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Joram Restores the Shunammite’s Land
8 Elisha spoke to the woman whose son he had restored to life, saying, “Get up and go, you and your household, and dwell as an alien wherever you can, for Yahweh has called for a famine, and it will come to the land for seven years.” 2 So the woman got up and did according to the word of the man of God. She and her household went and dwelt as an alien in the land of the Philistines for seven years. 3 It happened at the end of seven years that the woman returned from the land of the Philistines and went out to appeal to the king for her household and for her properties.[a] 4 Now the king was speaking to Gehazi the servant of the man of God, saying, “Please tell me all of the great things which Elisha has done.” 5 It happened that as he was telling the king how he had restored the dead to life, suddenly the woman whose son he had restored to life was crying out to the king about her household and about her field. Then Gehazi said, “My lord the king, this is the woman and this is her son whom Elisha restored to life!” 6 So the king asked the woman, and she told him. So the king appointed for her a certain court official, saying, “Restore all that is hers and all the yield of the field from the day she left the land up to now.”
7 Elisha came to Damascus. Now Ben-Hadad king of Aram was ill, and he was told, “The man of God has come up here.” 8 Then the king said to Hazael, “Take a gift in your hand and go meet the man of God. Inquire of Yahweh from him, saying, ‘Shall I recover from this illness?’” 9 So Hazael went to meet him and took a gift in his hand of all of the good things of Damascus, a load on each of forty camels, and he came and stood before him. Then he said, “Your son Ben-Hadad king of Aram has sent me to you, saying, ‘Shall I recover from this illness?’” 10 Elisha said to him, “Go; say to him, ‘You shall certainly recover,’ but Yahweh has shown me that he certainly will die.” 11 Then the man fixed his gaze and stared at him[b] until he was ashamed and the man of God cried. 12 Then Hazael asked, “Why is my lord crying?” He said, “Because I know what evil you will do to the Israelites.[c] You will set their fortifications on fire,[d] and you will kill their young men with the sword. Their little ones you will dash to pieces, and their pregnant women you will rip open!” 13 Then Hazael said, “But how could your servant, who is like a dog, do this great thing?” Elisha said, “Yahweh has shown me that you are to be king over Aram.” 14 So he departed from Elisha and came to his master. He asked him, “What did Elisha say to you.” So he said, “He said to me that you will certainly recover.” 15 On the next day, he took the bed cover, dipped it in the water, and spread it over his face so that he died. Then Hazael became king in his place.
Joram Reigns in Judah
16 Now in the fifth year of Joram son of Ahab, king of Israel, and Jehoshaphat king of Judah, Joram son of Jehoshaphat became the king of Judah.[e] 17 He was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. 18 He walked in the way of the kings of Israel as the house of Ahab had done, for the daughter of Ahab became his wife, and he did evil in the eyes of Yahweh. 19 Yet Yahweh was not willing to destroy Judah, for the sake of David his servant, as he had promised to give him a lamp for his sons always.
20 In his days, Edom rebelled against the rule[f] of Judah, and they set up a king over them. 21 So Joram crossed over to Zair and all the chariots with him. It happened that he arose by night and attacked Edom who had surrounded him and the commanders of the chariots; but the army fled to their tents. 22 So Edom has rebelled against the rule[g] of Judah until this day; then Libnah also rebelled at that time. 23 The remainder of the acts of Joram and all that he did, are they not written in the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Judah? 24 So Joram slept with his ancestors,[h] and he was buried with his ancestors[i] in the city of David, and Ahaziah his son became king in place of him.
Ahaziah Succeeds Joram in Judah
25 In the twelfth year of Joram the son of Ahab, king of Israel, Ahaziah the son of Joram became king of Judah. 26 Ahaziah was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. The name of his mother was Athaliah daughter of Omri, king of Israel. 27 He walked in the way of the house of Ahab and did evil in the eyes of Yahweh, as the house of Ahab; for he was the son-in-law of the house of Ahab.
28 He went with Joram the son of Ahab for the battle against Hazael king of Aram at Ramoth-Gilead, and the Arameans wounded Joram. 29 Joram the king returned to Jezreel to heal from the wounds which the Arameans had inflicted at Ramah when Hazael king of Aram fought him. Ahaziah the son of Joram, king of Judah, went down to see Joram the son of Ahab in Jezreel, for he was ill.
Jehu Anointed Prophetically to Rule in Place of Joram of Israel
9 Now Elisha the prophet called for one of the sons of the prophets, and he said to him, “Gird your loins, and take this flask of olive oil in your hand, and go to Ramoth-Gilead. 2 Go there and look there for Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat the son of Nimshi. Go, for you must cause him to arise from among his brothers, and you must bring him into an inner room.[j] 3 You must take the flask of olive oil and pour it out on his head. You must say, ‘Thus says Yahweh, “I hereby anoint you as king over Israel.”’ Then you must open the door and flee; do not linger!”
