2 Kings 5 Cross References - ISV

¹ The Healing of NaamanNaaman, the commander of the army of the king of Aram, was a great man in the opinion of his master. He was highly favored, because by him the LORD had given victory to Aram. Though he was a mighty and valiant man, he was suffering from leprosy. ² On one of their raids to the territory of Israel, Aram had taken captive a young girl when she was an infant, who had eventually become an attendant to Naaman’s wife. ³ She mentioned to her mistress, “If only my master were to visit the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.”
⁴ Later, Naaman went to inform his master and told him something like this: “Thus and so spoke the young woman from the territory of Israel.”
⁵ The king of Aram replied, “Go now, and I’ll send a letter to the king of Israel.” So he left and took with him ten talents of silver and 6,000 units of gold, along with ten sets of clothing. ⁶ He also brought the letter to the king of Israel, which read as follows: “…and now as this letter finds its way to you, look! I’ve sent my servant Naaman to you so you may heal him of his leprosy.”
⁷ When the king of Israel read the letter, he ripped his clothes and cried out, “Am I God? Can I kill and give life? Is this man sending me a request to heal a man’s leprosy? Let’s think about this—he’s looking for a reason to start a fight with me!”
⁸ When Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, he sent a message to the king and asked, “Why did you tear your clothes? Please, let the man come visit me and he will learn that there is a prophet in Israel!”
⁹ So Naaman arrived with his horses and chariots and stood in front of the door to Elisha’s house. ¹⁰ Elisha sent a messenger out to him, who told him, “Go bathe in the Jordan River seven times. Your flesh will be restored for you. Now stay clean!”
¹¹ But Naaman flew into a rage and left, telling himself, “Look! I thought ‘He’s surely going to come out to me, stand still, call out in the name of the LORD his God, wave his hand over the infection, and cure the leprosy!’ ¹² Aren’t the Abana and Pharpar rivers in Damascus better than all of the water in Israel? Couldn’t I just bathe in them and become clean?” So he turned away and left, filled with anger.
¹³ But then his servants approached him and spoke with him. They said, “My father, had the prophet only asked of you something great, you would have done it, wouldn’t you? Yet he told you, ‘Bathe, and be clean…!’” ¹⁴ So he went down and plunged himself into the Jordan River seven times, just as the man of God had said, and his flesh rejuvenated like the flesh of a newborn child. And he was clean.
¹⁵ Gehazi’s Greed is PunishedNaaman went back to the man of God, along with his entire entourage, and stood before him. “Please look!” he said. “I know that there is no God in all the earth, except in Israel! So please, take a present from your servant.”
¹⁶ But Elisha replied, “As the LORD lives, before whom I stand, I will not receive anything from you.” Though Naaman urged him to take it, Elisha declined.
¹⁷ So Naaman asked, “No? Then please let your servant load two mules with dirt from Israel, because your servant will no longer offer any burnt offering or sacrifice to any other god but the LORD. ¹⁸ In this one area may the LORD pardon your servant: Whenever my master enters the temple of Rimmon to worship there, he will lean on my hand while I bow down in the temple of Rimmon. So may the LORD pardon your servant in this one area.”
¹⁹ “Go in peace,” he said. So Naaman left.
After Naaman had gone only a short distance, ²⁰ Gehazi, the attendant to Elisha, the man of God, told himself, “Look how my master has spared this Aramean, Naaman! He declined to take from him what he brought. As the LORD lives, I’m going to run after him and get something from him.” ²¹ So Gehazi ran after Naaman.
When Naaman noticed someone running after him, he came down from his chariot, greeted him and asked, “Is everything all right?”
²² Gehazi said, “Everything’s all right. My master sent me to tell you, ‘Just now two men from the Guild of Prophets have arrived from the hill country of Ephraim. Please give them each a talent of silver bullion and two sets of clothes.’”
²³ But Naaman said, “Please accept my invitation to take two talents of silver.” He urged him, binding two talents of silver in two bags, along with two sets of clothes. He placed them in the care of two of his young men, and they went on ahead of Gehazi. ²⁴ When he arrived at the stronghold, Gehazi took the bags from their custody and hid them away in the house. Then he sent the men away and they left.
²⁵ Later he went to address his master. Elisha asked him, “Where did you go, Gehazi?”
“Your servant went nowhere in particular,” he said.
²⁶ But Elisha responded, “Didn’t my heart break as the man was turning from his chariot to greet you? Is now the time to receive money? To receive clothes? And olive groves, vineyards, sheep, oxen, servants, or female attendants? ²⁷ Naaman’s leprosy will plague you and your descendants forever!” As he left Elisha’s presence, he was infected with leprosy that looked like white snow.

³ The LORD made the Egyptians look on the people with favor. Also the man Moses was highly regarded in the land of Egypt, both in the opinion of Pharaoh’s officials and in the opinion of the people.

² “When a person has a swelling or a scab in the skin on his body that turns white in appearance and appears to be more extensive than skin deep, he is to be brought to Aaron the priest or to one of his sons among the priests. ³ The priest is to examine the skin rash on the body. If the hair on the skin rash has turned white and its appearance is deeper than the skin of his body, it’s an infectious skin disease. When the priest has examined it, then he is to declare him unclean.

⁴⁴ he’s a man with an infectious skin disease. He’s unclean. The priest is to declare him unclean on account of the skin rash in his head. ⁴⁵ The person with the infectious skin disease is to tear his garments and loosen his hair. He is to cover his mustache and shout out, ‘Unclean! Unclean!’ ⁴⁶ The whole time that the skin rash infects him, he will be unclean. He is to live by himself in a home outside the encampment.”

¹⁰ but when the cloud ascended from the tent, Miriam had become leprous, as white as snow! Aaron turned toward Miriam, and she had leprosy!
¹¹ Aaron begged Moses, “I pray my lord, please don’t hold this sin against us, since we’ve acted foolishly and sinned in doing so. ¹² Please don’t let her be like one of the living dead, who is born with a congenital skin disease.”

³⁷ You did not encroach onto Ammonite land, the banks of the Wadi Jabbok, the towns in the hill country, and all the other places that were forbidden by the LORD our God.”

²⁹ May judgment rest on Joab’s head and on his father’s entire household. May Joab’s dynasty never be without one who has a discharge, who is a leper, who walks with a cane, who commits suicide, or who lacks food!”

⁸ The Hospitality of a Woman from ShunemSome time later, Elisha went to Shunem, where he met a prominent and wealthy woman who persuaded him to have a meal with her. As a result, whenever he was in the area, he stopped by to eat with her.

²⁷ Naaman’s leprosy will plague you and your descendants forever!” As he left Elisha’s presence, he was infected with leprosy that looked like white snow.

³ The Arameans FleeNow there happened to be four lepers who were at that very moment at the entrance to the city gate. As they were talking with one another, they said, “Why are we sitting here waiting to die?

¹⁹ Uzziah flew into a rage while he held in his hand a censer to burn incense. As he got angry at the priests, leprosy broke out all over his forehead right in front of the priests beside the incense altar in the LORD’s Temple. ²⁰ So Azariah the chief priest and all the priests stared at Uzziah, who was infected with leprosy in his forehead! They all rushed at him and hurried him out of the Temple. Uzziah was in a hurry to get out anyway, because the LORD had struck him.
²¹ King Uzziah remained a leper until the day he died. Because he was a leper, he lived in a separate residence and remained disqualified to enter the LORD’s Temple. His son Jotham served in the royal palace, judging the people of the land. ²² Now the rest of Uzziah’s accomplishments, from first to last, have been recorded by Amoz’s son Isaiah the prophet. ²³ Uzziah died, as had his ancestors, and they buried him alongside his ancestors in a grave in a field that belonged to the kings, because they said, “He was a leper.” Uzziah’s son Jotham became king to replace him.

⁴ Indeed, Mordecai was a powerful official in the palace and his fame spread throughout the provinces. Indeed, the man Mordecai grew more and more powerful.

³ Indeed, Mordecai the Jew was second in authority only to King Ahasuerus and was a powerful official among the Jewish people. Mordecai was accepted favorably by his many kinsmen, and he sought the good of his countrymen and spoke out for the welfare of all his people.

³¹ The horse may be prepared for the day of battle, but to the LORD goes the victory.

⁵ Assyria is an Instrument of Judgment“How terrible it will be for Assyria, the rod of my anger! The club is in their hands! ⁶ I’m sending my fury against a godless nation, and I’ll command him against the people with whom I’m angry to seize loot and snatch plunder, and to trample them down like mud in the streets.

