the blood ran out of the wound into the midst of the chariot. And there went a proclamation throughout the host about the going down of the sun, saying: "Every man to his city, and every man to his own country, for the king is dead." So they came to Samaria; and they buried the king in Samaria. And one washed the chariot in the pool of Samaria; and the dogs licked up his blood; and they washed his armor; according unto the word of the Lord which he spake.

Now the rest of the acts of Ahab, and all that he did, and the ivory house which he made, and all the cities that he built, are they not written in the book of chronicles of the kings of Israel? So Ahab slept with his fathers; and Ahaziah his son reigned in his stead.

Ahaziah (1 Kings xxii. 51-53; 2 Kings i.). Ahaziah the son of Ahab began to reign over Israel in Samaria the seventeenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and reigned two years over Israel. And he did evil in the sight of the Lord, and walked in the way of his father, and in the way of his mother, and in the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin: for he served Baal, and worshipped him, and provoked to anger the Lord God of Israel, according to all that his father had done.

And Ahaziah fell down through a lattice in his upper chamber that was in Samaria, and was sick and he sent messengers, and said unto them: "Go, enquire of Baal-zebub the god of Ekron whether I shall recover of this disease." But the angel of the Lord said to Elijah the Tishbite: "Arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria, and say unto them, Is it because there is not a God in Israel, that ye go to enquire of Baal-zebub1 the god of Ekron? Now therefore thus saith the Lord, Thou shalt not come down from that bed on which thou art gone up, but shalt surely die." And Elijah departed.

And when the messengers turned back unto him, he said unto them, "Why are ye now turned back?" And they said unto him: "There came a man up to meet us, and said unto us, Go, turn again unto the king that sent you, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Is it because there is not a God in Israel, that thou sendest to enquire of Baal-zebub the god of Ekron f therefore thou shalt not come down from that bed on which thou

1 Baal-zebub, 'Lord of flies,' that is, a god believed to send or to avert the plague of flies.

art gone up, but shalt surely die." And he said unto them: "What manner of man was he which came up to meet you, and told you these words?" And they answered him: "He was an hairy man, and girt with a girdle of leather about his loins." And he said, "It is Elijah the Tishbite."

Then the king sent unto him a captain of fifty with his fifty. And he went up to him: and behold, he sat on the top of an hill. And he spake unto him : "Thou man of God, the king hath said, Come down." And Elijah answered and said to the captain of fifty: "If I be a man of God, then let fire come down from heaven, and consume thee and thy fifty." And there came down fire from heaven, and consumed him and his fifty. Again also he sent unto him another captain of fifty with his fifty. And he went up and said unto him: "O man of God, thus hath the king said, Come down quickly." And Elijah answered and said unto them: "If I be a man of God, let fire come down from heaven, and consume thee and thy fifty." And the fire of God came down from heaven, and consumed him and his fifty. And he sent again a captain of the third fifty with his fifty. And the third captain of fifty went up, and came and fell on his knees before Elijah, and besought him, and said unto him: "O man of God, I pray thee, let my life, and the life of these fifty thy servants, be precious in thy sight. Behold, there came fire down from heaven, and burned up the two captains of the former fifties with their fifties: therefore let my life now be precious in thy sight." And the angel of the Lord said unto Elijah: "Go down with him: be not afraid of him." And he arose, and went down with him unto the king. And he said unto him: "Thus saith the Lord, Forasmuch as thou hast sent messengers to enquire of Baal-zebub the god of Ekron, therefore thou shalt not come down off that bed on which thou art gone up, but shalt surely die."

So he died according to the word of the Lord which Elijah had spoken. And Jehoram his brother reigned in his stead in the second year of Joram the son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah; because he had no son. Now the rest of the acts of Ahaziah which he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?

Jehoram (2 Kings iii. 1-3). Now Jehoram the son of Ahab began to reign over Israel in Samaria in 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 pillar of Baal that his father had made. Nevertheless he cleaved unto the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which made Israel to sin; he departed not therefrom.

