Jehoram Meets Moab Rebellion

3 Now Jehoram the son of Ahab became king over Israel at Samaria ^(A)in the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and reigned twelve years. ² He did evil in the sight of the Lord, though not like his father and his mother; for ^(B)he put away the sacred pillar of Baal ^(C)which his father had made. ³ Nevertheless, ^(D)he clung to the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, ^(E)which he made Israel sin; he did not depart from them.

⁴ Now Mesha king of Moab was a sheep breeder, and ^(F)used to pay the king of Israel 100,000 lambs and the wool of 100,000 rams. ⁵ But ^(G)when Ahab died, the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel. ⁶ And King Jehoram went out of Samaria ^[a]at that time and mustered all Israel. ⁷ Then he went and sent word to Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, saying, “The king of Moab has rebelled against me. Will you go with me to fight against Moab?” And he said, “I will go up; ^(H)I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses.” ⁸ He said, “Which way shall we go up?” And he ^[b]answered, “The way of the wilderness of Edom.”

⁹ So ^(I)the king of Israel went with ^(J)the king of Judah and ^(K)the king of Edom; and they made a circuit of seven days’ journey, and there was no water for the army or for the cattle that followed them. ¹⁰ Then the king of Israel said, “Alas! For the Lord has called these three kings to give them into the hand of Moab.” ¹¹ But Jehoshaphat said, “^(L)Is there not a prophet of the Lord here, that we may inquire of the Lord by him?” And one of the king of Israel’s servants answered and said, “^(M)Elisha the son of Shaphat is here, ^(N)who used to pour water on the hands of Elijah.” ¹² Jehoshaphat said, “The word of the Lord is with him.” So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom went down to him.

¹³ Now Elisha said to the king of Israel, “What do I have to do with you? ^(O)Go to the prophets of your father and to the prophets of your mother.” And the king of Israel said to him, “No, for the Lord has called these three kings together to give them into the hand of Moab.” ¹⁴ Elisha said, “^(P)As the Lord of hosts lives, before whom I stand, were it not that I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, I would not look at you nor see you. ¹⁵ But now ^(Q)bring me a minstrel.” And it came about, when the minstrel played, that ^(R)the hand of the Lord came upon him. ¹⁶ He said, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Make this valley full of trenches.’ ¹⁷ For thus says the Lord, ‘You shall not see wind nor shall you see rain; yet that valley ^(S)shall be filled with water, so that you shall drink, both you and your cattle and your beasts. ¹⁸ This is but a ^(T)slight thing in the sight of the Lord; He will also give the Moabites into your hand. ^19 (U)Then you shall strike every fortified city and every choice city, and fell every good tree and stop all springs of water, and mar every good piece of land with stones.’” ²⁰ It happened in the morning ^(V)about the time of offering the sacrifice, that behold, water came by the way of Edom, and the country was filled with water.

²¹ Now all the Moabites heard that the kings had come up to fight against them. And all who were able to ^[c]put on armor and older were summoned and stood on the border. ²² They rose early in the morning, and the sun shone on the water, and the Moabites saw the water opposite them as red as blood. ²³ Then they said, “This is blood; the kings have surely fought together, and they have slain one another. Now therefore, Moab, to the spoil!” ²⁴ But when they came to the camp of Israel, the Israelites arose and struck the Moabites, so that they fled before them; and they went forward ^[d]into the land, ^[e]slaughtering the Moabites. ^25 (W)Thus they destroyed the cities; and each one threw a stone on every piece of good land and filled it. So they stopped all the springs of water and felled all the good trees, until in ^(X)Kir-hareseth only they left its stones; however, the slingers went about it and struck it. ²⁶ When the king of Moab saw that the battle was too fierce for him, he took with him 700 men who drew swords, to break through to the king of Edom; but they could not. ²⁷ Then he took his oldest son who was to reign in his place, and ^(Y)offered him as a burnt offering on the wall. And there came great wrath against Israel, and they departed from him and returned to their own land.

