[4:1] Now there cried a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets to Elisha, saying, Your servant my husband is dead; and you know that your servant did fear Yahweh: and the creditor is come to take to him my two children to be bondservants. [4:2] Elisha said to her, What shall I do for you? tell me; what have you in the house? She said, Your handmaid has nothing in the house, except a pot of oil. [4:3] Then he said, Go, borrow you vessels abroad of all your neighbors, even empty vessels; borrow not a few. [4:4] You shall go in, and shut the door on you and on your sons, and pour out into all those vessels; and you shall set aside that which is full. [4:5] So she went from him, and shut the door on her and on her sons; they brought the vessels to her, and she poured out. [4:6] It happened, when the vessels were full, that she said to her son, Bring me yet a vessel. He said to her, There isn't another vessel. The oil stayed. [4:7] Then she came and told the man of God. He said, Go, sell the oil, and pay your debt, and live you and your sons of the rest. [4:8] It fell on a day, that Elisha passed to Shunem, where there was a great woman; and she constrained him to eat bread. So it was, that as often as he passed by, he turned in there to eat bread. [4:9] She said to her husband, See now, I perceive that this is a holy man of God, that passes by us continually. [4:10] Let us make, Please, a little chamber on the wall; and let us set for him there a bed, and a table, and a seat, and a lamp stand: and it shall be, when he comes to us, that he shall turn in there. [4:11] It fell on a day, that he came there, and he turned into the chamber and lay there. [4:12] He said to Gehazi his servant, Call this Shunammite. When he had called her, she stood before him. [4:13] He said to him, Say now to her, Behold, you have been careful for us with all this care; what is to be done for you? would you be spoken for to the king, or to the captain of the army? She answered, I dwell among my own people. [4:14] He said, What then is to be done for her? Gehazi answered, Most certainly she has no son, and her husband is old. [4:15] He said, Call her. When he had called her, she stood in the door. [4:16] He said, At this season, when the time comes round, you shall embrace a son. She said, No, my lord, you man of God, do not lie to your handmaid. [4:17] The woman conceived, and bore a son at that season, when the time came round, as Elisha had said to her. [4:18] When the child was grown, it fell on a day, that he went out to his father to the reapers. [4:19] He said to his father, My head, my head. He said to his servant, Carry him to his mother. [4:20] When he had taken him, and brought him to his mother, he sat on her knees until noon, and then died. [4:21] She went up and laid him on the bed of the man of God, and shut the door on him, and went out. [4:22] She called to her husband, and said, Please send me one of the servants, and one of the donkeys, that I may run to the man of God, and come again. [4:23] He said, Why will you go to him today? it is neither new moon nor Sabbath. She said, It shall be well. [4:24] Then she saddled a donkey, and said to her servant, Drive, and go forward; don't slacken me the riding, except I bid you. [4:25] So she went, and came to the man of God to Mount Carmel. It happened, when the man of God saw her afar off, that he said to Gehazi his servant, Behold, yonder is the Shunammite: [4:26] please run now to meet her, and ask her, Is it well with you? is it well with your husband? is it well with the child? She answered, It is well. [4:27] When she came to the man of God to the hill, she caught hold of his feet. Gehazi came near to thrust her away; but the man of God said, Let her alone: for her soul is troubled within her; and Yahweh has hid it from me, and has not told me. [4:28] Then she said, Did I desire a son of my lord? Didn't I say, Do not deceive me? [4:29] Then he said to Gehazi, Gird up your waist, and take my staff in your hand, and go your way: if you meet any man, Don't greet him; and if anyone greets you, don't answer him again: and lay my staff on the face of the child. [4:30] The mother of the child said, As Yahweh lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you. He arose, and followed her. [4:31] Gehazi passed on before them, and laid the staff on the face of the child; but there was neither voice, nor hearing. Therefore he returned to meet him, and told him, saying, The child has not awakened. [4:32] When Elisha was come into the house, behold, the child was dead, and laid on his bed. [4:33] He went in therefore, and shut the door on them both, and prayed to Yahweh. [4:34] He went up, and lay on the child, and put his mouth on his mouth, and his eyes on his eyes, and his hands on his hands: and he stretched himself on him; and the flesh of the child grew warm. [4:35] Then he returned, and walked in the house once back and forth; and went up, and stretched himself on him: and the child sneezed seven times, and the child opened his eyes. [4:36] He called Gehazi, and said, Call this Shunammite. So he called her. When she was come in to him, he said, Take up your son. [4:37] Then she went in, and fell at his feet, and bowed herself to the ground; and she took up her son, and went out. [4:38] Elisha came again to Gilgal. There was a dearth in the land; and the sons of the prophets were sitting before him; and he said to his servant, Set on the great pot, and boil stew for the sons of the prophets. [4:39] One went out into the field to gather herbs, and found a wild vine, and gathered of it wild gourds his lap full, and came and shred them into the pot of stew; for they didn't recognize them. [4:40] So they poured out for the men to eat. It happened, as they were eating of the stew, that they cried out, and said, man of God, there is death in the pot. They could not eat of it. [4:41] But he said, Then bring meal. He cast it into the pot; and he said, Pour out for the people, that they may eat. There was no harm in the pot. [4:42] There came a man from Baal Shalishah, and brought the man of God bread of the first fruits, twenty loaves of barley, and fresh ears of grain in his sack. He said, Give to the people, that they may eat. [4:43] His servant said, What, should I set this before a hundred men? But he said, Give the people, that they may eat; for thus says Yahweh, They shall eat, and shall leave of it. [4:44] So he set it before them, and they ate, and left of it, according to the word of Yahweh.
