2 Kings 7 - 8 - Legacy Standard Bible

2 Kings 7 - 8

Then Elisha said, “Listen to the word of Yahweh; thus says Yahweh, ‘About this time tomorrow a seah of fine flour will be sold for a shekel, and two seahs of barley for a shekel, in the gate of Samaria.’” 2 And the royal officer on whose hand the king was leaning answered the man of God and said, “Behold, 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 of it.”

Lepers Report the Arameans’ Flight

3 Now there were four 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 go over to 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 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 the kings of the Hittites and the kings of the Egyptians, to come upon us.” 7 Therefore they 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 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 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 we are hungry; therefore they have gone from the camp 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 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 seah of fine flour was sold for a shekel and two seahs of barley for a shekel, according to the word of Yahweh. 17 Now the king appointed the royal officer on whose hand he leaned 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, 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 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, 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 of it.” 20 And so it happened to him, for the people trampled on him at the gate and he died.

Jehoram Restores the Shunammite’s Land

Now Elisha spoke to the woman whose son he had restored to life, saying, “Arise and go with your household, and sojourn wherever you can sojourn; for Yahweh has called for a famine, and it will even come on the land for seven years.” 2 So the woman arose and did according to the word of the man of God, and she went with her household and sojourned in the land of the Philistines seven years. 3 Now it happened at the end of seven years, that the woman returned from the land of the Philistines; and she went out to cry out to the king for her house and for her field. 4 Now the king was speaking with Gehazi, the young man of the man of God, saying, “Please recount to me all the great things that Elisha has done.” 5 Now it happened as he was recounting to the king how he had restored to life the one who was dead, that behold, the woman whose son he had restored to life was crying out to the king for her house and for her field. And Gehazi said, “My lord, O king, this is the woman, and this is her son, whom Elisha restored to life.” 6 Then the king asked the woman, and she recounted it to him. So the king appointed for her a certain officer, saying, “Restore all that was hers and all the produce of the field from the day that she left the land even until now.”

Elisha Weeps over Hazael’s Evil

7 Then Elisha came to Damascus. Now Ben-hadad king of Aram was sick, and it was told to 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 Yahweh by him, saying, ‘Will I be restored to life from this sickness?’” 9 So Hazael went to meet him and took a present in his hand, even every kind of good thing of Damascus, forty camels’ loads; and he came and stood before him and said, “Your son Ben-hadad king of Aram has sent me to you, saying, ‘Will I be restored to life from this sickness?’” 10 Then Elisha said to him, “Go, say to him, ‘You will surely be restored to life,’ but Yahweh has shown me that he will certainly die.” 11 And he fixed his gaze steadily on him until he was ashamed, and the man of God wept. 12 Then Hazael said, “Why does my lord weep?” Then he said, “Because I know the evil that you will do to the sons of Israel: their fortifications you will set on fire, and their young men you will kill with the sword, and their infants you will dash in pieces, and their pregnant women you will rip up.” 13 Then Hazael said, “But what is your servant, who is but a dog, that he should do this great thing?” And Elisha answered, “Yahweh has shown me that you will be king over Aram.” 14 So he went from Elisha and came to his master. And he said to him, “What did Elisha say to you?” And he said, “He said to me that you would surely be restored to life.” 15 Now it happened that on the following day, he took the cover and dipped it in water and spread it on his face; so he died. And Hazael became king in his place.

Jehoram Reigns over Judah

16 Now in the fifth year of Joram the son of Ahab king of Israel, Jehoshaphat being then the king of Judah, Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah became king. 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 became his wife; and he did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh. 19 However, Yahweh was not willing to make Judah a ruin, for the sake of David His servant, since He had promised him to give a lamp to him through his sons always. 20 In his days Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah and made a king over themselves. 21 Then Joram crossed over to Zair, and all his chariots with him. And he arose by night and struck the Edomites who were surrounding him and the commanders of the chariots; but his army fled to their tents. 22 So Edom revolted against Judah to this day. Then Libnah revolted at the same 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?

Ahaziah Reigns over Judah

24 So Joram slept with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of David; and Ahaziah his son became king 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 became king. 26 Ahaziah was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Athaliah the granddaughter of Omri king of Israel. 27 He also walked in the way of the house of Ahab and did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh, like the house of Ahab had done, because he was a son-in-law of the house of Ahab. 28 Then he went with Joram the son of Ahab to war with Hazael king of Aram at Ramoth-gilead, and the Arameans struck Joram. 29 So King Joram returned to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds which the Arameans had caused by striking him at Ramah when he fought against Hazael king of Aram. Then Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah went down to see Joram the son of Ahab in Jezreel because he was sick.

2 Chronicles 21

Jehoram Reigns over Judah

And Jehoshaphat slept with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of David, and Jehoram his son became king in his place. 2 Now he had brothers, the sons of Jehoshaphat: Azariah, Jehiel, Zechariah, Azaryahu, Michael, and Shephatiah. All these were the sons of Jehoshaphat king of Israel. 3 And their father gave them many gifts of silver, gold, and precious things, with fortified cities in Judah, but he gave the kingdom to Jehoram because he was the firstborn. 4 So Jehoram arose over the kingdom of his father and strengthened himself, and he killed all his brothers with the sword, and some of the commanders of Israel also. 5 Jehoram was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. 6 And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, just as the house of Ahab had done, for Ahab’s daughter was his wife; and he did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh. 7 However, Yahweh was not willing to make the house of David a ruin because of the covenant which He had cut with David, and since He had promised to give a lamp to him and his sons forever.

