1
After the death of King Ahab of Israel the country of Moab rebelled against Israel.
2
King Ahaziah of Israel fell off the balcony on the roof of his palace in Samaria and was seriously injured. So he sent some messengers to consult Baalzebub, the god of the Philistine city of Ekron, in order to find out whether or not he would recover.
3
But an angel of the LORD commanded Elijah, the prophet from Tishbe, to go and meet the messengers of King Ahaziah and ask them, "Why are you going to consult Baalzebub, the god of Ekron? Is it because you think there is no god in Israel?
4
Tell the king that the LORD says, 'You will not recover from your injuries; you will die!' " Elijah did as the LORD commanded,
5
and the messengers returned to the king. "Why have you come back?" he asked.
6
They answered, "We were met by a man who told us to come back and tell you that the LORD says to you, 'Why are you sending messengers to consult Baalzebub, the god of Ekron? Is it because you think there is no god in Israel? You will not recover from your injuries; you will die!' "
7
"What did the man look like?" the king asked.
8
"He was wearing a cloak made of animal skins, tied with a leather belt," they answered. "It's Elijah!" the king exclaimed.
9
Then he sent an officer with fifty men to get Elijah. The officer found him sitting on a hill and said to him, "Man of God, the king orders you to come down."
10
"If I am a man of God," Elijah answered, "may fire come down from heaven and kill you and your men!" At once fire came down and killed the officer and his men.
11
The king sent another officer with fifty men, who went up and said to Elijah, "Man of God, the king orders you to come down at once!"
12
"If I am a man of God," Elijah answered, "may fire come down from heaven and kill you and your men!" At once the fire of God came down and killed the officer and his men.
13
Once more the king sent an officer with fifty men. He went up the hill, fell on his knees in front of Elijah, and pleaded, "Man of God, be merciful to me and my men. Spare our lives!
14
The two other officers and their men were killed by fire from heaven; but please be merciful to me!"
15
The angel of the LORD said to Elijah, "Go down with him, and don't be afraid." So Elijah went with the officer to the king
16
and said to him, "This is what the LORD says: 'Because you sent messengers to consult Baalzebub, the god of Ekron---as if there were no god in Israel to consult---you will not get well; you will die!' "
17
Ahaziah died, as the LORD had said through Elijah. Ahaziah had no sons, so his brother Joram succeeded him as king in the second year of the reign of Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah.
18
Everything else that King Ahaziah did is recorded in The History of the Kings of Israel.
1
The time came for the LORD to take Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind. Elijah and Elisha set out from Gilgal,
2
and on the way Elijah said to Elisha, "Now stay here; the LORD has ordered me to go to Bethel." But Elisha answered, "I swear by my loyalty to the living LORD and to you that I will not leave you." So they went on to Bethel.
3
A group of prophets who lived there went to Elisha and asked him, "Do you know that the LORD is going to take your master away from you today?" "Yes, I know," Elisha answered. "But let's not talk about it."
4
Then Elijah said to Elisha, "Now stay here; the LORD has ordered me to go to Jericho." But Elisha answered, "I swear by my loyalty to the living LORD and to you that I will not leave you." So they went on to Jericho.
5
A group of prophets who lived there went to Elisha and asked him, "Do you know that the LORD is going to take your master away from you today?" "Yes, I know," Elisha answered. "But let's not talk about it."
6
Then Elijah said to Elisha, "Now stay here; the LORD has ordered me to go to the Jordan River." But Elisha answered, "I swear by my loyalty to the living LORD and to you that I will not leave you." So they went on,
7
and fifty of the prophets followed them to the Jordan. Elijah and Elisha stopped by the river, and the fifty prophets stood a short distance away.
8
Then Elijah took off his cloak, rolled it up, and struck the water with it; the water divided, and he and Elisha crossed to the other side on dry ground.
9
There, Elijah said to Elisha, "Tell me what you want me to do for you before I am taken away." "Let me receive the share of your power that will make me your successor," Elisha answered.
10
"That is a difficult request to grant," Elijah replied. "But you will receive it if you see me as I am being taken away from you; if you don't see me, you won't receive it."
