2 Kings 1

²David also defeated the Moabites, made them lie down on the ground, and measured them off with a cord. He measured off with two lengths those to be put to death, and with one length those to be spared. So the Moabites became subject to David and brought him tribute.

²⁰In the days of Jehoram, Edom rebelled against the hand of Judah and appointed their own king.

⁴Now Mesha king of Moab was a sheep breeder, and he would render to the king of Israel a hundred thousand lambs and the wool of a hundred thousand rams.

⁵But after the death of Ahab, the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel.

⁸Moab is My washbasin; upon Edom I toss My sandal; over Philistia I shout in triumph.”

⁷Water will flow from his buckets, and his seed will have abundant water. His king will be greater than Agag, and his kingdom will be exalted.

²David also defeated the Moabites, and they became subject to David and brought him tribute.

¹⁶And Elijah said to King Ahaziah, “This is what the Lord says: Is there really no God in Israel for you to inquire of His word? Is that why you have sent messengers to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore you will not get up from the bed on which you are lying. You will surely die.”

⁷Then Elisha came to Damascus while Ben-hadad king of Aram was sick, and the king was told, “The man of God has come here.”

⁸So the king said to Hazael, “Take a gift in your hand, go to meet the man of God, and inquire of the Lord through him, ‘Will I recover from this illness?’”

²²And the scribes who had come down from Jerusalem were saying, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and, “By the prince of the demons He drives out demons.”

²⁵It is enough for a disciple to be like his teacher, and a servant like his master. If the head of the house has been called Beelzebul, how much more the members of his household!

¹⁹They have cast their gods into the fire and destroyed them, for they were not gods, but only wood and stone—the work of human hands.

¹⁵but some of them said, “It is by Beelzebul, the prince of the demons, that He drives out demons.”

¹Now Elijah the Tishbite, who was among the settlers of Gilead, said to Ahab, “As surely as the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, before whom I stand, there will be neither dew nor rain in these years except at my word!”

⁸Those who cling to worthless idols forsake His loving devotion.

⁷Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He tapped Peter on the side and woke him up, saying, “Get up quickly.” And the chains fell off his wrists.

⁸“Get dressed and put on your sandals,” said the angel. Peter did so, and the angel told him, “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me.”

¹For the choirmaster. With stringed instruments. A Psalm of Asaph. A song. God is known in Judah; His name is great in Israel.

¹¹Has a nation ever changed its gods? (Yet they are not gods at all.) But My people have exchanged their Glory for useless idols.

¹²Be stunned by this, O heavens; be shocked and utterly appalled,” declares the Lord.

²⁶Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Get up and go south to the desert road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.”

⁴Behold, every soul belongs to Me; both father and son are Mine. The soul who sins is the one who will die.

⁴“You will not surely die,” the serpent told the woman.

¹⁷but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; for in the day that you eat of it, you will surely die.”

¹⁶And Elijah said to King Ahaziah, “This is what the Lord says: Is there really no God in Israel for you to inquire of His word? Is that why you have sent messengers to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore you will not get up from the bed on which you are lying. You will surely die.”

¹⁹Genuine righteousness leads to life, but the pursuit of evil brings death.

¹⁹Moreover, the Lord will deliver Israel with you into the hand of the Philistines, and tomorrow you and your sons will be with me. And the Lord will deliver the army of Israel into the hand of the Philistines.”

⁴Sorrows will multiply to those who chase other gods. I will not pour out their libations of blood, or speak their names with my lips.

²Now Ahaziah had fallen through the lattice of his upper room in Samaria and injured himself. So he sent messengers and instructed them: “Go inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, whether I will recover from this injury.”

³But the angel of the Lord said to Elijah the Tishbite, “Go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria and ask them, ‘Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are on your way to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron?’

²²“Let them come and tell us what will happen. Tell the former things, so that we may reflect on them and know the outcome. Or announce to us what is coming.

²³Tell us the things that are to come, so that we may know that you are gods. Yes, do something good or evil, that we may look on together in dismay.

