Now Ahazi′ah fell through the lattice in his upper chamber in Samar′ia, and lay sick; so he sent messengers, telling them, “Go, inquire of Ba′al-ze′bub, the god of Ekron, whether I shall recover from this sickness.”
But the angel of the Lord said to Eli′jah the Tishbite, “Arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samar′ia, and say to them, ‘Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going to inquire of Ba′al-ze′bub, the god of Ekron?’
And they said to him, “There came a man to meet us, and said to us, ‘Go back to the king who sent you, and say to him, Thus says the Lord, Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are sending to inquire of Ba′al-ze′bub, the god of Ekron? Therefore you shall not come down from the bed to which you have gone, but shall surely die.’”
Then the king sent to him a captain of fifty men with his fifty. He went up to Eli′jah, who was sitting on the top of a hill, and said to him, “O man of God, the king says, ‘Come down.’”
But Eli′jah answered the captain of fifty, “If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty.” Then fire came down from heaven, and consumed him and his fifty.
Again the king sent to him another captain of fifty men with his fifty. And he went up and said to him, “O man of God, this is the king’s order, ‘Come down quickly!’”
But Eli′jah answered them, “If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty.” Then the fire of God came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty.
Again the king sent the captain of a third fifty with his fifty. And the third captain of fifty went up, and came and fell on his knees before Eli′jah, and entreated him, “O man of God, I pray you, let my life, and the life of these fifty servants of yours, be precious in your sight.
and said to him, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Because you have sent messengers to inquire of Ba′al-ze′bub, the god of Ekron,—is it because there is no God in Israel to inquire of his word?—therefore you shall not come down from the bed to which you have gone, but you shall surely die.’”
Death of Ahaziah So he died according to the word of the Lord which Eli′jah had spoken. Jehor′am, his brother, became king in his stead in the second year of Jehor′am the son of Jehosh′aphat, king of Judah, because Ahazi′ah had no son.
And Eli′jah said to Eli′sha, “Tarry here, I pray you; for the Lord has sent me as far as Bethel.” But Eli′sha said, “As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they went down to Bethel.
And the sons of the prophets who were in Bethel came out to Eli′sha, and said to him, “Do you know that today the Lord will take away your master from over you?” And he said, “Yes, I know it; hold your peace.”
Eli′jah said to him, “Eli′sha, tarry here, I pray you; for the Lord has sent me to Jericho.” But he said, “As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they came to Jericho.
The sons of the prophets who were at Jericho drew near to Eli′sha, and said to him, “Do you know that today the Lord will take away your master from over you?” And he answered, “Yes, I know it; hold your peace.”
Then Eli′jah said to him, “Tarry here, I pray you; for the Lord has sent me to the Jordan.” But he said, “As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So the two of them went on.
Then Eli′jah took his mantle, and rolled it up, and struck the water, and the water was parted to the one side and to the other, till the two of them could go over on dry ground.
When they had crossed, Eli′jah said to Eli′sha, “Ask what I shall do for you, before I am taken from you.” And Eli′sha said, “I pray you, let me inherit a double share of your spirit.”
And he said, “You have asked a hard thing; yet, if you see me as I am being taken from you, it shall be so for you; but if you do not see me, it shall not be so.”
And as they still went on and talked, behold, a chariot of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them. And Eli′jah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.
And Eli′sha saw it and he cried, “My father, my father! the chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” And he saw him no more. Elisha Succeeds Elijah Then he took hold of his own clothes and rent them in two pieces.
Then he took the mantle of Eli′jah that had fallen from him, and struck the water, saying, “Where is the Lord, the God of Eli′jah?” And when he had struck the water, the water was parted to the one side and to the other; and Eli′sha went over.
Now when the sons of the prophets who were at Jericho saw him over against them, they said, “The spirit of Eli′jah rests on Eli′sha.” And they came to meet him, and bowed to the ground before him.
And they said to him, “Behold now, there are with your servants fifty strong men; pray, let them go, and seek your master; it may be that the Spirit of the Lord has caught him up and cast him upon some mountain or into some valley.” And he said, “You shall not send.”
Elisha Performs Miracles Now the men of the city said to Eli′sha, “Behold, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord sees; but the water is bad, and the land is unfruitful.”
Then he went to the spring of water and threw salt in it, and said, “Thus says the Lord, I have made this water wholesome; henceforth neither death nor miscarriage shall come from it.”
He went up from there to Bethel; and while he was going up on the way, some small boys came out of the city and jeered at him, saying, “Go up, you baldhead! Go up, you baldhead!”
And he turned around, and when he saw them, he cursed them in the name of the Lord. And two she-bears came out of the woods and tore forty-two of the boys.
Jehoram Reigns over Israel In the eighteenth year of Jehosh′aphat king of Judah, Jehor′am the son of Ahab became king over Israel in Samar′ia, and he reigned twelve years.
War with Moab Now Mesha king of Moab was a sheep breeder; and he had to deliver annually to the king of Israel a hundred thousand lambs, and the wool of a hundred thousand rams.
And he went and sent word to Jehosh′aphat king of Judah, “The king of Moab has rebelled against me; will you go with me to battle against Moab?” And he said, “I will go; I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses.”
So the king of Israel went with the king of Judah and the king of Edom. And when they had made a circuitous march of seven days, there was no water for the army or for the beasts which followed them.
And Jehosh′aphat said, “Is there no prophet of the Lord here, through whom we may inquire of the Lord?” Then one of the king of Israel’s servants answered, “Eli′sha the son of Shaphat is here, who poured water on the hands of Eli′jah.”
And Eli′sha said to the king of Israel, “What have I to do with you? Go to the prophets of your father and the prophets of your mother.” But the king of Israel said to him, “No; it is the Lord who has called these three kings to give them into the hand of Moab.”
And Eli′sha said, “As the Lord of hosts lives, whom I serve, were it not that I have regard for Jehosh′aphat the king of Judah, I would neither look at you, nor see you.
For thus says the Lord, ‘You shall not see wind or rain, but that stream-bed shall be filled with water, so that you shall drink, you, your cattle, and your beasts.’
and you shall conquer every fortified city, and every choice city, and shall fell every good tree, and stop up all springs of water, and ruin every good piece of land with stones.”
When all the Moabites heard that the kings had come up to fight against them, all who were able to put on armor, from the youngest to the oldest, were called out, and were drawn up at the frontier.
But when they came to the camp of Israel, the Israelites rose and attacked the Moabites, till they fled before them; and they went forward, slaughtering the Moabites as they went.
And they overthrew the cities, and on every good piece of land every man threw a stone, until it was covered; they stopped every spring of water, and felled all the good trees; till only its stones were left in Kir-har′eseth, and the slingers surrounded and conquered it.
When the king of Moab saw that the battle was going against him, he took with him seven hundred swordsmen to break through, opposite the king of Edom; but they could not.
Then he took his eldest son who was to reign in his stead, and offered him for a burnt offering upon the wall. And there came great wrath upon Israel; and they withdrew from him and returned to their own land.
Elisha and the Widow’s Oil Now the wife of one of the sons of the prophets cried to Eli′sha, “Your servant my husband is dead; and you know that your servant feared the Lord, but the creditor has come to take my two children to be his slaves.”
And one of the wives of the sons of the prophets cried to Elisaie, saying, Thy servant my husband is dead; and thou knowest that thy servant feared the Lord: and the creditor is come to take my two sons to be his servants.
And Eli′sha said to her, “What shall I do for you? Tell me; what have you in the house?” And she said, “Your maidservant has nothing in the house, except a jar of oil.”
And Elisaie said, What shall I do for thee? tell me what thou hast in the house. And she said, Thy servant has nothing in the house, except oil wherewith I anoint myself.
So she went from him and shut the door upon herself and her sons; and as she poured they brought the vessels to her.
And she departed from him, and shut the door upon herself and upon her sons: they brought the vessels near to her, and she poured in until the vessels were filled.
She came and told the man of God, and he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debts, and you and your sons can live on the rest.”
And she came and told the man of God: and Elisaie said, Go, and sell the oil, and thou shalt pay thy debts, and thou and thy sons shall live of the remaining oil.
Elisha Raises the Shunammite’s Son One day Eli′sha went on to Shunem, where a wealthy woman lived, who urged him to eat some food. So whenever he passed that way, he would turn in there to eat food.
And a day came, when Elisaie passed over to Soman, and there was a great lady there, and she constrained him to eat bread: and it came to pass as often as he went into the city, that he turned aside to eat there.
Let us make a small roof chamber with walls, and put there for him a bed, a table, a chair, and a lamp, so that whenever he comes to us, he can go in there.”
Let us now make for him an upper chamber, a small place; and let us put there for him a bed, and a table, and a stool, and a candlestick: and it shall come to pass that when he comes in to us, he shall turn in thither.
