2 Kings 4

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Elijah Taken to Heaven

Now when the Lord was about to mtake Elijah up to heaven by a whirlwind, Elijah and nElisha were on their way from oGilgal. And Elijah said to Elisha, pPlease stay here, for the Lord has sent me as far as Bethel. But Elisha said, qAs the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you. So they went down to Bethel. And rthe sons of the prophets who were in Bethel came out to Elisha 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; keep quiet.

Elijah said to him, Elisha, pplease stay here, for the Lord has sent me to tJericho. But he said, qAs the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you. So they came to Jericho. rThe sons of the prophets who were at Jericho drew near to Elisha 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; keep quiet.

Then Elijah said to him, pPlease stay here, 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. Fifty men of rthe sons of the prophets also went and stood at some distance from them, as they both were standing by the Jordan. Then Elijah utook his cloak and rolled it up and struck the water, vand 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, Elijah said to Elisha, Ask what I shall do for you, before I am taken from you. And Elisha said, Please let there be a double portion of your spirit on me. 10 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. 11 And as they still went on and talked, behold, wchariots of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them. And Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. 12 And Elisha saw it and he cried, My father, my father! xThe chariots of Israel and its horsemen! And he saw him no more.

Then he took hold of his own clothes yand tore them in two pieces. 13 And he took up the cloak of Elijah that had fallen from him and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. 14 Then he took the cloak of Elijah that had fallen from him and struck the water, saying, Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah? And when he had struck the water, vthe water was parted to the one side and to the other, and Elisha went over.

Elisha Succeeds Elijah

15 Now when rthe sons of the prophets who were at Jericho saw him opposite them, they said, The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha. And they came to meet him and bowed to the ground before him. 16 And they said to him, Behold now, there are with your servants fifty strong men. Please let them go and seek your master. It may be that zthe 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. 17 But when they urged him atill he was ashamed, he said, Send. They sent therefore fifty men. And for three days they sought him but did not find him. 18 And they came back to him while he was staying at Jericho, and he said to them, Did I not say to you, Do not go?

19 Now the men of the city said to Elisha, Behold, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord sees, but the water is bad, and the land is unfruitful. 20 He said, Bring me a new bowl, and put salt in it. So they brought it to him. 21 Then he went to the spring of water and bthrew salt in it and said, Thus says the Lord, I have healed this water; from now on neither death nor miscarriage shall come from it. 22 So the water has been healed to this day, according to the word that Elisha spoke.

23 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! 24 And he turned around, and when he saw them, che cursed them in the name of the Lord. And two she-bears came out of the woods and tore forty-two of the boys. 25 From there he went on to dMount Carmel, and from there he returned eto Samaria.

Moab Rebels Against Israel

fIn the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, Jehoram the son of Ahab became king over Israel in Samaria, and he reigned twelve years. He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, though not like his father and mother, for he put away the gpillar of Baal hthat his father had made. Nevertheless, he clung to ithe sin of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, jwhich he made Israel to sin; he did not depart from it.

Now Mesha king of Moab was a sheep breeder, kand he had to deliver to the king of Israel 100,000 lambs and the wool of 100,000 rams. But lwhen Ahab died, the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel. So King Jehoram marched out of Samaria at that time and mustered all Israel. And he went and sent word to Jehoshaphat 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. mI am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses. Then he said, By which way shall we march? Jehoram answered, By the way of the wilderness of Edom.

So the king of Israel went with the king of Judah and nthe king of Edom. And when they had made a circuitous march of seven days, there was no water for the army or for the animals that followed them. 10 Then the king of Israel said, Alas! oThe Lord has called these three kings to give them into the hand of Moab. 11 pAnd Jehoshaphat 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, qElisha the son of Shaphat is here, rwho poured water on the hands of Elijah. 12 And Jehoshaphat said, The word of the Lord is with him. So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom went down to him.