[5:1] Now Naaman, captain of the army of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master, and honorable, because by him Yahweh had given victory to Syria: he was also a mighty man of valor, but he was a leper. [5:2] The Syrians had gone out in bands, and had brought away captive out of the land of Israel a little maiden; and she waited on Naaman's wife. [5:3] She said to her mistress, Would that my lord were with the prophet who is in Samaria! then would he recover him of his leprosy. [5:4] One went in, and told his lord, saying, Thus and thus said the maiden who is of the land of Israel. [5:5] The king of Syria said, Go now, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel. He departed, and took with him ten talents of silver, and six thousand pieces of gold, and ten changes of clothing. [5:6] He brought the letter to the king of Israel, saying, Now when this letter is come to you, behold, I have sent Naaman my servant to you, that you may recover him of his leprosy. [5:7] It happened, when the king of Israel had read the letter, that he tore his clothes, and said, Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man does send to me to recover a man of his leprosy? but consider, I pray you, and see how he seeks a quarrel against me. [5:8] It was so, when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, that he sent to the king, saying, Why have you torn your clothes? let him come now to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel. [5:9] So Naaman came with his horses and with his chariots, and stood at the door of the house of Elisha. [5:10] Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall come again to you, and you shall be clean. [5:11] But Naaman was angry, and went away, and said, Behold, I thought, He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of Yahweh his God, and wave his hand over the place, and recover the leper. [5:12] Aren't Abanah and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? may I not wash in them, and be clean? So he turned and went away in a rage. [5:13] His servants came near, and spoke to him, and said, My father, if the prophet had bid you do some great thing, wouldn't you have done it? how much rather then, when he says to you, Wash, and be clean? [5:14] Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God; and his flesh came again like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean. [5:15] He returned to the man of God, he and all his company, and came, and stood before him; and he said, See now, I know that there is no God in all the earth, but in Israel: now therefore, please take a present from your servant. [5:16] But he said, As Yahweh lives, before whom I stand, I will receive none. He urged him to take it; but he refused. [5:17] Naaman said, If not, yet, please let there be given to your servant two mules' burden of earth; for your servant will henceforth offer neither burnt offering nor sacrifice to other gods, but to Yahweh. [5:18] In this thing Yahweh pardon your servant: when my master goes into the house of Rimmon to worship there, and he leans on my hand, and I bow myself in the house of Rimmon, when I bow myself in the house of Rimmon, Yahweh pardon your servant in this thing. [5:19] He said to him, Go in peace. So he departed from him a little way. [5:20] But Gehazi the servant of Elisha the man of God, said, Behold, my master has spared this Naaman the Syrian, in not receiving at his hands that which he brought: as Yahweh lives, I will run after him, and take somewhat of him. [5:21] So Gehazi followed after Naaman. When Naaman saw one running after him, he alighted from the chariot to meet him, and said, Is all well? [5:22] He said, All is well. My master has sent me, saying, Behold, even now there are come to me from the hill country of Ephraim two young men of the sons of the prophets; please give them a talent of silver, and two changes of clothing. [5:23] Naaman said, Be pleased to take two talents. He urged him, and bound two talents of silver in two bags, with two changes of clothing, and laid them on two of his servants; and they bore them before him. [5:24] When he came to the hill, he took them from their hand, and bestowed them in the house; and he let the men go, and they departed. [5:25] But he went in, and stood before his master. Elisha said to him, Whence come you, Gehazi? He said, Your servant went no where. [5:26] He said to him, Didn't my heart go with you, when the man turned from his chariot to meet you? Is it a time to receive money, and to receive garments, and olive groves and vineyards, and sheep and cattle, and male servants and female servants? [5:27] The leprosy therefore of Naaman shall cleave to you, and to your seed forever. He went out from his presence a leper as white as snow.
