Chapter 67

6:23. And a great provision of meats was set before them, and they ate and drank; and he let them go: and they went away to their master: and the robbers of Syria came no more into the land of Israel.

6:24. And it came to pass, after these things, that Benadad, king of Syria, gathered together all his army, and went up and besieged Samaria.

6:25. And there was a great famine in Samaria: and so long did the siege continue, till the head of an ass was sold for fourscore pieces of silver, and the fourth part of a cabe of pigeons' dung, for five pieces of silver.

6:26. And as the king of Israel was passing by the wall, a certain woman cried out to him, saying: Save me, my lord, O king.

6:27. And he said: If the Lord doth not save thee, how can I save thee? out of the barnfloor, or out of the winepress? And the king said to her: What aileth thee? And she answered:

6:28. This woman said to me: Give thy son, that we may eat him today, and we will eat my son tomorrow.

6:29. So we boiled my son, and ate him. And I said to her on the next day: Give thy son, that we may eat him. And she hath hid her son.

6:30. When the king heard this, he rent his garments, and passed by upon the wall. And all the people saw the haircloth which he wore within next to his flesh.

6:31. And the king said: May God do so and so to me, and may he add more, if the head of Eliseus, the son of Saphat, shall stand on him this day.

6:32. But Eliseus sat in his house, and the ancients sat with him. So he sent a man before: and before that messenger came, he said to the ancients: Do you know that this son of a murderer hath sent to cut off my head? Look then when the messenger shall come, shut the door, and suffer him not to come in: for behold the sound of his master's feet is behind him.

6:33. While he was yet speaking to them, the messenger appeared, who was coming to him. And he said: Behold, so great an evil is from the Lord: what shall I look for more from the Lord?

4 Kings Chapter 7

Eliseus prophesieth a great plenty, which presently ensueth upon the sudden flight of the Syrians; of which four lepers bring the news to the city. The incredulous nobleman is trod to death.

7:1. And Eliseus said: Hear ye the word of the Lord: Thus saith the Lord: Tomorrow, about this time, a bushel of fine flour shall be sold for a stater, and two bushels of barley for a stater, in the gate of Samaria.

A stater. . .It is the same as a sicle or shekel.

7:2. Then one of the lords, upon whose hand the king leaned, answering the man of God, said: If the Lord should make flood-gates in heaven, can that possibly be which thou sayest? And he said: Thou shalt see it with thy eyes, but shalt not eat thereof.

7:3. Now there were four lepers, at the entering in of the gate: and they said one to another: What mean we to stay here till we die?

7:4. If we will enter into the city, we shall die with the famine: and if we will remain here, we must also die: come therefore, and let us run over to the camp of the Syrians. If they spare us, we shall live: but if they kill us, we shall but die.

7:5. So they arose in the evening, to go to the Syrian camp. And when they were come to the first part of the camp of the Syrians, they found no man there.

7:6. For the Lord had made them hear, in the camp of Syria, the noise of chariots, and of horses, and of a very great army: and they said one to another: Behold, the king of Israel hath hired against us the kings of the Hethites, and of the Egyptians; and they are come upon us.

7:7. Wherefore they arose, and fled away in the dark, and left their tents, and their horses and asses in the camp, and fled, desiring to save their lives.

7:8. So when these lepers were come to the beginning of the camp, they went into one tent, and ate and drank: and they took from thence silver, and gold, and raiment, and went, and hid it: and they came again, and went into another tent, and carried from thence in like manner, and hid it.

7:9. Then they said one to another: We do not well: for this is a day of good tidings. If we hold our peace, and do not tell it till the morning, we shall be charged with a crime: come, let us go, and tell it in the king's court.

7:10. So they came to the gate of the city, and told them, saying: We went to the camp of the Syrians, and we found no man there, but horses, and asses tied, and the tents standing.

7:11. Then the guards of the gate went, and told it within in the king's palace.

7:12. And he arose in the night, and said to his servants: I tell you what the Syrians have done to us: They know that we suffer great famine, and therefore they are gone out of the camp, and lie hid in the fields, saying: When they come out of the city, we shall take them alive, and then we may get into the city.

