The Daily Audio Bible
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8 Now Elisha had said to the woman whose son he had restored to life, Arise and go with your household and sojourn wherever you can, for the Lord has called for a famine, and moreover, it will come upon the land for seven years.
2 So the woman arose and did as the man of God had said. She went with her household and sojourned in the land of the Philistines seven years.
3 At the end of the seven years the woman returned from the land of the Philistines, and she went to appeal to the king for her house and land.
4 The king talked with Gehazi, the servant of the man of God, saying, Tell me all the great things Elisha has done.
5 And as Gehazi was telling the king how [Elisha] had restored the dead to life, behold, the woman whose son he had restored to life appealed to the king for her house and land. And Gehazi said, My lord O king, this is the woman, and this is her son whom Elisha brought back to life.
6 When the king asked the woman, she told him. So the king appointed to her a certain officer, saying, Restore all that was hers, and all the fruits of the field since the day that she left the land even until now.
7 Elisha came to Damascus, and Ben-hadad king of Syria was sick; and he was told, The man of God has come here.
8 And the king said to Hazael, Take a present in your hand and go 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 Elisha and took a present with him of every good thing of Damascus, forty camel loads, and came and stood before him and said, Your son Ben-hadad king of Syria has sent me to you, asking, Shall I recover from this disease?
10 And Elisha said, Go, say to him, You shall certainly recover; but the Lord has shown me that he shall certainly die.
11 Elisha stared steadily at him until Hazael was embarrassed. And the man of God wept.
12 And Hazael said, Why do you weep, my lord? He answered, Because I know the evil that you will do to the Israelites. You will burn their strongholds, slay their young men with the sword, dash their infants in pieces, and rip up their pregnant women.
13 And Hazael said, What is your servant, only a dog, that he should do this monstrous thing? And Elisha answered, The Lord has shown me that you will be king over Syria.
14 Then [Hazael] 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 the next day Hazael took the bedspread and dipped it in water and spread it on [the Syrian king’s] face, so that he died. And Hazael reigned in his stead.
16 In the fifth year of Joram son of Ahab king of Israel, Jehoshaphat being then king of Judah, Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah began to reign.
17 He was thirty-two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem.
18 He walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, as did the house of Ahab, for [Athaliah] the daughter of Ahab was his wife. He did evil in the sight of the Lord.
19 Yet, for David His servant’s sake, the Lord would not destroy Judah, for He promised to give him and his sons a lamp forever.
20 In his days, Edom revolted from the rule of Judah and set up a king over themselves.
21 So Jehoram [of Judah] went over to Zair with all his chariots. He and his chariot commanders rose up by night and slew the Edomites who had surrounded them; and [escaping] his army fled home.
22 So Edom revolted from the rule of Judah to this day. Then Libnah revolted at the same time.
23 The rest of the acts of Jehoram, and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?
24 Jehoram slept with his fathers and was buried with [them] in the City of David. Ahaziah his son reigned in his stead.
25 In the twelfth year of Joram son of Ahab king of Israel, Ahaziah son of Jehoram king of Judah began to reign.
26 Ahaziah was twenty-two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Athaliah, the granddaughter of Omri king of Israel.
27 He walked in the ways of the house of Ahab and did evil in the sight of the Lord, as did the house of Ahab, for his father was son-in-law of Ahab.
28 Ahaziah went with Joram son of Ahab to war against Hazael king of Syria in Ramoth-gilead; and the Syrians wounded Joram.
29 King Joram returned to Jezreel to be healed of the wounds which the Syrians had given him at Ramah when he fought against Hazael king of Syria. And Ahaziah son of Jehoram king of Judah went down to see Joram son of Ahab in Jezreel, because he was sick.
9 And Elisha the prophet called one of the sons of the prophets and said to him, Gird up your loins, take this flask of oil in your hand, and go to Ramoth-gilead.
2 When you arrive, look there for Jehu son of Jehoshaphat son of Nimshi; and go in and have him arise from among his brethren and lead him to an inner chamber.
3 Then take the cruse 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; do not tarry.
4 So the young man, the young prophet, went to Ramoth-gilead.
5 And when he came, the captains of the army were sitting outside; and he said, I have a message for you, O captain. Jehu said, To which of us? And he said, To you, O captain.
6 And Jehu arose, and they went into the house. And the prophet poured the oil on Jehu’s head and said to him, Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: I have anointed you king over the people of the Lord, even 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 of all the servants of the Lord [who have died] at the hands of Jezebel.
8 For the whole house of Ahab shall perish, and I will cut off from Ahab every male, bond or free, in Israel.
9 I will make the house of Ahab like the house of Jeroboam son of Nebat and like the house of Baasha son of Ahijah.(A)
10 And the dogs shall eat Jezebel in the portion of Jezreel, and none shall bury her. And he opened the door and fled. [Fulfilled in II Kings 9:33-37.]
11 When Jehu came out to the servants of his master, one said to him, Is all well? Why did this mad fellow come to you? And he said to them, You know that class of man and what he would say.
