Ahaziah consults the priests of Baal-zebub to see if he will recover from a fall, but Elijah prophesies that he will die. Elisha succeeds Elijah as prophet. Elijah is taken to heaven in a fiery chariot. Elisha is confirmed as Elijah's successor by the miracles he performs.

Ahaziah suffers a serious fall and sends messengers to the temple of Baalzebub to ask if he will recover.

Elijah prophesies that Ahaziah will die from his injuries because he consulted Baal.

An angry Ahaziah sends soldiers to arrest Elijah.

Elijah calls down fire from heaven, which consumes the first two companies of soldiers.

The captain of the third company begs for mercy. After the angel of the Lord tells Elijah to go with the captain, he does so.

Elijah repeats his prophecy to King Ahaziah himself, and the prophecy is fulfilled.

Elijah and Elisha make a final journey together just before Elijah is taken up into heaven.

Traveling from Gilgal to Bethel to Jericho to the Jordan River, Elisha is repeatedly reminded that his master is going to be taken away. Elisha repeatedly affirms his loyalty to Elijah.

At the Jordan River, Elijah performs his final miracle by parting its waters.

Elisha asks to become Elijah's "rightful successor."

Elijah tells Elisha that he will receive his request if he witnesses Elijah's departure.

As Elisha watches, a chariot of fire appears, and Elijah is carried into heaven by a whirlwind!

Elisha takes up Elijah's cloak and parts the Jordan by striking its waters with it.

Reluctantly Elisha permits 50 prophets to search for Elijah.

They are unsuccessful.

Elisha throws salt into a polluted spring at Jericho and makes it wholesome.

Joram succeeds Ahaziah and goes to war with Moab. The Lord provides water for Israel and Judah and uses it to lure the Moabites to their destruction. Elisha provides oil for a widow, raises a dead child, purifies a pot of stew, and feeds 100 men with only a small amount of food.

Ahab's son Joram (sometimes called Jehoram) becomes Israel's ninth ruler. He practices idolatry, although he removes a sacred pillar of Baal.

King Joram persuades King Jehoshaphat of Judah to help him fight the Moabites, who have rebelled against him.

After a seven-day roundabout march, Joram's army runs out of water in the wilderness of Edom.

King Jehoshaphat asks King Joram to seek instruction from a prophet of the Lord.

The two kings ask Elisha what they should do, but he tells the king of Israel that he wants no part of him. After King Joram pleads with him, Elisha agrees to help them for the sake of King Jehoshaphat.

While a harp is played, Elisha receives a message from the Lord that the dry valley before them will be filled with water and that they will defeat the Moabites.

The water appears, just as the Lord promised. The morning sun causes it to look like blood to the Moabites, and they think the armies have killed each other.

When the Moabite soldiers arrive to collect the plunder, Israel's soldiers rush out and destroy them.

The king of Moab realizes that his forces are being overwhelmed; he offers his oldest son as a burnt sacrifice, and the Israelite army returns home.

A widow of one of Elisha's fellow prophets is threatened with the enslavement of her two sons because of unpaid debts. All she has is a flask of olive oil.

Elisha instructs the widow to borrow as many containers as possible. The olive oil fills all the containers. Elisha then tells her to sell the oil, pay her debts, and support her family with the rest of the money.

A wealthy woman from Shunem provides a special room for Elisha whenever he comes through the area.

Elisha wishes to reward this woman for her hospitality, so he promises her that she will have a son in one year. This all takes place just as Elisha says.

Years later, the woman's son becomes ill and dies.

The woman finds Elisha and tells him about her son. Elisha sends Gehazi ahead to lay his staff on the child's face, but nothing happens.

Elisha restores the boy to life and presents him to his mother, who is overwhelmed with gratitude.

Elisha returns to Gilgal, and a famine comes upon the land.

One of Elisha's prophets makes stew for the others, but he unknowingly uses poisonous gourds. Elisha purifies it by throwing some flour in the stew.

Elisha instructs a man to give a sack of grain and 20 loaves of barley bread to 100 prophets. The man does so, and there is more than enough food for everyone.