7:13. And one of his servants answered: Let us take the five horses that are remaining in the city (because there are no more in the whole multitude of Israel, for the rest are consumed), and let us send and see.

7:14. They brought therefore two horses, and the king sent into the camp of the Syrians, saying: Go, and see.

7:15. And they went after them, as far as the Jordan: and behold, all the way was full of garments, and vessels, which the Syrians had cast away, in their fright, and the messengers returned, and told the king.

7:16. And the people going out, pillaged the camp of the Syrians: and a bushel of fine flour was sold for a stater, and two bushels of barley for a stater, according to the word of the Lord.

7:17. And the king appointed that lord on whose hand he leaned, to stand at the gate: and the people trod upon him in the entrance of the gate; and he died, as the man of God had said, when the king came down to him.

7:18. And it came to pass, according to the word of the man of God, which he spoke to the king, when he said: Two bushels of barley shall be for a stater, and a bushel of fine flour for a stater, at this very time tomorrow, in the gate of Samaria.

7:19. When that lord answered the man of God, and said: Although the Lord should make flood-gates in heaven, could this come to pass which thou sayest? And he said to him: Thou shalt see it with thy eyes, and shalt not eat thereof.

7:20. And so it fell out to him, as it was foretold, and the people trod upon him in the gate, and he died.

4 Kings Chapter 8

After seven years' famine foretold by Eliseus, the Sunamitess returning home, recovereth her lands, and revenues. Eliseus foresheweth the death of Benadad, king of Syria, and the reign of Hazael. Joram's wicked reign in Juda. He dieth, and his son Ochozias succeedeth.

8:1.And Eliseus spoke to the woman, whose son he had restored to life, saying: Arise, and go thou, and thy household, and sojourn wheresoever thou canst find: for the Lord hath called a famine, and it shall come upon the land seven years.

8:2. And she arose, and did according to the word of the man of God: and going with her household, she sojourned in the land of the Philistines many days.

8:3. And when the seven years were ended, the woman returned out of the land of the Philistines, and she went forth to speak to the king for her house and for her lands.

8:4. And the king talked with Giezi, the servant of the man of God, saying: Tell me all the great things that Eliseus hath done.

8:5. And when he was telling the king how he had raised one dead to life, the woman appeared, whose son he had restored to life, crying to the king for her house, and her lands. And Giezi said: My lord, O king, this is the woman, and this is her son, whom Eliseus raised to life.

8:6. And the king asked the woman: and she told him. And the king appointed her an eunuch, saying: Restore her all that is hers, and all the revenues of the lands, from the day that she left the land to this present.

8:7. Eliseus also came to Damascus, and Benadad, king of Syria was sick; and they told him, saying: The man of God is come hither.

8:8. And the king said to Hazael: Take with thee presents, and go to meet the man of God, and consult the Lord by him, saying: Can I recover of this my illness?

8:9. And Hazael went to meet him, taking with him presents, and all the good things of Damascus, the burdens of forty camels. And when he stood before him, he said: Thy son, Benadad, the king of Syria, hath sent me to thee, saying: Can I recover of this my illness?

8:10. And Eliseus said to him: Go tell him: Thou shalt recover: but the Lord hath shewed me that he shall surely die.

Tell him: thou shalt recover. . .By these words the prophet signified that the king's disease was not mortal: and that he would recover if no violence were used. Or he might only express himself in this manner, by way of giving Hazael to understand that he knew both what he would say and do; that he would indeed tell the king he should recover; but would be himself the instrument of his death.

8:11. And he stood with him, and was troubled so far as to blush: and the man of God wept.

8:12. And Hazael said to him: Why doth my lord weep? And he said: Because I know the evil that thou wilt do to the children of Israel. Their strong cities thou wilt burn with fire, and their young men thou wilt kill with the sword, and thou wilt dash their children, and rip up their pregnant women.

8:13. And Hazael said: But what am I, thy servant, a dog, that I should do this great thing? And Eliseus said: The Lord hath shewed me that thou shalt be king of Syria.

8:14. And when he was departed from Eliseus he came to his master, who said to him: What said Eliseus to thee? And he answered: He told me: Thou shalt recover.

8:15. And on the next day, he took a blanket, and poured water on it, and spread it upon his face: and he died, and Hazael reigned in his stead.

