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The 7th Chapter
Then Eliseus said: hear the word
of the Lord: for thus saith the Lord: tomorrow this time a bushel of
fine flour shall be sold for a sickle and two bushels of Barley for
another in the gates of Samaria. Then a great Lord on whose hand the
king leaned, answered the man of God and said, though the Lord would
make windows in heaven, yet would not this be. And he said again:
Behold, thou shalt see it with thine eyes and shalt not eat thereof.
And there were four lepers set without the gate of Samaria.
And they said each to his companion, what sit we here until we die?
though we thought that we might come into the city, yet is the
*dearth so great in the city, that we shall there die. And if we
tarry here, we are but dead also. Now therefore come and let us flee
to the Host of the Sirians: if they save our lives, we shall live:
And if they kill us, then are we dead. And so they arose in the dark
to go to the Host of the Sirians. And when they were come to the
side of the Host of Siria: see, there was no man there.
For the Lord had made the Host of the Sirians hear a noise of
chariots and a noise of horses, and the noise of a great Host. In so
much that they said one to another: see, the king of Israel hath
hired against us, the kings of the Hethites and the kings of Egypt,
to come upon us. And upon that they arose and fled in the dark, and
left their tents, their horses, their Asses and the field they had
pitched even as it was, and fled for their lives. And when these
lepers came to the edge of the Host, they went into a tent and did
eat and drink and carried thence silver, gold and raiment, and went
and hid it: and came again and entered into another, and carried
thence also, and went and hid it.
Then they said one to another: it is not well that we do, for
this day is a day to bring tidings. And if we hold our peace, and
tarry till it be daylight, we shall find a mischief. Now therefore
come, let us go and tell the kings household. And so they went and
called to the porter of the city and told them saying: we came to
the pavilions of the Sirians: and see, there was no man there,
neither voice of man, but horses and Asses tied, and the tents even
as they were.
Then the porters called and told the kings house within. And
the king arose in the night and said to his servants: I will show
you, how the Sirians have served us. They know that we are oppressed
with hunger, and therefore are gone out of their pavilions to hide
themselves in the field saying: They will come out of the city, and
then we shall catch them alive and get into the city. And one of his
servants answered and said: Let men take five of the horses that
remain and are left in the city. Behold they are as good as all the
multitude that are left in the city: and as good as all the
multitude of the city that are consumed, and let us send and see.
And they took two chariots of horses, and the king sent after the
Host of the Sirians saying: go and see. And they followed after them
even unto Jordan: and see, all the way was full of clothes and
vessels which the Sirians had cast from them for haste.
And the messengers returned and told the king. And then the
people went out and robbed the tents of the Sirians. And so a bushel
of flour was sold for a sickle, and two bushels of barley for a
sickle, according to the word of the Lord. And the king set the Lord
on whose hand he leaned, to keep the gate. And the people trod him
in the gate, that he died, according to the saying of the man of God
which he said, when the king came down to him. And it came to pass
according to the word of the man of God to the king saying: two
bushels of barley for a sickle and a bushel of flour for another
shall be tomorrow this time in the gates of Samaria. And the Lord
answered the man of God and said: though the Lord made windows in
heaven, yet would this not be. And the other said: Behold, thou
shalt see it with thine eyes, and shalt not eat thereof. And so it
chanced: for the people trod him under feet in the gate, that he
died.
*dearth (famine)
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The 8th Chapter
Then spake Eliseus unto the
woman whose son he had restored to life again, saying: up and go
both thou and thine house, and sojourn where thou thinkest best, for
the Lord will call a *dearth which shall come on the land seven
years. And the woman arose and did after the saying of the man of
God, and went both she and her household and sojourned in the land
of the Philistines seven years. And at the seven years end, when the
woman was come again out of the land of the Philistines she went out
to speak to the king for her house and for her land. And the king
was talking with Gihezi the servant to the man of God saying: tell
me I pray thee, all the great deeds which Eliseus did. And it
chanced as he was telling the king how he restored a dead body to
life again that the woman whose son he revived, cried to the king
for her house and her land. Then said Gihezi: My Lord king, this is
the woman and this is her son which Eliseus brought to life again.
