²Ahaziah had fallen through the window of his upstairs room in Samaria. He had hurt himself. So he sent messengers to ask the god Baal-Zebub for advice. Baal-Zebub was the god of the city of Ekron. Ahaziah said to the messengers, “Go and ask Baal-Zebub whether I will get well again.”

³But the angel of the Lord spoke to Elijah, who was from Tishbe. He said, “Go up to see the messengers of Ahaziah, the king of Samaria. Tell them, ‘You are on your way to ask Baal-Zebub for advice. He is the god of Ekron. Are you going to that god because you think there is no God in Israel?’ ⁴The Lord says to Ahaziah, ‘You will never leave the bed you are lying on. You can be sure that you will die!’ ” So Elijah went to see the messengers.

⁵They returned to the king. He asked them, “Why have you come back?”

⁶“A man met us on our way there,” they replied. “He said to us, ‘Go back to the king who sent you. Tell him, “The Lord says, ‘You are sending messengers to ask Baal-Zebub for advice. He is the god of Ekron. Are you going to that god because you think there is no God in Israel? You will never leave the bed you are lying on. You can be sure that you will die!’ ” ’ ”

⁷The king asked them, “What kind of man came to see you? Who told you those things?”

⁸They replied, “He was wearing clothes that were made out of hair. He had a leather belt around his waist.”

The king said, “That was Elijah from Tishbe.”

⁹Then Ahaziah sent a captain to Elijah. The captain had his company of 50 men with him. Elijah was sitting on top of a hill. The captain went up to him. He said to Elijah, “Man of God, the king says, ‘Come down!’ ”

¹⁰Elijah answered the captain, “If I’m really a man of God, may fire come down from heaven! May it burn you and your 50 men up!”

Then fire came down from heaven. It burned up the captain and his men.

¹¹After that happened, the king sent another captain to Elijah. The captain had his 50 men with him. He said to Elijah, “Man of God, the king says, ‘Come down at once!’ ”

¹²Elijah replied, “If I’m really a man of God, may fire come down from heaven! May it burn you and your 50 men up!”

Then the fire of God came down from heaven. It burned up the captain and his 50 men.

¹³So the king sent a third captain with his 50 men. The captain went up to Elijah. He fell on his knees in front of him. “Man of God,” he begged, “please have respect for my life! Please have respect for the lives of these 50 men! ¹⁴Fire has come down from heaven. It has burned up the first two captains and all of their men. But please have respect for my life!”

¹⁵The angel of the Lord spoke to Elijah. He said, “Go down with him. Don’t be afraid of him.”

So Elijah got up. He went down with the captain to the king.

¹⁶Elijah told the king, “The Lord says, ‘You have sent messengers to ask Baal-Zebub for advice. He is the god of Ekron. Did you go to that god for advice because you think there is no God in Israel? You will never leave the bed you are lying on. You can be sure that you will die!’ ”

¹⁷So Ahaziah died. It happened just as the Lord had said it would. He had spoken that message through Elijah.

Ahaziah didn’t have any sons. So Joram, his younger brother, became the next king after him. It was the second year of Jehoram, the king of Judah. Jehoram was the son of Jehoshaphat.

¹⁸All of the other events of Ahaziah’s rule are written down. The things he did are written down. All of those things are written in the official records of the kings of Israel.

Elijah Is Taken Up to Heaven

2Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal. The Lord was going to use a strong wind to take Elijah up to heaven. ²Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here. The Lord has sent me to Bethel.”

But Elisha said, “I won’t leave you. And that’s just as sure as the Lord and you are alive.” So they went down to Bethel.

³There was a company of prophets at Bethel. They came out to where Elisha was. They asked him, “Do you know what the Lord is going to do? He’s going to take your master away from you today.”

“Yes, I know,” Elisha replied. “But don’t talk about it.”

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

Elisha replied, “I won’t leave you. And that’s just as sure as the Lord and you are alive.” So they went to Jericho.

⁵There was a company of prophets at Jericho. They went up to where Elisha was. They asked him, “Do you know what the Lord is going to do? He’s going to take your master away from you today.”

“Yes, I know,” Elisha replied. “But don’t talk about it.”

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

Elisha replied, “I won’t leave you. And that’s just as sure as the Lord and you are alive.” So the two of them walked on.

⁷Fifty men from the company of the prophets followed them. The men stopped and stood not far away from them. They faced the place where Elijah and Elisha had stopped at the Jordan River. ⁸Elijah rolled his coat up. Then he struck the water with it. The water parted to the right and to the left. The two of them went across the river on dry ground.