⁵ “By my great power and outstretched arm I made the earth, mankind, and the animals that are on the face of the earth, and I give it to whomever I see fit. ⁶ Now I’ve given all these lands to my servant, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and I’ve even given him the wild animals to serve him.

²⁷ There were also many lepers in Israel in the prophet Elisha’s time, yet not one of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian.”

¹¹ Jesus answered him, “You have no authority over me at all, except what was given to you from above. That’s why the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.”

¹⁸ For I am bold enough to tell you only about what the Messiah has accomplished through me in bringing gentiles to obedience. By my words and actions,

⁷ To keep me from becoming conceited because of the exceptional nature of these revelations, a thorn was given to me and placed in my body. It was Satan’s messenger to keep on tormenting me so that I would not become conceited.

³⁴ So Abimelech and his entire army got up that night and waited in ambush against Shechem in four separate companies.

¹⁷ Raiders went out of the Philistine camp in three companies. One company turned in the direction of Ophrah, to the land of Shual, ¹⁸ one company turned in the direction of Beth-horon, while the one company turned toward the border that overlooks the valley of Zeboiim toward the desert.

²³ So he prepared a large festival for them, and when they had finished eating and drinking, he sent them back to their master, and marauding gangs of Arameans never came into the territory of Israel again.

²⁰ The Death of ElishaLater, Elisha died and was buried. Now at that time, various Moabite marauders had been invading the land each spring.

² Consider this: as the eyes of a servant focus on what his master provides, and as the eyes of a female servant focus on what her mistress provides, so our eyes focus on the LORD our God, until he has mercy on us.

²⁹ “Are you jealous on account of me?” Moses asked in reply. “I wish all of the LORD’s people were prophets and that the LORD would put his spirit upon them!”

⁸ When Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, he sent a message to the king and asked, “Why did you tear your clothes? Please, let the man come visit me and he will learn that there is a prophet in Israel!”

² Suddenly, a leper came up to him, fell down before him, and said, “Sir, if you want to, you can make me clean.”
³ So Jesus reached out his hand, touched him, and said, “I do want to. Be clean!” And instantly his leprosy was made clean.

⁵ the blind see, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the destitute hear the good news.

¹² As he was going into a village, ten lepers met him. They stood at a distance ¹³ and shouted, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”
¹⁴ When Jesus saw them, he told them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” While they were going, they were made clean.

²⁹ Paul replied, “Whether quickly or not, I wish to God that not only you but everyone listening to me today would become what I am—except for these chains!”

⁸ You already have all you want! You have already become rich! You have become kings without us! I wish you really were kings so that we could be kings with you!

⁹ But then they told each other, “We’re not doing the right thing. This is a day of good news, but if we keep quiet until morning, we’re sure to be punished! So let’s leave and go tell the king’s household!” ¹⁰ So they left, called out to the city gatekeepers, and reported to them: “We went out to the Aramean encampment, and there was nobody there! Not even the sound of men—only horses and donkeys tied up, and tents left just as they were!”
¹¹ The gatekeepers announced the report to the king’s attendants,

¹⁹ But Jesus wouldn’t let him. Instead, he told him, “Go home to your family, and tell them how much the Lord has done for you and how merciful he has been to you.”

⁹ Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene
After Jesus had risen early on the first day of that week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom he had driven out seven demons. ¹⁰ She went and told those who had been with Jesus and who now were grieving and crying.

⁴² He led Simon to Jesus. Jesus looked at him intently and said, “You are Simon, John’s son. You will be called Cephas!” (which is translated “Peter”).
⁴³ Jesus Calls Philip and NathanielThe next day, Jesus decided to go away to Galilee, where he found Philip and told him, “Follow me.” ⁴⁴ Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the hometown of Andrew and Peter.
⁴⁵ Philip found Nathaniel and told him, “We have found the man about whom Moses in the Law and the Prophets wrote—Jesus, the son of Joseph, from Nazareth.”
⁴⁶ Nathaniel asked him, “From Nazareth? Can anything good come from there?”
Philip told him, “Come and see!”

²⁸ Then the woman left her water jar and went back to town. She told people, ²⁹ “Come, see a man who told me everything I’ve ever done! Could he possibly be the Messiah?”

²⁶ Brothers, think about your own calling. Not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. ²⁷ But God chose what is nonsense in the world to make the wise feel ashamed. God chose what is weak in the world to make the strong feel ashamed.

³ They told each other, “Come on! Let’s burn bricks thoroughly.” They used bricks for stone and tar for mortar.

⁷ Come on! Let’s go down there and confuse their language, so that they won’t understand each other’s speech.”

²² He gave each of them some changes of clothes, but he also gave Benjamin 300 pieces of silver and five changes of clothes.

⁷ So the elders of Moab and Midian left to visit Balaam, bringing an honorarium with them, and communicated Balak’s concerns to him.

¹⁷ I’m determined to reward you generously, and I’ll do everything you tell me to do. So come right away and curse this people for me.’”
¹⁸ Balaam responded to Balak’s entourage by saying, “Even if Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I won’t double-cross the command of the LORD my God in even the slightest way.

¹¹ Now get out of here! I had promised you that I would definitely honor you, but now the LORD has kept me from doing that!”
¹² But Balaam replied to Balak, “I told your messengers, ¹³ ‘Even if Balak gives me his palace full of silver and gold, I won’t double-cross the command of the LORD and do anything—whether good or evil—on my own initiative, because I’m going to say whatever the LORD says.’

¹² “Let me tell you a riddle,” Samson told them. “If you can solve it during this week-long festival, I’ll give you 30 linen garments and 30 formal garments.

⁷ Saul told the young man, “Look, we could go, but what could we bring the man? The bread is gone from our bags, and there is no present to bring to the man of God. What do we have with us?”
⁸ The young man answered Saul again, “Look here! I have in my hand a quarter shekel of silver. I’ll give it to the man of God, and he will tell us about our journey.”

⁷ So the king told the man of God, “Come back to my palace and rest a while. I’d like to give you a reward.”

³ The king of Israel asked his servants, “Were you aware that Ramoth-gilead belongs to us, but we aren’t doing anything to remove it from the control of the king of Aram?”

⁴² Feeding of the Crowd
Later on, a man arrived from Baal-shalishah, bringing the man of God some bread as a first fruit offering. He had 20 loaves of barley and ripe ears of corn in his sack. So Elisha said, “Give them to the people so they can eat.”

²² Gehazi said, “Everything’s all right. My master sent me to tell you, ‘Just now two men from the Guild of Prophets have arrived from the hill country of Ephraim. Please give them each a talent of silver bullion and two sets of clothes.’”
²³ But Naaman said, “Please accept my invitation to take two talents of silver.” He urged him, binding two talents of silver in two bags, along with two sets of clothes. He placed them in the care of two of his young men, and they went on ahead of Gehazi.

⁸ So the king told Hazael, “Take a gift with you and go meet the man of God. Inquire of the LORD through him and ask, ‘Will I recover from this sickness?’”
⁹ So Hazael went out to meet with him and took a gift with him—40 camel loads filled with samples of everything good in Damascus. He approached the man of God and said, “Your son King Ben-hadad from Aram has sent me to you to ask you, ‘Will I recover from this sickness?’”

¹ A Testimony to Self-IndulgenceI told myself, “I will test you with pleasure, so enjoy yourself.” But this was pointless.

⁵ “Now, let me tell you, won’t you please, what I’m going to do to my vineyard. “I’m going to take away its protective hedge, and it will be devoured; I’ll break down its wall, and it will be trampled.

¹⁸ Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money ¹⁹ and said, “Give me this power too, so that when I lay my hands on someone, he will receive the Holy Spirit.”
²⁰ But Peter told him, “May your money perish with you, because you thought you could obtain God’s free gift with money!

¹³ Do Not Boast about Future PlansNow listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a town, stay there a year, conduct business, and make money.”

¹ Advice for Rich PeopleNow listen, you rich people! Cry and moan over the miseries that are overtaking you. ² Your riches are rotten, your clothes have been eaten by moths, ³ your gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be used as evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have stored up treasures in these last days.

² That made Jacob angry with Rachel, so he asked her, “Can I take God’s place, who has not allowed you to conceive?”

⁶ Nun’s son Joshua and Jephunneh’s son Caleb, who had accompanied the others who also had explored the land, tore their clothes

²⁹ O, that they were wise to understand this and consider their future!