The Widow’s Oil

4 Now a certain woman of the wives of ^(Z)the sons of the prophets cried out to ^[f]Elisha, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared the Lord; and ^(AA)the creditor has come to take my two children to be his slaves.” ² Elisha said to her, “What shall I do for you? Tell me, what do you have in the house?” And she said, “Your maidservant has nothing in the house except ^(AB)a jar of oil.” ³ Then he said, “Go, borrow vessels at large for yourself from all your neighbors, even empty vessels; do not get a few. ⁴ And you shall go in and shut the door behind you and your sons, and pour out into all these vessels, and you shall set aside what is full.” ⁵ So she went from him and shut the door behind her and her sons; they were bringing the vessels to her and she poured. ⁶ When ^(AC)the vessels were full, she said to her son, “Bring me another vessel.” And he said to her, “There is not one vessel more.” And the oil stopped. ⁷ Then she came and told ^(AD)the man of God. And he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debt, and you and your sons can live on the rest.”

The Shunammite Woman

⁸ Now there came a day when Elisha passed over to ^(AE)Shunem, where there was a ^[g]prominent woman, and she persuaded him to eat ^[h]food. And so it was, as often as he passed by, he turned in there to eat ^[i]food. ⁹ She said to her husband, “Behold now, I perceive that this is a holy ^(AF)man of God passing by us continually. ¹⁰ Please, let us ^(AG)make a little walled upper chamber and let us set a bed for him there, and a table and a chair and a lampstand; and it shall be, when he comes to us, that he can turn in there.”

^11 [j]One day he came there and turned in to the upper chamber and ^[k]rested. ¹² Then he said to ^(AH)Gehazi his servant, “Call this Shunammite.” And when he had called her, she stood before him. ¹³ He said to him, “Say now to her, ‘Behold, you have been ^[l]careful for us with all this ^[m]care; what can I do for you? Would you be spoken for to the king or to the captain of the army?’” And she ^[n]answered, “I live among my own people.” ¹⁴ So he said, “What then is to be done for her?” And Gehazi ^[o]answered, “Truly she has no son and her husband is old.” ¹⁵ He said, “Call her.” When he had called her, she stood in the doorway. ¹⁶ Then he said, “^(AI)At this season ^[p]next year you will embrace a son.” And she said, “No, my lord, O man of God, ^(AJ)do not lie to your maidservant.”

¹⁷ The woman conceived and bore a son at that season ^[q]the next year, as Elisha had said to her.

The Shunammite’s Son

¹⁸ When the child was grown, the day came that he went out to his father to the reapers. ¹⁹ He said to his father, “My head, my head.” And he said to his servant, “Carry him to his mother.” ²⁰ When he had taken him and brought him to his mother, he sat on her ^[r]lap until noon, and then died. ²¹ She went up and ^(AK)laid him on the bed of ^(AL)the man of God, and shut the door behind him and went out. ²² Then she called to her husband and said, “Please send me one of the servants and one of the donkeys, that I may run to the man of God and return.” ²³ He said, “Why will you go to him today? It is neither ^(AM)new moon nor sabbath.” And she said, “It will be well.” ²⁴ Then she saddled a donkey and said to her servant, “Drive and go forward; do not slow down ^[s]the pace for me unless I tell you.” ²⁵ So she went and came to the man of God to ^(AN)Mount Carmel.

When the man of God saw her at a distance, he said to Gehazi his servant, “Behold, ^[t]there is the Shunammite. ²⁶ Please run now to meet her and say to her, ‘Is it well with you? Is it well with your husband? Is it well with the child?’” And she ^[u]answered, “It is well.” ²⁷ When she came to the man of God ^(AO)to the hill, she caught hold of his feet. And Gehazi came near to push her away; but the man of God said, “Let her alone, for her soul is ^[v]troubled within her; and the Lord has hidden it from me and has not told me.” ²⁸ Then she said, “Did I ask for a son from my lord? Did I not say, ‘^(AP)Do not deceive me’?”

