Bible Reading Plan

Chapter 2

Elijah in the Whirlwind

¹ The time had come for the Lord to take Elijah up to heaven^(a) in a whirlwind.^(b) Elijah and Elisha^(c) were traveling from Gilgal,^{(d) 2} and Elijah said to Elisha,^(e) "Stay here;^(f) the Lord is sending me on to Bethel."^(g)

But Elisha replied, "As the Lord lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you."^(h) So they went down to Bethel.

³ Then the sons of the prophets⁽ⁱ⁾ who were at Bethel came out to Elisha and said, "Do you know that the Lord will take your master away from you today?"^(j)

He said, "Yes, I know. Be quiet."

⁴ Elijah said to him, "Elisha, stay here; the Lord is sending me to Jericho."^(k)

But Elisha said, "As the Lord lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you." So they went to Jericho.

⁵ Then the sons of the prophets who were in Jericho came up to Elisha and said, "Do you know that the Lord will take your master away from you today?"

He said, "Yes, I know. Be quiet."

⁶ Elijah said to him, "Stay here; the Lord is sending me to the Jordan."^(l)

But Elisha said, "As the Lord lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you." So the two of them went on.

⁷ Fifty men from the sons of the prophets came and stood facing them from a distance while the two of them stood by the Jordan. ⁸ Elijah took his mantle,^(m) rolled it up, and struck the waters, which parted to the right and left. Then the two of them crossed over on dry ground.^{(n) 9} After they had crossed over, Elijah said to Elisha, "Tell me what I can do for you before I am taken from you."

So Elisha answered, "Please, let me inherit two shares^[a] of your spirit."^(o)

¹⁰ Elijah replied, "You have asked for something difficult. If you see me being taken from you,^(p) you will have it. If not, you won't."

¹¹ As they continued walking and talking, a chariot of fire with horses of fire^(q) suddenly appeared and separated the two of them. Then Elijah went up into heaven in the whirlwind.^{(r) 12} As Elisha watched, he kept crying out, "My father, my father, the chariots and horsemen of Israel!"^(s) Then he never saw Elijah again. He took hold of his own clothes and tore them into two pieces.^(t)

Elisha Succeeds Elijah

¹³ Elisha picked up the mantle^(u) that had fallen off Elijah and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. ¹⁴ Then he took the mantle Elijah had dropped and struck the waters. "Where is the Lord God of Elijah?" he asked. He struck the waters himself, and they parted to the right and the left, and Elisha crossed over.

¹⁵ When the sons of the prophets from Jericho who were facing him saw him, they said, "The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha." They came to meet him and bowed down to the ground in front of him.

¹⁶ Then the sons of the prophets said to Elisha, "Since there are 50 strong men here with your servants, please let them go and search for your master. Maybe the Spirit of the Lord has carried him away and put him on one of the mountains or into one of the valleys."^(v)

He answered, "Don't send them."

¹⁷ However, they urged him to the point of embarrassment,^(w) so he said, "Send them." They sent 50 men, who looked for three days but did not find him. ¹⁸ When they returned to him in Jericho^(x) where he was staying, he said to them, "Didn't I tell you not to go?"

¹⁹ Then the men of the city said to Elisha, "Even though our lord can see that the city's location is good, the water is bad and the land unfruitful."^(y)

²⁰ He replied, "Bring me a new bowl and put salt in it."^(z)

After they had brought him one, ²¹ Elisha went out to the spring of water, threw salt in it,^(aa) and said, "This is what the Lord says: ‘I have healed this water. No longer will death or unfruitfulness result from it.'" ²² Therefore, the water remains healthy to this very day according to the word that Elisha spoke.

²³ From there Elisha went up to Bethel.^(ab) As he was walking up the path, some small boys came out of the city and harassed him,^(ac) chanting, "Go up, baldy! Go up, baldy!" ²⁴ He turned around, looked at them, and cursed them in the name of the Lord .^(ad) Then two female bears came out of the woods and mauled 42 of the children. ²⁵ From there Elisha went to Mount Carmel,^(ae) and then he returned to Samaria.^(af)

Chapter 3

Israel's King Joram

¹ Joram son of Ahab became king over Israel in Samaria during the eighteenth year of Judah's King Jehoshaphat and reigned 12 years.^{(a) 2} He did what was evil in the Lord 's sight, but not like his father and mother,^(b) for he removed the sacred pillar of Baal his father had made. ³ Nevertheless, Joram clung to the sins that Jeroboam son of Nebat had caused Israel to commit.^(c) He did not turn away from them.

