2 Kings 1-6

New Catholic Bible

Chapter 1

Ahaziah Consults Baal-zebub. ¹ After Ahab’s death, Moab rebelled against Israel.

² Now Ahaziah had fallen down through the lattice of his upper chamber in Samaria and he was injured, so he sent messengers, saying, “Go to Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, to inquire as to whether I will recover from this illness or not.”^[a]

³ But the angel of the Lord said to Elijah the Tishbite, “Arise, go up to meet the king of Samaria’s messengers and say to them, ‘Is it because there is no god in Israel that you are going to make inquiry of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron?’ ⁴ Therefore, thus says the Lord: You shall not rise from the bed on which you lie; you will surely die.” Then Elijah departed.

⁵ The messengers then returned to him. He said to them, “Why have you come back?” ⁶ They answered him, “A man came up to meet us and he said, ‘Return to the king who sent you and say: Thus says the Lord: Is it because there is no god in Israel that you have sent to make inquiry of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron? You shall not rise from the bed on which you lie; you will surely die.’ ”

⁷ The king asked them, “What sort of man was this who came up to meet you and who said these words to you?” ⁸ They replied, “He was wearing a garment made from hair^[b] and a leather belt around his waist.” He said, “It was Elijah the Tishbite!”

⁹ The king then sent a captain of fifty along with his fifty men. He went up to him, and he found him sitting on a hilltop. He said to him, “O man of God, the king orders you, ‘Come down!’ ” ¹⁰ Elijah answered the captain of the fifty men, saying, “If I am truly a man of God, then let fire come down from the heavens and consume you and your fifty men.” Fire then came down from the heavens and it consumed him and his fifty men.

¹¹ He sent another captain of fifty along with his fifty men. He said to him, “O man of God, this is what the king says, ‘Come down at once!’ ” ¹² Elijah answered them, “If I am a man of God, then let fire come down from the heavens and consume you and your fifty men.” Then God’s fire came down from the heavens and consumed him and his fifty men.

¹³ And so a third time he sent a captain of fifty along with his fifty men. The third captain of the fifty came and fell on his knees before Elijah and pleaded with him saying, “O man of God, please let my life and the lives of these fifty men, your servants, be considered to be precious in your sight. ¹⁴ Behold, fire has come down from the heavens, and it has consumed the previous two captains of the fifty along with their fifty men. Let my life be precious in your sight.”

¹⁵ The angel of the Lord said to Elijah, “Go down with him. Do not be afraid of him.” So he went down with him to the king. ¹⁶ He said to the king, “Thus says the Lord: Is it because there is no God in Israel of whom you can inquire that you have sent messengers to make inquiry of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron? Because of this, you shall not rise from the bed on which you lie. You will surely die!”

¹⁷ He died, fulfilling the word of the Lord that Elijah had proclaimed. Because he had no son, Joram reigned in his stead during the second year of the reign of Jehoram, the son of Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah. ¹⁸ As for the rest of the deeds of Ahaziah, what he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?

Stories of Elisha and Joram

Chapter 2

Elijah Is Taken to Heaven.^{[c] 1} Elijah and Elisha were traveling from Gilgal when the Lord was about to take Elijah into heaven in a whirlwind. ² Elijah said to Elisha, “Wait here, for the Lord has sent me to Bethel.” But Elisha answered, “As the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you.” So they went down to Bethel.

³ The sons of the prophets came forth from Bethel to Elisha and they said to him, “Do you know that today is the day that the Lord is going to take away your master who is over you?” Elisha answered, “Yes, I know it. Be quiet!”

⁴ Elijah then said to Elisha, “Please stay here, for the Lord has sent me to Jericho.” But he answered, “As the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you.” So they went to Jericho.

⁵ The sons of the prophets in Jericho came to Elisha and said, “Do you know that today is the day that the Lord is going to take away your master who is over you?” He answered, “Yes, I know. Be quiet!”

⁶ Elijah said to him, “Stay here, please, for the Lord has sent me to the Jordan.” He answered, “As the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you.” So the two of them went on.

