The Holy Bible

Part 20 out of 74

19:14. With zeal have I been zealous for the Lord God of hosts: because
the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant: they have destroyed
thy altars, they have slain thy prophets with the sword; and I alone am
left, and they seek my life to take it away.

19:15. And the Lord said to him: Go, and return on thy way, through the
desert, to Damascus: and when thou art come thither, thou shalt anoint
Hazael to be king over Syria;

19:16. And thou shalt anoint Jehu, the son of Namsi, to be king over
Israel: and Eliseus, the son of Saphat, of Abelmeula, thou shalt anoint
to be prophet in thy room.

19:17. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall escape the sword
of Hazael, shall be slain by Jehu: and whosoever shall escape the sword
of Jehu, shall be slain by Eliseus.

Shall be slain by Eliseus. . .Eliseus did not kill any of the idolaters
with the material sword: but he is here joined with Hazael and Jehu,
the great instruments of God in punishing the idolatry of Israel,
because he foretold to the former his exaltation to the kingdom of
Syria, and the vengeance he would execute against Israel, and anointed
the latter by one of his disciples to be king of Israel, with
commission to extirpate the house of Achab.

19:18. And I will leave me seven thousand men in Israel, whose knees
have not been bowed before Baal, and every mouth that hath not
worshipped him, kissing the hands.

19:19. And Elias departing from thence, found Eliseus, the son of
Saphat, ploughing with twelve yoke of oxen: and he was one of them that
were ploughing with, twelve yoke of oxen: and when Elias came up to
him, he cast his mantle upon him.

19:20. And he forthwith left the oxen, and run after Elias, and said:
Let me, I pray thee, kiss my father and my mother, and then I will
follow thee. And he said to him: Go, and return back: for that which
was my part, I have done to thee.

19:21. And returning back from him, he took a yoke of oxen, and killed
them, and boiled the flesh with the plough of the oxen, and gave to the
people, and they ate: and rising up, he went away, and followed Elias,
and ministered to him.

3 Kings Chapter 20

The Syrians besiege Samaria: they are twice defeated by Achab: who is
reprehended by a prophet for letting Benadad go.

20:1. And Benadad, king of Syria, gathered together all his host, and
there were two and thirty kings with him, and horses, and chariots: and
going up, he fought against Samaria, and besieged it.

20:2. And sending messengers to Achab, king of Israel, into the city,

20:3. He said: Thus saith Benadad: Thy silver and thy gold is mine:
and thy wives and thy goodliest children are mine.

20:4. And the king of Israel answered: According to thy word, my lord,
O king, I am thine, and all that I have.

20:5. And the messengers came again, and said: Thus saith Benadad, who
sent us unto thee: Thy silver and thy gold, and thy wives and thy
children, thou shalt deliver up to me.

20:6. To morrow, therefore, at this same hour, I will send my servants
to thee, and they shall search thy house, and the houses of thy
servants: and all that pleaseth them, they shall put in their hands,
and take away.

20:7. And the king of Israel called all the ancients of the land, and
said: Mark, and see that he layeth snares for us. For he sent to me for
my wives, and for my children, and for my silver and gold: and I said
not nay.

20:8. And all the ancients, and all the people said to him: Hearken not
to him, nor consent to him.

20:9. Wherefore he answered the messengers of Benadad: Tell my lord,
the king: All that thou didst send for to me, thy servant at first, I
will do: but this thing I cannot do.

20:10. And the messengers returning brought him word. And he sent
again, and said: Such and such things may the gods do to me, and more
may they add, if the dust of Samaria shall suffice for handfuls for all
the people that follow me.

20:11. And the king of Israel answering, said: Tell him: Let not the
girded boast himself as the ungirded.

Let not the girded, etc. . .Let him not boast before the victory: it
will then be time to glory when he putteth off his armour, having
overcome his adversary.

20:12. And it came to pass, when Benadad heard this word, that he and
the kings were drinking in pavilions, and he said to his servants:
Beset the city. And they beset it.

20:13. And behold a prophet coming to Achab, king of Israel, said to
him: Thus saith the Lord: Hast thou seen all this exceeding great
multitude? behold I will deliver them into thy hand this day: that thou
mayst know that I am the Lord.

20:14. And Achab said: By whom? And he said to him: Thus saith the
Lord: By the servants of the princes of the provinces. And he said:
Who shall begin to fight? And he said: Thou.

20:15. So he mustered the servants of the princes of the provinces, and
he found the number of two hundred and thirty-two: and he mustered
after them the people, all the children of Israel, seven thousand:

20:16. And they went out at noon. But Benadad was drinking himself
drunk in his pavilion, and the two and thirty kings with him, who were
come to help him.

20:17. And the servants of the princes of the provinces went out first.
And Benadad sent. And they told him, saying: There are men come out of
Samaria.

20:18. And he said: Whether they come for peace, take them alive: or
whether they come to fight, take them alive.

20:19. So the servants of the princes of the provinces went out, and
the rest of the army followed:

20:20. And every one slew the man that came against him: and the
Syrians fled, and Israel pursued after them. And Benadad, king of
Syria, fled away on horseback with his horsemen.

20:21. But the king of Israel going out overthrew the horses and
chariots, and slew the Syrians with a great slaughter.

20:22. (And a prophet coming to the king of Israel, said to him: Go,
and strengthen thyself, and know, and see what thou dost: for the next
year the king of Syria will come up against thee.)

20:23. But the servants of the king of Syria said to him: Their gods
are gods of the hills, therefore they have overcome us: but it is
better that we should fight against them in the plains, and we shall
overcome them.

20:24. Do thou, therefore, this thing: Remove all the kings from thy
army, and put captains in their stead:

20:25. And make up the number of soldiers that have been slain of
thine, and horses, according to the former horses, and chariots,
according to the chariots which thou hadst before: and we will fight
against them in the plains, and thou shalt see that we shall overcome
them. He believed their counsel, and did so.

20:26. Wherefore, at the return of the year, Benadad mustered the
Syrians, and went up to Aphec, to fight against Israel.

20:27. And the children of Israel were mustered, and taking victuals,
went out on the other side, and encamped over against them, like two
little flocks of goats: but the Syrians filled the land.

20:28. (And a man of God coming, said to the king of Israel: Thus saith
the Lord: Because the Syrians have said: The Lord is God of the hills,
but is not God of the valleys: I will deliver all this great multitude
into thy hand, and you shall know that I am the Lord.)

20:29. And both sides set their armies in array one against the other
seven days, and on the seventh day the battle was fought: and the
children of Israel slew, of the Syrians, a hundred thousand footmen in
one day.

20:30. And they that remained fled to Aphec, into the city: and the
wall fell upon seven and twenty thousand men, that were left. And
Benadad fleeing, went into the city, into a chamber that was within a
chamber.

20:31. And his servants said to him: Behold, we have heard that the
kings of the house of Israel are merciful; so let us put sackcloths on
our loins, and ropes on our heads, and go out to the king of Israel:
perhaps he will save our lives.