Moab's Rebellion against Israel

⁴ King Mesha of Moab^(d) was a sheep breeder. He used to pay^(e) the king of Israel 100,000 lambs and the wool of 100,000 rams,^{(f) 5} but when Ahab died, the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel.^{(g) 6} So King Joram marched out from Samaria at that time and mobilized all Israel. ⁷ Then he sent a message to King Jehoshaphat^(h) of Judah: "The king of Moab has rebelled against me.⁽ⁱ⁾ Will you go with me to fight against Moab?"

Jehoshaphat said, "I will go. I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses."^{(j) 8} Then he asked, "Which route should we take?"

Joram replied, "The route of the Wilderness of Edom."

⁹ So the king of Israel, the king of Judah, and the king of Edom^(k) set out. After they had traveled their indirect route for seven days, they had no water for the army or their animals.

¹⁰ Then the king of Israel said, "Oh no, the Lord has summoned three kings, only to hand them over to Moab."

¹¹ But Jehoshaphat said, "Isn't there a prophet of the Lord here? Let's inquire of Yahweh through him."^(l)

One of the servants of the king of Israel answered, "Elisha son of Shaphat,^(m) who used to pour water on Elijah's hands, is here."

¹² Jehoshaphat affirmed, "The Lord 's words are with him." So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom went to him.⁽ⁿ⁾

¹³ However, Elisha said to King Joram of Israel, "We have nothing in common. Go to the prophets of your father and your mother!"^(o)

But the king of Israel replied, "No, because it is the Lord who has summoned these three kings to hand them over to Moab."

¹⁴ Elisha responded, "As the Lord of Hosts lives,^(p) I stand before Him. If I did not have respect for King Jehoshaphat of Judah,^(q) I would not look at you; I wouldn't take notice of you. ¹⁵ Now, bring me a musician."^(r)

While the musician played,^(s) the Lord 's hand^(t) came on Elisha. ¹⁶ Then he said, "This is what the Lord says: ‘Dig ditch after ditch in this wadi.' ¹⁷ For the Lord says, ‘You will not see wind or rain, but the wadi will be filled with water,^(u) and you will drink—you and your cattle and your animals.' ¹⁸ This is easy in the Lord 's sight.^(v) He will also hand Moab over to you.^{(w) 19} Then you must attack every fortified city and every choice city. You must cut down every good tree and stop up every spring of water. You must ruin every good piece of land with stones."

²⁰ About the time for the grain offering^(x) the next morning, water suddenly came from the direction of Edom and filled the land.

²¹ All Moab had heard that the kings^(y) had come up to fight against them. So all who could bear arms, from the youngest to the oldest, were summoned and took their stand at the border. ²² When they got up early in the morning, the sun was shining on the water, and the Moabites saw that the water across from them was red like blood.^{(z) 23} "This is blood!" they exclaimed. "The kings^(aa) have clashed swords and killed each other. So, to the spoil, Moab!"

²⁴ However, when the Moabites came to Israel's camp, the Israelites attacked them, and they fled from them. So Israel went into the land and struck down the Moabites. ²⁵ They destroyed the cities, and each of them threw stones to cover every good piece of land. They stopped up every spring of water and cut down every good tree. In the end, only the buildings of Kir-hareseth^(ab) were left. Then men with slings surrounded the city and attacked it.

²⁶ When the king of Moab saw that the battle was too fierce for him, he took 700 swordsmen with him to try to break through to the king of Edom,^(ac) but they could not do it. ²⁷ So he took his firstborn son,^(ad) who was to become king in his place, and offered him as a burnt offering on the city wall. Great wrath was on the Israelites, and they withdrew from him and returned to their land.

Chapter 4

The Widow's Oil Multiplied

¹ One of the wives of the sons of the prophets^(a) cried out to Elisha, "Your servant, my husband, has died. You know that your servant feared the Lord .^(b) Now the creditor is coming to take my two children as his slaves."^(c)

² Elisha asked her, "What can I do for you? Tell me, what do you have in the house?"

She said, "Your servant has nothing in the house except a jar of oil."^(d)

³ Then he said, "Go and borrow empty containers from everyone—from all your neighbors. Do not get just a few.^{(e) 4} Then go in and shut the door behind you and your sons, and pour oil into all these containers. Set the full ones to one side." ⁵ So she left.

After she had shut the door behind her and her sons, they kept bringing her containers, and she kept pouring.^{(f) 6} When they were full, she said to her son, "Bring me another container."

But he replied, "There aren't any more." Then the oil stopped.

⁷ She went and told the man of God,^(g) and he said, "Go sell the oil and pay your debt; you and your sons can live on the rest."^(h)

The Shunammite Woman's Hospitality

⁸ One day Elisha went to Shunem.⁽ⁱ⁾ A prominent woman who lived there persuaded him to eat some food. So whenever he passed by, he stopped there to eat.^{(j) 9} Then she said to her husband, "I know that the one who often passes by here is a holy man of God, ¹⁰ so let's make a small room upstairs and put a bed, a table, a chair, and a lamp there for him. Whenever he comes, he can stay there."^(k)

The Shunammite Woman's Son

¹¹ One day he came there and stopped and went to the room upstairs to lie down. ¹² He ordered his attendant Gehazi,^(l) "Call this Shunammite woman." So he called her and she stood before him.