And he said to him, “Say now to her, See, you have taken all this trouble for us; what is to be done for you? Would you have a word spoken on your behalf to the king or to the commander of the army?” She answered, “I dwell among my own people.”
And he said to him, Say now to her, Behold, thou hast taken all this trouble for us; what should I do for thee? Hast thou any request to make to the king, or to the captain of the host? And she said, I dwell in the midst of my people.
And he said, “At this season, when the time comes round, you shall embrace a son.” And she said, “No, my lord, O man of God; do not lie to your maidservant.”
And Elisaie said to her, At this time next year, as the season is, thou shalt be alive, and embrace a son. And she said, Nay, my lord, do not lie to thy servant.
Then she called to her husband, and said, “Send me one of the servants and one of the asses, that I may quickly go to the man of God, and come back again.”
And she called her husband, and said, Send now for me one of the young men, and one of the asses, and I will ride quickly to the man of God, and return.
Ϫⲉ ⲁⲙⲟⲩ ⲉⲕⲉ̀ⲙⲟϣⲓ ⲟⲩⲟϩ ⲉⲕⲉ̀ⲓ̀ ϩⲁ ⲡⲓⲣⲱⲙⲓ ⲛ̀ⲧⲉ ⲫϯ Go, and thou shalt proceed, and come to the man of God to mount Carmel.
So she set out, and came to the man of God at Mount Carmel. When the man of God saw her coming, he said to Geha′zi his servant, “Look, yonder is the Shu′nammite;
And she rode and came to the man of God to the mountain: and it came to pass when Elisaie saw her coming, that he said to Giezi his servant, See now, that Somanite comes.
run at once to meet her, and say to her, Is it well with you? Is it well with your husband? Is it well with the child?” And she answered, “It is well.”
Now run to meet her, and thou shalt say, Is it well with thee? is it well with thy husband? is it well with the child? and she said, It is well.
And when she came to the mountain to the man of God, she caught hold of his feet. And Geha′zi came to thrust her away. But the man of God said, “Let her alone, for she is in bitter distress; and the Lord has hidden it from me, and has not told me.”
And she came to Elisaie to the mountain, and laid hold of his feet; and Giezi drew near to thrust her away. And Elisaie said, Let her alone, for her soul is much grieved in her, and the Lord has hidden it from me, and has not told it me.
He said to Geha′zi, “Gird up your loins, and take my staff in your hand, and go. If you meet any one, do not salute him; and if any one salutes you, do not reply; and lay my staff upon the face of the child.”
And Elisaie said to Giezi, Gird up thy loins, and take my staff in thy hand, and go: if thou meet any man, thou shalt not salute him, and if a man salute thee thou shalt not answer him: and thou shalt lay my staff on the child’s face.
Geha′zi went on ahead and laid the staff upon the face of the child, but there was no sound or sign of life. Therefore he returned to meet him, and told him, “The child has not awaked.”
And Giezi went on before her, and laid his staff on the child’s face: but there was neither voice nor any hearing. So he returned to meet him, and told him, saying, The child is not awaked.
Then he went up and lay upon the child, putting his mouth upon his mouth, his eyes upon his eyes, and his hands upon his hands; and as he stretched himself upon him, the flesh of the child became warm.
And he went up, and lay upon the child, and put his mouth upon his mouth, and his eyes upon his eyes, and his hands upon his hands; and bowed himself upon him, and the flesh of the child grew warm.
Then he got up again, and walked once to and fro in the house, and went up, and stretched himself upon him; the child sneezed seven times, and the child opened his eyes.
And he returned, and walked up and down in the house: and he went up, and bowed himself on the child seven times; and the child opened his eyes.
Elisha Purifies the Pot of Stew And Eli′sha came again to Gilgal when there was a famine in the land. And as the sons of the prophets were sitting before him, he said to his servant, “Set on the great pot, and boil pottage for the sons of the prophets.”
And Elisaie returned to Galgala: and a famine was in the land; and the sons of the prophets sat before him: and Elisaie said to his servant, Set on the great pot, and boil pottage for the sons of the prophets.
One of them went out into the field to gather herbs, and found a wild vine and gathered from it his lap full of wild gourds, and came and cut them up into the pot of pottage, not knowing what they were.
And he went out into the field to gather herbs, and found a vine in the field, and gathered of it wild gourds, his garment full; and he cast it into the caldron of pottage, for they knew them not.
And they poured out for the men to eat. But while they were eating of the pottage, they cried out, “O man of God, there is death in the pot!” And they could not eat it.
And he poured it out for the men to eat: and it came to pass, when they were eating of the pottage, that lo! they cried out, and said, There is death in the pot, O man of God. And they could not eat.
He said, “Then bring meal.” And he threw it into the pot, and said, “Pour out for the men, that they may eat.” And there was no harm in the pot.
And he said, Take meal, and cast it into the pot. And Elisaie said to his servant Giezi, Pour out for the people, and let them eat. And there was no longer there any hurtful thing in the pot.
Elisha Feeds One Hundred Men A man came from Ba′al-shal′ishah, bringing the man of God bread of the first fruits, twenty loaves of barley, and fresh ears of grain in his sack. And Eli′sha said, “Give to the men, that they may eat.”
And there came a man over from Baetharisa, and brought to the man of God twenty barley loaves and cakes of figs, of the first-fruits. And he said, Give to the people, and let them eat.
But his servant said, “How am I to set this before a hundred men?” So he repeated, “Give them to the men, that they may eat, for thus says the Lord, ‘They shall eat and have some left.’”
And his servant said, Why should I set this before a hundred men? and he said, Give to the people, and let them eat; for thus saith the Lord, They shall eat and leave.
The Healing of Naaman Na′aman, commander of the army of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master and in high favor, because by him the Lord had given victory to Syria. He was a mighty man of valor, but he was a leper.
And the king of Syria said, “Go now, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel.” So he went, taking with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold, and ten festal garments.
And he brought the letter to the king of Israel, which read, “When this letter reaches you, know that I have sent to you Na′aman my servant, that you may cure him of his leprosy.”
And when the king of Israel read the letter, he rent his clothes and said, “Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man sends word to me to cure a man of his leprosy? Only consider, and see how he is seeking a quarrel with me.”
But when Eli′sha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had rent his clothes, he sent to the king, saying, “Why have you rent your clothes? Let him come now to me, that he may know that there is a prophet in Israel.”
But Na′aman was angry, and went away, saying, “Behold, I thought that he would surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the Lord his God, and wave his hand over the place, and cure the leper.
Are not Aba′na and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them, and be clean?” So he turned and went away in a rage.
But his servants came near and said to him, “My father, if the prophet had commanded you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much rather, then, when he says to you, ‘Wash, and be clean’?”
So he went down and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God; and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.
Then he returned to the man of God, he and all his company, and he came and stood before him; and he said, “Behold, I know that there is no God in all the earth but in Israel; so accept now a present from your servant.”
Then Na′aman said, “If not, I pray you, let there be given to your servant two mules’ burden of earth; for henceforth your servant will not offer burnt offering or sacrifice to any god but the Lord.
In this matter may the Lord pardon your servant: when my master goes into the house of Rimmon to worship there, leaning on my arm, and I bow myself in the house of Rimmon, when I bow myself in the house of Rimmon, the Lord pardon your servant in this matter.”
Geha′zi, the servant of Eli′sha the man of God, said, “See, my master has spared this Na′aman the Syrian, in not accepting from his hand what he brought. As the Lord lives, I will run after him, and get something from him.”
And he said, “All is well. My master has sent me to say, ‘There have just now come to me from the hill country of E′phraim two young men of the sons of the prophets; pray, give them a talent of silver and two festal garments.’”
And Na′aman said, “Be pleased to accept two talents.” And he urged him, and tied up two talents of silver in two bags, with two festal garments, and laid them upon two of his servants; and they carried them before Geha′zi.
But he said to him, “Did I not go with you in spirit when the man turned from his chariot to meet you? Was it a time to accept money and garments, olive orchards and vineyards, sheep and oxen, menservants and maidservants?
The Aramean Attack Is Thwarted Once when the king of Syria was warring against Israel, he took counsel with his servants, saying, “At such and such a place shall be my camp.”
And the king of Israel sent to the place of which the man of God told him. Thus he used to warn him, so that he saved himself there more than once or twice.
And the mind of the king of Syria was greatly troubled because of this thing; and he called his servants and said to them, “Will you not show me who of us is for the king of Israel?”
And one of his servants said, “None, my lord, O king; but Eli′sha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the words that you speak in your bedchamber.”
When the servant of the man of God rose early in the morning and went out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was round about the city. And the servant said, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?”
Then Eli′sha prayed, and said, “O Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes that he may see.” So the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw; and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Eli′sha.