20:32. So they girded sackcloths on their loins, and put ropes on their
heads, and came to the king of Israel, and said to him: Thy servant,
Benadad, saith: I beseech thee let me have my life. And he said: If he
be yet alive, he is my brother.

20:33. The men took this for good luck: and in haste caught the word
out of his mouth, and said: Thy brother Benadad. And he said to them:
Go, and bring him to me. Then Benadad came out to him, and he lifted
him up into his chariot.

20:34. And he said to him: The cities which my father took from thy
father, I will restore: and do thou make thee streets in Damascus, as
my father made in Samaria and having made a league, I will depart from
thee. So he made a league with him, and let him go.

20:35. Then a certain man of the sons of the prophets, said to his
companion, in the word of the Lord: Strike me. But he would not strike.

20:36. Then he said to him: Because thou wouldst not hearken to the
word of the Lord, behold thou shalt depart from me, and a lion shall
slay thee. And when he was gone a little from him, a lion found him,
and slew him.

20:37. Then he found another man, and said to him: Strike me. And he
struck him and wounded him.

20:38. So the prophet went, and met the king in the way, and disguised
himself by sprinkling dust on his face and his eyes.

20:39. And as the king passed by, he cried to the king, and said: Thy
servant went out to fight hand to hand: and when a certain man was run
away, one brought him to me, and said: Keep this man: and if he shall
slip away, thy life shall be for his life, or thou shalt pay a talent
of silver.

20:40. And whilst I, in the hurry, turned this way and that, on a
sudden he was not to be seen. And the king of Israel said to him: This
is thy judgment, which thyself hast decreed.

20:41. But he forthwith wiped off the dust from his face, and the king
of Israel knew him, that he was one of the prophets.

20:42. And he said to him: Thus saith the Lord. Because thou hast let
go out of thy hand a man worthy of death, thy life shall be for his
life, and thy people for his people.

20:43. And the king of Israel returned to his house, slighting to hear,
and raging came into Samaria.

3 Kings Chapter 21

Naboth, for denying his vineyard to king Achab, is by Jezabel's
commandment, falsely accused and stoned to death. For which crime Elias
denounceth to Achab the judgments of God: upon his humbling himself the
sentence is mitigated.

21:1. And after these things, Naboth the Jezrahelite, who was in
Jezrahel, had at that time a vineyard, near the palace of Achab, king
of Samaria.

21:2. And Achab spoke to Naboth, saying: Give me thy vineyard, that I
may make me a garden of herbs, because it is nigh, and adjoining to my
house; and I will give thee for it a better vineyard: or if thou think
it more convenient for thee, I will give thee the worth of it in money.

21:3. Naboth answered him: The Lord be merciful to me, and not let me
give thee the inheritance of my fathers.

21:4. And Achab came into his house angry and fretting, because of the
word that Naboth, the Jezrahelite, had spoken to him, saying: I will
not give thee the inheritance of my fathers. And casting himself upon
his bed, he turned away his face to the wall, and would eat no bread.

21:5. And Jezabel, his wife, went in to him, and said to him: What is
the matter that thy soul is so grieved? and why eatest thou no bread?

21:6. And he answered her: I spoke to Naboth, the Jezrahelite, and said
to him: Give me thy vineyard, and take money for it: or if it please
thee, I will give thee a better vineyard for it. And he said: I will
not give thee my vineyard.

21:7. Then Jezabel, his wife, said to him. Thou art of great authority
indeed, and governest well the kingdom of Israel. Arise, and eat bread,
and be of good cheer; I will give thee the vineyard of Naboth, the
Jezrahelite.

21:8. So she wrote letters in Achab's name, and sealed them with his
ring, and sent them to the ancients, and the chief men that were in his
city, and that dwelt with Naboth.

21:9. And this was the tenor of the letters: Proclaim a fast, and make
Naboth sit among the chief of the people;

21:10. And suborn two men, sons of Belial, against him. and let them
bear false witness; that he hath blasphemed God and the king: and then
carry him out, and stone him, and so let him die.

21:11. And the men of his city, the ancients and nobles, that dwelt
with him in the city, did as Jezabel had commanded them, and as it was
written in the letters which she had sent to them;

21:12. They proclaimed a fast, and made Naboth sit among the chief of
the people.

21:13. And bringing two men, sons of the devil, they made them sit
against him: and they, like men of the devil, bore witness against him
before the people: saying: Naboth hath blasphemed God and the king.
Wherefore they brought him forth without the city, and stoned him to
death.

21:14. And they sent to Jezabel, saying: Naboth is stoned, and is dead.

21:15. And it came to pass, when Jezabel heard that Naboth was stoned,
and dead, that she said to Achab: Arise, and take possession of the
vineyard of Naboth, the Jezrahelite, who would not agree with thee, and
give it thee for money: for Naboth is not alive, but dead.

21:16. And when Achab heard this, to wit, that Naboth was dead, he
arose, and went down into the vineyard of Naboth, the Jezrahelite, to
take possession of it.

21:17. And the word of the Lord came to Elias, the Thesbite, saying:

21:18. Arise, and go down to meet Achab, king of Israel, who is in
Samaria: behold he is going down to the vineyard of Naboth, to take
possession of it:

21:19. And thou shalt speak to him, saying: Thus saith the Lord: Thou
hast slain: moreover also thou hast taken possession. And after these
words thou shalt add: Thus saith the Lord: In this place, wherein the
dogs have licked the blood of Naboth, they shall lick thy blood also.

21:20. And Achab said to Elias: Hast thou found me thy enemy? He said:
I have found thee because thou art sold, to do evil in the sight of the
Lord.

Sold, to do evil in the sight, etc. . .That is, so addicted to evil, as
if thou hadst sold thyself to the devil, to be his slave to work all
kinds of evil.

21:21. Behold I will bring evil upon thee, and I will cut down thy
posterity, and I will kill of Achab him that pisseth against the wall,
and him that is shut up, and the last in Israel.

21:22. And I will make thy house like the house of Jeroboam the son of
Nabat, and like the house of Baasa the son of Ahias: for what thou hast
done to provoke me to anger, and for making Israel to sin.

21:23. And of Jezabel also, the Lord spoke, saying: The dogs shall eat
Jezabel in the field of Jezrahel.

21:24. If Achab die in the city, the dogs shall eat him: but if he die
in the field, the birds of the air shall eat him.

21:25. Now, there was not such another as Achab, who was sold to do
evil in the sight of the Lord: for his wife, Jezabel, set him on,

21:26. And he became abominable, insomuch that he followed the idols
which the Amorrhites had made, whom the Lord destroyed before the face
of the children of Israel.

21:27. And when Achab had heard these words, he rent his garments, and
put haircloth upon his flesh, and fasted, and slept in sackcloth, and
walked with his head cast down.

