- Now Joram the son of Ahab began to reign over Israel in Samaria the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and reigned twelve years. And he wrought evil in the sight of the Lord, but not like his father and like his mother, for he put away the image of Baal that his father had made. Nevertheless, he cleaved unto the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin; he departed not from them.
- And Mesha king of Moab was a sheep-master, and rendered unto the king of Israel a hundred thousand lambs and a hundred thousand rams with the wool. But it came to pass when Ahab was dead that the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel. And king Joram went out of Samaria the same time and numbered all Israel. And he went and sent to Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, saying, The king of Moab has rebelled against me. Will you go with me against Moab to battle? And he said, I will go up. I am as you are, my people as your people, and my horses as your horses. And he said, Which way shall we go up? And he answered, The way through the wilderness of Edom.
- So the king of Israel went, and the king of Judah, and the king of Edom, and they made a circuit of seven days’ journey. And there was no water for the host and for the cattle that followed them. And the king of Israel said, Alas, that the Lord has called these three kings together to deliver them into the hand of Moab. But Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of the Lord, that we may inquire of the Lord by him? And one of the king of Israel’s servants answered and said, Here is Elisha the son of Shaphat, who poured water on the hands of Elijah. 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.
- And Elisha said unto the king of Israel, What have I to do with you? Go to the prophets of your father and to the prophets of your mother. And the king of Israel said unto him, Nay, for the Lord has called these three kings together, to deliver them into the hand of Moab. And Elisha said, As the Lord of Hosts lives, before whom I stand, surely, were it not that I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, I would not look toward you nor see you. But now bring me a minstrel. And it came to pass, when the minstrel played, that the hand of the Lord came upon him. And he said, Thus says the Lord: Make this valley full of ditches. For thus says the Lord: You shall not see wind, neither shall you see rain, yet that valley shall be filled with water that you may drink — both you, and your cattle, and your beasts. And this is but a light thing in the sight of the Lord. He will deliver the Moabites also into your hand. And you shall smite every fortified city, and every choice city, and shall fell every good tree, and stop all wells of water, and mar every good piece of land with stones. And it came to pass in the morning, when the offering was offered, that behold, there came water by the way of Edom, and the country was filled with water.
- And when all the Moabites heard that the kings had come up to fight against them, they gathered all that were able to put on armor and upward, and stood in the border. And they rose up early in the morning, and the sun shone upon the water, and the Moabites saw the water on the other side as red as blood. And they said, This is blood. The kings are surely slain and they have smitten one another. Now therefore Moab, to the spoil. And when they came to the camp of Israel, the Israelites rose up and smote the Moabites so that they fled before them, but they went forward smiting the Moabites, even in their country. And they beat down the cities, and on every good piece of land cast every man his stone and filled it. And they stopped all the wells of water and felled all the good trees. Only in Kirhareseth left they the stones thereof; nevertheless, the slingers went about it and smote it. And when the king of Moab saw that the battle was too fierce for him, he took with him seven hundred men that drew swords to break through even unto the king of Edom, but they could not. Then he took his eldest son that should have reigned in his stead and offered him for a burnt offering upon the wall. And there was great indignation against Israel. And they departed from him and returned to their own land.
- Now there cried a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets unto Elisha, saying, Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant did fear the Lord. And the creditor has come to take unto himself my two sons to be bondmen. And Elisha said unto her, What shall I do for you? Tell me, what have you in the house? And she said, Your handmaid has not anything in the house save a pot of oil. Then he said, Go borrow vessels abroad of all your neighbors, even empty vessels; borrow not a few. And when you have come in, you shall shut the door upon you and upon your sons, and shall pour out into all those vessels, and you shall set aside that which is full. So she went from him, and shut the door upon her and upon her sons who brought the vessels to her, and she poured out. And it came to pass when the vessels were full that she said unto her son, Bring me yet a vessel. And he said unto her, There is not a vessel more. And the oil stayed. Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, Go sell the oil and pay your debt, and live, you and your children, of the rest.
