Thursday, 09 May

1.   Then Elisha said, "Hear the word of the LORD. Thus says the LORD: ‘Tomorrow about this time a seah of fine flour shall be sold for a shekel, and two seahs of barley for a shekel, at the gate of Samaria.’" 2.   So an officer on whose hand the king leaned answered the man of God and said, "Look, if the LORD would make windows in heaven, could this thing be?" And he said, "In fact, you shall see it with your eyes, but you shall not eat of it." 3.   Now there were four leprous men at the entrance of the gate; and they said to one another, "Why are we sitting here until we die? 4.   "If we say, ‘We will enter the city,’ the famine is in the city, and we shall die there. And if we sit here, we die also. Now therefore, come, let us surrender to the army of the Syrians. If they keep us alive, we shall live; and if they kill us, we shall only die." 5.   And they rose at twilight to go to the camp of the Syrians; and when they had come to the outskirts of the Syrian camp, to their surprise no one was there. 6.   For the Lord had caused the army of the Syrians to hear the noise of chariots and the noise of horses––the noise of a great army; so they said to one another, "Look, the king of Israel has hired against us the kings of the Hittites and the kings of the Egyptians to attack us!" 7.   Therefore they arose and fled at twilight, and left the camp intact––their tents, their horses, and their donkeys––and they fled for their lives. 8.   And when these lepers came to the outskirts of the camp, they went into one tent and ate and drank, and carried from it silver and gold and clothing, and went and hid them ; then they came back and entered another tent, and carried some from there also , and went and hid it . 9.   Then they said to one another, "We are not doing right. This day is a day of good news, and we remain silent. If we wait until morning light, some punishment will come upon us. Now therefore, come, let us go and tell the king’s household." 10.   So they went and called to the gatekeepers of the city, and told them, saying, "We went to the Syrian camp, and surprisingly no one was there, not a human sound––only horses and donkeys tied, and the tents intact." 11.   And the gatekeepers called out, and they told it to the king’s household inside. 12.   So the king arose in the night and said to his servants, "Let me now tell you what the Syrians have done to us. They know that we are hungry; therefore they have gone out of the camp to hide themselves in the field, saying, ‘When they come out of the city, we shall catch them alive, and get into the city.’" 13.   And one of his servants answered and said, "Please, let several men take five of the remaining horses which are left in the city. Look, they may either become like all the multitude of Israel that are left in it; or indeed, I say , they may become like all the multitude of Israel left from those who are consumed; so let us send them and see." 14.   Therefore they took two chariots with horses; and the king sent them in the direction of the Syrian army, saying, "Go and see." 15.   And they went after them to the Jordan; and indeed all the road was full of garments and weapons which the Syrians had thrown away in their haste. So the messengers returned and told the king. 16.   Then the people went out and plundered the tents of the Syrians. So a seah of fine flour was sold for a shekel, and two seahs of barley for a shekel, according to the word of the LORD. 17.   Now the king had appointed the officer on whose hand he leaned to have charge of the gate. But the people trampled him in the gate, and he died, just as the man of God had said, who spoke when the king came down to him. 18.   So it happened just as the man of God had spoken to the king, saying, "Two seahs of barley for a shekel, and a seah of fine flour for a shekel, shall be sold tomorrow about this time in the gate of Samaria." 19.   Then that officer had answered the man of God, and said, "Now look, if the LORD would make windows in heaven, could such a thing be?" And he had said, "In fact, you shall see it with your eyes, but you shall not eat of it." 20.   And so it happened to him, for the people trampled him in the gate, and he died.

1.   Then Elisha spoke to the woman whose son he had restored to life, saying, "Arise and go, you and your household, and stay wherever you can; for the LORD has called for a famine, and furthermore, it will come upon the land for seven years." 2.   So the woman arose and did according to the saying of the man of God, and she went with her household and dwelt in the land of the Philistines seven years. 3.   It came to pass, at the end of seven years, that the woman returned from the land of the Philistines; and she went to make an appeal to the king for her house and for her land. 4.   Then the king talked with Gehazi, the servant of the man of God, saying, "Tell me, please, all the great things Elisha has done." 5.   Now it happened, as he was telling the king how he had restored the dead to life, that there was the woman whose son he had restored to life, appealing to the king for her house and for her land. And Gehazi said, "My lord, O king, this is the woman, and this is her son whom Elisha restored to life." 6.   And when the king asked the woman, she told him. So the king appointed a certain officer for her, saying, "Restore all that was hers, and all the proceeds of the field from the day that she left the land until now." 7.   Then Elisha went to Damascus, and Ben–Hadad king of Syria was sick; and it was told him, saying, "The man of God has come here." 8.   And the king said to Hazael, "Take a present in your hand, and go to meet the man of God, and inquire of the LORD by him, saying, ‘Shall I recover from this disease?’" 9.   So Hazael went to meet him and took a present with him, of every good thing of Damascus, forty camel–loads; and he came and stood before him, and said, "Your son Ben–Hadad king of Syria has sent me to you, saying, ‘Shall I recover from this disease?’" 