JEHOSHAPHAT’S ALLIANCE WITH AHAB

22 There wasm a lull of three yearsn without war between Aram and Israel. 2 However, in the third year, King Jehoshaphato of Judah went to visit the king of Israel.p 3 The king of Israel had said to his servants, “Don’t you know that Ramoth-gileadq is ours, but we’re doing nothing to take it from the king of Aram?” 4 Sor he asked Jehoshaphat, “Will you go with me to fight Ramoth-gilead?”s

Jehoshaphat replied to the king of Israel, “I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses.”t 5 But Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, “First, please ask what the Lord’s will is.”u

6 So the king of Israel gathered the prophets, about four hundred men,v and asked them, “Should I go against Ramoth-gilead for war or should I refrain?”

They replied, “March up, and the Lord will hand it over to the king.”w

7 But Jehoshaphat asked, “Isn’t there a prophet of the Lord here anymore?x Let’s ask him.”

8 The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “There is still one man who can inquire of the Lord, but I hate himy because he never prophesies good about me,z but only disaster. He is Micaiah son of Imlah.”

“The king shouldn’t say that!” Jehoshaphat replied.

9 So the king of Israel called an officer and said, “Hurry and get Micaiah son of Imlah!”

10 Now the king of Israel and King Jehoshaphat of Judah,aa clothed in royal attire, were each sitting on his own throne. They were on the threshing floorab at the entrance to the gate of Samaria, and all the prophets were prophesying in front of them. 11 Then Zedekiahac son of Chenaanah made iron hornsad and said, “This is what the Lord says: ‘You will gore the Arameans with these until they are finished off.’ ” 12 And all the prophets were prophesying the same: “March up to Ramoth-gileadae and succeed, for the Lord will hand it over to the king.”

MICAIAH’S MESSAGE OF DEFEAT

13 The messengeraf who went to call Micaiah instructed him, “Look, the words of the prophets are unanimously favorable for the king. So let your words be like theirs, and speak favorably.”

14 But Micaiah said, “As the Lord lives,ag I will say whatever the Lord says to me.”ah

15 So he went to the king, and the king asked him, “Micaiah, should we go to Ramoth-gilead for war, or should we refrain?”

Micaiah told him, “March up and succeed. The Lord will hand it over to the king.”

16 But the king said to him, “How many times must I make you swear not to tell me anything but the truth in the name of the Lord?”

17 So Micaiah said:

I saw all Israel scattered on the hills

like sheep without a shepherd.ai

And the Lord said,

“They have no master;

let everyone return home in peace.”aj

18 So the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Didn’t I tell you he never prophesies good about me, but only disaster?”

19 Then Micaiah said, “Therefore, hear the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on his throne,a and the whole heavenly armyb was standing by him at his right hand and at his left hand. 20 And the Lord said, ‘Who will entice Ahab to march up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?’c So one was saying this and another was saying that.

21 “Then a spirit came forward, stood in the Lord’s presence, and said, ‘I will entice him.’

22 “The Lord asked him, ‘How?’

“He said, ‘I will go and become a lying spiritd in the mouth of all his prophets.’

“Then he said, ‘You will certainly entice him and prevail.e Go and do that.’

23 “You see, the Lord has put a lying spirit into the mouth of all these prophets of yours, and the Lord has pronounced disaster against you.”

24 Then Zedekiahf son of Chenaanah came up, hit Micaiah on the cheek, and demanded, “DidA the Spirit of the Lord leave me to speak to you?”g

25 Micaiah replied, “You will soon see when you go to hide in an inner chamber on that day.”h

26 Then the king of Israel ordered, “Take Micaiah and return him to Amon, the governor of the city, and to Joash, the king’s son,i 27 and say, ‘This is what the king says: Put this guy in prisonj and feed him only a little bread and waterB until I come back safely.’ ”

28 But Micaiah said, “If you ever return safely, the Lord has not spoken through me.”k Then he said, “Listen, all you people!”C,l

AHAB’S DEATH

29 Thenm the king of Israel and Judah’s King Jehoshaphat went up to Ramoth-gilead.n 30 But the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “I will disguiseo myself and go into battle, but you wear your royal attire.” So the king of Israel disguised himself and went into battle.p

31 Now the king of Aram had ordered his thirty-two chariot commanders,q “Do not fight with anyone at allD except the king of Israel.”r

32 When the chariot commanders saw Jehoshaphat, they shouted, “He must be the king of Israel!” So they turned to fight against him, but Jehoshaphat cried out. 33 When the chariot commanders saw that he was not the king of Israel, they turned back from pursuing him.