And when the Syrians came down against him, Eli′sha prayed to the Lord, and said, “Strike this people, I pray thee, with blindness.” So he struck them with blindness in accordance with the prayer of Eli′sha.
And Eli′sha said to them, “This is not the way, and this is not the city; follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom you seek.” And he led them to Samar′ia.
As soon as they entered Samar′ia, Eli′sha said, “O Lord, open the eyes of these men, that they may see.” So the Lord opened their eyes, and they saw; and lo, they were in the midst of Samar′ia.
He answered, “You shall not slay them. Would you slay those whom you have taken captive with your sword and with your bow? Set bread and water before them, that they may eat and drink and go to their master.”
So he prepared for them a great feast; and when they had eaten and drunk, he sent them away, and they went to their master. And the Syrians came no more on raids into the land of Israel.
And there was a great famine in Samar′ia, as they besieged it, until an ass’s head was sold for eighty shekels of silver, and the fourth part of a kab of dove’s dung for five shekels of silver.
And the king asked her, “What is your trouble?” She answered, “This woman said to me, ‘Give your son, that we may eat him today, and we will eat my son tomorrow.’
When the king heard the words of the woman he rent his clothes—now he was passing by upon the wall—and the people looked, and behold, he had sackcloth beneath upon his body—
Eli′sha was sitting in his house, and the elders were sitting with him. Now the king had dispatched a man from his presence; but before the messenger arrived Eli′sha said to the elders, “Do you see how this murderer has sent to take off my head? Look, when the messenger comes, shut the door, and hold the door fast against him. Is not the sound of his master’s feet behind him?”
And while he was still speaking with them, the king came down to him and said, “This trouble is from the Lord! Why should I wait for the Lord any longer?”
7 But Eli′sha said, “Hear the word of the Lord: thus says the Lord, Tomorrow about this time a measure of fine meal shall be sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, at the gate of Samar′ia.”
Then the captain on whose hand the king leaned said to the man of God, “If the Lord himself should make windows in heaven, could this thing be?” But he said, “You shall see it with your own eyes, but you shall not eat of it.”
If we say, ‘Let us enter the city,’ the famine is in the city, and we shall die there; and if we sit here, we die also. So now come, let us go over to the camp of the Syrians; if they spare our lives we shall live, and if they kill us we shall but die.”
For the Lord had made the army of the Syrians hear the sound of chariots, and of horses, the sound of a great army, so that they said to one another, “Behold, the king of Israel has hired against us the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Egypt to come upon us.”
And when these lepers came to the edge of the camp, they went into a tent, and ate and drank, and they carried off silver and gold and clothing, and went and hid them; then they came back, and entered another tent, and carried off things from it, and went and hid them.
Then they said to one another, “We are not doing right. This day is a day of good news; if we are silent and wait until the morning light, punishment will overtake us; now therefore come, let us go and tell the king’s household.”
So they came and called to the gatekeepers of the city, and told them, “We came to the camp of the Syrians, and behold, there was no one to be seen or heard there, nothing but the horses tied, and the asses tied, and the tents as they were.”
And the king rose in the night, and said to his servants, “I will tell you what the Syrians have prepared against us. They know that we are hungry; therefore they have gone out of the camp to hide themselves in the open country, thinking, ‘When they come out of the city, we shall take them alive and get into the city.’”
And one of his servants said, “Let some men take five of the remaining horses, seeing that those who are left here will fare like the whole multitude of Israel that have already perished; let us send and see.”
So they went after them as far as the Jordan; and lo, all the way was littered with garments and equipment which the Syrians had thrown away in their haste. And the messengers returned, and told the king.
Then the people went out, and plundered the camp of the Syrians. So a measure of fine meal was sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, according to the word of the Lord.
Now the king had appointed the captain on whose hand he leaned to have charge of the gate; and the people trod upon him in the gate, so that he died, as the man of God had said when the king came down to him.
For when the man of God had said to the king, “Two measures of barley shall be sold for a shekel, and a measure of fine meal for a shekel, about this time tomorrow in the gate of Samar′ia,”
the captain had answered the man of God, “If the Lord himself should make windows in heaven, could such a thing be?” And he had said, “You shall see it with your own eyes, but you shall not eat of it.”
The Shunammite Woman’s Land Restored Now Eli′sha had said to the woman whose son he had restored to life, “Arise, and depart with your household, and sojourn wherever you can; for the Lord has called for a famine, and it will come upon the land for seven years.”
So the woman arose, and did according to the word of the man of God; she went with her household and sojourned in the land of the Philistines seven years.
And at the end of the seven years, when the woman returned from the land of the Philistines, she went forth to appeal to the king for her house and her land.
And while he was telling the king how Eli′sha had restored the dead to life, behold, the woman whose son he had restored to life appealed to the king for her house and her land. And Geha′zi said, “My lord, O king, here is the woman, and here is her son whom Eli′sha restored to life.”
And when the king asked the woman, she told him. So the king appointed an official for her, saying, “Restore all that was hers, together with all the produce of the fields from the day that she left the land until now.”
the king said to Haz′ael, “Take a present with you and go to meet the man of God, and inquire of the Lord through him, saying, ‘Shall I recover from this sickness?’”
So Haz′ael went to meet him, and took a present with him, all kinds of goods of Damascus, forty camel loads. When he came and stood before him, he said, “Your son Ben-ha′dad king of Syria has sent me to you, saying, ‘Shall I recover from this sickness?’”
And Haz′ael said, “Why does my lord weep?” He answered, “Because I know the evil that you will do to the people of Israel; you will set on fire their fortresses, and you will slay their young men with the sword, and dash in pieces their little ones, and rip up their women with child.”
And Haz′ael said, “What is your servant, who is but a dog, that he should do this great thing?” Eli′sha answered, “The Lord has shown me that you are to be king over Syria.”
Then he departed from Eli′sha, and came to his master, who said to him, “What did Eli′sha say to you?” And he answered, “He told me that you would certainly recover.”
And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, as the house of Ahab had done, for the daughter of Ahab was his wife. And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord.
Then Joram passed over to Za′ir with all his chariots, and rose by night, and he and his chariot commanders smote the E′domites who had surrounded him; but his army fled home.
Ahazi′ah was twenty-two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Athali′ah; she was a granddaughter of Omri king of Israel.
He also walked in the way of the house of Ahab, and did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, as the house of Ahab had done, for he was son-in-law to the house of Ahab.
And King Joram returned to be healed in Jezre′el of the wounds which the Syrians had given him at Ramah, when he fought against Haz′ael king of Syria. And Ahazi′ah the son of Jehor′am king of Judah went down to see Joram the son of Ahab in Jezre′el, because he was sick.
Anointing of Jehu Then Eli′sha the prophet called one of the sons of the prophets and said to him, “Gird up your loins, and take this flask of oil in your hand, and go to Ra′moth-gil′ead.
And when you arrive, look there for Jehu the son of Jehosh′aphat, son of Nimshi; and go in and bid him rise from among his fellows, and lead him to an inner chamber.
Then take the flask of oil, and pour it on his head, and say, ‘Thus says the Lord, I anoint you king over Israel.’ Then open the door and flee; do not tarry.”
And when he came, behold, the commanders of the army were in council; and he said, “I have an errand to you, O commander.” And Jehu said, “To which of us all?” And he said, “To you, O commander.”
So he arose, and went into the house; and the young man poured the oil on his head, saying to him, “Thus says the Lord the God of Israel, I anoint you king over the people of the Lord, over Israel.
And you shall strike down the house of Ahab your master, that I may avenge on Jez′ebel the blood of my servants the prophets, and the blood of all the servants of the Lord.
When Jehu came out to the servants of his master, they said to him, “Is all well? Why did this mad fellow come to you?” And he said to them, “You know the fellow and his talk.”
And they said, “That is not true; tell us now.” And he said, “Thus and so he spoke to me, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord, I anoint you king over Israel.’”
Joram of Israel Killed Thus Jehu the son of Jehosh′aphat the son of Nimshi conspired against Joram. (Now Joram with all Israel had been on guard at Ra′moth-gil′ead against Haz′ael king of Syria;
but King Joram had returned to be healed in Jezre′el of the wounds which the Syrians had given him, when he fought with Haz′ael king of Syria.) So Jehu said, “If this is your mind, then let no one slip out of the city to go and tell the news in Jezre′el.”
Now the watchman was standing on the tower in Jezre′el, and he spied the company of Jehu as he came, and said, “I see a company.” And Joram said, “Take a horseman, and send to meet them, and let him say, ‘Is it peace?’”
So a man on horseback went to meet him, and said, “Thus says the king, ‘Is it peace?’” And Jehu said, “What have you to do with peace? Turn round and ride behind me.” And the watchman reported, saying, “The messenger reached them, but he is not coming back.”