¹³So Saul died for his unfaithfulness to the Lord, because he did not keep the word of the Lord and even consulted a medium for guidance,

¹⁴and he failed to inquire of the Lord. So the Lord put him to death and turned the kingdom over to David son of Jesse.

¹⁸Next, Gideon asked Zebah and Zalmunna, “What kind of men did you kill at Tabor?” “Men like you,” they answered, “each one resembling the son of a king.”

¹⁴“What does he look like?” asked Saul. “An old man is coming up,” she replied. “And he is wearing a robe.” So Saul knew that it was Samuel, and he bowed facedown in reverence.

⁴John wore a garment of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey.

⁴And on that day every prophet who prophesies will be ashamed of his vision, and he will not put on a hairy cloak in order to deceive.

⁶John was clothed in camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey.

⁸Otherwise, what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? Look, those who wear fine clothing are found in kings’ palaces.

³And I will empower my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.”

²the Lord had already spoken through Isaiah son of Amoz, saying, “Go, remove the sackcloth from your waist and the sandals from your feet.” And Isaiah did so, walking around naked and barefoot.

³⁶Still others endured mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment.

¹³So the king said, “Go and see where he is, that I may send men to capture him.” On receiving the report, “Elisha is in Dothan,”

¹⁴the king of Aram sent horses, chariots, and a great army. They went there by night and surrounded the city.

¹¹But the scribes and Pharisees were filled with rage and began to discuss with one another what they might do to Jesus.

¹²In those days Jesus went out to the mountain to pray, and He spent the night in prayer to God.

¹²And Amaziah said to Amos, “Go away, you seer! Flee to the land of Judah; earn your bread there and do your prophesying there.

⁶⁸and said, “Prophesy to us, Christ! Who hit You?”

³Now Herod had arrested John and bound him and put him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife,

⁵⁴When the disciples James and John saw this, they asked, “Lord, do You want us to call down fire from heaven to consume them?”

²⁵“Look!” he exclaimed. “I see four men, unbound and unharmed, walking around in the fire—and the fourth looks like a son of the gods!”

³⁶At the time of the evening sacrifice, Elijah the prophet approached the altar and said, “O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that You are God in Israel and that I am Your servant and have done all these things at Your command.

³⁷Answer me, O Lord! Answer me, so that this people will know that You, the Lord, are God, and that You have turned their hearts back again.”

²²The king’s command was so urgent and the furnace so hot that the fiery flames killed the men who carried up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

¹⁸Then fire blazed through their company; flames consumed the wicked.

²⁹“For our God is a consuming fire.”

⁵“Jesus of Nazareth,” they answered. Jesus said, “I am He.” And Judas His betrayer was standing there with them.

⁶When Jesus said, “I am He,” they drew back and fell to the ground.

¹¹O Lord, Your hand is upraised, but they do not see it. They will see Your zeal for Your people and be put to shame. The fire set for Your enemies will consume them!

³O Lord, do not Your eyes look for truth? You struck them, but they felt no pain. You finished them off, but they refused to accept discipline. They have made their faces harder than stone and refused to repent.

¹⁷Then the king ordered the guards at his side, “Turn and kill the priests of the Lord, because they too sided with David. For they knew he was fleeing, but they did not tell me.” But the king’s servants would not lift a hand to strike the priests of the Lord.

¹⁸So the king ordered Doeg, “You turn and strike down the priests!” And Doeg the Edomite turned and struck down the priests himself. On that day he killed eighty-five men who wore the linen ephod.

⁴¹The next day the whole congregation of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron, saying, “You have killed the Lord’s people!”

¹⁶When Herod saw that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was filled with rage. Sending orders, he put to death all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, according to the time he had learned from the Magi.

⁹Then King Ahaziah sent to Elijah a captain with his company of fifty men. So the captain went up to Elijah, who was sitting on top of a hill, and said to him, “Man of God, the king declares, ‘Come down!’”

¹⁰Elijah answered the captain, “If I am a man of God, may fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men.” And fire came down from heaven and consumed the captain and his fifty men.