³⁹ “Look now! I AM, and there is no other god besides me. I myself cause death and I sustain life; I wound severely and I also heal; from my power no one can deliver.

⁶ The LORD kills and gives life, he brings people down to where the dead are and he raises them up.

⁷ Then the king of Israel called together all of the elders of the land and told them, “Please note that this man is here looking for trouble. He sent a message to me, demanding my wives, my children, and my silver and gold, and I haven’t refused him.”

¹⁴ She looked around—and there was the king, standing near a column, as was the royal custom! He was accompanied by the commanding officers, along with trumpeters who stood beside the king. All the people of the land sounded trumpets in their excitement.
But Athaliah tore her clothes and bellowed, “It’s a plot! A conspiracy!”

³⁷ But Hilkiah’s son Eliakim, who managed the household, Shebna the scribe, and Asaph’s son Joah the recorder came back to Hezekiah with their clothes torn and told him what Rab-shakeh had said.

²⁴ The king and all his officials who were listening to these words were not afraid, nor did they tear their garments.

¹¹ Furthermore, what the king is asking is so difficult that no one can reveal it except the gods—and they don’t live with human beings.”

¹ A Call for Israel to Repent “Come, let us return to the LORD; even though he has torn us, he will heal us. Even though he has wounded us, he will bind our wounds.

⁶⁵ Then the high priest tore his robes and said, “He has blasphemed! Why do we still need witnesses? Listen! You yourselves have just heard the blasphemy!

⁵⁴ They watched him closely in an effort to trap him in something he might say.

¹⁴ But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of it, they tore their clothes and rushed out into the crowd, shouting,

⁸ All these officials of yours will come down to me, prostrate themselves to me, and say, ‘Get out, you and all the people following you!’ After that I’ll go out.” Then Moses angrily left Pharaoh.

³¹ David ordered Joab and all the people who were with him, “Tear your clothes, put on sackcloth, and mourn for Abner.” King David walked behind the funeral procession,

²⁴ The woman responded to Elijah, “Now at last I’ve really learned that you are a man of God and that what you have to say about the LORD is the truth.”

³⁶ Elijah’s Prayer and God’s Answer by FireAs the time for the evening offering arrived, Elijah the prophet approached and said, “LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I, your servant, have done all of this in obedience to your word. ³⁷ Answer me, LORD! Answer me so that this people may know that you, LORD, are God, and that you are turning back their hearts again.”

⁶ They replied, “We met a man who told us, ‘Go back to the king who sent you and ask him, “Is it because there is no God in Israel that you’re going to consult with Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore you won’t be getting up from that bed on which you’re lying. You will most certainly die!”’”

³ She mentioned to her mistress, “If only my master were to visit the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.”

⁷ When the king of Israel read the letter, he ripped his clothes and cried out, “Am I God? Can I kill and give life? Is this man sending me a request to heal a man’s leprosy? Let’s think about this—he’s looking for a reason to start a fight with me!”

¹⁵ Gehazi’s Greed is PunishedNaaman went back to the man of God, along with his entire entourage, and stood before him. “Please look!” he said. “I know that there is no God in all the earth, except in Israel! So please, take a present from your servant.”

⁵ Whether this rebellious group listens to you or not, at least they’ll realize that a prophet had appeared in their midst!

¹³ “By a prophet the LORD brought Israel out of Egypt, and by a prophet he was rescued.

¹³ I am speaking to you gentiles. Because I am an apostle to the gentiles, I magnify my ministry

¹² Jehoshaphat answered, “He receives messages from the LORD.” So the king of Israel, Jehoshaphat, and the king of Edom went to visit Elisha.

³² Meanwhile, Elisha was sitting in his house, along with the elders, when the king sent a man to kill him, but before the messenger arrived, Elisha told the elders, “Are you watching how this descendant of murderers has ordered my head be cut off? Look, when the messenger arrives, shut the door and hold it to shut them out! Don’t you hear the sound of his master’s feet right behind him?”

¹⁴ “All the descendants of those who oppressed you will come bending low before you, and all those who despised you will bow down at your feet. They’ll call you ‘The City of the LORD,’ ‘Zion of the Holy One of Israel.’”

²⁹ The jailer asked for torches and rushed inside. Trembling as he knelt in front of Paul and Silas, ³⁰ he took them outside and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

³⁷ But Paul told the guards, “The magistrates have had us beaten publicly without a trial and have thrown us into jail, even though we are Roman citizens. Now are they going to throw us out secretly? Certainly not! Have them come and escort us out.”
³⁸ The guards reported these words to the magistrates, and they became afraid when they heard that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens. ³⁹ So the magistrates came, apologized to them, and escorted them out. Then they asked them to leave the city.

⁶ Again the LORD told him, “Put your hand into your bosom.” He put his hand into his bosom and as soon as he brought it out it was leprous, like snow. ⁷ Then God said, “Put your hand back into your bosom.” He returned it to his bosom and as soon as he brought it out, it was restored like the rest of his skin.

⁷ He is to sprinkle the blood seven times on the person with the infectious skin disease and then pronounce him clean. Then he is to release the live bird into the open fields.

¹⁶ The priest is to dip his right finger in the olive oil that is in his left palm and sprinkle some of the olive oil with his finger seven times in the LORD’s presence.

⁵¹ He is to take the cedar wood, the hyssop, the two crimson threads, and the live bird, and dip them in the blood of the slaughtered bird over flowing water. Then he is to sprinkle the house seven times.

¹⁴ He is to take blood from the ox and sprinkle it with his forefinger toward the surface of the Mercy Seat. Then he is to sprinkle the blood on the surface of the Mercy Seat with his forefinger seven times.

¹⁹ and sprinkle it with the blood on his forefinger seven times, cleansing and sanctifying it from Israel’s sins.”

⁴ Then Eleazar the priest is to take blood from it with his finger and sprinkle the blood in front of the Tent of Meeting.

¹⁹ The clean person is to sprinkle the unclean person on the third day and seventh day and then he is to purify himself on the seventh day, wash his clothes, and bathe with water. He is to be considered clean at evening.

⁴ with seven priests carrying in front of the ark seven trumpets made from rams’ horns. On the seventh day march around the city seven times while the priests blow their trumpets.

¹³ The seven priests who carried the seven trumpets made from rams’ horns preceded the ark of the LORD, blowing their trumpets constantly. The armed men preceded them, and the rear guard followed the ark of the LORD, while the trumpets continued to blow. ¹⁴ On the second day they marched around the city once and then went back to camp. They did this for six days. ¹⁵ They rose early at dawn on the seventh day and marched around the city seven times, just as they had before, except that on that day only they marched around the city seven times.
¹⁶ As they completed the seventh time, after the priests had blown the trumpets, Joshua told the army, “Shout, because the LORD has given you the city!

²¹ Elisha went out to the springs, threw the salt into them, and declared, “This is what the LORD says: ‘I have purified these waters. Neither death nor barrenness is to flow from them anymore.’”

¹⁶ so he said, “This is what the LORD says: ‘Fill this valley with trench after trench!’

⁴¹ But he replied, “Bring me some flour.” He tossed it into the pot and said, “Serve the people so they can eat.” Then there was nothing harmful in the pot.

¹⁴ So he went down and plunged himself into the Jordan River seven times, just as the man of God had said, and his flesh rejuvenated like the flesh of a newborn child. And he was clean.

²³ But he didn’t answer her at all.
Then his disciples came up and kept urging him, “Send her away, because she keeps on screaming as she follows us.”
²⁴ But he replied, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the nation of Israel.”
²⁵ Then she came and fell down before him, saying, “Lord, help me!”
²⁶ He replied, “It’s not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the puppies.”

⁷ and told him, “Go and wash in the pool of Siloam” (which is translated “Sent One”). So he went off, washed, and came back seeing.

¹¹ That is what some of you were! But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of our Lord Jesus the Messiah and by the Spirit of our God.

³² Indeed, the waywardness of the naïve will kill them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them.

⁷ Do not be wise in your own opinion. Fear the LORD and turn away from evil.

¹⁰ Arrogance only brings quarreling, but those receiving advice are wise.

⁸ For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD. ⁹ “For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

⁸ The centurion replied, “Sir, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed,

²⁷ She said, “Yes, Lord. But even the puppies eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ tables.”

²² But when the young man heard this statement he went away sad, because he had many possessions.

¹¹ Because everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the person who humbles himself will be exalted.”

⁴⁸ Jesus told him, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will never believe.”