- And it fell on a day that Elisha passed to Shunem, where was a great woman, and she constrained him to eat bread. And so it was that as oft as he passed by, he turned in there to eat bread. And she said unto her husband, Behold, now I perceive that this is a holy man of God who passes by us continually. Let us make a little chamber, I pray you, on the wall, and let us set for him there a bed, and a table, and a stool, and a candlestick. And it shall be, when he comes to us, that he shall turn in there. And it fell on a day that he came there, and he turned into the chamber and lay there. And he said to Gehazi his servant, Call this Shunammite. And when he had called her, she stood before him. And he said unto him, Say now unto her, Behold, you have been anxious 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 host? And she answered, I dwell among my own people. And he said, What then is to be done for her? And Gehazi answered, Truly she has no child, and her husband is old. And he said, Call her. And when he had called her, she stood in the door. And he said, About this season, according to the time of life, you shall embrace a son. And she said, Nay, my lord, you man of God, do not lie unto your handmaid. And the woman conceived and bore a son at that season that Elisha had said unto her, according to the time of life.
- And when the child was grown, it fell on a day that he went out to his father, to the reapers. And he said unto his father, My head, my head. And he said to a lad, Carry him to his mother. And when he had taken him and brought him to his mother, he sat on her knees until noon and then died. And she went up and laid him on the bed of the man of God, and shut the door upon him, and went out. And she called unto her husband and said, Send me, I pray you, one of the young men and one of the asses, that I may run to the man of God and come again. And he said, Why will you go to him today? It is neither new moon nor Sabbath. And she said, It shall be well. Then she saddled an ass and said to her servant, Drive, and go forward; slack not your riding for me, except I bid you. So she went and came unto the man of God, to Mount Carmel. And it came to pass when the man of God saw her afar off that he said to Gehazi his servant, Behold, there is that Shunammite. Run now, I pray you, to meet her, and say unto her, Is it well with you? Is it well with your husband? Is it well with the child? And she answered, It is well. And when she came to the man of God, to the hill, she caught him by the feet, but Gehazi came near to thrust her away. And the man of God said, Let her alone, for her soul is vexed within her, and the Lord has hidden it from me and has not told me. Then she said, Did I desire a son of my lord? Did I not say, Do not deceive me?
- Then he said to Gehazi, Gird up your loins, and take my staff in your hand, and go your way. If you meet any man, salute him not, and if any salute you, answer him not again; and lay my staff upon the face of the child. And the mother of the child said, As the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you. And he arose and followed her. And Gehazi passed on before them, and laid the staff upon the face of the child, but there was neither voice nor hearing. Wherefore, he went again to meet him, and told him, saying, The child is not awakened.
- And when Elisha had come into the house, behold, the child was dead and laid upon his bed. He went in therefore and shut the door upon them two, and prayed unto the Lord. 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 he stretched himself upon the child, and the flesh of the child waxed warm. Then he returned and walked in the house to and fro, and went up, and stretched himself upon him. And the child sneezed seven times, and the child opened his eyes. And he called Gehazi and said, Call this Shunammite. So he called her. And when she had come in unto him, he said, Take up your son. Then she went in, and fell at his feet, and bowed herself to the ground, and took up her son, and went out.
- And Elisha came again to Gilgal, and there was a dearth in the land. And the sons of the prophets were sitting before him, and he said unto his servant, Set on the great pot and boil stew for the sons of the prophets. And one went out into the field to gather herbs, and found a wild vine, and gathered thereof wild gourds, his lap full, and came and shred them into the pot of stew, for they knew them not. So they poured out for the men to eat. And it came to pass as they were eating of the stew that they cried out and said, O man of God, there is death in the pot! And they could not eat thereof. But he said, Then bring meal. And he cast it into the pot, and he said, Pour out for the people, that they may eat. And there was no harm in the pot.
- And there came a man from Baal-Shalisha, and brought the man of God bread of the firstfruits, twenty loaves of barley, and full ears of grain in the husk thereof. And he said, Give unto the people, that they may eat. And his servant said, What, should I set this before a hundred men? He said again, Give the people that they may eat, for thus says the Lord: They shall eat and shall leave thereof. So he set it before them, and they did eat, and left thereof according to the word of the Lord.