21:28. And the word of the Lord came to Elias, the Thesbite, saying:

21:29. Hast thou not seen Achab humbled before me? therefore, because
he hath humbled himself, for my sake, I will not bring the evil in his
days, but in his son's days will I bring the evil upon his house.

3 Kings Chapter 22

Achab believing his false prophets, rather than Micheas, is slain in
Ramoth Galaad. Ochozias succeedeth him. Good king Josaphat dieth, and
his son Joram succeedeth him.

22:1. And there passed three years without war between Syria and
Israel.

22:2. And in the third year, Josaphat, king of Juda, came down to the
king of Israel.

22:3. (And the king of Israel said to his servants: Know ye not that
Ramoth Galaad is ours, and we neglect to take it out of the hand of the
king of Syria?)

22:4. And he said to Josaphat: Wilt thou come with me to battle to
Ramoth Galaad?

22:5. And Josaphat said to the king of Israel: As I am, so art thou: my
people and thy people are one: and my horsemen are thy horsemen. And
Josaphat said to the king of Israel: Inquire, I beseech thee, this day
the word of the Lord.

22:6. Then the king of Israel assembled the prophets, about four
hundred men, and he said to them: Shall I go to Ramoth Galaad to fight,
or shall I forbear? They answered: Go up, and the Lord will deliver it
into the hand of the king.

22:7. And Josaphat said: Is there not here some prophet of the Lord,
that we may inquire by him?

22:8. And the king of Israel said to Josaphat. There is one man left,
by whom we may inquire of the Lord; Micheas, the son of Jemla: but I
hate him, for he doth not prophecy good to me, but evil. And Josaphat
said: Speak not so, O king.

22:9. Then the king of Israel called an eunuch, and said to him: Make
haste, and bring hither Micheas, the son of Jemla.

22:10. And the king of Israel, and Josaphat, king of Juda, sat each on
his throne, clothed with royal robes, in a court, by the entrance of
the gate of Samaria, and all the prophets prophesied before them.

22:11. And Sedecias, the son of Chanaana, made himself horns of iron,
and said: Thus saith the Lord: With these shalt thou push Syria, till
thou destroy it.

22:12. And all the prophets prophesied in like manner, saying: Go up to
Ramoth Galaad, and prosper, for the Lord will deliver it into the
king's hands.

22:13. And the messenger that went to call Micheas, spoke to him,
saying: Behold the words of the prophets with one mouth declare good
things to the king: let thy word, therefore, be like to theirs, and
speak that which is good.

22:14. But Micheas said to him: As the Lord liveth, whatsoever the Lord
shall say to me, that will I speak.

22:15. So he came to the king, and the king said to him: Micheas, shall
we go to Ramoth Galaad to battle, or shall we forbear? He answered him:
Go up, and prosper, and the Lord shall deliver it into the king's
hands.

Go up, etc. . .This was spoken ironically, and by way of jesting at the
flattering speeches of the false prophets: and so the king understood
it, as appears by his adjuring Micheas, in the following verse, to tell
him the truth in the name of the Lord.

22:16. But the king said to him: I adjure thee again and again, that
thou tell me nothing but that which is true, in the name of the Lord.

22:17. And he said: I saw all Israel scattered upon the hills, like
sheep that have no shepherd; and the Lord said: These have no master:
let every man of them return to his house in peace.

22:18. (Then the king of Israel said to Josaphat: Did I not tell thee,
that he prophesieth no good to me, but always evil?)

22:19. And he added and said: Hear thou, therefore, the word of the
Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on his throne, and all the army of heaven
standing by him on the right hand and on the left:

22:20. And the Lord said: Who shall deceive Achab, king of Israel, that
he may go up, and fall at Ramoth Galaad? And one spoke words of this
manner, and another otherwise.

The Lord said, etc. . .God standeth not in need of any counsellor; nor
are we to suppose that things pass in heaven in the manner here
described: but this representation was made to the prophet, to be
delivered by him in a manner adapted to the common ways and notions of
men.

22:21. And there came forth a spirit, and stood before the Lord, and
said: I will deceive him. And the Lord said to him: By what means?

22:22. And he said: I will go forth, and be a lying spirit, in the
mouth of all his prophets. And the Lord said: Thou shalt deceive him,
and shalt prevail: go forth, and do so.

Go forth, and do so. . .This was not a command, but a permission: for
God never ordaineth lies; though he often permitteth the lying spirit
to deceive those who love not the truth. 2 Thess. 2.10. And in this
sense it is said in the following verse, The Lord hath given a lying
spirit in the mouth of all thy prophets.

22:23. Now, therefore, behold the Lord hath given a lying spirit in the
mouth of all thy prophets that are here, and the Lord hath spoken evil
against thee.

22:24. And Sedecias, the son of Chanaana, came, and struck Micheas on
the cheek, and said: Hath then the spirit of the Lord left me, and
spoken to thee?

22:25. And Micheas said: Thou shalt see in the day when thou shalt go
into a chamber within a chamber to hide thyself.

Go into a chamber, etc. . .This happened when he heard the king was
slain, and justly apprehended that he should be punished for his false
prophecy.

22:26. And the king of Israel said: Take Micheas and let him abide with
Amon, the governor of the city, and with Joas, the son of Amalech;

22:27. And tell them: Thus saith the king: Put this man in prison, and
feed him with bread of affliction, and water of distress till I return
in peace.

22:28. And Micheas said: If thou return in peace, the Lord hath not
spoken by me. And he said: Hear, all ye people.

22:29. So the king of Israel, and Josaphat, king of Juda, went up to
Ramoth-Galaad.

22:30. And the king of Israel said to Josaphat: Take thy armour, and go
into the battle, and put on thy own garments. But the king of Israel
changed his dress, and went into the battle.

22:31. And the king of Syria had commanded the two and thirty captains
of the chariots, saying: You shall not fight against any, small or
great, but against the king of Israel only.

22:32. So when the captains of the chariots saw Josaphat, they
suspected that he was the king of Israel, and making a violent assault,
they fought against him: and Josaphat cried out.

22:33. And the captains of the chariots perceived that he was not the
king of Israel, and they turned away from him.

22:34. And a certain man bent his bow, shooting at a venture, and
chanced to strike the king of Israel, between the lungs and the
stomach. But he said to the driver of his chariot: Turn thy hand, and
carry me out of the army, for I am grievously wounded.

22:35. And the battle was fought that day, and the king of Israel stood
in his chariot against the Syrians, and he died in the evening: and the
blood ran out of the wound into the midst of the chariot.

22:36. And the herald proclaimed through all the army, before the sun
set, saying: Let every man return to his own city, and to his own
country.

22:37. And the king died, and was carried into Samaria: and they buried
the king in Samaria.

22:38. And they washed his chariot in the pool of Samaria and the dogs
licked up his blood, and they washed the reins according to the word of
the Lord which he had spoken.

22:39. But the rest of the acts of Achab, and all that he did, and the
house of ivory that he made, and all the cities that he built, are they
not written in the book of the words of the days of the kings of
Israel?