⁷ Now fifty of the sons of the prophets went out and watched from a distance as the two of them stood at the Jordan. ⁸ Elijah took his mantle and rolled it up. He struck the waters with it, and they split apart, so the two of them crossed over on dry ground.

Elisha Succeeds Elijah. ⁹ After they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, “Ask me for whatever you want before I am taken away.” Elisha said, “Let me please have a double portion^[d] of your spirit.” ¹⁰ He answered, “You have asked for something that is difficult. If you see me taken away from you, then it will be yours. If not, then it will not be so.”

¹¹ As they were walking along talking, a chariot of fire and horses of fire separated them, and Elijah went up into the heavens in a whirlwind. ¹² Elisha saw this and cried out, “My father! My father! The chariot and horsemen of Israel!” And then he could not see him anymore. He took hold of his clothes and tore them apart.^[e]

¹³ He picked up the mantle of Elijah that had fallen off of him, and he went back and stood by the banks of the Jordan. ¹⁴ He took the mantle of Elijah that had fallen off of him, and he struck the waters and said, “Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah?” When Elisha struck the waters, they split apart and he crossed over.

¹⁵ The sons of the prophets from Jericho who had been watching said, “The spirit of Elijah has come to rest upon Elisha.” They came out to meet him, and they bowed down to the ground before him. ¹⁶ They said to him, “Behold, there are fifty strong men with your servants. Let them go out and search for your master. Perhaps the Spirit of the Lord has picked him up and set him down on a mountain or in some valley.” But he answered, “Do not send them.”

¹⁷ They continued to insist until he became embarrassed and he said, “Send them.” The fifty men searched for three days, but they did not find him. ¹⁸ When they came back to him in Jericho where he was staying, he said to them, “Did I not tell you that you should not go?”

¹⁹ Healing the Water. The men of the city said to Elisha, “Behold, this city is in a pleasant location, as my lord sees, but the water is bad and the ground is barren.” ²⁰ He said, “Bring me a new bowl, and put some salt in it.” So they brought it to him. ²¹ He went out to the spring of water, and he threw the salt into it, saying, “Thus says the Lord: I have healed these waters. They shall never again produce death or make the land barren.” ²² The waters have remained healed up to the present day, just as Elisha had declared.

^23 [f]From there he traveled to Bethel. As he was on his way, some little children came out of the city and they mocked him crying out, “Go away, baldy! Go away, baldy!” ²⁴ He turned around and stared at them. He cursed them in the name of the Lord. Two female bears came out from the woods and mauled the children, forty-two of them.

²⁵ From there he went to Mount Carmel, and then he returned to Samaria.

Chapter 3

Joram’s Campaign against Moab. ¹ Joram, the son of Ahab, began to reign over Israel in Samaria in the eighteenth year of the reign of Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, and he reigned for twelve years. ² He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, but not as bad as his father and his mother. He removed the idol of Baal that his father had made. ³ Still, he clung to the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, causing Israel to sin. He did not turn away from them.

⁴ Mesha, the king of Moab, tended sheep. He had to give the king of Israel one hundred thousand lambs and the wool from one hundred thousand sheep. ⁵ When Ahab died, the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel.

⁶ King Joram went out from Samaria and he gathered together all of Israel. ⁷ He sent this message to Jehoshaphat, the king of Israel: “The king of Moab has rebelled against me. Will you not go out with me to fight against Moab?” He answered, “I will go. My people are your people, and my horses are your horses.” ⁸ He said, “By which way should we go up?” He answered, “By way of the Desert of Edom.”