[6:1] The sons of the prophets said to Elisha, See now, the place where we dwell before you is too strait for us. [6:2] Let us go, we pray you, to the Jordan, and take there every man a beam, and let us make us a place there, where we may dwell. He answered, Go you. [6:3] One said, Be pleased, I pray you, to go with your servants. He answered, I will go. [6:4] So he went with them. When they came to the Jordan, they cut down wood. [6:5] But as one was felling a beam, the axe head fell into the water; and he cried, and said, Alas, my master! for it was borrowed. [6:6] The man of God asked, "Where did it fall?" He showed him the place. He cut down a stick, threw it in there, and made the iron float. [6:7] He said, "Take it." So he put out his hand and took it.
[6:8] Now the king of Syria was warring against Israel; and he took counsel with his servants, saying, In such and such a place shall be my camp. [6:9] The man of God sent to the king of Israel, saying, Beware that you not pass such a place; for there the Syrians are coming down. [6:10] The king of Israel sent to the place which the man of God told him and warned him of; and he saved himself there, not once nor twice. [6:11] The heart of the king of Syria was sore troubled for this thing; and he called his servants, and said to them, Won't you show me which of us is for the king of Israel? [6:12] One of his servants said, No, my lord, O king; but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the words that you speak in your bedchamber. [6:13] He said, Go and see where he is, that I may send and get him. It was told him, saying, Behold, he is in Dothan. [6:14] Therefore sent he there horses, and chariots, and a great army: and they came by night, and surrounded the city. [6:15] When the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an army with horses and chariots was around the city. His servant said to him, Alas, my master! how shall we do? [6:16] He answered, Don't be afraid; for those who are with us are more than those who are with them. [6:17] Elisha prayed, and said, Yahweh, Please open his eyes, that he may see. Yahweh opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire around Elisha. [6:18] When they came down to him, Elisha prayed to Yahweh, and said, Please smite this people with blindness. He struck them with blindness according to the word of Elisha. [6:19] Elisha said to them, This is not the way, neither is this the city: follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom you seek. He led them to Samaria. [6:20] It happened, when they were come into Samaria, that Elisha said, Yahweh, open the eyes of these men, that they may see. Yahweh opened their eyes, and they saw; and behold, they were in the midst of Samaria. [6:21] The king of Israel said to Elisha, when he saw them, My father, shall I strike them? shall I strike them? [6:22] He answered, You shall not strike them: would you strike 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. [6:23] He prepared great provision for them; and when they had eaten and drunk, he sent them away, and they went to their master. The bands of Syria came no more into the land of Israel. [6:24] It happened after this, that Benhadad king of Syria gathered all his army, and went up, and besieged Samaria. [6:25] There was a great famine in Samaria: and behold, they besieged it, until a donkey's head was sold for eighty pieces of silver, and the fourth part of a kab of dove's dung for five pieces of silver. [6:26] As the king of Israel was passing by on the wall, there cried a woman to him, saying, Help, my lord, O king. [6:27] He said, If Yahweh doesn't help you, whence shall I help you? out of the threshing floor, or out of the winepress? [6:28] The king said to her, What ails you? She answered, This woman said to me, Give your son, that we may eat him today, and we will eat my son tomorrow. [6:29] So we boiled my son, and ate him: and I said to her on the next day, Give your son, that we may eat him; and she has hid her son. [6:30] It happened, when the king heard the words of the woman, that he tore his clothes (now he was passing by on the wall); and the people looked, and behold, he had sackcloth within on his flesh. [6:31] Then he said, God do so to me, and more also, if the head of Elisha the son of Shaphat shall stand on him this day. [6:32] But Elisha was sitting in his house, and the elders were sitting with him; and the king sent a man from before him: but before the messenger came to him, he said to the elders, See you how this son of a murderer has sent to take away my head? behold, when the messenger comes, shut the door, and hold the door fast against him: isn't the sound of his master's feet behind him? [6:33] While he was yet talking with them, behold, the messenger came down to him: and he said, Behold, this evil is of Yahweh; why should I wait for Yahweh any longer?