22:40. So Achab slept with his fathers; and Ochozias, his son, reigned
in his stead.

22:41. But Josaphat, the son of Asa, began to reign over Juda, in the
fourth year of Acbab, king of Israel.

22:42. He was five and thirty years old when he began to reign, and he
reigned five and twenty years in Jerusalem: the name of his mother was
Azuba, the daughter of Salai.

22:43. And he walked in all the way of Asa, his father, and he declined
not from it: and he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord.

22:44. Nevertheless, he took not away the high places for as yet the
people offered sacrifice, and burnt incense in the high places.

He took not away, etc. . .He left some of the high places, viz., those
in which they worshipped the true God: but took away all others, 2 Par.
17.6, and note ver. 14 of chap. 15. 3 Kings.

22:45. And Josaphat had peace with the king of Israel.

22:46. But the rest of the acts of Josaphat, and his works which he
did, and his battles, are they not written in the book of the words of
the days of the kings of Juda?

22:47. And the remnant also of the effeminate, who remained in the days
of Asa, his father, he took out of the land.

22:48. And there was then no king appointed in Edom.

22:49. But king Josaphat made navies on the sea, to sail into Ophir for
gold: but they could not go, for the ships were broken in Asiongaber.

22:50. Then Ochozias, the son of Achab, said to Josaphat: Let my
servants go with thy servants in the ships. And Josaphat would not.

Would not. . .He had been reprehended before for admitting such a
partner: and therefore would have no more to do with him.

22:51. And Josaphat slept with his fathers, and was buried with them in
the city of David, his father: and Joram, his son, reigned in his
stead.

22:52. And Ochozias, the son of Achab, began to reign over Israel, in
Samaria, in the seventeenth year of Josaphat, king of Juda, and he
reigned over Israel two years.

22:53. And he did evil in the sight of the Lord, and walked in the way
of his father and his mother, and in the way of Jeroboam, the son of
Nabat, who made Israel to sin.

22:54. He served also Baal, and worshipped him, and provoked the Lord,
the God of Israel, according to all that his father had done.

THE FOURTH BOOK OF KINGS

4 Kings Chapter 1

Ochozias sendeth to consult Beelzebub: Elias foretelleth his death: and
causeth fire to come down from heaven, upon two captains and their
companies.

1:1. And Moab rebelled against Israel, after the death of Achab.

1:2. And Ochozias fell through the lattices of his upper chamber, which
he had in Samaria, and was sick: and he sent messengers, saying to
them: Go, consult Beelzebub, the god of Accaron, whether I shall
recover of this my illness.

1:3. And an angel of the Lord spoke to Elias, the Thesbite, saying:
Arise, and go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria, and say
to them: Is there not a God in Israel, that ye go to consult Beelzebub,
the god of Accaron?

1:4. Wherefore, thus saith the Lord: From the bed, on which thou art
gone up, thou shalt not come down, but thou shalt surely die. And Elias
went away.

1:5. And the messengers turned back to Ochozias. And he said to them:
Why are you come back?

1:6. But they answered him: A man met us, and said to us: Go, and
return to the king, that sent you, and you shall say to him: Thus saith
the Lord: Is it because there was no God in Israel, that thou sendest
to Beelzebub, the god of Accaron? Therefore thou shalt not come down
from the bed, on which thou art gone up, but thou shalt surely die.

1:7. And he said to them: What manner of man was he who met you, and
spoke these words?

1:8. But they said: A hairy man, with a girdle of leather about his
loins. And he said: It is Elias, the Thesbite.

1:9. And he sent to him a captain of fifty, and the fifty men that were
under him. And he went up to him, and as he was sitting on the top of a
hill, he said to him: Man of God, the king hath commanded that thou
come down.

1:10. And Elias answering, said to the captain of fifty: If I be a man
of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume thee, and thy fifty.
And there came down fire from heaven and consumed him, and the fifty
that were with him.

Let fire, etc. . .Elias was inspired to call for fire from heaven upon
these captains, who came to apprehend him; not out of a desire to
gratify any private passion; but to punish the insult offered to
religion, to confirm his mission, and to shew how vain are the efforts
of men against God, and his servants, whom he willeth to protect.

1:11. And he again sent to him another captain of fifty men, and his
fifty with him. And he said to him: Man of God: Thus saith the king:
Make haste and come down.

1:12. Elias answering, said: If I be a man of God, let fire come down
from heaven, and consume thee, and thy fifty. And fire came down from
heaven, and consumed him and his fifty.

1:13. Again he sent a third captain of fifty men, and the fifty that
were with him. And when he was come, he fell upon his knees before
Elias, and besought him, and said: Man of God, despise not my life, and
the lives of thy servants that are with me.

1:14. Behold fire came down from heaven, and consumed the two first
captains of fifty men, and the fifties that were with them: but now I
beseech thee to spare my life.

1:15. And the angel of the Lord spoke to Elias, saying: Go down with
him, fear not. He arose therefore, and went down with him to the king,

1:16. And said to him: Thus saith the Lord: Because thou hast sent
messengers to consult Beelzebub, the god of Accaron, as though there
were not a God in Israel, of whom thou mightest inquire the word;
therefore, from the bed on which thou art gone up, thou shalt not come
down, but thou shalt surely die.

1:17. So he died, according to the word of the Lord, which Elias spoke;
and Joram, his brother, reigned in his stead, in the second year of
Joram, the son of Josaphat, king of Juda, because he had no son.

The second year of Joram, etc. . .Counted from the time that he was
associated to the throne by his father Josaphat.

1:18. But the rest of the acts of Ochozias, which he did, are they not
written in the book of the words of the days of the kings of Israel?

4 Kings Chapter 2

Eliseus will not part from Elias. The water of the Jordan is divided by
Elias' cloak. Elias is taken up in a fiery chariot, and his double
spirit is given to Eliseus. Eliseus healeth the waters by casting in
salt. Boys are torn by bears for mocking Eliseus.

2:1. And it came to pass, when the Lord would take up Elias, into
heaven, by a whirlwind, that Elias and Eliseus were going from Galgal.

Heaven. . .By heaven here is meant the air, the lowest of the heavenly
regions.

2:2. And Elias said to Eliseus: Stay thou here, because the Lord hath
sent me as far as Bethel. And Eliseus said to him: As the Lord liveth,
and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. And when they were come
down to Bethel,

2:3. The sons of the prophets, that were at Bethel, came forth to
Eliseus, and said to him: Dost thou know that, this day, the Lord will
take away thy master from thee? And he answered: I also know it: hold
your peace.

The sons of the prophets. . .That is, the disciples of the prophets; who
seem to have had their schools, like colleges or communities, in
Bethel, Jericho, and other places in the days of Elias and Eliseus.

2:4. And Elias said to Eliseus: Stay here, because the Lord hath sent
me to Jericho. And he said: As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth,
I will not leave thee. And when they were come to Jericho,

2:5. The sons of the prophets, that were at Jericho, came to Eliseus,
and said to him: Dost thou know that, this day, the Lord will take away
thy master from thee? And he said: I also know it: hold your peace.