⁹ The king of Israel went out with the king of Judah and the king of Edom. They wandered around for seven days, but there was no water for the army or the animals that followed them. ¹⁰ The king of Israel said, “What? Has the Lord called three kings together only to hand them over into the hands of Moab?” ¹¹ Jehoshaphat asked, “Is there not a prophet of the Lord so that we can inquire of the Lord through him?” A servant of the king of Israel answered, “There is Elisha, the son of Shaphat. He used to pour water onto the hands of Elijah.”^{[g] 12} 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. ¹³ But Elisha said to the king of Israel, “What do you and I have to do with each other? Go to the prophets of your father and your mother.” The king of Israel said, “No, the Lord called together these three kings to deliver them into the hands of Moab.” ¹⁴ Elisha said, “As the Lord of hosts lives before whom I stand, if it were not for the presence of Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, I would not even look at you or take notice of you. ¹⁵ Now, bring a harpist to me.” While the harpist was playing, the hand of the Lord came upon him. ¹⁶ He said, “Thus says the Lord: Fill this valley with ditches. ¹⁷ For thus says the Lord: You will see neither wind nor rain, but this valley will fill up with water for you and your animals to drink. ¹⁸ This will be easy for the Lord, and he will also hand over the Moabites into your hands. ¹⁹ You will overthrow every fortified city and every larger city. You will cut down every good tree, stop up every well, and scatter stones in every good field.”

²⁰ In the morning while they were offering a sacrifice, water came flowing from Edom. The land was filled with water. ²¹ The Moabites heard that the kings were coming to fight against them, and they gathered together everyone who was old enough to put on armor and older and they stationed them on the border.

²² When they got up in the morning, the sun was shining on the water, and the Moabites saw that the water on the other side was as red as blood.^{[h] 23} They said, “This is blood. Surely the kings have attacked and killed one another. To the spoil, Moab!”

²⁴ When they arrived at the camp of Israel, the Israelites rose up and defeated the Moabites who fled before them. They pushed forward, cutting down the Moabites. ²⁵ They then destroyed the cities, and each cast his stone onto a good piece of land, filling it in. They stopped up all of the wells, and they cut down all of the good trees. But they left the stones of Kir-hareseth, although the slingers surrounded and attacked it.

²⁶ When the king of Moab saw that the battle was too fierce for him, he took seven hundred swordsmen with him to break through to the king of Edom, but they could not. ²⁷ They took his oldest son who would have reigned in his stead, and they offered him up as a burnt offering upon the wall. They were furious at Israel. They departed and returned to their own land.

Chapter 4

The Widow’s Oil.^{[i] 1} Now the wife of one of the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha, saying, “Your servant, my husband, is dead, and you know that your servant lived in fear of the Lord. His creditor is coming to take away his two sons to be his slaves.” ² Elisha said, “What can I do for you? Tell me, what do you have at home?” She answered, “Your servant has nothing at home except for a flask of oil.” ³ He said, “Go around and borrow jars from all of your neighbors. Empty jars, and not too few of them. ⁴ Then go inside, and shut the door behind you and your sons. Fill all of those jars, and when a jar is full, set it to the side.”

⁵ So she left him, and she shut the door behind her and her sons who had brought her jars, and she kept pouring. ⁶ When all of the jars were full, she said to her son, “Bring me another jar.” He said, “There are no more jars,” and then the oil stopped flowing.

⁷ She went and recounted it to the man of God, and he said, “Go and sell the oil and pay your debt. You and your children can live on what is left over.”

Elisha and the Shunammite.^{[j] 8} One day Elisha traveled to Shunem.^[k] There was an important woman there, and she insisted that he stop to eat. Whenever he passed by there, he would stop to eat.

⁹ She said to her husband, “Behold, this man who often visits us is a holy man of God. ¹⁰ We should prepare a small room on the roof, and place a bed, a table, a chair, and a lamp in it for him. Then he can stay there when he visits us.”

¹¹ One day he arrived, and he went into the room to lie down. ¹² He said to Gehazi, his servant, “Call the Shunammite.” So he called her, and she stood before him. ¹³ He said to him, “Say to her, ‘You have put yourself through all this trouble for us. What could be done for you? Should we speak to the king or the commander of the army for you?’ ” She answered, “I dwell among my own people.”

¹⁴ He said, “Then what can be done for her?” Gehazi answered, “She and her husband are old, and they have no children.” ¹⁵ Elisha said, “Summon her.” He called her and she stood in the doorway. ¹⁶ He said, “You will embrace a son around this time next year.” She said, “No, my lord, O man of God. Do not lie to your servant.”

