Jehoshaphat asked, “Is there no prophet of the Lord here that we might seek the Lord’s direction?” ¹  One of the servants of the king of Israel answered, “Elisha son of Shapat is here; he used to be Elijah’s servant.” ² 

Elisha said to the king of Israel, “Why are you here? ¹  Go to your father’s prophets or your mother’s prophets!” The king of Israel replied to him, “No, for the Lord is the one who summoned these three kings so that he can hand them over to Moab.”

An officer who was the king’s right-hand man ¹  responded to the prophet, ²  “Look, even if the Lord made it rain by opening holes in the sky, could this happen so soon?” ³  Elisha ⁴  said, “Look, you will see it happen with your own eyes, but you will not eat any of the food!” ⁵ 

But the officer replied to the prophet, “Look, even if the Lord made it rain by opening holes in the sky, could this happen so soon?” ¹  Elisha ²  said, “Look, you will see it happen with your own eyes, but you will not eat any of the food!” ³ 

Hazael asked, “Why are you crying, my master?” He replied, “Because I know the trouble you will cause the Israelites. You will set fire to their fortresses, kill their young men with the sword, smash their children to bits, and rip open their pregnant women.”

Hazael said, “How could your servant, who is as insignificant as a dog, accomplish this great military victory?” ¹  Elisha answered, “The Lord has revealed to me that you will be the king of Syria.” ² 

When Jehu rejoined ¹  his master’s servants, they ²  asked him, “Is everything all right? ³  Why did this madman visit you?” He replied, “Ah, it’s not important. You know what kind of man he is and the kinds of things he says.” ⁴ 

So the horseman ¹  went to meet him and said, “This is what the king says, ‘Is everything all right?’” ²  Jehu replied, “None of your business! ³  Follow me.” The watchman reported, “The messenger reached them, but hasn’t started back.”

So he sent a second horseman out to them ¹  and he said, “This is what the king says, ‘Is everything all right?’” ²  Jehu replied, “None of your business! Follow me.”

Isaiah the prophet visited King Hezekiah and asked him, “What did these men say? Where do they come from?” Hezekiah replied, “They come from the distant land of Babylon.”

They replied, ¹  “He was a hairy man ²  and had a leather belt ³  tied around his waist.” The king ⁴  said, “He is Elijah the Tishbite.”

Elijah ¹  replied, “That’s a difficult request! ²  If you see me taken from you, may it be so, but if you don’t, it will not happen.”

But they were so insistent, he became embarrassed. So he said, “Send them out.” They sent the fifty men out and they looked for three days, but could not find Elijah. ¹ 

The king of Israel said, “Oh no! ¹  Certainly the Lord has summoned these three kings so that he can hand them over to the king of Moab!”

Jehoshaphat said, “The Lord speaks through him.” ¹  So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom went down to visit him.

He said, “Go and ask all your neighbors for empty containers. ¹  Get as many as you can. ² 

When the containers were full, she said to one of her sons, ¹  “Bring me another container.” But he answered her, “There are no more.” Then the olive oil stopped flowing.

She went and told the prophet. ¹  He said, “Go, sell the olive oil. Repay your creditor, and then you and your sons can live off the rest of the profit.”

He said, “About this time next year ¹  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 ¹  or the Sabbath.” She said, “Everything’s fine.” ²