2 Kings 1 - 2 - Legacy Standard Bible

2 Kings 1 - 2

Ahaziah’s Messengers Meet Elijah

Now Moab revolted against Israel after the death of Ahab. 2 And Ahaziah fell through the lattice in his upper chamber, which was in Samaria, and became ill. So he sent messengers and said to them, “Go, inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, whether I will live from this sickness.” 3 But the angel of Yahweh said to Elijah the Tishbite, “Arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria and say to them, ‘Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron?’ 4 Now therefore thus says Yahweh, ‘You shall not come down from the bed where you have gone up, but you shall surely die.’” Then Elijah departed. 5 So the messengers returned to him, and he said to them, “Why have you returned?” 6 And they said to him, “A man came up to meet us and said to us, ‘Go, return to the king who sent you and say to him, “Thus says Yahweh, ‘Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are sending to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore you shall not come down from the bed where you have gone up, but shall surely die.’”’” 7 And he said to them, “What kind of man was he who came up to meet you and spoke these words to you?” 8 And they said to him, “He was a hairy man with a leather girdle girded about his loins.” And he said, “It is Elijah the Tishbite.” 9 Then the king sent to him a commander of fifty with his fifty. And he went up to him, and behold, he was sitting on the top of the hill. And he said to him, “O man of God, the king says, ‘Come down.’” 10 And Elijah answered and spoke to the commander of fifty, “If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty.” Then fire came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty. 11 So he again sent to him another commander of fifty with his fifty. And he answered and spoke to him, “O man of God, thus says the king, ‘Come down quickly.’” 12 And Elijah answered and spoke to them, “If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty.” Then the fire of God came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty. 13 So he again sent the commander of a third fifty with his fifty. Then the third commander of fifty went up and came and bowed down on his knees before Elijah, and he begged him and said to him, “O man of God, please let my life and the lives of these fifty servants of yours be precious in your sight. 14 Behold, fire came down from heaven and consumed the first two commanders of fifty with their fifties; but now let my life be precious in your sight.” 15 Then the angel of Yahweh spoke to Elijah, “Go down with him; do not be afraid of him.” So he arose and went down with him to the king. 16 Then he spoke to him, “Thus says Yahweh, ‘Because you have sent messengers to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron—is it because there is no God in Israel to inquire of His word?—therefore you shall not come down from the bed where you have gone up, but shall surely die.’”

Jehoram Reigns over Israel

17 So Ahaziah died according to the word of Yahweh which Elijah had spoken. And because he had no son, Jehoram became king in his place in the second year of Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah. 18 Now the rest of the acts of Ahaziah which he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?

Elijah Taken to Heaven

Now it happened when Yahweh was about to take up Elijah by a whirlwind to heaven, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal. 2 And Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here please, for Yahweh has sent me as far as Bethel.” But Elisha said, “As Yahweh lives and as your soul lives, I will not forsake you.” So they went down to Bethel. 3 Then the sons of the prophets who were at Bethel came out to Elisha and said to him, “Do you know that Yahweh will take away your master from over you today?” And he said, “Yes, I know; be silent.” 4 And Elijah said to him, “Elisha, please stay here, for Yahweh has sent me to Jericho.” But he said, “As Yahweh lives and as your soul lives, I will not forsake you.” So they came to Jericho. 5 Then the sons of the prophets who were at Jericho approached Elisha and said to him, “Do you know that Yahweh will take away your master from over you today?” And he answered, “Yes, I know; be silent.” 6 Then Elijah said to him, “Please stay here, for Yahweh has sent me to the Jordan.” And he said, “As Yahweh lives and as your soul lives, I will not forsake you.” So the two of them went on. 7 Now fifty men of the sons of the prophets went and stood opposite them at a distance, but the two of them stood by the Jordan. 8 And Elijah took his mantle and folded it together and struck the waters, and they were divided here and there, so that the two of them crossed over on dry ground. 9 Now it happened when they crossed over, that Elijah said to Elisha, “Ask what I shall do for you before I am taken from you.” And Elisha said, “Please, let a double portion of your spirit be upon me.” 10 And he said, “You have asked a hard thing. Nevertheless, if you see me when I am taken from you, it shall be so for you; but if not, it shall not be so.” 11 As they were going along and talking, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire and horses of fire, and it separated the two of them. And Elijah went up by a whirlwind to heaven. 12 And Elisha was seeing this and he was crying out, “My father, my father, the chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” And he saw Elijah no more. Then he took hold of his own clothes and tore them in two pieces. 13 He also took up the mantle of Elijah that fell from him and returned and stood by the bank of the Jordan. 14 And he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him and struck the waters and said, “Where is Yahweh, the God of Elijah?” Indeed, he himself also struck the waters, and they were divided here and there! And Elisha crossed over.