And the king asked the woman, and she told him. And so the king sent
with her one of his chamberlains saying: restore all that pertaineth
to her, with all the fruits of the field, since the day she left the
land, unto this time.
After that Eliseus went to Damasco, Benhadad the king of Siria
being sick. And one told the king saying: The man of God is come
hither. Then said the king to Hazael: take a present with thee and
go against the man of God and ask the Lord by him whether I shall
recover of this my disease or no. And Hazael went to meet him and
took presents with him, even of all the good things of Damasco, as
much as forty Camels could bear, and came and presented himself
before him and said: thy son Benhadad King of Siria hath sent me to
thee, saying: shall I recover of this my disease.
And Eliseus said to him: go and say to him, thou shalt
recover, how be it the Lord hath showed me that he shall surely die.
And the man of God began to look earnestly, in somuch that he was
ashamed: and the man of God wept. And Hazael said: why weepeth my
Lord: And he answered: for I know that thou shalt do evil unto the
children of Israel: their strong cities thou shalt set on fire, and
their young men thou shalt slay with the sword, and shalt dash out
the brains of their sucking children: and all to tear their women
with child.
And Hazael said: what is thy servant which am but a dog, that
I should do this great thing? And Eliseus said: for the Lord hath
showed me, that thou shalt be king of Siria. And so he departed from
Eliseus and came to his master, which said to him. What said Eliseus
to thee? And he said: he told me that thou shouldest recover. And on
the morrow he took a rough cloth and dipped it in the water and
spread it on his face, and he died, and Hazael reigned in his stead.
The fifth year of Jehoram son of Ahab king of Israel,
Jehosaphat being yet king of Juda, Jehoram the son of Jehosaphat,
king of Juda, began to reign. Thirty two years old was he when he
began to reign, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. And he
walked in the way of the kings of Israel, as did the house of Ahab
for the daughter of Ahab was his wife, and he did that displeased
the Lord. Neverthelater the Lord would not destroy Juda because of
David his servant, as he promised him to give him a light in his
children always.
And in his days Edom fell away from under the hand of Juda,
and made them a king of their own. And Jehoram went to Seir, and all
his chariots with him. And he rose by night and laid on the Edomites,
which compassed him in, and the captains of his chariot and the
people fled into their tents. And so the Edomites slipped away from
under the hand of Juda unto this day. And then Lobnah slipped away
too, even that same time.
The rest of the deeds of Jehoram and all he did, are written
in the chronicles of the kings of Juda. And Jehoram rested with his
fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of David. And
Ohoziah his son reigned in his stead. The twelfth year of Jehoram
son of Ahab, king of Israel, did Ohoziah the son of Jehoram king of
Juda begin to reign. Two and twenty year old was Ohoziah when he
began to reign, and reigned one year in Jerusalem, his mothers name
was Athaliah daughter of Amri king of Israel. And he walked in the
way of the house of Ahab: for he was a son in law to the house of
Ahab.
And Jehoram the son of Ahab went to war with Hazael king of
Siria, at Ramoth in Galaad, and the Sirians wounded him. Wherefore
king Jehoram went back again, to be healed in Jezrahel of the wounds
which the Sirians had given him at Ramoth, when he fought with
Hazael king of Siria. And Ohoziah the son of Jehoram king of Juda
went down to see Jehoram of son of Ahab in Jezrahel because he was
sick.
*dearth (famine)
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The 9th Chapter
And Eliseus the prophet called
unto one of the children of the prophets, and said to him: gird up
thy loins and take this box of oil in thine hand and get thee to
Ramoth in Galaad. And when thou comest thither, thou shalt there see
Jehu the son of Jehosaphat the son of Namsi and go to him, and make
him arise up from among his brethren and carry him to a secret
chamber. And take the box of oil and pour it on his head and say,
thus saith the Lord: I have anointed thee to be king over Israel.
And then open the door and flee, and tarry not. And the servant of
the prophet got him to Ramoth in Galaad, and when he came, the
captains of the Host were sitting together. And he said: I have an
errand to thee Sir captain. And Jehu said, unto which of all of us?