¹³ Then he said to Gehazi, "Say to her, ‘Look, you've gone to all this trouble for us. What can we do for you?^(m) Can we speak on your behalf to the king or to the commander of the army?'"

She answered, "I am living among my own people."

¹⁴ So he asked, "Then what should be done for her?"

Gehazi answered, "Well, she has no son, and her husband is old."

¹⁵ "Call her," Elisha said. So Gehazi called her, and she stood in the doorway. ¹⁶ Elisha said, "At this time next year you will have a son in your arms."⁽ⁿ⁾

Then she said, "No, my lord. Man of God, do not deceive your servant."^(o)

¹⁷ The woman conceived and gave birth to a son at the same time the following year, as Elisha had promised her.

The Shunammite's Son Raised

¹⁸ The child grew and one day went out to his father and the harvesters.^{(p) 19} Suddenly he complained to his father, "My head! My head!"

His father told his servant, "Carry him to his mother." ²⁰ So he picked him up and took him to his mother. The child sat on her lap until noon and then died. ²¹ Then she went up and laid him on the bed of the man of God, shut him in, and left.

²² She summoned her husband and said, "Please send me one of the servants and one of the donkeys, so I can hurry to the man of God and then come back."

²³ But he said, "Why go to him today? It's not a New Moon or a Sabbath."^(q)

She replied, "Everything is all right."^(r)

²⁴ Then she saddled the donkey and said to her servant, "Hurry, don't slow the pace for me unless I tell you." ²⁵ So she set out and went to the man of God at Mount Carmel.^(s)

When the man of God saw her at a distance, he said to his attendant Gehazi,^(t) "Look, there's the Shunammite woman.^{(u) 26} Run out to meet her and ask, ‘Are you all right? Is your husband all right? Is your son all right?'"

And she answered, "Everything's all right."

²⁷ When she came up to the man of God at the mountain, she clung to his feet.^(v) Gehazi came to push her away, but the man of God said, "Leave her alone—she is in severe anguish,^(w) and the Lord has hidden it from me. He hasn't told me."

²⁸ Then she said, "Did I ask my lord for a son? Didn't I say, ‘Do not deceive me?'"^(x)

²⁹ So Elisha said to Gehazi, "Tuck your mantle^(y) under your belt, take my staff with you, and go. If you meet anyone, don't stop to greet him, and if a man greets you, don't answer him.^(z) Then place my staff on the boy's face."

³⁰ The boy's mother said to Elisha, "As the Lord lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you."^(aa) So he got up and followed her.

³¹ Gehazi went ahead of them and placed the staff on the boy's face, but there was no sound or sign of life, so he went back to meet Elisha and told him, "The boy didn't wake up."^(ab)

³² When Elisha got to the house, he discovered the boy lying dead on his bed.^{(ac) 33} So he went in, closed the door behind the two of them, and prayed to the Lord .^{(ad) 34} Then he went up and lay on the boy:^(ae) he put mouth to mouth, eye to eye, hand to hand. While he bent down over him, the boy's flesh became warm.^{(af) 35} Elisha got up, went into the house, and paced back and forth. Then he went up and bent down over him again. The boy sneezed seven times and opened his eyes.^(ag)

³⁶ Elisha called Gehazi and said, "Call the Shunammite woman." He called her and she came. Then Elisha said, "Pick up your son." ³⁷ She came, fell at his feet, and bowed to the ground; she picked up her son and left.^(ah)

The Deadly Stew

³⁸ When Elisha returned to Gilgal,^(ai) there was a famine^(aj) in the land. The sons of the prophets^(ak) were sitting at his feet.^[a](al) He said to his attendant, "Put on the large pot and make stew for the sons of the prophets."

³⁹ One went out to the field to gather herbs and found a wild vine from which he gathered as many wild gourds as his garment would hold. Then he came back and cut them up into the pot of stew, but they were unaware of what they were.

⁴⁰ They served some for the men to eat, but when they ate the stew they cried out, "There's death in the pot,^(am) man of God!" And they were unable to eat it.

