Furthermore Manasseh killed so many innocent people, he stained Jerusalem with their blood from end to end, in addition to encouraging Judah to sin by doing evil in the sight of the Lord.

Shaphan the scribe went to the king and reported, “Your servants melted down the silver in the temple and handed it over to the construction foremen assigned to the Lord’s temple.”

He removed the Asherah pole from the Lord’s temple and took it outside Jerusalem to the Kidron Valley, where he burned it. He smashed it to dust and then threw the dust in the public graveyard.

Pharaoh Necho made Josiah’s son Eliakim king in Josiah’s place, and changed his name to Jehoiakim. He took Jehoahaz to Egypt, where he died.

Nebuchadnezzar took from there all the riches in the treasuries of the Lord’s temple and of the royal palace. He removed all the gold items which King Solomon of Israel had made for the Lord’s temple, just as the Lord had warned.

The king asked them, “Describe the appearance of this man who came up to meet you and told you these things.”

Indeed, fire came down from the sky and consumed the two captains who came before me, along with their men. So now, please have respect for my life.”

He did evil in the sight of the Lord, but not to the same degree as his father and mother. He did remove the sacred pillar of Baal that his father had made.

Yet he persisted in the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, who encouraged Israel to sin; he did not turn from them.

Sure enough, the next morning, at the time of the morning sacrifice, water came flowing down from Edom and filled the land.

When they got up early the next morning, the sun was shining on the water. To the Moabites, who were some distance away, the water looked red like blood.

The Moabites said, “It’s blood! The kings are totally destroyed! They have struck one another down! Now, Moab, seize the plunder!”

He said, “About this time next year you will be holding a son.” She said, “No, my master! O prophet, do not lie to your servant!”

He said, “Why do you want to go see him today? It is not the new moon or the Sabbath.” She said, “Everything’s fine.”

The prophet asked, “Where did it drop in?” When he showed him the spot, Elisha cut off a branch, threw it in at that spot, and made the ax head float.

As they approached him, Elisha prayed to the Lord, “Strike these people with blindness.” The Lord struck them with blindness as Elisha requested.

Later King Ben Hadad of Syria assembled his entire army and attacked and besieged Samaria.

So they got up and fled at dusk, leaving behind their tents, horses, and donkeys. They left the camp as it was and ran for their lives.

Then the people went out and looted the Syrian camp. A seah of finely milled flour sold for a shekel, and two seahs of barley for a shekel, just as the Lord had said they would.

Now the king was talking to Gehazi, the prophet’s servant, and said, “Tell me all the great things which Elisha has done.”