Now a man from Baal Shalisha brought some food for the prophet ¹  – twenty loaves of bread made from the firstfruits of the barley harvest, as well as fresh ears of grain. ²  Elisha ³  said, “Set it before the people so they may eat.”

Elisha traveled to Damascus while King Ben Hadad of Syria was sick. The king ¹  was told, “The prophet ²  has come here.”

He left Elisha and went to his master. Ben Hadad ¹  asked him, “What did Elisha tell you?” Hazael ²  replied, “He told me you would surely recover.”

When he arrived, the officers of the army were sitting there. ¹  So he said, “I have a message for you, O officer.” ²  Jehu asked, “For which one of us?” ³  He replied, “For you, O officer.”

He went inside and had a meal. ¹  Then he said, “Dispose of this accursed woman’s corpse. Bury her, for after all, she was a king’s daughter.” ² 

The messenger came and told Jehu, ¹  “They have brought the heads of the king’s sons.” Jehu ²  said, “Stack them in two piles at the entrance of the city gate until morning.”

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 

Menahem son of Gadi went up from Tirzah to ¹  Samaria and attacked Shallum son of Jabesh. ²  He killed him and took his place as king.

When the king arrived back from Damascus and ¹  saw the altar, he approached it ²  and offered a sacrifice on it. ³ 

So one of the priests whom they had deported from Samaria went back and settled in Bethel. ¹  He taught them how to worship ²  the Lord.

He had sexual relations with his wife; she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. Ephraim ¹  named him Beriah because tragedy had come to his family. ² 

David went in, sat before the Lord, and said: “Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my family, ¹  that you should have brought me to this point?

The Arameans of Damascus came to help King Hadadezer of Zobah, but David killed 22,000 of the Arameans.

When the Ammonites saw the Arameans flee, they fled before Joab’s ¹  brother Abishai and withdrew into the city. Joab went back to Jerusalem. ² 

When David came to Ornan, Ornan looked and saw David; he came out from the threshing floor and bowed to David with his face ¹  to the ground.

Jeroboam and all the people reported to Rehoboam on the third day, just as the king had ordered when he said, “Return to me on the third day.”

Zerah the Cushite marched against them with an army of 1,000,000 ¹  men and 300 chariots. He arrived at Mareshah,

But once he became powerful, his pride destroyed him. ¹  He disobeyed ²  the Lord his God. He entered the Lord’s temple to offer incense on the incense altar.

After these faithful deeds were accomplished, King Sennacherib of Assyria invaded Judah. He besieged the fortified cities, intending to seize them. ¹ 

So the Lord brought against them the commanders of the army of the king of Assyria. They seized Manasseh, put hooks in his nose, ¹  bound him with bronze chains, and carried him away to Babylon.