- Now Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master, and honorable, because by him the Lord had given deliverance unto Syria. He was also a mighty man in valor; but he was a leper. And the Syrians had gone out by companies, and had brought away captive out of the land of Israel a little maid, and she waited on Naaman’s wife. And she said unto her mistress, Would to God my Lord were with the prophet that is in Samaria, for he would recover him of his leprosy. And one went in and told his lord, saying, Thus and thus said the maid that is of the land of Israel. And the king of Syria said, Go to, go, and I will send a letter unto the king of Israel. And he departed and took with him ten talents of silver, and six thousand pieces of gold, and ten changes of raiment.
- And he brought the letter to the king of Israel, saying, Now when this letter has come unto you, behold, I have sent Naaman my servant to you with it, that you may recover him of his leprosy. And it came to pass when the king of Israel had read the letter that he rent his clothes and said, Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man does send unto me to recover a man of his leprosy? Wherefore, consider, I pray you, and see how he seeks a quarrel against me.
- And it was so, when Elisha the man of God had heard that the king of Israel had rent his clothes, that he sent to the king, saying, Why have you rent your clothes? Let him come now to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel. So Naaman came with his horses and with his chariot, and stood at the door of the house of Elisha. And Elisha sent a messenger unto him, saying, Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall come again to you and you shall be clean. 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 the Lord his God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper. Are not Abana and Pharpar, 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. And his servants came near, and spoke unto him and said, My father, if the prophet had bid 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? Then went he down and dipped himself seven times in Jordan according to the saying of the man of God, and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.
- And he returned to the man of God, he and all his company, and came and stood before him. And he said, Behold, now I know that there is no God in all the earth but in Israel. Now therefore, I pray you, take a blessing of your servant. But he said, As the Lord lives, before whom I stand, I will receive none. And he urged him to take it, but he refused. And Naaman said, Shall there not then, I pray you, be given to your servant two mules’ burden of earth? For your servant will henceforth offer neither burnt offering nor sacrifice unto other gods, but unto the Lord. In this thing the Lord pardon your servant: that 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 down myself in the house of Rimmon, the Lord pardon your servant in this thing. And he said unto him, Go in peace. So he departed from him a little way.
- But Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, said, Behold, my master has spared Naaman this Syrian, in not receiving at his hands that which he brought; but as the Lord lives, I will run after him and take somewhat of him. So Gehazi followed after Naaman. And when Naaman saw him running after him, he lighted down from the chariot to meet him and said, Is all well? And he said, All is well. My master has sent me, saying, Behold, even now there have come to me from Mount Ephraim two young men of the sons of the prophets. Give them, I pray you, a talent of silver and two changes of garments. And Naaman said, Be content, take two talents. And he urged him, and bound two talents of silver in two bags with two changes of garments, and laid them upon two of his servants, and they bore them before him.
- And when he came to the tower, he took them from their hand and bestowed them in the house. And he let the men go, and they departed. But he went in and stood before his master. And Elisha said unto him, Where did you come from, Gehazi? And he said, Your servant went nowhere. And he said unto him, Did not my heart go with you when the man returned from his chariot to meet you? Is it a time to receive money, and to receive garments, and oliveyards, and vineyards, and sheep, and oxen, and menservants, and maidservants? The leprosy therefore of Naaman shall cleave unto you and unto your seed for ever. And he went out from his presence a leper as white as snow.
- And the sons of the prophets said unto Elisha, Behold, now the place where we dwell with you is too restrictive for us. Let us go, we pray you, unto Jordan, and take from there every man a beam, and let us make us a place there where we may dwell. And he answered, Go. And one said, Be content, I pray you, and go with your servants. And he answered, I will go. So he went with them. And when they came to Jordan, they cut down wood. But as one was felling a beam, the ax head fell into the water, and he cried and said, Alas, master, for it was borrowed! And the man of God said, Where did it fall? And he showed him the place. And he cut down a stick and cast it in there, and the iron did float. Therefore, he said, Take it up to you. And he put out his hand and took it.
- Then the king of Syria warred against Israel, and took counsel with his servants, saying, In such and such a place shall be my camp. And the man of God sent unto the king of Israel, saying, Beware that you do not pass such a place, for there the Syrians have come down. And the king of Israel sent to the place which the man of God told him and warned him of, and saved himself there not once nor twice.