Then he sent out a second horseman, who came to them, and said, “Thus the king has said, ‘Is it peace?’” And Jehu answered, “What have you to do with peace? Turn round and ride behind me.”
Again the watchman reported, “He reached them, but he is not coming back. And the driving is like the driving of Jehu the son of Nimshi; for he drives furiously.”
Joram said, “Make ready.” And they made ready his chariot. Then Joram king of Israel and Ahazi′ah king of Judah set out, each in his chariot, and went to meet Jehu, and met him at the property of Naboth the Jezre′elite.
And when Joram saw Jehu, he said, “Is it peace, Jehu?” He answered, “What peace can there be, so long as the harlotries and the sorceries of your mother Jez′ebel are so many?”
Jehu said to Bidkar his aide, “Take him up, and cast him on the plot of ground belonging to Naboth the Jezre′elite; for remember, when you and I rode side by side behind Ahab his father, how the Lord uttered this oracle against him:
‘As surely as I saw yesterday the blood of Naboth and the blood of his sons—says the Lord—I will requite you on this plot of ground.’ Now therefore take him up and cast him on the plot of ground, in accordance with the word of the Lord.”
Ahaziah of Judah Killed When Ahazi′ah the king of Judah saw this, he fled in the direction of Beth-haggan. And Jehu pursued him, and said, “Shoot him also”; and they shot him in the chariot at the ascent of Gur, which is by Ibleam. And he fled to Megid′do, and died there.
Jezebel’s Violent Death When Jehu came to Jezre′el, Jez′ebel heard of it; and she painted her eyes, and adorned her head, and looked out of the window.
When they came back and told him, he said, “This is the word of the Lord, which he spoke by his servant Eli′jah the Tishbite, ‘In the territory of Jezre′el the dogs shall eat the flesh of Jez′ebel;
Massacre of Ahab’s Descendants Now Ahab had seventy sons in Samar′ia. So Jehu wrote letters, and sent them to Samar′ia, to the rulers of the city, to the elders, and to the guardians of the sons of Ahab, saying,
“Now then, as soon as this letter comes to you, seeing your master’s sons are with you, and there are with you chariots and horses, fortified cities also, and weapons,
So he who was over the palace, and he who was over the city, together with the elders and the guardians, sent to Jehu, saying, “We are your servants, and we will do all that you bid us. We will not make any one king; do whatever is good in your eyes.”
Then he wrote to them a second letter, saying, “If you are on my side, and if you are ready to obey me, take the heads of your master’s sons, and come to me at Jezre′el tomorrow at this time.” Now the king’s sons, seventy persons, were with the great men of the city, who were bringing them up.
And when the letter came to them, they took the king’s sons, and slew them, seventy persons, and put their heads in baskets, and sent them to him at Jezre′el.
When the messenger came and told him, “They have brought the heads of the king’s sons,” he said, “Lay them in two heaps at the entrance of the gate until the morning.”
Then in the morning, when he went out, he stood, and said to all the people, “You are innocent. It was I who conspired against my master, and slew him; but who struck down all these?
Know then that there shall fall to the earth nothing of the word of the Lord, which the Lord spoke concerning the house of Ahab; for the Lord has done what he said by his servant Eli′jah.”
So Jehu slew all that remained of the house of Ahab in Jezre′el, all his great men, and his familiar friends, and his priests, until he left him none remaining.
Jehu met the kinsmen of Ahazi′ah king of Judah, and he said, “Who are you?” And they answered, “We are the kinsmen of Ahazi′ah, and we came down to visit the royal princes and the sons of the queen mother.”
And when he departed from there, he met Jehon′adab the son of Rechab coming to meet him; and he greeted him, and said to him, “Is your heart true to my heart as mine is to yours?” And Jehon′adab answered, “It is.” Jehu said, “If it is, give me your hand.” So he gave him his hand. And Jehu took him up with him into the chariot.
And when he came to Samar′ia, he slew all that remained to Ahab in Samar′ia, till he had wiped them out, according to the word of the Lord which he spoke to Eli′jah.
Now therefore call to me all the prophets of Ba′al, all his worshipers and all his priests; let none be missing, for I have a great sacrifice to offer to Ba′al; whoever is missing shall not live.” But Jehu did it with cunning in order to destroy the worshipers of Ba′al.
And Jehu sent throughout all Israel; and all the worshipers of Ba′al came, so that there was not a man left who did not come. And they entered the house of Ba′al, and the house of Ba′al was filled from one end to the other.
Then Jehu went into the house of Ba′al with Jehon′adab the son of Rechab; and he said to the worshipers of Ba′al, “Search, and see that there is no servant of the Lord here among you, but only the worshipers of Ba′al.”
Then he went in to offer sacrifices and burnt offerings. Now Jehu had stationed eighty men outside, and said, “The man who allows any of those whom I give into your hands to escape shall forfeit his life.”
So as soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt offering, Jehu said to the guard and to the officers, “Go in and slay them; let not a man escape.” So when they put them to the sword, the guard and the officers cast them out and went into the inner room of the house of Ba′al
But Jehu did not turn aside from the sins of Jerobo′am the son of Nebat, which he made Israel to sin, the golden calves that were in Bethel, and in Dan.
And the Lord said to Jehu, “Because you have done well in carrying out what is right in my eyes, and have done to the house of Ahab according to all that was in my heart, your sons of the fourth generation shall sit on the throne of Israel.”
But Jehu was not careful to walk in the law of the Lord the God of Israel with all his heart; he did not turn from the sins of Jerobo′am, which he made Israel to sin.
from the Jordan eastward, all the land of Gilead, the Gadites, and the Reubenites, and the Manas′sites, from Aro′er, which is by the valley of the Arnon, that is, Gilead and Bashan.
But Jehosh′eba, the daughter of King Joram, sister of Ahazi′ah, took Jo′ash the son of Ahazi′ah, and stole him away from among the king’s sons who were about to be slain, and she put him and his nurse in a bedchamber. Thus she hid him from Athali′ah, so that he was not slain;
Jehoiada Anoints the Child Joash But in the seventh year Jehoi′ada sent and brought the captains of the Carites and of the guards, and had them come to him in the house of the Lord; and he made a covenant with them and put them under oath in the house of the Lord, and he showed them the king’s son.
shall surround the king, each with his weapons in his hand; and whoever approaches the ranks is to be slain. Be with the king when he goes out and when he comes in.”
The captains did according to all that Jehoi′ada the priest commanded, and each brought his men who were to go off duty on the sabbath, with those who were to come on duty on the sabbath, and came to Jehoi′ada the priest.
and the guards stood, every man with his weapons in his hand, from the south side of the house to the north side of the house, around the altar and the house.
Then he brought out the king’s son, and put the crown upon him, and gave him the testimony; and they proclaimed him king, and anointed him; and they clapped their hands, and said, “Long live the king!”
and when she looked, there was the king standing by the pillar, according to the custom, and the captains and the trumpeters beside the king, and all the people of the land rejoicing and blowing trumpets. And Athali′ah rent her clothes, and cried, “Treason! Treason!”
Then Jehoi′ada the priest commanded the captains who were set over the army, “Bring her out between the ranks; and slay with the sword any one who follows her.” For the priest said, “Let her not be slain in the house of the Lord.”
And Jehoi′ada made a covenant between the Lord and the king and people, that they should be the Lord’s people; and also between the king and the people.
Then all the people of the land went to the house of Ba′al, and tore it down; his altars and his images they broke in pieces, and they slew Mattan the priest of Ba′al before the altars. And the priest posted watchmen over the house of the Lord.
And he took the captains, the Carites, the guards, and all the people of the land; and they brought the king down from the house of the Lord, marching through the gate of the guards to the king’s house. And he took his seat on the throne of the kings.
The Temple Repaired In the seventh year of Jehu Jeho′ash began to reign, and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Zib′iah of Beer-sheba.
Jeho′ash said to the priests, “All the money of the holy things which is brought into the house of the Lord, the money for which each man is assessed—the money from the assessment of persons—and the money which a man’s heart prompts him to bring into the house of the Lord,
Therefore King Jeho′ash summoned Jehoi′ada the priest and the other priests and said to them, “Why are you not repairing the house? Now therefore take no more money from your acquaintances, but hand it over for the repair of the house.”
Then Jehoi′ada the priest took a chest, and bored a hole in the lid of it, and set it beside the altar on the right side as one entered the house of the Lord; and the priests who guarded the threshold put in it all the money that was brought into the house of the Lord.
And whenever they saw that there was much money in the chest, the king’s secretary and the high priest came up and they counted and tied up in bags the money that was found in the house of the Lord.
Then they would give the money that was weighed out into the hands of the workmen who had the oversight of the house of the Lord; and they paid it out to the carpenters and the builders who worked upon the house of the Lord,
and to the masons and the stonecutters, as well as to buy timber and quarried stone for making repairs on the house of the Lord, and for any outlay upon the repairs of the house.
