<t /><p class="bodytext">Now the king of Syria was at war with Israel. He consulted his advisers, who said, &#8220;Invade<n id="1" /> at such and such<n id="2" /> a place.&#8221;

But the <sc>Lordsc> was unwilling to destroy Judah. He preserved Judah for the sake of<n id="1" /> his servant David to whom he had promised a perpetual dynasty.<n id="2" />p>

The <sc>Lordsc> provided a deliverer<n id="1" /> for Israel and they were freed from Syria&#8217;s power.<n id="2" /> The Israelites once more lived in security.<n id="3" />

<t /><p class="bodytext">At that time Merodach-Baladan<n id="1" /> son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a gift to Hezekiah, for he had heard that Hezekiah was ill.

&#8220;You have with you the sons of your master, chariots and horses, a fortified city, and weapons. So when this letter arrives,<n id="1" />

They demolished<n id="1" /> the sacred pillar of Baal and<n id="2" /> the temple of Baal; it is used as<n id="3" /> a latrine<n id="4" /> to this very day.

When the men with a skin disease reached the edge of the camp, they entered a tent and had a meal.<n id="1" /> They also took some silver, gold, and clothes and went and hid it all.<n id="2" /> Then they went back and entered another tent. They looted it<n id="3" /> and went and hid what they had taken.

Pul<n id="1" /> king of Assyria invaded the land, and Menahem paid<n id="2" /> him<n id="3" /> a thousand talents<n id="4" /> of silver to gain his support<n id="5" /> and to solidify his control of the kingdom.<n id="6" />

<p class="bodytext">Jehoiada the priest took a chest and drilled a hole in its lid. He placed it on the right side of the altar near the entrance of<n id="1" /> the <sc>Lordsc>&#8217;s temple. The priests who guarded the entrance would put into it all the silver brought to the <sc>Lordsc>&#8217;s temple.

One day some men<n id="1" /> were burying a man when they spotted<n id="2" /> a raiding party. So they threw the dead man<n id="3" /> into Elisha&#8217;s tomb. When the body<n id="4" /> touched Elisha&#8217;s bones, the dead man<n id="5" /> came to life and stood on his feet.p>

Now make a deal<n id="1" /> with my master the king of Assyria, and I will give you two thousand horses, provided you can find enough riders for them.

He spoke kindly to him and gave him a more prestigious position than<n id="1" /> the other kings who were with him in Babylon.

Jehoram turned his chariot around and took off.<n id="1" /> He said to Ahaziah, &#8220;It&#8217;s a trap,<n id="2" /> Ahaziah!&#8221;

The fifty members of the prophetic guild went and stood opposite them at a distance, while Elijah and Elisha<n id="1" /> stood by the Jordan.

<p class="bodytext">Now King Mesha of Moab was a sheep breeder.<n id="1" /> He would send as tribute<n id="2" /> to the king of Israel 100,000 male lambs and the wool of 100,000 rams.

<t /><p class="bodytext">Now Naaman, the commander of the king of Syria&#8217;s army, was esteemed and respected by his master,<n id="1" /> for through him the <sc>Lordsc> had given Syria military victories. But this great warrior had a skin disease.<n id="2" />

When the king arrived back from Damascus and<n id="1" /> saw the altar, he approached it<n id="2" /> and offered a sacrifice on it.<n id="3" />

<t /><p class="bodytext">Now a wife of one of the prophets<n id="1" /> appealed<n id="2" /> to Elisha for help, saying, &#8220;Your servant, my husband is dead. You know that your servant was a loyal follower of the <sc>Lordsc>.<n id="3" /> Now the creditor is coming to take away my two boys to be his servants.&#8221;

<t /><p class="bodytext">Now Elisha advised the woman whose son he had brought back to life, &#8220;You and your family should go and live somewhere else for a while,<n id="1" /> for the <sc>Lordsc> has decreed that a famine will overtake the land for seven years.&#8221;

<p class="bodytext">Now the watchman was standing on the tower in Jezreel and saw Jehu&#8217;s troops approaching.<n id="1" /> He said, &#8220;I see troops!&#8221;<n id="2" /> Jehoram ordered,<n id="3" /> &#8220;Send a rider out to meet them and have him ask, &#8216;Is everything all right?&#8217;&#8221;<n id="4" />