2 Kings

King Ahaziah of Israel falls through a lattice and sends messengers to inquire of Baal-zebub. Elijah intercepts them and pronounces death for seeking a foreign god. Two companies of fifty soldiers are consumed by fire from heaven before a third captain humbly asks for mercy.

Elijah is taken up to heaven in a chariot of fire and a whirlwind. Elisha asks for a double portion of Elijah's spirit and receives it. He parts the Jordan, purifies Jericho's water supply, and is confirmed as Elijah's successor.

Israel, Judah, and Edom unite to fight Moab. Running out of water, they consult Elisha, who provides water miraculously and prophecies victory. The Moabites misread the water as blood and are defeated.

Elisha performs multiple miracles: multiplying a widow's oil to pay debts, promising a son to a Shunammite woman, raising that son from death, purifying poisoned stew, and feeding 100 men with 20 loaves.

Naaman, commander of the Aramean army, has leprosy. An Israelite servant girl suggests he visit Elisha. Naaman is initially offended when told to wash seven times in the Jordan but obeys and is healed. Elisha's servant Gehazi secretly takes payment and is cursed with leprosy.

Elisha makes an axe head float, reveals Aramean battle plans to Israel's king, and is surrounded by an enemy army. He prays for his servant's eyes to be opened, revealing mountains full of angelic horses and chariots of fire. Elisha leads the blinded Arameans into Samaria and feeds them.

During a severe famine in besieged Samaria, Elisha predicts abundance by tomorrow. Four lepers discover the Aramean camp abandoned — God had caused the enemy to flee. The prophecy of abundance is fulfilled exactly as Elisha declared.

The Shunammite woman's land is restored after Gehazi tells the king of Elisha's miracles. Elisha weeps prophesying that Hazael will become king of Aram and bring terrible suffering to Israel. Jehoram and Ahaziah, wicked kings of Judah, are introduced.

Elisha sends a prophet to anoint Jehu as king of Israel with a mandate to destroy Ahab's house. Jehu drives furiously to Jezreel, kills King Joram with an arrow, and has Jezebel thrown from a window. Dogs eat her body, fulfilling Elijah's prophecy.

Jehu systematically destroys all of Ahab's descendants, seventy sons in all. He lures all Baal worshipers into a temple and massacres them, eradicating Baal worship from Israel. However, Jehu does not turn from Jeroboam's golden calves.

Athaliah, Ahab's daughter, seizes Judah's throne and massacres the royal family. But baby Joash is hidden in the temple for six years. The priest Jehoiada organizes a coup, crowns Joash king, and Athaliah is executed. The people destroy the temple of Baal.

King Joash (Jehoash) does right while guided by Jehoiada the priest. He organizes temple repairs using a collection chest. After Jehoiada's death, Joash declines spiritually and is eventually assassinated by his own officials.

Elisha is on his deathbed and tells King Joash of Israel to strike the ground with arrows. Joash strikes only three times, and Elisha declares he should have struck more for complete victory over Aram. Even after death, Elisha's bones raise a dead man to life.

Amaziah of Judah defeats Edom but foolishly challenges Israel and is humiliated. Jeroboam II of Israel restores Israel's borders during a long, prosperous but spiritually hollow reign. Both kings face the consequences of pride.

A rapid succession of kings rules Israel in its final decades, with assassinations and coups. Uzziah (Azariah) of Judah reigns prosperously but is struck with leprosy for pride. The Assyrian threat grows under Tiglath-pileser III.

King Ahaz of Judah embraces idolatry, even sacrificing his own son. When threatened by Aram and Israel, he appeals to Assyria for help rather than God. He copies a pagan altar design from Damascus and modifies the temple.

The northern kingdom of Israel falls to Assyria in 722 BC. The people are deported and foreigners are settled in their place. The narrator explains this happened because Israel abandoned God's covenant, worshiped idols, and ignored the prophets' warnings.

Hezekiah becomes one of Judah's greatest kings, removing high places and destroying the bronze serpent. He rebels against Assyria. Sennacherib invades Judah, and his official Rabshakeh mocks God and tries to demoralize Jerusalem.

Hezekiah prays desperately in the temple after Sennacherib's threats. Isaiah delivers God's answer: Sennacherib will not enter Jerusalem. That night, the angel of the Lord strikes down 185,000 Assyrian soldiers. Sennacherib retreats and is later murdered by his own sons.

Hezekiah falls deathly ill, and Isaiah tells him to set his affairs in order. Hezekiah prays, and God adds 15 years to his life, confirming it with the shadow retreating ten steps. Hezekiah foolishly shows Babylonian envoys all his treasures, and Isaiah foretells the Babylonian exile.

Manasseh becomes Judah's most wicked king, rebuilding high places, practicing sorcery, and setting up idols in the temple. God declares that because of Manasseh's sins, Jerusalem will be destroyed. His son Amon reigns briefly before being assassinated.

Young King Josiah orders temple repairs, and the Book of the Law is discovered. When it is read to Josiah, he tears his robes in anguish, realizing how far Judah has strayed. The prophetess Huldah confirms that judgment is coming but will be delayed because of Josiah's repentance.

Josiah leads the most thorough religious reform in Judah's history, destroying idolatrous sites throughout the land and reinstating the Passover. He fulfills the 300-year-old prophecy from 1 Kings 13 by desecrating the altar at Bethel. Despite his faithfulness, Josiah is killed in battle at Megiddo.

After Josiah, Judah rapidly declines under Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, and Jehoiachin. Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon besieges Jerusalem, takes the first wave of captives (including Jehoiachin and Daniel), and plunders the temple. Zedekiah is installed as puppet king.

Zedekiah rebels against Babylon, and Nebuchadnezzar destroys Jerusalem and the temple in 586 BC. The people are deported to Babylon, ending the kingdom of Judah. The book ends with a glimmer of hope: Jehoiachin is released from prison in Babylon and given a place at the king's table.