2:6. And Elias said to him: Stay here, because the Lord hath sent me as
far as the Jordan. And he said: as the Lord liveth, and as thy soul
liveth, I will not leave thee. And they two went on together.

2:7. And fifty men, of the sons of the prophets, followed them, and
stood in sight, at a distance: but they two stood by the Jordan.

2:8. And Elias took his mantle, and folded it together, and struck the
waters, and they were divided hither and thither, and they both passed
over on dry ground.

2:9. And when they were gone over, Elias said to Eliseus: Ask what thou
wilt have me to do for thee, before I be taken away from thee. And
Eliseus said: I beseech thee, that in me may be thy double spirit.

Double spirit. . .A double portion of thy spirit, as the eldest son and
heir: or thy spirit which is double in comparison of that which God
usually imparteth to his prophets.

2:10. And he answered: Thou hast asked a hard thing; nevertheless, if
thou see me when I am taken from thee, thou shalt have what thou hast
asked: but if thou see me not, thou shalt not have it.

2:11. And as they went on, walking and talking together, behold, a
fiery chariot and fiery horses parted them both asunder: and Elias went
up by a whirlwind into heaven.

2:12. And Eliseus saw him, and cried: My father, my father, the chariot
of Israel, and the driver thereof. And he saw him no more: and he took
hold of his own garments, and rent them in two pieces.

2:13. And he took up the mantle of Elias, that fell from him: and going
back, he stood on the bank of the Jordan;

2:14. And he struck the waters with the mantle of Elias, that had
fallen from him, and they were not divided. And he said: Where is now
the God of Elias? And he struck the waters, and they were divided
hither and thither, and Eliseus passed over.

2:15. And the sons of the prophets, at Jericho, who were over against
him, seeing it, said: The spirit of Elias hath rested upon Eliseus. And
coming to meet him, they worshipped him, falling to the ground.

They worshipped him. . .viz., with an inferior, yet religious
veneration, not for any temporal, but spiritual excellency.

2:16. And they said to him: Behold, there are with thy servants, fifty
strong men, that can go, and seek thy master, lest, perhaps, the spirit
of the Lord, hath taken him up and cast him upon some mountain, or into
some valley. And he said: Do not send.

2:17. But they pressed him, till he consented, and said: Send. And they
sent fifty men: and they sought three days, but found him not.

2:18. And they came back to him: for he abode at Jericho, and he said
to them: Did I not say to you? Do not send.

2:19. And the men of the city, said to Eliseus . Behold the situation
of this city is very good, as thou, my lord, seest: but the waters are
very bad, and the ground barren.

2:20. And he said: Bring me a new vessel, and put salt into it. And
when they had brought it,

2:21. He went out to the spring of the waters, and cast the salt into
it, and said: Thus saith the Lord: I have healed these waters, and
there shall be no more in them death or barrenness.

2:22. And the waters were healed unto this day, according to the word
of Eliseus, which he spoke.

2:23. And he went up from thence to Bethel: and as he was going up by
the way, little boys came out of the city and mocked him, saying: Go
up, thou bald head, go up, thou bald head.

2:24. And looking back, he saw them, and cursed them in the name of the
Lord: and there came forth two bears out of the forest, and tore of
them, two and forty boys.

Cursed them. . .This curse, which was followed by so visible a judgment
of God, was not the effect of passion, or of a desire of revenging
himself; but of zeal for religion, which was insulted by these boys, in
the person of the prophet; and of a divine inspiration: God punishing
in this manner the inhabitants of Bethel, (the chief seat of the calf
worship,) who had trained up their children in a prejudice against the
true religion and its ministers.

2:25. And from thence he went to mount Carmel, and from thence he
returned to Samaria.

4 Kings Chapter 3

The kings of Israel, Juda, and Edom, fight against the king of Moab.
They want water, which Eliseus procureth without rain: and prophesieth
victory. The king of Moab is overthrown, his city is besieged: he
sacrificeth his firstborn son: so the Israelites raise the siege.

3:1. And Joram the son of Achab, reigned over Israel, in Samaria, in
the eighteenth year of Josaphat, king of Juda. And he reigned twelve
years.

3:2. And he did evil before the Lord, but not like his father and his
mother: for he took away the statues of Baal, which his father had
made.

3:3. Nevertheless, he stuck to the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nabat,
who made Israel to sin, nor did he depart from them.

3:4. Now Mesa, king of Moab, nourished many sheep, and he paid to the
king of Israel a hundred thousand lambs, and a hundred thousand rams,
with their fleeces.

3:5. And when Achab was dead, he broke the league which he had made
with the king of Israel.

3:6. And king Joram went out that day from Samaria, and mustered all
Israel.

3:7. And he sent to Josaphat; king of Juda, saying: The king of Moab is
revolted from me: come with me against him to battle. And he answered:
I will come up: he that is mine, is thine: my people are thy people:
and my horses, thy horses.

3:8. And he said: Which way shall we go up? But he answered: By the
desert of Edom.

3:9. So the king of Israel, and the king of Juda, and the king of Edom,
went, and they fetched a compass of seven days journey, and there was
no water for the army, and for the beasts, that followed them.

3:10. And the king of Israel said: Alas, alas, alas, the Lord hath
gathered us three kings together, to deliver us into the hands of Moab.

3:11. And Josaphat said: Is there not here a prophet of the Lord, that
we may beseech the Lord by him? And one of the servants of the king of
Israel answered: Here is Eliseus, the son of Saphat, who poured water
on the hands of Elias.

3:12. And Josaphat said: The word of the Lord is with him. And the king
of Israel, and Josaphat, king of Juda, and the king of Edom, went down
to him.

3:13. And Eliseus said to the king of Israel: What have I to do with
thee? go to the prophets of thy father, and thy mother. And the king of
Israel said to him: Why hath the Lord gathered together these three
kings, to deliver them into the hands of Moab?

3:14. And Eliseus said to him: As the Lord of hosts liveth, in whose
sight I stand, if I did not reverence the face of Josaphat, king of
Juda, I would not have hearkened to thee, nor looked on thee.

3:15. But now bring me hither a minstrel. And when the minstrel played,
the hand of the Lord came upon him, and he said:

3:16. Thus saith the Lord: Make the channel of this torrent full of
ditches.

3:17. For thus saith the Lord: You shall not see wind, nor rain: and
yet this channel shall be filled with waters, and you shall drink, you
and your families, and your beasts.

3:18. And this is a small thing in the sight of the Lord: moreover, he
will deliver, also, Moab into your hands.

3:19. And you shall destroy every fenced city, and every choice city,
and shall cut down every fruitful tree, and shall stop up all the
springs of waters, and every goodly field you shall cover with stones.

3:20. And it came to pass, in the morning, when the sacrifices used to
be offered, that behold, water came by the way of Edom, and the country
was filled with water.