4 So the young man, servant of the prophet, went to Ramoth-Gilead. 5 He came, and look, the commanders of the army were sitting there. He said, “I have a word for you, O commander!” Jehu said, “For whom? For all of us?” And he said, “For you, O commander!” 6 He got up and went to the house, and poured the olive oil on his head and said to him, “Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel: ‘I hereby anoint you as king over the people of Yahweh, over Israel. 7 You will destroy the house of Ahab your master, and you will avenge the blood of my servants the prophets and the blood of all of the servants of Yahweh, from the hand of Jezebel. 8 All of the house of Ahab will perish, and I shall cut off all males[k] from Ahab, both bond and free. 9 I will make the house of Ahab like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah. 10 The dogs will eat Jezebel in the territory of Jezreel, and there shall not be anyone to bury her.’”[l] Then he opened the door and fled.
Jehu Assassinates Joram
11 Then Jehu came out to the officers of his master, and they said to him, “Peace? Why did this madman come to you?” And he said to them, “You know the man and his foolish talk.” 12 Then they said, “Liar. Please tell us.” He said, “Thus and so[m] he said to me, saying, ‘Thus says Yahweh, “I hereby anoint you as king over Israel.”’” 13 So they hastened each one to take his cloak, and they spread them under him on the bare steps, blew on the trumpet, and said, “Jehu is king!”
Paul and Silas Imprisoned
16 And it happened that as[a] we were going to the place of prayer, a certain female slave who had a spirit of divination[b] met us, who was bringing a large profit to her owners by[c] fortune-telling. 17 She followed Paul and us and[d] was crying out, saying, “These men are slaves of the Most High God, who are proclaiming to you the way of salvation!” 18 And she was doing this for many days. But Paul, becoming greatly annoyed and turning around, said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her!” And it came out immediately.[e]
19 But when[f] her owners saw that their hope of profit was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and[g] dragged them[h] into the marketplace before the rulers. 20 And when they[i] had brought them to the chief magistrates, they said, “These men are throwing our city into confusion, being Jews, 21 and are proclaiming customs that are not permitted for us to accept or to practice, because we[j] are Romans!” 22 And the crowd joined in attacking them, and the chief magistrates tore off their clothing and[k] gave orders to beat them[l] with rods. 23 And after they[m] had inflicted many blows on them, they threw them[n] into prison, giving orders to the jailer to guard them securely. 24 Having received such an order, he[o] put them in the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.[p]
The Conversion of the Philippian Jailer
25 Now about midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and[q] singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. 26 And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately all the doors were opened and all the bonds[r] were unfastened. 27 And after[s] the jailer was awake and saw the doors of the prison open, he drew his[t] sword and[u] was about to kill himself, because he[v] thought the prisoners had escaped. 28 But Paul called out with a loud voice, saying, “Do no harm to yourself, for we are all here!” 29 And demanding lights, he rushed in and, beginning to tremble,[w] fell down at the feet of Paul and Silas. 30 And he brought them outside and[x] said, “Sirs, what must I do so that I can be saved?” 31 And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, you and your household!” 32 And they spoke the message of the Lord to him, together with all those in his house. 33 And he took them at that very hour of the night and[y] washed their[z] wounds, and he himself was baptized at once, and all those of his household.[aa] 34 And he brought them up into his[ab] house and[ac] set a meal before them,[ad] and rejoiced greatly that he had believed in God with his whole household.
Paul and Silas Receive an Official Apology
35 And when it[ae] was day, the chief magistrates sent the police officers, saying, “Release those men.” 36 And the jailer reported these words to Paul: “The chief magistrates have sent an order[af] that you should be released. So come out now and[ag] go in peace!” 37 But Paul said to them, “They beat us in public without due process—men who are Roman citizens—and[ah] threw us[ai] into prison, and now they are wanting to release us secretly? Certainly not! Rather let them come themselves and[aj] bring us out!” 38 So the police officers reported these words to the chief magistrates, and they were afraid when they[ak] heard that they were Roman citizens. 39 And they came and[al] apologized to[am] them, and after they[an] brought them[ao] out they asked them[ap] to depart from the city. 40 And when they[aq] came out of the prison, they went to Lydia and when they[ar] saw them,[as] they encouraged the brothers and departed.
A Prayer for Rescue from Enemies
A psalm of David.[a]
143 O Yahweh, hear my prayer;
listen to my supplications.
In your faithfulness answer me,
and in your righteousness.
2 And do not enter into judgment with your servant,
because no one alive is righteous before you.
3 For the enemy has pursued my soul;
he has crushed my life to the ground.
He has made me dwell in dark places
like those long dead.
4 And so my spirit grows faint within me;
my heart within[b] me is desolate.
5 I remember the days of long ago;
I meditate on all your doings.[c]
I muse on the labor of your hands.
6 I stretch out my hands to you;
my soul longs for you like a dry land. Selah
7 Quickly answer me, O Yahweh;
my spirit fails.
Do not hide your face from me,
or I will become
like those descending to the pit.
8 Cause me to hear your loyal love in the morning,
for I trust you.
Cause me to know the way that I should go,
for I lift up my soul to you.
9 Deliver me from my enemies, O Yahweh.
I take refuge in you.[d]
10 Teach me to do your will, for you are my God;
your Spirit is good.
Lead me onto level ground.
11 For your name’s sake, O Yahweh, preserve my life;
in your righteousness bring me[e] out of trouble.
12 And in your loyal love destroy my enemies,
and exterminate all the adversaries of my soul,
for I am your servant.
26 Also, imposing a fine on the righteous is not good,
nor to flog nobles for uprightness.
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