2 Kings 1; 2 Kings 2; 2 Kings 3; Luke 24:1-35

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2 Kings 1

1 After Ahab died, Moab rebelled against Israel.
2 During the rebellion King Ahaziah fell through a window lattice in his upstairs room in Samaria and injured himself. So he sent messengers [to Ekron]. He had told them, "Go ask Baalzebub, the god of Ekron, if I will recover from this injury."
3 Then the angel of the LORD said to Elijah from Tishbe, "Meet the messengers of the king of Samaria, and ask them, 'Do you seek advice from Baalzebub, the god of Ekron, because [you think] there is no God in Israel?
4 This is what the LORD says: You will not get up from the bed you are lying on. Instead, you will die there.'" Then Elijah left.
5 When the messengers returned, the king asked them, "Why have you come back so soon?"
6 They told him that a man came to meet them and said to them, "Go back to the king who sent you. Tell him, 'This is what the LORD says: Do you send messengers to seek advice from Baalzebub, the god of Ekron, because [you think] there is no God in Israel? You will not get up from the bed you are lying on. Instead, you will die there.'"
7 The king asked them, "What was the man who told you this like?"
8 They replied, "He was hairy and had a leather belt around his waist." "That's Elijah from Tishbe," the king answered.
9 The king sent an army officer with 50 men to Elijah. When the officer found Elijah sitting on top of a hill, he told Elijah, "Man of God, the king says, 'Come down.'"
10 Elijah answered the officer, "If I'm a man of God, fire will come from heaven and burn up you and your 50 men." Then fire came from heaven and burned up the officer and his 50 men.
11 The king sent another officer with 50 men to Elijah. The officer said, "Man of God, this is what the king says: Come here right away!"
12 Elijah answered the officer, "If I'm a man of God, fire will come from heaven and burn up you and your 50 men." Then God's fire came from heaven and burned up the officer and his 50 men.
13 The king sent a third officer with 50 men. The officer of the third group went up the hill and knelt in front of Elijah. The officer begged him, "Man of God, please treat my life and the lives of these 50 servants of yours as something precious.
14 Fire has come from heaven and burned up the first two officers and their 100 men. But treat my life as something precious."
15 The angel of the LORD told Elijah, "Go with him. Don't be afraid of him." So Elijah got up and went with him to the king.
16 Elijah told the king, "This is what the LORD says: You sent messengers to seek advice from Baalzebub, the god of Ekron. Is this because [you think] there is no God in Israel whose word you can seek? You will not get up from the bed you are lying on. Instead, you will die there."
17 So Ahaziah died as the LORD had predicted through Elijah. Joram succeeded him as king because Ahaziah had no son.
18 Isn't everything else about Ahaziah--the things he did--written in the official records of the kings of Israel?
GOD'S WORD® is a copyrighted work of God's Word to the Nations. Copyright © 1995 by God's Word to the Nations. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