13 And Elisha said to the king of Israel, sWhat have I to do with you? Go to tthe prophets of your father and to uthe prophets of your mother. But the king of Israel said to him, No; it is othe Lord who has called these three kings to give them into the hand of Moab. 14 And Elisha said, vAs the Lord of hosts lives, before whom I stand, were it not that I have regard for Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, I would neither look at you nor see you. 15 But now wbring me a musician. And when the musician played, xthe hand of the Lord came upon him. 16 And he said, Thus says the Lord, I will make this dry streambed full of pools. 17 For thus says the Lord, You shall not see wind or rain, but that streambed shall be filled with water, so that you shall drink, you, your livestock, and your animals. 18 This is a light thing in the sight of the Lord. He will also give the Moabites into your hand, 19 and you shall attack every fortified city and every choice city, and shall fell every good tree and stop up all springs of water yand ruin every good piece of land with stones. 20 The next morning, about the time of zoffering the sacrifice, behold, water came from the direction of Edom, till the country was filled with water.

21 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 border. 22 And when they rose early in the morning and the sun shone on the water, the Moabites saw the water opposite them as red as blood. 23 And they said, This is blood; the kings have surely fought together and struck one another down. Now then, Moab, to the spoil! 24 But when they came to the camp of Israel, the Israelites rose and struck the Moabites, till they fled before them. And they went forward, striking the Moabites as they went.1 25 And they overthrew the cities, and aon 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 bKir-hareseth, and the slingers surrounded and attacked it. 26 When the king of Moab saw that the battle was going against him, he took with him 700 cswordsmen to break through, opposite the king of Edom, but they could not. 27 Then he took his oldest son who was to reign in his place dand offered him for a burnt offering on the wall. And there came great wrath against 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 esons of the prophets cried to Elisha, Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared the Lord, fbut the creditor has come to take my two children to be his slaves. And Elisha said to her, What shall I do for you? Tell me; what have you in the house? And she said, Your servant has nothing in the house except a jar of oil. Then he said, Go outside, borrow vessels from all your neighbors, empty vessels and not too few. Then go in and shut the door behind yourself and your sons and pour into all these vessels. And when one is full, set it aside. So she went from him and shut the door behind herself and her sons. And as she poured they brought the vessels to her. When the vessels were full, she said to her son, Bring me another vessel. And he said to her, There is not another. Then the oil stopped flowing. She came and told the gman of God, and he said, Go, sell the oil and pay your debts, and you and your sons can live on the rest.

Elisha and the Shunammite Woman

One day Elisha went on to hShunem, where a iwealthy woman lived, who urged him to eat some food. So whenever he passed that way, he would turn in there to eat food. And she said to her husband, Behold now, I know that this is a holy gman of God who is continually passing our way. 10 Let us make a small room on the roof 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.

11 One day he came there, and he turned into the chamber and rested there. 12 And he said to jGehazi his servant, Call this Shunammite. When he had called her, she stood before him. 13 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 kthe commander of the army? She answered, I dwell among my own people. 14 And he said, What then is to be done for her? Gehazi answered, Well, she has no son, and her husband is old. 15 He said, Call her. And when he had called her, she stood in the doorway. 16 And he said, At this season, labout this time next year, you shall embrace a son. And she said, No, my lord, gO man of God; mdo not lie to your servant. 17 But the woman conceived, and she bore a son about that time lthe following spring, as Elisha had said to her.

Elisha Raises the Shunammite’s Son

18 When the child had grown, he went out one day to his father among the reapers. 19 And he said to his father, Oh, nmy head, my head! The father said to his servant, Carry him to his mother. 20 And when he had lifted him and brought him to his mother, the child sat on her lap till noon, and then he died. 21 And she went up oand laid him on the bed of the gman of God and shut the door behind him and went out. 22 Then she called to her husband and said, Send me one of the servants and one of the donkeys, that I may quickly go to gthe man of God and come back again. 23 And he said, Why will you go to him today? It is neither pnew moon nor Sabbath. She said, All is well. 24 Then she saddled the donkey, and she said to her servant, Urge the animal on; do not slacken the pace for me unless I tell you. 25 So she set out and came to the man of God qat Mount Carmel.

When the man of God saw her coming, he said to Gehazi his servant, Look, there is the Shunammite. 26 Run at once to meet her and say to her, Is all well with you? Is all well with your husband? Is all well with the child? And she answered, All is well. 27 And when she came rto the mountain to the man of God, she caught hold of his feet. And Gehazi came to push her away. But the man of God said, Leave her alone, for she is in bitter distress, and the Lord has hidden it from me and has not told me. 28 Then she said, Did I ask my lord for a son? sDid I not say, Do not deceive me? 29 He said to Gehazi, tTie up your garment and utake my staff in your hand and go. If you meet anyone, vdo not greet him, and if anyone greets you, do not reply. And ulay my staff on the face of the child. 30 Then the mother of the child said, wAs the Lord lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you. So he arose and followed her. 31 Gehazi went on ahead and laid the staff on 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 xhas not awakened.

