The Bible (Old and New Testaments)

And as the King of Israel was going vpon the wall, there cryed a woman vnto him, saying, Helpe, my lord, O King.

And he said, Seeing the Lord doeth not succour thee, howe shoulde I helpe thee with the barne, or with the wine presse?

Also the King said vnto her, What ayleth thee? And she answered, This woman sayde vnto me, Giue thy sonne, that we may eate him to day, and we will eate my sonne to morowe,

So we sod my sonne, and did eate him: and I saide to her the day after, Giue thy sonne, that we may eate him, but she hath hid her sonne.

And when the King had heard the wordes of the woman, he rent his clothes, (and as he went vpon the wall, the people looked, and behold, he had sackecloth within vpon his flesh)

And he saide, God doe so to me and more also, if the head of Elisha the sonne of Shaphat shall stande on him this day.

(Nowe Elisha sate in his house, and the Elders sate with him.) And the King sent a man before him: but before the messenger came to him, he saide to the Elders, See ye not howe this murtherers sonne hath sent to take away mine head? take heede when the messenger commeth, and shut the doore and handle him roughly at the doore: is not the sounde of his masters feete behinde him?

While he yet talked with them, beholde, the messenger came downe vnto him, and saide, Behold, this euill commeth of the Lord: should I attende on the Lord any longer?

Then Elisha saide, Heare ye the worde of the Lord: thus saith the Lord, To morowe this time a measure of fine floure shalbe solde for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel in the gate of Samaria.

Then a prince, on whose hande the King leaned, answered the man of God, and saide, Though the Lord would make windowes in the heauen, could this thing come to passe? And he said, Beholde, thou shalt see it with thine eyes, but thou shalt not eate thereof.

Nowe there were foure leprous men at the entring in of the gate: and they saide one to an other, Why sitte we here vntill we die?

If we say, We will enter into the citie, the famine is in the citie, and we shall die there: and if we sit here, we dye also. Nowe therefore come, and let vs fall into the campe of the Aramites: if they saue our liues, we shall liue: and if they kill vs, we are but dead.

So they rose vp in the twilight, to goe to the campe of the Aramites: and when they were come to the vtmost part of the campe of the Aramites, loe, there was no man there.

For the Lord had caused the campe of the Aramites to heare a noyse of charets and a noise of horses, and a noise of a great armie, so that they sayde one to another, Beholde, the King of Israel hath hired against vs the Kings of the Hittites, and the Kings of the Egyptians to come vpon vs.

Wherefore they arose, and fled in the twilight, and left their tentes and their horses, and their asses, euen the campe as it was, and fledde for their liues.

And when these lepers came to the vtmost part of the campe, they entred into one tent, and did eate and drinke, and caryed thence siluer and golde, and raiment, and went and hid it: after they returned, and entred into another tent, and caryed thence also, and went and hid it.

Then saide one to another, We doe not well: this day is a day of good tidings, and we holde our peace. if we tary till day light, some mischiefe will come vpon vs. Nowe therefore, come, let vs goe, and tell the Kings housholde.

So they came, and called vnto the porters of the citie, and tolde them, saying, We came to the campe of the Aramites, and loe, there was no man there, neither voyce of man, but horses tyed and asses tyed: and the tents are as they were.

And the porters cryed and declared to the Kings house within.

Then the King arose in the night, and saide vnto his seruants, I wil shew you now, what the Aramites haue done vnto vs. They know that we are affamished, therefore they are gone out of the campe to hide them selues in the fielde, saying, When they come out of the citie, we shall catch them aliue, and get into the citie.

And one of his seruants answered, and said, Let me take now fiue of the horses that remaine, and are left in the citie, (behold, they are euen as all the multitude of Israel that are left therein: beholde, I say, they are as the multitude of the Israelites that are consumed) and we wil send to see.

So they tooke two charets of horses, and the King sent after the hoste of the Aramites, saying, Goe and see.

And they went after them vnto Iorden, and loe, all the way was full of clothes and vessels which the Aramites had cast from them in their hast: and the messengers returned, and told ye King.