Elisha Has the Spirit of Elijah

15 Then the sons of the prophets who were at Jericho opposite him saw him and said, “The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha.” And they came to meet him and bowed themselves to the ground before him. 16 Then they said to him, “Behold now, there are with your servants fifty excellent men, please let them go and search for your master, lest the Spirit of Yahweh has taken him up and cast him on some mountain or into some valley.” And he said, “You shall not send.” 17 But when they urged him until he was ashamed, he said, “Send.” They sent therefore fifty men; and they searched three days but did not find him. 18 So they returned to him while he was staying at Jericho; and he said to them, “Did I not say to you, ‘Do not go’?” 19 Then the men of the city said to Elisha, “Behold now, the habitat of this city is pleasant, as my lord sees; but the water is bad and the land is unfruitful.” 20 And he said, “Bring me a new jar, and put salt in it.” So they brought it to him. 21 And he went out to the spring of water and threw salt in it and said, “Thus says Yahweh, ‘I have purified these waters; there shall not be from there death or barrenness any longer.’” 22 So the waters have been purified to this day, according to the word of Elisha which he spoke. 23 Then he went up from there to Bethel; and as he was going up by the way, young boys came out from the city and mocked him and said to him, “Go up, you baldhead; go up, you baldhead!” 24 Then he looked behind him and saw them. And he cursed them in the name of Yahweh. Then two female bears came out of the woods and tore up forty-two lads of their number. 25 And he went from there to Mount Carmel, and from there he returned to Samaria.

Matthew 14:1 - 15:28

John the Baptist Beheaded

At that time Herod the tetrarch heard the news about Jesus, 2 and said to his servants, “This is John the Baptist; he has risen from the dead, and that is why miraculous powers are at work in him.” 3 For when Herod had John arrested, he bound him and put him in prison because of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip. 4 For John had been saying to him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.” 5 And although Herod wanted to put him to death, he feared the crowd, because they were regarding John as a prophet. 6 But when Herod’s birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced before them and pleased Herod, 7 so much that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she asked. 8 Now having been prompted by her mother, she *said, “Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptist.” 9 And although he was grieved, the king commanded it to be given because of his oaths, and because of his dinner guests. 10 And he sent and had John beheaded in the prison. 11 And his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother. 12 And his disciples came and took away the body and buried it; and they went and reported to Jesus.

Jesus Feeds Five Thousand

13 Now when Jesus heard about John, He withdrew from there in a boat to a desolate place by Himself; and when the crowds heard of this, they followed Him on foot from the cities. 14 And when He went ashore, He saw a large crowd, and felt compassion for them and healed their sick. 15 Now when it was evening, the disciples came to Him and said, “This place is desolate and the hour is already late; so send the crowds away, that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” 16 But Jesus said to them, “They do not need to go away; you give them something to eat!” 17 But they *said to Him, “We have here only five loaves and two fish.” 18 And He said, “Bring them here to Me.” 19 And ordering the crowds to sit down on the grass, He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up toward heaven, He blessed the food. And breaking the loaves, He gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds, 20 and they all ate and were satisfied. They picked up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve full baskets. 21 And there were about five thousand men who ate, besides women and children.

