, and struck Micheas on the cheek, and said: Hath then the spirit of the Lord left me, and spoken to thee?

25 And Micheas said: Thou shalt see in the day when thou shalt go into a chamber within a chamber to hide thyself.

26 And the king of Israel said: Take Micheas, and let him abide with Ammon the governor of the city, and with Joas the son of Amalech.

27 And tell them: Thus saith the king: Put this man in prison, and feed him with bread of affliction, and water of distress, till I return in peace.

28 And Micheas said: If thou return in peace, the Lord hath not spoken by me. And he said: Hear, all ye people.

29 So the king of Israel, and Josaphat king of Juda went up to Ramoth Galaad.

30 And the king of Israel said to Josaphat: Take armour, and go into the battle, and put on thy own garments. But the king of Israel changed his dress, and went into the battle.

31 And the king of Syria had commanded the two and thirty captains of the chariots, saying: You shall not fight against any, small or great, but against the king of Israel only.

32 So when the captains of the chariots saw Josaphat, they suspected that he was the king of Israel, and making a violent assault they fought against him: and Josaphat cried out.

33 And the captains of the chariots perceived that he was not the king of and they turned away from him.

34 And a certain man bent his bow, shooting at a venture, and chanced to strike the king of Israel between the lungs and the stomach. But he said to the driver of his chariot: Turn thy hand, and carry me out of the army, for I am grievously wounded.

35 And the battle was fought that day, and the king of Israel stood in his chariot against the Syrians, and he died in the evening: and the blood ran out of the wound into the midst of the chariot.

36 And the herald proclaimed through all the army before the sun set, saying: Let every man return to his own city, and to his own country.

37 And the king died, and was carried into Samaria: and they buried the king in Samaria.

38 And they washed his chariot in the pool of Samaria, and the dogs licked up his blood, and they washed the reins, according to the word of the Lord which he had spoken.

39 But the rest of the acts of Achab, and all that he did, and the house of ivory that he made, and all the cities that he built, are they not written in the book of the words of the days of the kings of Israel?

40 So Achab slept with his fathers, and Ochozias his son reigned in his stead.

41 But Josaphat the son of Asa began to reign over Juda in the fourth year of Achab king of Israel.

42 He was five and thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned five and twenty years in Jerusalem: the name of his mother was Azuba the daughter of Salai.

43 And he walked in all the way of Asa his father, and he declined not from it: and he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord.

44 Nevertheless he took not away the high places: for as Set the people offered sacrifices and burnt incense in the high places.

45 And Josaphat had peace with the king of Israel.

46 But the rest of the acts of Josaphat, and his works which he did, and his battles, are they not written in the book of the words of the days of the kings of Juda?

47 And the remnant also of the effeminate, who remained in the days of Asa his father, he took out of the land.

48 And there was then no king appointed in Edom.

49 But king Josaphat made navies on the sea, to sail into Ophir for gold: but they could not go, for the ships were broken in Asiongaber.

50 Then Ochozias the ton of Achab said to Josaphat: Let my servants go with thy servants in the ships. And Josaphat would not.

51 And Josaphat slept with his fathers. and was buried with them in the city of David his father: and Joram his son reigned in his stead.

52 And Ochozias the son of Achab began to reign over Israel in Samaria, in the seventeenth year of Josaphat king of Juda, and he reigned over Israel two years,

53 And he did evil in the sight of the Lord, and walked in the way of his father and his mother, and in the way of Jeroboam the son of Nabat, who made Israel to sin.

54 He served also Baal, and worshipped him, and provoked the Lord the God of Israel, according to all that his father had done.

And Moab rebelled against Israel, after the death of Achab.

And Ochozias fell through the lattices of his upper chamber which he had in Samaria, and was sick: and he sent messengers, saying to them: Go, consult Beelzebub, the god of Accaron, whether I shall recover of this my illness.

And an angel of the Lord spoke to Elias the Thesbite, saying: Arise, and go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria, and say to them: Is there not a God in Israel, that ye go to consult Beelzebub the god of Accaron?

Wherefore thus saith the Lord: From the bed, on which thou art gone up, thou shalt not come down, but thou shalt surely die. And Elias went away.

And the messengers turned back to Ochozias. And he said to them: Why are you come back?

But they answered him: A man met us, and said to us: Go, and return to the king, that sent you, and you shall say to him: Thus saith the Lord: Is it because there was no God in Israel that thou sendest to Beelzebub the god of Accaron? Therefore thou shalt not come down from the bed, on which thou art gone up, but then shalt surely die.

