THE SECOND BOOK

OF THE KINGS

II KINGS II

And it came to pass, when the Lord would take up Elijah into heaven, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal. And Elijah said unto Elisha, Tarry here, I pray thee; for the Lord hath sent me as far as Beth-el. But Elisha said unto him, As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee! So they went down to Beth-el. And the sons of the prophets that were at Beth-el came forth to Elisha, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Lord will take away thy master from thee to day? And he said, Yea, I know it. And Elijah said unto him, Elisha, Tarry here, I pray thee; for the Lord hath sent me to Jericho. But he said, As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee! So they came to Jericho. And the sons of the prophets that were at Jericho came to Elisha, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Lord will take away thy master from thee to day? And he answered, Yea, I know it. And Elijah said unto him, Tarry, I pray thee, here; for the Lord hath sent me to the Jordan. But he said, As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee! And they two went on, even to the Jordan.

And it came to pass, when they were gone over, that Elijah said unto Elisha, Ask what I shall

do for thee, before I be taken away from thee. And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me. And he said, Thou hast asked a hard thing: nevertheless, if thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee. And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder. And Elisha saw it, and he cried, My father! my father! the chariot of Israel and the horseman thereof! And he saw him no more.

II KINGS V

Now Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master, and honourable: he was also a mighty man of valour, but he was a leper. And the Syrians had brought away captive out of the land of Israel a little maiden; and she waited on Naaman's wife. And she said unto her mistress, Would that my lord were with the prophet that is in Samaria! then would he recover him of his leprosy. And one went in, and told the king, saying, Thus and thus said the maiden that is of the land of Israel. And the king of Syria said to Naaman, Go now, and I will send thee unto him. And he departed, and took with him ten talents of silver, and six thousand pieces of gold, and ten changes of raiment.

So Naaman came with his horses and with his chariots, and stood at the door of the house of Elisha. And Elisha sent a messenger unto

him, saying, Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean. But Naaman was wroth, and went away, and said, Behold, I thought, He himself will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the Lord his God, and wave his hand over the place, and recover the leper! Are not Abanah and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? may I not wash in them, and be clean? So he turned and went away in a rage. Then came his servants near, and spake unto him, and said, My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? how much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean! Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God; and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.

II KINGS VI

Now the king of Syria was warring against Israel; and he took counsel with his servants, saying, In such and such a place shall be my camp. And Elisha the man of God sent unto the king of Israel, saying, Beware that thou pass not such a place; for thither the Syrians are coming down. And the king of Israel sent to the place which the man of God told him and warned him of; and he saved himself there, not once nor twice. And the heart of the king of Syria was sore troubled for this thing; and he

called his servants, and said unto them, Will ye not shew me which of us is for the king of Israel? And one of his servants said, Nay, my lord, O king; but Elisha, the prophet that is in Israel, telleth the king of Israel the words that thou speakest in thy bedchamber. And the king said, Go and see where he is, that I may send and fetch him. And it was told him, saying, Behold, he is in Dothan. Therefore sent he thither horses, and chariots, and a great host: and they came by night, and compassed the city about.

Now when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host with horses and chariots was round about the city. And the servant said unto Elisha, Alas, my master! how shall we do? And the man of God answered, Fear not; for they that are with us are more than they that are with them. And Elisha prayed, and said, Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.

THE FIRST BOOK

OF THE CHRONICLES

I CHRONICLES XXIX

II Samuel vii. Psalm cxxxii

Now it came to pass when David dwelt in his own house, that the king spake unto all the people, saying, Lo, I dwell in an house of cedar, but the ark of the covenant of the Lord dwelleth still within curtains. Therefore I will not come into my house, nor go up into my bed; I will not suffer mine eyes to sleep, nor mine eyelids to slumber, until I find out a place for the Lord, even a dwelling-place for the Most High. And now because I have set my affection on the house of my God, I have provided for all manner of work to be made by the hands of artificers. Who then is willing this day to consecrate his service unto the Lord?

Then the people offered willingly; and they gave for the house of God gold and silver in abundance. And they with whom precious stones were found gave them to the treasure of the house of the Lord. And the people rejoiced, for that with a perfect heart they offered willingly. Wherefore David blessed the Lord before all the assembly; and he said:

Blessed be thou, O Lord, the God of our fathers, for ever and ever. Thine, O Lord, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in