b-b Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
c Lit. “runners.”
a-a 2 Chron. 13.2 reads “Micaiah daughter of Uriel of Gibeah”; cf. v. 10 below, where Maacah, daughter of Abishalom, appears as mother of Asa.
b So several mss.; most mss. and the editions read “Rehoboam.”
c-c Exact meaning of Heb. uncertain.
d-d So kethib and 2 Chron. 15.18.
a-a Syntax of Heb. unclear.
b Cf. Josh. 6.26.
a I.e., of the drought; see 17.1.
b-b I.e., who are maintained by Jezebel.
c-c Lit. “on the two boughs.”
d-d Lit. “and it shall be.”
e-e Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
f-f Others “prophesied”; see Num. 11.25–26.
g See Gen. 35.10.
h I.e., of an area which would require two seahs of seed if sown. Cf. Lev. 27.16; Isa. 5.10.
i-i Lit. “He bound up his loins.”
a Of Baal; see 18.40.
b-b A formula of imprecation. Many Heb. mss. and Septuagint add “to me.”
c So many Heb. mss. and Septuagint; most mss., and the editions, read “And he saw, and.”
d Others “a still, small voice.”
e I.e., I am not stopping you.
f-f Lit. “them, the flesh.”
g I.e., using it as firewood; cf. 2 Sam. 24.22.
a Several ancient versions read “they.”
b-b See note at 19.2.
c I.e., Ben-hadad.
d Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
a-a See note at 14.10.
b So nine Heb. mss. and the parallel 2 Kings 9.36, as well as Targum and other ancient versions. Most texts read here “rampart.”
a-a Lit. “They remained.”
b-b Perhaps a notation suggesting that Micaiah was identical with Micah, whose prophecies begin, “Listen, all you peoples,” Mic. 1.2.
c-c Targum and Septuagint read, “I will disguise myself and go.”
d-d Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
e-e Lit. “your hand,” because horses are guided by a pull on the appropriate rein; cf. 2 Kings 9.23.
f-f Lit. “outside the camp.”
g-g Lit. “he came.”
h Cf. 21.19.
i-i Emendation yields “the viceroy of King Jehoshaphat.”
j See note at 10.22.
II Kings
1 After Ahab’s death, Moab rebelled against Israel.
2Ahaziah fell through the lattice in his upper chamber at Samaria and was injured. So he sent messengers, whom he instructed: “Go inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, whether I shall recover from this injury.” 3But an angel of the LORD said to Elijah the Tishbite, “Go and confront the messengers of the king of Samaria and say to them, ‘Is there no God in Israel that you go to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron? 4Assuredly, thus said the LORD: You shall not a-rise from the bed you are lying on,-a but you shall die.’ ” And Elijah went.
5The messengers returned to Ahaziah;b and he asked, “Why have you come back?” 6They answered him, “A man came toward us and said to us, ‘Go back to the king who sent you, and say to him: Thus said the LORD: Is there no God in Israel that you must send to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron? Assuredly, you shall not rise from the bed you are lying on, but shall die.’ ” 7“What sort of man was it,” he asked them, “who came toward you and said these things to you?” 8“A hairy man,” they replied, “with a leather belt tied around his waist.” “That’s Elijah the Tishbite!” he said.
9Then he sent to him a captain of fifty with his fifty men. He climbed up to him, and found him sitting at the top of a hill. “Man of God,” he said to him, “by order of the king, come down!” 10Elijah replied to the captain of the fifty, “If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you with your fifty men!” And fire came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty men. 11The king then sent to him another captain with his fifty men; and he c-addressed him-c as follows: “Man of God, by order of the king, come down at once!” 12But Elijah answered him, “If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you with your fifty men!” And fire of God came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty men. 13Then he sent a third captain of fifty with his fifty men. The third captain of fifty climbed to the top, knelt before Elijah, and implored him, saying, “Oh, man of God, please have regard for my life and the lives of these fifty servants of yours! 14Already fire has come from heaven and consumed the first two captains of fifty and their men;d I beg you, have regard for my life!”