Naaman, the commander of the Aramean army, seeks out Elisha in order to be healed of leprosy. Naaman is healed when he obeys Elisha's instructions, but Elisha's servant Gehazi is struck with leprosy for his greed.

Naaman is a highly successful commander of the Aramean army, but he suffers from leprosy.

Naaman's wife's maid, a young Israelite captive, tells her mistress about Elisha's ability to heal Naaman's leprosy.

Believing the young girl, Naaman travels to meet Elisha, carrying with him considerable amounts of gold and silver.

The king of Aram addresses a letter to Israel's king, requesting that Naaman be healed.

The king of Israel tears his clothes in frustration, concluding that the request is an excuse for Aram to attack Israel when it is not granted.

Elisha tells the king of Israel to send Naaman to him; Naaman will learn that there is a true prophet in Israel.

Naaman arrives at Elisha's house, but Elisha simply sends him a message telling him to wash himself seven times in the Jordan River.

Naaman is furious, for he expects Elisha to come out and heal him personally.

Naaman's officers convince him to obey the prophet.

Naaman washes in the Jordan. He is healed of his leprosy, just as Elisha had said.

Naaman attempts to give gifts to Elisha, but Elisha refuses them.

Naaman vows that he will worship the Lord from now on.

Elisha's servant, Gehazi, determines to receive a gift from Naaman, even though Elisha refused them.

Gehazi tells Naaman that Elisha has changed his mind and would like some gifts. Gehazi returns and hides the gifts.

Elisha tells Gehazi that he knows what happened, and he curses Gehazi and his family with leprosy.

Elisha causes an ax head to float. Elisha blinds the Aramean army and leads them to Samaria. Later, Ben-hadad besieges Samaria and cuts off its food supply. The Lord causes the Aramean army to flee, and four lepers inform the rest of the people about the abandoned supplies.

Elisha's prophets begin building a new meeting place near the Jordan River.

As one of the prophets is chopping with a borrowed ax, the ax head falls into the Jordan River.

Elisha throws a stick into the river where the ax head fell, and the head floats to the surface for the prophet to retrieve.

On several occasions Elisha can foresee the king of Aram's plans to attack Israel. The prophet warns the king of Israel about each threat.

The king of Aram learns that it is Elisha who is forewarning the king of Israel, so he sends his army of soldiers to arrest Elisha.

When Elisha's servant sees the Aramean army surrounding them, he becomes afraid.

Elisha reassures his servant that their army is bigger than the Aramean army!

Elisha asks the Lord to open his servant's eyes.

The servant sees a massive army of fiery horses and chariots surrounding them.

As the Aramean soldiers advance, Elisha prays for the Lord to blind them, and he does!

Elisha leads the Arameans to the city of Samaria.

When the king of Israel asks if he should kill the Arameans, Elisha tells him no. He tells the king to feed them and send them home, and the king does so.

Sometime later, the Arameans besiege Samaria.

Conditions inside Samaria become so terrible that people resort to cannibalism!

The king of Israel blames Elisha and the Lord for this terrible situation.

Elisha makes a twofold prophecy:

Four Israelite men with leprosy enter the abandoned camp of the Arameans.

Since they are starving anyway, four Israelite men with leprosy decide to throw themselves upon the mercy of the Arameans outside Samaria.

When the men go to the Arameans, they find an abandoned camp still stocked with food, for the Lord had caused the Arameans to flee at the sound of a great army approaching.

The lepers conclude that it is their moral obligation to share the news with Samaria's starving citizens, so they return to the city and tell the gatekeepers.

After the king of Israel sends out scouts and confirms the discovery, the people rush out and collect the abundant plunder of food and silver. This fulfills Elisha's first prophecy.

The king assigns the officer who scoffed at Elisha's words to control the traffic at the gate, but he is trampled to death in the rush, fulfilling Elisha's second prophecy.

The woman from Shunem tells the king of Israel about Elisha's deeds. Elisha tells Hazael that he will become the next king of Aram, so Hazael kills Ben-hadad and becomes king. Jehoram succeeds Jehoshaphat as king of Judah, and then Ahaziah succeeds Jehoram.