34 But a man drew his bows without taking special aim and struck the king of Israel through the joints of his armor. So he said to his charioteer, “Turn around and take me out of the battle,E for I am badly wounded!”t 35 The battle raged throughout that day, and the king was propped up in his chariot facing the Arameans. He died that evening,u and blood from his wound flowed into the bottom of the chariot. 36 Then the cry rang out in the army as the sun set, declaring:

Each man to his own city,

and each man to his own land!v

37 So the king died and was brought to Samaria. They buried the king in Samaria.w 38 Then someone washed the chariot at the pool of Samaria. The dogs licked up his blood, and the prostitutes bathed in it, according to the word of the Lord that he had spoken.x

39 The rest of the events of Ahab’s reign, along with all his accomplishments, including the ivory palacey he built, and all the cities he built, are written in the Historical Record of Israel’s Kings.z 40 Ahab rested with his ancestors,aa and his son Ahaziahab became king in his place.

JUDAH’S KING JEHOSHAPHAT

41 Jehoshaphatac son of Asa became king over Judah in the fourth year of Israel’s King Ahab. 42 Jehoshaphat was thirty-five years old when he became king; he reigned twenty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Azubah daughter of Shilhi. 43 He walked in all the ways of his father Asa;ad he did not turn away from them but did what was right in the Lord’s sight. However, the high places were not taken away;A the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places.ae 44 Jehoshaphat also made peace with the king of Israel.af

45 The rest of the events of Jehoshaphat’s reign, along with the might he exercised and how he waged war, are written in the Historical Record of Judah’s Kings.ag 46 He eradicated from the land the rest of the male cult prostitutes who were left from the days of his father Asa.a 47 There was no king in Edom;b a deputy served as king. 48 Jehoshaphat made ships of Tarshishc to go to Ophird for gold, but they did not go because the ships were wrecked at Ezion-geber.e 49 At that time, Ahaziahf son of Ahab said to Jehoshaphat, “Let my servants go with your servants in the ships,” but Jehoshaphat was not willing. 50 Jehoshaphat rested with his ancestors and was buried with them in the city of his ancestor David.g His son Jehoramh became king in his place.

ISRAEL’S KING AHAZIAH

51 Ahaziahi son of Ahab became king over Israel in Samariaj in the seventeenth year of Judah’s King Jehoshaphat,k and he reigned over Israel two years. 52 He did what was evil in the Lord’s sight.l He walked in the ways of his father,m in the ways of his mother,n and in the ways of Jeroboam son of Nebat, who had caused Israel to sin.o 53 He served Baal and bowed in worship to him.p He angered the Lord God of Israel just as his father had done.q

2 KINGS

AHAZIAH’S SICKNESS AND DEATH

1 After Ahab’s death, Moaba rebelled against Israel.b 2 Ahaziahc had fallen through the latticed window of his upstairs room in Samariad and was injured. So he sent messengers, instructing them, “Go inquire of Baal-zebub,A,e the god of Ekron,f whether I will recover from this injury.”g

3 But the angel of the Lord said to Elijah the Tishbite,h “Go and meet the messengers of the king of Samariai and say to them, ‘Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron? 4 Therefore, this is what the Lord says: You will not get up from your sickbed; you will certainly die.’ ” Then Elijah left.

5 The messengers returned to the king, who asked them, “Why have you come back?”

6 They replied, “A man came to meet us and said, ‘Go back to the king who sent you and declare to him, “ ‘This is what the Lord says: Is it because there is no God in Israel that you’re sending these men to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore, you will not get up from your sickbed; you will certainly die.’ ” ”

7 The king asked them, “What sort of man came up to meet you and spoke those words to you?”

8 They replied, “A hairy man with a leather belt around his waist.”j

He said, “It’s Elijah the Tishbite.”k

9 So King Ahaziah sent a captain with his fifty menl to Elijah. When the captain went up to him, he was sitting on top of the hill. He announced, “Man of God,m the king declares, ‘Come down!’ ”

10 Elijah responded to the captain, “If I am a man of God, may fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men.” Then fire came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty men.n

11 So the king sent another captain with his fifty men to Elijah. He took in the situationB and announced, “Man of God, this is what the king says: ‘Come down immediately!’ ”

12 Elijah responded, “If I am a man of God, may fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men.” So a divine fireC came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty men.

