Elijah Flees Jezebel

1 Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and how ^qhe had killed all the prophets with the sword. 2 Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, ^r“So may the gods do to me and more also, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by this time tomorrow.” 3 Then he was afraid, and he arose and ran for his life and came to ^sBeersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there.

4 But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness and came and sat down under a broom tree. ^tAnd he asked that he might die, saying, “It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life, for I am no better than my fathers.” 5 And he lay down and slept under a broom tree. And behold, an angel touched him and said to him, “Arise and eat.” 6 And he looked, and behold, there was at his head a cake baked on hot stones and a jar of water. And he ate and drank and lay down again. 7 And the angel of the Lord came again a second time and touched him and said, “Arise and eat, for the journey is too great for you.” 8 And he arose and ate and drank, and went in the strength of that food ^uforty days and forty nights to ^vHoreb, the mount of God.

The Lord Speaks to Elijah

9 There he came to a cave and lodged in it. And behold, ^wthe word of the Lord came to him, and he said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” 10 He said, “I have been very ^xjealous for the Lord, the God of hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, ^ythrown down your altars, and ^zkilled your prophets with the sword, ^aand I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away.” 11 And he said, “Go out and ^bstand on the mount before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and ^ca great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind ^dan earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. 12 And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper.¹ 13 And when Elijah heard it, ^ehe wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And behold, ^fthere came a voice to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” 14 He said, ^x“I have been very jealous for the Lord, the God of hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, ^ythrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword, and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away.” 15 And the Lord said to him, “Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus. And when you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael to be king over Syria. 16 ^gAnd Jehu the son of Nimshi you shall anoint to be king over Israel, and ^hElisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah you shall anoint to be prophet in your place. 17 And the one who escapes from ⁱthe sword of Hazael ^jshall Jehu put to death, and the one who escapes from the sword of Jehu ^kshall Elisha put to death. 18 ^lYet I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not ^mkissed him.”

The Call of Elisha

19 So he departed from there and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen in front of him, and he was with the twelfth. Elijah passed by him and cast ⁿhis cloak upon him. 20 And he left the oxen and ran after Elijah and said, ^o“Let me kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you.” And he said to him, “Go back again, for what have I done to you?” 21 And he returned from following him and took the yoke of oxen and sacrificed them and boiled their flesh ^pwith the yokes of the oxen and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he arose and went after Elijah and assisted him.

Ahab’s Wars with Syria

1 ^qBen-hadad the king of Syria gathered all his army together. ^rThirty-two kings were with him, and horses and chariots. And he went up and closed in on ^sSamaria and fought against it. 2 And he sent messengers into the city to Ahab king of Israel and said to him, “Thus says Ben-hadad: 3 ‘Your silver and your gold are mine; your best wives and children also are mine.’” 4 And the king of Israel answered, “As you say, my lord, O king, I am yours, and all that I have.” 5 The messengers came again and said, “Thus says Ben-hadad: ‘I sent to you, saying, “Deliver to me your silver and your gold, your wives and your children.” 6 Nevertheless I will send my servants to you tomorrow about this time, and they shall search your house and the houses of your servants and lay hands on whatever pleases you and take it away.’”

7 Then the king of Israel called all the ^telders of the land and said, ^u“Mark, now, and see how this man is seeking trouble, for he sent to me for my wives and my children, and for my silver and my gold, and I did not refuse him.” 8 And all the elders and all the people said to him, “Do not listen or consent.” 9 So he said to the messengers of Ben-hadad, “Tell my lord the king, ‘All that you first demanded of your servant I will do, but this thing I cannot do.’” And the messengers departed and brought him word again. 10 Ben-hadad sent to him and said, ^v“The gods do so to me and more also, if the dust of Samaria shall suffice for handfuls for all the people ^wwho follow me.” 11 And the king of Israel answered, “Tell him, ‘Let not him who straps on his armor boast himself as he who takes it off.’” 12 When Ben-hadad heard this message as ^xhe was drinking with the kings in the booths, he said to his men, “Take your positions.” And they took their positions against the city.

Ahab Defeats Ben-hadad

13 And behold, a prophet came near to Ahab king of Israel and said, “Thus says the Lord, Have you seen all this great multitude? Behold, ^yI will give it into your hand this day, ^zand you shall know that I am the Lord.” 14 And Ahab said, “By whom?” He said, “Thus says the Lord, By the servants of the governors of the districts.” Then he said, “Who shall begin the battle?” He answered, “You.” 15 Then he mustered the servants of the governors of the districts, and they were 232. And after them he mustered all the people of Israel, seven thousand.

16 And they went out at noon, while Ben-hadad ^xwas drinking himself drunk in the booths, he and the thirty-two kings who helped him. 17 The servants of the governors of the districts went out first. And Ben-hadad sent out scouts, and they reported to him, “Men are coming out from Samaria.” 18 He said, “If they have come out for peace, take them alive. Or if they have come out for war, take them alive.”