10.   And Elisha said to him, "Go, say to him, ‘You shall certainly recover.’ However the LORD has shown me that he will really die." 11.   Then he set his countenance in a stare until he was ashamed; and the man of God wept. 12.   And Hazael said, "Why is my lord weeping?" He answered, "Because I know the evil that you will do to the children of Israel: Their strongholds you will set on fire, and their young men you will kill with the sword; and you will dash their children, and rip open their women with child." 13.   So Hazael said, "But what is your servant––a dog, that he should do this gross thing?" And Elisha answered, "The LORD has shown me that you will become king over Syria." 14.   Then he departed from Elisha, and came to his master, who said to him, "What did Elisha say to you?" And he answered, "He told me you would surely recover." 15.   But it happened on the next day that he took a thick cloth and dipped it in water, and spread it over his face so that he died; and Hazael reigned in his place. 16.   Now in the fifth year of Joram the son of Ahab, king of Israel, Jehoshaphat having been king of Judah, Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat began to reign as king of Judah. 17.   He was thirty–two years old when he became king, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. 18.   And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, just as the house of Ahab had done, for the daughter of Ahab was his wife; and he did evil in the sight of the LORD. 19.   Yet the LORD would not destroy Judah, for the sake of his servant David, as He promised him to give a lamp to him and his sons forever. 20.   In his days Edom revolted against Judah’s authority, and made a king over themselves. 21.   So Joram went to Zair, and all his chariots with him. Then he rose by night and attacked the Edomites who had surrounded him and the captains of the chariots; and the troops fled to their tents. 22.   Thus Edom has been in revolt against Judah’s authority to this day. And Libnah revolted at that time. 23.   Now the rest of the acts of Joram, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? 24.   So Joram rested with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the City of David. Then Ahaziah his son reigned in his place. 25.   In the twelfth year of Joram the son of Ahab, king of Israel, Ahaziah the son of Jehoram, king of Judah, began to reign. 26.   Ahaziah was twenty–two years old when he became king, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Athaliah the granddaughter of Omri, king of Israel. 27.   And he walked in the way of the house of Ahab, and did evil in the sight of the LORD, like the house of Ahab, for he was the son–in–law of the house of Ahab. 28.   Now he went with Joram the son of Ahab to war against Hazael king of Syria at Ramoth Gilead; and the Syrians wounded Joram. 29.   Then King Joram went back to Jezreel to recover from the wounds which the Syrians had inflicted on him at Ramah, when he fought against Hazael king of Syria. And Ahaziah the son of Jehoram, king of Judah, went down to see Joram the son of Ahab in Jezreel, because he was sick.

1.   And Elisha the prophet called one of the sons of the prophets, and said to him, "Get yourself ready, take this flask of oil in your hand, and go to Ramoth Gilead. 2.   "Now when you arrive at that place, look there for Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat, the son of Nimshi, and go in and make him rise up from among his associates, and take him to an inner room. 3.   "Then take the flask of oil, and pour it on his head, and say, ‘Thus says the LORD: "I have anointed you king over Israel."’ Then open the door and flee, and do not delay." 4.   So the young man, the servant of the prophet, went to Ramoth Gilead. 5.   And when he arrived, there were the captains of the army sitting; and he said, "I have a message for you, Commander." Jehu said, "For which one of us?" And he said, "For you, Commander." 6.   Then he arose and went into the house. And he poured the oil on his head, and said to him, "Thus says the LORD God of Israel: ‘I have anointed you king over the people of the LORD, over Israel. 7.   ‘You shall strike down the house of Ahab your master, that I may avenge the blood of My servants the prophets, and the blood of all the servants of the LORD, at the hand of Jezebel. 8.   ‘For the whole house of Ahab shall perish; and I will cut off from Ahab all the males in Israel, both bond and free. 9.   ‘So I will make the house of Ahab like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah. 10.   ‘The dogs shall eat Jezebel on the plot of ground at Jezreel, and there shall be none to bury her .’" And he opened the door and fled. 11.   Then Jehu came out to the servants of his master, and one said to him, " Is all well? Why did this madman come to you?" And he said to them, "You know the man and his babble." 12.   And they said, "A lie! Tell us now." So he said, "Thus and thus he spoke to me, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD: "I have anointed you king over Israel."’" 13.   Then each man hastened to take his garment and put it under him on the top of the steps; and they blew trumpets, saying, "Jehu is king!" 14.   So Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat, the son of Nimshi, conspired against Joram. (Now Joram had been defending Ramoth Gilead, he and all Israel, against Hazael king of Syria. 15.   But King Joram had returned to Jezreel to recover from the wounds which the Syrians had inflicted on him when he fought with Hazael king of Syria.) And Jehu said, "If you are so minded, let no one leave or escape from the city to go and tell it in Jezreel." 16.   So Jehu rode in a chariot and went to Jezreel, for Joram was laid up there; and Ahaziah king of Judah had come down to see Joram. 17.   