13 Then the king sent a third captain with his fifty men. The third captain went up and fell on his knees in front of Elijah and begged him, “Man of God,o please let my life and the lives of these fifty servants of yours be precious to you.p 14 Already fire has come down from heaven and consumed the first two captains with their companies, but this time let my life be precious to you.”

15 The angel of the Lordq said to Elijah, “Go down with him. Don’t be afraid of him.”r So he got up and went down with him to the king.

16 Then Elijah said to King Ahaziah, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Because you have sent messengers to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron—is it because there is no God in Israel for you to inquire of his will?—you will not get up from your sickbed; you will certainly die.’ ”

17 Ahaziah died according to the word of the Lord that Elijah had spoken. Since he had no son, Joram* s became king in his place. This happened in the second year of Judah’s King Jehoramt son of Jehoshaphat.B 18 The rest of the events of Ahaziah’s reign, along with his accomplishments, are written in the Historical Record of Israel’s Kings.* u

ELIJAH IN THE WHIRLWIND

2 The time had come for the Lord to take Elijah up to heavenv in a whirlwind.w Elijah and Elishax were traveling from Gilgal,y 2 and Elijah said to Elisha,z “Stay here;aa the Lord is sending me on to Bethel.”ab

But Elisha replied, “As the Lord lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.”ac So they went down to Bethel.

3 Then the sons of the prophetsad who were at Bethel came out to Elisha and said, “Do you know that the Lord will take your master away from you today?”ae

He said, “Yes, I know. Be quiet.”

4 Elijah said to him, “Elisha, stay here; the Lord is sending me to Jericho.”a

But Elisha said, “As the Lord lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they went to Jericho.

5 Then the sons of the prophets who were in Jericho came up to Elisha and said, “Do you know that the Lord will take your master away from you today?”

He said, “Yes, I know. Be quiet.”

6 Elijah said to him, “Stay here; the Lord is sending me to the Jordan.”b

But Elisha said, “As the Lord lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So the two of them went on.

7 Fifty men from the sons of the prophets came and stood observing them at a distance while the two of them stood by the Jordan. 8 Elijah took his mantle,c rolled it up, and struck the water, which parted to the right and left. Then the two of them crossed over on dry ground.d 9 When they had crossed over, Elijah said to Elisha, “Tell me what I can do for you before I am taken from you.”

So Elisha answered, “Please, let me inherit two shares of your spirit.”e

10 Elijah replied, “You have asked for something difficult. If you see me being taken from you,f you will have it. If not, you won’t.”

11 As they continued walking and talking, a chariot of fire with horses of fireg suddenly appeared and separated the two of them. Then Elijah went up into heaven in the whirlwind.h 12 As Elisha watched, he kept crying out, “My father, my father, the chariots and horsemen of Israel!”i

ELISHA SUCCEEDS ELIJAH

When he could see him no longer, he took hold of his own clothes, tore them in two,j 13 picked up the mantlek that had fallen off Elijah, and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. 14 He took the mantle Elijah had dropped, and he struck the water. “Where is the Lord God of Elijah?” he asked. He struck the water himself, and it parted to the right and the left, and Elisha crossed over.

15 When the sons of the prophets from Jericho who were observing saw him, they said, “The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha.” They came to meet him and bowed down to the ground in front of him.

16 Then the sons of the prophets said to Elisha, “Since there are fifty strong men here with your servants, please let them go and search for your master. Maybe the Spirit of the Lord has carried him away and put him on one of the mountains or into one of the valleys.”l

He answered, “Don’t send them.”

17 However, they urged him to the point of embarrassment,m so he said, “Send them.” They sent fifty men, who looked for three days but did not find him. 18 When they returned to him in Jerichon where he was staying, he said to them, “Didn’t I tell you not to go?”

19 The men of the city said to Elisha, “My lord can see that even though the city’s location is good, the water is bad and the land unfruitful.”o

20 He replied, “Bring me a new bowl and put salt in it.”p

After they had brought him one, 21 Elisha went out to the spring, threw salt in it,q and said, “This is what the Lord says: ‘I have healed this water. No longer will death or unfruitfulness result from it.’ ” 22 Therefore, the water still remains healthy today according to the word that Elisha spoke.

23 From there Elisha went up to Bethel.r As he was walking up the path, some small boys came out of the city and jeered at him,s chanting, “Go up, baldy! Go up, baldy!” 24 He turned around, looked at them, and cursed them in the name of the Lord.t Then two female bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the children. 25 From there Elisha went to Mount Carmel,u and then he returned to Samaria.v