But there were not made for the house of the Lord basins of silver, snuffers, bowls, trumpets, or any vessels of gold, or of silver, from the money that was brought into the house of the Lord,
Hazael Threatens Jerusalem At that time Haz′ael king of Syria went up and fought against Gath, and took it. But when Haz′ael set his face to go up against Jerusalem,
Jeho′ash king of Judah took all the votive gifts that Jehosh′aphat and Jehor′am and Ahazi′ah, his fathers, the kings of Judah, had dedicated, and his own votive gifts, and all the gold that was found in the treasuries of the house of the Lord and of the king’s house, and sent these to Haz′ael king of Syria. Then Haz′ael went away from Jerusalem.
It was Jo′zacar the son of Shim′eath and Jeho′zabad the son of Shomer, his servants, who struck him down, so that he died. And they buried him with his fathers in the city of David, and Amazi′ah his son reigned in his stead.
Jehoahaz Reigns over Israel In the twenty-third year of Jo′ash the son of Ahazi′ah, king of Judah, Jeho′ahaz the son of Jehu began to reign over Israel in Samar′ia, and he reigned seventeen years.
He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and followed the sins of Jerobo′am the son of Nebat, which he made Israel to sin; he did not depart from them.
And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he gave them continually into the hand of Haz′ael king of Syria and into the hand of Ben-ha′dad the son of Haz′ael.
(Therefore the Lord gave Israel a savior, so that they escaped from the hand of the Syrians; and the people of Israel dwelt in their homes as formerly.
Nevertheless they did not depart from the sins of the house of Jerobo′am, which he made Israel to sin, but walked in them; and the Ashe′rah also remained in Samar′ia.)
For there was not left to Jeho′ahaz an army of more than fifty horsemen and ten chariots and ten thousand footmen; for the king of Syria had destroyed them and made them like the dust at threshing.
Jehoash Reigns over Israel In the thirty-seventh year of Jo′ash king of Judah Jeho′ash the son of Jeho′ahaz began to reign over Israel in Samar′ia, and he reigned sixteen years.
He also did what was evil in the sight of the Lord; he did not depart from all the sins of Jerobo′am the son of Nebat, which he made Israel to sin, but he walked in them.
Now the rest of the acts of Jo′ash, and all that he did, and the might with which he fought against Amazi′ah king of Judah, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?
Death of Elisha Now when Eli′sha had fallen sick with the illness of which he was to die, Jo′ash king of Israel went down to him, and wept before him, crying, “My father, my father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!”
And he said, “Open the window eastward”; and he opened it. Then Eli′sha said, “Shoot”; and he shot. And he said, “The Lord’s arrow of victory, the arrow of victory over Syria! For you shall fight the Syrians in Aphek until you have made an end of them.”
And he said, “Take the arrows”; and he took them. And he said to the king of Israel, “Strike the ground with them”; and he struck three times, and stopped.
Then the man of God was angry with him, and said, “You should have struck five or six times; then you would have struck down Syria until you had made an end of it, but now you will strike down Syria only three times.”
And as a man was being buried, lo, a marauding band was seen and the man was cast into the grave of Eli′sha; and as soon as the man touched the bones of Eli′sha, he revived, and stood on his feet.
But the Lord was gracious to them and had compassion on them, and he turned toward them, because of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and would not destroy them; nor has he cast them from his presence until now.
Then Jeho′ash the son of Jeho′ahaz took again from Ben-ha′dad the son of Haz′ael the cities which he had taken from Jeho′ahaz his father in war. Three times Jo′ash defeated him and recovered the cities of Israel.
But he did not put to death the children of the murderers; according to what is written in the book of the law of Moses, where the Lord commanded, “The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, or the children be put to death for the fathers; but every man shall die for his own sin.”
And Jeho′ash king of Israel sent word to Amazi′ah king of Judah, “A thistle on Lebanon sent to a cedar on Lebanon, saying, ‘Give your daughter to my son for a wife’; and a wild beast of Lebanon passed by and trampled down the thistle.
You have indeed smitten Edom, and your heart has lifted you up. Be content with your glory, and stay at home; for why should you provoke trouble so that you fall, you and Judah with you?”
But Amazi′ah would not listen. So Jeho′ash king of Israel went up, and he and Amazi′ah king of Judah faced one another in battle at Beth-she′mesh, which belongs to Judah.
And Jeho′ash king of Israel captured Amazi′ah king of Judah, the son of Jeho′ash, son of Ahazi′ah, at Beth-she′mesh, and came to Jerusalem, and broke down the wall of Jerusalem for four hundred cubits, from the E′phraim Gate to the Corner Gate.
And he seized all the gold and silver, and all the vessels that were found in the house of the Lord and in the treasuries of the king’s house, also hostages, and he returned to Samar′ia.
Now the rest of the acts of Jeho′ash which he did, and his might, and how he fought with Amazi′ah king of Judah, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?
Jeroboam II Reigns over Israel In the fifteenth year of Amazi′ah the son of Jo′ash, king of Judah, Jerobo′am the son of Jo′ash, king of Israel, began to reign in Samar′ia, and he reigned forty-one years.
He restored the border of Israel from the entrance of Hamath as far as the Sea of the Arabah, according to the word of the Lord, the God of Israel, which he spoke by his servant Jonah the son of Amit′tai, the prophet, who was from Gath-he′pher.
Now the rest of the acts of Jerobo′am, and all that he did, and his might, how he fought, and how he recovered for Israel Damascus and Hamath, which had belonged to Judah, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?
And the Lord smote the king, so that he was a leper to the day of his death, and he dwelt in a separate house. And Jotham the king’s son was over the household, governing the people of the land.
Zechariah Reigns over Israel In the thirty-eighth year of Azari′ah king of Judah Zechari′ah the son of Jerobo′am reigned over Israel in Samar′ia six months.
And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, as his fathers had done. He did not depart from the sins of Jerobo′am the son of Nebat, which he made Israel to sin.
(This was the promise of the Lord which he gave to Jehu, “Your sons shall sit upon the throne of Israel to the fourth generation.” And so it came to pass.)
Shallum Reigns over Israel Shallum the son of Jabesh began to reign in the thirty-ninth year of Uzzi′ah king of Judah, and he reigned one month in Samar′ia.
Then Men′ahem the son of Gadi came up from Tirzah and came to Samar′ia, and he struck down Shallum the son of Jabesh in Samar′ia and slew him, and reigned in his stead.
At that time Men′ahem sacked Tap′pu-ah and all who were in it and its territory from Tirzah on; because they did not open it to him, therefore he sacked it, and he ripped up all the women in it who were with child.
Menahem Reigns over Israel In the thirty-ninth year of Azari′ah king of Judah Men′ahem the son of Gadi began to reign over Israel, and he reigned ten years in Samar′ia.
And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord; he did not depart all his days from all the sins of Jerobo′am the son of Nebat, which he made Israel to sin.
Pul the king of Assyria came against the land; and Men′ahem gave Pul a thousand talents of silver, that he might help him to confirm his hold of the royal power.
Men′ahem exacted the money from Israel, that is, from all the wealthy men, fifty shekels of silver from every man, to give to the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria turned back, and did not stay there in the land.
Pekahiah Reigns over Israel In the fiftieth year of Azari′ah king of Judah Pekahi′ah the son of Men′ahem began to reign over Israel in Samar′ia, and he reigned two years.
And Pekah the son of Remali′ah, his captain, conspired against him with fifty men of the Gileadites, and slew him in Samar′ia, in the citadel of the king’s house; he slew him, and reigned in his stead.
Pekah Reigns over Israel In the fifty-second year of Azari′ah king of Judah Pekah the son of Remali′ah began to reign over Israel in Samar′ia, and he reigned twenty years.
In the days of Pekah king of Israel Tig′lath-pile′ser king of Assyria came and captured I′jon, A′bel-beth-ma′acah, Jan-o′ah, Kedesh, Hazor, Gilead, and Galilee, all the land of Naph′tali; and he carried the people captive to Assyria.
Then Hoshe′a the son of Elah made a conspiracy against Pekah the son of Remali′ah, and struck him down, and slew him, and reigned in his stead, in the twentieth year of Jotham the son of Uzzi′ah.
Nevertheless the high places were not removed; the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places. He built the upper gate of the house of the Lord.
Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. And he did not do what was right in the eyes of the Lord his God, as his father David had done,
but he walked in the way of the kings of Israel. He even burned his son as an offering, according to the abominable practices of the nations whom the Lord drove out before the people of Israel.
Then Rezin king of Syria and Pekah the son of Remali′ah, king of Israel, came up to wage war on Jerusalem, and they besieged Ahaz but could not conquer him.
At that time the king of Edom recovered Elath for Edom, and drove the men of Judah from Elath; and the E′domites came to Elath, where they dwell to this day.