- Therefore, the heart of the king of Syria was seriously troubled for this thing, and he called his servants and said unto them, Will you not show me which of us is for the king of Israel? And one of his servants said, None, my lord, O king; but Elisha the prophet that is in Israel tells the king of Israel the words that you speak in your bedchamber. And he said, Go and spy where he is, that I may send and fetch him. And it was told to him, saying, Behold, he is in Dothan. Therefore sent he there horses, and chariots, and a great host; and they came by night and encompassed the city about.
- And when the servant of the man of God was risen early and gone forth, behold, a host encompassed the city both with horses and chariots. And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master, what shall we do? And he answered, Fear not, for they that be with us are more than they that be with them. And Elisha prayed and said, Lord, I pray you, open his eyes, that he may see. And 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 Elisha. And when they came down to him, Elisha prayed unto the Lord and said, Smite this people, I pray you, with blindness. And he smote them with blindness according to the word of Elisha. And Elisha said unto them, This is not the way, neither is this the city. Follow me and I will bring you to the man whom you seek. But he led them to Samaria.
- And it came to pass, when they had come into Samaria, that Elisha said, Lord, open the eyes of these men, that they may see. And the Lord opened their eyes and they saw, and behold, they were in the midst of Samaria. And the king of Israel said unto Elisha when he saw them, My father, shall I smite them? Shall I smite them? And he answered, You shall not smite them. Would you smite 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. And he prepared great provision for them. And when they had eaten and drunk, he sent them away, and they went to their master. So the bands of Syria came no more into the land of Israel.
- And it came to pass after this that Benhadad king of Syria gathered all his host, and went up, and besieged Samaria. And there was a great famine in Samaria. And behold, they besieged it until an ass’s head was sold for eighty pieces of silver, and the fourth part of a cab of dove’s dung for five pieces of silver. And as the king of Israel was passing by upon the wall, there cried a woman unto him, saying, Help, my lord, O king! And he said, If the Lord does not help you, from where shall I help you? Out of the threshing floor, or out of the winepress? And the king said unto her, What ails you? And she answered, This woman said unto me, Give your son, that we may eat him today, and we will eat my son tomorrow. So we boiled my son and did eat him. And I said unto her on the next day, Give your son, that we may eat him — and she has hidden her son. And it came to pass when the king heard the words of the woman that he rent his clothes. And he passed by upon the wall, and the people looked, and behold, he had sackcloth within upon his flesh. Then he said, God do so, and more also, to me if the head of Elisha the son of Shaphat shall stand on him this day.
- But Elisha sat in his house, and the elders sat with him. And the king sent a man from before him, but before the messenger came to him, he said to the elders, See how this son of a murderer has sent to take away my head? Look, when the messenger comes, shut the door and hold him fast at the door. Is not the sound of his master’s feet behind him? And while he yet talked with them, behold, the messenger came down unto him and he said, Behold, this evil is of the Lord. Why should I wait for the Lord any longer?
- Then Elisha said, Hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord: 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. Then a lord on whose hand the king leaned answered the man of God and said, Behold, if the Lord would make windows in Heaven, might this thing be? And he said, Behold, you shall see it with your eyes, but shall not eat thereof.
- And there were four leprous men at the entering in of the gate, and they said one to another, Why sit we here until we die? 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 unto the host of the Syrians. If they save us alive, we shall live, and if they kill us, we shall but die.
- And they rose up in the twilight to go unto the camp of the Syrians. And when they had come to the outermost part of the camp of Syria, behold, there was no man there; for the Lord had made the host of the Syrians to hear a noise of chariots, and a noise of horses, even the noise of a great host. 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 upon us. Wherefore, they arose and fled in the twilight, and left their tents, and their horses, and their asses — even the camp as it was — and fled for their life.
- And when these lepers came to the outermost part of the camp, they went into one tent and did eat and drink, and carried from there silver, and gold, and raiment, and went and hid it, and came again and entered into another tent, and carried from there also, and went and hid it. Then they said one to another, We do not well. This day is a day of good tidings, and we hold our peace. If we stay until the morning light, some mischief will come upon us. Now therefore come, that we may go and tell the king’s household. So they came and called unto 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 horses tied, and asses tied, and the tents as they were. And he called the porters and they told it to the king’s house within.
- And the king arose in the night and said unto 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 catch them alive and get into the city. And one of his servants answered and said, Let some take, I pray you, five of the horses that remain, which are left in the city — behold, they are as all the multitude of Israel that are left in it, behold, I say they are even as all the multitude of the Israelites that are consumed — and let us send and see.