11
They kept talking as they walked on; then suddenly a chariot of fire pulled by horses of fire came between them, and Elijah was taken up to heaven by a whirlwind.
12
Elisha saw it and cried out to Elijah, "My father, my father! Mighty defender of Israel! You are gone!" And he never saw Elijah again. In grief Elisha tore his cloak in two.
13
Then he picked up Elijah's cloak that had fallen from him, and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan.
14
He struck the water with Elijah's cloak and said, "Where is the LORD, the God of Elijah?" Then he struck the water again, and it divided, and he walked over to the other side.
15
The fifty prophets from Jericho saw him and said, "The power of Elijah is on Elisha!" They went to meet him, bowed down before him,
16
and said, "There are fifty of us here, all strong men. Let us go and look for your master. Maybe the spirit of the LORD has carried him away and left him on some mountain or in some valley." "No, you must not go," Elisha answered.
17
But they insisted until he gave in and let them go. The fifty of them went and looked high and low for Elijah for three days, but didn't find him.
18
Then they returned to Elisha, who had waited at Jericho, and he said to them, "Didn't I tell you not to go?"
19
Some men from Jericho went to Elisha and said, "As you know, sir, this is a fine city, but the water is bad and causes miscarriages."
20
"Put some salt in a new bowl and bring it to me," he ordered. They brought it to him,
21
and he went to the spring, threw the salt in the water, and said, "This is what the LORD says: 'I make this water pure, and it will not cause any more deaths or miscarriages.' "
22
And that water has been pure ever since, just as Elisha said it would be.
23
Elisha left Jericho to go to Bethel, and on the way some boys came out of a town and made fun of him. "Get out of here, baldy!" they shouted.
24
Elisha turned around, glared at them, and cursed them in the name of the LORD. Then two she-bears came out of the woods and tore forty-two of the boys to pieces.
25
Elisha went on to Mount Carmel and later returned to Samaria.
1
In the eighteenth year of the reign of King Jehoshaphat of Judah, Joram son of Ahab became king of Israel, and he ruled in Samaria for twelve years.
2
He sinned against the LORD, but he was not as bad as his father or his mother Jezebel; he pulled down the image his father had made for the worship of Baal.
3
Yet, like King Jeroboam son of Nebat before him, he led Israel into sin and would not stop.
4
King Mesha of Moab raised sheep, and every year he gave as tribute to the king of Israel 100,000 lambs and the wool from 100,000 sheep.
5
But when King Ahab of Israel died, Mesha rebelled against Israel.
6
At once King Joram left Samaria and gathered all his troops.
7
He sent word to King Jehoshaphat of Judah: "The king of Moab has rebelled against me; will you join me in war against him?" "I will," King Jehoshaphat replied. "I am at your disposal, and so are my men and my horses.
8
What route shall we take for the attack?" "We will go the long way through the wilderness of Edom," Joram answered.
9
So King Joram and the kings of Judah and Edom set out. After marching seven days, they ran out of water, and there was none left for the men or the pack animals.
10
"We're done for!" King Joram exclaimed. "The LORD has put the three of us at the mercy of the king of Moab!"
11
King Jehoshaphat asked, "Is there a prophet here through whom we can consult the LORD?" An officer of King Joram's forces answered, "Elisha son of Shaphat is here. He was Elijah's assistant."
12
"He is a true prophet," King Jehoshaphat said. So the three kings went to Elisha.
13
"Why should I help you?" Elisha said to the king of Israel. "Go and consult those prophets that your father and mother consulted." "No!" Joram replied. "It is the LORD who has put us three kings at the mercy of the king of Moab."
14
Elisha answered, "By the living LORD, whom I serve, I swear that I would have nothing to do with you if I didn't respect your ally, King Jehoshaphat of Judah.
15
Now get me a musician." As the musician played his harp, the power of the LORD came on Elisha,
16
and he said, "This is what the LORD says: 'Dig ditches all over this dry stream bed.
17
Even though you will not see any rain or wind, this stream bed will be filled with water, and you, your livestock, and your pack animals will have plenty to drink.' "
18
And Elisha continued, "But this is an easy thing for the LORD to do; he will also give you victory over the Moabites.