And he said to them: What manner of man was he who met you, and spoke these words?

But they said: A hairy man with a girdle of leather about his loins. And he said: It is Elias the Thesbite.

And he sent to him a captain of fifty, and the fifty men that were under him. And he went up to him, and as he was sitting on the top of a hill, said to him: Man of God, the king hath commanded that thou come down.

10 And Elias answering, said to the captain of fifty: If I be a man of God, let fire come down from heaven, and consume thee, and thy fifty. And there came down fire from heaven, and consumed him, and the fifty that were with him.

11 And again he sent to him another captain of fifty men, and his fifty with him. And he said to him: Man of God, thus saith the king: Make haste and come down.

12 Elias answering, said: If I be a man of God, let fire come down from heaven, and consume thee and thy fifty. And fire came down from heaven, and consumed him and his fifty.

13 Again he sent a third captain of fifty men, and the fifty that were with him. And when he was come, he fell upon his knees, before Elias, and besought him and said: Man of God, despise not my life, and the lives of thy servants that are with me.

14 Behold fire came down from heaven, and consumed the two first captains of fifty men, and the fifties that were with them: but now I beseech thee to spare my life.

15 And the angel of the Lord spoke to Elias, saying: Go down with him, fear not. He arose therefore, and went down with him to the king,

16 And said to him: Thus saith the Lord: Because thou hast sent messengers to consult Beelzebub the god of Accaron, as though there were not a God in Israel, of whom thou mightest inquire the word; therefore from the bed on which thou art gone up, thou shalt not come down, but thou shalt surely die.

17 So he died according to the word of the Lord which Elias spoke, and Joram his brother reigned in his stead, in the second year of Joram the son of Josaphat king of Juda: because he had no son.

18 But the rest of the acts of Ochozias which he did, are they not written in the book of the words of the days of the kings of Israel?

And it came to pass, when the Lord would take up Elias into heaven by a whirlwind, that Elias and Eliseus were going from Galgal.

And Elias said to Eliseus: Stay thou here, because the Lord hath sent me as far as Bethel. And Eliseus said to him: As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. And when they were come down to Bethel,

The sons of the prophets, that were at Bethel, came forth to Eliseus, and said to him: Dost thou know that this day the Lord will take away thy master from thee? And he answered: I also know it: hold your peace.

And Elias said to Eliseus: Stay here because the Lord hath sent me to Jericho. And he said: As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. And when they were come to Jericho,

The sons of the prophets that were at Jericho, came to Eliseus, and said to him: Dost thou know that this day the Lord will take away thy master from thee? And he said: I also know it: hold your peace.

And Elias said to him: Stay here, because the Lord hath sent me as far as the Jordan. And he said: As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee; and they two went on together,

And fifty men of the sons of the prophets followed them, and stood in sight at a distance: but they two stood by the Jordan.

And Elias took his mantle and folded it together, and struck the waters, and they were divided hither and thither, and they both passed over on dry ground.

And when they were gone over, Elias said to Eliseus: Ask what thou wilt have me to do for thee, before I be taken away from thee. And Eliseus said: I beseech thee that in me may be thy double spirit.

10 And he answered: Thou hast asked a hard thing: nevertheless if thou see me when I am taken from thee, thou shalt have what thou hast asked: but if thou see me not, thou shalt not have it.

11 And as they went on, walking and talking together, behold a fiery chariot, and fiery horses parted them both asunder: and Elias went up by a whirlwind into heaven.

12 And Eliseus saw him, and cried: My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the driver thereof. And he saw him no more: and he took hold of his own garments, and rent them in two pieces.

13 And he took up the mantle of Elias, that fell from him: and going back, he stood upon the bank of the Jordan,

14 And he struck the waters with the mantle of Elias, that had fallen from him, and they were not divided. And he said: Where is now the God of Elias? And he struck the waters, and they were divided, hither and thither, and Eliseus passed over.

15 And the sons of the prophets at Jericho, who were over against him, seeing it said: The spirit of Elias hath rested upon Eliseus. And coming to meet him, they worshipped him, falling to the ground,

16 And they said to him: Behold, there are with thy servants fifty strong men, that can go, and seek thy master, lest perhaps the spirit of the Lord hath taken him up and cast him upon some mountain or into some valley. And he said: Do not send.

17 But they pressed him, till he consented, and said: Send. And they sent fifty men: and they sought three days but found him not.