[7:1] Elisha said, Hear you the word of Yahweh: thus says Yahweh, Tomorrow about this time shall a measure of fine flour be sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, in the gate of Samaria. [7:2] Then the captain on whose hand the king leaned answered the man of God, and said, Behold, if Yahweh should make windows in heaven, might this thing be? He said, Behold, you shall see it with your eyes, but shall not eat of it. [7:3] Now there were four leprous men at the entrance of the gate: and they said one to another, Why sit we here until we die? [7:4] If we say, We will enter into the city, then the famine is in the city, and we shall die there; and if we sit still here, we die also. Now therefore come, and let us fall to the army of the Syrians: if they save us alive, we shall live; and if they kill us, we shall but die. [7:5] They rose up in the twilight, to go to the camp of the Syrians; and when they were come to the outermost part of the camp of the Syrians, behold, there was no man there. [7:6] For the Lord had made the army of the Syrians to hear a noise of chariots, and a noise of horses, even the noise of a great army: and they said one to another, Behold, the king of Israel has hired against us the kings of the Hittites, and the kings of the Egyptians, to come on us. [7:7] Therefore they arose and fled in the twilight, and left their tents, and their horses, and their donkeys, even the camp as it was, and fled for their life. [7:8] When these lepers came to the outermost part of the camp, they went into one tent, and ate and drink, and carried there silver, and gold, and clothing, and went and hid it; and they came back, and entered into another tent, and carried there also, and went and hid it. [7:9] Then they said one to another, We aren't doing right. This day is a day of good news, and we hold our peace: if we wait until the morning light, punishment will overtake us; now therefore come, let us go and tell the king's household. [7:10] So they came and called to the porter of the city; and they told them, saying, We came to the camp of the Syrians, and, behold, there was no man there, neither voice of man, but the horses tied, and the donkeys tied, and the tents as they were. [7:11] He called the porters; and they told it to the king's household within. [7:12] The king arose in the night, and said to his servants, I will now show you what the Syrians have done to us. They know that we are hungry; therefore are they gone out of the camp to hide themselves in the field, saying, When they come out of the city, we shall take them alive, and get into the city. [7:13] One of his servants answered, Please let some take five of the horses that remain, which are left in the city (behold, they are as all the multitude of Israel who are left in it; behold, they are as all the multitude of Israel who are consumed); and let us send and see. [7:14] They took therefore two chariots with horses; and the king sent after the army of the Syrians, saying, Go and see. [7:15] They went after them to the Jordan: and behold, all the way was full of garments and vessels, which the Syrians had cast away in their haste. The messengers returned, and told the king. [7:16] The people went out, and plundered the camp of the Syrians. So a measure of fine flour was sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, according to the word of Yahweh. [7:17] The king appointed the captain on whose hand he leaned to be in charge of the gate: and the people trod on him in the gate, and he died as the man of God had said, who spoke when the king came down to him. [7:18] It happened, as the man of God had spoken to the king, saying, Two measures of barley for a shekel, and a measure of fine flour for a shekel, shall be tomorrow about this time in the gate of Samaria; [7:19] and that captain answered the man of God, and said, Now, behold, if Yahweh should make windows in heaven, might such a thing be? and he said, Behold, you shall see it with your eyes, but shall not eat of it: [7:20] it happened even so to him; for the people trod on him in the gate, and he died.
[8:1] Now Elisha had spoken to the woman, whose son he had restored to life, saying, Arise, and go you and your household, and sojourn wherever you can sojourn: for Yahweh has called for a famine; and it shall also come on the land seven years. [8:2] The woman arose, and did according to the word of the man of God; and she went with her household, and sojourned in the land of the Philistines seven years. [8:3] It happened at the seven years' end, that the woman returned out of the land of the Philistines: and she went forth to cry to the king for her house and for her land. [8:4] Now the king was talking with Gehazi the servant of the man of God, saying, Please tell me all the great things that Elisha has done. [8:5] It happened, as he was telling the king how he had restored to life him who was dead, that behold, the woman, whose son he had restored to life, cried to the king for her house and for her land. Gehazi said, My lord, O king, this is the woman, and this is her son, whom Elisha restored to life. [8:6] When the king asked the woman, she told him. So the king appointed to her a certain officer, saying, Restore all that was hers, and all the fruits of the field since the day that she left the land, even until now. [8:7] Elisha came to Damascus; and Benhadad the king of Syria was sick; and it was told him, saying, The man of God is come here. [8:8] The king said to Hazael, Take a present in your hand, and go, meet the man of God, and inquire of Yahweh by him, saying, Shall I recover of this sickness? [8:9] So Hazael went to meet him, and took a present with him, even of every good thing of Damascus, forty camels' burden, and came and stood before him, and