2 Kings 1–3

1ST CHAPTER

Elijah and King Ahaziah of Israel

¹After Ahab died, Moab rebelled against Israel. ²During the rebellion King Ahaziah fell through a window lattice in his upstairs room in Samaria and injured himself. So he sent messengers ⸤to Ekron⸥. He had told them, “Go ask Baalzebub, the god of Ekron, if I will recover from this injury.” 

³Then the angel of the Lord said to Elijah from Tishbe, “Meet the messengers of the king of Samaria, and ask them, ‘Do you seek advice from Baalzebub, the god of Ekron, because ⸤you think⸥ there is no God in Israel? ⁴This is what the Lord says: You will not get up from the bed you are lying on. Instead, you will die there.’ ” Then Elijah left. 

⁵When the messengers returned, the king asked them, “Why have you come back so soon?” 

⁶They told him that a man came to meet them and said to them, “Go back to the king who sent you. Tell him, ‘This is what the Lord says: Do you send messengers to seek advice from Baalzebub, the god of Ekron, because ⸤you think⸥ there is no God in Israel? You will not get up from the bed you are lying on. Instead, you will die there.’ ” 

⁷The king asked them, “What was the man who told you this like?” 

⁸They replied, “He was hairy and had a leather belt around his waist.” 

“That’s Elijah from Tishbe,” the king answered. 

⁹The king sent an army officer with 50 men to Elijah. When the officer found Elijah sitting on top of a hill, he told Elijah, “Man of God, the king says, ‘Come down.’ ” 

¹⁰Elijah answered the officer, “If I’m a man of God, fire will come from heaven and burn up you and your 50 men.” Then fire came from heaven and burned up the officer and his 50 men. 

¹¹The king sent another officer with 50 men to Elijah. The officer said, “Man of God, this is what the king says: Come here right away!” 

¹²Elijah answered the officer, “If I’m a man of God, fire will come from heaven and burn up you and your 50 men.” Then God’s fire came from heaven and burned up the officer and his 50 men. 

¹³The king sent a third officer with 50 men. The officer of the third group went up the hill and knelt in front of Elijah. The officer begged him, “Man of God, please treat my life and the lives of these 50 servants of yours as something precious. ¹⁴Fire has come from heaven and burned up the first two officers and their 100 men. But treat my life as something precious.” 

¹⁵The angel of the Lord told Elijah, “Go with him. Don’t be afraid of him.” So Elijah got up and went with him to the king. ¹⁶Elijah told the king, “This is what the Lord says: You sent messengers to seek advice from Baalzebub, the god of Ekron. Is this because ⸤you think⸥ there is no God in Israel whose word you can seek? You will not get up from the bed you are lying on. Instead, you will die there.” 

¹⁷So Ahaziah died as the Lord had predicted through Elijah. Joram succeeded him as king because Ahaziah had no son.^a18Isn’t everything else about Ahaziah—the things he did—written in the official records of the kings of Israel? 

2ND CHAPTER

Elijah Taken to Heaven

¹When the Lord was going to take Elijah to heaven in a windstorm, Elijah and Elisha left Gilgal. ²Elijah said to Elisha, “Please stay here because the Lord is sending me to Bethel.” 

Elisha answered, “I solemnly swear, as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not abandon you.” So they went to Bethel. 

³Some of the disciples of the prophets at Bethel came to Elisha. They asked him, “Do you know that the Lord is going to take your master from you today?” 

He answered, “Yes, I know. Be quiet.” 

⁴Elijah said, “Elisha, please stay here because the Lord is sending me to Jericho.” 

Elisha answered, “I solemnly swear, as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not abandon you.” So they went to Jericho. 

⁵Then some of the disciples of the prophets who were in Jericho approached Elisha. They asked, “Do you know that the Lord is going to take your master from you today?” 

He answered, “Yes, I know. Be quiet.” 

⁶Elijah said to Elisha, “Please stay here because the Lord is sending me to the Jordan River.” 

Elisha answered, “I solemnly swear, as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not abandon you.” 

⁷Fifty disciples of the prophets stood at a distance as Elijah and Elisha stood by the Jordan River. ⁸Elijah took his coat, rolled it up, and struck the water with it. The water divided to their left and their right, and the two men crossed ⸤the river⸥ on dry ground. 

⁹While they were crossing, Elijah asked Elisha, “What should I do for you before I’m taken from you?” 

Elisha answered, “Let me inherit a double share of your spirit.” 

¹⁰Elijah said, “You have asked for something difficult. If you see me taken from you, it will be yours. Otherwise, it will not.” 

¹¹As they continued walking and talking, a fiery chariot with fiery horses separated the two of them, and Elijah went to heaven in a windstorm. 