19 So these went out of the city, the servants of the governors of the districts and the army that followed them. 20 And each struck down his man. The Syrians fled, and Israel pursued them, but Ben-hadad king of Syria escaped on a horse with horsemen. 21 And the king of Israel went out and struck the horses and chariots, and struck the Syrians with a great blow.

22 Then ^athe prophet came near to the king of Israel and said to him, “Come, strengthen yourself, and consider well what you have to do, for ^bin the spring the king of Syria will come up against you.”

23 And the servants of the king of Syria said to him, “Their gods are gods of the hills, and so they were stronger than we. But let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they. 24 And do this: remove the kings, each from his post, and put commanders in their places, 25 and muster an army like the army that you have lost, horse for horse, and chariot for chariot. Then we will fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they.” And he listened to their voice and did so.

Ahab Defeats Ben-hadad Again

26 ^bIn the spring, Ben-hadad mustered the Syrians and went up to ^cAphek to fight against Israel. 27 And the people of Israel were mustered and were provisioned and went against them. The people of Israel encamped before them like two little flocks of goats, but the Syrians filled the country. 28 And a ^dman of God came near and said to the king of Israel, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Because the Syrians have said, ^e“The Lord is a god of the hills but he is not a god of the valleys,” therefore ^fI will give all this great multitude into your hand, and you shall know that I am the Lord.’” 29 And they encamped opposite one another seven days. Then on the seventh day the battle was joined. And the people of Israel struck down of the Syrians 100,000 foot soldiers in one day. 30 And the rest fled into the city of ^cAphek, and the wall fell upon 27,000 men who were left.

Ben-hadad also fled and entered ^gan inner chamber in the city. 31 And his servants said to him, “Behold now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings. Let us ^hput sackcloth around our waists and ropes on our heads and go out to the king of Israel. Perhaps he will spare your life.” 32 So they ^htied sackcloth around their waists and put ropes on their heads and went to the king of Israel and said, “Your servant Ben-hadad says, ‘Please, let me live.’” And he said, “Does he still live? He is my brother.” 33 Now the men were watching for a sign, and they quickly took it up from him and said, “Yes, your brother Ben-hadad.” Then he said, “Go and bring him.” Then Ben-hadad came out to him, and he caused him to come up into the chariot. 34 And Ben-hadad said to him, ⁱ“The cities that my father took from your father I will restore, and you may establish bazaars for yourself in ^jDamascus, as my father did in Samaria.” And Ahab said, “I will let you go on these terms.” So he made a covenant with him and let him go.

A Prophet Condemns Ben-hadad’s Release

35 And a certain man of ^kthe sons of the prophets said to his fellow ^lat the command of the Lord, “Strike me, please.” But the man refused to strike him. 36 Then he said to him, “Because you have not obeyed the voice of the Lord, behold, as soon as you have gone from me, a lion shall strike you down.” And as soon as he had departed from him, ^ma lion met him and struck him down. 37 Then he found another man and said, “Strike me, please.” And the man struck him—struck him and wounded him. 38 So the prophet departed and waited for the king by the way, ⁿdisguising himself with a bandage over his eyes. 39 And as the king passed, he cried to the king and said, “Your servant went out into the midst of the battle, and behold, a soldier turned and brought a man to me and said, ‘Guard this man; if by any means he is missing, ^oyour life shall be for his life, or else you shall pay a talent² of silver.’ 40 And as your servant was busy here and there, he was gone.” The king of Israel said to him, “So shall your judgment be; you yourself have decided it.” 41 Then he hurried to take the bandage away from his eyes, and the king of Israel recognized him as one of the prophets. 42 And he said to him, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Because you have let go out of your hand the man whom I had devoted to destruction,³ therefore ^oyour life shall be for his life, and your people for his people.’” 43 And the king of Israel ^pwent to his house vexed and sullen and came to Samaria.

Naboth’s Vineyard

1 Now Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard in ^qJezreel, beside the palace of Ahab king of Samaria. 2 And after this Ahab said to Naboth, ^r“Give me your vineyard, that I may have it for a vegetable garden, because it is near my house, and I will give you a better vineyard for it; or, if it seems good to you, I will give you its value in money.” 3 But Naboth said to Ahab, “The Lord forbid ^sthat I should give you the inheritance of my fathers.” 4 And Ahab ^twent into his house vexed and sullen because of what Naboth the Jezreelite had said to him, for he had said, “I will not give you the inheritance of my fathers.” And he lay down on his bed and turned away his face and would eat no food.

5 But Jezebel his wife came to him and said to him, “Why is your spirit so vexed that you eat no food?” 6 And he said to her, “Because I spoke to Naboth the Jezreelite and said to him, ‘Give me your vineyard for money, or else, if it please you, I will give you another vineyard for it.’ And he answered, ‘I will not give you my vineyard.’” 7 And Jezebel his wife said to him, “Do you now govern Israel? Arise and eat bread and let your heart be cheerful; I will give you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.”

