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18 When the child was older, he went out one day to his father with the reapers. 19 He said to his father, “My head, my head!”
And he said to a servant, “Carry him to his mother.” 20 When he had taken him and brought him to his mother, the boy sat on her knees until noon, and died. 21 She went up, and laid him down on the bed of the man of God, shut the door on him, and went out.
22 Then she called to her husband, “Send me one of the servants and one of the donkeys, so that I may run to the man of God and return.”
23 He said, “Why are you going to him today? It is neither New Moon nor Sabbath.”
She said, “It will be all right.”
24 Then she saddled the donkey and said to her servant, “Lead on, and do not hold back for me unless I tell you.” 25 So she went and came to the man of God at Mount Carmel.
And when the man of God saw her far off, he said to Gehazi his servant, “Look, over there is the Shunammite woman. 26 Now run to meet her, and say to her, Are you all right? Is your husband all right? Is the child all right?”
And she said, “It is all right.”
27 When she came to the man of God at the mountain, she grabbed his feet. Gehazi approached to push her away. But the man of God said, “Let her alone, for she is in bitter distress, and the Lord has hidden it from me and has not told me.”
28 Then she said, “Did I ask for a son from my lord? Did I not say, Do not give me false hope?”
29 Then he said to Gehazi, “Prepare yourself, take my staff in your hand, and go. If you find anyone, do not greet him, and if anyone greets you, do not answer him, and lay my staff on the face of the boy.”
30 Then the boy’s mother said, “As the Lord lives, and as you live, I will not leave without you.” And he got up and followed her.
31 Gehazi passed through ahead of them and laid the staff on the face of the boy, but there was no sound or response. So he returned to meet him and told him, “The boy is not awake.”
32 When Elisha came into the house, he saw that the boy was dead, lying on his bed. 33 So he went in, and shut the door on the two of them, and prayed to the Lord. 34 He went up and lay on the child, put his face on his face, and his eyes on his eyes, and his hands on his hands. Then he bent over the child, and the child’s flesh warmed. 35 Then he got down, walked once back and forth in the house, and went up, and bent over him; the boy sneezed seven times, and the boy opened his eyes.
36 Then Elisha called Gehazi and said, “Call the Shunammite woman.” So he called her, and she came to him. Then he said, “Pick up your son.” 37 Then she came in, fell at his feet, and bowed down to the ground. Then she picked up her son and went out.
Elisha Purifies the Deadly Stew
38 When Elisha returned to Gilgal, there was a famine in the land. The sons of the prophets were sitting before him, and he said to his servant, “Put on the big cooking pot, and boil some stew for the sons of the prophets.”
39 One went out into the field to gather herbs. He found a wild vine and gathered from it wild gourds, filling his clothes, and came and split them into the pot of stew, but they did not recognize them. 40 So they poured it out for the men to eat. But as they were eating the stew, they cried out, “Man of God, there is death in the pot.” They could not eat it.
41 But he said, “Then bring flour.” He threw it into the pot and said, “Pour it for the people and let them eat.” And there was nothing bad in the pot.
Elisha Feeds One Hundred Men
42 A man came from Baal Shalishah, and he brought the man of God food from the first fruits—twenty loaves of barley and fresh ears of grain—in his sack. And Elisha said, “Give it to the people and let them eat.”
43 But his servant said, “How can I set this before a hundred men?”
He said, “Give it to the people and let them eat, for thus says the Lord, ‘They will eat and have some left.’ ” 44 So he set it before them, they ate, and some was left over, according to the word of the Lord.
Naaman Healed of Leprosy
5 Now Naaman, captain of the army of the king of Aram, was a great man before his master and held favor because by him the Lord had given deliverance to Aram. He was also a mighty warrior, but he had leprosy.
2 The Arameans had gone out raiding and had taken captive a little girl from the land of Israel, and she waited on the wife of Naaman. 3 She said to her mistress, “If only my lord were before the prophet who is in Samaria! Then he would take away his leprosy from him.”
4 So Naaman went in and told his lord, “Thus and so spoke the girl from the land of Israel.” 5 The king of Aram said, “Go, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel.” So he went and took with him ten talents[a] of silver, six thousand shekels[b] of gold, and ten sets of clothes. 6 He brought the letter to the king of Israel, which read, “Now when this letter comes to you, know that I have sent Naaman my servant to you, that you may take away from him his leprosy.”
7 When the king of Israel had read the letter, he tore his clothes and said, “Am I God, to kill and to give life, that this man sends a man to me to take away his leprosy? But consider, and see how he is seeking a quarrel with me.”
8 But when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, he sent word to the king, saying, “Why have you torn your clothes? Let him come to me, and he will know that there is a prophet in Israel.” 9 So Naaman came with his horses and chariot and stood at the entrance to the house of Elisha. 10 Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, “Go and wash seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be returned and cleansed.”
11 But Naaman became angry and went away and said to himself, “Surely he could have come out, and stood and called on the name of the Lord his God, and waved his hand over the infected area, and taken away the leprosy. 12 Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?” So he turned and went away in a rage.
13 But his servants approached and spoke to him, “My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more when he said to you, ‘Wash and be clean’?” 14 So he went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, according to the word of the man of God, and his flesh returned like the flesh of a little boy, and he was clean.
15 Then he returned to the man of God, he and all his company. He came and stood before him, and he said, “Now I know that there is no God in all the land, except in Israel. Now take a gift from your servant.”