Then the people went out and spoyled the campe of the Aramites: so a measure of fine floure was at a shekel, and two measures of barley at a shekel according to the word of the Lord.

And the King gaue the prince (on whose hande he leaned) the charge of the gate, and the people trode vpon him in the gate, and he dyed, as the man of God had saide, which spake it, when the King came downe to him.

And it came to passe, as the man of God had spoken to the King, saying, Two measures of barley at a shekel, and a measure of fine floure shall be at a shekel, to morowe about this time in the gate of Samaria.

But the prince had answered the man of God, and saide, Though the Lord would make windowes in the heauen, coulde it come so to passe? And he said, Behold, thou shalt see it with thine eyes, but thou shalt not eate thereof.

And so it came vnto him: for the people trode vpon him in the gate, and he dyed.

Then spake Elisha vnto the woman, whose sonne he had restored to life, saying, Vp, and goe, thou, and thine house, and soiourne where thou canst soiourne: for the Lord hath called for a famine, and it commeth also vpon the land seuen yeeres.

And the woman arose, and did after the saying of the man of God, and went both shee and her housholde and soiourned in the lande of the Philistims seuen yeeres.

And at the seuen yeeres ende, the woman returned out of the lande of the Philistims, and went out to call vpon the King for her house and for her land.

And the King talked with Gehazi the seruant of the man of God, saying, Tell mee, I pray thee, all the great actes, that Elisha hath done.

And as he told the King, howe he had restored one dead to life, behold, the woman, whose sonne he had raised to life, called vpon the King for her house and for her land. Then Gehazi sayd, My lorde, O King, this is the woman, and this is her sonne, whom Elisha restored to life.

And when the King asked the woman, shee told him: so the King appoynted her an Eunuch, saying, Restore thou all that are hers, and all the fruites of her landes since the day shee left the land, euen vntill this time.

Then Elisha came to Damascus, and Ben-hadad the King of Aram was sicke, and one told him, saying, The man of God is come hither.

And the king sayd vnto Hazael, Take a present in thine hande, and goe meete the man of God, that thou mayest inquire of ye Lord by him, saying, Shall I recouer of this disease?

So Hazael went to meete him, and tooke the present in his hand, and of euery good thing of Damascus, euen the burden of fourtie camels, and came and stood before him, and sayde, Thy sonne Ben-hadad King of Aram hath sent me to thee, saying, Shall I recouer of this disease?

And Elisha sayd to him, Goe, and say vnto him, Thou shalt recouer: howbeit the Lord hath shewed me, that he shall surely dye.

And hee looked vpon him stedfastly, till Hazael was ashamed, and the man of God wept.

And Hazael sayde, Why weepeth my lord? And he answered, Because I knowe the euill that thou shalt do vnto the children of Israel: for their strong cities shalt thou set on fire, and their yong men shalt thou slay with the sworde, and shalt dash their infantes against the stones, and rent in pieces their women with child.

Then Hazael said, What? is thy seruant a dog, that I should doe this great thing? And Elisha answered, The Lord hath shewed mee, that thou shalt be King of Aram.

So he departed from Elisha, and came to his master, who said to him, What saide Elisha to thee? And he answered, Hee tolde mee that thou shouldest recouer.

And on the morow he tooke a thick cloth and dipt in it water, and spread it on his face, and hee dyed: and Hazael reigned in his stead.

Now in the fift yere of Ioram ye sonne of Ahab King of Israel, and of Iehoshaphat King of Iudah, Iehoram the sonne of Iehoshaphat King of Iudah began to reigne.

He was two and thirtie yere olde, when he began to reigne: and hee reigned eight yeere in Ierusalem.

And hee walked in the wayes of the Kings of Israel, as did the house of Ahab: for the daughter of Ahab was his wife, and hee did euill in the sight of the Lord.

Yet the Lord would not destroy Iudah, for Dauid his seruants sake, as he had promised him to giue him a light, and to his children for euer.

In those dayes Edom rebelled from vnder the hand of Iudah, and made a King ouer themselues.

Therefore Ioram went to Zair, and all his charets with him, and he arose by night, and smote the Edomites which were about him with the captains of the charets, and the people fled into their tents.

