elisha

¹¹And he stood beside him, and he was so troubled that his face became flushed. And the man of God wept. ¹²And Hazael said to him, “Why is my lord weeping?” And he said: “Because I know the evil that you will do to the sons of Israel. Their fortified cities you will burn with fire. And their young men you will kill with the sword. And you will destroy their little ones, and tear open the pregnant women.” ¹³And Hazael said, “But what am I, your servant, a dog, that I would do this great thing?” And Elisha said, “The Lord has revealed to me that you will be the king of Syria.” ¹⁴And when he had departed from Elisha, he went to his lord, who said to him, “What did Elisha say to you?” And he responded: “He said to me, ‘You shall receive health.’ ” ¹⁵And when the next day had arrived, he took a small covering, and poured water on it, and he spread it over his face. And when he died, Hazael reigned in his place.

¹Now it happened that, when the Lord willed to lift up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were going out of Gilgal. ²And Elijah said to Elisha: “Remain here. For the Lord has sent me as far as Bethel.” And Elisha said to him, “As the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, I will not forsake you.” And when they had descended to Bethel, ³the sons of the prophets, who were at Bethel, went out to Elisha. And they said to him, “Do you not know that today the Lord will take away your lord from you?” And he responded: “I know it. Be silent.” ⁴Then Elijah said to Elisha: “Remain here. For the Lord has sent me to Jericho.” And he said, “As the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, I will not forsake you.” And when they had arrived at Jericho, ⁵the sons of the prophets, who were at Jericho, drew near to Elisha. And they said to him, “Do you not know that today the Lord will take away your lord from you?” And he said: “I know it. Be silent.” ⁶Then Elijah said to him: “Remain here. For the Lord has sent me as far as the Jordan.” And he said, “As the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, I will not forsake you.” And so, the two of them continued on together.

¹⁹Therefore, Elijah, setting out from there, found Elisha, the son of Shaphat, plowing with twelve yoke of oxen. And he himself was one of those who were plowing with the twelve yoke of oxen. And when Elijah had gone to him, he cast his mantle over him.

¹⁴Now Elisha was sick of the infirmity from which he also died. And Joash, the king of Israel, descended to him. And he was weeping before him, and saying: “My father, my father! The chariot of Israel and its driver!” ¹⁵And Elisha said to him, “Bring a bow and arrows.” And when he had brought a bow and arrows to him, ¹⁶he said to the king of Israel, “Place your hand upon the bow.” And when he had placed his hand, Elisha placed his own hands over the hands of the king. ¹⁷And he said, “Open the window toward the east.” And when he had opened it, Elisha said, “Shoot an arrow.” And he shot it. And Elisha said: “It is the arrow of the salvation of the Lord, and the arrow of salvation against Syria. And you shall strike the Syrians at Aphek, until you consume them.” ¹⁸And he said, “Take the arrows.” And when he had taken them, he then said to him, “Strike an arrow against the ground.” And when he had struck three times, and he had stood still, ¹⁹the man of God became angry against him. And he said: “If you had struck five or six or seven times, you would have struck down Syria, even until it was consumed. But now you will strike it three times.”

¹⁹Also, the men of the city said to Elisha: “Behold, this city is a very good habitation, as you yourself perceive, O lord. But the waters are very bad, and the ground is barren.” ²⁰And so he said, “Bring a new vessel to me, and place salt in it.” And when they had brought it, ²¹he went out to the source of the waters, and he cast the salt into it. And he said: “Thus says the Lord: I have healed these waters, and no longer shall there be death or barrenness in them.” ²²Then the waters were healed, even to this day, in accord with the word of Elisha, which he spoke.

²⁷And there were many lepers in Israel under the prophet Elisha. And none of these was cleansed, except Naaman the Syrian.”

¹⁶And you shall anoint Jehu, the son of Nimshi, as king over Israel. But Elisha, the son of Shaphat, who is from Abelmeholah, you shall anoint to be a prophet in your place.

¹⁹Also, the men of the city said to Elisha: “Behold, this city is a very good habitation, as you yourself perceive, O lord. But the waters are very bad, and the ground is barren.”

¹⁸Then truly, the enemies descended to him. But Elisha prayed to the Lord, saying: “Strike, I beg you, this people with blindness.” And the Lord struck them, so that they would not see, in accord with the word of Elisha.

¹⁴And he struck the waters with the cloak of Elijah, which had fallen from him, and they were not divided. And he said, “Where is the God of Elijah, even now?” And he struck the waters, and they were divided here and there. And Elisha went across.

¹Now Elisha spoke to the woman, whose son he had caused to live, saying: “Rise up. Go, you and your household, and sojourn in whatever place you can find. For the Lord has called forth a famine, and it shall overwhelm the land for seven years.” ²And she rose up, and she acted in accord with the word of the man of God. And going with her household, she sojourned in the land of the Philistines for many days. ³And when the seven years had ended, the woman returned from the land of the Philistines. And she departed, so that she might petition the king on behalf of her house and on behalf of her fields.

⁷Also, Elisha arrived in Damascus, and Benhadad, the king of Syria, was ill. And they reported to him, saying, “The man of God has arrived here.” ⁸And the king said to Hazael: “Take with you gifts. And go to meet the man of God. And consult the Lord through him, saying: ‘Will I be able to escape from this, my infirmity?’ ” ⁹And so, Hazael went to meet him, having with him gifts, and all the goods of Damascus, the burdens of forty camels. And when he had stood before him, he said: “Your son, Benhadad, the king of Syria, sent me to you, saying: ‘Will I be able to be healed from this, my infirmity?’ ” ¹⁰And Elisha said to him: “Go, tell him: ‘You will be healed.’ But the Lord has revealed to me that, dying he shall die.”

¹Blessed is the man who has not followed the counsel of the impious, and has not remained in the way of sinners, and has not sat in the chair of pestilence.

⁴²Now a certain man arrived from Baal-Shalishah, carrying, for the man of God, bread from the first-fruits, twenty loaves of barley, and new grain in his satchel. But he said, “Give it to the people, so that they may eat.” ⁴³And his servant responded to him, “What amount is this, that I should set it before a hundred men?” But he said again: “Give it to the people, so that they may eat. For thus says the Lord, ‘They shall eat, and there shall be still more.’ ” ⁴⁴And so, he set it before them. And they ate, and there was still more, in accord with the word of the Lord.

¹Then Elisha said: “Listen to the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord: Tomorrow, at this time, one measure of fine wheat flour will be one silver coin, and two measures of barley will be one silver coin, at the gate of Samaria.”