said, Your son Benhadad king of Syria has sent me to you, saying, Shall I recover of this sickness? [8:10] Elisha said to him, Go, tell him, You shall surely recover; however Yahweh has shown me that he shall surely die. [8:11] He settled his gaze steadfastly on him, until he was ashamed: and the man of God wept. [8:12] Hazael said, Why weeps my lord? He answered, Because I know the evil that you will do to the children of Israel: their strongholds will you set on fire, and their young men will you kill with the sword, and will dash in pieces their little ones, and rip up their women with child. [8:13] Hazael said, But what is your servant, who is but a dog, that he should do this great thing? Elisha answered, Yahweh has shown me that you shall be king over Syria. [8:14] Then he departed from Elisha, and came to his master; who said to him, What said Elisha to you? He answered, He told me that you would surely recover. [8:15] It happened on the next day, that he took the coverlet, and dipped it in water, and spread it on his face, so that he died: and Hazael reigned in his place. [8:16] In the fifth year of Joram the son of Ahab king of Israel, Jehoshaphat being then king of Judah, Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah began to reign. [8:17] Thirty-two years old was he when he began to reign; and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. [8:18] He walked in the way of the kings of Israel, as did the house of Ahab: for he had the daughter of Ahab as wife; and he did that which was evil in the sight of Yahweh. [8:19] However Yahweh would not destroy Judah, for David his servant's sake, as he promised him to give to him a lamp for his children always. [8:20] In his days Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah, and made a king over themselves. [8:21] Then Joram passed over to Zair, and all his chariots with him: and he rose up by night, and struck the Edomites who surrounded him, and the captains of the chariots; and the people fled to their tents. [8:22] So Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah to this day. Then did Libnah revolt at the same time. [8:23] The rest of the acts of Joram, and all that he did, aren't they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? [8:24] Joram slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David; and Ahaziah his son reigned in his place. [8:25] In the twelfth year of Joram the son of Ahab king of Israel did Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah begin to reign. [8:26] Twenty-two years old was Ahaziah when he began to reign; and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Athaliah the daughter of Omri king of Israel. [8:27] He walked in the way of the house of Ahab, and did that which was evil in the sight of Yahweh, as did the house of Ahab; for he was the son-in-law of the house of Ahab. [8:28] He went with Joram the son of Ahab to war against Hazael king of Syria at Ramoth Gilead: and the Syrians wounded Joram. [8:29] King Joram returned to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds which the Syrians had given him at Ramah, when he fought against Hazael king of Syria. Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah went down to see Joram the son of Ahab in Jezreel, because he was sick.
[9:1] Elisha the prophet called one of the sons of the prophets, and said to him, Gird up your waist, and take this vial of oil in your hand, and go to Ramoth Gilead. [9:2] When you come there, look out there Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat the son of Nimshi, and go in, and make him arise up from among his brothers, and carry him to an inner chamber. [9:3] Then take the vial of oil, and pour it on his head, and say, Thus says Yahweh, I have anointed you king over Israel. Then open the door, and flee, and don't wait. [9:4] So the young man, even the young man the prophet, went to Ramoth Gilead. [9:5] When he came, behold, the captains of the army were sitting; and he said, I have an errand to you, captain. Jehu said, To which of us all? He said, To you, O captain. [9:6] He arose, and went into the house; and he poured the oil on his head, and said to him, Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, I have anointed you king over the people of Yahweh, even over Israel. [9:7] You shall strike the house of Ahab your master, that I may avenge the blood of my servants the prophets, and the blood of all the servants of Yahweh, at the hand of Jezebel. [9:8] For the whole house of Ahab shall perish; and I will cut off from Ahab everyone [who urinates against a wall,] and him who is shut up and him who is left at large in Israel. [9:9] I will make the house of Ahab like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah. [9:10] The dogs shall eat Jezebel in the portion of Jezreel, and there shall be none to bury her. He opened the door, and fled. [9:11] Then Jehu came forth to the servants of his lord: and one said to him, Is all well? why came this mad fellow to you? He said to them, You know the man and what his talk was. [9:12] They said, It is false; tell us now. He said, Thus and thus spoke he to me, saying, Thus says Yahweh, I have anointed you king over Israel. [9:13] Then they hurried, and took every man his garment, and put it under him on the top of the stairs, and blew the trumpet, saying, Jehu is king. [9:14] So Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat the son of Nimshi conspired against Joram. (Now Joram was keeping Ramoth Gilead, he and all Israel, because of Hazael king of Syria; [9:15] but king Joram was returned to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds which the Syrians had given him, when he fought with Hazael king of Syria.) Jehu said, If this be your mind, then let none escape and go forth out of the