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The Axe Head Floats
6 And (A)the sons of the prophets said to Elisha, “Behold now, the place before you where we are living is too limited for us. 2 Please let us go to the Jordan and each of us take from there a beam, and let us make a place there for ourselves where we may live.” So he said, “Go.” 3 Then one said, “Please be willing to go with your servants.” And he [a]answered, “I shall go.” 4 So he went with them; and they came to the Jordan and cut down trees. 5 Now it happened that as one was felling a beam, [b]the axe head fell into the water; and he cried out and said, “Alas, my master! For it was borrowed.” 6 Then the man of God said, “Where did it fall?” And when he showed him the place, (B)he cut off a stick and threw it in there and made the iron float. 7 And he said, “Take it up for yourself.” So he sent forth his hand and took it.
Horses and Chariots of Fire Around Elisha
8 Now the king of Aram was warring against Israel; and he [c]counseled with his servants saying, “In such and such a place shall be my camp.” 9 (C)And the man of God sent word to the king of Israel saying, “Beware that you do not pass this place, for the Arameans are coming down there.” 10 And the king of Israel sent to the place about which the man of God had told him; thus he warned him, so that he guarded himself there, [d]more than once or twice.
11 Then the heart of the king of Aram was enraged over this thing; and he called his servants and said to them, “Will you not tell me which of us is for the king of Israel?” 12 And one of his servants said, “No, my lord, O king; but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the words that you speak in your bedroom.” 13 So he said, “Go and see where he is, that I may send and take him.” And it was told to him, saying, “Behold, he is in (D)Dothan.” 14 So he sent horses and chariots and a heavy military force there, and they came by night and surrounded the city.
15 Then the attendant of the man of God arose early and went out, and behold, a military force with horses and chariots was all around the city. And his young man said to him, “Alas, my master! [e]What shall we do?” 16 So he said, “(E)Do not fear, for (F)those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” 17 Then Elisha prayed and said, “(G)O Yahweh, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.” And Yahweh opened the eyes of the young man and he saw; and behold, the mountain was full of (H)horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. 18 And they came down to him, and Elisha prayed to Yahweh and said, “Strike this [f]people with blindness, I pray.” So He (I)struck them with blindness according to the word of Elisha. 19 Then Elisha said to them, “This is not the way, and this is not the city; walk after me and I will walk you over to the man whom you seek.” And he walked them over to Samaria.
20 Now it happened that when they had come into Samaria, Elisha said, “O (J)Yahweh, open the eyes of these men, that they may see.” So Yahweh opened their eyes and they saw; and behold, they were in the midst of Samaria. 21 Then the king of Israel when he saw them, said to Elisha, “(K)My father, shall I strike them down? Shall I strike them down?” 22 And he said, “You shall not strike them down. Would you (L)strike down those you have taken captive with your sword and with your bow? (M)Set bread and water before them, that they may eat and drink and walk back to their master.” 23 So he prepared a great feast for them; and when they had eaten and drunk, he sent them away, and they went to their master. And (N)the marauding bands of Arameans did not come again into the land of Israel.
Aram’s Siege of Samaria
24 Now it happened afterwards, that (O)Ben-hadad king of Aram gathered all his military camp and went up and besieged Samaria. 25 Now there was a great (P)famine in Samaria. And behold, they besieged it, until a donkey’s head was sold for [g]eighty shekels of silver, and a fourth of a [h]kab of dove’s dung for five shekels of silver. 26 As the king of Israel was passing by on the wall, a woman cried out to him, saying, “Save, my lord, O king!” 27 He said, “[i]If Yahweh does not save you, from where shall I save you? From the threshing floor, or from the wine press?” 28 And the king said to her, “(Q)What [j]is the matter with you?” And she said, “This woman said to me, ‘Give your son that we may eat him today, and we will eat my son tomorrow.’ 29 (R)So we boiled my son and ate him; and I said to her on the next day, ‘Give your son, that we may eat him’; but she has hidden her son.” 30 Now it happened that when the king heard the words of the woman, (S)he tore his clothes—now he was passing by on the wall—and the people looked, and behold, he had sackcloth [k]beneath on his [l]body. 31 Then he said, “May (T)God do so to me and more also, if the head of Elisha the son of Shaphat [m]remains on him today.”
