2 Kings 1–2

1^*Then Moab ^arebelled against Israel ^bafter the death of Ahab. ²And Ahaziah fell down through a lattice in his ^cupper chamber that was in Samaria, and was sick: and he sent messengers, and said unto them, Go, inquire of ^dBaal-zebub the god of ^eEkron whether ^fI shall recover of this disease. ³But the angel of the Lord said to Elijah ^gthe Tishbite, Arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria, and say unto them, Is it not because there is not a God in Israel, that ye go to inquire of ^dBaal-zebub the god of ^eEkron? ⁴Now therefore thus saith the Lord, ^†Thou shalt not come down from that bed on which thou art gone up, but shalt surely die. And Elijah departed. ⁵And when the messengers turned back unto him, he said unto them, Why are ye now turned back? ⁶And they said unto him, There came a man up to meet us, and said unto us, Go, turn again unto the king that sent you, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Is it not because there is not a God in Israel, that thou sendest to inquire of ^dBaal-zebub the god of ^eEkron? therefore thou shalt not come down from that bed on which thou art gone up, but shalt surely die. ⁷And he said unto them, ^†What manner of man was he which came up to meet you, and told you these words? ⁸And they answered him, He was ^han hairy man, and girt with a girdle of leather about his loins. And he said, It is Elijah ^gthe Tishbite. ⁹Then the king sent unto him a captain of fifty with his fifty. And he went up to him: and, behold, he sat on the top of an hill. And he spake unto him, Thou ⁱman of God, the king hath said, Come down. ¹⁰And Elijah answered and said to the captain of fifty, If I be a man of God, then ^jlet fire come down from heaven, and consume thee and thy fifty. And there came down fire from heaven, and consumed him and his fifty. ¹¹Again also he sent unto him another captain of fifty with his fifty. And he answered and said unto him, O man of God, thus hath the king said, Come down quickly. ¹²And Elijah answered and said unto them, If I be a man of God, let fire come down from heaven, and consume thee and thy fifty. And ^kthe fire of God came down from heaven, and consumed him and his fifty. ¹³And he sent again a captain of the third fifty with his fifty. And the third captain of fifty went up, and came and ^†fell on his knees before Elijah, and besought him, and said unto him, O man of God, I pray thee, let my life, and the life of these fifty thy servants, ^lbe precious in thy sight. ¹⁴Behold, there came fire down from heaven, and burnt up the two captains of the former fifties with their fifties: therefore let my life now be precious in thy sight. ¹⁵And the angel of the Lord said unto Elijah, Go down with him: be not afraid of him. And he arose, and went down with him unto the king. ¹⁶And he said unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Forasmuch as thou hast sent messengers to inquire of ^dBaal-zebub the god of ^eEkron, is it not because there is no God in Israel to inquire of his word? therefore thou shalt not come down off that bed on which thou art gone up, but shalt surely die. ^17*So he died according to the word of the Lord which Elijah had spoken. And ^||Jehoram reigned in his stead in the second year of Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah; because he had no son. ¹⁸Now 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?

2And it came to pass, when the Lord would ^atake up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, that Elijah went with ^bElisha from ^cGilgal. ²And Elijah said unto Elisha, ^dTarry here, I pray thee; for the Lord hath sent me to ^eBeth-el. And Elisha said unto him, ^fAs the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they went down to Beth-el. ³And ^gthe sons of the prophets that were at Beth-el came forth to Elisha, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Lord will take away thy master ^hfrom thy head to day? And he said, Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace. ⁴And Elijah said unto him, Elisha, tarry here, I pray thee; for the Lord hath sent me to ⁱJericho. And he said, ^fAs the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they came to Jericho. ⁵And the sons of the prophets that were at Jericho came to Elisha, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Lord will take away thy master ^hfrom thy head to day? And he answered, Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace. ⁶And Elijah said unto him, Tarry, I pray thee, here; for the Lord hath sent me to Jordan. And he said, ^fAs the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. And they two went on. ⁷And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went, and stood ^†to view afar off: and they two stood by Jordan. ⁸And Elijah took ^khis mantle, and wrapped it together, and smote the waters, and ^mthey were divided hither and thither, so that they two went over on dry ground. ⁹And it came to pass, when they were gone over, that Elijah said unto Elisha, Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be taken away from thee. And Elisha said, I pray thee, let ⁿa double portion of thy spirit be upon me. ¹⁰And he said, ^†Thou hast asked a hard thing: nevertheless, if thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee; but if not, it shall not be so. ¹¹And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared ^oa chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and ^pElijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. ¹²And Elisha saw it, and he cried, ^qMy father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof. And he saw him no more: and he took hold of his own clothes, and ^rrent them in two pieces. ¹³He took up also the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and went back, and stood by the ^†bank of Jordan; ¹⁴And he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and smote the waters, and said, Where is the Lord God of Elijah? and when he also had smitten the waters, ^sthey parted hither and thither: and Elisha went over. ¹⁵And when the sons of the prophets which were ^tto view at Jericho saw him, they said, The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha. And they came to meet him, and bowed themselves to the ground before him. ¹⁶And they said unto him, Behold now, there be with thy servants fifty ^†strong men; let them go, we pray thee, and seek thy master: lest peradventure ^uthe Spirit of the Lord hath taken him up, and cast him upon ^†some mountain, or into some valley. And he said, Ye shall not send. ¹⁷And when they urged him ^xtill he was ashamed, he said, Send. They sent therefore fifty men; and they sought three days, but found him not. ¹⁸And when they came again to him, (for he tarried at Jericho,) he said unto them, Did I not say unto you, Go not?

¹⁹And the men of the city said unto Elisha, Behold, I pray thee, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord seeth: but the water is naught, and the ground ^†barren. ²⁰And he said, Bring me a new cruse, and put salt therein. And they brought it to him. ²¹And he went forth unto the spring of the waters, and ^ycast the salt in there, and said, Thus saith the Lord, I have healed these waters; there shall not be from thence any more death or barren ^zland. ²²So the waters were healed unto this day, according to the saying of Elisha which he spake.

²³And he went up from thence unto Beth-el: and as he was going up by the way, there came forth ^alittle ^bchildren out of the city, and mocked him, and said unto him, Go up, thou bald head; go up, thou bald head. ²⁴And he turned back, and looked on them, and ^ccursed them in the name of the Lord. And there came forth two she bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two ^dchildren of them. ²⁵And he went from thence to mount ^eCarmel, and from thence he returned to ^fSamaria.