Gehazi and the woman from Shunem tell the king of Israel of Elisha's deeds.

Elisha had warned the woman from Shunem about a seven-year famine, so she and her family had lived in Philistia.

When the famine is over, the woman returns to Israel and approaches the king to get her house and land back.

As the woman enters the palace, Gehazi is telling the king about the time Elisha raised the woman's son from the dead. When Gehazi points out the woman, the king directs his officials to restore everything she had lost.

Ben-Hadad, king of Aram, is sick and sends his officer Hazael to ask Elisha if he will recover.

Elisha tells Hazael that his master will die.

Elisha also tells Hazael that he will become king and commit many terrible acts against the people of Israel. The next day Hazael kills Ben-hadad and becomes king of Aram.

Jehoram succeeds Jehoshaphat as king of Judah.

Jehoram is as evil as King Ahab, because he marries Athaliah, one of Ahab's daughters.

Despite Jehoram's wickedness, the Lord continues to honor his covenant regarding David's dynasty.

Jehoram is unable to put down the Edomite revolt against his kingdom.

Jehoram's death is recorded.

Ahaziah's mother is the cruel and corrupt Athaliah, a granddaughter of King Omri.

King Ahaziah joins King Joram in a war against King Hazael of Aram. When Joram is wounded in battle, Ahaziah visits him.

Jehu is anointed king of Israel and kills King Joram and King Ahaziah. Jezebel is thrown to her death and eaten by dogs. Jehu kills all of Ahab's relatives and many from Ahaziah's family as well. Jehu kills many priests of Baal. Jehu dies after reigning 28 years.

Jehu kills Joram, Ahaziah, and their families, making him one of the bloodiest men in the Bible.

King Joram is in Jezreel, recovering from a wound suffered in battle.

Jehu shoots King Joram between the shoulders, and the arrow pierces his heart. King Joram dies in his chariot.

When King Ahaziah sees what happened to King Joram, he flees in his chariot. But he is fatally shot in his chariot too.

When Jehu enters the gate of the palace at Jezreel, Jezebel calls him a murderer. Jehu tells her eunuchs to throw her from the window, which they do.

Wild dogs eat Jezebel's body, leaving only her skull, feet, and hands!

Jehu forewarns the people of Samaria that he will attack whichever of Ahab's sons is declared king.

The frightened people ask what Jehu wants them to do. Jehu instructs them to bring him the heads of Ahab's 70 sons, which they do.

Jehu destroys the rest of Ahab's family and associates.

As Jehu travels to Samaria to finish killing Ahab's relatives, he meets King Ahaziah's relatives and kills them all.

Jehu pretends that he wants to worship Baal and assembles all the priests of Baal in their own temple.

Jehu orders all the priests to be killed, and he destroys the temple of Baal.

Despite his failure to remove the gold calves at Bethel and Dan, the Lord commends Jehu for destroying Ahab's family. The Lord promises that Jehu's descendants will be kings to the fourth generation.

Jehu continues to practice idolatry and disobey the Law of the Lord.

The Lord allows King Hazael to conquer land east of the Jordan River that belonged to Israel's 2 ½ tribes.

Jehu dies after reigning for 28 years.

Athaliah becomes queen of Judah and destroys all the royal family except Joash, who is hidden in the Temple. A priest arranges for Athaliah's death and declares Joash king. Joash repairs the Temple but uses its treasures to pay off King Hazael so he wouldn't attack Jerusalem. His own officers assassinate him.

Athaliah tries to kill the entire royal family to secure her reign over Judah.

Joash, infant grandson of Athaliah, is hidden in the Temple and raised there.

After six years, Jehoiada the priest prepares to remove Athaliah as queen.

Jehoiada presents him to the people and proclaims him Judah's king.

She is taken out of the Temple and killed.

Following the queen's death, Jehoiada makes covenants between the Lord, the king, and the people, and they destroy the idols of Baal.

Seven-year-old Joash is led into the palace and takes his place as the new king of Judah.

Joash instructs the priests to begin much-needed repairs on the Temple.

