4 Kingdoms 4, 5
1 The wife of one of the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha, saying, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know your servant feared the Lord, and the creditor is coming to take my two sons to be his servants.” 2 Elisha said to her, “What shall I do for you? Tell me what you have in the house.” She replied, “Your maidservant has nothing in the house but the oil I use to anoint myself.” 3 Then he said, “Go, borrow vessels from everywhere, from all your neighbors, empty vessels; do not gather just a few. 4 And you shall go in and shut the door behind yourself and your sons. Then you shall pour out into these vessels, and take away what is being filled.”
5 So she went from him and did so. She shut the door behind herself and her sons. Then they brought the vessels to her, and she poured 6 until the vessels were filled. And she said to her son, “Bring me an additional vessel.” And they said to her, “There is not another vessel.” So the oil ceased. 7 Then she came and told the man of God. And Elisha said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debt. Thus you and your sons shall live by means of the rest of the oil.”
Elisha Raises the Shunammite Woman’s Son
8 Now one day Elisha went to Shunem, where there was a persuasive woman, and she persuaded him to eat some food. So it was, as often as he passed by, he would turn in there to eat some food. 9 And the woman said to her husband, “Look now, I know this is a holy man of God who comes to us regularly. 10 Let us make a small room upstairs; and let us put a bed for him there, with a table, a stool, a chair, and a lamp stand. And it shall be when he comes to us, he will turn aside into this place.” 11 Now it happened one day that he came and he went there, and turned aside into the upper room and lay down there. 12 Then he said to his servant, Gehazi, “Call this Shunammite woman.” He called her, and she stood before him. 13 And he said to Gehazi, “Say now to her, ‘Hear me. You have shown us all this care. What can I do for you? Do you have any request for the king or the commander of the army?’ ” But she answered, “I dwell among my own people.”
14 So Elisha said, “What then is to be done for her?” And his servant, Gehazi, replied, “She certainly has no son, and her husband is old.” 15 Then Elisha called her, and she stood by the door. 16 And Elisha said, “About this time next year, you shall embrace a son.” So she said, “No, my lord, do not lie to your maidservant!” 17 Then as Elisha told her, the woman conceived, and she bore a son when the appointed time came. 18 And the child grew.
And it came to pass when he went out to his father to the reaping, 19 that he said to his father, “My head, my head!” His father said to a servant, “Carry him to his mother.” 20 So he carried him to his mother, and he lay upon her knees till noon and died. 21 She took him up and laid him on the bed of the man of God. She went out and closed the door as she left. 22 She called to her husband and said, “Please bring to me one of the young men and one of the donkeys. I will ride quickly to the man of God and come back.” 23 So he said, “Why go to him today? It is neither the New Moon nor the Sabbath.” And she replied, “It is well.”
24 She saddled the donkey and said to her servant, “Lead onward and do not slacken the pace for me unless I tell you.” 25 She rode and came to the man of God at Mount Carmel. And when the man of God saw her, he said to his servant Gehazi, “Look, it is that Shunammite woman! 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 answered, “Peace.” 27 Now she came to the man of God on the hill and took hold of him by the feet, but Gehazi came near to push her away. But the man of God said, “Leave her alone; for her soul is in deep distress, and the Lord hid it from me and did not tell me.” 28 So she said, “Did I ask my lord for a son? Did I not tell you not to deceive me?”
29 Then Elisha said to Gehazi, “Prepare yourself, take my staff in your hand and be on your way. If you meet anyone, you will not greet him. And if anyone greets you, you will not answer him. You shall lay my staff on the face of the child.” 30 Then the mother of the child said, “As the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you.” So Elisha arose and followed her. 31 Now Gehazi went on ahead of them and laid the staff on the child’s face; but there was neither voice nor hearing. So he went back to meet him, and told him, saying, “The child is not awakened.”
32 Elisha went into the house, and there was the child, lying dead on his bed. 33 He went into the room and shut the door against the other two, and prayed to the Lord. 34 Then he went up and lay on the child, and put his mouth on his mouth, his eyes on his eyes, and his hands on his hands; and he bowed himself down upon him, and the flesh of the child warmed. 35 He returned and walked back and forth in the house, and he went up and bowed himself down upon the child seven times, and the child opened his eyes. 36 Then Elisha called Gehazi and said, “Call this Shunammite woman.” So he called her. And she came to where he was and he said, “Take your son.” 37 So she went in, fell at his feet, and bowed to the ground. Then she took her son and went out.