¹⁷ The woman became pregnant, and she had a son that time the next year, just as Elisha had predicted. ¹⁸ The child grew up, and one day he went out to his father who was with the reapers. ¹⁹ He said to his father, “My head! My head!” He said to a young man, “Carry him to his mother.” ²⁰ He picked him up and brought him to his mother. He sat on her lap until noon when he died.

²¹ She went up and laid him on the bed belonging to the man of God. She closed him in the room and went out. ²² She called to her husband and said, “Please send me one of the young men and one of the donkeys so that I can hurry to the man of God and return.” ²³ He said, “Why would you go today? It is not a new moon or the Sabbath.” But she said, “It is all right.”^[l]

²⁴ She saddled the donkey and said to her servant, “Lead on, and do not slow down for me unless I tell you.” ²⁵ So she departed and came to the man of God on Mount Carmel.

When the man of God saw her from a distance, he said to Gehazi his servant, “Behold, it is the Shunammite. ²⁶ Run to her and say to her, ‘Is everything all right? Is your husband well? Is your child well?’ ” She answered, “It is all right.”

²⁷ When she reached the man of God on the mountain, she took hold of his feet. Gehazi approached to push her away, but the man of God said, “Leave her alone. Her spirit is in despair, but the Lord had hidden it from me and did not tell me.”

²⁸ She said, “Did I ask for a son from my lord? Did I not say, ‘Do not lie to me.’ ”

²⁹ Elisha said to Gehazi, “Gird up your loins, and take my staff in your hands, and go! If you meet anyone, do not greet him. And if anyone greets you, do not answer. Lay my staff upon the child’s face.”^{[m] 30} But the boy’s mother said, “As the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you.” So he got up and followed her.

³¹ Gehazi went on before them, and he laid the staff upon the child’s face, but there was no sound or response. He went out to meet him, and he said to him, “The child did not wake up.”

³² When Elisha arrived at the house, the child was lying dead upon his bed. ³³ He went in, and he shut the door on the two of them, and then he prayed to the Lord. ³⁴ He got up and lay upon the child, mouth to mouth, eyes to eyes, and hands to hands. He stretched himself out upon the child, and the child’s flesh grew warm. ³⁵ He turned and walked back and forth in the room, and then he went and stretched himself out again. The boy sneezed seven times, and then the boy opened his eyes.

³⁶ Elisha called for Gehazi, and he said, “Call this Shunammite.” He called her, and she came, and he said to her, “Take your son.” ³⁷ She came in and bowed down, falling to the ground at Elisha’s feet. She then took her son and left.

³⁸ Poisoned Stew. Elisha returned to Gilgal, and there was a famine in the land. The sons of the prophets were sitting in front of him, and he said to his servant, “Set up the large pot and cook some soup for the sons of the prophets.”

³⁹ One of them went out into the field to gather some herbs and he found a wild vine. He picked the wild gourds, filling his cloak. He cut them up into the pot of soup, although no one knew what they were.

⁴⁰ When they poured out the soup for the men to eat, and they began to eat the soup, they cried out, “O man of God, there is death in the pot.” And they could not eat it.

⁴¹ He said, “Bring some flour.” He threw it into the pot and said, “Pour it out for the people to eat.” And there was nothing harmful in the pot.

⁴² Multiplication of Loaves. A man came from Baal-shalishah, and he brought the man of God twenty loaves of barley bread from the firstfruits along with some heads of grain. He said, “Give it to the people so that they might eat.” ⁴³ His servant said, “What? Should I place this before one hundred men?” But he said again, “Give it to the people to eat, for thus says the Lord: They will eat, and there will be some left over.”

⁴⁴ He set it before them, and they ate, and there was some left over, just as the Lord had predicted.

Chapter 5

Cure of Naaman.^{[n] 1} There was a certain Naaman, who was the commander of the army of the king of Aram. He was an honorable man, highly esteemed by his master, because it was through him that the Lord had delivered Aram. He was a brave soldier, but he had leprosy.

² Aramean raiders had gone out into the land of Israel and had taken a young girl captive who served Naaman’s wife. ³ She said to her mistress, “If only my lord would present himself to the prophet who is in Samaria. He would cure him of his leprosy.”

