Mar 20 - 2 Kings 1-3
2 Kings
1Then, after the death of Ahab, Moab transgressed against Israel2And Ahaziah fell down through the lattices of his upper room, which he had in Samaria, and he was injured. And he sent messengers, saying to them, "Go, consult Beelzebub, the god of Ekron, as to whether I may be able to survive this infirmity of mine.3And an Angel of the Lord spoke to Elijah, the Tishbite, saying: "Rise up, and ascend to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria. And you shall say to them: ‘Is there not a God in Israel, so that you would go to consult Beelzebub, the god of Ekron4For this reason, thus says the Lord: From the bed to which you have ascended, you shall not descend. Instead, dying you shall die.’ " And Elijah went away5And the messengers returned to Ahaziah. And he said to them, "Why have you returned?6But they responded to him: "A man met us, and he said to us: ‘Go, and return to the king who sent you. And you shall say to him: Thus says the Lord: Is it because there was no God in Israel that you are sending to consult Beelzebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore, from the bed to which you have ascended, you shall not descend. Instead, dying you shall die.’ 7And he said to them: "What was the appearance and dress of that man, who met you and who spoke these words?8So they said, "A hairy man, with a belt of leather wrapping his waist." And he said, "It is Elijah, the Tishbite.9And he sent to him a leader of fifty, with the fifty who were under him. And he ascended to him, sitting at the top of a hill, and he said, "Man of God, the king commanded that you should descend.10And responding, Elijah said to the leader of fifty, "If I am a man of God, let fire from heaven descend and devour you and your fifty." And then fire from heaven descended and devoured him and the fifty who were with him11And again, he sent to him another leader of fifty, and the fifty with him. And he said to him, "Man of God, thus says the king: Hurry, descend.12Responding, Elijah said, "If I am a man of God, let fire from heaven descend and devour you and your fifty." And fire from heaven descended and devoured him and his fifty13Again, he sent a third leader of fifty men and the fifty who were with him. And when he had arrived, he bent his knees before Elijah, and he pleaded with him, and said: "Man of God, do not choose to despise my life and the lives of your servants who are with me14Behold, fire from heaven descended and devoured the two previous leaders of fifty and the fifties who were with them. But now I beg you to take pity on my life.15Then the Angel of the Lord spoke to Elijah, saying, "Descend with him; fear not." And so, he arose and descended with him to the king16And he said to him: "Thus says the Lord: Because you sent messengers to consult Beelzebub, the god of Ekron, as if there were no God in Israel, from whom you would be able to seek a word, therefore, from the bed to which you have ascended, you shall not descend. Instead, dying you shall die.17And so he died, in accord with the word of the Lord, which Elijah spoke. And Jehoram, his brother, reigned in his place, in the second year of Jehoram, the son of Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah. For he had no son18But the rest of the words of Ahaziah that he worked, have these not been written in the book of the words of the days of the kings of Israel
1Now it happened that, when the Lord willed to lift up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were going out of Gilgal2And Elijah said to Elisha: "Remain here. For the Lord has sent me as far as Bethel." And Elisha said to him, "As the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, I will not forsake you." And when they had descended to Bethel3the sons of the prophets, who were at Bethel, went out to Elisha. And they said to him, "Do you not know that today the Lord will take away your lord from you?" And he responded: "I know it. Be silent.4Then Elijah said to Elisha: "Remain here. For the Lord has sent me to Jericho." And he said, "As the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, I will not forsake you." And when they had arrived at Jericho5the sons of the prophets, who were at Jericho, drew near to Elisha. And they said to him, "Do you not know that today the Lord will take away your lord from you?" And he said: "I know it. Be silent.6Then Elijah said to him: "Remain here. For the Lord has sent me as far as the Jordan." And he said, "As the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, I will not forsake you." And so, the two of them continued on together7And fifty men from the sons of the prophets followed them, and they stood opposite them, at a distance. But the two of them were standing above the Jordan8And Elijah took his cloak, and he rolled it up, and he struck the waters, which were divided into two parts. And they both went across on dry ground9And when they had gone across, Elijah said to Elisha, "Ask what you wish that I may do for you, before I am taken from you." And Elisha said, "I beg you, that twice your spirit may be accomplished in me.10And he responded: "You have requested a difficult thing. Nevertheless, if you see me when I am taken from you, you will have what you requested. But if you do not see, it shall not be.11And as they continued on, they were conversing while walking. And behold, a fiery chariot with fiery horses divided the two. And Elijah ascended by a whirlwind into heaven12Then Elisha saw it, and he cried out: "My father, my father! The chariot of Israel with its driver!" And he saw him no more. And he took hold of his own garments, and he tore them into two parts13And he picked up the cloak of Elijah, which had fallen from him. And turning back, he stood above the bank of the Jordan14And he struck the waters with the cloak of Elijah, which had fallen from him, and they were not divided. And he said, "Where is the God of Elijah, even now?" And he struck the waters, and they were divided here and there. And Elisha went across15Then the sons of the prophets, who were at Jericho, watching from a distance, said, "The spirit of Elijah has rested upon Elisha." And approaching to meet him, they reverenced him prone on the ground16And they said to