Old Testament · Historical Books · World English Bible
2nd Kings
"Go, sell the oil, and pay your debt; and you and your sons live on the rest."
— 2 Kings 4:7 
The Reading LensEvery verse pulled to the top of a book is chosen by three questions: Where is God’s heart here? Who is He protecting? Who is being saved by the action? It marks the place where those answers come into clearest focus — a “look at this, in this book.”
About the Book
2 Kings carries both kingdoms down to ruin — Israel falls to Assyria, Judah to Babylon — through the ministries of Elijah and Elisha and a parade of mostly-failing kings, with a few bright reformers like Hezekiah and Josiah. It is the record of how the promised land was lost.
The hero verse is small against that backdrop, and that is the point: a widow drowning in debt, about to lose her sons to the creditors, and Elisha multiplies her last jar of oil until the debt is paid and there is enough left to live on. The God who judges nations also stoops to one poor woman's kitchen.
25 Chapters
Elijah and Ahaziah
Fire answers the king's messengers; Elijah's final acts.
Elijah Taken Up
The whirlwind, the chariot of fire, and Elisha's double portion.
War with Moab
Three kings, a drought, and a strange deliverance.
The Widow's Oil
The Heart of ItElisha fills a widow's jars to pay her debt — and raises the Shunammite's son.
“Go, sell the oil, and pay your debt; and you and your sons live on the rest.” — v.7
Naaman Healed
A proud commander dips seven times in the Jordan and is cleansed.
The Floating Axe Head
A borrowed tool recovered; chariots of fire revealed.
The Siege Lifted
Famine in Samaria ends overnight, foreseen by Elisha.
Kings of Aram and Judah
Hazael rises; the Shunammite's land restored.
Jehu Anointed
A furious purge; the end of Jezebel.
Jehu Destroys Baal
Ahab's house and Baal's worship swept away.
Athaliah and Joash
A murderous queen, and the boy-king hidden in the temple.
Joash Repairs the Temple
A king restores the house of God.
Elisha's Death
Even his bones bring a dead man back to life.
Amaziah and Jeroboam II
Israel's brief revival under judgment still pending.
A Succession of Kings
Assassination and instability in the north.
Ahaz of Judah
A faithless king who courts Assyria.
The Fall of Samaria
Israel is exiled; the reason given plainly — they forsook the LORD.
Hezekiah and Assyria
A faithful king faces Sennacherib's threat.
Jerusalem Delivered
Isaiah's word; the angel of the LORD strikes the Assyrian camp.
Hezekiah's Illness
Healing, a sign, and a costly display of pride.
Manasseh's Evil
The most wicked reign in Judah's history.
The Book of the Law Found
Josiah hears it read and tears his robes.
Josiah's Reforms
Idols destroyed; the Passover kept as never before.
Babylon Rises
Judah's last kings under the shadow of empire.
The Fall of Jerusalem
The temple burned, the people carried into exile.