⁹After they had gone across, Elijah spoke to Elisha. He said, “Tell me. What can I do for you before I’m taken away from you?”

“Please give me a double share of your spirit,” Elisha replied.

¹⁰“You have asked me for something I can’t give you,” Elijah said. “Only the Lord can give it. But suppose you see me when I’m taken away from you. Then you will receive what you have asked for. If you don’t see me, you won’t receive it.”

¹¹They kept walking along and talking together. Suddenly a chariot and horses appeared. Fire was all around them. The chariot and horses came between the two men. Then Elijah went up to heaven in a strong wind.

¹²Elisha saw it. He cried out to Elijah, “My father! You are like a father to me! You are the true chariots and horsemen of Israel!”

Elisha didn’t see Elijah anymore. Then Elisha took hold of his own clothes and tore them apart.

¹³He picked up the coat that had fallen from Elijah. He went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan River. ¹⁴Then he struck the water with Elijah’s coat. “Where is the power of the Lord?” he asked. “Where is the power of the God of Elijah?” When Elisha struck the water, it parted to the right and to the left. He went across the river.

¹⁵The company of the prophets from Jericho were watching. They said, “The spirit of Elijah has been given to Elisha.” They went over to him. They bowed down to him with their faces toward the ground. ¹⁶“Look,” they said. “We have 50 able men. Let them go and look for your master. Perhaps the Spirit of the Lord has lifted him up. Maybe he has put him down on a mountain or in a valley.”

“No,” Elisha replied. “Don’t send them.”

¹⁷But they kept asking until he felt he couldn’t say no. So he said, “Send them.” And they sent 50 men. They looked for Elijah for three days. But they didn’t find him.

¹⁸So they returned to Elisha. He was staying in Jericho. Elisha said to them, “Didn’t I tell you not to go?”

Elisha Makes Jericho’s Water Pure

¹⁹The men of Jericho spoke to Elisha. “Look,” they said. “This town has a good location. You can see that for yourself. But the spring of water here is bad. So the land doesn’t produce anything.”

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

²¹Then he went out to the spring. He threw the salt into it. He told them, “The Lord says, ‘I have made this water pure. It will never cause death again. It will never keep the land from producing crops again.’ ” ²²The water has stayed pure to this very day. That’s what Elisha had said would happen.

Some Young Fellows Make Fun of Elisha

²³Elisha left Jericho and went up to Bethel. He was walking along the road. Some young fellows came out of the town. They made fun of him. “Go on up! You don’t even have any hair on your head!” they said. “Go on up! You don’t even have any hair on your head!”

²⁴He turned around and looked at them. And he called down a curse on them. He did it in the name of the Lord. Then two bears came out of the woods. They attacked 42 of the young fellows.

²⁵Elisha went on to Mount Carmel. From there he returned to Samaria.

Moab’s King Refuses to Obey Israel’s King

3Joram became king of Israel in Samaria. It was in the 18th year that Jehoshaphat was king of Judah. Joram ruled for 12 years. He was the son of Ahab.

²Joram did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. But he wasn’t as bad as his father and mother had been. His father had made a sacred stone that was used to worship the god Baal. Joram got rid of it. ³But he kept on committing the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat. Jeroboam had also caused Israel to commit those same sins. Joram didn’t turn away from them.

⁴Mesha raised sheep. He was king of Moab. He had to supply the king of Israel with 100,000 lambs a year. He also had to supply him with the wool of 100,000 rams a year.

⁵Ahab died. Moab’s king refused to obey the next king of Israel. ⁶So at that time King Joram started out from Samaria. He gathered all of Israel’s troops together.

⁷He also sent a message to Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah. It said, “The king of Moab is refusing to obey me. Will you go with me to fight against Moab?”

“Yes. I’ll go with you,” he replied. “My men will go with you. My horses will also go with you.”

⁸“What road should we take to attack Moab?” Joram asked.

“The one that goes through the Desert of Edom,” Jehoshaphat answered.

⁹So the king of Israel started out. The king of Judah and the king of Edom went with him. Their armies marched around the southern end of the Dead Sea. After seven days they ran out of water. There wasn’t any water for the men or their animals.

¹⁰“What should we do now?” exclaimed the king of Israel. “The Lord has called us three kings together. Did he do it only to hand us over to Moab?”

¹¹But Jehoshaphat asked, “Isn’t there a prophet of the Lord here? Can’t we ask the Lord for advice through him?” …

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