And he said: to thee O captain. And he arose and went into the
house.
And the other poured the oil on his head and said to him, thus
saith the Lord God of Israel: I have anointed thee to be king over
Israel the people of the Lord, that thou slay the household of Ahab
thy master. For I (saith the Lord) will avenge the blood of my
servants the prophets, and the blood of all the servants of the
Lord, of the hand of Jezabel (for the whole house of Ahab shall be
destroyed) and I will destroy unto Ahab what pisseth against the
wall, and so much as the prisoned or that is forsaken in Israel, and
will make the house of Ahab like the house of Jeroboam son of Nabat,
and like the house of Baasa the son of Ahiah. And as for Jezabel the
dogs shall eat her in the field of Jezrahel, and none shall bury
her. And he opened the door and fled.
And when Jehu was come out to the servants of his Lord, they
said to him: is all peace? Wherefore came this mad fellow unto thee?
And he said to him: ye know the person and his communication. And
they said: it is not so. But tell us a fellowship. And he said, thus
and thus spake he to me saying: Thus saith the Lord: I have anointed
thee to be king over Israel. And they hasted and took every man his
mantle and put under him on an high bench at the top of the steps,
and blew a trumpet and said: Jehu is king. And so Jehu the son of
Jehosaphat the son of Namsi conspired against Jehoram. And Jehoram
had been waiting at Ramoth Galaad, and all Israel with him for fear
of Hazael king of Siria, and was returned to be healed in Jezrahel,
of the wounds which the Sirians had given him as he fought with
Hazael king of Siria.
Then said Jehu: If it be your minds, then let no man escape
out of the city, to go and tell in Jezrahel. And Jehu rode and went
to Jezrahel: for Jehoram lay there, and Ohoziah king of Juda was
come to Jehoram. And the watchmen that stood on the tower in
Jezrahel spied the company of Jehu as he came, and said: I see a
company. And Jehoram said: take an horseman and send against them,
and let him ask whether it be peace. And there went one on horseback
against him and said: thus saith the king: is it peace? And Jehu
answered: what hast thou to do with peace? turn and come after me.
And the watchman told saying: the messenger came to them but he
cometh not again.
Then he sent out another on horseback, which came to them and
said, thus saith the king: is it peace? And Jehu answered, what hast
thou to do with peace? turn and come after me. And the watchman told
saying: he came to them, but he cometh not again, and the driving is
like the driving of Jehu the son of Namsi, for he driveth as he were
mad.
Then said Jehoram, make ready. And they made ready his
chariot. And Jehoram king of Israel, and Ohoziah king of Juda went
out either in his chariot against Jehu, and met him in the furlong
of Naboth the Jezrahelite. And when Jehoram saw Jehu, he said: is it
peace Jehu? And he said, what peace should there be, so long as the
whoredoms of thy mother Jezabel and her witchcrafts are so great?
And Jehoram turned his hand and fled, and said to Ohoziah: there is
falsehood Ohoziah. And Jehu took a bow in his hand and smote Jehoram
between the shoulders, that the arrow came out at his breast. And he
fell down three fold in his chariot. Then he said to Badakar a lord
of his, take and cast him in the plat of ground of Naboth the
Jezrahelite. For I remember as I and thou rode together after Ahab
his father, how the Lord spake these words against him: I have seen
yesterday the blood of Naboth and of his sons, said the Lord, and I
will quit him in this ground, saith the Lord. Now therefore take him
and cast him in the plat of ground according to the word of the
Lord. And when Ohoziah the king of Juda saw that, he fled the way to
the garden house. And Jehu followed after him and said: smite him
also. And they smote him in his chariot at the going up to Sur by
Jeblaam, and he fled to Magedo and there died. And his servants
carried him to Jerusalem, and buried him in his sepulchre with his
fathers in the city of David. And in the eleventh year of Jehoram
son of David, began Ohoziah to reign over Juda. And when Jehu was
come to Jezrahel, Jezabel heard of it, and starched her eyes and
tired her head and looked out at a window. And as Jehu entered at
the gate she said: had Zamri peace which slew his master? And he
lifted up his eyes to the window and said, who is of my side who ?
