2 Kings 2–4

Chapter 2

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.

²And 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,

³The 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.

⁴And 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,

⁵The 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.

⁶And 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.

⁷And fifty men, of the sons of the prophets, followed them, and stood in sight, at a distance: but they two stood by the Jordan.

⁸And 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.

⁹And 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.

¹⁰And 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.

¹¹And 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.

¹²And 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.

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

¹⁴And 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.

¹⁵And 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.

¹⁶And 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.

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

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

¹⁹And 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.

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

²¹He 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.

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

²³And 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.

²⁴And 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.

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

Chapter 3

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.

²And 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.

³Nevertheless, he stuck to the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nabat, who made Israel to sin, nor did he depart from them.

⁴Now 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.

⁵And when Achab was dead, he broke the league which he had made with the king of Israel.

⁶And king Joram went out that day from Samaria, and mustered all Israel.

⁷And 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 are thy people: and my horses, thy horses.

⁸And he said: Which way shall we go up? But he answered: By the desert of Edom.

⁹So 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.

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

¹¹And 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.

¹²And 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.

¹³And 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?

¹⁴And 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.

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

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

¹⁷For 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.

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

¹⁹And 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.

²⁰And 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.

²¹And 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.

²²And 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,

²³And 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.

²⁴And 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.

²⁵And 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.

²⁶And 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.

²⁷Then 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.

Chapter 4

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.

²And Eliseus said to her: What wilt thou have me 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.

³And he said to her: Go, borrow of all thy neighbours empty vessels, not a few.

⁴And 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.

⁵So the woman went, and shut the door upon her, and upon her sons: they brought her the vessels, and she poured in.

⁶And 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.

⁷And 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.

⁸And 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.

⁹And she said to her husband: I perceive that this is a holy man of God, who often…