32 When Elisha came into the house, he saw the child lying dead on his bed. 33 So he went in and yshut the door behind the two of them zand prayed to the Lord. 34 Then he went up and lay on the child, putting his mouth on his mouth, his eyes on his eyes, and his hands on his hands. And as ahe stretched himself upon him, the flesh of the child became warm. 35 Then he got up again and walked once back and forth in the house, and went up aand stretched himself upon him. The child sneezed seven times, and the child opened his eyes. 36 Then he summoned Gehazi and said, Call this Shunammite. So he called her. And when she came to him, he said, Pick up your son. 37 She came and fell at his feet, bowing to the ground. bThen she picked up her son and went out.

Elisha Purifies the Deadly Stew

38 And Elisha came again to cGilgal when dthere was a famine in the land. And as ethe sons of the prophets fwere sitting before him, he said to his servant, gSet on the large pot, and boil stew for the sons of the prophets. 39 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 stew, not knowing what they were. 40 And they poured out some for the men to eat. But while they were eating of the stew, they cried out, O man of God, there is death in the pot! And they could not eat it. 41 He said, Then bring flour. hAnd he threw it into the pot and said, Pour some out for the men, that they may eat. And there was no harm in the pot.

42 A man came from iBaal-shalishah, jbringing the man of God bread of the firstfruits, twenty loaves of barley and fresh ears of grain in his sack. And Elisha said, kGive to the men, that they may eat. 43 But his servant said, How can I 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. 44 So he set it before them. And they ate and had some left, according to the word of the Lord.

Naaman Healed of Leprosy

lNaaman, mcommander 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.1 Now the Syrians on none of their raids had carried off a little girl from the land of Israel, and she worked in the service of Naaman’s wife. She said to her mistress, Would that my lord were with the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy. So Naaman went in and told his lord, Thus and so spoke the girl from the land of Israel. And the king of Syria said, Go now, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel.

So he went, otaking with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels2 of gold, and ten pchanges of clothing. And he brought the letter to the king of Israel, which read, When this letter reaches you, know that I have sent to you Naaman my servant, that you may cure him of his leprosy. And when the king of Israel read the letter, qhe tore his clothes and said, rAm I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man sends word to me to cure a man of his leprosy? Only sconsider, and see how he is seeking a quarrel with me.

But when Elisha the tman of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, he sent to the king, saying, Why have you torn your clothes? Let him come now to me, that he may know that there is a prophet in Israel. So Naaman came with his horses and chariots and stood at the door of Elisha’s house. 10 And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, uGo and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored, and you shall be clean. 11 But Naaman was angry and went away, saying, Behold, I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call upon the name of the Lord his God, and wave his hand over the place and cure the leper. 12 Are not Abana3 and Pharpar, the rivers of vDamascus, 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. 13 But his servants came near and said to him, wMy father, it is a great word the prophet has spoken to you; will you not do it? Has he actually said to you, Wash, and be clean? 14 So he went down and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God, xand his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, yand he was clean.

Gehazi’s Greed and Punishment

15 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 zthere is no God in all the earth but in Israel; so aaccept now a present from your servant. 16 But he said, bAs the Lord lives, before whom I stand, cI will receive none. And he urged him to take it, but he refused. 17 Then Naaman said, If not, please let there be given to your servant two mule loads of earth, for from now on your servant will not offer burnt offering or sacrifice to any god but the Lord. 18 In this matter may the Lord pardon your servant: when my master goes into the house of dRimmon to worship there, eleaning 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. 19 He said to him, fGo in peace.