8:16. In the fifth year of Joram, son of Achab, king of Israel, and of Josaphat, king of Juda, reigned Joram, son of Josaphat, king of Juda.

And of Josaphat, etc. . .That is, Josaphat being yet alive, who sometime before his death made his son Joram king, as David had done before by his own son Solomon.

8:17. He was two and thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem.

8:18. And he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, as the house of Achab had walked: for the daughter of Achab was his wife: and he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord.

8:19. But the Lord would not destroy Juda, for David his servant's sake, as he had promised him, to give him a light, and to his children always.

8:20. In his days Edom revolted from being under Juda, and made themselves a king.

8:21. And Joram came to Seira, and all the chariots with him: and he arose in the night, and defeated the Edomites that had surrounded him, and the captains of the chariots, but the people fled into their tents.

8.22. So Edom revolted from being under Juda, unto this day. Then Lobna also revolted at the same time.

8:23. But the rest of the acts of Joram, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the words of the days of the kings of Juda?

8:24. And Joram slept with his fathers, and was buried with them in the city of David, and Ochozias, his son, reigned in his stead.

8:25. In the twelfth year of Joram, the son of Achab, king of Israel, reigned Ochozias, son of Joram, king of Juda.

8:26. Ochozias was two and twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem: the name of his mother was Athalia the daughter of Amri king of Israel.

Daughter. . .That is, grand-daughter; for she was daughter of Achab son of Amri, ver. 18.

8:27. And he walked in the ways of the house of Achab: and he did evil before the Lord, as did the house of Achab: for he was the son in law of the house of Achab.

8:28. He went also with Joram, son of Achab, to fight against Hazael, king of Syria, in Ramoth Galaad, and the Syrians wounded Joram:

8:29. And he went back to be healed, in Jezrahel: because the Syrians had wounded him in Ramoth, when he fought against Hazael, king of Syria And Ochozias, the son of Joram, king of Juda, went down to visit Joram, the son of Achab, in Jezrahel, because he was sick there.

4 Kings Chapter 9

Jehu is anointed king of Israel, to destroy the house of Achab and Jezebel. He killeth Joram king of Israel, and Ochozias king of Juda. Jezebel is eaten by dogs.

9:1. And Eliseus the prophet, called one of the sons of the prophets, and said to him: Gird up thy loins, and take this little bottle of oil in thy hand, and go to Ramoth Galaad.

9:2. And when thou art come thither, thou shalt see Jehu the son of Josaphat the son of Namsi: and going in, thou shalt make him rise up from amongst his brethren, and carry him into an inner chamber.

9:3. Then taking the little bottle of oil, thou shalt pour it on his head, and shalt say: Thus saith the Lord: I have anointed thee king over Israel. And thou shalt open the door and flee, and shalt not stay there.

9:4. So the young man, the servant of the prophet, went away to Ramoth Galaad,

9:5. And went in thither: and behold, the captains of the army were sitting, and he said: I have a word to thee, O prince. And Jehu said: Unto whom of us all? And he said: To thee, O prince.

9:6. And he arose, and went into the chamber: and he poured the oil upon his head, and said: Thus saith the Lord God of Israel: I have anointed thee king over Israel, the people of the Lord.

9:7. And thou shalt cut off the house of Achab, thy master, and I will revenge the blood of my servants, the prophets, and the blood of all the servants of the Lord, at the hand of Jezabel.

9:8. And I will destroy all the house of Achab, and I will cut off from Achab, him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up, and the meanest in Israel.

9:9. And I will make the house of Achab, like the house of Jeroboam, the son of Nabat, and like the house of Baasa, the son of Ahias.

9:10. And the dogs shall eat Jezabel, in the field of Jezrahel, and there shall be no one to bury her. And he opened the door and fled.

9:11. Then Jehu went forth to the servants of his Lord: and they said to him: Are all things well? why came this madman to thee? And he said to them: You know the man, and what he said.

9:12. But they answered: It is false; but rather do thou tell us. And he said to them: Thus and thus did he speak to me: and he said: Thus saith the Lord: I have anointed thee king over Israel.