Flour and Barley in Samaria
32 Now Elisha was sitting in his house, and (U)the elders were sitting with him. And the king sent a man from his presence; but before the messenger came to him, he said to the elders, “Do you (V)see how this son of a murderer has sent to take away my head? Look, when the messenger comes, shut the door and [n]hold the door shut against him. Is not the sound of his master’s feet behind him?” 33 While he was still speaking with them, behold, the messenger came down to him and he said, “(W)Behold, this evil is from Yahweh; why should I wait for Yahweh any longer?”
7 Then Elisha said, “Listen to the word of Yahweh; thus says Yahweh, ‘(X)About this time tomorrow a [o]seah of fine flour will be sold for a [p]shekel, and two [q]seahs of barley for a [r]shekel, in the gate of Samaria.’” 2 (Y)And the royal officer on whose hand the king was leaning answered the man of God and said, “Behold, (Z)if Yahweh should make windows in heaven, could this thing be?” Then he said, “Behold, you will see it with your own eyes, but you will not eat [s]of it.”
Lepers Report the Arameans’ Flight
3 Now there were four (AA)leprous men at the entrance of the gate; and they said to one another, “Why do we sit here until we die? 4 If we say, ‘We will enter the city,’ then the famine is in the city and we will die there; and if we sit here, we die also. So now come, and let us [t]go over to (AB)the camp of the Arameans. If they spare us, we will live; and if they put us to death, we will die.” 5 So they arose at twilight to go to the camp of the Arameans. Then they came to the outskirts of the camp of the Arameans, but behold, there was no one there. 6 Now (AC)the Lord had caused the camp of the Arameans to hear a sound of chariots and a sound of horses, even the sound of a great military force, so that they said to one another, “Behold, the king of Israel has hired against us (AD)the kings of the Hittites and (AE)the kings of the Egyptians, to come upon us.” 7 Therefore they (AF)arose and fled in the twilight, and forsook their tents and their horses and their donkeys, even the camp just as it was, and fled for their life. 8 So these lepers came to the outskirts of the camp and entered one tent and ate and drank. Then they (AG)carried from there silver and gold and clothes, and they went and hid them; and they returned and entered another tent and carried from there also and went and hid them.
9 Then they said to one another, “We are not doing right. This day is a day of good news, but we are keeping silent; if we wait until morning light, punishment will [u]overtake us. So now, come, let us go and tell the king’s household.” 10 So they came and called to the gatekeepers of the city, and they told them, saying, “We came to the camp of the Arameans, and behold, there was no one there, nor the voice of man, only the horses tied and the donkeys tied, and the tents just as they were.” 11 And the gatekeepers called and told it within the king’s household. 12 Then the king arose in the night and said to his servants, “I will now tell you what the Arameans have done to us. They know that (AH)we are hungry; therefore they have gone from the camp (AI)to hide themselves in the field, saying, ‘When they come out of the city, we will capture them alive and get into the city.’” 13 And one of his servants answered and said, “Please, let some men take five of the remaining horses, which remain [v]in the city. Behold, they will be in any case like all the multitude of Israel who remain in it; behold, they will be in any case like all the multitude of Israel who have already come to an end, so let us send and see.” 14 They took therefore two chariots with horses, and the king sent after the camp of the Arameans, saying, “Go and see.”
Plundering the Arameans
15 Then they went after them to the Jordan, and behold, all the way was full of clothes and equipment which the Arameans had thrown away in their haste. Then the messengers returned and told the king.