16 But he said, “As the Lord lives, before whom I stand, I will take no gift.” He urged him to take it, but he refused.
17 Then Naaman said, “If not, let two mule loads of dirt be given to your servant, for your servant will no longer offer a burnt offering or sacrifice to any god, except the Lord. 18 But may the Lord pardon your servant on one account: When my master enters the house of Rimmon to worship, and he leans on my hand, and I bow down in the house of Rimmon, when I do bow down in the house of Rimmon, may the Lord pardon your servant on this one account.”
19 He said to him, “Go in peace.” So he departed from him a short distance.
Gehazi’s Greed
20 Then Gehazi the servant of Elisha the man of God said, “My master has spared Naaman the Aramean by not taking from his hands what he brought. As the Lord lives, I will run after him and take something from him.”
21 So Gehazi pursued Naaman. Then Naaman saw him running after him, jumped down from the chariot to meet him, and said, “Is everything all right?”
22 And he said, “Everything is all right. My master has sent me and says, ‘Even now two servants from Ephraim, from the sons of the prophets, have come to me. Give them a talent[c] of silver and two changes of clothes.’ ”
23 Naaman said, “Please, take two talents.” He urged him and tied up two talents of silver in two bags with two changes of clothes and gave them to two of his servants, who carried them before Gehazi. 24 When he came to Ophel, he took them from their hand and put them away in the house. Then he sent the men away, and they departed.
25 Then he entered and stood before his master. And Elisha said to him, “Where have you come from, Gehazi?”
And he said, “Your servant went here and there.”
26 He said to him, “Did my heart not go with you when the man turned from his chariot to meet you? Is it a time to take money, and to take garments, olives and vineyards, sheep and oxen, male and female servants? 27 The leprosy of Naaman will cling to you and to your descendants forever.” So he went out from his presence, leprous like snow.
The Council in Jerusalem
15 Some men came down from Judea and were teaching the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised in the tradition of Moses, you cannot be saved.” 2 Therefore when Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and dispute with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas, and certain others among them, should go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and elders about this question. 3 So being sent on their way by the church, they passed through Phoenicia and Samaria, declaring the conversion of the Gentiles, and they brought great joy to all the brothers. 4 When they arrived in Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and the elders, and they declared what God had done through them.
5 Then some believers of the sect of the Pharisees rose up, saying, “It is necessary to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the Law of Moses.”
6 The apostles and elders assembled to consider this matter. 7 After much disputing, Peter rose up and said to them, “Brothers, you know that some time ago God decided among us, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe. 8 God, who knows the heart, approved of them, giving them the Holy Spirit just as He did to us, 9 and made no distinction between them and us, and purified their hearts by faith. 10 Now then, why test God by putting a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? 11 But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they.”
12 The entire assembly remained silent and listened to Barnabas and Paul declaring what signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles. 13 After they had become silent, James answered, “Brothers, listen to me. 14 Simon has declared how God first visited the Gentiles to take from among them a people for His name. 15 With this the words of the prophets agree. As it is written:
16 ‘After this I will return,
and I will rebuild the tabernacle of David, which has fallen;
I will rebuild its ruins,
and I will set it up;[a]
17 that the rest of men may seek the Lord,
and all the Gentiles who are called by My name,[b]
says the Lord who does all these things.’[c]
18 Known to God are all His works since the beginning of the world.
19 “Therefore my judgment is that we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who are turning to God, 20 but that we write to them to abstain from food offered to idols, from sexual immorality, from strangled animals, and from blood. 21 For Moses has had in every city since early generations those who preach him, being read in the synagogues every Sabbath.”
The Reply of the Council
22 Then it pleased the apostles and the elders, with the whole church, to send chosen men from among them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas, namely, Judas called Barsabas, and Silas, leading men among the brothers. 23 They wrote this letter by their hand:
The apostles and the elders and the brothers,
To the brothers who are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia:
Greetings.
24 Since we have heard that some of us, whom we did not commission, have gone out and have troubled you with words, unsettling your minds, saying, “You must be circumcised and keep the law,” 25 it seemed good to us, being assembled in unity, to send chosen men to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, 26 men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 27 Therefore we have sent Judas and Silas, who will also speak to you, saying the same things. 28 For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to put on you no greater burden than these necessary things: 29 Abstain from food offered to idols, from sexual immorality, from strangled animals, and from blood. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well.
Farewell.
30 So when they were dismissed, they went down to Antioch. And when they had assembled the congregation, they delivered the letter. 31 When they had read it, they rejoiced over the exhortation. 32 Judas and Silas, being prophets themselves, exhorted the brothers with many words and strengthened them. 33 After they had remained there for a time, they were sent off in peace by the brothers to the apostles. 34 But it seemed good to Silas to remain there. 35 And Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch, teaching and preaching the word of the Lord, with many others also.
Psalm 141
A Psalm of David.
1 Lord, I cry unto You; make haste to me;
give ear to my voice, when I cry unto You.
2 Let my prayer be set forth before You as incense,
and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.
3 Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth;
keep watch over the door of my lips.
4 Do not let my heart be drawn to any evil,
to practice wicked deeds
with men who do iniquity,
and do not let me eat of their delights.
5 Let the righteous man strike me;
it shall be a kindness.
Let him rebuke me;
it shall be oil for my head;
let my head not refuse it.
For my prayer is continually against their evil deeds.
6 When their judges are thrown to stony places,
then they shall hear my words, for they are sweet.
7 As when one plows to break up the land,
so our bones are scattered at the mouth of Sheol.
8 But my eyes are unto You, O God my Lord,
in You is my trust; do not leave my soul defenseless.
9 Keep me from the snares that they have laid for me,
and the traps of those who do iniquity.
10 Let the wicked fall into their own nets,
while I pass by and escape.
23 A wicked man takes a bribe out of a hidden place
to pervert the ways of judgment.
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.