¹²When Elisha saw this, he cried out, “Master! Master! Israel’s chariot and horses!” When he couldn’t see Elijah anymore, he grabbed his own garment and tore it in two ⸤to show his grief⸥. ¹³Then he picked up Elijah’s coat (which had fallen off Elijah), went back, and stood on the bank of the Jordan River. ¹⁴He took the coat and struck the water with it. He asked, “Where is the Lord God of Elijah?” As he struck the water, it divided to his left and his right, and Elisha crossed ⸤the river⸥. 

¹⁵The disciples of the prophets who were at Jericho saw him from a distance. They said, “Elijah’s spirit rests on Elisha!” Then they went to meet him and bowed in front of him with their faces touching the ground. ¹⁶They said to him, “There are 50 strong men here with us. Please let them go and search for your master. Maybe the Lord’s Spirit lifted him up and dropped him on one of the hills or in one of the valleys.” 

Elisha answered, “Don’t send them ⸤to look⸥.” ¹⁷But the disciples kept urging him ⸤to send the men⸥ until he was embarrassed. So he said, “Send them.” They sent 50 men who searched for three days without finding him. ¹⁸They returned to Elisha in Jericho, where he was waiting. He said, “Didn’t I tell you not to go?” 

Elisha Purifies Jericho’s Water

¹⁹The people of the city ⸤of Jericho⸥ told Elisha, “This city’s location is as good as you will ever find. But the water is bad, and the land cannot grow crops.” 

²⁰Elisha said, “Bring me a new jar, and put salt in it.” They brought it to him. ²¹He went to the spring and threw the salt into it. Then he said, “This is what the Lord says: I have purified this water. No more deaths or crop failures will come from this water.” ²²To this day the water is still pure, as Elisha had said. 

²³From there he went to Bethel. As he walked along the road, some boys came out of the city and mocked him. They said, “Go away, baldy! Go away!” 

²⁴Looking back, he saw them and cursed them in the Lord’s name. Two bears came out of the woods and tore 42 of these youths apart. ²⁵He left that place, went to Mount Carmel, and returned to Samaria. 

3RD CHAPTER

King Joram of Israel

¹Joram,^ason of Ahab, became king of Israel in Samaria during Jehoshaphat’s eighteenth year as king of Judah. He ruled for 12 years. ²He did what the Lord considered evil, but he didn’t do what his father or mother had done. He put away the sacred stone that his father had set up and dedicated to Baal. ³But he would not give up the sins that Jeroboam (Nebat’s son) led Israel to commit. Joram would not turn away from those sins. 

King Mesha of Moab Defeated

⁴King Mesha of Moab raised sheep. ⸤Each year⸥ he had to pay the king of Israel 100,000 male lambs and the wool from 100,000 rams. ⁵But when Ahab died, the king of Moab rebelled against the ⸤new⸥ king of Israel. ⁶King Joram immediately left Samaria to prepare Israel’s army for war. ⁷He sent this message to King Jehoshaphat of Judah: “The king of Moab has rebelled against me. Will you fight Moab with me?” 

Jehoshaphat answered, “I’ll go. I will do what you do. My troops will do what your troops do. My horses will do what your horses do.” 

⁸Joram asked, “Which road should we take?” 

Jehoshaphat answered, “The road through the desert of Edom.” 

⁹So the king of Israel, the king of Judah, and the king of Edom took an indirect route ⸤to Moab⸥. After seven days they ran out of water for the army and the animals. ¹⁰The king of Israel said, “Oh no! The Lord has put the three of us at the mercy of ⸤the people of⸥ Moab.” 

¹¹But Jehoshaphat asked, “Isn’t there a prophet of the Lord whom we could ask?” 

One of the officials of the king of Israel answered, “Elisha, the son of Shaphat, is here. He used to be Elijah’s assistant.”^b

¹²Jehoshaphat said, “The Lord’s word is with him.” So King Jehoshaphat of Judah, the king of Israel, and the king of Edom went to Elisha. 

¹³Elisha asked the king of Israel, “Why did you come to me? Go to your father’s prophets or your mother’s prophets.” 

The king of Israel answered him, “No. The Lord has called the three of us in order to put us at Moab’s mercy.” 

¹⁴Elisha answered, “I solemnly swear, as the Lord of Armies whom I serve lives, I wouldn’t even bother to look at you or notice you if it weren’t for my respect for King Jehoshaphat of Judah. ¹⁵But get me someone to play some music.” 

While the musician was playing, the Lord’s power came over Elisha. ¹⁶He said, “This is what the Lord says: Make this valley full of ditches. ¹⁷You will not see wind or rain, but this valley will be filled with water. You, your cattle, and your other animals will drink. ¹⁸The Lord considers that an easy thing to do. In addition, he will put Moab at your mercy. ¹⁹You will defeat every walled city and every important city. You will cut down every good tree, seal all the wells, and use rocks to ruin every good piece of land.” 

²⁰That is what happened in the morning. At the time of the grain offering, water flowed from Edom and filled the countryside. 

²¹All the people of Moab heard that the kings had come to fight them. So all men old enough to bear arms were called to fight. They stood at the border. ²²…