16 So the people went out and plundered the camp of the Arameans. Then a [w]seah of fine flour was sold for a shekel and two [x]seahs of barley for a shekel, (AJ)according to the word of Yahweh. 17 Now the king appointed (AK)the royal officer on whose hand he leaned [y]to have charge of the gate; but the people trampled on him at the gate, and he died just as the man of God had spoken, (AL)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, “(AM)Two [z]seahs of barley for a shekel and a [aa]seah of fine flour for a shekel will be sold tomorrow about this time at the gate of Samaria.” 19 And the royal officer had answered the man of God and said, “Now behold, (AN)if Yahweh should make windows in heaven, could such a thing be?” And he had said, “Behold, you will see it with your own eyes, but you will not eat [ab]of it.” 20 And so it happened to him, for the people trampled on him at the gate and he died.
Disagreement Between Paul and Barnabas
36 Now after some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us return and visit the brothers in (A)every city in which we proclaimed (B)the word of the Lord, and see how they are.” 37 And Barnabas wanted to take (C)John, called Mark, along with them also. 38 But Paul kept insisting that they should not take him along who had (D)deserted them [a]in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work. 39 And there was such a sharp disagreement that they separated from one another, and Barnabas took (E)Mark with him and sailed away to (F)Cyprus. 40 But Paul chose (G)Silas and left, being (H)committed by the brothers to the grace of the Lord. 41 And he was traveling through (I)Syria and (J)Cilicia, strengthening the churches.
Timothy Joins Paul and Silas
16 Now Paul also arrived at (K)Derbe and at (L)Lystra. And behold, a disciple was there, named (M)Timothy, the son of a (N)Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek, 2 and he was well spoken of by (O)the brothers who were in (P)Lystra and (Q)Iconium. 3 Paul wanted this man to [b]go with him, and he (R)took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those parts, for they all knew that his father was a Greek. 4 Now while they were passing through the cities, they were delivering (S)the decrees which had been decided upon by (T)the apostles and (U)elders who were in Jerusalem, for them to keep. 5 So (V)the churches were being strengthened [c]in the faith, and were (W)abounding in number daily.
The Macedonian Vision
6 And they passed through the [d](X)Phrygian and (Y)Galatian region, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in [e](Z)Asia; 7 and after they came to (AA)Mysia, they were trying to go into (AB)Bithynia, and the (AC)Spirit of Jesus did not permit them; 8 and passing by (AD)Mysia, they came down to (AE)Troas. 9 (AF)And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of (AG)Macedonia was standing and appealing to him, and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” 10 And when he had seen (AH)the vision, immediately (AI)we sought to [f]go into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to (AJ)proclaim the gospel to them.
Lydia’s Conversion in Philippi
11 So setting sail from (AK)Troas, we ran (AL)a straight course to Samothrace, and on the day following to Neapolis; 12 and from there to (AM)Philippi, which is a leading city of the district of (AN)Macedonia, (AO)a Roman colony; and we were staying in this city for some days. 13 And on (AP)the Sabbath day we went outside the gate to a riverside, where we were supposing that there would be a place of prayer; and sitting down, we began speaking to the women who had assembled. 14 And a woman named Lydia, from the city of (AQ)Thyatira, a seller of purple fabrics, (AR)a worshiper of God, was listening, whose heart the Lord (AS)opened to pay attention to the things spoken by Paul. 15 And when she and (AT)her household had been baptized, she urged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house and stay.” And she prevailed upon us.
Give Heed to My Cry
A [a]Maskil of David. When he was [b]in the cave. A Prayer.
142 With my voice to Yahweh, I (A)cry aloud;
With my voice to Yahweh, I (B)make supplication.
2 I (C)pour out my complaint before Him;
I declare my (D)distress before Him.
3 When (E)my spirit [c]was faint within me,
You knew my path.
In the way where I walk
They have (F)hidden a trap for me.
4 Look to the right and see;
That there is (G)no one who regards me;
(H)A way of escape has been destroyed from me;
(I)No one cares for my soul.
5 I cried out to You, O Yahweh;
I said, “You are (J)my refuge,
My (K)portion in the (L)land of the living.
6 (M)Give heed to my cry of lamentation,
For I am (N)brought very low;
Deliver me from my persecutors,
For they are too (O)strong for me.
7 (P)Bring my soul out of prison,
To give thanks to Your name;
The righteous will encircle me,
For You will (Q)deal bountifully with me.”
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