9:13. Then they made haste, and taking every man his garment, laid it under his feet, after the manner of a judgment seat, and they sounded the trumpet, and said: Jehu is king.

9:14. So Jehu, the son of Josaphat, the son of Namsi, conspired against Joram. Now Joram had besieged Ramoth Galaad, he, and all Israel, fighting with Hazael, king of Syria:

9:15. And was returned to be healed in Jezrahel of his wounds; for the Syrians had wounded him, when he fought with Hazael, king of Syria. And Jehu said: If it please you, let no man go forth or flee out of the city, lest he go, and tell in Jezrahel.

9:16. And he got up, and went into Jezrahel for Joram was sick there, and Ochozias king of Juda, was come down to visit Joram.

9:17. The watchman therefore, that stood upon the tower of Jezrahel, saw the troop of Jehu coming, and said: I see a troop. And Joram said: Take a chariot, and send to meet them, and let him that goeth say: Is all well?

9:18. So there went one in a chariot to meet him, and said: Thus saith the king: Are all things peaceable? And Jehu said: What hast thou to do with peace? go behind and follow me. And the watchman told, saying: The messenger came to them, but he returneth not.

9:19. And he sent a second chariot of horses: and he came to them, and said: Thus saith the king: Is there peace? And Jehu said: What hast thou to do with peace? pass, and follow me.

9:20. And the watchman told, saying: He came even to them, but returneth not: and the driving is like the driving of Jehu, the son of Namsi; for he drives furiously.

9:21. And Joram said: Make ready the chariot. And they made ready his chariot: and Joram, king of Israel, and Ochozias, king of Juda, went out, each in his chariot, and they went out to meet Jehu, and met him in the field of Naboth, the Jezrahelite.

9:22. And when Joram saw Jehu, he said: Is there peace, Jehu? And he answered: What peace? so long as the fornications of Jezabel, thy mother, and her many sorceries, are in their vigour.

9:23. And Joram turned his hand, and fleeing, said to Ochozias: There is treachery, Ochozias.

9:24. But Jehu bent his bow with his hand, and shot Joram between the shoulders: and the arrow went out through his heart, and immediately he fell in his chariot.

9:25. And Jehu said to Badacer, his captain: Take him, and cast him into the field of Naboth, the Jezrahelite: for I remember, when I and thou, sitting in a chariot, followed Achab, this man's father, that the Lord laid this burden upon him, saying:

9:26. If I do not requite thee in this field, saith the Lord, for the blood of Naboth, and for the blood of his children, which I saw yesterday, saith the Lord. So now take him, and cast him into the field, according to the word of the Lord.

9:27. But Ochozias, king of Juda, seeing this, fled by the way of the garden house: and Jehu pursued him, and said: Strike him also in his chariot. And they struck him in the going up to Gaver, which is by Jeblaam: and he fled into Mageddo, and died there.

9:28. And his servants laid him upon his chariot, and carried him to Jerusalem: and they buried him in his sepulchre with his fathers, in the city of David.

9:29. In the eleventh year of Joram, the son of Achab, Ochozias reigned over Juda;

9:30. And Jehu came into Jezrahel. But Jezabel, hearing of his coming in, painted her face with stibic stone, and adorned her head, and looked out of a window.

9:31. At Jehu coming in at the gate, and said: Can there be peace for Zambri, that hath killed his master?

9:32. And Jehu lifted up his face to the window, and said: Who is this? And two or three eunuchs bowed down to him.

9:33. And he said to them: Throw her down headlong; And they threw her down, and the wall was sprinkled with her blood, and the hoofs of the horses trod upon her.

9:34. And when he was come in to eat, and to drink, he said: Go, and see after that cursed woman, and bury her; because she is a king's daughter.

9:35. And when they went to bury her, they found nothing but the skull, and the feet, and the extremities of her hands.

9:36. And coming back they told him. And Jehu said: It is the word of the Lord, which he spoke by his servant Elias, the Thesbite, saying: In the field of Jezrahel the dogs shall eat the flesh of Jezabel.

9:37. And the flesh of Jezabel shall be as dung upon the face of the earth in the field of Jezrahel; so that they who pass by shall say: Is this that same Jezabel?