⁴¹ Then Elisha said, "Get some meal." He threw it into the pot and said, "Serve it for the people to eat." And there was nothing bad in the pot.^(an)

The Multiplied Bread

⁴² A man from Baal-shalishah^(ao) came to the man of God with his sack full of 20 loaves of barley bread from the first bread of the harvest. Elisha said, "Give it to the people to eat."^(ap)

⁴³ But Elisha's attendant asked, "What? Am I to set 20 loaves before 100 men?"^(aq)

"Give it to the people to eat," Elisha said, "for this is what the Lord says: ‘They will eat, and they will have some left over.'" ⁴⁴ So he gave it to them, and as the Lord had promised, they ate and had some left over.^(ar)

Chapter 5

Naaman's Disease Healed

¹ Naaman,^(a) commander of the army for the king of Aram, was a great man in his master's sight^[a] and highly regarded^(b) because through him, the Lord had given victory to Aram. The man was a brave warrior, but he had a skin disease.^(c)

² Aram had gone on raids^(d) and brought back from the land of Israel a young girl who served Naaman's wife. ³ She said to her mistress, "If only my master would go to^[b] the prophet who is in Samaria, he would cure him of his skin disease."

⁴ So Naaman went and told his master what the girl from the land of Israel had said. ⁵ Therefore, the king of Aram said, "Go and I will send a letter with you to the king of Israel."

So he went and took with him 750 pounds^[c] of silver, 150 pounds^[d] of gold, and 10 changes of clothes.^{(e) 6} He brought the letter to the king of Israel, and it read:

⁷ When the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes^(f) and asked, "Am I God,^(g) killing and giving life that this man expects me to cure a man of his skin disease? Think it over and you will see that he is only picking a fight with^[e] me."^(h)

⁸ When Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel tore his clothes, he sent a message to the king, "Why have you torn your clothes? Have him come to me, and he will know there is a prophet in Israel."^{(i) 9} So Naaman came with his horses and chariots and stood at the door of Elisha's house.

¹⁰ Then Elisha sent him a messenger,^(j) who said, "Go wash^(k) seven times^(l) in the Jordan and your flesh will be restored and you will be clean."

¹¹ But Naaman got angry and left, saying, "I was telling myself: He will surely come out, stand and call on the name of Yahweh his God, and will wave his hand^(m) over the spot and cure the skin disease. ¹² Aren't Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel?⁽ⁿ⁾ Could I not wash in them and be clean?" So he turned and left in a rage.^(o)

¹³ But his servants approached and said to him, "My father,^(p) if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more should you do it when he tells you, ‘Wash and be clean'?" ¹⁴ So Naaman went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, according to the command of the man of God. Then his skin was restored and became like the skin of a small boy, and he was clean.^(q)

¹⁵ Then Naaman and his whole company went back to the man of God, stood before him, and declared, "I know there's no God in the whole world except in Israel.^(r) Therefore, please accept a gift^(s) from your servant."

¹⁶ But Elisha said, "As the Lord lives,^(t) I stand before Him. I will not accept it."^(u) Naaman urged him to accept it, but he refused.

¹⁷ Naaman responded, "If not, please let your servant be given as much soil as a pair of mules can carry,^(v) for your servant will no longer offer a burnt offering or a sacrifice to any other god but Yahweh.^{(w) 18} However, in a particular matter may the Lord pardon your servant: When my master, the king of Aram, goes into the temple of Rimmon to worship and I, as his right-hand man,^[f](x) bow in the temple of Rimmon—when I bow^[g] in the temple of Rimmon, may the Lord pardon your servant in this matter."

¹⁹ So he said to him, "Go in peace."^(y)

Gehazi's Greed Punished

After Naaman had traveled a short distance from Elisha, ²⁰ Gehazi,^(z) the attendant of Elisha the man of God, thought: My master has let this Aramean Naaman off lightly by not accepting from him what he brought. As the Lord lives,^(aa) I will run after him and get something from him.

²¹ So Gehazi pursued Naaman. When Naaman saw someone running after him, he got down from the chariot to meet him and asked, "Is everything all right?"

²² Gehazi said, "It's all right.^(ab) My master has sent me to say, ‘I have just now discovered that two young men from the sons of the prophets have come to me from the hill country of Ephraim. Please give them 75 pounds^[h] of silver and two changes of clothes.'"^(ac)

²³ But Naaman insisted, "Please, accept 150 pounds."^[i] He urged Gehazi and then packed 150 pounds^[j] of silver in two bags with two changes of clothes. Naaman gave them to two of his young men who carried them ahead of Gehazi. ²⁴ When Gehazi came to the hill,^[k](ad) he took the gifts from them and stored them in the house. Then he dismissed the men, and they left.

²⁵ Gehazi came and stood by his master. "Where did you go, Gehazi?" Elisha asked him.

"Your servant didn't go anywhere," he replied.

²⁶ But Elisha questioned him, "Wasn't my spirit^(ae) there^[l] when the man got down from his chariot to meet you? Is it a time to accept money and clothes, olive orchards and vineyards, sheep and oxen, and male and female slaves? ²⁷ Therefore, Naaman's skin disease will cling to you and your descendants forever." So Gehazi went out from his presence diseased—white as snow.^(af)