So Ahaz sent messengers to Tig′lath-pile′ser king of Assyria, saying, “I am your servant and your son. Come up, and rescue me from the hand of the king of Syria and from the hand of the king of Israel, who are attacking me.”
Ahaz also took the silver and gold that was found in the house of the Lord and in the treasures of the king’s house, and sent a present to the king of Assyria.
And the king of Assyria hearkened to him; the king of Assyria marched up against Damascus, and took it, carrying its people captive to Kir, and he killed Rezin.
When King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tig′lath-pile′ser king of Assyria, he saw the altar that was at Damascus. And King Ahaz sent to Uri′ah the priest a model of the altar, and its pattern, exact in all its details.
And Uri′ah the priest built the altar; in accordance with all that King Ahaz had sent from Damascus, so Uri′ah the priest made it, before King Ahaz arrived from Damascus.
And the bronze altar which was before the Lord he removed from the front of the house, from the place between his altar and the house of the Lord, and put it on the north side of his altar.
And King Ahaz commanded Uri′ah the priest, saying, “Upon the great altar burn the morning burnt offering, and the evening cereal offering, and the king’s burnt offering, and his cereal offering, with the burnt offering of all the people of the land, and their cereal offering, and their drink offering; and throw upon it all the blood of the burnt offering, and all the blood of the sacrifice; but the bronze altar shall be for me to inquire by.”
And King Ahaz cut off the frames of the stands, and removed the laver from them, and he took down the sea from off the bronze oxen that were under it, and put it upon a pediment of stone.
And the covered way for the sabbath which had been built inside the palace, and the outer entrance for the king he removed from the house of the Lord, because of the king of Assyria.
Hoshea Reigns over Israel; Israel Carried Captive to Assyria In the twelfth year of Ahaz king of Judah Hoshe′a the son of Elah began to reign in Samar′ia over Israel, and he reigned nine years.
But the king of Assyria found treachery in Hoshe′a; for he had sent messengers to So, king of Egypt, and offered no tribute to the king of Assyria, as he had done year by year; therefore the king of Assyria shut him up, and bound him in prison.
In the ninth year of Hoshe′a the king of Assyria captured Samar′ia, and he carried the Israelites away to Assyria, and placed them in Halah, and on the Habor, the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes.
And this was so, because the people of Israel had sinned against the Lord their God, who had brought them up out of the land of Egypt from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and had feared other gods
and walked in the customs of the nations whom the Lord drove out before the people of Israel, and in the customs which the kings of Israel had introduced.
And the people of Israel did secretly against the Lord their God things that were not right. They built for themselves high places at all their towns, from watchtower to fortified city;
and there they burned incense on all the high places, as the nations did whom the Lord carried away before them. And they did wicked things, provoking the Lord to anger,
Yet the Lord warned Israel and Judah by every prophet and every seer, saying, “Turn from your evil ways and keep my commandments and my statutes, in accordance with all the law which I commanded your fathers, and which I sent to you by my servants the prophets.”
They despised his statutes, and his covenant that he made with their fathers, and the warnings which he gave them. They went after false idols, and became false, and they followed the nations that were round about them, concerning whom the Lord had commanded them that they should not do like them.
And they forsook all the commandments of the Lord their God, and made for themselves molten images of two calves; and they made an Ashe′rah, and worshiped all the host of heaven, and served Ba′al.
And they burned their sons and their daughters as offerings, and used divination and sorcery, and sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking him to anger.
And the Lord rejected all the descendants of Israel, and afflicted them, and gave them into the hand of spoilers, until he had cast them out of his sight.
When he had torn Israel from the house of David they made Jerobo′am the son of Nebat king. And Jerobo′am drove Israel from following the Lord and made them commit great sin.
until the Lord removed Israel out of his sight, as he had spoken by all his servants the prophets. So Israel was exiled from their own land to Assyria until this day.
Assyria Resettles Samaria And the king of Assyria brought people from Babylon, Cuthah, Avva, Hamath, and Sepharva′im, and placed them in the cities of Samar′ia instead of the people of Israel; and they took possession of Samar′ia, and dwelt in its cities.
So the king of Assyria was told, “The nations which you have carried away and placed in the cities of Samar′ia do not know the law of the god of the land; therefore he has sent lions among them, and behold, they are killing them, because they do not know the law of the god of the land.”
Then the king of Assyria commanded, “Send there one of the priests whom you carried away thence; and let him go and dwell there, and teach them the law of the god of the land.”
But every nation still made gods of its own, and put them in the shrines of the high places which the Samaritans had made, every nation in the cities in which they dwelt;
and the Av′vites made Nibhaz and Tartak; and the Sephar′vites burned their children in the fire to Adram′melech and Anam′melech, the gods of Sepharva′im.
They also feared the Lord, and appointed from among themselves all sorts of people as priests of the high places, who sacrificed for them in the shrines of the high places.
To this day they do according to the former manner. They do not fear the Lord, and they do not follow the statutes or the ordinances or the law or the commandment which the Lord commanded the children of Jacob, whom he named Israel.
but you shall fear the Lord, who brought you out of the land of Egypt with great power and with an outstretched arm; you shall bow yourselves to him, and to him you shall sacrifice.
And the statutes and the ordinances and the law and the commandment which he wrote for you, you shall always be careful to do. You shall not fear other gods,
So these nations feared the Lord, and also served their graven images; their children likewise, and their children’s children—as their fathers did, so they do to this day.
He was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Abi the daughter of Zechari′ah.
He removed the high places, and broke the pillars, and cut down the Ashe′rah. And he broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for until those days the people of Israel had burned incense to it; it was called Nehush′tan.
In the fourth year of King Hezeki′ah, which was the seventh year of Hoshe′a son of Elah, king of Israel, Shalmane′ser king of Assyria came up against Samar′ia and besieged it
The king of Assyria carried the Israelites away to Assyria, and put them in Halah, and on the Habor, the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes,
because they did not obey the voice of the Lord their God but transgressed his covenant, even all that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded; they neither listened nor obeyed.
Sennacherib Invades Judah In the fourteenth year of King Hezeki′ah Sennach′erib king of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah and took them.
And Hezeki′ah king of Judah sent to the king of Assyria at Lachish, saying, “I have done wrong; withdraw from me; whatever you impose on me I will bear.” And the king of Assyria required of Hezeki′ah king of Judah three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold.
At that time Hezeki′ah stripped the gold from the doors of the temple of the Lord, and from the doorposts which Hezeki′ah king of Judah had overlaid and gave it to the king of Assyria.
And the king of Assyria sent the Tartan, the Rab′saris, and the Rab′shakeh with a great army from Lachish to King Hezeki′ah at Jerusalem. And they went up and came to Jerusalem. When they arrived, they came and stood by the conduit of the upper pool, which is on the highway to the Fuller’s Field.
And when they called for the king, there came out to them Eli′akim the son of Hilki′ah, who was over the household, and Shebnah the secretary, and Jo′ah the son of Asaph, the recorder.
Behold, you are relying now on Egypt, that broken reed of a staff, which will pierce the hand of any man who leans on it. Such is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who rely on him.
But if you say to me, “We rely on the Lord our God,” is it not he whose high places and altars Hezeki′ah has removed, saying to Judah and to Jerusalem, “You shall worship before this altar in Jerusalem”?
Then Eli′akim the son of Hilki′ah, and Shebnah, and Jo′ah, said to the Rab′shakeh, “Pray, speak to your servants in the Aramaic language, for we understand it; do not speak to us in the language of Judah within the hearing of the people who are on the wall.”
But the Rab′shakeh said to them, “Has my master sent me to speak these words to your master and to you, and not to the men sitting on the wall, who are doomed with you to eat their own dung and to drink their own urine?”
Do not let Hezeki′ah make you to rely on the Lord by saying, The Lord will surely deliver us, and this city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.’
Do not listen to Hezeki′ah; for thus says the king of Assyria: ‘Make your peace with me and come out to me; then every one of you will eat of his own vine, and every one of his own fig tree, and every one of you will drink the water of his own cistern;
until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of grain and wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olive trees and honey, that you may live, and not die. And do not listen to Hezeki′ah when he misleads you by saying, The Lord will deliver us.
Then Eli′akim the son of Hilki′ah, who was over the household, and Shebna the secretary, and Jo′ah the son of Asaph, the recorder, came to Hezeki′ah with their clothes rent, and told him the words of the Rab′shakeh.
And he sent Eli′akim, who was over the household, and Shebna the secretary, and the senior priests, covered with sackcloth, to the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz.
They said to him, “Thus says Hezeki′ah, This day is a day of distress, of rebuke, and of disgrace; children have come to the birth, and there is no strength to bring them forth.