12 And they said, That is false; tell us now. And he said, Thus and thus he spoke to me, saying, Thus says the Lord: I have anointed you king over Israel.
13 Then they hastily took every man his garment and put it [for a cushion] under Jehu on the top of the [outside] stairs, and blew with trumpets, saying, Jehu is king!
16 As we were on our way to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who was possessed by a spirit of divination [claiming to foretell future events and to discover hidden knowledge], and she brought her owners much gain by her fortunetelling.
17 She kept following Paul and [the rest of] us, shouting loudly, These men are the servants of the Most High God! They announce to you the way of salvation!
18 And she did this for many days. Then Paul, being sorely annoyed and worn out, turned and said to the spirit within her, I charge you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her! And it came out that very [a]moment.
19 But when her owners discovered that their hope of profit was gone, they caught hold of Paul and Silas and dragged them before the authorities in the forum (marketplace), [where trials are held].
20 And when they had brought them before the magistrates, they declared, These fellows are Jews and they are throwing our city into great confusion.
21 They encourage the practice of customs which it is unlawful for us Romans to accept or observe!
22 The crowd [also] joined in the attack upon them, and the rulers tore the clothes off of them and commanded that they be beaten with rods.
23 And when they had struck them with many blows, they threw them into prison, charging the jailer to keep them safely.
24 He, having received [so strict a] charge, put them into the inner prison (the dungeon) and fastened their feet in the stocks.
25 But about midnight, as Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God, and the [other] prisoners were listening to them,
26 Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the very foundations of the prison were shaken; and at once all the doors were opened and everyone’s shackles were unfastened.
27 When the jailer, startled out of his sleep, saw that the prison doors were open, he drew his sword and was on the point of killing himself, because he supposed that the prisoners had escaped.
28 But Paul shouted, Do not harm yourself, for we are all here!
29 Then [the jailer] called for lights and rushed in, and trembling and terrified he fell down before Paul and Silas.
30 And he brought them out [of the dungeon] and said, Men, what is it necessary for me to do that I may be saved?
31 And they answered, Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ [[b]give yourself up to Him, [c] take yourself out of your own keeping and entrust yourself into His keeping] and you will be saved, [and this applies both to] you and your household as well.
32 And they declared the Word of the Lord [the doctrine concerning the [d]attainment through Christ of eternal salvation in the kingdom of God] to him and to all who were in his house.
33 And he took them the same hour of the night and [e]bathed [them because of their bloody] wounds, and he was baptized immediately and all [the members of] his [household].
34 Then he took them up into his house and set food before them; and he [f]leaped much for joy and exulted with all his family that he believed in God [accepting and joyously welcoming what He had made known through Christ].
35 But when it was day, the magistrates sent policemen, saying, Release those fellows and let them go.
36 And the jailer repeated the words to Paul, saying, The magistrates have sent to release you and let you go; now therefore come out and go in peace.
37 But Paul answered them, They have beaten us openly and publicly, without a trial and uncondemned, men who are Roman citizens, and have thrown us into prison; and do they now thrust us out secretly? No, indeed! Let them come here themselves and conduct us out!
38 The police reported this message to the magistrates, and they were frightened when they heard that the prisoners were Roman citizens;
39 So they came themselves and [striving to appease them by entreaty] apologized to them. And they brought them out and asked them to leave the city.
40 So [Paul and Silas] left the prison and went to Lydia’s house; and when they had seen the brethren, they warned and urged and consoled and encouraged them and departed.
Psalm 143
A Psalm of David.
1 Hear my prayer, O Lord, give ear to my supplications! In Your faithfulness answer me, and in Your righteousness.
2 And enter not into judgment with Your servant, for in Your sight no man living is [in himself] righteous or justified.(A)
3 For the enemy has pursued and persecuted my soul, he has crushed my life down to the ground; he has made me to dwell in dark places as those who have been long dead.
4 Therefore is my spirit overwhelmed and faints within me [wrapped in gloom]; my heart within my bosom grows numb.
5 I remember the days of old; I meditate on all Your doings; I ponder the work of Your hands.
6 I spread forth my hands to You; my soul thirsts after You like a thirsty land [for water]. Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!
7 Answer me speedily, O Lord, for my spirit fails; hide not Your face from me, lest I become like those who go down into the pit (the grave).
8 Cause me to hear Your loving-kindness in the morning, for on You do I lean and in You do I trust. Cause me to know the way wherein I should walk, for I lift up my inner self to You.
9 Deliver me, O Lord, from my enemies; I flee to You to hide me.
10 Teach me to do Your will, for You are my God; let Your good Spirit lead me into a level country and into the land of uprightness.
11 Save my life, O Lord, for Your name’s sake; in Your righteousness, bring my life out of trouble and free me from distress.
12 And in your mercy and loving-kindness, cut off my enemies and destroy all those who afflict my inner self, for I am Your servant.
26 Also, to punish or fine the righteous is not good, nor to smite the noble for their uprightness.
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