So Edom rebelled from vnder the hand of Iudah vnto this day. then Libnah rebelled at that same time.

Concerning the rest of the actes of Ioram and all that hee did, are they not written in the booke of the Chronicles of the Kings of Iudah?

And Ioram slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the citie of Dauid. And Ahaziah his sonne reigned in his stead.

In the twelft yere of Ioram the sonne of Ahab King of Israel did Ahaziah the sonne of Iehoram King of Iudah begin to reigne.

Two and twentie yeere olde was Ahaziah when he began to reigne, and he reigned one yere in Ierusalem, and his mothers name was Athaliah the daughter of Omri King of Israel.

And he walked in the way of the house of Ahab, and did euill in the sight of the Lord, like the house of Ahab: for hee was the sonne in law of the house of Ahab.

And he went with Ioram the sonne of Ahab to warre against Hazael King of Aram in Ramoth Gilead, and the Aramites smote Ioram.

And King Ioram returned to bee healed in Izreel of the wounds which ye Aramites had giuen him at Ramah, whe he fought against Hazael King of Aram. And Ahaziah the sonne of Iehoram King of Iudah went downe to see Ioram the sonne of Ahab in Izreel, because he was sicke.

Then Elisha the Prophet called one of ye children of the Prophets, and sayde vnto him, Gird thy loynes and take this boxe of oyle in thine hand and get thee to Ramoth Gilead.

And when thou commest thither, looke where is Iehu ye sonne of Iehoshaphat, the sonne of Nimshi, and go, and make him arise vp from among his brethren, and leade him to a secret chamber.

Then take the boxe of oyle and powre it on his head, and say, Thus sayth the Lord, I haue anointed thee for King ouer Israel. then open the doore, and flee without any tarying.

So the seruat of ye Prophet gate him to Ramoth Gilead.

And when he came in, behold, the captaines of the armie were sitting. And he sayde, I haue a message to thee, O captaine. And Iehu sayd, Vnto which of all vs? And he answered, To thee, O captaine.

And he arose, and went into the house, and he powred the oyle on his head and sayde vnto him, Thus sayth the Lord God of Israel, I haue anointed thee for King ouer the people of the Lord, euen ouer Israel.

And thou shalt smite the house of Ahab thy master, that I may auenge the blood of my seruants the Prophets, and the blood of al the seruants of the Lord of the hand of Iezebel.

For the whole house of Ahab shalbe destroied: and I will cut off from Ahab, him that maketh water against the wall, as well him that is shut vp, as him that is left in Israel.

And I will make the house of Ahab like the house of Ieroboam the sonne of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the sonne of Ahiiah.

And the dogges shall eate Iezebel in the fielde of Izreel, and there shalbe none to burie her. And he opened the doore, and fled.

Then Iehu came out to the seruants of his lord. And one sayd vnto him, Is all well? wherefore came this mad fellowe to thee? And hee sayde vnto them, Ye knowe the man, and what his talke was.

And they sayde, It is false, tell vs it nowe. Then he sayd, Thus and thus spake he to me, saying, Thus saieth the Lord, I haue anointed thee for King ouer Israel.

Then they made haste, and tooke euerie man his garment, and put it vnder him on the top of the staires, and blewe the trumpet, saying, Iehu is King.

So Iehu ye sonne of Iehoshaphat the sonne of Nimshi conspired against Ioram: (Now Ioram kept Ramoth Gilead, he and all Israel, because of Hazael King of Aram.

And King Ioram returned to bee healed in Izreel of the woundes, which the Aramites had giuen him, when hee fought with Hazael King of Aram) and Iehu sayde, If it be your mindes, let no man depart and escape out of the citie, to goe and tell in Izreel.

So Iehu gate vp into a charet, and went to Izreel: for Ioram lay there, and Ahaziah King of Iudah was come downe to see Ioram.

And the watchman that stoode in the towre in Izreel spyed the companie of Iehu as hee came, and sayd, I see a companie. And Iehoram said, Take a horseman and send to meete them, that hee may say, Is it peace?

So there went one on horseback to meete him, and sayde, Thus sayth the King, Is it peace? And Iehu sayd, What hast thou to do with peace? Turne behinde me. And the watchman tolde, saying, The messenger came to them, but he commeth not againe.