It may be that the Lord your God heard all the words of the Rab′shakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria has sent to mock the living God, and will rebuke the words which the Lord your God has heard; therefore lift up your prayer for the remnant that is left.”
Isaiah said to them, “Say to your master, ‘Thus says the Lord: Do not be afraid because of the words that you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have reviled me.
Behold, I will put a spirit in him, so that he shall hear a rumor and return to his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land.’”
And when the king heard concerning Tirha′kah king of Ethiopia, “Behold, he has set out to fight against you,” he sent messengers again to Hezeki′ah, saying,
“Thus shall you speak to Hezeki′ah king of Judah: ‘Do not let your God on whom you rely deceive you by promising that Jerusalem will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.
Have the gods of the nations delivered them, the nations which my fathers destroyed, Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the people of Eden who were in Tel-assar?
Hezekiah’s Prayer Hezeki′ah received the letter from the hand of the messengers, and read it; and Hezeki′ah went up to the house of the Lord, and spread it before the Lord.
And Hezeki′ah prayed before the Lord, and said: “O Lord the God of Israel, who art enthroned above the cherubim, thou art the God, thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; thou hast made heaven and earth.
Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezeki′ah, saying, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Your prayer to me about Sennach′erib king of Assyria I have heard.
This is the word that the Lord has spoken concerning him: “She despises you, she scorns you— the virgin daughter of Zion; she wags her head behind you— the daughter of Jerusalem.
By your messengers you have mocked the Lord, and you have said, ‘With my many chariots I have gone up the heights of the mountains, to the far recesses of Lebanon; I felled its tallest cedars, its choicest cypresses; I entered its farthest retreat, its densest forest.
“Have you not heard that I determined it long ago? I planned from days of old what now I bring to pass, that you should turn fortified cities into heaps of ruins,
while their inhabitants, shorn of strength, are dismayed and confounded, and have become like plants of the field, and like tender grass, like grass on the housetops; blighted before it is grown?
Because you have raged against me and your arrogance has come into my ears, I will put my hook in your nose and my bit in your mouth, and I will turn you back on the way by which you came.
“And this shall be the sign for you: this year you shall eat what grows of itself, and in the second year what springs of the same; then in the third year sow, and reap, and plant vineyards, and eat their fruit.
“Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the king of Assyria, He shall not come into this city or shoot an arrow there, or come before it with a shield or cast up a siege mound against it.
Sennacherib’s Defeat and Death And that night the angel of the Lord went forth, and slew a hundred and eighty-five thousand in the camp of the Assyrians; and when men arose early in the morning, behold, these were all dead bodies.
And as he was worshiping in the house of Nisroch his god, Adram′melech and Share′zer, his sons, slew him with the sword, and escaped into the land of Ar′arat. And Esarhad′don his son reigned in his stead.
Hezekiah’s Illness In those days Hezeki′ah became sick and was at the point of death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came to him, and said to him, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Set your house in order; for you shall die, you shall not recover.’”
“Remember now, O Lord, I beseech thee, how I have walked before thee in faithfulness and with a whole heart, and have done what is good in thy sight.” And Hezeki′ah wept bitterly.
“Turn back, and say to Hezeki′ah the prince of my people, Thus says the Lord, the God of David your father: I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; behold, I will heal you; on the third day you shall go up to the house of the Lord.
And I will add fifteen years to your life. I will deliver you and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria, and I will defend this city for my own sake and for my servant David’s sake.”
And Isaiah said, “This is the sign to you from the Lord, that the Lord will do the thing that he has promised: shall the shadow go forward ten steps, or go back ten steps?”
Envoys from Babylon At that time Mero′dach-bal′adan the son of Bal′adan, king of Babylon, sent envoys with letters and a present to Hezeki′ah; for he heard that Hezeki′ah had been sick.
And Hezeki′ah welcomed them, and he showed them all his treasure house, the silver, the gold, the spices, the precious oil, his armory, all that was found in his storehouses; there was nothing in his house or in all his realm that Hezeki′ah did not show them.
Then Isaiah the prophet came to King Hezeki′ah, and said to him, “What did these men say? And whence did they come to you?” And Hezeki′ah said, “They have come from a far country, from Babylon.”
He said, “What have they seen in your house?” And Hezeki′ah answered, “They have seen all that is in my house; there is nothing in my storehouses that I did not show them.”
Behold, the days are coming, when all that is in your house, and that which your fathers have stored up till this day, shall be carried to Babylon; nothing shall be left, says the Lord.
Then said Hezeki′ah to Isaiah, “The word of the Lord which you have spoken is good.” For he thought, “Why not, if there will be peace and security in my days?”
Death of Hezekiah The rest of the deeds of Hezeki′ah, and all his might, and how he made the pool and the conduit and brought water into the city, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?
Manasseh Reigns over Judah Manas′seh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Heph′zibah.
And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to the abominable practices of the nations whom the Lord drove out before the people of Israel.
For he rebuilt the high places which Hezeki′ah his father had destroyed; and he erected altars for Ba′al, and made an Ashe′rah, as Ahab king of Israel had done, and worshiped all the host of heaven, and served them.
And he burned his son as an offering, and practiced soothsaying and augury, and dealt with mediums and with wizards. He did much evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking him to anger.
And the graven image of Ashe′rah that he had made he set in the house of which the Lord said to David and to Solomon his son, “In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put my name for ever;
and I will not cause the feet of Israel to wander any more out of the land which I gave to their fathers, if only they will be careful to do according to all that I have commanded them, and according to all the law that my servant Moses commanded them.”
“Because Manas′seh king of Judah has committed these abominations, and has done things more wicked than all that the Amorites did, who were before him, and has made Judah also to sin with his idols;
therefore thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, Behold, I am bringing upon Jerusalem and Judah such evil that the ears of every one who hears of it will tingle.
And I will stretch over Jerusalem the measuring line of Samar′ia, and the plummet of the house of Ahab; and I will wipe Jerusalem as one wipes a dish, wiping it and turning it upside down.
And I will cast off the remnant of my heritage, and give them into the hand of their enemies, and they shall become a prey and a spoil to all their enemies,
Moreover Manas′seh shed very much innocent blood, till he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another, besides the sin which he made Judah to sin so that they did what was evil in the sight of the Lord.
Now the rest of the acts of Manas′seh, and all that he did, and the sin that he committed, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?
Amon Reigns over Judah Amon was twenty-two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned two years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Meshul′lemeth the daughter of Haruz of Jotbah.
Josiah Reigns over Judah Josi′ah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jedi′dah the daughter of Adai′ah of Bozkath.
And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, and walked in all the way of David his father, and he did not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.
Hilkiah Finds the Book of the Law In the eighteenth year of King Josi′ah, the king sent Shaphan the son of Azali′ah, son of Meshul′lam, the secretary, to the house of the Lord, saying,
“Go up to Hilki′ah the high priest, that he may reckon the amount of the money which has been brought into the house of the Lord, which the keepers of the threshold have collected from the people;
and let it be given into the hand of the workmen who have the oversight of the house of the Lord; and let them give it to the workmen who are at the house of the Lord, repairing the house,
And Hilki′ah the high priest said to Shaphan the secretary, “I have found the book of the law in the house of the Lord.” And Hilki′ah gave the book to Shaphan, and he read it.
And Shaphan the secretary came to the king, and reported to the king, “Your servants have emptied out the money that was found in the house, and have delivered it into the hand of the workmen who have the oversight of the house of the Lord.”
And the king commanded Hilki′ah the priest, and Ahi′kam the son of Shaphan, and Achbor the son of Micai′ah, and Shaphan the secretary, and Asai′ah the king’s servant, saying,
“Go, inquire of the Lord for me, and for the people, and for all Judah, concerning the words of this book that has been found; for great is the wrath of the Lord that is kindled against us, because our fathers have not obeyed the words of this book, to do according to all that is written concerning us.”
So Hilki′ah the priest, and Ahi′kam, and Achbor, and Shaphan, and Asai′ah went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tikvah, son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe (now she dwelt in Jerusalem in the Second Quarter); and they talked with her.
Because they have forsaken me and have burned incense to other gods, that they might provoke me to anger with all the work of their hands, therefore my wrath will be kindled against this place, and it will not be quenched.
But as to the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the Lord, thus shall you say to him, Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Regarding the words which you have heard,
because your heart was penitent, and you humbled yourself before the Lord, when you heard how I spoke against this place, and against its inhabitants, that they should become a desolation and a curse, and you have rent your clothes and wept before me, I also have heard you, says the Lord.
Therefore, behold, I will gather you to your fathers, and you shall be gathered to your grave in peace, and your eyes shall not see all the evil which I will bring upon this place.’” And they brought back word to the king.
And the king went up to the house of the Lord, and with him all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the priests and the prophets, all the people, both small and great; and he read in their hearing all the words of the book of the covenant which had been found in the house of the Lord.