8 ^uSo she wrote letters in Ahab’s name and sealed them with his seal, and she sent the letters to ^vthe elders and the leaders who lived with Naboth in his city. 9 And she wrote in the letters, “Proclaim a fast, and set Naboth at the head of the people. 10 And set two ^wworthless men opposite him, and let them bring a charge against him, saying, ^x‘You have cursed⁴ God and the king.’ Then take him out and stone him to death.” 11 And the men of his city, ^vthe elders and the leaders who lived in his city, did as Jezebel had sent word to them. As it was written in the letters that she had sent to them, 12 ^ythey proclaimed a fast and set Naboth at the head of the people. 13 And the two worthless men came in and sat opposite him. And the worthless men brought a charge against Naboth in the presence of the people, saying, “Naboth cursed God and the king.” So they took him outside the city and stoned him to death with stones. 14 Then they sent to Jezebel, saying, “Naboth has been stoned; he is dead.”

15 As soon as Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned and was dead, Jezebel said to Ahab, “Arise, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, which he refused to give you for money, for Naboth is not alive, but dead.” 16 And as soon as Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, Ahab arose to go down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, to take possession of it.

The Lord Condemns Ahab

17 ^zThen the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, 18 “Arise, go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, who is in ^aSamaria; behold, he is in the vineyard of Naboth, where he has gone to take possession. 19 And you shall say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, “Have you killed and also taken possession?”’ And you shall say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord: ^b“In the place where dogs licked up the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick your own blood.”’”

20 Ahab said to Elijah, ^c“Have you found me, O my enemy?” He answered, “I have found you, because ^dyou have sold yourself to do what is evil in the sight of the Lord. 21 Behold, I will bring disaster upon you. I will utterly burn you up, and ^ewill cut off from Ahab every male, bond or free, in Israel. 22 And I will make your house like ^fthe house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like ^gthe house of Baasha the son of Ahijah, for the anger to which you have provoked me, and because you ^hhave made Israel to sin. 23 And of Jezebel the Lord also said, ⁱ‘The dogs shall eat Jezebel within ^jthe walls of Jezreel.’ 24 ^kAnyone belonging to Ahab who dies in the city the dogs shall eat, and anyone of his who dies in the open country the birds of the heavens shall eat.”

Ahab’s Repentance

25 (^lThere was none who sold himself to do what was evil in the sight of the Lord like Ahab, whom Jezebel his wife incited. 26 He acted very abominably in going after ^midols, as ⁿthe Amorites had done, whom the Lord cast out before the people of Israel.)

27 And when Ahab heard those words, he ^otore his clothes and ^pput sackcloth on his flesh and ^qfasted and lay in sackcloth and went about dejectedly. 28 And the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, 29 “Have you seen how Ahab has humbled himself before me? Because he has humbled himself before me, I will not bring the disaster in his days; ^rbut in his son’s days I will bring the disaster upon his house.”

Jehoshaphat Reigns in Judah

1 Jehoshaphat his son reigned in his place and strengthened himself against Israel. 2 He placed forces in all the ⁿfortified cities of Judah and set garrisons in the land of Judah, and in the cities of Ephraim ^othat Asa his father had captured. 3 The Lord was with Jehoshaphat, because he walked in the earlier ways of his father David. He did not seek the Baals, 4 but sought the God of his father and walked in his commandments, ^pand not according to the practices of Israel. 5 Therefore the Lord established the kingdom in his hand. And all Judah ^qbrought tribute to Jehoshaphat, ^rand he had great riches and honor. 6 His heart was courageous in the ways of the Lord. And furthermore, ^she took the high places and the Asherim out of Judah.

7 In the third year of his reign he sent his officials, Ben-hail, Obadiah, Zechariah, Nethanel, and Micaiah, ^tto teach in the cities of Judah; 8 ^uand with them the Levites, Shemaiah, Nethaniah, Zebadiah, Asahel, Shemiramoth, Jehonathan, Adonijah, Tobijah, and Tobadonijah; and with these Levites, the priests Elishama and Jehoram. 9 And ^tthey taught in Judah, having the Book of the Law of the Lord with them. They went about through all the cities of Judah and taught among the people.

10 ^vAnd the fear of the Lord fell upon all the kingdoms of the lands that were around Judah, and they made no war against Jehoshaphat. 11 Some of the Philistines ^wbrought Jehoshaphat presents and silver for tribute, and the Arabians also brought him 7,700 rams and 7,700 goats. 12 And Jehoshaphat grew steadily greater. He built in Judah fortresses and store cities, 13 and he had large supplies in the cities of Judah. He had soldiers, mighty men of valor, in Jerusalem. 14 This was the muster of them by fathers’ houses: Of Judah, the commanders of thousands: Adnah the commander, with 300,000 mighty men of valor; 15 and next to him Jehohanan the commander, with 280,000; 16 and next to him Amasiah the son of Zichri, ^xa volunteer for the service of the Lord, with 200,000 mighty men of valor. 17 Of Benjamin: Eliada, a mighty man of valor, with 200,000 men ^yarmed with bow and shield; 18 and next to him Jehozabad with 180,000 armed for war. 19 These were in the service of the king, besides ^zthose whom the king had placed in the fortified cities throughout all Judah.

They Have Afflicted Me from My Youth

A Song of ^mAscents.