The Other Miracles
38 Then Elisha returned to Gilgal, and there was a famine in the land. Now the sons of the prophets were sitting before him; and Elisha said to his servant, “Put on the large pot and boil some pottage for the sons of the prophets.” 39 So one went out into the field to gather herbs, and found a wild vine and gathered from it a lapful of wild gourds, and threw them into the pot of soup, though they did not know what they were. 40 Then they served it to the men to eat. Now, as they were eating the vegetables, they cried out and said, “Man of God, there is death in the pot!” And they could not eat it. 41 So he said, “Take wheat flour and throw it in the pot.” Then Elisha said to his servant Gehazi, “Serve it to the people and let them eat.” Thus there was no longer anything harmful in the pot.
42 Then a man came from Baal-Shalisha and brought to the man of God the firstfruits, twenty loaves of barley bread and fruit cake. And he said, “Give it to the people and let them eat.” 43 But his servant said, “Why shall I set this before one hundred men?” Elisha said, “Give it to the people and let them eat, for Thus says the Lord: ‘They shall eat and will leave some behind.’ ” 44 So they ate and had some left over, according to the word of the Lord.
Naaman Cured of Leprosy
1 Now Naaman, commander of the army of Syria, was a great and honorable man in the eyes of his master, because by him the Lord gave victory to Syria. The man was mighty in strength and valor, but a leper. 2 And the Syrians, lightly armed, had gone out on raids and brought back captive a young girl from the land of Israel. She waited on Naaman’s wife. 3 Then she said to her mistress, “If only my master were with the prophet of God in Samaria! For he would expel his leprosy from him.” 4 And she went in and told her master, saying, “This is what the girl from the land of Israel said.” 5 Then the king of Syria said to Naaman, “Go now, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel.” So he departed and took with him ten talents of silver, six thousand gold shekels, and ten changes of clothing. 6 Then he brought the letter to the king of Israel, which said, “Now be advised, when this letter comes to you, that I am sending Naaman my servant to you, so that you may heal him of his leprosy.”
7 And it came to pass, when the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes and said, “Am I God, able to kill and make alive, to heal this man of his leprosy that this man sends to me? You perceive and see that this man is using this as a pretext for a quarrel with me.” 8 When Elisha the man of God heard the king of Israel had torn his clothes, he sent notice to the king, saying, “Why have you torn your clothes? Let Naaman come to me, and he shall know there is a prophet in Israel.”
9 Then Naaman went with his horses and chariot and stood at the door of Elisha’s house. 10 And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, “Go and bathe in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored to you, and you shall be clean.” 11 But Naaman became furious and went away, saying, “Indeed, I told myself that Elisha would come out to greet me; that he would stand and call on the name of his God; and that he would put his hand upon the place and heal the leprosy. 12 Are not the Abanah and the Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Can I not bathe in them and be clean?” So he turned and went away in a rage.
13 Then his servants approached and said to him, “If the prophet were to tell you to do something great, would you not complete it? But here the prophet said to you, ‘Bathe and be clean.’ ” 14 So Naaman went down and dipped seven times in the Jordan, according to Elisha’s instruction, and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was cleansed. 15 Then he, with all his aides, returned to Elisha and came and stood before him; and he said, “Indeed, now I have come to know that in all the earth there is no God except the God of Israel. Now accept the gift of your servant.” 16 But Elisha said, “As the Lord lives before whom I stand, I will receive nothing.” Again he urged him to take it, but he refused. 17 So Naaman said, “If not, then, please let your servant be given two mule-loads of red earth; for your servant will no longer offer either burnt offering or sacrifice to other gods, but to the Lord alone. 18 And let the Lord be merciful with your servant: when my master goes there, to the house of Rimmon, to worship, he will rely on my hand, and I will worship in the house of Rimmon. In the worship in the house of Rimmon, may the Lord be merciful to your servant in this matter.” 19 Then Elisha said to Naaman, “Go in peace.”