And there looked out to him two or three lords that were
chamberlains. And he said: Throw her down. And they threw her down.
And he sprinkled of her blood upon the walls and on the horses, and
trod her under foot.
And then when he was come in and had eaten and drunk, he said:
go and visit I pray you, yonder cursed creature, and bury her, for
she is a kings daughter. And when they came to bury her, they found
no more of her, than the skull and the two feet and the two hands.
And they came again and told him. And he said: it is the word of the
Lord which he spake by the hand of his servant Eliah the Thesbite
saying: in the field of Jezrahel shall dogs eat the flesh of Jezabel,
and the carcass of Jezabel shall be dung upon the earth, in the
field of Jezrahel, that men shall not say, this is Jezabel.
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The 10th Chapter
Ahab had seventy sons in
Samaria. And Jehu wrote letters, and sent to Samaria unto the elders
that were lords of Jezrahel, and to them that nursed up Ahabs
children saying: now at the coming of these letters to you, ye have
with you your masters sons, and ye have with you chariots and
horses, and a strong city and harness. Therefore choose the best,
and him that most pleaseth you of your masters sons, and put him on
his fathers seat, and fight for your lords house. And they were
accordingly afraid, and said: see, two kings were not able to stand
before him, how shall we then stand? And the governor of the kings
house and of the city and of the elders and the nurses sent to Jehu
saying: we are thy servants and will do all that thou shalt bid us:
we will make no man king: but do thou what seemeth good in thine
eyes.
Then he wrote another letter to them saying: If ye be mine and
will obey my voice, then take the heads of your masters sons and
come to me to Jezrahel, by tomorrow this time. And the kings sons
were seventy persons with the great men of the city which nourished
them. And when the letter came to them, they took the kings children
and slew them in number, seventy persons, and put their heads in
coffins and sent them to him to Jezrahel. And there came a messenger
and told him saying: they have brought the heads of the kings sons.
And he said: let them put them on two heaps in the entering of the
gate, till it be day.
And in the morning he went out and stood and said to all the
folk, ye be righteous: for see, I conspired against my master and
slew him: But who slew these? consider now how there is nothing of
the Lords word fallen to the earth, which he spake against the house
of Ahab: for the Lord hath done that he spake to his servant Eliah.
And so Jehu slew all that remained of the house of Ahab, in Jezrahel,
and all that were great with him, and his companions and his
priests, until he had left him naught remain. And he arose and
departed and went to Samaria. And as Jehu was come even to the house
where the shepherds bind their sheep by the high way side, he met
with the brethren of Ohoziah king of Juda, and said what are ye? and
they said, the brethren of Ohoziah are we, and go to salute the
children of the king and of the queen. And he said: take them alive.
And they took them alive, and slew them at the well beside the house
where the shepherds bind their sheep, in number forty two persons,
that he left none of them.
And when he was departed thence he met with Jehonadab the son
of Rechab coming against him. And Jehu saluted him and said to him:
is thine heart right, as mine heart is with thine. And Jehonadab
said, yee that it is. If it be, then give me thine hand. And he gave
his hand, and the other took him up to him into the chariot and
said: go with me and see the zeal I have to the Lord, and made him
ride with him in his chariot. And when he came to Samaria, he slew
all that remained unto Ahab in Samaria, till he had wiped him out,
according to the saying of the Lord which he spake to Eliah.
After that Jehu gathered all the people together and said to
them: Ahab served Baal a little: but Jehu shall serve him a good.
Now therefore call unto me all the Prophets of Baal and all his
servants and all his priests that none be lacking . For I have a
great sacrifice to do to Baal: and if any be missed, he shall not
live. But Jehu did it for a subtlety, to destroy the servants of
Baal. Wherefore Jehu said: Appoint a solemn feast for Baal, and they
proclaimed it. Then Jehu sent throughout all Israel. And all the
servants of Baal came, that there was not a man left behind that
came not. And when they were come into the temple of Baal, the
temple was full from one end to another.