⁴ He went to his lord and said, “This is what the young girl from the land of Israel said.”

⁵ The king of Aram said, “Go! I will send a letter to the king of Israel.”

He went on his way, taking with him ten talents of silver, six thousand pieces of gold, and ten changes of clothing. ⁶ He brought the letter to the king of Israel which said, “With this letter I am sending you my servant Naaman so that you might cure him of his leprosy.”

⁷ When the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes and said, “Am I God, with the power to kill and give life, that he sends me a man to heal him of his leprosy? Think of it, see how he is seeking a quarrel with me.”

⁸ When Elisha, the man of God, heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, he sent to the king, saying, “Why have you torn your clothes? Let him come to me so that he might know that there is a prophet in Israel.”

⁹ So Naaman went with his horses and his chariot, and he stood at the door to Elisha’s house. ¹⁰ Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, “Go, wash seven times in the Jordan, and your skin will be restored, and you will be clean.”

¹¹ But Naaman went away angry and said, “Behold, I thought he would surely come out to me and stand and call upon the name of the Lord, his God, and wave his hand over the place and heal the leprosy. ¹² Are not the Abana and the Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all of the rivers of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be made clean?”

So he turned away and left in a rage. ¹³ His servants approached him and spoke to him saying, “My father, if the prophet had told you to do something difficult, would you not have done it? How much more should you do it when he said, ‘Wash and be made clean.’ ”

¹⁴ He went down and he bathed himself in the Jordan seven times as the man of God had instructed him to do. His skin became like the skin of a little child, and he was clean.

¹⁵ He and all of his attendants returned to the man of God. He came and he stood before him and said, “Behold, I now know that there is no God upon the earth except in Israel. Please accept a gift from your servant.” ¹⁶ He answered, “As the Lord lives before whom I stand, I will not accept it.” Even though he urged him to take it, he refused.^[o]

^17 [p]Naaman said, “If not, then let your servant be given two donkey loads of dirt, for your servant will never again offer burnt offerings or sacrifices to any other god but the Lord. ¹⁸ Only may the Lord forgive me this one thing: When my master enters the temple of Rimmon to worship there, and he leans on my hand and I also bow down in the temple of Rimmon, may the Lord forgive your servant this thing.”

¹⁹ He said to him, “Go in peace.” He left and traveled a little way. ²⁰ But Gehazi, the servant of Elisha, the man of God, said, “Behold, my master has spared Naaman the Aramean by not accepting from his hands what he brought. As the Lord lives, I will run after him and take something from him.”

²¹ So Gehazi followed Naaman. When Naaman saw him running after him, he got off the chariot to greet him and he said, “Is all well?” ²² He answered, “All is well. My master sent me, saying, ‘Two young men from among the sons of the prophets have now come to me from the hill country of Ephraim. Please give them a talent of silver and two changes of clothing.’ ”

²³ Naaman said, “Please take two talents.” He urged it on him, and he bound up two talents of silver in two bags along with two changes of clothing. He entrusted it to two of his servants who carried it before him. ²⁴ When he came to the tower, he took it from their hands and he placed it in the house. He then dismissed the men and they left.

²⁵ He went in and stood before his master. Elisha said to him, “Where are you coming from, Gehazi?” He answered, “Your servant has not gone anywhere.” ²⁶ He said to him, “Was not my spirit with you when the man got off of his chariot to meet you? Is this now the time to receive money, or clothing, or olive orchards, or vineyards, or sheep, or oxen, or menservants, or maidservants? ²⁷ On account of this, Naaman’s leprosy will cling to you and your descendants forever.” He went out from his presence, and he was a leper, as white as snow.

Chapter 6

Finding the Lost Ax. ¹ The sons of the prophets came to Elisha and said, “Look, the place where we meet with you is too small. ² Let us go to the Jordan. Each of us can take a pole, and we can make a place for ourselves there.” He answered, “Go.”

³ One of them said, “Will you please go with your servants.” He answered, “I will go.” ⁴ He went with them and they came to the Jordan and began to cut down trees.