Years later, the king is upset when he learns that the priests still have not repaired the Temple.

To finance the Temple repairs, Jehoiada bores a hole in the lid of a large chest and sets it beside the Temple entrance to receive money for repairs.

When King Hazael of Aram attacks Jerusalem, King Joash pays him off with money and valuables taken from the Temple and the palace. C. The assassination of Joash (12:19-21): King Joash is assassinated by his own officers.

The reigns of Jehoahaz and Jehoash are recorded. Elisha makes a final prophecy of victory over Aram. Elisha dies, and a man is revived from the dead when his body touches Elisha's bones. Jehoash defeats Aram three times. The reigns of Amaziah and Jeroboam II are recorded.

Jehoahaz follows the wicked example of Jeroboam, Israel's first king.

Because of the Israelites' sin, the Lord allows the Arameans to defeat them. Jehoahaz prays for the Lord's help, so the Lord sends a deliverer. But the people continue to sin, and the Arameans reduce Jehoahaz's forces to a fraction of their original size.

Like many before him, Jehoash worships idols.

After he dies, Jeroboam II becomes king.

The king visits Elisha when the prophet is very ill.

Elisha prophesies victory for Israel as the king shoots an arrow out the window. Elisha orders the king to strike the floor repeatedly with the other arrows.

Elisha is angry that Jehoash struck the floor only three times instead of five or six times. Now the king will have only three victories over Aram instead of total victory.

Because of his mercy and his covenant with Abraham, the Lord keeps the people of Israel from being completely destroyed, and he enables Jehoash to recover some towns from Aram.

Amaziah executes those who assassinated his father, Joash.

Obeying the Law of Moses, the king did not kill the children of his father's assassins.

Amaziah completely defeats the Edomites.

Amaziah foolishly provokes a war with Israel. He is captured and forced to pay heavy tribute to his victors.

Like his father, Joash, Amaziah is assassinated by his own people. He is succeeded by his son Uzziah (also known as Azariah).

Jeroboam II follows the wicked example of his predecessor, Jeroboam I.

The Lord is moved with compassion for his suffering people and uses this wicked ruler to accomplish his purposes. Jeroboam II recovers much of Israel's land that had been occupied by its enemies, just as Jonah the prophet predicted.

Sometime after Elisha's death, a corpse comes back to life when his body is thrown on top of Elisha's bones!

The reigns of Uzziah, Zechariah, Shallum, Menahem, Pekahiah, Pekah, Jotham, and Ahaz are recorded.

For the most part, Uzziah does what is pleasing to the Lord and rules Judah for 52 years.

Uzziah allows idolatry to continue in Judah, and the Lord strikes him with leprosy. Uzziah's son governs Judah until his father's death.

Jotham follows the example of his father by pleasing the Lord while still allowing idolatry in Judah.

Jotham rebuilds the upper gate of the Temple.

Like his father, Zechariah worships idols.

After a reign of only six months, Zechariah is assassinated.

Shallum murders him and becomes the next king.

The Lord allows this to happen in order to fulfill the words of Jehu the prophet (see 2 Kings 10:30).

After a reign of only one month, he is murdered by Menahem.

When the citizens of a town refuse to surrender to him, Menahem kills all the people and rips open the pregnant women.

Menahem does what is evil in the Lord's sight, practicing idolatry like Jeroboam.

When the Assyrians invade Israel, Menahem pays them a massive bribe to secure his reign over Israel.

Pekahiah does what is evil in the Lord's sight, practicing idolatry like those before him.

After a reign of two years, Pekahiah is assassinated by his military general, Pekah.

Pekah worships idols, just as Jeroboam did.

The Assyrians conquer several regions of Israel and take the people back to Assyria as captives.

Hoshea plots against the king and kills him.

Ahaz sacrifices upon various pagan altars and even offers his own son as a sacrifice. He replaces the old bronze altar, built by Solomon, with one modeled after a pagan altar in Damascus. Ahaz rearranges some of the Temple furnishings.

Ahaz enters into an alliance with the king of Assyria to stave off an attack by Israel and Aram.

