3 Kingdoms 17
Elijah Warns of Drought
1 Now Elijah the Tishbite from Tishbe in Gilead said to Ahab, “As the Lord God of Hosts lives, the God of all Israel before whom I stand, there shall not be any dew nor rain during these years except at my word.”†
2 Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah, saying,†
3 “Depart and go eastward, and hide by the Brook Cherith, which flows into the Jordan.
4 You shall drink water from the brook, and I shall command the ravens to feed you there.”
5 So Elijah went and obeyed the word of the Lord, and stayed by the Brook Cherith, which flows into the Jordan.
6 The ravens brought him bread in the morning and meat in the evening, and he drank water from the brook.
7 But after a while the brook dried up, because there was no rain in the land.
Elijah Helps a Widow
8 Again the word of the Lord came to Elijah, saying,
9 “Arise, go to Zarephath of Sidon and dwell there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you.”
10 So he arose and went to Zarephath. When he came to the gate of the city, there was a widow gathering firewood. Elijah called to her and said, “Please bring me a little water in a cup so I can drink.”†
11 She went to get it, and Elijah called after her and said, “Please bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.”
12 But the woman said, “As the Lord your God lives, I do not have any bread, only a handful of flour in a bin, and a little oil in a jar. You see I am gathering a couple of sticks, so I can go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it and die.”†
13 But Elijah said to her, “Take courage, and do as you say, but make me a small cake from it first and bring it to me. Afterward make some for yourself and your son.
14 For thus says the Lord, ‘The bin of flour shall not be used up, and the jar of oil shall not run dry, until the day the Lord sends rain on the earth.’ ”†
15 So the woman went and did it. Thus she and he and her children ate for many days.
16 The bin of flour was not used up, and the jar of oil did not run dry, according to the word the Lord spoke by Elijah.
17 Now after this, the son of the woman who owned the house became sick. His sickness was so serious there was no breath left in him.
18 So she said to Elijah, “What have I to do with you, O man of God? You came to me to bring my sin to remembrance and to kill my son.”
19 But Elijah said to her, “Give me your son.” So he took him out of her arms and carried him to the upper room where he was staying, and laid him on his bed.
20 Then Elijah cried out to the Lord and said, “Woe is me, O Lord! The witness of the widow with whom I lodge, you have embittered her by killing her son.”†
21 Then he stretched himself out on the child three times, and called on the Lord and said, “O Lord my God, let the soul of this child come back to him.”†
22 So it happened, and the child cried out.
23 He took the child and brought him down from the upper room of the house, and gave him to his mother. Elijah said, “Behold, your son lives.”
24 Then the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God, and the word of the Lord in your mouth is the truth.”
Psalms 88
39 But You pushed him away and scorned him; You rejected Your anointed;
40 You overturned the covenant of Your servant; You profaned his sanctuary to the ground.
41 You pulled down all his walls; You put cowardice in his stronghold;
42 All who traveled through there robbed him; He was a disgrace to his neighbors.
43 You exalted the right hand of his enemies; You delighted all his adversaries;
44 You turned away Your help from his sword, And did not support him in his war.
45 You deprived him of purification; You broke his throne to pieces on the ground;
46 You shortened the days of his time; You poured down shame upon him. (Pause)
47 How long, O Lord: will You turn away to the end? Will Your wrath always burn like fire?
48 Let my substance be remembered, as to what sort it is, For did You create all the sons of men in vain?
49 What kind of man is there who will live and not see death? Will he deliver his soul from the hand of Hades? (Pause)
50 Where, O Lord, are Your mercies of old, Which in Your truth You swore to David?
51 Remember, O Lord, the reproach of Your servants I bore in my bosom, The reproach of many nations,
52 Wherewith Your enemies scorned, O Lord, Wherewith they scorned the change of Your anointed.
53 Blessed is the Lord forever. Amen! Amen!
Proverbs of Solomon 19
7 He who does many evil things perfects wickedness, And he who provokes with words, He shall not be saved.
8 He who gains discernment loves himself, And he who guards discernment will find good things.†
9 A false witness shall not be unpunished, And he who kindles evil will perish by it.
10 Luxury is not profitable for a man without discernment, And it is not good if a servant begins to rule with arrogance.
11 A merciful man is longsuffering, And his boast goes against the lawless.
12 The anger of a king is like the roar of a lion, But as dew upon the grass, thus is his grace.
Luke 13
Strive to Be Saved
22 And He went through the cities and villages, teaching, and journeying toward Jerusalem.
23 Then one said to Him, “Lord, are there few who are saved?” And He said to them,
24 “Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able.†
25 When once the Master of the house has risen up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open for us,’ and He will answer and say to you, ‘I do not know you, where you are from,’†
26 then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets.’
27 But He will say, ‘I tell you I do not know you, where you are from. Depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity.’
28 There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and yourselves thrust out.
29 They will come from the east and the west, from the north and the south, and sit down in the kingdom of God.
30 And indeed there are last who will be first, and there are first who will be last.Ӡ
Jesus Presses on Toward Jerusalem
31 On that very day some Pharisees came, saying to Him, “Get out and depart from here, for Herod wants to kill You.”
32 And He said to them, “Go, tell that fox, ‘Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I shall be perfected.’†
33 Nevertheless I must journey today, tomorrow, and the day following; for it cannot be that a prophet should perish outside of Jerusalem.
34 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you were not willing!
35 See! Your house is left to you desolate; and assuredly, I say to you, you shall not see Me until the time comes when you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!’ ”