- They took therefore two chariot horses, and the king sent after the host of the Syrians, saying, Go and see. And they went after them unto Jordan, and behold, all the way was full of garments and vessels which the Syrians had cast away in their haste. And the messengers returned and told the king. And the people went out and spoiled the tents 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 the Lord.
- And the king appointed the lord on whose hand he leaned to have the charge of the gate. And the people trod upon him in the gate and he died, as the man of God had said, who spoke when the king came down to him. And it came to pass 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. And that lord answered the man of God and said, Now behold, if the Lord 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 thereof. And so it fell out unto him, for the people trod upon him in the gate and he died.
- Then spoke Elisha unto the woman whose son he had restored to life, saying, Arise and go, you and your household, and sojourn wherever you can sojourn; for the Lord has called for a famine, and it shall also come upon the land seven years. And the woman arose and did after the saying of the man of God. And she went with her household and sojourned in the land of the Philistines seven years. And it came to pass at the seven years’ end that the woman returned out of the land of the Philistines, and she went forth to cry unto the king for her house and for her land. And the king talked with Gehazi, the servant of the man of God, saying, Tell me, I pray you, all the great things that Elisha has done. And it came to pass, as he was telling the king how he had restored a dead body to life, that behold, the woman, whose son he had restored to life, cried to the king for her house and for her land. And Gehazi said, My lord, O king, this is the woman, and this is her son whom Elisha restored to life. And when the king asked the woman, she told him. So the king appointed unto 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.
- And Elisha came to Damascus; and Benhadad the king of Syria was sick, and it was told to him, saying, The man of God has come here. And the king said unto Hazael, Take a present in your hand and go meet the man of God, and inquire of the Lord by him, saying, Shall I recover of this disease? 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 disease? And Elisha said unto him, You will go and say unto him, You may certainly recover; nevertheless, the Lord has shown me that he shall surely die. And he settled his countenance steadfastly, until he was ashamed; and the man of God wept. And Hazael said, Why are you weeping my lord? And he answered, Because I know the evil that you will do unto the children of Israel. Their strongholds will you set on fire, and their young men will you slay with the sword, and will dash their children, and rip up their women with child. And Hazael said, But what is your servant, a dog, that he should do this great thing? And Elisha answered, The Lord has shown me that you shall be king over Syria.
- So he departed from Elisha and came to his master, who said to him, What said Elisha to you? And he answered, He told me that you should surely recover. And it came to pass on the next day that he took a thick cloth, and dipped it in water, and spread it on his face so that he died. And Hazael reigned in his stead.
- And 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. Thirty-two years old was he when he began to reign, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem.
- And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, as did the house of Ahab — for the daughter of Ahab was his wife — and he did evil in the sight of the Lord. Yet the Lord would not destroy Judah for David his servant’s sake, as he promised him — to give him always a light, and to his children.
- In his days, Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah and made a king over themselves. So Jehoram went over to Zair, and all the chariots with him. And he rose by night and smote the Edomites who encompassed him about, and the captains of the chariots; and the people fled into their tents. Yet Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah unto this day. Then Libnah revolted at the same time. And the rest of the acts of Jehoram, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? And Jehoram slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David; and Ahaziah his son reigned in his stead.
- 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. Twenty-two years old was Ahaziah when he began to reign, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Athaliah, the daughter of Omri king of Israel. And he walked in the way of the house of Ahab, and did evil in the sight of the Lord as did the house of Ahab, for he was the son-in-law of the house of Ahab.
- And he went with Joram the son of Ahab to the war against Hazael king of Syria in Ramoth-Gilead, and the Syrians wounded Joram. And king Joram went back to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds which the Syrians had given him at Ramah when he fought against Hazael king of Syria. And Ahaziah the son of Jehoram, king of Judah, went down to see Joram the son of Ahab in Jezreel because he was sick.
- And Elisha the prophet called one of the children of the prophets and said unto him, Gird up your loins, and take this box of oil in your hand, and go to Ramoth-Gilead. And when you come there, seek out there Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat, the son of Nimshi. And go in, and make him arise up from among his brethren, and carry him to an inner chamber. Then take the box of oil and pour it on his head, and say, Thus says the Lord: I have anointed you king over Israel. Then open the door and flee, and remain not.
