THE FOURTH BOOK OF KINGS
Project Gutenberg EPUB3 edition
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 monntain, 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:l9. 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.