3:21. And all the Moabites hearing that the kings were come up to fight
against them, gathered together all that were girded with a belt upon
them, and stood in the borders.

3:22. And they rose early in the morning, and the sun being now up, and
shining upon the waters, the Moabites saw the waters over against them
red, like blood,

3:23. And they said: It is the blood of the sword: the kings have
fought among themselves, and they have killed one another: go now,
Moab, to the spoils.

3:24. And they went into the camp of Israel: but Israel rising up,
defeated Moab, who fled before them. And they being conquerors, went
and smote Moab.

3:25. And they destroyed the cities: And they filled every goodly
field, every man casting his stone: and they stopt up all the springs
of waters: and cut down all the trees that bore fruit, so that brick
walls only remained: and the city was beset by the slingers, and a
great part thereof destroyed.

Brick walls only remained. . .It was the proper name of the capital city
of the Moabites. In Hebrew, Kir-Haraseth.

3:26. And when the king of Moab saw this, to wit, that the enemies had
prevailed, he took with him seven hundred men that drew the sword, to
break in upon the king of Edom: but they could not.

3:27. Then he took his eldest son, that should have reigned in his
stead, and offered him for a burnt offering upon the wall: and there
was great indignation in Israel, and presently they departed from him,
and returned into their own country.

4 Kings Chapter 4

Miracles of Eliseus. He raiseth a dead child to life.

4:1. Now a certain woman of the wives of the prophets, cried to
Eliseus, saying: Thy servant, my husband, is dead, and thou knowest
that thy servant was one that feared God, and behold the creditor is
come to take away my two sons to serve him.

4:2. And Eliseus said to her: What wilt thou have me do for thee? Tell
me, what hast thou in thy house? And she answered: I, thy handmaid,
have nothing in my house but a little oil, to anoint me.

4:3. And he said to her: Go, borrow of all thy neighbours empty
vessels, not a few.

4:4. And go in, and shut thy door, when thou art within, and thy sons:
and pour out thereof into all those vessels: and when they are full,
take them away.

4:5. So the woman went, and shut the door upon her, and upon her sons:
they brought her the vessels, and she poured in.

4:6. And when the vessels were full, she said to her son: Bring me yet
a vessel. And he answered: I have no more. And the oil stood.

4:7. And she came, and told the man of God. And he said: Go, sell the
oil, and pay thy creditor: and thou and thy sons live of the rest.

4:8. And there was a day when Eliseus passed by Sunam: now there was a
great woman there, who detained him to eat bread: and as he passed
often that way, he turned into her house to eat bread.

4:9. And she said to her husband: I perceive that this is a holy man of
God, who often passeth by us.

4:10. Let us, therefore, make him a little chamber, and put a little
bed in it for him, and a table, and a stool, and a candlestick, that
when he cometh to us he may abide there.

4:11. Now, there was a certain day, when he came, and turned into the
chamber, and rested there.

4:12. And he said to Giezi, his servant: Call this Sunamitess. And when
he had called her, and she stood before him,

4:13. He said to his servant: Say to her: Behold, thou hast diligently
served us in all things; what wilt thou have me to do for thee? Hast
thou any business, and wilt thou, that I speak to the king, or to the
general of the army? And she answered: I dwell in the midst of my own
people.

4:14. And he said: What will she then that I do for her? And Giezi
said: Do not ask, for she hath no son, and her husband is old.

4:15. Then he bid him call her. And when she was called, and stood
before the door,

4:16. He said to her: At this time, and this same hour, if life be in
company, thou shalt have a son in thy womb. But she answered: Do not, I
beseech thee, my lord, thou man of God, do not lie to thy handmaid.

4:17. And the woman conceived, and brought forth a son in the time, and
at the same hour that Eliseus had said.

4:18. And the child grew. And on a certain day, when he went out to his
father to the reapers,

4:19. He said to his father: My head acheth, my head acheth. But he
said to his servant. Take him, and carry him to his mother.

4:20. And when he had taken him, and brought him to his mother, she sat
him on her knees, until noon, and then he died.

4:21. And she went up, and laid him upon the bed of the man of God, and
shut the door: and going out,

4:22. She called her husband, and said: Send with me, I beseech thee,
one of thy servants, and an ass, that I may run to the man of God, and
come again.

4:23. And he said to her: Why dost thou go to him? to day is neither
new moon nor sabbath. She answered: I will go.

4:24. And she saddled an ass, and commanded her servant: Drive, and
make haste, make no stay in going: And do that which I bid thee.

4:25. So she went forward, and came to the man of God, to mount Carmel:
and when the man of God saw her coming towards, he said to Giezi, his
servant: Behold that Sunamitess.

4:26. Go, therefore, to meet her, and say to her: Is all well with
thee, and with thy husband, and with thy son? And she answered: Well.

4:27. And when she came to the man of God, to the mount, she caught
hold on his feet: and Giezi came to remove her. And the man of God
said: Let her alone for her soul is in anguish, and the Lord hath hid
it from me, and hath not told me.

4:28. And she said to him: Did I ask a son of my lord? did I not say to
thee: Do not deceive me?

4:29. Then he said to Giezi: Gird up thy loins, and take my staff in
thy hand, and go. If any man meet thee, salute him not: and if any man
salute thee, answer him not: and lay my staff upon the face of the
child.

Salute him not. . .He that is sent to raise to life the sinner
spiritually dead, must not suffer himself to be called off, or diverted
from his enterprise, by the salutations or ceremonies of the world.

4:30. But the mother of the child said: As the Lord liveth, and as thy
soul liveth, I will not leave thee. He arose, therefore, and followed
her.

4:31. But Giezi was gone before them, and laid the staff upon the face
of the child, and there was no voice nor sense: and he returned to meet
him, and told him, saying: The child is not risen.

St. Augustine considers a great mystery in this miracle wrought by the
prophet Eliseus, thus: By the staff sent by his servant is figured the
rod of Moses, or the Old Law, which was not sufficient to bring mankind
to life then dead in sin. It was necessary that Christ himself should
come, and by taking on human nature, become flesh of our flesh, and
restore us to life. In this Eliseus was a figure of Christ, as it was
necessary that he should come himself to bring the dead child to life
and restore him to his mother, who is here, in a mystical sense, a
figure of the Church.

4:32. Eliseus, therefore, went into the house, and behold the child lay
dead on his bed:

4:33. And going in, he shut the door upon him, and upon the child, and
prayed to the Lord.

4:34. And he went up, and lay upon the child: and put his mouth upon
his mouth, and his eyes upon his eyes, and his hands upon his hands:
and he bowed himself upon him, and the child's flesh grew warm.

4:35. Then he returned and walked in the house, once to and fro: and he
went up, and lay upon him: and the child gaped seven times, and opened
his eyes.

4:36. And he called Giezi, and said to him: Call this Sunamitess. And
she being called, went in to him: and he said: Take up thy son.

4:37. She came and fell at his feet, and worshipped upon the ground:
and took up her son, and went out.