⁶⁶ As a result, many of his disciples turned back and no longer associated with him.
⁶⁷ So Jesus asked the Twelve, “You don’t want to leave, too, do you?”
⁶⁸ Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words of eternal life. ⁶⁹ Besides, we have believed and remain convinced that you are the Holy One of God.”

²⁰ Truly, I tell all of you emphatically, the one who receives whomever I send receives me, and the one who receives me receives the one who sent me.”

²¹ For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through its wisdom did not know God, God was pleased to save those who believe through the nonsense of our preaching. ²² Jews ask for signs, and Greeks look for wisdom, ²³ but we preach the Messiah crucified. He is a stumbling block to Jews and nonsense to gentiles, ²⁴ but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, the Messiah is God’s power and God’s wisdom. ²⁵ For God’s nonsense is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength.

¹⁴ A person who isn’t spiritual doesn’t accept the things of God’s Spirit, for they are nonsense to him. He can’t understand them because they are spiritually evaluated. ¹⁵ The spiritual person evaluates everything but is subject to no one else’s evaluation. ¹⁶ For “Who has known the mind of the Lord so that he can advise him?”
However, we have the mind of the Messiah.

¹⁸ True WisdomLet no one deceive himself. If any of you thinks he is wise in the ways of this world, he must become a fool to become really wise. ¹⁹ For the wisdom of this world is nonsense in God’s sight. For it is written, “He catches the wise with their own trickery,”
²⁰ and again, “The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are worthless.”

²⁵ See to it that you do not ignore the one who is speaking. For if the hearers did not escape when they ignored the one who warned them on earth, how much less will we escape if we turn away from the one who is from heaven!

¹⁵ When the priests who carried the ark entered the Jordan River, as their feet touched the water’s edge (The Jordan River overflows all of its banks daily during the harvest season.), ¹⁶ the water flowing downstream from above stood still in a single location, a great distance away at Adam, a city near Zarethan. The water that flowed south toward the sea in the Arabah (that is, the Dead Sea) was completely cut off. So the people crossed opposite Jericho. ¹⁷ The priests who were carrying the Ark of the Covenant of the LORD stood firm on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan River, while all Israel crossed on dry ground until the entire nation had finished crossing the Jordan River.

⁸ Elijah took off his ornamented cloak, wrapped it up in a roll, struck the water, and all of a sudden the water divided into two parts! One side of the river stood still opposite the other until the two of them crossed over on dry ground.

¹⁴ Elisha took hold of Elijah’s ornamental cloak that had been left behind, struck the water, and cried out: “Where is the LORD God of Elijah?” All of a sudden, after he had struck the water, the water divided into two parts! One side of the river stood opposite the other, and Elisha crossed over.

¹⁷ So Naaman asked, “No? Then please let your servant load two mules with dirt from Israel, because your servant will no longer offer any burnt offering or sacrifice to any other god but the LORD.

¹⁷ A quick tempered person does foolish things, and a devious man is hated.

¹¹ A person’s discretion makes him slow to anger, and it is to his credit that he ignores an offence.

¹ The Vision of the Temple RiverAfter this, he brought me back to the doorway to the Temple. To my amazement, there was water flowing out toward the east from beneath the threshold of the Temple! (The Temple faced eastward.) The water flowed down from beneath the right side of the Temple, that is, from the south-facing side where the altar was located. ² Then he brought me out through the north gateway and around to the one outside that faces toward the east. To my amazement, water was trickling out from that part of the south side, too!
³ As the man went out toward the east, he carried a measuring line in his hand. He measured out 1,000 cubits as he led me through water that was ankle-deep. ⁴ Then he measured out another 1,000 cubits, where he led me through water that was knee-deep. And then he measured out another 1,000 cubits, where the water was waist-deep. ⁵ When he had measured out another 1,000 cubits, the water had become deep enough that I wasn’t able to ford it. Instead, I would have had to swim through it.
⁶ Then, as he was bringing me back along the river bank, he asked me, “Son of Man, did you see all of this?” ⁷ As we were coming back, I was amazed to see that there were many, many trees lining both banks of the river. ⁸ He told me, “This river flows toward the eastern territories all the way down into the Arabah, and from there its water flows toward the Dead Sea, where the sea water turns fresh.

¹ At that time, a fountain will be opened for the house of David and for those who live in Jerusalem so they can be cleansed from sin and ceremonial impurity.

⁸ At that time, flowing waters will run perennially from Jerusalem, half toward the Dead Sea and half to the Mediterranean Sea.

⁹ Jesus is Baptized
In those days Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.

⁴³ Then he provided him with a chariot as his second-in-command, outfitted with a group of people who shouted out in front of him, “Bow your knees!” And that’s how Pharaoh set Joseph over the entire land of Egypt.

¹⁴ Abigail Intercedes with DavidNow, one of the young men told Nabal’s wife Abigail: “Look, David sent messengers from the wilderness to greet our lord, but he screamed insults at them. ¹⁵ The men were very good to us. They didn’t harm us, and we didn’t miss anything all the time we moved around with them when we were in the field. ¹⁶ They were a wall around us both day and night, all the time we were with them taking care of the sheep. ¹⁷ Now, be aware of this and consider what you should do. Calamity is being planned against our master and against his entire household. He’s such a worthless person that no one can talk to him.”

²³ The Arameans are DefeatedSure enough, the advisors to the king of Aram told him, “Their gods are mountain gods. That’s why they were stronger than we were. But when we fight them on the plains, we’re certain to be the stronger army!

³¹ “Look, now,” his advisors suggested, “we’ve heard that the Israeli kings are merciful. So let’s clothe ourselves with sackcloth, tie our hair back with ropes, and go out to the king of Israel. Maybe he’ll spare your life.”

¹² As Elisha continued to watch, he cried out, “My father! My father! The chariots of Israel and its cavalry!” Then he did not see Elijah anymore.
After this, Elisha gripped his clothes that he was wearing, tore them apart into two pieces,

¹⁰ Elisha sent a messenger out to him, who told him, “Go bathe in the Jordan River seven times. Your flesh will be restored for you. Now stay clean!”

²¹ When the king of Israel saw Elisha, he asked him, “Shall I execute them, my father?”

⁹ So Hazael went out to meet with him and took a gift with him—40 camel loads filled with samples of everything good in Damascus. He approached the man of God and said, “Your son King Ben-hadad from Aram has sent me to you to ask you, ‘Will I recover from this sickness?’”

¹⁴ Elisha Predicts Partial Victory for JoashWhen Elisha fell ill with the sickness from which he was about to die, king Joash of Israel came down to see him, wept in his presence, and told him, “My father, Israel’s chariots and horsemen!”

⁸ However, a spirit exists in mankind, and the Almighty’s breath gives him insight.
⁹ There’s No Fool Like an Old Fool“The aged aren’t always wise, nor do the elderly always understand justice.

² Wash me from my iniquity, cleanse me from my sin.

⁷ Purge me with hyssop, and I will be clean. Wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.

¹⁶ An Invitation to Reconciliation“Wash yourselves, and make yourselves clean; remove your evil behavior from my presence; stop practicing what is evil.

⁷ Jeremiah Rescued from the CisternEbed-melech the Ethiopian, a eunuch in the king’s house, heard that Jeremiah had been put in the cistern. The king was sitting in the Benjamin Gate, ⁸ so Ebed-melech went out of the palace and spoke to the king: ⁹ “Your majesty, these men have acted wickedly in all they have done to the prophet Jeremiah by throwing him into the cistern. He will die where he is because of the famine since there is no more bread in the city.”
¹⁰ Then the king ordered Ebed-melech the Ethiopian: “Thirty men are at your disposal. Take them with you and bring up Jeremiah the prophet from the cistern before he dies.”

⁶ God’s Second Complaint: Against His Priests—A Despised Offering“A son honors his father and a servant his master. So if I’m a father, where is my honor? And if I’m a master, where is my respect?” says the LORD of the Heavenly Armies to you priests who are despising my name. “But you ask, ‘How have we despised your name?’

⁹ And don’t call anyone on earth ‘Father,’ because you have only one Father, the one in heaven.

⁸ Peter told him, “You must never wash my feet!”
Jesus answered him, “Unless I wash you, you cannot be involved with me.”

¹⁶ So now, what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized, and have your sins washed away as you call on his name.’

²¹ For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through its wisdom did not know God, God was pleased to save those who believe through the nonsense of our preaching.

²⁷ But God chose what is nonsense in the world to make the wise feel ashamed. God chose what is weak in the world to make the strong feel ashamed.