18 And they came back to him: for he abode at Jericho, and he said to them: Did I not say to you: Do not send?

19 And the men of the city said to Eliseus: Behold the situation of this city is very good, as thou, my lord, seest: but the waters are very bad, and the ground barren.

20 And he said: Bring me a new vessel, and put salt into it. And when they had brought it,

21 He went out to the spring of the waters, and cast the salt into it, and said: Thus saith the Lord: I have healed these waters, and there shall be no more in them death or barrenness.

22 And the waters were healed unto this day, according to the word of Eliseus, which he spoke.

23 And he went up from thence to Bethel: and as he was going up by the way, little boys came out of the city and mocked him, saying: Go up, thou bald head; go up, thou bald head.

24 And looking back, he saw them, and cursed them in the name of the Lord: and there came forth two bears out of the forest, and tore of them two and forty boys.

25 And from thence he went to mount Carmel, and from thence he returned to Samaria.

And Joram the son of Achab reigned over Israel in Samaria in the eighteenth year of Josaphat king of Juda. And he reigned twelve years.

And he did evil before the Lord, but not like his father and his mother: for he took away the statues of Baal, which his father had made.

Nevertheless he stuck to the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nabat, who made Israel to sin, nor did he depart from them.

Now Mesa, king of Moab, nourished many sheep, and he paid to the king of Israel a hundred thousand lambs, and a hundred thousand rams with their fleeces.

And when Achab was dead, he broke the league which he had made with the king of Israel.

And king Joram went out that day from Samaria, and mustered all Israel.

And he sent to Josaphat king of Juda, saying: The king of Moab is revolted from me, come with me against him to battle. And he answered: I will come up: he that is mine, is thine: my people, thy people: and my horses, thy horses.

And he said: Which way shall we go up? But he answered: By the desert of Edom.

So the king of Israel, and the king of Juda, and the king of Edom went, and they fetched a compass of seven days' journey, and there was no water for the army, and for the beasts, that followed them.

10 And the king of Israel said: Alas, alas, alas, the Lord hath gathered us three kings together, to deliver us into the hands of Moab!

11 And Josaphat said: Is there not here a prophet of the Lord, that we may beseech the Lord by him? And one of the servants of the king of Israel answered: Here is Eliseus the son of Saphat, who poured water on the hands of Elias.

12 And Josaphat said: The word of the Lord is with him. And the king of Israel, and Josaphat king of Juda, and the king of Edom went down to him.

13 And Eliseus said to the king of Israel: What have I to do with thee? go to the prophets of thy father, and thy mother. And the king of Israel said to him: Why hath the Lord gathered together these three kings, to deliver them into the hands of Moab?

14 And Eliseus said to him: As the Lord of hosts liveth, in whose sight I stand, if I did not reverence the face of Josaphat king of Juda, I would not have hearkened to thee, nor looked on thee.

15 But now bring me hither a minstrel. And when the minstrel played, the hand of the Lord came upon him, and he said:

16 Thus saith the Lord: Make the channel of this torrent full of ditches.

17 For thus saith the Lord: You shall not see wind, nor rain: and yet this channel shall be filled with waters, and you shall drink, you and your families, and your beasts.

18 And this is a small thing in the sight of the Lord: moreover he will deliver also Moab into your hands.

19 And you shall destroy every fenced city, and every choice city, and shall cut down every fruitful tree, and shall stop up all the springs of waters, and every goodly field you shall cover with stones.

20 And it came to pass in the morning, when the sacrifices used to be offered, that behold, water came by the way of Edom, and the country was filled with water.

21 And all the Moabites hearing that the kings were come up to fight against them, gathered together all that were girded with a belt upon them, and stood in the borders.

22 And they rose early in the morning, and the sun being now up, and shining upon the waters, the Moabites saw the waters over against them red, like blood,

23 And they said: It is the blood of the sword: the kings have fought among themselves, and they have killed one another: go now, Moab, to the spoils.

24 And they went into the camp of Israel: but Israel rising up defeated Moab, who fled before them. And they being conquerors, went and smote Moab.

25 And they destroyed the cities: and they filled every goodly field, every man casting his stone: and they stopt up all the springs of waters: and cut down all the trees that bore fruit, so that brick walls only remained: and the city was beset by the slingers, and a great part thereof destroyed.

26 And when the king of Moab saw this, to wit, that the enemies had prevailed, he took with him seven hundred men that drew the sword, to break in upon the king of Edom: but they could not.

27 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 in Israel, and presently they departed from him, and returned into their own country.