4:38. And Eliseus returned to Galgal, and there was a famine in the
land, and the sons of the prophets dwelt before him: And he said to one
of his servants: Set on the great pot, and boil pottage for the sons of
the prophets.

4:39. And one went out into the field to gather wild herbs: and he
found something like a wild vine, and gathered of it wild gourds of the
field, and filled his mantle, and coming back, he shred them into the
pot of pottage; for he knew not what it was.

Wild gourds of the field. . .Colocynthidas. They are extremely bitter,
and therefore are called the gall of the earth; and are poisonous if
taken in a great quantity.

4:40. And they poured it out for their companions to eat: and when they
had tasted of the pottage, they cried out, saying: Death is in the pot,
O man of God. And they could not eat thereof.

4:41. But he said: Bring some meal. And when they had brought it, he
cast it into the pot, and said: Pour out for the people, that they may
eat. And there was now no bitterness in the pot.

4:42. And a certain man came from Baalsalisa, bringing to the man of
God, bread of the firstfruits, twenty loaves of barley, and new corn in
his scrip. And he said: Give to the people, that they may eat.

4:43. And his servant answered him: How much is this, that I should set
it before a hundred men? He said again: Give to the people, that they
may eat: for thus saith the Lord: They shall eat, and there shall be
left.

4:44. So he set it before them: and they ate, and there was left,
according to the word of the Lord.

4 Kings Chapter 5

Naaman the Syrian is cleansed of his leprosy. He professeth his belief
in one God, promising to serve him. Giezi taketh gifts of Naaman, and
is struck with leprosy.

5:1. Naaman, general of the army, of the king of Syria, was a great man
with his master, and honourable: for by him the Lord gave deliverance
to Syria: and he was a valiant man, and rich, but a leper.

5:2. Now there had gone out robbers from Syria, and had led away
captive out of the land of Israel, a little maid, and she waited upon
Naaman's wife.

5:3. And she said to her mistress: I wish my master had been with the
prophet that is in Samaria: he would certainly have healed him of the
leprosy which he hath.

5:4. Then Naaman went in to his lord, and told him, saying: Thus and
thus said the girl from the land of Israel.

5:5. And the king of Syria said to him: Go; and I will send a letter to
the king of Israel. And he departed, and took with him ten talents of
silver, and six thousand pieces of gold, and ten changes of raiment;

5:6. And brought the letter to the king of Israel, in these words: When
thou shalt receive this letter, know that I have sent to thee Naaman,
my servant, that thou mayst heal him of his leprosy.

5:7. And when the king of Israel had read the letter, he rent his
garments, and said: Am I God, to be able to kill and give life, that
this man hath sent to me to heal a man of his leprosy? mark, and see
how he seeketh occasions against me.

5:8. And when Eliseus, the man of God, had heard this, to wit, that the
king of Israel had rent his garments, he sent to him, saying: Why hast
thou rent thy garments? let him come to me, and let him know that there
is a prophet in Israel.

5:9. So Naaman came with his horses and chariots, and stood at the door
of the house of Eliseus:

5:10. And Eliseus sent a messenger to him, saying: Go, and wash seven
times in the Jordan, and thy flesh shall recover health, and thou shalt
be clean.

5:11. Naaman was angry, and went away, saying: I thought he would have
come out to me, and standing, would have invoked the name of the Lord
his God, and touched with his hand the place of the leprosy, and healed
me.

5:12. Are not the Abana, and the Pharphar, rivers of Damascus, better
than all the waters of Israel, that I may wash in them, and be made
clean? So as he turned, and was going away with indignation,

5:13. His servants came to him, and said to him: Father, if the prophet
had bid thee do some great thing, surely thou shouldst have done it:
how much rather what he now hath said to thee: Wash, and thou shalt be
clean?

5:14. Then he went down, and washed in the Jordan seven times,
according to the word of the man of God; and his flesh was restored,
like the flesh of a little child: and he was made clean.

5:15. And returning to the man of God, with all his train, he came, and
stood before him, and said: In truth, I know there is no other God, in
all the earth, but only in Israel: I beseech thee, therefore, take a
blessing of thy servant.

A blessing. . .a present.

5:16. But he answered: As the Lord liveth, before whom I stand, I will
receive none. And when he pressed him, he still refused.

5:17. And Naaman said: As thou wilt: but I beseech thee, grant to me,
thy servant, to take from hence two mules' burden of earth: for thy
servant will not henceforth offer holocaust, or victim, to other gods,
but to the Lord.

5:18. But there is only this, for which thou shalt entreat the Lord for
thy servant; when my master goeth into the temple of Remmon, to worship
there, and he leaneth on my hand: if I bow down in the temple of
Remmon, when he boweth down in the same place, that the Lord pardon me,
thy servant, for this thing.

5:19. And he said to him: Go in peace. So he departed from him, in the
spring time of the earth.

Go in peace. . .What the prophet here allowed, was not an outward
conformity to an idolatrous worship; but only a service which by his
office he owed to his master: who on all public occasions leaned on
him: so that his bowing down when his master bowed himself down was not
in effect adoring the idols: nor was it so understood by the standers
by, since he publicly professed himself a worshipper of the only true
and living God, but it was no more than doing a civil office to the
king his master, whose leaning upon him obliged him to bow at the same
time that he bowed.

5:20. But Giezi, the servant of the man of God, said: My master hath
spared Naaman this Syrian, in not receiving of him that which he
brought: as the Lord liveth, I will run after him, and take something
of him.

5:21. And Giezi followed after Naaman: and when he saw him running
after him, he leapt down from his chariot to meet him, and said: Is all
well?

5:22. And he said: Well: my master hath sent me to thee, saying: Just
now there are come to me from mount Ephraim, two young men of the sons
of the prophets: give them a talent of silver, and two changes of
garments.

5:23. And Naaman said: It is better that thou take two talents. And he
forced him, and bound two talents of silver in two bags, and two
changes of garments, and laid them upon two of his servants, and they
carried them before him.

5:24. And when he was come, and now it was the evening, he took them
from their hands, and laid them up in the house, and sent the men away,
and they departed.

5:25. But he went in, and stood before his master. And Eliseus said:
Whence comest thou, Giezi? He answered: Thy servant went no whither.

5:26. But he said: Was not my heart present, when the man turned back,
from his chariot, to meet thee? So now thou hast received money, and
received garments, to buy oliveyards and vineyards, and sheep, and
oxen, and men-servants, and maid-servants.

5:27. But the leprosy of Naaman, shall also stick to thee, and to thy
seed for ever. And he went out from him a leper, as white as snow.

4 Kings Chapter 6

Eliseus maketh iron to swim upon the water: he leadeth the Syrians that
were sent to apprehend him into Samaria, where there eyes being opened,
they are courteously entertained. The Syrians besiege Samaria: the
famine there causeth a woman to eat her own child. Upon this the king
commandeth Eliseus to be put to death.