But when Naaman had gone from him a short distance, 20 gGehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, said, See, my master has spared this Naaman the Syrian, in not accepting from his hand what he brought. hAs the Lord lives, I will run after him and get something from him. 21 So Gehazi followed Naaman. And when Naaman saw someone running after him, he got down from the chariot to meet him and said, iIs all well? 22 And he said, All is well. My master has sent me to say, There have just now come to me from jthe hill country of Ephraim two young men of the sons of the prophets. Please give them a talent of silver and ktwo changes of clothing. 23 And Naaman said, lBe pleased to accept two talents. And he urged him and tied up two talents of silver in two bags, with two changes of clothing, and laid them on two of his servants. And they carried them before Gehazi. 24 And when he came to the hill, he took them from their hand and put them in the house, and he sent the men away, and they departed. 25 He went in and stood before his master, and Elisha said to him, Where have you been, Gehazi? And he said, Your servant went nowhere. 26 But he said to him, Did not my heart go 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, male servants and female servants? 27 Therefore the leprosy of Naaman shall cling to you and to your descendants forever. So he went out from his presence ma leper, like snow.

The Axe Head Recovered

Now nthe sons of the prophets said to Elisha, See, the place where we dwell under your charge is too small for us. Let us go to the Jordan and each of us get there a log, and let us make a place for us to dwell there. And he answered, Go. Then one of them said, Be pleased to go with your servants. And he answered, I will go. So he went with them. And when they came to the Jordan, they cut down trees. But as one was felling a log, his axe head fell into the water, and he cried out, Alas, my master! It was borrowed. Then the man of God said, Where did it fall? When he showed him the place, ohe cut off a stick and threw it in there and made the iron float. And he said, Take it up. So he reached out his hand and took it.

Horses and Chariots of Fire

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. But the man of God sent word to the king of Israel, Beware that you do not pass this place, for the Syrians are going down there. 10 And the king of Israel sent to the place about which the man of God told him. Thus he used to warn him, so that he saved himself there more than once or twice.

11 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? 12 And one of his servants said, None, my lord, O king; but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the words that you speak in your bedroom. 13 And he said, Go and see where he is, that I may send and seize him. It was told him, Behold, he is in pDothan. 14 So he sent there horses and chariots and a great army, and they came by night and surrounded the city.

15 When the servant of the man of God rose early in the morning and went out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was all around the city. And the servant said, Alas, my master! What shall we do? 16 He said, Do not be afraid, qfor those who are with us are more than those who are with them. 17 Then Elisha prayed and said, O Lord, please ropen 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 shorses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. 18 And when the Syrians came down against him, Elisha prayed to the Lord and said, Please strike this people with blindness. tSo he struck them with blindness in accordance with the prayer of Elisha. 19 And Elisha 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 Samaria.

20 As soon as they entered Samaria, Elisha said, O Lord, ropen the eyes of these men, that they may see. So the Lord opened their eyes and they saw, and behold, they were in the midst of Samaria. 21 As soon as the king of Israel saw them, he said to Elisha, uMy father, shall I strike them down? Shall I strike them down? 22 He answered, You shall not strike them down. Would you strike down those whom you have taken captive vwith your sword and with your bow? wSet bread and water before them, that they may eat and drink and go to their master. 23 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 did not come again xon raids into the land of Israel.

Ben-hadad’s Siege of Samaria

24 Afterward yBen-hadad king of Syria mustered his entire army and went up and besieged Samaria. 25 And there was a great famine in Samaria, as they besieged it, until a donkey’s head was sold for eighty shekels of silver, and the fourth part of a kab1 of dove’s dung for five shekels of silver. 26 Now as the king of Israel was passing by on the wall, a woman cried out to him, saying, Help, my lord, O king! 27 And he said, If the Lord will not help you, how shall I help you? From the threshing floor, or from the winepress? 28 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. 29 zSo we boiled my son and ate him. And on the next day I said to her, Give your son, that we may eat him. But she has hidden her son. 30 When the king heard the words of the woman, ahe tore his clothesnow he was passing by on the walland the people looked, and behold, ahe had sackcloth beneath on his body 31 and he said, bMay God do so to me and more also, if the head of Elisha the son of Shaphat remains on his shoulders today.

32 Elisha was sitting in his house, cand the elders were sitting with him. Now the king had dispatched a man from his presence, but before the messenger arrived Elisha said to the elders, Do you see how this dmurderer 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? 33 And while he was still speaking with them, the messenger came down to him and said, This trouble is from the Lord! eWhy should I wait for the Lord any longer?