The reign of Hoshea and the fall of Samaria are recorded. The reasons for the Assyrian invasion are given. Foreigners resettle in Israel and combine pagan worship with the worship of the Lord.

Hoshea becomes Israel's nineteenth ruler.

Hoshea does what is evil in the Lord's sight.

King Shalmaneser of Assyria defeats Hoshea and forces Israel to pay a heavy annual tribute.

Hoshea conspires with the king of Egypt to break free of Assyria's power.

The king of Assyria hears of Hoshea's plan, so he arrests Hoshea, destroys Samaria, and exiles the people to Assyria.

Despite the Lord's many warnings through his prophets, Israel chose to follow the example of Jeroboam, the first king, and practice idolatry.

People from other conquered nations resettle in Samaria and the surrounding towns.

Because these foreigners do not know how to worship the Lord properly, lions come and kill some of them.

One of the deported Jewish priests is sent back to Israel to teach the people how to worship the Lord.

The people combine the worship of the Lord with the worship of their false gods. [This is probably the religion of the Samaritan woman at the well with whom Jesus spoke (see John 4:1-42).]

Hezekiah becomes king. Assyria invades Judah, and Sennacherib calls for the people of Jerusalem to surrender. Hezekiah seeks the Lord's help, and the prophet Isaiah sends a message to him from the Lord. The angel of the Lord kills 185,000 Assyrian soldiers, and Sennacherib is killed by his own men.

Hezekiah becomes Judah's thirteenth ruler.

Hezekiah launches a campaign against idolatry in Israel, destroying the pagan shrines and idols.

Hezekiah trusts in the Lord and obeys him. As a result, the Lord gives him military success. Hezekiah revolts against the king of Assyria by refusing to pay him tribute.

The capture of Samaria by the Assyrians is reviewed.

The Assyrians invade Judah to punish Hezekiah for his revolt.

Hezekiah asks the Assyrian king to forgive him concerning the revolt. Hezekiah strips the Temple of silver and gold to pay off the Assyrians.

The Assyrians surround Jerusalem and taunt its citizens, promising them swift and severe punishment unless they surrender.

Hezekiah's officials report this to the king, and he becomes afraid. He dresses in sackcloth and prays in the Temple. He also asks Isaiah to pray for Judah.

Sennacherib receives word that he must put down a rebellion in Ethiopa. Before he goes, he warns Hezekiah of the fate of all the nations that have opposed him and says that the same will happen to Judah.

In desperation, Hezekiah lays Sennacherib's letter before the Lord and pleads with him to save Jerusalem.

The Lord informs Hezekiah through the prophet Isaiah that Jerusalem will be saved and that the Assyrian king will return home and be killed.

Isaiah sends Hezekiah a message from the Lord regarding Assyria's judgment.

The Lord rebukes Sennacherib for his arrogance and for refusing to acknowledge that it was the Lord who granted him his accomplishments.

The Lord promises to bind Sennacherib and send him away from Israel.

The Lord promises to protect Israel, so that in three years they will be able to plant crops and harvest them.

One night the angel of the Lord kills 185,000 Assyrian troops.

Upon his return to Nineveh, Sennacherib is murdered by his own sons.

The Lord extends Hezekiah's life by 15 years. Hezekiah shows the treasures of the Temple to the Babylonian envoys. The reigns of Manasseh and Amon are recorded.

This chapter describes the final years of Hezekiah's life.

Hezekiah becomes very ill; Isaiah tells him that the Lord has said he will die.

Hezekiah cries out for the Lord to help him.

Isaiah tells Hezekiah that the Lord will heal him and he will live 15 more years.

Isaiah instructs Hezekiah's servants to make an ointment from figs and spread it over Hezekiah's boil. They do, and Hezekiah recovers.

As a sign that Hezekiah will recover, Isaiah tells the king that the shadow on the sundial will move forward or backward, whichever way Hezekiah requests. The king asks that it move backward, which it does.

When the king of Babylon sends envoys to visit Hezekiah while he is recovering, Hezekiah welcomes them and shows them all the kingdom's wealth.