⁵ One of the men was cutting down a tree, but the iron ax head fell into the water. He cried out, “Woe is me, master, for it was borrowed.” ⁶ The man of God asked, “Where did it fall?” So he showed him the place. He cut down a stick and tossed it there, and it made the iron float. ⁷ He said, “Pick it up.” So he stretched out his hand and grabbed it.

Aramean Ambush. ⁸ Now the king of Aram was fighting against Israel. He conferred with his servants saying, “I will set up my camp over there.”

⁹ The man of God sent word to the king of Israel, saying, “Beware of passing by that place, for the Arameans have gone down there.” ¹⁰ The king of Israel sent men to the place that the man of God had indicated. He warned him and saved him more than once or twice.

¹¹ The king of Aram was enraged at this, and he summoned his servants and said, “Will you not let me know which of us has sided with the king of Israel?” ¹² One of his servants answered, “No one, my lord, O king. It is Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, who tells the king of Israel whatever you say in your bed chamber.”

¹³ He said, “Go find out where he is so that I can send and capture him.” He was told, “He is in Dothan.”^{[q] 14} He sent horses and chariots and a large army there. They arrived at night and surrounded the city.

¹⁵ Early the next morning, when the servant of the man of God got up and went out, behold, he saw an army with horses and chariots surrounding the city. His servant said to him, “Oh, my lord, what shall we do?” ¹⁶ He answered, “Do not be afraid. There are more with us than with them.”

¹⁷ Then Elisha prayed, “O Lord, open his eyes so that he might see.” The Lord opened the young man’s eyes, and he looked, and behold, the hill was covered with horses and chariots and fire all around Elisha.

¹⁸ As they came down toward him, Elisha prayed to the Lord, “Strike this people with blindness.” They were stricken with blindness, as Elisha had said. ¹⁹ Then Elisha said to them, “This is not the way, and this is not the city. Follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom you are seeking.” He led them to Samaria.

²⁰ When they entered Samaria, Elisha said, “Open the eyes of these men, O Lord, so that they might see.” The Lord opened their eyes and they saw that they were in the middle of Samaria.

²¹ When the king of Israel saw them, he said to Elisha, “Shall I kill them, my father? Shall I kill them?” ²² He answered, “Do not kill them! Would you kill someone whom you had taken with the sword or the bow? Give them bread and water so that they can eat and drink and go back to their master.”

²³ He prepared a great feast for them, and when they finished eating and drinking, he sent them away, and they returned to their master. No more Aramean raiding parties came into the land of Israel.

²⁴ Sometime later, Ben-hadad, the king of Aram, assembled his whole army and he went up and laid siege to Samaria. ²⁵ There was a terrible famine in Samaria, and they continued the siege until a donkey’s head sold for eighty shekels of silver, and a quarter of a kab of dove’s dung sold for five shekels of silver.

^26 [r]As the king of Israel was passing by on the wall, a woman cried out to him, “Help me, my lord, O king.” ²⁷ He said, “If the Lord does not help you, where can I get help for you? From the threshing floor? From the winepress?”

²⁸ The king said to her, “What do you want?” She said, “This woman said to me, ‘Give me your son, so that we can eat him today. We can eat my son tomorrow.’ ²⁹ So we cooked my son and we ate him. The next day I said to her, ‘Give me your son so that we can eat him,’ but she hid her son.”

³⁰ When the king heard the woman’s words, he tore his clothes. As he walked along on the wall, the people looked up and they saw that he was wearing sackcloth underneath his clothes. ³¹ He said, “May God do this to me and more if the head of Elisha, the son of Shaphat, remains on his body today.”

³² Elisha was sitting in his house, and the elders were sitting with him. The king sent a man to him, but even before the messenger arrived, he said to the elders, “Do you not see how he has sent this son of a murderer to cut off my head? Look, when the messenger arrives, shut and bar the door against him. Is not the sound of his master’s feet behind him?”

³³ As he was still talking, the messenger came down to him. He said, “This disaster is from the Lord. Why should I wait for the Lord any longer?”