4 Kings Chapter 10

Jehu destroyeth the house of Achab: abolisheth the worship of Baal, and killeth the worshippers: but sticketh to the calves of Jeroboam. Israel is afflicted by the Syrians.

10:1. And Achab had seventy sons in Samaria: so Jehu wrote letters, and sent to Samaria, to the chief men of the city, and to the ancients, and to them that brought up Achab's children, saying:

10:2. As soon as you receive these letters, ye that have your master's sons, and chariots, and horses, and fenced cities, and armour,

10:3. Choose the best, and him that shall please you most of your master's sons, and set him on his father's throne, and fight for the house of your master.

10:4. But they were exceedingly afraid, and said: Behold two kings could not stand before him, and how shall we be able to resist?

10:5. Therefore they that were over the king's house, and the rulers of the city, and the ancients, and the bringers up of the children, sent to Jehu, saying: We are thy servants: whatsoever thou shalt command us we will do; we will not make us any king: do thou all that pleaseth thee.

10:6. And he wrote letters the second time to them, saying: If you be mine, and will obey me, take the heads of the sons of your master, and come to me to Jezrahel by tomorrow at this time. Now the king's sons, being seventy men, were brought up with the chief men of the city.

10:7. And when the letters came to them, they took the king's sons, and slew seventy persons, and put their heads in baskets, and sent them to him to Jezrahel.

10:8. And a messenger came, and told him, saying: They have brought the heads of the king's sons. And he said: Lay ye them in two heaps by the entering in of the gate until the morning.

10:9. And when it was light, he went out, and standing, said to all the people: You are just: if I conspired against my master, and slew him; who hath slain all these?

10:10. See therefore now that there hath not fallen to the ground any of the words of the Lord, which the Lord spoke concerning the house of Achab, and the Lord hath done that which he spoke in the hand of his servant Elias.

10:11. So Jehu slew all that were left of the house of Achab in Jezrahel, and all his chief men, and his friends, and his priests, till there were no remains left of him.

10:12. And he arose, and went to Samaria: and when he was come to the shepherds' cabin in the way,

10:13. He met with the brethren of Ochozias, king of Juda, and he said to them: Who are you? And they answered: We are the brethren of Ochozias, and are come down to salute the sons of the king, and the sons of the queen.

10:14. And he said: Take them alive. And they took them alive, and killed them at the pit by the cabin, two and forty men, and he left not any of them.

10:15. And when he was departed thence, he found Jonadab, the son of Rechab, coming to meet him, and he blessed him. And he said to him: Is thy heart right as my heart is with thy heart? And Jonadab said: It is. If it be, said he, give me thy hand. He gave him his hand. And he lifted him up to him into the chariot,

10:16. And said to him: Come with me, and see my zeal for the Lord. So he made him ride in his chariot,

10:17. And brought him into Samaria. And he slew all that were left of Achab, in Samaria, to a man, according to the word of the Lord which he spoke by Elias.

10:18. And Jehu gathered together all the people, and said to them: Achab worshipped Baal a little, but I will worship him more.

I will worship him more. . .Jehu sinned in thus pretending to worship Baal, and causing sacrifice to be offered to him: because evil is not to be done, that good may come of it. Rom. 3.8.

10:19. Now therefore call to me all the prophets of Baal, and all his servants, and all his priests: let none be wanting, for I have a great sacrifice to offer to Baal: whosoever shall be wanting, shall not live. Now Jehu did this craftily, that he might destroy the worshippers of Baal.

10:20. And he said: Proclaim a festival for Baal. And he called,

10:21. And he sent into all the borders of Israel; and all the servants of Baal came: there was not one left that did not come. And they went into the temple of Baal: and the house of Baal was filled, from one end to the other.

10:22. And he said to them that were over the wardrobe: Bring forth garments for all the servants of Baal. And they brought them forth garments.

10:23. And Jehu, and Jonadab, the son of Rechab, went to the temple of Baal, and said to the worshippers of Baal: Search, and see that there be not any with you of the servants of the Lord, but that there be the servants of Baal only.

10:24. And they went in to offer sacrifices and burnt offerings: but Jehu had prepared him fourscore men without, and said to them: If any of the men escape, whom I have brought into your hands, he that letteth him go, shall answer life for life.