city, to go to tell it in Jezreel. [9:16] So Jehu rode in a chariot, and went to Jezreel; for Joram lay there. Ahaziah king of Judah was come down to see Joram. [9:17] Now the watchman was standing on the tower in Jezreel, and he spied the company of Jehu as he came, and said, I see a company. Joram said, Take a horseman, and send to meet them, and let him say, Is it peace? [9:18] So there went one on horseback to meet him, and said, Thus says the king, Is it peace? Jehu said, What have you to do with peace? turn you behind me. The watchman told, saying, The messenger came to them, but he isn't coming back. [9:19] Then he sent out a second on horseback, who came to them, and said, Thus says the king, Is it peace? Jehu answered, What have you to do with peace? turn you behind me. [9:20] The watchman told, saying, He came even to them, and isn't coming back: and the driving is like the driving of Jehu the son of Nimshi; for he drives furiously. [9:21] Joram said, Make ready. They made ready his chariot. Joram king of Israel and Ahaziah king of Judah went out, each in his chariot, and they went out to meet Jehu, and found him in the portion of Naboth the Jezreelite. [9:22] It happened, when Joram saw Jehu, that he said, Is it peace, Jehu? He answered, What peace, so long as the prostitution of your mother Jezebel and her witchcraft abound? [9:23] Joram turned his hands, and fled, and said to Ahaziah, There is treachery, Ahaziah. [9:24] Jehu drew his bow with his full strength, and struck Joram between his arms; and the arrow went out at his heart, and he sunk down in his chariot. [9:25] Then said Jehu to Bidkar his captain, Take up, and cast him in the portion of the field of Naboth the Jezreelite; for remember how that, when I and you rode together after Ahab his father, Yahweh laid this burden on him: [9:26] Surely I have seen yesterday the blood of Naboth, and the blood of his sons, says Yahweh; and I will requite you in this plat, says Yahweh. Now therefore take and cast him into the plat of ground, according to the word of Yahweh. [9:27] But when Ahaziah the king of Judah saw this, he fled by the way of the garden house. Jehu followed after him, and said, Smite him also in the chariot: and they struck him at the ascent of Gur, which is by Ibleam. He fled to Megiddo, and died there. [9:28] His servants carried him in a chariot to Jerusalem, and buried him in his tomb with his fathers in the city of David. [9:29] In the eleventh year of Joram the son of Ahab began Ahaziah to reign over Judah. [9:30] When Jehu was come to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it; and she painted her eyes, and attired her head, and looked out at the window. [9:31] As Jehu entered in at the gate, she said, Is it peace, you Zimri, your master's murderer? [9:32] He lifted up his face to the window, and said, Who is on my side? who? There looked out to him two or three eunuchs. [9:33] He said, Throw her down. So they threw her down; and some of her blood was sprinkled on the wall, and on the horses: and he trod her under foot. [9:34] When he was come in, he ate and drink; and he said, See now to this cursed woman, and bury her; for she is a king's daughter. [9:35] They went to bury her; but they found no more of her than the skull, and the feet, and the palms of her hands. [9:36] Therefore they came back, and told him. He said, This is the word of Yahweh, which he spoke by his servant Elijah the Tishbite, saying, In the portion of Jezreel shall the dogs eat the flesh of Jezebel; [9:37] and the body of Jezebel shall be as dung on the face of the field in the portion of Jezreel, so that they shall not say, This is Jezebel.
[10:1] Now Ahab had seventy sons in Samaria. Jehu wrote letters, and sent to Samaria, to the rulers of Jezreel, even the elders, and to those who brought up the sons of Ahab, saying, [10:2] Now as soon as this letter comes to you, seeing your master's sons are with you, and there are with you chariots and horses, a fortified city also, and armor; [10:3] look you out the best and meet of your master's sons, and set him on his father's throne, and fight for your master's house. [10:4] But they were exceedingly afraid, and said, Behold, the two kings didn't stand before him: how then shall we stand? [10:5] He who was over the household, and he who was over the city, the elders also, and those who brought up the children, sent to Jehu, saying, We are your servants, and will do all that you shall bid us; we will not make any man king: you do that which is good in your eyes. [10:6] Then he wrote a letter the second time to them, saying, If you be on my side, and if you will listen to my voice, take the heads of the men your master's sons, and come to me to Jezreel by tomorrow this time. Now the king's sons, being seventy persons, were with the great men of the city, who brought them up. [10:7] It happened, when the letter came to them, that they took the king's sons, and killed them, even seventy persons, and put their heads in baskets, and sent them to him to Jezreel. [10:8] There came a messenger, and told him, saying, They have brought the heads of the king's sons. He said, Lay you them in two heaps at the entrance of the gate until the morning. [10:9] It happened in the morning, that he went out, and stood, and said to all the people, You are righteous: behold, I conspired against my master, and killed him; but who struck all these? [10:10] Know now that there shall fall to the earth nothing of the word of Yahweh, which Yahweh spoke concerning the house of Ahab: for Yahweh has done that which he spoke by his servant Elijah. [10:11] So Jehu struck all that remained of the house of Ahab in Jezreel, and all his great men, and his familiar friends, and his priests, until he left him none remaining. [10:12] He