19
You will conquer all their beautiful fortified cities; you will cut down all their fruit trees, stop all their springs, and ruin all their fertile fields by covering them with stones."
20
The next morning, at the time of the regular morning sacrifice, water came flowing from the direction of Edom and covered the ground.
21
When the Moabites heard that the three kings had come to attack them, all the men who could bear arms, from the oldest to the youngest, were called out and stationed at the border.
22
When they got up the following morning, the sun was shining on the water, making it look as red as blood.
23
"It's blood!" they exclaimed. "The three enemy armies must have fought and killed each other! Let's go and loot their camp!"
24
But when they reached the camp, the Israelites attacked them and drove them back. The Israelites kept up the pursuit, slaughtering the Moabites
25
and destroying their cities. As they passed by a fertile field, every Israelite would throw a stone on it until finally all the fields were covered; they also stopped up the springs and cut down the fruit trees. At last only the capital city of Kir Heres was left, and the slingers surrounded it and attacked it.
26
When the king of Moab realized that he was losing the battle, he took seven hundred swordsmen with him and tried to force his way through the enemy lines and escape to the king of Syria, but he failed.
27
So he took his oldest son, who was to succeed him as king, and offered him on the city wall as a sacrifice to the god of Moab. The Israelites were terrified and so they drew back from the city and returned to their own country.
1
God presides in the heavenly council; in the assembly of the gods he gives his decision:
2
"You must stop judging unjustly; you must no longer be partial to the wicked!
3
Defend the rights of the poor and the orphans; be fair to the needy and the helpless.
4
Rescue them from the power of evil people.
5
"How ignorant you are! How stupid! You are completely corrupt, and justice has disappeared from the world.
6
'You are gods,' I said; 'all of you are children of the Most High.'
7
But you will die like mortals; your life will end like that of any prince."
8
Come, O God, and rule the world; all the nations are yours.
1
From Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by order of God our Savior and Christ Jesus our hope---
2
To Timothy, my true son in the faith: May God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord give you grace, mercy, and peace.
3
I want you to stay in Ephesus, just as I urged you when I was on my way to Macedonia. Some people there are teaching false doctrines, and you must order them to stop.
4
Tell them to give up those legends and those long lists of ancestors, which only produce arguments; they do not serve God's plan, which is known by faith.
5
The purpose of this order is to arouse the love that comes from a pure heart, a clear conscience, and a genuine faith.
6
Some people have turned away from these and have lost their way in foolish discussions.
7
They want to be teachers of God's law, but they do not understand their own words or the matters about which they speak with so much confidence.
8
We know that the Law is good if it is used as it should be used.
9
It must be remembered, of course, that laws are made, not for good people, but for lawbreakers and criminals, for the godless and sinful, for those who are not religious or spiritual, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers,
10
for the immoral, for sexual perverts, for kidnappers, for those who lie and give false testimony or who do anything else contrary to sound doctrine.
11
That teaching is found in the gospel that was entrusted to me to announce, the Good News from the glorious and blessed God.
12
I give thanks to Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength for my work. I thank him for considering me worthy and appointing me to serve him,
13
even though in the past I spoke evil of him and persecuted and insulted him. But God was merciful to me because I did not yet have faith and so did not know what I was doing.
14
And our Lord poured out his abundant grace on me and gave me the faith and love which are ours in union with Christ Jesus.
15
This is a true saying, to be completely accepted and believed: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. I am the worst of them,
16
but God was merciful to me in order that Christ Jesus might show his full patience in dealing with me, the worst of sinners, as an example for all those who would later believe in him and receive eternal life.
17
To the eternal King, immortal and invisible, the only God---to him be honor and glory forever and ever! Amen.
18
Timothy, my child, I entrust to you this command, which is in accordance with the words of prophecy spoken in the past about you. Use those words as weapons in order to fight well,
19
and keep your faith and a clear conscience. Some people have not listened to their conscience and have made a ruin of their faith.
20
Among them are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have punished by handing them over to the power of Satan; this will teach them to stop their blasphemy.
