2 Kings 1–2

Elijah and King Ahaziah

1After Ahab died, Moab broke away from Israel’s rule. ²Ahaziah fell down through the wooden bars in his upstairs room in Samaria and was badly hurt. He sent messengers and told them, “Go, ask Baal-Zebub, god of Ekron, if I will recover from my injuries.”

³But the Lord’s angel said to Elijah the Tishbite, “Go up and meet the messengers sent by the king of Samaria. Ask them, ‘Why are you going to ask questions of Baal-Zebub, god of Ekron? Is it because you think there is no God in Israel?’ ⁴This is what the Lord says: ‘You will never get up from the bed you are lying on; you will die.’ ” Then Elijah left.

⁵When the messengers returned to Ahaziah, he asked them, “Why have you returned?”

⁶They said, “A man came to meet us. He said, ‘Go back to the king who sent you and tell him what the Lord says: “Why do you send messengers to ask questions of Baal-Zebub, god of Ekron? Is it because you think there is no God in Israel? You will never get up from the bed you are lying on; you will die.” ’ ”

⁷Ahaziah asked them, “What did the man look like who met you and told you this?”

⁸They answered, “He was a hairy man and wore a leather belt around his waist.”

Ahaziah said, “It was Elijah the Tishbite.”

⁹Then he sent a captain with his fifty men to Elijah. The captain went to Elijah, who was sitting on top of the hill, and said to him, “Man of God, the king says, ‘Come down!’ ”

¹⁰Elijah answered the captain, “If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and burn up you and your fifty men.” Then fire came down from heaven and burned up the captain and his fifty men.

¹¹Ahaziah sent another captain and fifty men to Elijah. The captain said to him, “Man of God, this is what the king says: ‘Come down quickly!’ ”

¹²Elijah answered, “If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and burn up you and your fifty men!” Then fire came down from heaven and burned up the captain and his fifty men.

¹³Ahaziah then sent a third captain with his fifty men. The third captain came and fell down on his knees before Elijah and begged, “Man of God, please respect my life and the lives of your fifty servants. ¹⁴See, fire came down from heaven and burned up the first two captains of fifty with all their men. But now, respect my life.”

¹⁵The Lord’s angel said to Elijah, “Go down with him and don’t be afraid of him.” So Elijah got up and went down with him to see the king.

¹⁶Elijah told Ahaziah, “This is what the Lord says: ‘You have sent messengers to ask questions of Baal-Zebub, god of Ekron. Is it because you think there is no God in Israel to ask? Because of this, you will never get up from your bed; you will die.’ ” ¹⁷So Ahaziah died, just as the Lord, through Elijah, had said he would.

Joram became king in Ahaziah’s place during the second year Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat was king of Judah. Joram ruled because Ahaziah had no son to take his place. ¹⁸The other things Ahaziah did are written in the book of the history of the kings of Israel.

Elijah Is Taken to Heaven

2It was almost time for the Lord to take Elijah by a whirlwind up into heaven. While Elijah and Elisha were leaving Gilgal, ²Elijah said to Elisha, “Please stay here. The Lord has told me to go to Bethel.”

But Elisha said, “As the Lord lives, and as you live, I won’t leave you.” So they went down to Bethel. ³The groups of prophets at Bethel came out to Elisha and said to him, “Do you know the Lord will take your master away from you today?”

Elisha said, “Yes, I know, but don’t talk about it.”

⁴Elijah said to him, “Stay here, Elisha, because the Lord has sent me to Jericho.”

But Elisha said, “As the Lord lives, and as you live, I won’t leave you.”

So they went to Jericho. ⁵The groups of prophets at Jericho came to Elisha and said, “Do you know that the Lord will take your master away from you today?”

Elisha answered, “Yes, I know, but don’t talk about it.”

⁶Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here. The Lord has sent me to the Jordan River.”

Elisha answered, “As the Lord lives, and as you live, I won’t leave you.”

So the two of them went on. ⁷Fifty men of the groups of prophets came and stood far from where Elijah and Elisha were by the Jordan. ⁸Elijah took off his coat, rolled it up, and hit the water. The water divided to the right and to the left, and Elijah and Elisha crossed over on dry ground.

⁹After they had crossed over, Elijah said to Elisha, “What can I do for you before I am taken from you?”

Elisha said, “Leave me a double share of your spirit.” ⁿ

¹⁰Elijah said, “You have asked a hard thing. But if you see me when I am taken from you, it will be yours. If you don’t, it won’t happen.”

¹¹As they were walking and talking, a chariot and horses of fire appeared and separated Elijah from Elisha. Then Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind. ¹²Elisha saw it and shouted, “My father! My father! The chariots of Israel and their horsemen!” And Elisha did not see him anymore. Then Elisha grabbed his own clothes and tore them to show how sad he was.

¹³He picked up Elijah’s coat that had fallen from him. Then he returned and stood on the bank of the Jordan. ¹⁴Elisha hit the water with Elijah’s coat and said, “Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah?” When he hit the water, it divided to the right and to the left, and Elisha crossed over.

¹⁵The groups of prophets at Jericho were watching and said, “Elisha now has the spirit Elijah had.” And they came to meet him, bowing down to the ground before him. ¹⁶They said to him, “There are fifty strong men with us. Please let them go and look for your master. Maybe the Spirit of the Lord has taken Elijah up and set him down on some mountain or in some valley.”

But Elisha answered, “No, don’t send them.”

¹⁷When the groups of prophets had begged Elisha until he couldn’t refuse them anymore, he said, “Send them.” So they sent fifty men who looked for three days, but they could not find him. ¹⁸Then they came back to Elisha at Jericho where he was staying. He said to them, “I told you not to go, didn’t I?”

Elisha Makes the Water Pure

¹⁹The people of the city said to Elisha, “Look, master, this city is a nice place to live as you can see. But the water is so bad the land cannot grow crops.”

²⁰Elisha said, “Bring me a new bowl and put salt in it.” So they brought it to him.

²¹Then he went out to the spring and threw the salt in it. He said, “This is what the Lord says: ‘I have healed this water. From now on it won’t cause death, and it won’t keep the land from growing crops.’ ” ²²So the water has been healed to this day just as Elisha had said.

Boys Make Fun of Elisha

²³From there Elisha went up to Bethel. On the way some boys came out of the city and made fun of him. They said to him, “Go up too, you baldhead! Go up too, you baldhead!” ²⁴Elisha turned around, looked at them, and put a curse on them in the name of the Lord. Then two mother bears came out of the woods and tore forty-two of the boys to pieces. ²⁵Elisha went to Mount Carmel and from there he returned to Samaria.