6:1. And the sons of the prophets said to Eliseus: Behold, the place
where we dwell with thee is too strait for us.

6:2. Let us go as far as the Jordan, and take out of the wood every man
a piece of timber, that we may build us there a place to dwell in. And
he said: Go.

6:3. And one of them said: But come thou also with thy servants. He
answered: I will come.

6:4. So he went with them. And when they were come to the Jordan, they
cut down wood.

6:5. And it happened, as one was felling some timber, that the head of
the ax fell into the water: and he cried out, and said: Alas, alas,
alas, my lord, for this same was borrowed.

6:6. And the man of God said: Where did it fall? and he shewed him the
place: Then he cut off a piece of wood, and cast it in thither: and the
iron swam.

6:7. And he said: Take it up. And he put out his hand, and took it.

6:8. And the king of Syria warred against Israel, and took counsel with
his servants, saying: In such and such a place, let us lay an ambush.

6:9. And the man of God sent to the king of Israel, saying: Beware that
thou pass not to such a place: for the Syrians are there in ambush.

6:10. And the king of Israel, sent to the place which the man of God
had told him, and prevented him, and looked well to himself there not
once nor twice.

6:11. And the heart of the king of Syria, was troubled for this thing.
And calling together his servants, he said: Why do you not tell me who
it is that betrays me to the king of Israel?

6:12. And one of his servants said: No one, my lord, O king: but
Eliseus, the prophet, that is in Israel, telleth the king of Israel all
the words, that thou speakest in thy privy chamber.

6:13. And he said to them: Go, and see where he is: that I may send and
take him. And they told him: saying: Behold he is in Dothan.

6:14. Therefore, he sent thither horses, and chariots, and the strength
of an army: and they came by night, and beset the city.

6:15. And the servant of the man of God, rising early went out, and saw
an army round about the city, and horses and chariots: and he told him,
saying: Alas, alas, alas, my lord, what shall we do?

6:16. But he answered: Fear not: for there are more with us than with
them.

6:17. And Eliseus prayed, and said: Lord, open his eyes, that he may
see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the servant, and he saw: and
behold, the mountain was full of horses, and chariots of fire round
about Eliseus.

6:18. And the enemies came down to him: but Eliseus prayed to the Lord,
saying: Strike, I beseech thee, this people with blindness: and the
Lord struck them with blindness, according to the word of Eliseus.

Blindness. . .The blindness here spoken of was of a particular kind,
which hindered them from seeing the objects that were really before
them; and represented other different objects to their imagination: so
that they no longer perceived the city of Dothan, nor were able to know
the person of Eliseus; but were easily led by him, whom they took to be
another man, to Samaria. So that he truly told them, this is not the
way, neither is this the city, etc., because he spoke with relation to
the way and to the city, which was represented to them.

6:19. And Eliseus said to them: This is not the way, neither is this
the city: follow me, and I will shew you the man whom you seek. So he
led them into Samaria.

6:20. And when they were come into Samaria, Eliseus said: Lord, open
the eyes of these men, that they may see. And the Lord opened their
eyes, and they saw themselves to be in the midst of Samaria.

6:21. And the king of Israel said to Eliseus, when he saw them: My
father, shall I kill them?

6:22. And he said: Thou shalt not kill them: for thou didst not take
them with thy sword, or thy bow, that thou mayst kill them: but set
bread and water before them, that they may eat and drink, and go to
their master.

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.

10:25. And it came to pass, when the burnt offering was ended, that
Jehu commanded his soldiers and captains, saying: Go in, and kill them:
let none escape. And the soldiers and captains slew them with the edge
of the sword, and cast them out: and they went into the city of the
temple of Baal,

10:26. And brought the statue out of Baal's temple, and burnt it,

10:27. And broke it in pieces. They destroyed also the temple of Baal,
and made a jakes in its place unto this day.

10:28. So Jehu destroyed Baal out of Israel:

10:29. But yet he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam, the son of
Nabat, who made Israel to sin, nor did he forsake the golden calves
that were in Bethel, and Dan.

10:30. And the Lord said to Jehu: because thou hast diligently executed
that which was right and pleasing in my eyes, and hast done to the
house of Achab according to all that was in my heart: thy children
shall sit upon the throne of Israel to the fourth generation.

10:31. But Jehu took no heed to walk in the law of the Lord, the God of
Israel, with all his heart: for he departed not from the sins of
Jeroboam, who had made Israel to sin.

10:32. In those days the Lord began to be weary of Israel: and Hazael
ravaged them in all the coasts of Israel,

10:33. From the Jordan eastward, all the land of Galaad, and Gad, and
Ruben, and Manasses, from Aroer, which is upon the torrent Arnon, and
Galaad, and Basan.

10:34. But the rest of the acts of Jehu, and all that he did, and his
strength, are they not written in the book of the words of the days of
the kings of Israel?

10:35. And Jehu slept with his fathers, and they buried him in Samaria:
and Joachaz, his son, reigned in his stead.

10:36. And the time that Jehu reigned over Israel, in Samaria, was
eight and twenty years.

4 Kings Chapter 11

Athalia's usurpation and tyranny. Joas is made king. Athalia is slain.

11:1. Now Athalia, the mother of Ochozias, seeing that her son was
dead, arose and slew all the royal seed.

11:2. But Josaba the daughter of king Joram, sister of Ochozias, took
Joas, the son of Ochozias, and stole him from among the king's sons
that were slain, out of the bedchamber with his nurse: and hid him from
the face of Athalia; so that he was not slain.

11:3. And he was with her six years, hid in the house of the Lord. And
Athalia reigned over the land.

11:4. And in the seventh year Joiada sent, and taking the centurions
and soldiers, brought them in to him into the temple of the Lord, and
made a covenant with them: and taking an oath of them in the house of
the Lord, shewed them the king's son:

11:5. And he commanded them, saying: This is the thing that you must
do.

11:6. Let a third part of you go in on the sabbath, and keep the watch
of the king's house. And let a third part be at the gate of Sur; and
let a third part be at the gate behind the dwelling of the
shieldbearers; and you shall keep the watch of the house of Messa.

11:7. But let two parts of you all that go forth on the sabbath, keep
the watch of the house of the Lord about the king.

11:8. And you shall compass him round about, having weapons in your
hands: and if any man shall enter the precinct of the temple, let him
be slain: and you shall be with the king, coming in and going out.

11:9. And the centurions did according to all things that Joiada the
priest, had commanded them: and taking every one their men, that went
in on the sabbath, with them that went out in the sabbath, came to
Joiada, the priest.

11:10. And he gave them the spears, and the arms of king David, which
were in the house of the Lord.

11:11. And they stood, having every one their weapons in their hands,
from the right side of the temple, unto the left side of the altar, and
of the temple, about the king.

11:12. And he brought forth the king's son, and put the diadem upon
him, and the testimony: and they made him king, and anointed him: and
clapping their hands, they said: God save the king.

The testimony. . .The book of the law.

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