¹⁵ You may have 10,000 mentors who work for the Messiah, but not many fathers. For in the Messiah Jesus I became your father through the gospel.

²⁶ so that he might make it holy by cleansing it, washing it with water and the word, ²⁷ and might present the church to himself in all its glory, without a spot or wrinkle or anything of the kind, but holy and without fault.

⁵ ‘Twas not for deeds that we had done, but by his steadfast love alone, he saved us through a second birth, renewed us by the Spirit’s work,

²² let us continue to come near with sincere hearts in the full assurance that faith provides, because our hearts have been sprinkled clean from a guilty conscience, and our bodies have been washed with pure water.

²¹ Baptism, which is symbolized by that water, now saves you also, not by removing dirt from the body, but by asking God for a clear conscience based on the resurrection of Jesus, the Messiah,

¹⁴ I told him, “Sir, you know.”
Then he told me, “These are the people who are coming out of the terrible suffering. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the lamb.

²⁰ Jehoshaphat’s Instructions the Next MorningThe army got up early the next morning and headed out into the wilderness of Tekoa. Jehoshaphat stood up and addressed them. “Listen to me, you inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem,” he said. “Have faith in the LORD your God and you’ll be established! Have faith in his prophets and you’ll succeed!”

¹³ No Abuse of Servants“If I’ve refused to help my male and female servants when they complain against me,

²⁵ Let his flesh be rejuvenated as he was in his youth! Let him recover the strength of his youth.

⁹ Counsel a wise man, and he will be wiser still; teach a righteous man, and he will add to his learning.

¹¹ Like golden apples set in silver is a word spoken at the right time. ¹² Like a gold earring and a necklace of pure gold is a wise reprover to a listening ear.

¹ The Vision of the Temple RiverAfter this, he brought me back to the doorway to the Temple. To my amazement, there was water flowing out toward the east from beneath the threshold of the Temple! (The Temple faced eastward.) The water flowed down from beneath the right side of the Temple, that is, from the south-facing side where the altar was located. ² Then he brought me out through the north gateway and around to the one outside that faces toward the east. To my amazement, water was trickling out from that part of the south side, too!
³ As the man went out toward the east, he carried a measuring line in his hand. He measured out 1,000 cubits as he led me through water that was ankle-deep. ⁴ Then he measured out another 1,000 cubits, where he led me through water that was knee-deep. And then he measured out another 1,000 cubits, where the water was waist-deep. ⁵ When he had measured out another 1,000 cubits, the water had become deep enough that I wasn’t able to ford it. Instead, I would have had to swim through it.
⁶ Then, as he was bringing me back along the river bank, he asked me, “Son of Man, did you see all of this?” ⁷ As we were coming back, I was amazed to see that there were many, many trees lining both banks of the river. ⁸ He told me, “This river flows toward the eastern territories all the way down into the Arabah, and from there its water flows toward the Dead Sea, where the sea water turns fresh. ⁹ It will support all kinds of living creatures that will thrive abundantly wherever the river flows. There will be a great many fish, because this water will flow there and turn the salt water fresh. As a result, everything will live wherever the river flows.

¹³ So Jesus reached out his hand and touched him, saying, “I do want to. Be clean!” Instantly the leprosy left him.

⁵ His mother told the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”

¹⁴ He gave himself for us to set us free from every wrong and to cleanse us so that we could be his special people who are enthusiastic about doing good deeds.

⁷ By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, reverently prepared an ark to save his family, and by faith he condemned the world and inherited the righteousness that comes by faith.
⁸ By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.

¹¹ So receive my blessing, which has been sent to you, since God has been gracious to me. Besides, I have enough.” Because Jacob kept pressing him, Esau accepted the gifts.

⁹ “I’m really convinced that the LORD has given you the land,” she said, “because we’re overwhelmed with fear of you. All the other inhabitants of the land are demoralized at your presence, ¹⁰ because we heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Reed Sea right in front of you as you were coming out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were on the other side of the Jordan River—to Sihon and Og—whom you completely destroyed. ¹¹ When we heard these reports, we all became terrified and discouraged because of you, for the LORD your God is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath.

⁹ They answered, “Your servants have arrived from a very distant land, because of the reputation of the LORD your God, because we’ve heard a report about all that he did in Egypt,

²⁴ They replied to Joshua, “Because your servants had been informed that the LORD your God had certainly commanded his servant Moses to give you the entire land and to destroy all of the inhabitants of the land before you. So we were terrified for our lives because of you. That’s why we did this.

⁴⁶ This very day the LORD will deliver you into my hand, and I’ll strike you down and remove your head from you. And this very day I’ll give the dead bodies of the Philistine army to the birds of the sky and to the animals of the earth, so that all the earth will know that there is a God in Israel, ⁴⁷ and this whole congregation will know that the LORD does not deliver by sword or spear. Indeed, the battle is the LORD’s and he will give you into our hands.”

²⁷ Now let this present that your servant has brought to your majesty be given to the young men who follow your majesty.

³⁶ Elijah’s Prayer and God’s Answer by FireAs the time for the evening offering arrived, Elijah the prophet approached and said, “LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I, your servant, have done all of this in obedience to your word.

¹⁰ “You are my witnesses,” declares the LORD, “and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and trust me and understand that I am the One. Before me no God was formed, nor will there be one after me. ¹¹ I, yes I, am the LORD, and apart from me there is no savior.

⁶ I am the First and the LastThis is what the LORD says, the King of Israel and its Redeemer— the LORD of the Heavenly Armies is his name— “I am the first and I am the last, and apart from me there is no God.

⁸ Don’t tremble, and don’t be afraid. Didn’t I tell you and announce it long ago? You are my witnesses. Is there any God besides me? There is no other Rock— I don’t know of any.”

⁶ so that from the sun’s rising to the west people may know that there is none besides me. “I am the LORD, and there is no other.”

¹⁰ The LORD is the true God; he’s the living God and the everlasting king. At his wrath the earth quakes, and the nations cannot endure his indignation.
¹¹ Tell this to them: “The gods who didn’t make the heavens and the earth will perish from the earth and from these heavens.”

¹⁹ LORD, my strength and my stronghold, my refuge in a time of difficulty, to you the nations will come, and from the ends of the earth they’ll say, “Surely our ancestors inherited deception, things that are worthless, and in which there is no profit.” ²⁰ Can a person make a god for himself? They are not gods! ²¹ Therefore, I’m about to make them understand; this time I’ll make them understand my power and strength, so they’ll understand that my name is the LORD.

⁴⁷ The king told Daniel, “Truly your God is the God of gods, the Lord of kings, and the Revealer of Secrets, because you were able to reveal this mystery.”

²⁹ So I decree that people from any nation or language who say anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego will be destroyed and their house reduced to rubble, because there is no other god who can save like this.”

³⁴ The King’s Sanity Returns“When that period of time was over, I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven and my sanity returned to me. I blessed the Most High, praising and honoring the one who lives forever: For his sovereignty is eternal, and his kingdom continues from generation to generation.

²⁶ “I hereby decree that in every area of my kingdom men are to fear and tremble before the God of Daniel. For he is the living God, who endures forever. His kingdom is one that will not be destroyed, and his dominion continues forever. ²⁷ He delivers and rescues and performs signs and wonders in heaven and on earth. He has delivered Daniel from the power of the lions.”

¹⁵ But one of them, when he saw that he had been healed, came back and praised God with a loud voice. ¹⁶ He fell on his face at Jesus’ feet and thanked him. Now that man was a Samaritan.
¹⁷ Jesus asked, “Ten men were made clean, weren’t they? Where are the other nine? ¹⁸ Except for this foreigner, were any of them found to return and give praise to God?”

¹⁰ For one believes with his heart and is justified, and declares with his mouth and is saved.

⁵ Therefore, I thought it necessary to urge these brothers to visit you ahead of me, to make arrangements in advance for this gift you promised, and to have it ready as something given generously and not forced.

²² But Abram answered the king of Sodom, “I have made an oath to the LORD God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, ²³ that I will not take a thread or a sandal strap or anything that belongs to you, so you won’t be able to say, ‘I made Abram rich.’

⁸ But the man of God replied to the king, “Even if you were to offer me half of your house, I wouldn’t go with you, and I’m sure not going to eat even a piece of bread or drink water in this place,

¹ Elijah Calls for a DroughtElijah the foreigner, who was an alien resident from Gilead, told Ahab, “As the LORD God of Israel lives, in whose presence I’m standing, there will be neither dew nor rain these next several years, except when I say so.”