Now a certain woman of the wives of the prophets cried to Eliseus, saying: Thy servant my husband is dead, and thou knowest that thy servant was one that feared God, and behold the creditor is come to take away my two sons to serve him.

And Eliseus said to her: What wilt thou have me to do for thee? Tell me, what hast thou in thy house? And she answered: I thy handmaid have nothing in my house but a little oil, to anoint me.

And he said to her: Go, borrow of all thy neighbours empty vessels not a few.

And go in, and shut thy door, when thou art within, and thy sons: and pour out thereof into all those vessels: and when they are full take them away.

So the woman went, and shut the door upon her, and upon her sons: they brought her the vessels, and she poured in.

And when the vessels were full, she said to her son: Bring me yet a vessel. And he answered: I have no more. And the oil stood.

And she came, and told the man of God. And he said: Go, sell the oil, and pay thy creditor: and thou and thy sons live of the rest.

And there was a day when Eliseus passed by Sunam: now there was a great woman there, who detained him to eat bread; and as he passed often that way, he turned into her house to eat bread.

And she said to her husband: I perceive that this is a holy man of God, who often passeth by us.

10 Let us therefore make him a little chamber, and put a little bed in it for him, and a table, and a stool, and a candlestick, that when he cometh to us, he may abide there.

11 Now there was a certain day when he came and turned in to the chamber, and rested there.

12 And he said to Giezi his servant Call this Sunamitess. And when he had called her, and she stood before him,

13 He said to his servant: Say to her Behold thou hast diligently served us in all things, what wilt thou have me to do for thee? hast thou any business, and wilt thou that I speak to the king, or to the general of the army? And she answered: I dwell in the midst of my own people.

14 And he said: What will she then that I do for her? And Giezi said: Do not ask, for she hath no son, and her husband is old.

15 Then he bid him call her: And when she was called, and stood before the door.

16 He said to her: At this time, and this same hour, if life accompany, thou shalt have a son in thy womb. But she answered: Do not, I beseech thee, my lord, thou man of God, do not lie to thy handmaid.

17 And the woman conceived, and brought forth a son in the time, and at the same hour, that Eliseus had said.

18 And the child grew. And on a certain day, when he went out to his father to the reapers,

19 He said to his father: My head acheth, my head acheth. But he said to his servant: Take him, and carry him to his mother.

20 And when he had taken him, and brought him to his mother, she set him on her knees until noon, and then he died.

21 And she went up and laid him upon the bed of the man of God, and shut the door: and going out,

22 She called her husband, and said: Send with me, I beseech thee, one of thy servants, and an ass that I may run to the man of God, and come again.

23 And he said to her: Why dost thou go to him? to day is neither new moon nor sabbath. She answered: I will go.

24 And she saddled an ass, and commanded her servant: Drive, and make haste, make no stay in going. And do that which I bid thee.

25 So she went forward, and came to the man of God to mount Carmel: and when the man of God saw her coming towards, he said to Giezi his servant: Behold that Sunamitess.

26 Go therefore to meet her, and say to her: Is all well with thee, and with thy husband, and with thy son? and she answered: Well.

27 And when she came to the man of God to the mount, she caught hold on his feet: and Giezi came to remove her. And the man of God said: Let her alone for her soul is in anguish, and the Lord hath hid it from me, and hath not told me.

28 And she said to him: Did I ask a son of my lord? did I not say to thee: Do not deceive me?

29 Then he said to Giezi: Gird up thy loins, and take my staff in thy hand, and go. If any man meet thee, salute him not: and if any man salute thee, answer him not: and lay my staff upon the face of the child.

30 But the mother of the child said: As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. He arose, therefore, and followed her.

31 But Giezi was gone before them, and laid the staff upon the face of the child, and there was no voice nor sense: and he returned to meet him, and told him, saying: The child is not risen.

32 Eliseus therefore went into the house, and behold the child lay dead on his bed.

33 And going in he shut the door upon him, and upon the child, and prayed to the Lord.

34 And he went up, and lay upon the child: and he put his mouth upon his mouth, and his eyes upon his eyes, and his hands upon his hands: and he bowed himself upon him, and the child's flesh grew warm.

35 Then he returned and walked in the house, once to and fro: and he went up, and lay upon him: and the child gaped seven times, and opened his eyes.

36 And he called Giezi, and said to him: Call this Sunamitess. And she being called, went in to him: and he said: Take up thy son.

37 She came and fell at his feet, and worshipped upon the ground: and took up her son, and went out.