²⁹ Then he said to Gehazi, “^(AQ)Gird up your loins and ^(AR)take my staff in your hand, and go your way; if you meet any man, do not ^(AS)salute him, and if anyone salutes you, do not answer him; and ^(AT)lay my staff on the lad’s face.” ³⁰ The mother of the lad said, “^(AU)As the Lord lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” And he arose and followed her. ³¹ Then Gehazi passed on before them and laid the staff on the lad’s face, but there was no sound or ^[w]response. So he returned to meet him and told ^[x]him, “The lad ^(AV)has not awakened.”

³² When Elisha came into the house, behold the lad was dead and laid on his bed. ³³ So he entered and ^(AW)shut the door behind them both and prayed to the Lord. ³⁴ And ^(AX)he went up and lay on the child, and put his mouth on his mouth and his eyes on his eyes and his hands on his hands, and he stretched himself on him; and the flesh of the child became warm. ³⁵ Then he returned and walked in the house once back and forth, and went up and ^(AY)stretched himself on him; and the lad sneezed seven times and the lad opened his eyes. ³⁶ He called Gehazi and said, “Call this Shunammite.” So he called her. And when she came in to him, he said, “Take up your son.” ³⁷ Then she went in and fell at his feet and bowed herself to the ground, and ^(AZ)she took up her son and went out.

The Poisonous Stew

³⁸ When Elisha returned to ^(BA)Gilgal, there was ^(BB)a famine in the land. ^[y]As ^(BC)the sons of the prophets ^(BD)were sitting before him, he said to his servant, “^(BE)Put on the large pot and boil stew for the sons of the prophets.” ³⁹ Then one went out into the field to gather herbs, and found a wild vine and gathered from it his lap full of wild gourds, and came and sliced them into the pot of stew, for they did not know what they were. ⁴⁰ So they poured it out for the men to eat. And as they were eating of the stew, they cried out and said, “O man of God, there is ^(BF)death in the pot.” And they were unable to eat. ⁴¹ But he said, “Now bring meal.” ^(BG)He threw it into the pot and said, “Pour it out for the people that they may eat.” Then there was no harm in the pot.

⁴² Now a man came from Baal-shalishah, and brought the man of God bread of the first fruits, twenty loaves of barley and fresh ears of grain in his sack. And he said, “^(BH)Give them to the people that they may eat.” ⁴³ His attendant said, “What, ^(BI)will I set this before a hundred men?” But he said, “Give them to the people that they may eat, for thus says the Lord, ‘They shall eat and have some left over.’” ⁴⁴ So he set it before them, and they ate and ^(BJ)had some left over, according to the word of the Lord.

Naaman Is Healed

5 Now ^(BK)Naaman, captain of the army of the king of Aram, was a great man ^[z]with his master, and highly respected, because by him the Lord had given victory to Aram. The man was also a valiant warrior, but he was a leper. ² Now the Arameans had gone out ^(BL)in bands and had taken captive a little girl from the land of Israel; and she ^[aa]waited on Naaman’s wife. ³ She said to her mistress, “I wish that my master were ^[ab]with the prophet who is in Samaria! Then he would cure him of his leprosy.” ^4 [ac]Naaman went in and told his master, saying, “Thus and thus spoke the girl who is from the land of Israel.” ⁵ Then the king of Aram said, “Go ^[ad]now, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel.” He departed and ^(BM)took with him ten talents of silver and six thousand shekels of gold and ten ^(BN)changes of clothes.

⁶ He brought the letter to the king of Israel, saying, “And now as this letter comes to you, behold, I have sent Naaman my servant to you, that you may cure him of his leprosy.” ⁷ When the king of Israel read the letter, ^(BO)he tore his clothes and said, “^(BP)Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man is sending word to me to cure a man of his leprosy? But ^(BQ)consider now, and see how he is seeking ^[ae]a quarrel against me.”