15Then the angel of the LORD said to Elijah, “Go down with him, do not be afraid of him.” So he rose and went down with him to the king. 16He said to him, “Because you sent messengers to inquire of Baal-zebub the god of Ekron—as if there were no God in Israel whose word you could seek—assuredly, you shall not rise from the bed which you are lying on; but you shall die.”
17And [Ahaziah] died, according to the word of the LORD that Elijah had spoken. Jehorame succeeded him as king, in the second year of King Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat of Judah, for he had no son. 18The other events of Ahaziah’s reign [and] his actions are recorded in the Annals of the Kings of Israel.
2When the LORD was about to take Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha had set out from Gilgal. 2Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here, for the LORD has sent me on to Bethel.” “As the LORD lives and as you live,” said Elisha, “I will not leave you.” So they went down to Bethel. 3Disciples of the prophets at Bethel came out to Elisha and said to him, “Do you know that the LORD will take your master a-away from you-a today?” He replied, “I know it, too; be silent.”
4Then Elijah said to him, “Elisha, stay here, for the LORD has sent me on to Jericho.” “As the LORD lives and as you live,” said Elisha, “I will not leave you.” So they went on to Jericho. 5The disciples of the prophets who were at Jericho came over to Elisha and said to him, “Do you know that the LORD will take your master a-away from you-a today?” He replied, “I know it, too; be silent.”
6Elijah said to him, “Stay here, for the LORD has sent me on to the Jordan.” “As the LORD lives and as you live, I will not leave you,” he said, and the two of them went on. 7Fifty men of the disciples of the prophets followed and stood by at a distance from them as the two of them stopped at the Jordan. 8Thereupon Elijah took his mantle and, rolling it up, he struck the water; it divided to the right and left, so that the two of them crossed over on dry land. 9As they were crossing, Elijah said to Elisha, “Tell me, what can I do for you before I am taken from you?” Elisha answered, “Let a b-double portion-b of your spirit pass on to me.” 10“You have asked a difficult thing,” he said. “If you see me as I am being taken from you, this will be granted to you; if not, it will not.” 11As they kept on walking and talking, a fiery chariot with fiery horses suddenly appeared and separated one from the other; and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind. 12Elisha saw it, and he cried out, “Oh, father, father! Israel’s chariots and horsemen!” When he could no longer see him, he grasped his garments and rent them in two.
13He picked up Elijah’s mantle, which had dropped from him; and he went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. 14Taking the mantle which had dropped from Elijah, he struck the water and said, “Where is the LORD, the God of Elijah?” As he too struck the water, it parted to the right and to the left, and Elisha crossed over. 15When the disciples of the prophets at Jericho saw him from a distance, they exclaimed, “The spirit of Elijah has settled on Elisha!” And they went to meet him and bowed low before him to the ground.
16They said to him, “Your servants have fifty able men with them. Let them go and look for your master; perhaps the spirit of the LORD has carried him off and cast him upon some mountain or into some valley.” “Do not send them,” he replied. 17But they kept pressing him for a long time, until he said, “Send them.” So they sent out fifty men, who searched for three days but did not find him. 18They came back to him while he was still in Jericho; and he said to them, “I told you not to go.”
19The men of the town said to Elisha, “Look, the town is a pleasant place to live in, as my lord can see; but the water is bad and the land causes bereavement.” 20He responded, “Bring me a new dish and put salt in it.” They brought it to him; 21he went to the spring and threw salt into it. And he said, “Thus said the LORD: I heal this water; no longer shall death and bereavement come from it!” 22The water has remained wholesome to this day, in accordance with the word spoken by Elisha.
23From there he went up to Bethel. As he was going up the road, some little boys came out of the town and jeered at him, saying, “Go away, baldhead! Go away, baldhead!” 24He turned around and looked at them and cursed them in the name of the LORD. Thereupon, two she-bears came