2 Kings 2

1 When the LORD was going to take Elijah to heaven in a windstorm, Elijah and Elisha left Gilgal.
2 Elijah said to Elisha, "Please stay here because the LORD is sending me to Bethel." Elisha answered, "I solemnly swear, as the LORD lives and as you live, I will not abandon you." So they went to Bethel.
3 Some of the disciples of the prophets at Bethel came to Elisha. They asked him, "Do you know that the LORD is going to take your master from you today?" He answered, "Yes, I know. Be quiet."
4 Elijah said, "Elisha, please stay here because the LORD is sending me to Jericho." Elisha answered, "I solemnly swear, as the LORD lives and as you live, I will not abandon you." So they went to Jericho.
5 Then some of the disciples of the prophets who were in Jericho approached Elisha. They asked, "Do you know that the LORD is going to take your master from you today?" He answered, "Yes, I know. Be quiet."
6 Elijah said to Elisha, "Please stay here because the LORD is sending me to the Jordan River." Elisha answered, "I solemnly swear, as the LORD lives and as you live, I will not abandon you."
7 Fifty disciples of the prophets stood at a distance as Elijah and Elisha stood by the Jordan River.
8 Elijah took his coat, rolled it up, and struck the water with it. The water divided to their left and their right, and the two men crossed [the river] on dry ground.
9 While they were crossing, Elijah asked Elisha, "What should I do for you before I'm taken from you?" Elisha answered, "Let me inherit a double share of your spirit."
10 Elijah said, "You have asked for something difficult. If you see me taken from you, it will be yours. Otherwise, it will not."
11 As they continued walking and talking, a fiery chariot with fiery horses separated the two of them, and Elijah went to heaven in a windstorm.
12 When Elisha saw this, he cried out, "Master! Master! Israel's chariot and horses!" When he couldn't see Elijah anymore, he grabbed his own garment and tore it in two [to show his grief].
13 Then he picked up Elijah's coat (which had fallen off Elijah), went back, and stood on the bank of the Jordan River.
14 He took the coat and struck the water with it. He asked, "Where is the LORD God of Elijah?" As he struck the water, it divided to his left and his right, and Elisha crossed [the river].
15 The disciples of the prophets who were at Jericho saw him from a distance. They said, "Elijah's spirit rests on Elisha!" Then they went to meet him and bowed in front of him with their faces touching the ground.
16 They said to him, "There are 50 strong men here with us. Please let them go and search for your master. Maybe the LORD's Spirit lifted him up and dropped him on one of the hills or in one of the valleys." Elisha answered, "Don't send them [to look]."
17 But the disciples kept urging him [to send the men] until he was embarrassed. So he said, "Send them." They sent 50 men who searched for three days without finding him.
18 They returned to Elisha in Jericho, where he was waiting. He said, "Didn't I tell you not to go?"
19 The people of the city [of Jericho] told Elisha, "This city's location is as good as you will ever find. But the water is bad, and the land cannot grow crops."
20 Elisha said, "Bring me a new jar, and put salt in it." They brought it to him.
21 He went to the spring and threw the salt into it. Then he said, "This is what the LORD says: I have purified this water. No more deaths or crop failures will come from this water."
22 To this day the water is still pure, as Elisha had said.
23 From there he went to Bethel. As he walked along the road, some boys came out of the city and mocked him. They said, "Go away, baldy! Go away!"
24 Looking back, he saw them and cursed them in the LORD's name. Two bears came out of the woods and tore 42 of these youths apart.
25 He left that place, went to Mount Carmel, and returned to Samaria.
GOD'S WORD® is a copyrighted work of God's Word to the Nations. Copyright © 1995 by God's Word to the Nations. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

2 Kings 3

1 Joram, son of Ahab, became king of Israel in Samaria during Jehoshaphat's eighteenth year as king of Judah. He ruled for 12 years.
2 He did what the LORD considered evil, but he didn't do what his father or mother had done. He put away the sacred stone that his father had set up and dedicated to Baal.
3 But he would not give up the sins that Jeroboam (Nebat's son) led Israel to commit. Joram would not turn away from those sins.
4 King Mesha of Moab raised sheep. [Each year] he had to pay the king of Israel 100,000 male lambs and the wool from 100,000 rams.
5 But when Ahab died, the king of Moab rebelled against the [new] king of Israel.
6 King Joram immediately left Samaria to prepare Israel's army for war.
7 He sent this message to King Jehoshaphat of Judah: "The king of Moab has rebelled against me. Will you fight Moab with me?" Jehoshaphat answered, "I'll go. I will do what you do. My troops will do what your troops do. My horses will do what your horses do."
8 Joram asked, "Which road should we take?" Jehoshaphat answered, "The road through the desert of Edom."
9 So the king of Israel, the king of Judah, and the king of Edom took an indirect route [to Moab]. After seven days they ran out of water for the army and the animals.
10 The king of Israel said, "Oh no! The LORD has put the three of us at the mercy of [the people of] Moab."
11 But Jehoshaphat asked, "Isn't there a prophet of the LORD whom we could ask?" One of the officials of the king of Israel answered, "Elisha, the son of Shaphat, is here. He used to be Elijah's assistant."
12 Jehoshaphat said, "The LORD's word is with him." So King Jehoshaphat of Judah, the king of Israel, and the king of Edom went to Elisha.
13 Elisha asked the king of Israel, "Why did you come to me? Go to your father's prophets or your mother's prophets." The king of Israel answered him, "No. The LORD has called the three of us in order to put us at Moab's mercy."
14 Elisha answered, "I solemnly swear, as the LORD of Armies whom I serve lives, I wouldn't even bother to look at you or notice you if it weren't for my respect for King Jehoshaphat of Judah.
15 But get me someone to play some music." While the musician was playing, the LORD's power came over Elisha.
16 He said, "This is what the LORD says: Make this valley full of ditches.
17 You will not see wind or rain, but this valley will be filled with water. You, your cattle, and your other animals will drink.
18 The LORD considers that an easy thing to do. In addition, he will put Moab at your mercy.
19 You will defeat every walled city and every important city. You will cut down every good tree, seal all the wells, and use rocks to ruin every good piece of land."
20 That is what happened in the morning. At the time of the grain offering, water flowed from Edom and filled the countryside.
21 All the people of Moab heard that the kings had come to fight them. So all men old enough to bear arms were called to fight. They stood at the border.
22 When the Moabites got up early in the morning as the sun was rising over the water, they saw the water from a distance. It was as red as blood.
23 They said, "It's blood! The kings have been fighting one another and have killed each other. Now, Moabites, let's take their goods!"
24 So when the Moabites came to Israel's camp, the Israelites attacked them, and they fled from the Israelites. Israel went after the Moabites and defeated them.
25 Then Israel tore down the cities, each man throwing rocks on every good field until it was covered. They sealed every well and cut down every good tree. Only the stones [in the walls] of Kir Hareseth were left. Soldiers surrounded Kir Hareseth and attacked it with slings and stones.
26 When the king of Moab saw he was losing the battle, he took 700 swordsmen to try to break through to the king of Edom. But they couldn't do it.
27 Then he took his firstborn son, who would have succeeded him as king, and sacrificed him on the wall as a burnt offering. There was bitter anger against the Israelites. So they went home to their own country.
GOD'S WORD® is a copyrighted work of God's Word to the Nations. Copyright © 1995 by God's Word to the Nations. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