⁸ It happened when Elisha ^(BR)the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, that he sent word to the king, saying, “Why have you torn your clothes? Now let him come to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel.” ⁹ So Naaman came with his horses and his chariots and stood at the doorway of the house of Elisha. ¹⁰ Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, “^(BS)Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh will be restored to you and you will be clean.” ¹¹ But Naaman was furious and went away and said, “Behold, I ^[af]thought, ‘He 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 cure the leper.’ ¹² Are not ^[ag]Abanah and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?” So he turned and ^(BT)went away in a rage. ^13 (BU)Then his servants came near and spoke to him and said, “^(BV)My father, had the prophet told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more then, when he says to you, ‘Wash, and be clean’?” ¹⁴ So he went down and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God; and ^(BW)his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child and ^(BX)he was clean.

Gehazi’s Greed

¹⁵ When he returned to the man of God ^[ah]with all his company, and came and stood before him, he said, “Behold now, ^(BY)I know that there is no God in all the earth, but in Israel; so please ^(BZ)take a ^[ai]present from your servant now.” ¹⁶ But he said, “^(CA)As the Lord lives, before whom I stand, ^(CB)I will take nothing.” And he urged him to take it, but he refused. ¹⁷ Naaman said, “If not, please let your servant at least be given two mules’ load of ^(CC)earth; for your servant will no longer offer burnt offering nor will he sacrifice to other gods, but to the Lord. ¹⁸ In this matter may the Lord pardon your servant: when my master goes into the house of Rimmon to worship there, and ^(CD)he leans on my hand and I bow myself in the house of Rimmon, when I bow myself in the house of Rimmon, the Lord pardon your servant in this matter.” ¹⁹ He said to him, “^(CE)Go in peace.” So he departed from him some distance.

²⁰ But ^(CF)Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, ^[aj]thought, “Behold, my master has spared this Naaman the Aramean, ^[ak]by not receiving from his hands what he brought. ^(CG)As the Lord lives, I will run after him and take something from him.” ²¹ So Gehazi pursued Naaman. When Naaman saw one running after him, he came down from the chariot to meet him and said, “Is all well?” ²² He said, “^(CH)All is well. My master has sent me, saying, ‘Behold, just now two young men of the sons of the prophets have come to me from ^(CI)the hill country of Ephraim. Please give them a talent of silver and ^(CJ)two changes of clothes.’” ²³ Naaman said, “^(CK)Be pleased to take two talents.” And he urged him, and bound two talents of silver in two bags with two changes of clothes and gave them to two of his servants; and they carried them before him. ²⁴ When he came to the ^[al]hill, he took them from their hand and ^(CL)deposited them in the house, and he sent the men away, and they departed. ²⁵ But he went in and stood before his master. And Elisha said to him, “Where have you been, Gehazi?” And he said, “^(CM)Your servant went nowhere.”

²⁶ Then he said to him, “Did not my heart go with you, when the man turned from his chariot to meet you? ^(CN)Is it a time to receive money and to receive clothes and olive groves and vineyards and sheep and oxen and male and female servants? ²⁷ Therefore, the leprosy of Naaman shall cling to you and to your ^[am]descendants forever.” So he went out from his presence ^(CO)a leper as white as snow.

Paul at Thessalonica

17 Now when they had traveled through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to ^(A)Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. ² And ^(B)according to Paul’s custom, he went to them, and for three ^(C)Sabbaths reasoned with them from ^(D)the Scriptures, ^3 [a]explaining and ^[b]giving evidence that the ^[c]Christ ^(E)had to suffer and ^(F)rise again from the dead, and saying, “^(G)This Jesus whom I am proclaiming to you is the ^[d]Christ.” ^4 (H)And some of them were persuaded and joined ^(I)Paul and Silas, ^[e]along with a large number of the ^(J)God-fearing ^(K)Greeks and ^[f]a number of the ^(L)leading women. ⁵ But ^(M)the Jews, becoming jealous and taking along some wicked men from the market place, formed a mob and set the city in an uproar; and attacking the house of ^(N)Jason, they were seeking to bring them out to the people. ⁶ When they did not find them, they began ^(O)dragging Jason and some brethren before the city authorities, shouting, “These men who have upset ^[g](P)the world have come here also; ^7 [h]and Jason ^(Q)has welcomed them, and they all act ^(R)contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus.” ⁸ They stirred up the crowd and the city authorities who heard these things. ⁹ And when they had received a ^[i]pledge from ^(S)Jason and the others, they released them.