And the king stood by the pillar and made a covenant before the Lord, to walk after the Lord and to keep his commandments and his testimonies and his statutes, with all his heart and all his soul, to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book; and all the people joined in the covenant.
And the king commanded Hilki′ah, the high priest, and the priests of the second order, and the keepers of the threshold, to bring out of the temple of the Lord all the vessels made for Ba′al, for Ashe′rah, and for all the host of heaven; he burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron, and carried their ashes to Bethel.
And he deposed the idolatrous priests whom the kings of Judah had ordained to burn incense in the high places at the cities of Judah and round about Jerusalem; those also who burned incense to Ba′al, to the sun, and the moon, and the constellations, and all the host of the heavens.
And he brought out the Ashe′rah from the house of the Lord, outside Jerusalem, to the brook Kidron, and burned it at the brook Kidron, and beat it to dust and cast the dust of it upon the graves of the common people.
And he brought all the priests out of the cities of Judah, and defiled the high places where the priests had burned incense, from Geba to Beer-sheba; and he broke down the high places of the gates that were at the entrance of the gate of Joshua the governor of the city, which were on one’s left at the gate of the city.
And he removed the horses that the kings of Judah had dedicated to the sun, at the entrance to the house of the Lord, by the chamber of Nathan-melech the chamberlain, which was in the precincts; and he burned the chariots of the sun with fire.
And the altars on the roof of the upper chamber of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, and the altars which Manas′seh had made in the two courts of the house of the Lord, he pulled down and broke in pieces, and cast the dust of them into the brook Kidron.
And the king defiled the high places that were east of Jerusalem, to the south of the mount of corruption, which Solomon the king of Israel had built for Ash′toreth the abomination of the Sido′nians, and for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, and for Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites.
Moreover the altar at Bethel, the high place erected by Jerobo′am the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin, that altar with the high place he pulled down and he broke in pieces its stones, crushing them to dust; also he burned the Ashe′rah.
And as Josi′ah turned, he saw the tombs there on the mount; and he sent and took the bones out of the tombs, and burned them upon the altar, and defiled it, according to the word of the Lord which the man of God proclaimed, who had predicted these things.
Then he said, “What is yonder monument that I see?” And the men of the city told him, “It is the tomb of the man of God who came from Judah and predicted these things which you have done against the altar at Bethel.”
And all the shrines also of the high places that were in the cities of Samar′ia, which kings of Israel had made, provoking the Lord to anger, Josi′ah removed; he did to them according to all that he had done at Bethel.
The Passover Celebrated And the king commanded all the people, “Keep the passover to the Lord your God, as it is written in this book of the covenant.”
For no such passover had been kept since the days of the judges who judged Israel, or during all the days of the kings of Israel or of the kings of Judah;
Moreover Josi′ah put away the mediums and the wizards and the teraphim and the idols and all the abominations that were seen in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, that he might establish the words of the law which were written in the book that Hilki′ah the priest found in the house of the Lord.
Before him there was no king like him, who turned to the Lord with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his might, according to all the law of Moses; nor did any like him arise after him.
Still the Lord did not turn from the fierceness of his great wrath, by which his anger was kindled against Judah, because of all the provocations with which Manas′seh had provoked him.
And the Lord said, “I will remove Judah also out of my sight, as I have removed Israel, and I will cast off this city which I have chosen, Jerusalem, and the house of which I said, My name shall be there.”
Josiah Dies in Battle Now the rest of the acts of Josi′ah, and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?
In his days Pharaoh Neco king of Egypt went up to the king of Assyria to the river Euphra′tes. King Josi′ah went to meet him; and Pharaoh Neco slew him at Megid′do, when he saw him.
And his servants carried him dead in a chariot from Megid′do, and brought him to Jerusalem, and buried him in his own tomb. And the people of the land took Jeho′ahaz the son of Josi′ah, and anointed him, and made him king in his father’s stead.
Reign and Captivity of Jehoahaz Jeho′ahaz was twenty-three years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hamu′tal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.
And Pharaoh Neco put him in bonds at Riblah in the land of Hamath, that he might not reign in Jerusalem, and laid upon the land a tribute of a hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold.
And Pharaoh Neco made Eli′akim the son of Josi′ah king in the place of Josi′ah his father, and changed his name to Jehoi′akim. But he took Jeho′ahaz away; and he came to Egypt, and died there.
And Jehoi′akim gave the silver and the gold to Pharaoh, but he taxed the land to give the money according to the command of Pharaoh. He exacted the silver and the gold of the people of the land, from every one according to his assessment, to give it to Pharaoh Neco.
Jehoiakim Reigns over Judah Jehoi′akim was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Zebi′dah the daughter of Pedai′ah of Rumah.
Judah Overrun by Enemies In his days Nebuchadnez′zar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoi′akim became his servant three years; then he turned and rebelled against him.
And the Lord sent against him bands of the Chalde′ans, and bands of the Syrians, and bands of the Moabites, and bands of the Ammonites, and sent them against Judah to destroy it, according to the word of the Lord which he spoke by his servants the prophets.
And the king of Egypt did not come again out of his land, for the king of Babylon had taken all that belonged to the king of Egypt from the Brook of Egypt to the river Euphra′tes.
Reign and Captivity of Jehoiachin Jehoi′achin was eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Nehush′ta the daughter of Elna′than of Jerusalem.
and Jehoi′achin the king of Judah gave himself up to the king of Babylon, himself, and his mother, and his servants, and his princes, and his palace officials. The king of Babylon took him prisoner in the eighth year of his reign,
and carried off all the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king’s house, and cut in pieces all the vessels of gold in the temple of the Lord, which Solomon king of Israel had made, as the Lord had foretold.
He carried away all Jerusalem, and all the princes, and all the mighty men of valor, ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and the smiths; none remained, except the poorest people of the land.
And he carried away Jehoi′achin to Babylon; the king’s mother, the king’s wives, his officials, and the chief men of the land, he took into captivity from Jerusalem to Babylon.
And the king of Babylon brought captive to Babylon all the men of valor, seven thousand, and the craftsmen and the smiths, one thousand, all of them strong and fit for war.
Zedekiah Reigns over Judah Zedeki′ah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hamu′tal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.
For because of the anger of the Lord it came to the point in Jerusalem and Judah that he cast them out from his presence. The Fall and Captivity of Judah And Zedeki′ah rebelled against the king of Babylon.
25 And in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, Nebuchadnez′zar king of Babylon came with all his army against Jerusalem, and laid siege to it; and they built siegeworks against it round about.
Then a breach was made in the city; the king with all the men of war fled by night by the way of the gate between the two walls, by the king’s garden, though the Chalde′ans were around the city. And they went in the direction of the Arabah.
In the fifth month, on the seventh day of the month—which was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnez′zar, king of Babylon—Nebu′zarad′an, the captain of the bodyguard, a servant of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem.
And the rest of the people who were left in the city and the deserters who had deserted to the king of Babylon, together with the rest of the multitude, Nebu′zarad′an the captain of the guard carried into exile.
And the pillars of bronze that were in the house of the Lord, and the stands and the bronze sea that were in the house of the Lord, the Chalde′ans broke in pieces, and carried the bronze to Babylon.
As for the two pillars, the one sea, and the stands, which Solomon had made for the house of the Lord, the bronze of all these vessels was beyond weight.
The height of the one pillar was eighteen cubits, and upon it was a capital of bronze; the height of the capital was three cubits; a network and pomegranates, all of bronze, were upon the capital round about. And the second pillar had the like, with the network.
and from the city he took an officer who had been in command of the men of war, and five men of the king’s council who were found in the city; and the secretary of the commander of the army who mustered the people of the land; and sixty men of the people of the land who were found in the city.
Gedaliah Made Governor of Judah And over the people who remained in the land of Judah, whom Nebuchadnez′zar king of Babylon had left, he appointed Gedali′ah the son of Ahi′kam, son of Shaphan, governor.
Now when all the captains of the forces in the open country and their men heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedali′ah governor, they came with their men to Gedali′ah at Mizpah, namely, Ish′mael the son of Nethani′ah, and Joha′nan the son of Kare′ah, and Serai′ah the son of Tan′humeth the Netoph′athite, and Ja-azani′ah the son of the Ma-ac′athite.
And Gedali′ah swore to them and their men, saying, “Do not be afraid because of the Chalde′an officials; dwell in the land, and serve the king of Babylon, and it shall be well with you.”
But in the seventh month, Ish′mael the son of Nethani′ah, son of Elish′ama, of the royal family, came with ten men, and attacked and killed Gedali′ah and the Jews and the Chalde′ans who were with him at Mizpah.
Jehoiachin Released from Prison And in the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoi′achin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, Evil-mer′odach king of Babylon, in the year that he began to reign, graciously freed Jehoi′achin king of Judah from prison;