him, "Behold, with your servants there are fifty strong men, who are able to go forth and to seek your lord. For perhaps, the Spirit of the Lord has taken him up and cast him upon some mountain, or into some valley." But he said, "Do not send them.17And they urged him, until he acquiesced and said, "Send them." And they sent fifty men. And after they had searched for three days, they did not find him18And they returned to him, for he was living in Jericho. And he said to them: "Did I not say to you, ‘Do not send them?’ 19Also, the men of the city said to Elisha: "Behold, this city is a very good habitation, as you yourself perceive, O lord. But the waters are very bad, and the ground is barren.20And so he said, "Bring a new vessel to me, and place salt in it." And when they had brought it21he went out to the source of the waters, and he cast the salt into it. And he said: "Thus says the Lord: I have healed these waters, and no longer shall there be death or barrenness in them.22Then the waters were healed, even to this day, in accord with the word of Elisha, which he spoke23Then he went up from there into Bethel. And as he was ascending along the way, little boys departed from the city. And they were mocking him, saying: "Go up, bald head! Go up, bald head!24And when he had looked back, he saw them, and he cursed them in the name of the Lord. And two bears went out from the forest, and they wounded forty-two boys among them25Then he went away from there to mount Carmel. And he returned from there into Samaria
1Truly, Joram, the son of Ahab, reigned over Israel, in Samaria, in the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah. And he reigned for twelve years2And he did evil in the sight of the Lord, but not as his father and mother did. For he took away the statues of Baal, which his father had made3Yet truly, he did adhere to the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, who caused Israel to sin; neither did he withdraw from these4Now Mesha, the king of Moab, raised many sheep. And he repaid to the king of Israel one hundred thousand lambs, and one hundred thousand rams, with their fleece5And when Ahab had died, he transgressed the pact that he had with the king of Israel6Therefore, king Joram departed on that day from Samaria, and he took a count of all of Israel7And he sent to Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, saying: "The king of Moab has withdrawn from me. Come to battle with me against him." And he responded: "I will go up. What is mine, is yours. My people are your people. And my horses are your horses.8And he said, "Along which way shall we ascend?" So he responded, "Along the desert of Idumea.9Therefore, the king of Israel, and the king of Judah, and the king of Idumea, traveled, and they went by a circuitous path for seven days. But there was no water for the army or for the beasts of burden which were following them10And the king of Israel said: "Alas, alas, alas! The Lord has gathered we three kings, so that he might deliver us into the hands of Moab.11And Jehoshaphat said, "Is there not a prophet of the Lord here, so that we may appeal to the Lord through him?" And one of the servants of the king of Israel responded, "Elisha, the son of Shaphat, is here, who poured water upon the hands of Elijah.12And Jehoshaphat said, "The word of the Lord is with him." And so, the king of Israel, with Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, and with the king of Idumea, descended to him13Then Elisha said to the king of Israel: "What is there between you and me? Go to the prophets of your father and your mother." And the king of Israel said to him, "Why has the Lord gathered these three kings, so that he might deliver them into the hands of Moab?14And Elisha said to him: "As the Lord of hosts lives, in whose sight I stand, if I was not humbled by the face of Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, certainly I would neither have listened to you, nor have looked upon you15But now, bring a musician to me." And while the musician was playing, the hand of the Lord fell upon him, and he said16"Thus says the Lord: Make, in the channel of this torrent, pit after pit17For thus says the Lord: You shall not see wind or rain. And yet this channel shall be filled with water. And you shall drink, you and your families, and your beasts of burden18And this is small in the sight of the Lord. So, in addition, he will also deliver Moab into your hands19And you shall strike every fortified town and every elect city. And you shall cut down every fruitful tree. And you shall obstruct all the sources of water. And you shall cover every excellent field with stones.20Then it happened that, in the morning, when the sacrifices were usually to be offered, behold, water was arriving along the way of Idumea, and the land was filled with water21Then all the Moabites, hearing that the kings had ascended so that they might fight against them, gathered all who had been girded with a belt around them, and they stood at the borders22And rising up in early morning, and when the sun was now rising before the waters, the Moabites saw the waters opposite them, which were red like blood23And they said: "It is the blood of the sword! The kings have fought among themselves, and they have slain one another. Go now, Moab, to the spoils!24And they went into the camp of Israel. But Israel, rising up, struck Moab, and they fled before them. And since they had prevailed, they went and struck down Moab25And they destroyed the cities. And they filled up every excellent field, each one casting stones. And they obstructed all the sources of water. And they cut down all the fruitful trees, to such an extent that only brick walls remained. And the city was encircled by the slingers of stones. And a great part of it was struck down26And when the king of Moab had seen this, specifically, that the enemies had prevailed, he took with him seven hundred men who draw the sword, so that he might break through to the king of Idumea. But they were unable27And taking his firstborn son, who would have reigned in his place, he offered him as a holocaust upon the wall. And there was great indignation in Israel. And they promptly withdrew from him, and they turned back to their own land