Jesus Walks on the Sea

22 Immediately He made the disciples get into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side, while He sent the crowds away. 23 And after He had sent the crowds away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray; and when it was evening, He was there alone. 24 But the boat was already many stadia away from the land, being battered by the waves; for the wind was against them. 25 And in the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea. 26 Now when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out in fear. 27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.” 28 And Peter answered and said to Him, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” 29 And He said, “Come!” And getting out of the boat, Peter walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30 But seeing the wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!” 31 And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him, and *said to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” 32 And when they got into the boat, the wind stopped. 33 And those who were in the boat worshiped Him, saying, “You are truly God’s Son!” 34 And when they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret. 35 And when the men of that place recognized Him, they sent word into all that surrounding district and brought to Him all who were sick; 36 and they were pleading with Him that they might just touch the fringe of His garment; and as many as touched it were cured.

God’s Commandments, Man’s Traditions

Then some Pharisees and scribes *came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, 2 “Why do Your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread.” 3 And He answered and said to them, “Why do you yourselves transgress the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? 4 For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother,’ and, ‘He who speaks evil of father or mother is to be put to death.’ 5 But you say, ‘Whoever says to his father or mother, “Whatever you might benefit from me is given to God,” 6 he need not honor his father.’ And by this you invalidated the word of God for the sake of your tradition. 7 You hypocrites, rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you: 8

‘This people honors Me with their lips,

But their heart is far away from Me.

But in vain do they worship Me,

Teaching as doctrines the commands of men.’”

10 After Jesus called the crowd to Him, He said to them, “Hear and understand. 11 It is not what enters into the mouth that defiles the man, but what proceeds out of the mouth, this defiles the man.” 12 Then the disciples *came and *said to Him, “Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this statement?” 13 But He answered and said, “Every plant which My heavenly Father did not plant shall be uprooted. 14 Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind. And if a blind man guides a blind man, both will fall into a pit.”

The Heart of Man

15 Now Peter answered and said to Him, “Explain the parable to us.” 16 And Jesus said, “Are you still lacking in understanding also? 17 Do you not understand that everything that goes into the mouth passes into the stomach, and goes into the sewer? 18 But the things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and those defile the man. 19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, sexual immoralities, thefts, false witness, slanders. 20 These are the things which defile the man; but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile the man.”

The Canaanite Woman

21 And going away from there, Jesus withdrew into the district of Tyre and Sidon. 22 And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and began to cry out, saying, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is cruelly demon-possessed.” 23 But He did not answer her a word. And His disciples came and were pleading with Him, saying, “Send her away, because she keeps shouting at us.” 24 But He answered and said, “I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” 25 But she came and was bowing down before Him, saying, “Lord, help me!” 26 And He answered and said, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” 27 But she said, “Yes, Lord; but even the dogs feed on the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.” 28 Then Jesus answered and said to her, “O woman, your faith is great; it shall be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed at once.

Psalm 14 - 15

There Is No One Who Does Good

For the choir director. Of David.

The wicked fool says in his heart, “There is no God.”

They act corruptly, they commit abominable deeds;

There is no one who does good.

Yahweh looks down from heaven upon the sons of men

To see if there is anyone who has insight,

Anyone who seeks after God.

They have all turned aside, altogether they have become worthless;

There is no one who does good, not even one.

Do all the workers of iniquity not know,

Who eat up my people as they eat bread,

And do not call upon Yahweh?

There they are in great dread,

For God is with the righteous generation.

You would put to shame the counsel of the afflicted,

But Yahweh is his refuge.

Oh, that the salvation of Israel would come out of Zion!

When Yahweh restores His captive people,

May Jacob rejoice, may Israel be glad.

Who May Dwell on Your Holy Mountain?

A Psalm of David.

O Yahweh, who may sojourn in Your tent?

Who may dwell on Your holy mountain?

He who walks blamelessly, and works righteousness,

And speaks truth in his heart.

He does not slander with his tongue,

Nor does evil to his neighbor,

Nor takes up a reproach against his friend;

In whose eyes a reprobate is despised,

But who honors those who fear Yahweh;

He swears to his own hurt and does not change;

He does not put out his money at interest,

Nor does he take a bribe against the innocent.

He who does these things will never be shaken.