Then he said to the keeper of the *vestry, bring forth
garments for the servants of Baal. And he brought them out garments.
And Jehu went with Jehonadab son of Rechab into the house of Baal:
and said to the servants of Baal: search and look that there be none
here with you of the servants of the Lord, but the servants of Baal
only. And they went in, to offer sacrifice and burnt offerings. But
Jehu appointed him four score men without and said: If any of the
men that I shall bring unto your hands escape, he that letteth him
go shall die for him.
And as soon as he had made an end of offering of burnt
sacrifice, he said to them of the guard and to the Lords: go in and
slay them, let none come out. And they smote them with the edge of
the sword. And the guard and the Lords cast them out, and went unto
the city of the house of Baal, and fetched out the image out of the
house of Baal and burnt it. And they brake the Image of Baal, and
brake the house of Baal, and made a siege of it ever after. And so
Jehu destroyed Baal out of Israel. But from the sins of Jeroboam the
son of Nabat which made Israel sin with the golden calves in Bethel
and Dan, Jehu departed not.
Then the Lord said to Jehu, because thou hast lustily done
that pleaseth me, and hast done to the house of Ahab all that was in
mine heart, therefore shall thy children in the fourth generation
sit on the seat of Israel. But Jehu cared not to walk in the law of
the Lord God of Israel with all his heart: for he departed not from
the sins of Jeroboam which made Israel sin.
In those days the Lord began to cut Israel short, for Hazael
slew them in all the coasts of Israel, from Jordan Eastward: even
all the land of Galaad, the Gadites, the Rubenites and the
Manassites, from Aroer upon the river of Arnon, with Galaad and
Basan. The rest of the acts of Jehu, and all he did, and all his
power, are written in the chronicles of the kings of Israel. And
when Jehu was laid to rest with his fathers, they buried him in
Samaria, and Jehoahaz his son reigned in his stead. And the time
that Jehu reigned upon Israel in Samaria, was twenty eight years.
*vestry, (garment room)
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The 11th Chapter
And Athaliah the
mother of Ohoziah, when she saw that her son was dead, she arose and
slew all the seed of the kingdom. But Jehosaba the daughter of king
Jehoram and sister of Ohoziah, took Jehoas the son of Ohoziah and
stole him from among the kings sons that were slain, and his nurse
with him, out of a sleeping chamber, and hid him from Athaliah, that
he was not slain. And he was with her, hid in the house of the Lord
six years. And Athaliah did reign over the land.
And the seventh year Jehoiada sent and fetched the rulers over
hundreds with the captains and them of the guard, and took them into
him into the house of the Lord, and made a bond with them, and took
an oath of them in the house of the Lord, and showed them the kings
son. And he commanded them saying: this is that ye must do: one
third part of you shall come on the Sabbath day and keep the watch
of the kings house: And another third part shall be at the gate Sur:
and another third part shall be at the gate behind the guard
chamber, and so shall ye keep the watch of the house of Mesah, and
two portions of you: that is, all that go out the Sabbath day, shall
keep the watch of the house of the Lord about the king, and shall
compass the king round about, every man with his weapon in his hand.
And whosoever cometh within the ranges shall die for it. And see
that ye be with the king as he goeth out and in.
And the captains over the hundreds did all the things as
Jehoiada the priest commanded: and took every man his men, that is,
them that came in the Sabbath day with them that went out the
Sabbath day, and went to Jehoiada the priest. And the priest gave to
the captains over hundreds the spears and shields that were king
Davids and had remained in the temple. And the guard stood every man
with his weapon in his hand round about the king, from the right
corner of the temple to the left along by the altar and the temple.
And he brought out the son of the king and put the crown upon him,
and delivered him the witness, and made him king and anointed him.
And they clapped their hands and said: God save the king.