¹⁵ But Elijah promised him, “As the LORD of the Heavenly Armies lives, in whose presence I stand, I will appear to Ahab today.”

¹⁴ But Elisha responded, “As the LORD of the Heavenly Armies lives, in whose presence I stand, I would never pay attention to you or even look in your direction were it not for my continuous respect for the presence of King Jehoshaphat of Judah.

²⁰ Gehazi, the attendant to Elisha, the man of God, told himself, “Look how my master has spared this Aramean, Naaman! He declined to take from him what he brought. As the LORD lives, I’m going to run after him and get something from him.”

²⁶ But Elisha responded, “Didn’t my heart break as the man was turning from his chariot to greet you? Is now the time to receive money? To receive clothes? And olive groves, vineyards, sheep, oxen, servants, or female attendants?

¹⁷ At this, Daniel answered, speaking directly to the king, “Let your gifts and rewards be given to someone else. However, I’ll read the writing for the king and tell him its meaning.

⁸ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, drive out demons. You have received without payment, so give without payment.

³³ I never desired anyone’s silver, gold, or clothes. ³⁴ You yourselves know that I worked with my own hands to support myself and those who were with me. ³⁵ In every way I showed you that by working hard like this we should help the weak and remember the words that the Lord Jesus himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”

¹² Morality in Sexual MattersEverything is permissible for me, but not everything is helpful. Everything is permissible for me, but I will not allow anything to control me.

³² Don’t become a stumbling block to Jews or Greeks or to the church of God, ³³ just as I myself try to please everybody in every way. I don’t look out for my own benefit, but rather for the benefit of many people, so that they might be saved.

⁹ When I was with you and needed something, I did not bother any of you, because our brothers who came from Macedonia supplied everything I needed. I kept myself from being a burden to you in any way, and I will continue to do so.
¹⁰ As surely as the truth of the Messiah is in me, my boasting will not be silenced in the regions of Achaia.

¹⁴ Now I’m ready to visit you for a third time, and I will not bother you for help. I do not want your things, but rather you yourselves. Children should not have to support their parents, but parents their children.

²⁴ You are to make an altar of earth for me, and you are to sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and peace offerings, your sheep, and your cattle. Everywhere I cause my name to be remembered, I’ll come to you and bless you.

¹² Aren’t the Abana and Pharpar rivers in Damascus better than all of the water in Israel? Couldn’t I just bathe in them and become clean?” So he turned away and left, filled with anger.

¹⁸ You will help them understand and turn them from darkness to light and from Satan’s control to God, so that their sins will be forgiven and they will receive a share among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’

¹ How to Treat Weak BelieversAccept anyone who is weak in faith, but not for the purpose of arguing over differences of opinion.

⁹ For people keep telling us what kind of welcome you gave us and how you turned away from idols to serve a living and true God

³ For you spent enough time in the past doing what the gentiles like to do, living in sensuality, sinful desires, drunkenness, wild celebrations, drinking parties, and detestable idolatry.

⁵ You are not to bow down to them in worship or serve them, because I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the iniquity of the parents to the third and fourth generations of those who hate me,

¹⁸ Nevertheless, I’ve reserved 7,000 in Israel who have neither bowed their knees to Baal nor kissed him.”

² But the royal attendant on whom the king depended responded to the man of God: “Look here! Even if the LORD were to open a window in the sky, how could this happen?”
He replied, “No, you look! You’ll see it with your eyes, but you won’t eat any of it!”

¹⁷ Meanwhile, the king appointed the same royal attendant on whom he depended to take control of the city gate, but the people trampled him to death in the gate, just as the man of God had told the king when the king came down to him.

³⁵ and with whom the LORD had made a covenant when he gave these orders to them: “You are not to fear other gods, bow down to them, serve them, or sacrifice to them.

¹⁸ Even though a large crowd of people from as far away as Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun had not completed consecrating themselves, they still ate the Passover in a manner not proscribed by the Law, because Hezekiah had prayed like this for them: “May the good LORD extend a pardon on behalf of ¹⁹ everyone who prepares his own heart to seek God, the LORD God of his ancestors, even though he does so inconsistent with the laws of consecration.”

²⁰ In those days and at that time,’ declares the LORD, ‘the iniquity of Israel will be searched for, but there will be none; and the sin of Judah, but none will be found, because I’ll pardon those I leave as a remnant.’”

¹⁶ Rachel Dies in ChildbirthLater, they set out from Beth-el. While still a long way from Ephrathah, Rachel started to have trouble giving birth.

¹⁸ Moses Decides to Return to EgyptMoses left and returned to his father-in-law Jethro. Moses told him, “Please let me go and return to my own people in Egypt so I can see whether they’re still alive.”
Jethro told Moses, “Go in peace.”

¹⁷ “Go in peace,” Eli answered. “May the God of Israel grant the request you have asked of him.”

³⁵ David took from her what she had brought him and told her, “Go up to your house in peace. Look, I’ve heard your request and will grant it.”

¹⁶ The Unshrunk Cloth
“No one patches an old garment with a piece of unshrunk cloth, because the patch pulls away from the garment, and a worse tear results. ¹⁷ Nor do people pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst, the wine will spill out, and the skins will be ruined. Instead, they pour new wine into fresh wineskins, and both are preserved.”

³⁴ He told her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace and be healed from your illness.”

⁵⁰ But Jesus told the woman, “Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.”

⁴⁸ Then he told her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace.”

¹² “I still have a lot to say to you, but you cannot bear it now.

² I gave you milk to drink, not solid food, because you weren’t ready for it. And you’re still not ready!

¹³ For everyone who lives on milk is still a baby and does not yet know the difference between right and wrong. ¹⁴ But solid food is for mature people, whose minds are trained by practice to distinguish good from evil.

⁷ “You are not to misuse the name of the LORD your God, because the LORD will not leave the one who misuses his name unpunished.ד

¹⁷ “You are not to covet your neighbor’s house. You are not to covet your neighbor’s wife, his male or female servant, his ox, his donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”

³⁹ Indeed, as the LORD who delivers Israel lives, even if the sin is with my son Jonathan, he will surely die!” Not a single one of the soldiers answered him.

¹² He told his attendant Gehazi, “Call this Shunammite.” So when he had summoned her, she stood in front of him.

³¹ Meanwhile, Gehazi went on ahead of them and placed the staff on the youngster’s face, but when there was no sound or reaction, he returned, met Elisha, and told him, “The youngster has shown no sign of awakening.”

³⁶ He called out to Gehazi, “Go get the Shunammite woman!” So he called her. When she came in to see Elisha, he told her, “Take back your son!”

³¹ He said, “May God do to me—and more also!—if the head of Shaphat’s son Elisha remains on his shoulders today!”

³ For the wicked one boasts about his own desire; he blesses the greedy and despises the LORD.

¹⁶ The lazy person is wiser in his own opinion than seven men who can give an appropriate response.

¹⁷ But your eyes and heart are on nothing but your dishonest gain, shedding the blood of innocent people, and practicing oppression and extortion.”

⁹ Judgment on Those who Think They are Safe“Woe to the one who amasses profit upon unjust profit in order to establish his household, so he can establish a secure place on the heights and escape from the power of evil.

⁴ Simon the Cananaean and Judas Iscariot, who later betrayed Jesus.

¹⁵ Then he told them, “Be careful to guard yourselves against every kind of greed, because a person’s life doesn’t consist of the amount of possessions he has.”

⁸ The master praised the dishonest servant manager for being so clever, because worldly people are more clever than enlightened people in dealing with their own.

⁷⁰ Jesus answered them, “I chose you, the Twelve, didn’t I? Yet one of you is a devil.”

⁵ “Why wasn’t this perfume sold for 300 denarii and the money given to the destitute?” ⁶ He said this, not because he cared about the destitute, but because he was a thief. He was in charge of the moneybag and would steal what was put into it.

² By supper time, the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray him.

² With his wife’s full knowledge, he kept back some of the money for himself and brought the remainder and laid it at the apostles’ feet.

¹⁸ Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money ¹⁹ and said, “Give me this power too, so that when I lay my hands on someone, he will receive the Holy Spirit.”

⁹ But people who want to get rich keep toppling into temptation and are trapped by many stupid and harmful desires that plunge them into destruction and ruin. ¹⁰ For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, in their eagerness to get rich, have wandered away from the faith and caused themselves a lot of pain.
¹¹ Advice for TimothyBut you, man of God, must flee from all these things. Instead, you must pursue righteousness, godliness, faithfulness, love, endurance, and gentleness.