Then hee sent out another on horsebacke, which came to them, and sayde, Thus sayth the King, Is it peace? And Iehu answered, What hast thou to doe with peace? turne behinde me.

And the watchman tolde, saying, He came to them also, but commeth not againe, and the marching is like the marching of Iehu the sonne of Nimshi: for he marcheth furiously.

Then Iehoram sayd, Make ready: and his charet was made ready. And Iehoram King of Israel and Ahaziah King of Iudah went out eyther of them in his charet against Iehu, and met him in the fielde of Naboth the Izreelite.

And when Iehoram sawe Iehu, he sayde, Is it peace, Iehu? And he answered, What peace? whiles the whoredomes of thy mother Iezebel, and her witchcraftes are yet in great nomber?

Then Iehoram turned his hand, and fled, and said to Ahaziah, O Ahaziah, there is treason.

But Iehu tooke a bowe in his hande, and smote Iehoram betweene the shoulders, that the arowe went through his heart: and he fell downe in his charet.

Then said Iehu to Bidkar a captaine, Take, and cast him in some place of the fielde of Naboth the Izreelite: for I remember that when I and thou rode together after Ahab his father, the Lord layed this burden vpon him.

Surely I haue seene yesterday the blood of Naboth, and the blood of his sonnes, saide the Lord, and I will render it thee in this fielde, saith the Lord: nowe therefore take and cast him in the fielde, according to the word of the Lord.

But when Ahaziah the King of Iudah saw this, he fled by the way of the garden house: And Iehu pursued after him, and sayd, Smite him also in the charet: and they smote him in the going vp to Gur, which is by Ibleam. And hee fled to Megiddo, and there dyed.

And his seruants caried him in a charet to Ierusalem, and buried him in his sepulchre with his fathers in the citie of Dauid.

And in the eleuenth yere of Ioram the sonne of Ahab, began Ahaziah to reigne ouer Iudah.

And when Iehu was come to Izreel, Iezebel heard of it, and painted her face, and tired her head, and looked out at a windowe.

And as Iehu entred at the gate, shee sayde, Had Zimri peace, which slewe his master?

And he lift vp his eyes to the windowe, and sayd, Who is on my side, who? Then two or three of her Eunuches looked vnto him.

And he sayde, Cast her downe: and they cast her downe, and hee sprinkled of her blood vpon the wall, and vpon the horses, and he trode her vnder foote.

And when he was come in, he did eate and drinke, and sayde, Visite now yonder cursed woman, and burie her: for she is a Kings daughter.

And they went to burie her, but they foud no more of her, then the skull and the feete, and the palmes of her handes.

Wherefore they came agayne and tolde him. And he said, This is the worde of the Lord, which he spake by his seruant Eliiah the Tishbite, saying, In the fielde of Izreel shall ye dogs eate the flesh of Iezebel.

And the carkeis of Iezebel shalbe as doung vpon the ground in the field of Izreel, so that none shall say, This is Iezebel.

Ahab had nowe seuentie sonnes in Samaria. And Iehu wrote letters, and sent to Samaria vnto the rulers of Izreel, and to the Elders, and to the bringers vp of Ahabs children, to this effect,

Nowe when this letter commeth to you, (for ye haue with you your masters sonnes, yee haue with you both charets and horses, and a defenced citie, and armour)

Consider therefore which of your masters sonnes is best and most meete, and set him on his fathers throne, and fight for your masters house.

But they were exceedingly afraid, and saide, Behold two Kings coulde not stande before him, how shall we then stand?

And he that was gouernour of Ahabs house, and he that ruled the citie, and the Elders, and the bringers vp of the children sent to Iehu, saying, We are thy seruants, and will doe all that thou shalt bid vs: we will make no King: do what seemeth good to thee.

Then he wrote another letter to them, saying, If ye be mine, and wil obey my voyce, take the heads of ye men that are your masters sonnes, and come to me to Izreel by to morowe this time. (Nowe the Kings sonnes, euen seuentie persons were with the great men of the citie, which brought them vp)