arose and departed, and went to Samaria. As he was at the shearing house of the shepherds in the way, [10:13] Jehu met with the brothers of Ahaziah king of Judah, and said, Who are you? They answered, We are the brothers of Ahaziah: and we go down to Greet the children of the king and the children of the queen. [10:14] He said, Take them alive. They took them alive, and killed them at the pit of the shearing house, even two and forty men; neither left he any of them. [10:15] When he was departed there, he lighted on Jehonadab the son of Rechab coming to meet him; and he greeted him, and said to him, Is your heart right, as my heart is with your heart? Jehonadab answered, It is. If it be, give me your hand. He gave him his hand; and he took him up to him into the chariot. [10:16] He said, Come with me, and see my zeal for Yahweh. So they made him ride in his chariot. [10:17] When he came to Samaria, he struck all who remained to Ahab in Samaria, until he had destroyed him, according to the word of Yahweh, which he spoke to Elijah. [10:18] Jehu gathered all the people together, and said to them, Ahab served Baal a little; but Jehu will serve him much. [10:19] Now therefore call to me all the prophets of Baal, all his worshippers, and all his priests; let none be wanting: for I have a great sacrifice to do to Baal; whoever shall be wanting, he shall not live. But Jehu did it in subtlety, to the intent that he might destroy the worshippers of Baal. [10:20] Jehu said, Sanctify a solemn assembly for Baal. They proclaimed it. [10:21] Jehu sent through all Israel: and all the worshippers of Baal came, so that there was not a man left that didn't come. They came into the house of Baal; and the house of Baal was filled from one end to another. [10:22] He said to him who was over the vestry, Bring forth vestments for all the worshippers of Baal. He brought them forth vestments. [10:23] Jehu went, and Jehonadab the son of Rechab, into the house of Baal; and he said to the worshippers of Baal, Search, and look that there be here with you none of the servants of Yahweh, but the worshippers of Baal only. [10:24] They went in to offer sacrifices and burnt offerings. Now Jehu had appointed him eighty men outside, and said, If any of the men whom I bring into your hands escape, he who lets him go, his life shall be for the life of him. [10:25] It happened, as soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt offering, that Jehu said to the guard and to the captains, Go in, and kill them; let none come forth. They struck them with the edge of the sword; and the guard and the captains cast them out, and went to the city of the house of Baal. [10:26] They brought forth the pillars that were in the house of Baal, and burned them. [10:27] They broke down the pillar of Baal, and broke down the house of Baal, and made it a latrine, to this day. [10:28] Thus Jehu destroyed Baal out of Israel. [10:29] However from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, with which he made Israel to sin, Jehu didn't depart from after them, to wit, the golden calves that were in Bethel, and that were in Dan. [10:30] Yahweh said to Jehu, Because you have done well in executing that which 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. [10:31] But Jehu took no heed to walk in the law of Yahweh, the God of Israel, with all his heart: he didn't depart from the sins of Jeroboam, with which he made Israel to sin. [10:32] In those days Yahweh began to cut off from Israel: and Hazael struck them in all the borders of Israel; [10:33] from the Jordan eastward, all the land of Gilead, the Gadites, and the Reubenites, and the Manassites, from Aroer, which is by the valley of the Arnon, even Gilead and Bashan. [10:34] Now the rest of the acts of Jehu, and all that he did, and all his might, aren't they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? [10:35] Jehu slept with his fathers; and they buried him in Samaria. Jehoahaz his son reigned in his place. [10:36] The time that Jehu reigned over Israel in Samaria was twenty-eight years.
[11:1] Now when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the seed royal. [11:2] But Jehosheba, the daughter of king Joram, sister of Ahaziah, took Joash the son of Ahaziah, and stole him away from among the king's sons who were slain, even him and his nurse, and put them in the bedchamber; and they hid him from Athaliah, so that he was not slain; [11:3] He was with her hid in the house of Yahweh six years. Athaliah reigned over the land. [11:4] In the seventh year Jehoiada sent and fetched the captains over hundreds of the Carites and of the guard, and brought them to him into the house of Yahweh; and he made a covenant with them, and took an oath of them in the house of Yahweh, and showed them the king's son. [11:5] He commanded them, saying, This is the thing that you shall do: a third part of you, who come in on the Sabbath, shall be keepers of the watch of the king's house; [11:6] A third part shall be at the gate Sur; and a third part at the gate behind the guard: so you shall keep the watch of the house, and be a barrier. [11:7] The two companies of you, even all who go forth on the Sabbath, shall keep the watch of the house of Yahweh about the king. [11:8] You shall surround the king, every man with his weapons in his hand; and he who comes within the ranks, let him be slain: and be you with the king when he goes out, and when he comes in. [11:9] The captains over hundreds did according to all that Jehoiada the priest commanded; and they took every man his men, those who were to come in on the Sabbath, with those who were to go out on the Sabbath, and came to Jehoiada the priest. [11:10] The priest delivered to the captains over hundreds the spears and shields that had been king David's, which