¹⁰ because Demas, having fallen in love with this present world, has abandoned me and has gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, and Titus to Dalmatia.

⁷ Because an overseer is God’s servant manager, he must be blameless. He must not be arrogant or irritable. He must not drink too much, be a violent person, or make money in shameful ways.

² Be shepherds of God’s flock that is among you, watching over it, not because you must but because you want to, and not greedily but eagerly, as God desires.

¹⁴ With eyes full of adultery, they cannot get enough of sin. They seduce unsteady souls and have had their hearts expertly trained in greed. They are doomed to a curse. ¹⁵ They have left the straight path and wandered off to follow the path of Bosor’s son Balaam, who loved the reward he got for doing wrong.

²⁶ Please run out quickly and greet her. Ask her, ‘Are things going well with you? Are things going well with your husband? Are things going well with your child?’”
She answered Gehazi, “Things are going well.”

¹⁷ While the watchman was standing guard in the tower at Jezreel, he watched Jehu’s entourage arrive. So he called out, “I see a group arriving.”
Joram ordered, “Take a horseman, send him out to meet them, and have him ask, ‘Have you come in peace?’”
¹⁸ So a horseman went out, greeted Jehu and said, “This is what the king said: ‘Have you come in peace?’”
But Jehu responded, “What do you have to do with peace? Fall in behind me.”
The watchman reported, “The messenger arrived there, but he hasn’t returned.”
¹⁹ Then Joram sent out a second horseman, who went out to them and said, “This is what the king said: ‘Have you come in peace?’”
Jehu responded, “What do you have to do with peace? Fall in behind me.”
²⁰ The watchman reported to Joram, “He arrived there, but he hasn’t returned. Also, he drives like Nimshi’s son Jehu drives—irrationally!”
²¹ Joram replied, “Let’s begin our attack!” As soon as his chariot was prepared, both King Joram of Israel and King Ahaziah of Judah went out, each in his own chariot, to fight against Jehu. They met together in the property that had belonged to Naboth the Jezreelite.
²² As soon as Joram noticed Jehu, he cried out, “Peace, Jehu?”
Jehu replied, “What peace, given your mother Jezebel’s prostitution and all of her witchcraft?”

⁶ So Jesus went with them. He was not far from the house when the centurion sent friends to tell Jesus, “Sir, stop troubling yourself, because I’m not worthy to have you come under my roof. ⁷ That’s why I didn’t presume to come to you. But just say the word, and let my servant be healed,

³¹ The man replied, “How can I unless someone guides me?” So he invited Philip to get in and sit with him.

²⁵ When Peter was about to enter, Cornelius met him, bowed down at his feet, and began to worship him. ²⁶ But Peter made him get up, saying, “Stand up! I, too, am only a man.”

²⁴ All the gold that was used in the work, in all the work on the sanctuary, including the gold from the wave offering, totaled 29 talents, 730 shekels, according to the standard used in the sanctuary. ²⁵ The silver from those of the congregation who were recorded totaled 100 talents and 1,775 shekels, according to the standard used in the sanctuary; ²⁶ a beka a head (a beka is half a shekel, according to the standard used in the sanctuary) for everyone who went through the registration process from 20 years old and older. The total numbered 603,550 bekas.
²⁷ One hundred talents of silver were used to cast the sockets for the sanctuary and the sockets for the curtain, 100 sockets for 100 talents, a talent per socket. ²⁸ And with 1,775 talents he made hooks for the pillars, overlaid their tops, and made bands for them.

³³ The Death of Eleazar the PriestLater, Aaron’s son Eleazar also died, and they buried him at Gibeah, which belonged to his son Phinehas, and which had been given to him in the mountainous region of Ephraim.

¹⁸ “I’m a prophet like you,” the old man replied, “and an angel spoke to me and delivered this message from the LORD: ‘Bring him back with you to your house and give him food and water.’” But he was lying,

³⁵ Ahab is CondemnedRight about then, one of the members of the guild of prophets told another through a message from the LORD: “Please strike me!” But the man refused to do so,

³⁹ As the king was passing by, he cried out to the king and told him, “Your servant went out into the middle of the battle, and a soldier turned aside, brought a prisoner to me, and told me, ‘Guard this man. If he turns up missing for any reason at all, you’ll pay for it with your life or be fined one talent of silver.’

³ When the Guild of Prophets who lived in Bethel came out to greet Elisha, they asked him, “You are aware, aren’t you, that later today the LORD is going to remove your master from being your mentor?”
“Of course I’m aware of it,” he said. “Calm down.”

⁵ The king of Aram replied, “Go now, and I’ll send a letter to the king of Israel.” So he left and took with him ten talents of silver and 6,000 units of gold, along with ten sets of clothing.

³ For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your tongue mutters wickedness.

³ They use their tongues like a bow. Lies rather than truth fly throughout the land. They progress from one evil to another, and they don’t know me,” declares the LORD.

⁵ People deceive their friends, and they don’t tell the truth. They have taught their tongues to tell lies. They exhaust themselves practicing evil.

⁴⁴ You belong to your father the devil, and you want to carry out the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning and has never stood for truth, since there is no truth in him. Whenever he tells a lie, he speaks in character, because he is a liar and the father of lies.

³ Peter asked, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart so that you should lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back some of the money you got for the land? ⁴ As long as it remained unsold, wasn’t it your own? And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal? So how could you have thought of doing what you did? You didn’t lie only to men, but also to God!”

¹⁶ Granting that I have not been a burden to you, was I a clever schemer who trapped you by some trick? ¹⁷ I did not take advantage of you through any of the men I sent you, did I? ¹⁸ I encouraged Titus to visit you, and I sent along with him the brother you know so well. Titus didn’t take advantage of you, did he? We conducted ourselves with the same spirit, didn’t we? We took the very same steps, didn’t we?

⁸ But people who are cowardly, unfaithful, detestable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars will find themselves in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur. This is the second death.”

¹⁷ But they persisted until he was frustrated, so he said, “Send them out!” So they sent out the 50 men, and they looked around for three days but did not find Elijah.

¹⁶ But Elisha replied, “As the LORD lives, before whom I stand, I will not receive anything from you.” Though Naaman urged him to take it, Elisha declined.

³ Someone asked, “Would you be willing to come with your servants?”
“I’m willing,” he replied.

¹⁰ As a result, whenever they noticed that there was a lot of money in the chest, the king’s secretary and the high priest went forward, put the money in bags, counted the money that had been given over to the LORD’s Temple,

⁶ The Animals of the NegevAn oracle about the animals of the Negev: “Through a land of trouble, dryness, and distress, of lionesses and roaring lions, where there is no water, a land of vipers and darting snakes, he carries their riches on donkeys’ backs, and their treasures on the humps of camels, to a nation that cannot benefit them,

¹ Israel is Defeated at AiLater, the Israelis broke their promise regarding the things that had been turned over to destruction. Carmi’s son Achan, grandson of Zabdi and great-grandson of Zerah from the tribe of Judah, appropriated some of the things that had been turned over to destruction. As a result, the LORD became angry with the Israelis.

¹¹ Israel has sinned. They broke my covenant that I commanded them by taking some of the things that had been turned over to destruction. They have stolen, have been deceitful, and have stored what they stole among their own belongings. ¹² The Israelis have been unable to stand before their enemies. They’re turning their backs and running from their enemies because they themselves have been turned over to destruction. I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy these things that have been turned over to destruction.

²¹ I noticed among the war spoils a beautiful mantle from Shinar, 200 shekels of silver, and a bar of gold weighing 50 shekels. Because I wanted them, I took them, and they’re buried in the ground inside my tent. The silver is underneath.”

¹⁶ So once he heard that Naboth was dead, Ahab got up, went down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, and confiscated it.

¹⁵ A Rebuke to the Deceptive“How terrible it will be for you who go to great depths to hide your plans from the LORD, you whose deeds have been done in the dark, and who say, ‘Who can see us? Who has recognized us?’

⁶ Judgment on the Plunderer of Nations“Will not all of these ridicule him with mocking scorn? They will say, ‘Woe to the one who hordes for himself what isn’t his. How long will you enrich yourself by extortion?’