Isaiah rebukes Hezekiah for doing this and says that someday the Babylonian army will attack Jerusalem to steal Judah's great treasures.

Manasseh practices idolatry and imitates the evil ways of the people whom the Lord drove out of the Promised Land. He sets up pagan altars and idols in the Temple.

Manasseh even sacrifices his own son and slaughters his innocent subjects.

The Lord promises to bring disaster on Jerusalem, just as he did to Samaria.

Amon practices the same idolatry that his father, Manasseh, practiced.

Amon is killed by his own servants, who, in turn, are killed by the people.

Josiah becomes king and orders repairs made to the Temple. The Book of the Law is discovered. Josiah institutes religious reforms, tearing down pagan shrines and reinstating the Passover celebration. Josiah is killed in battle. The reigns of Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin, and Zedekiah are recorded.

Josiah becomes Judah's sixteenth ruler.

Josiah begins his reign by ordering repairs made to the Temple.

The Book of the Law (or Book of the Covenant) is found, and it launches a religious revival throughout Judah.

HiIkiah the high priest finds the Book of the Law in the Temple during the repair work. Josiah tells the priests to find out what will happen because of the people's disobedience to the law.

The priests consult the prophet Huldah, and she tells them about the punishment that the Lord will bring.

The city and its people will be destroyed because of their many sins.

Because of Josiah's repentance, the Lord promises to hold off the destruction until after Josiah's death.

Josiah assembles all the leaders of Judah at the Temple and reads the Book of the Covenant. The king renews the covenant. He and the people pledge to obey the terms of the covenant.

Josiah launches a campaign to eradicate idolatry from Judah.

Josiah calls for all the people to celebrate the Passover once again.

Despite Josiah's reforms, the Lord carries out his sentence of destruction on the people of Judah, though it happens many years after Josiah's death (see 2 Kings 25:1-21). Josiah is killed in battle by Pharaoh Neco of Egypt.

Jehoahaz does what is evil in the Lord's sight.

Pharaoh Neco imprisons Jehoahaz, forces Judah to pay a large tribute, and installs Eliakim (whose name is changed to Jehoiakim) to reign in his place.

Jehoiakim collects an income tax to pay the tribute that Pharaoh Neco imposes on him.

King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon attacks Judah and imposes another tribute on the people for three years.

The Lord continues to punish Judah by allowing Babylonian, Aramean, Moabite, and Ammonite raiders to harass the people.

Jehoiakim dies and his son Jehoiachin becomes the next king.

During Jehoiachin's reign, Nebuchadnezzar besieges Jerusalem and takes captive all those with any skill or status-about 10,000 people in all. Jehoiachin is also taken captive, and his uncle is installed as king.

Zedekiah does evil in the Lord's sight, so the Lord exiles the people of Jerusalem and Judah. Zedekiah rebels against Nebuchadnezzar.

Nebuchadnezzar overtakes Jerusalem a final time, and the Temple is destroyed. Gedaliah is appointed governor of Judah but is assassinated. A new king ascends to the Babylonian throne, and he shows favor to Jehoiachin, releasing him from prison and granting him living expenses.

When Zedekiah rebels against Nebuchadnezzar, the Babylonians besiege Jerusalem again.

After two years of siege, Jerusalem suffers severe famine. So Zedekiah and his men flee the city by night, but they are captured by the Babylonians. Zedekiah is forced to watch as his sons are killed. Then his eyes are gouged out, and he is taken to Babylon.

The city's walls are pulled down, and the Temple and all the important buildings are destroyed. The Temple's valuable furnishings are taken to Babylon.

The leading citizens are exiled to Babylon, and those found hiding in the city are killed.

Nebuchadnezzar appoints Gedaliah as governor over Judah; he promises peace if the inhabitants submit to the king of Babylon.

Gedaliah is murdered by a member of the royal family.

Many people flee to Egypt, fearing how the king of Babylon will retaliate.

After many years, Evil-Merodach ascends to the Babylonian throne and shows favor toward Jehoiachin. He releases him from prison, supplies him with clothing and food, and provides him with living expenses.