Paul at Berea

^10 (T)The brethren immediately sent ^(U)Paul and Silas away by night to ^(V)Berea, ^[j]and when they arrived, they went into ^(W)the synagogue of the Jews. ¹¹ Now these were more noble-minded than those in ^(X)Thessalonica, ^[k]for they received the word with ^[l]great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so. ¹² Therefore ^(Y)many of them believed, ^[m]along with a number of ^(Z)prominent Greek ^(AA)women and men. ¹³ But when the Jews of ^(AB)Thessalonica found out that the word of God had been proclaimed by Paul in ^(AC)Berea also, they came there as well, agitating and stirring up the crowds. ¹⁴ Then immediately ^(AD)the brethren sent Paul out to go as far as the sea; and ^(AE)Silas and ^(AF)Timothy remained there. ¹⁵ Now ^(AG)those who escorted Paul brought him as far as ^(AH)Athens; and receiving a command for ^(AI)Silas and Timothy to ^(AJ)come to him as soon as possible, they left.

Paul at Athens

¹⁶ Now while Paul was waiting for them at ^(AK)Athens, his spirit was being provoked within him as he was observing the city full of idols. ¹⁷ So he was reasoning ^(AL)in the synagogue with the Jews and ^(AM)the God-fearing Gentiles, and in the market place every day with those who happened to be present. ¹⁸ And also some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers were ^[n]conversing with him. Some were saying, “What would ^(AN)this ^[o]idle babbler wish to say?” Others, “He seems to be a proclaimer of strange deities,”—because he was preaching ^(AO)Jesus and the resurrection. ¹⁹ And they ^(AP)took him and brought him ^[p]to the ^[q](AQ)Areopagus, saying, “May we know what ^(AR)this new teaching is ^[r]which you are proclaiming? ²⁰ For you are bringing some strange things to our ears; so we want to know what these things mean.” ²¹ (Now all the Athenians and the strangers ^(AS)visiting there used to spend their time in nothing other than telling or hearing something new.)

Sermon on Mars Hill

²² So Paul stood in the midst of the ^[s]Areopagus and said, “Men of ^(AT)Athens, I observe that you are very ^(AU)religious in all respects. ²³ For while I was passing through and examining the ^(AV)objects of your worship, I also found an altar with this inscription, ‘TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.’ Therefore what ^(AW)you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you. ^24 (AX)The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is ^(AY)Lord of heaven and earth, does not ^(AZ)dwell in temples made with hands; ²⁵ nor is He served by human hands, ^(BA)as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things; ²⁶ and ^(BB)He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having ^(BC)determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, ²⁷ that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, ^(BD)though He is not far from each one of us; ²⁸ for ^(BE)in Him we live and move and ^[t]exist, as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we also are His children.’ ²⁹ Being then the children of God, we ^(BF)ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and thought of man. ³⁰ Therefore having ^(BG)overlooked ^(BH)the times of ignorance, God is ^(BI)now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent, ³¹ because He has fixed ^(BJ)a day in which ^(BK)He will judge ^[u](BL)the world in righteousness ^[v]through a Man whom He has ^(BM)appointed, having furnished proof to all men ^[w]by ^(BN)raising Him from the dead.”

³² Now when they heard of ^(BO)the resurrection of the dead, some began to sneer, but others said, “We shall hear you ^[x]again concerning this.” ³³ So Paul went out of their midst. ³⁴ But some men joined him and believed, among whom also were Dionysius the ^(BP)Areopagite and a woman named Damaris and others with them.