³ He responded to me, “This is the curse that is going out over the surface of the whole earth, because, according to this side of the scroll, all thieves will be ejected, and according to the other side of the scroll, all liars will be ejected.”
⁴ “I am bringing this about,” declares the LORD of the Heavenly Armies. “The curse will enter the house of the thief and the house of the one who lies in my name. The curse will remain in his house until that house has been completely destroyed, right down to its timber and stones.”

⁸ When they heard the voice of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden during the breeze of the day, the man and his wife concealed themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. ⁹ So the LORD God called out to the man, asking him, “Where are you?”

⁹ Later, the LORD asked Cain, “Where’s your brother Abel?”
“I don’t know,” he answered. “Am I my brother’s guardian?”

⁸ “Hagar, servant of Sarai,” he asked, “Where are you coming from and where are you going?”
She answered, “I am running away from my mistress Sarai.”

²² Gehazi said, “Everything’s all right. My master sent me to tell you, ‘Just now two men from the Guild of Prophets have arrived from the hill country of Ephraim. Please give them each a talent of silver bullion and two sets of clothes.’”

¹⁴ Then Isaiah the prophet came to King Hezekiah and asked him, “What did these men have to say, and where did they come from?”
Hezekiah replied, “They came from a country far away—from Babylon.”

²⁰ This is what an immoral woman is like: she eats, wipes her mouth, then says “I’ve done nothing wrong.”

³¹ Then they come to you as a group, sit down right in front of you as if they were my people, hear your words—and then they don’t do what you say— because they’re seeking only their own desires, they pursue ill-gotten profits, and they keep following their own self-interests.

¹⁵ and inquired, “What are you willing to give me if I betray Jesus to you?” They offered him 30 pieces of silver, ¹⁶ and from then on he began to look for an opportunity to betray Jesus.

²¹ While they were eating, he said, “I tell all of you with certainty, one of you is going to betray me.”

²⁶ Jesus answered, “He is the one to whom I will give this piece of bread after I have dipped it in the dish.”
Then he took a piece of bread, dipped it, and gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. ²⁷ After he had taken the piece of bread, Satan entered him. Then Jesus told him, “Do quickly what you are going to do!” ²⁸ Now no one at the table knew why Jesus said this to him. ²⁹ Some thought that, since Judas had the moneybag, Jesus was telling him to buy what they needed for the festival or to give something to the destitute. ³⁰ So Judas took the piece of bread, immediately went outside…and it was night.

²³ that I will not take a thread or a sandal strap or anything that belongs to you, so you won’t be able to say, ‘I made Abram rich.’

¹² “No, your majesty,” one of his servants said. “Elisha the prophet, who lives in Israel, tells the king of Israel what you talk about in your bedroom!”

¹¹ But as for the king, he will rejoice in God. Indeed, everyone who swears by God will exult, because the mouths of liars will be silenced.

¹⁹ A truthful saying is trusted forever, but the liar only for a moment.

²² Deceitful speech is reprehensible to the LORD, but those who act faithfully are his delight.

¹ The Purposes in God’s Timing There is a season for everything, and a time for every event under heaven: ² a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to uproot what was planted; ³ a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to tear down, and a time to build up; ⁴ a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; ⁵ a time to scatter stones, and a time to gather stones; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; ⁶ a time to search, and a time to give up searching; a time to keep, and a time to discard; ⁷ a time to tear, and a time to mend; a time to be silent, and a time to speak; ⁸ a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace.

⁹ “How could you have agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord?” Peter asked her. “Listen! The feet of the men who buried your husband are at the door, and these men will carry you outside as well.”

³³ I never desired anyone’s silver, gold, or clothes.

³⁵ In every way I showed you that by working hard like this we should help the weak and remember the words that the Lord Jesus himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”

³ Even though I am away from you physically, I am with you in spirit. I have already passed judgment on the man who did this, as though I were present with you.

¹¹ If we have sown spiritual seed among you, is it too much if we reap material benefits from you? ¹² If others enjoy this right over you, don’t we have a stronger claim? But we did not use this right. On the contrary, we tolerate everything in order not to put an obstacle in the way of the gospel of the Messiah.

⁸ I robbed other churches by accepting support from them in order to serve you. ⁹ When I was with you and needed something, I did not bother any of you, because our brothers who came from Macedonia supplied everything I needed. I kept myself from being a burden to you in any way, and I will continue to do so.
¹⁰ As surely as the truth of the Messiah is in me, my boasting will not be silenced in the regions of Achaia. ¹¹ Why? Because I do not love you? God knows that I do!
¹² But I will go on doing what I’m doing in order to deny an opportunity to those people who want an opportunity to be recognized as our equals in the work they are boasting about.

⁵ For although I am physically absent, I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see how stable you are and how firm your faith in the Messiah is.

⁸ We did not eat anyone’s food without paying for it. Instead, with toil and labor we worked night and day in order not to be a burden to any of you. ⁹ It is not as though we did not have that right, but we wanted to give you an example to follow.

⁶ Again the LORD told him, “Put your hand into your bosom.” He put his hand into his bosom and as soon as he brought it out it was leprous, like snow.

¹⁰ but when the cloud ascended from the tent, Miriam had become leprous, as white as snow! Aaron turned toward Miriam, and she had leprosy!

²⁵ Joshua announced, “Why did you bring trouble to us? Today the LORD is bringing trouble to you!” So all Israel stoned him to death, incinerated them, and buried them with stones,

³⁰ “Therefore, the LORD God of Israel has declared, ‘I did, in fact, say that your family and your ancestor’s family would walk before me forever,’ but now the LORD declares, ‘Far be it from me! The one who honors me I’ll honor, and the one who despises me is to be treated with contempt. ³¹ The time is coming when I’ll cut away at your family and your ancestor’s family until there are no old men left in your family. ³² Distress will settle down to live in your household, and despite all the good that I do for Israel, there will never be an old man in your family forever, and you will never again have an old man in my house. ³³ Any of you whom I don’t eliminate from serving at my altar will grow tired from weeping, and their souls will grieve. All the increase of your family will die by violence. ³⁴ Here’s a sign for you—your two sons Hophni and Phineas will both die on the same day! ³⁵ And I’ll raise up for myself a faithful priest who will do according to what is in my heart and according to my desire. I’ll build for him an enduring house and he will walk before my anointed one forever. ³⁶ Anyone who remains in your family will come and prostrate themselves before him for a small wage or a loaf of bread and will say, “Please put me in one of the priest’s offices so I can eat a piece of bread.”’”

¹ The Healing of NaamanNaaman, the commander of the army of the king of Aram, was a great man in the opinion of his master. He was highly favored, because by him the LORD had given victory to Aram. Though he was a mighty and valiant man, he was suffering from leprosy.

⁵ The LORD struck the king so that he was afflicted with leprosy until the day he died. He lived in a separate house while his son Jotham managed the household and ruled the people who lived in the land.

² Instead, your iniquities have been barriers between you and your God, and your sins have concealed his face from you so that he won’t listen. ³ For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your tongue mutters wickedness.

¹³ You have plowed evil; you have reaped unrighteousness; you have eaten the fruit of hypocrisy; because you trusted in your own direction, and in the number of your mighty forces.

³ Look! I’m rebuking your descendants because of you, and I’ll spread waste on your faces, the waste of your festival sacrifices, and you will be carried off with it.
⁴ “You will know that I sent this commandment to you in order to continue my covenant with Levi,” says the LORD of the Heavenly Armies.

⁸ “But you priests turned aside from the way, and by your teaching you caused many to stumble. You have violated the covenant of Levi,” says the LORD of the Heavenly Armies. ⁹ “So I also made you despised, humiliating you before all of the people, because you aren’t following my ways and are showing partiality when you teach.”

³ The Death of Judas
Then Judas, who had betrayed him, regretted what had happened when he saw that Jesus was condemned. He brought the 30 pieces of silver back to the high priests and elders, ⁴ saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.”
But they replied, “What do we care? Attend to that yourself.” ⁵ Then he flung the pieces of silver into the sanctuary, went outside, ran away, and hanged himself.

⁵ When Ananias heard these words, he fell down and died. And great fear seized everyone who heard about it.

¹⁰ She instantly fell down at Peter’s feet and died. When the young men came in, they found her dead. So they carried her out and buried her next to her husband.

²⁰ But Peter told him, “May your money perish with you, because you thought you could obtain God’s free gift with money!

¹⁰ For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, in their eagerness to get rich, have wandered away from the faith and caused themselves a lot of pain.

³ In their greed they will exploit you with deceptive words. The ancient verdict against them is still in force, and their destruction is not delayed.