And when Athaliah heard the noise of the running of the
people, she came to the people into the house of the Lord. And when
she saw the king stand by a pillar (as the manner was) and the
singers and the trumpets by the king, and all the people of the land
rejoicing, and the blowing of the trumpets, she rent her clothes and
cried, treason, treason. And Jehoiada the priest commanded the
Captains of the hundreds that had the rule of the host, and said to
them: have her out without the ranges, and if any follow her, let
him die with the sword: for the priest said, she may not be slain in
the house of the Lord. And they laid hands on her, and she went the
way that the horses of the kings went out and was slain there.
And Jehoiada made a bond both between the Lord and the king,
and between the people and the Lord, that they should be the Lords
people: and also between the king and the people. Then all the
people of the land went into the house of Baal, and destroyed his
altars, and brake down his Images lustily, and slew Nathan the
priest of Baal before the altar. And the priest set watchmen in the
house of the Lord, and took the rulers over hundreds and the
captains and the guard and all the people of the land: And they
brought the king from the house of the Lord and went the way of the
gate of the guard of the kings house. And he sat him down on the
seat of the kings. And all the people of the Lord rejoiced, and the
city was in quiet. And they slew Athaliah with the sword in the
house of the king.
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The 12th Chapter
Jehoas was seven years old when
he was made king. And he began to reign the seventh year of Jehu,
and reigned forty year in Jerusalem. His mothers name was Zebiah
Bersabe. And he did that pleased the Lord, as long as Jehoiada the
Priest informed him. But they took not away the hill altars, for the
people slew and offered still in the hill altars.
And Jehoas said to the priest: all the silver that is dedicate
and brought to the house of the Lord in current money, that is to
say, the money that every man is set at, with all the money that
every mans heart giveth him to bring into the house of the Lord, let
the priests take it to them, every man of his acquaintance, and let
them repair the broken places of the temple in all the places where
ought is found decayed.
Neverthelater the priests had not mended unto the twenty third
year of Jehoas, that was decayed in the temple. Then king Jehoas
called for Jehoiada the priest and for the other priests also, and
said to them: why repair ye not the broken places of the temple? Now
therefore see ye receive no more money of your acquaintance, but
deliver it to repair the temple withal. And the priests consented to
receive no more money of the people: But that it should go to the
mending of the temple.
Then Jehoiada the priest took a coffer and bored a hole in the
lid of it, and put it beside the altar on the right side as a man
cometh in to the house of the Lord. And into that did the priests
that kept the doors, put all the money that was brought into the
house of the Lord. And when they saw that there was much money in
the coffer the Kings scribe and the high priest came, and knit up
the money that was found in the house of the Lord, after they had
told it.
And they gave the money by sums into the hands of the workmen
that had the oversight of the house of the Lord: and they brought it
out to the carpenters and builders that wrought upon the house of
the Lord, and to masons and hewers of stone, to buy timber and free
stone, to repair the decay in the house of the Lord and all that,
that needeth repairing in the house: how be it there was not made in
the house of the Lord, bowls of silver, shredding knives, basins,
trumpets or any other instruments of gold or silver, of the money
that was brought for the house of the Lord. For they gave that to
the workmen, to repair therewith the house of the Lord. Moreover
they reckoned not with the men, into whose hands they delivered that
money to be bestowed on workmen: But they did it even of fidelity.
How be it trespass money and sin money might not be brought into the
house of the Lord, for it was the priests.
Then came Hazael king of Siria, and fought against Geth and
took it, and appointed himself to go up to Jerusalem. But Jehoas
king of Juda took all the dedicate things that Jehosaphat, Jehoram
and Ohoziah his fathers, kings of Juda, had dedicate, and that he
himself had dedicated, and all the gold that could be found in the
treasure of the house of the Lord and of the kings house, and sent
it to Hazael King of Siria: and so he departed from Jerusalem.
The remnant of the acts of Jehoas and all he did, are written
in the chronicles of the kings of Juda. And his own servants arose
and wrought treason, and slew Jehoas in the house Mello, in the way
down to Sela. Jozabar the son of Semaath and Jehozabad the son of
Somer his servants, smote him, that he died. And they buried him
with his fathers in the city of David. And Amaziah his son reigned
in his stead.
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Chapters 1-6
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7-12 |
13-18 |
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