⁵Why do you want more beatings? Why do you keep rebelling? Your head has a massive wound, and your whole heart is afflicted.

¹⁴He will redeem them from oppression and violence, for their blood is precious in his sight.

²²Though you grind a fool like grain with mortar and a pestle, yet his folly will not depart from him.

²Has not My hand made all these things? And so they came into being,” declares the Lord. “This is the one I will esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, who trembles at My word.

¹⁷He will turn toward the prayer of the destitute; He will not despise their prayer.

⁸And all these officials of yours will come and bow before me, saying, ‘Go, you and all the people who follow you!’ After that, I will depart.” And hot with anger, Moses left Pharaoh’s presence.

²⁴But I consider my life of no value to me, if only I may finish my course and complete the ministry I have received from the Lord Jesus—the ministry of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.

¹⁵Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints.

⁸For the redemption of his soul is costly, and never can payment suffice,

¹⁰Elijah answered the captain, “If I am a man of God, may fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men.” And fire came down from heaven and consumed the captain and his fifty men.

¹¹So the king sent to Elijah another captain with his fifty men. And the captain said to Elijah, “Man of God, the king declares, ‘Come down at once!’”

²⁵For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.

²⁶What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?

²¹Then Saul replied, “I have sinned. Come back, David my son. I will never harm you again, because today you considered my life precious. I have played the fool and have committed a grave error!”

¹²“I, even I, am He who comforts you. Why should you be afraid of mortal man, of a son of man who withers like grass?

⁶But you, son of man, do not be afraid of them or their words. Do not be afraid, though briers and thorns surround you, and you dwell among scorpions. Do not be afraid of their words or dismayed by their presence, though they are a rebellious house.

¹⁷Get yourself ready. Stand up and tell them everything that I command you. Do not be intimidated by them, or I will terrify you before them.

¹After these events, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.”

³But the angel of the Lord said to Elijah the Tishbite, “Go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria and ask them, ‘Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are on your way to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron?’

²⁸Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Instead, fear the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

²Now Ahaziah had fallen through the lattice of his upper room in Samaria and injured himself. So he sent messengers and instructed them: “Go inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, whether I will recover from this injury.”

³But the angel of the Lord said to Elijah the Tishbite, “Go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria and ask them, ‘Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are on your way to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron?’

¹⁸“Get up and go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, who is in Samaria. See, he is in the vineyard of Naboth, where he has gone to take possession of it.

¹⁹Tell him that this is what the Lord says: ‘Have you not murdered a man and seized his land?’ Then tell him that this is also what the Lord says: ‘In the place where the dogs licked up the blood of Naboth, there also the dogs will lick up your blood—yes, yours!’”

²²Then tell Pharaoh that this is what the Lord says: ‘Israel is My firstborn son,

²³and I told you to let My son go so that he may worship Me. But since you have refused to let him go, behold, I will kill your firstborn son!’”

⁶So when Ahijah heard the sound of her feet entering the door, he said, “Come in, wife of Jeroboam! Why are you disguised? For I have been sent to you with bad news.

⁷Go, tell Jeroboam that this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘I raised you up from among the people and appointed you ruler over My people Israel.

³“I will not enter my house or get into my bed,

²¹So Gehazi pursued Naaman. And when Naaman saw him running toward him, he got down from the chariot to meet him and asked, “Is everything all right?”

¹In the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat’s reign over Judah, Jehoram son of Ahab became king of Israel, and he reigned in Samaria twelve years.

⁵¹In the seventeenth year of Jehoshaphat’s reign over Judah, Ahaziah son of Ahab became king of Israel, and he reigned in Samaria two years.

¹⁶In the fifth year of the reign of Joram son of Ahab over Israel, Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat succeeded his father as king of Judah.

¹⁷Jehoram was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eight years.

¹⁹As for the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, how he waged war and how he reigned, they are indeed written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel.

³⁹As for the rest of the acts of Ahab, along with all his accomplishments and the ivory palace and all the cities he built, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?