He departed from him but a short distance. 20 Then Gehazi, the servant of Elisha, said, “Behold, my master spared this Syrian Naaman, yet from his hand he received nothing of what he brought; but as the Lord lives, I will run after him and take something of his.” 21 So Gehazi pursued Naaman. When Naaman saw him running after him, he turned from the chariot to meet him. 22 And Gehazi said, “Peace. My master sent me saying, ‘Indeed, just now two young men of the sons of the prophets came to me from the mountains of Ephraim. Give them a talent of silver and two changes of garments.’ ” 23 Then Naaman said, “Take two talents of silver.” So Gehazi took two talents of silver in two bags, with two changes of garments, and handed them to two of his servants. They left and carried them on ahead of him. 24 As they entered into the darkness, he took them from their hands and stored them in the house. He then dismissed the men. 25 Now he went in and stood before his master. And Elisha said to him, “From where have you come, Gehazi?” And he said, “Your servant did not go anywhere.”
26 Then Elisha said to him, “Did not my heart go with you when the man turned back from his chariot to meet you? And now you received the silver and the garments, and it shall happen that you shall receive from him gardens and olive groves and vineyards and sheep and oxen and men-servants and handmaidens. 27 And the leprosy of Naaman shall also cling to you and your seed forever.” Thus he went out from his presence leprous, like snow.
Psalm 105:16–31
16 They also angered Moses in the camp,
And Aaron the holy one of the Lord;
17 The earth was opened and swallowed Dathan,
And buried the assembly of Abiram;
18 A fire kindled in their assembly;
The flame burned up the sinners.
19 They made a calf in Horeb,
And bowed down and worshiped the graven image;
20 Thus they changed their glory
Into the likeness of a calf that eats grass.
21 They forgot the God who saved them,
Who did great things in Egypt,
22 And marvelous things in the land of Ham,
Fearful things at the Red Sea.
23 And He said He would destroy them
Had not Moses His chosen one
Stood among them in the destruction before Him,
To turn away His wrath so as not to destroy them.
24 Then they despised the desired land;
They did not believe His word,
25 But murmured in their tents;
They did not listen to the Lord’s voice.
26 So He raised His hand against them,
To overthrow them in the desert;
27 And to overthrow their seed among the nations,
And to scatter them among the countries.
28 They were consecrated to Baal-Peor,
And ate sacrifices of the dead;
29 So they provoked Him with their ways of living,
And destruction multiplied among them.
30 Then Phinehas stood among them and made atonement,
And the destruction ceased;
31 And it was reckoned as righteousness to him
From generation to generation forever.
Proverbs 23:6–12
6 Do not dine with an envious man,
Neither desire his foods;
7 For as someone who may swallow a hair,
So he eats and drinks.
8 Neither invite him in, nor eat your morsel with him;
For he will vomit it forth and maltreat your good words.
9 Speak nothing into the ears of a man without discernment,
Lest he treat your wise words with contempt.
10 Do not remove the eternal landmarks,
And do not enter the possession of orphans.
11 For the Lord who redeems them is mighty,
And He will judge their cause with you.
12 Give your heart to instruction,
And prepare your ears for words of perception.
Luke 24:36–53
36 Now as they said these things, Jesus Himself stood in the midst of them, and said to them, “Peace to you.”
37 But they were terrified and frightened, and supposed they had seen a spirit.
38 And He said to them, “Why are you troubled? And why do doubts arise in your hearts?
39 “Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have.”
40 When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet.
41 But while they still did not believe for joy, and marveled, He said to them, “Have you any food here?”
42 So they gave Him a piece of a broiled fish and some honeycomb.
43 And He took it and ate in their presence.
The Scriptures Opened
44 Then He said to them, “These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me.”
45 And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures.
46 Then He said to them, “Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day,
47 “and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
48 “And you are witnesses of these things.
49 “Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high.”
The Ascension
(Mark 16:19, 20; Acts 1:9)
50 And He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them.
51 Now it came to pass, while He blessed them, that He was parted from them and carried up into heaven.
52 And they worshiped Him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy,53 and were continually in the temple praising and blessing God. Amen.