were in the house of Yahweh. [11:11] The guard stood, every man with his weapons in his hand, from the right side of the house to the left side of the house, along by the altar and the house, around the king. [11:12] Then he brought out the king's son, and put the crown on him, and gave him the testimony; and they made him king, and anointed him; and they clapped their hands, and said, Long live the king. [11:13] When Athaliah heard the noise of the guard and of the people, she came to the people into the house of Yahweh: [11:14] and she looked, and behold, the king stood by the pillar, as the manner was, and the captains and the trumpets by the king; and all the people of the land rejoiced, and blew trumpets. Then Athaliah tore her clothes, and cried, Treason! treason! [11:15] Jehoiada the priest commanded the captains of hundreds who were set over the army, and said to them, Have her forth between the ranks; and him who follows her kill with the sword. For the priest said, Don't let her be slain in the house of Yahweh. [11:16] So they made way for her; and she went by the way of the horses' entry to the king's house: and there was she slain. [11:17] Jehoiada made a covenant between Yahweh and the king and the people, that they should be Yahweh's people; between the king also and the people. [11:18] All the people of the land went to the house of Baal, and broke it down; his altars and his images broke they in pieces thoroughly, and killed Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars. The priest appointed officers over the house of Yahweh. [11:19] He took the captains over hundreds, and the Carites, and the guard, and all the people of the land; and they brought down the king from the house of Yahweh, and came by the way of the gate of the guard to the king's house. He sat on the throne of the kings. [11:20] So all the people of the land rejoiced, and the city was quiet. Athaliah they had slain with the sword at the king's house. [11:21] Jehoash was seven years old when he began to reign.
[12:1] In the seventh year of Jehu began Jehoash to reign; and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem: and his mother's name was Zibiah of Beersheba. [12:2] Jehoash did that which was right in the eyes of Yahweh all his days in which Jehoiada the priest instructed him. [12:3] However the high places were not taken away; the people still sacrificed and burnt incense in the high places. [12:4] Jehoash said to the priests, All the money of the holy things that is brought into the house of Yahweh, in current money, the money of the persons for whom each man is rated, and all the money that it comes into any man's heart to bring into the house of Yahweh, [12:5] let the priests take it to them, every man from his acquaintance; and they shall repair the breaches of the house, wherever any breach shall be found. [12:6] But it was so, that in the three and twentieth year of king Jehoash the priests had not repaired the breaches of the house. [12:7] Then king Jehoash called for Jehoiada the priest, and for the other priests, and said to them, Why don't you repair the breaches of the house? now therefore take no more money from your acquaintance, but deliver it for the breaches of the house. [12:8] The priests consented that they should take no more money from the people, neither repair the breaches of the house. [12:9] But Jehoiada the priest took a chest, and bored a hole in its lid, and set it beside the altar, on the right side as one comes into the house of Yahweh: and the priests who kept the threshold put therein all the money that was brought into the house of Yahweh. [12:10] It was so, when they saw that there was much money in the chest, that the king's scribe and the high priest came up, and they put up in bags and counted the money that was found in the house of Yahweh. [12:11] They gave the money that was weighed out into the hands of those who did the work, who had the oversight of the house of Yahweh: and they paid it out to the carpenters and the builders, who worked on the house of Yahweh, [12:12] and to the masons and the stone cutters, and for buying timber and cut stone to repair the breaches of the house of Yahweh, and for all that was laid out for the house to repair it. [12:13] But there were not made for the house of Yahweh cups of silver, snuffers, basins, trumpets, any vessels of gold, or vessels of silver, of the money that was brought into the house of Yahweh; [12:14] for they gave that to those who did the work, and repaired therewith the house of Yahweh. [12:15] Moreover they didn't demand an accounting from the men into whose hand they delivered the money to give to those who did the work; for they dealt faithfully. [12:16] The money for the trespass offerings, and the money for the sin offerings, was not brought into the house of Yahweh: it was the priests'. [12:17] Then Hazael king of Syria went up, and fought against Gath, and took it; and Hazael set his face to go up to Jerusalem. [12:18] Jehoash king of Judah took all the holy things that Jehoshaphat and Jehoram and Ahaziah, his fathers, kings of Judah, had dedicated, and his own holy things, and all the gold that was found in the treasures of the house of Yahweh, and of the king's house, and sent it to Hazael king of Syria: and he went away from Jerusalem. [12:19] Now the rest of the acts of Joash, and all that he did, aren't they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? [12:20] His servants arose, and made a conspiracy, and struck Joash at the house of Millo, on the way that goes down to Silla. [12:21] For Jozacar the son of Shimeath, and Jehozabad the son of Shomer, his servants, struck him, and he died; and they buried him with his fathers in the city of David: and Amaziah his son reigned in his place.