Now a watchman stood on the tower in Jezreel, and he saw the company of Jehu as he came, and said, "I see a company of men." And Joram said, "Get a horseman and send him to meet them, and let him say, ‘ Is it peace?’" 18.   So the horseman went to meet him, and said, "Thus says the king: ‘ Is it peace?’" And Jehu said, "What have you to do with peace? Turn around and follow me." So the watchman reported, saying, "The messenger went to them, but is not coming back." 19.   Then he sent out a second horseman who came to them, and said, "Thus says the king: ‘ Is it peace?’" And Jehu answered, "What have you to do with peace? Turn around and follow me." 20.   So the watchman reported, saying, "He went up to them and is not coming back; and the driving is like the driving of Jehu the son of Nimshi, for he drives furiously!" 21.   Then Joram said, "Make ready." And his chariot was made ready. Then Joram king of Israel and Ahaziah king of Judah went out, each in his chariot; and they went out to meet Jehu, and met him on the property of Naboth the Jezreelite. 22.   Now it happened, when Joram saw Jehu, that he said, " Is it peace, Jehu?" So he answered, "What peace, as long as the harlotries of your mother Jezebel and her witchcraft are so many?" 23.   Then Joram turned around and fled, and said to Ahaziah, "Treachery, Ahaziah!" 24.   Now Jehu drew his bow with full strength and shot Jehoram between his arms; and the arrow came out at his heart, and he sank down in his chariot. 25.   Then Jehu said to Bidkar his captain, "Pick him up, and throw him into the tract of the field of Naboth the Jezreelite; for remember, when you and I were riding together behind Ahab his father, that the LORD laid this burden upon him: 26.   ‘Surely I saw yesterday the blood of Naboth and the blood of his sons,’ says the LORD, ‘and I will repay you in this plot,’ says the LORD. Now therefore, take and throw him on the plot of ground , according to the word of the LORD." 27.   But when Ahaziah king of Judah saw this , he fled by the road to Beth Haggan. So Jehu pursued him, and said, "Shoot him also in the chariot." And they shot him at the Ascent of Gur, which is by Ibleam. Then he fled to Megiddo, and died there. 28.   And his servants carried him in the chariot to Jerusalem, and buried him in his tomb with his fathers in the City of David. 29.   In the eleventh year of Joram the son of Ahab, Ahaziah had become king over Judah. 30.   Now when Jehu had come to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it ; and she put paint on her eyes and adorned her head, and looked through a window. 31.   Then, as Jehu entered at the gate, she said, " Is it peace, Zimri, murderer of your master?" 32.   And he looked up at the window, and said, "Who is on my side? Who?" So two or three eunuchs looked out at him. 33.   Then he said, "Throw her down." So they threw her down, and some of her blood spattered on the wall and on the horses; and he trampled her underfoot. 34.   And when he had gone in, he ate and drank. Then he said, "Go now, see to this accursed woman , and bury her, for she was a king’s daughter." 35.   So they went to bury her, but they found no more of her than the skull and the feet and the palms of her hands. 36.   Therefore they came back and told him. And he said, "This is the word of the LORD, which He spoke by His servant Elijah the Tishbite, saying, ‘On the plot of ground at Jezreel dogs shall eat the flesh of Jezebel; 37.   ‘and the corpse of Jezebel shall be as refuse on the surface of the field, in the plot at Jezreel, so that they shall not say, "Here lies Jezebel."’"

1.   Pursue love, and desire spiritual gifts , but especially that you may prophesy. 2.   For he who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God, for no one understands him ; however, in the spirit he speaks mysteries. 3.   But he who prophesies speaks edification and exhortation and comfort to men. 4.   He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church. 5.   I wish you all spoke with tongues, but even more that you prophesied; for he who prophesies is greater than he who speaks with tongues, unless indeed he interprets, that the church may receive edification. 6.   But now, brethren, if I come to you speaking with tongues, what shall I profit you unless I speak to you either by revelation, by knowledge, by prophesying, or by teaching? 7.   Even things without life, whether flute or harp, when they make a sound, unless they make a distinction in the sounds, how will it be known what is piped or played? 8.   For if the trumpet makes an uncertain sound, who will prepare himself for battle? 9.   So likewise you, unless you utter by the tongue words easy to understand, how will it be known what is spoken? For you will be speaking into the air. 10.   There are, it may be, so many kinds of languages in the world, and none of them is without significance. 11.   Therefore, if I do not know the meaning of the language, I shall be a foreigner to him who speaks, and he who speaks will be a foreigner to me. 12.   Even so you, since you are zealous for spiritual gifts, let it be for the edification of the church that you seek to excel. 13.   Therefore let him who speaks in a tongue pray that he may interpret. 14.   For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my understanding is unfruitful. 15.   What is the conclusion then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will also pray with the understanding. I will sing with the spirit, and I will also sing with the understanding. 16.   Otherwise, if you bless with the spirit, how will he who occupies the place of the uninformed say "Amen" at your giving of thanks, since he does not understand what you say? 17.   For you indeed give thanks well, but the other is not edified. 18.   I thank my God I speak with tongues more than you all; 19.   yet in the church I would rather speak five words with my understanding, that I may teach others also, than ten thousand words in a tongue.