The Translation of Elijah (2 Kings ii. 1-18). And it came to pass, when the Lord would take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal. And Elijah said unto Elisha: "Tarry here, I pray thee; for the Lord hath sent me to Beth-el." And Elisha said unto him: "As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee." So they went down to Beth-el. And the sons of the prophets that were at Beth-el came forth to Elisha, and said unto him : "Knowest thou that the Lord will take away thy master from thy head to-day?" And he said: "Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace." And Elijah said unto him: "Elisha, tarry here, I pray thee; for the Lord hath sent me to Jericho." And he said: "As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee." So they came to Jericho. And the sons of the prophets that were at Jericho came to Elisha, and said unto him: "Knowest thou that the Lord will take away thy master from thy head to-day?" And he answered: "Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace." And Elijah said unto him: "Tarry, I pray thee, here; for the Lord hath sent me to Jordan." And he said: "As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee." And they two went on. And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went, and stood to view afar off: and they two stood by Jordan. And Elijah took his mantle, and wrapped it together, and smote the waters, and they were divided hither and thither, so that they two went over on dry ground.

And it came to pass, when they were gone over, that Elijah said unto Elisha: "Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be taken away from thee." And Elisha said: "I pray thee, let a double portion1 of thy spirit be upon me." And he said: "Thou hast asked a hard thing: nevertheless, if thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee; but if not, it shall not be so." And it came to pass, as they still went on, and

1 Elisha asks for the share of a first-born son - twice the portion of any other of the 'sons' of the prophet.

talked, that behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. And Elisha saw it, and he cried: "My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof." And he saw him no more: and he took hold of his own clothes, and rent them in two pieces. He took up also the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and went back, and stood by the bank of Jordan; and he took the mantle of Elijah and smote the waters, and said, "Where is the Lord God of Elijah?" and when he also had smitten the waters, they parted hither and thither and Elisha went over.

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And when the sons of the prophets which were to view saw him, they said, "The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha." And they came to meet him, and bowed themselves to the ground before him. And they said unto him: "Behold now, there be with thy servants fifty strong men; let them go, we pray thee, and seek thy master: lest peradventure the spirit of the Lord hath taken him up, and cast him upon some mountain, or into some valley." And he said, "Ye shall not send." And when they urged him till he was ashamed, he said, "Send." They sent therefore fifty men; and they sought three days, but found him not. And when they came again to him (for he tarried at Jericho), he said unto them, "Did I not say unto you, Go not?”

The Healing of the Waters of Jericho (2 Kings ii. 19–22). And the men of the city said unto Elisha: "Behold, I pray thee, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord seeth: but the water is naught, and the ground barren." And he said: "Bring me a new cruse, and put salt therein." And they brought it to him. And he went forth unto the spring of the waters, and cast the salt in there, and said: "Thus saith the Lord, I have healed these waters; there shall not be from thence any more death or barren land." So the waters were healed unto this day, according to the saying of Elisha which he spake.

Elisha and the Mocking Children (2 Kings ii. 23-25). And he went up from thence unto Beth-el: and as he was going up by the way, there came forth little children out of the city, and mocked him, and said unto him: "Go up, thou bald head; go up, thou bald head." And he turned back, and looked on them, and cursed them in the name of the Lord. And there came forth

two she bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two children of them. And he went from thence to mount Carmel, and from thence he returned to Samaria.

The Widow's Oil (2 Kings iv. 1–7). Now there cried a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets unto Elisha, saying: "Thy servant my husband is dead; and thou knowest that thy servant did fear the Lord: and the creditor is come to take unto him my two sons to be bondmen." And Elisha said unto her: "What shall I do for thee? tell me, what hast thou in the house?" And she said: "Thine handmaid hath not any thing in the house, save a pot of oil." Then he said: "Go, borrow thee vessels abroad of all thy neighbors, even empty vessels; borrow not a few. And when thou art come in, thou shalt shut the door upon thee and upon thy sons, and shalt pour out into all those vessels, and thou shalt 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 thy debt, and live thou and thy children of the rest."

Elisha Provides Food for the Prophets (2 Kings iv. 38-44). 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 seethe pottage 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 pottage: for he knew them not. So they poured out for the men to eat. And it came to pass, as they were eating of the pottage, that they cried out, and said: "O thou 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 corn in the husk thereof. And he said: "Give unto