- So the young man, even the young man the prophet, went to Ramoth-Gilead. And when he came, behold, the captains of the host were sitting. And he said, I have an errand to you, O captain. And Jehu said, Unto which of all us? And he said, To you, O captain. And he arose, and went into the house, and he poured the oil on his head and said unto him, Thus says the Lord God of Israel: I have anointed you king over the people of the Lord, even over Israel. And you shall smite 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 the Lord at the hand of Jezebel. For the whole house of Ahab shall perish, and I will cut off from Ahab him that pisses against the wall, and him that is both bond and free in Israel. And 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. And the dogs shall eat Jezebel in the portion of Jezreel, and there shall be none to bury her. And he opened the door and fled.
- Then Jehu came forth to the servants of his lord, and one said unto him, Is all well? Why came this madman to you? And he said unto them, You know the man and his communication. And they said, It is false; tell us now. And he said, Thus and thus spoke he to me, saying, Thus says the Lord: I have anointed you king over Israel. Then they hastened and took every man his garment, and put it under him on the top of the stairs, and blew with trumpets, saying, Jehu is king.
- So Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat, the son of Nimshi, conspired against Joram. Now Joram had kept Ramoth-Gilead, he and all Israel, because of Hazael king of Syria. 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. And Jehu said, If it is your minds, then let none go forth nor escape out of the city to go to tell it in Jezreel. So Jehu rode in a chariot and went to Jezreel, for Joram lay there. And Ahaziah king of Judah had come down to see Joram.
- And there stood a watchman on the tower in Jezreel, 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 there went one on horseback to meet him and said, Thus says the king, Is it peace? And Jehu said, What do you have to do with peace? Turn behind me. And the watchman reported, saying, The messenger came to them, but he comes not again. Then he sent out a second on horseback, who came to them and said, Thus says the king: Is it peace? And Jehu answered, What have you to do with peace? Turn behind me. And the watchman told, saying, He came even unto them, and comes not again. And the driving is like the driving of Jehu the son of Nimshi, for he drives furiously.
- And Joram said, Make ready. And his chariot was made ready. And Joram king of Israel and Ahaziah king of Judah went out, each in his chariot, and they went out against Jehu and met him in the portion of Naboth the Jezreelite. And it came to pass when Joram saw Jehu that he said, Is it peace, Jehu? And he answered, What peace, so long as the whoredoms of your mother Jezebel and her witchcrafts are so many? And Joram turned his hands and fled, and said to Ahaziah, There is treachery, O Ahaziah. And Jehu drew a bow with his full strength and smote Joram between his arms, and the arrow went out at his heart, and he sunk down in his chariot. 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, when I and you rode together after Ahab his father, the Lord laid this burden upon him. Surely I have seen yesterday the blood of Naboth and the blood of his sons, says the Lord, and I will repay you in this plot of ground, says the Lord. Now therefore take and cast him into the plot of ground, according to the word of the Lord.
- But when Ahaziah the king of Judah saw this, he fled by the way of the garden house. And Jehu followed after him and said, Smite him also in the chariot. And they did so at the ascent to Gur, which is by Ibleam. And he fled to Megiddo, and died there. And his servants carried him in a chariot to Jerusalem and buried him in his sepulcher with his fathers in the city of David. And in the eleventh year of Joram the son of Ahab began Ahaziah to reign over Judah.
- And when Jehu had come to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it, and she painted her face, and attired her head, and looked out at a window. And as Jehu entered in at the gate, she said, Had Zimri peace, who slew his master? And he lifted up his face to the window and said, Who is on my side? Who? And there looked out to him two or three eunuchs. And 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 underfoot. And when he had come in, he did eat and drink, and said, Go, see now this cursed woman and bury her, for she is a king’s daughter. And they went to bury her, but they found no more of her than the skull, and the feet, and the palms of her hands. Wherefore, they came again and told him. And he said, This is the word of the Lord which he spoke by his servant Elijah the Tishbite, saying, In the portion of Jezreel shall dogs eat the flesh of Jezebel. And the carcass of Jezebel shall be as dung upon the face of the field in the portion of Jezreel, so that they shall not say, This is Jezebel.
Chapter 2