The Lord’s angelic messenger said to Elijah, “Go down with him. Don’t be afraid of him.” So he got up and went down ¹  with him to the king.

When he turned around and saw them, he called God’s judgment down on them. ¹  Two female bears came out of the woods and ripped forty-two of the boys to pieces.

He did evil in the sight of ¹  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.

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.

for this is what the Lord says, ‘You will not feel ¹  any wind or see any rain, but this valley will be full of water and you and your cattle and animals will drink.’

But his attendant said, “How can I feed a hundred men with this?” ¹  He replied, “Set it before the people so they may eat, for this is what the Lord says, ‘They will eat and have some left over.’” ² 

As they approached him, ¹  Elisha prayed to the Lord, “Strike these people ²  with blindness.” ³  The Lord ⁴  struck them with blindness as Elisha requested. ⁵ 

He was still talking to them when ¹  the messenger approached ²  and said, “Look, the Lord is responsible for this disaster! ³  Why should I continue to wait for the Lord to help?”

Then the people went out and looted the Syrian camp. A seah ¹  of finely milled flour sold for a shekel, and two seahs of barley for a shekel, just as the Lord had said they would. ² 

Elisha said to him, “Go and tell him, ‘You will surely recover,’ ¹  but the Lord has revealed to me that he will surely die.”

He followed in the footsteps of the kings of Israel, just as Ahab’s dynasty had done, for he married Ahab’s daughter. ¹  He did evil in the sight of ²  the Lord.

But the Lord was unwilling to destroy Judah. He preserved Judah for the sake of ¹  his servant David to whom he had promised a perpetual dynasty. ² 

He followed in the footsteps of Ahab’s dynasty and did evil in the sight of ¹  the Lord, like Ahab’s dynasty, for he was related to Ahab’s family. ² 

You will destroy the family of your master Ahab. ¹  I will get revenge against Jezebel for the shed blood of my servants the prophets and for the shed blood of all the Lord’s servants. ² 

But they said, “You’re lying! Tell us what he said.” So he told them what he had said. He also related how he had said, ¹  “This is what the Lord says, ‘I have designated you as king over Israel.’”

He went to Samaria and exterminated all the members of Ahab’s family who were still alive in Samaria, ¹  just as the Lord had announced to Elijah. ² 

The two units who are off duty on the Sabbath will guard the Lord’s temple and protect the king. ¹ 

The priest gave to the officers of the units of hundreds King David’s spears and the shields that were kept in the Lord’s temple.

Jehoiada then drew up a covenant between the Lord and the king and people, stipulating that they should be loyal to the Lord. ¹