Luke 24:1-35

1 Very early on Sunday morning the women went to the tomb. They were carrying the spices that they had prepared.
2 They found that the stone had been rolled away from the tomb.
3 When they went in, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.
4 While they were puzzled about this, two men in clothes that were as bright as lightning suddenly stood beside them.
5 The women were terrified and bowed to the ground. The men asked the women, "Why are you looking among the dead for the living one?
6 He's not here. He has been brought back to life! Remember what he told you while he was still in Galilee.
7 He said, 'The Son of Man must be handed over to sinful people, be crucified, and come back to life on the third day.'"
8 Then the women remembered what Jesus had told them.
9 The women left the tomb and went back to the city. They told everything to the eleven apostles and all the others.
10 The women were Mary from Magdala, Joanna, and Mary (the mother of James). There were also other women with them. They told the apostles everything.
11 The apostles thought that the women's story didn't make any sense, and they didn't believe them.
12 But Peter got up and ran to the tomb. He bent down to look inside and saw only the strips of linen. Then he went away, wondering what had happened.
13 On the same day, two of Jesus' disciples were going to a village called Emmaus. It was about seven miles from Jerusalem.
14 They were talking to each other about everything that had happened.
15 While they were talking, Jesus approached them and began walking with them.
16 Although they saw him, they didn't recognize him.
17 He asked them, "What are you discussing?" They stopped and looked very sad.
18 One of them, Cleopas, replied, "Are you the only one in Jerusalem who doesn't know what has happened recently?"
19 "What happened?" he asked. They said to him, "We were discussing what happened to Jesus from Nazareth. He was a powerful prophet in what he did and said in the sight of God and all the people.
20 Our chief priests and rulers had him condemned to death and crucified.
21 We were hoping that he was the one who would free Israel. What's more, this is now the third day since everything happened.
22 Some of the women from our group startled us. They went to the tomb early this morning
23 and didn't find his body. They told us that they had seen angels who said that he's alive.
24 Some of our men went to the tomb and found it empty, as the women had said, but they didn't see him."
25 Then Jesus said to them, "How foolish you are! You're so slow to believe everything the prophets said!
26 Didn't the Messiah have to suffer these things and enter into his glory?"
27 Then he began with Moses' Teachings and the Prophets to explain to them what was said about him throughout the Scriptures.
28 When they came near the village where they were going, Jesus acted as if he were going farther.
29 They urged him, "Stay with us! It's getting late, and the day is almost over." So he went to stay with them.
30 While he was at the table with them, he took bread and blessed it. He broke the bread and gave it to them.
31 Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. But he vanished from their sight.
32 They said to each other, "Weren't we excited when he talked with us on the road and opened up the meaning of the Scriptures for us?"
33 That same hour they went back to Jerusalem. They found the eleven apostles and those who were with them gathered together.
34 They were saying, "The Lord has really come back to life and has appeared to Simon."
35 Then the two disciples told what had happened on the road and how they had recognized Jesus when he broke the bread.
GOD'S WORD® is a copyrighted work of God's Word to the Nations. Copyright © 1995 by God's Word to the Nations. All rights reserved. Used by permission.