Revolt Against Judah

8 In his days Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah and made a king over themselves. 9 Then Jehoram crossed over with his commanders and all his chariots with him. And he arose by night and struck down the Edomites who were surrounding him and the commanders of the chariots. 10 So Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah to this day. Then Libnah revolted at the same time from under his hand, because he had forsaken Yahweh, the God of his fathers. 11 Moreover, he made high places in the mountains of Judah, and caused the inhabitants of Jerusalem to play the harlot and drove Judah astray. 12 Then a letter came to him from Elijah the prophet saying, “Thus says Yahweh, the God of your father David, ‘Because you have not walked in the ways of Jehoshaphat your father and the ways of Asa king of Judah, 13 but have walked in the way of the kings of Israel, and have caused Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to play the harlot as the house of Ahab played the harlot, and you have also killed your brothers, your own family, who were better than you, 14 behold, Yahweh is going to smite your people, your sons, your wives, and all your possessions with a great calamity; 15 and you will suffer severe sickness, a disease of your bowels, until your bowels come out because of the sickness, day by day.’” 16 Then Yahweh stirred up against Jehoram the spirit of the Philistines and the Arabs who bordered the Ethiopians; 17 and they went up against Judah and invaded it, and carried away all the possessions found in the king’s house together with his sons and his wives, so that no son was left to him except Jehoahaz, the youngest of his sons. 18 So after all this Yahweh smote him in his bowels with an incurable sickness. 19 Now it happened in the course of time, at the end of two years, that his bowels came out because of his sickness and he died with this greatly painful disease. And his people made no fire for him like the fire for his fathers. 20 He was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eight years; and he departed with no one’s regret, and they buried him in the city of David, but not in the tombs of the kings.

Matthew 18:15 - 19:30

If Your Brother Sins

15 “Now if your brother sins, go and show him his fault, between you and him alone; if he listens to you, you have won your brother. 16 But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that by the mouth of two or three witnesses every fact may be confirmed. 17 And if he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as the Gentile and the tax collector. 18 Truly I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven. 19 “Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven. 20 For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst.”

Forgiveness

21 Then Peter came and said to Him, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?” 22 Jesus *said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven. 23 “For this reason the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves. 24 When he had begun to settle them, one who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. 25 But since he did not have the means to repay, his lord commanded him to be sold, along with his wife and children and all that he had, and repayment to be made. 26 Therefore, the slave fell to the ground and was prostrating himself before him, saying, ‘Have patience with me and I will repay you everything.’ 27 And feeling compassion, the lord of that slave released him and forgave him the debt. 28 But that slave went out and found one of his fellow slaves who owed him one hundred denarii; and he seized him and began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay back what you owe.’ 29 So, his fellow slave fell to the ground and was pleading with him, saying, ‘Have patience with me and I will repay you.’ 30 But he was unwilling and went and threw him in prison until he should pay back what was owed. 31 So, when his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were deeply grieved and came and reported to their lord all that had happened. 32 Then summoning him, his lord *said to him, ‘You wicked slave, I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. 33 Should you not also have had mercy on your fellow slave, in the same way that I had mercy on you?’ 34 And his lord, moved with anger, handed him over to the torturers until he should repay all that was owed him. 35 My heavenly Father will also do the same to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from your hearts.”

Teaching About Divorce

Now it happened that when Jesus had finished these words, He departed from Galilee and came into the region of Judea beyond the Jordan; 2 and large crowds followed Him, and He healed them there. 3 And some Pharisees came to Jesus, testing Him and saying, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any reason at all?” 4 And He answered and said, “Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning made them male and female, 5 and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? 6 So they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.” 7 They *said to Him, “Why then did Moses command to give her a certificate of divorce and send her away?” 8 He *said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart Moses permitted you to divorce your wives; but from the beginning it has not been this way. 9 And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.” 10 The disciples *said to Him, “If the relationship of the man with his wife is like this, it is better not to marry.” 11 But He said to them, “Not all men can accept this statement, but only those to whom it has been given. 12 For there are eunuchs who were born that way from their mother’s womb; and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men; and there are also eunuchs who made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. He who is able to accept this, let him accept it.”

Jesus Blesses Children

13 Then some children were brought to Him so that He might lay His hands on them and pray; and the disciples rebuked them. 14 But Jesus said, “Let the children alone, and do not hinder them from coming to Me; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” 15 And after laying His hands on them, He departed from there.

The Rich Young Ruler

16 And behold, someone came to Him and said, “Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?” 17 And He said to him, “Why are you asking Me about what is good? There is only One who is good; but if you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.” 18 Then he *said to Him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “You shall not murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; 19 Honor your father and mother; and You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 20 The young man *said to Him, “All these things I have kept; what am I still lacking?” 21 Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” 22 But when the young man heard this statement, he went away grieving; for he was one who owned much property. 23 And Jesus said to His disciples, “Truly I say to you, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” 25 And when the disciples heard this, they were very astonished and said, “Then who can be saved?” 26 And looking at them Jesus said to them, “With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

Many Who Are First Will Be Last

27 Then Peter answered and said to Him, “Behold, we have left everything and followed You; what then will there be for us?” 28 And Jesus said to them, “Truly I say to you, that you who have followed Me, in the regeneration when the Son of Man will sit on His glorious throne, you also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or farms for My name’s sake, will receive one hundred times as much, and will inherit eternal life. 30 But many who are first will be last; and the last, first.

Psalm 18:1 - 18:24

Yahweh Is My Rock and My Fortress

For the choir director. Of the servant of Yahweh, of David, who spoke to Yahweh the words of this song in the day that Yahweh delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul.

He said, “I love You, O Yahweh, my strength.”

Yahweh is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,

My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge;

My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

I call upon Yahweh, who is worthy to be praised,

And I am saved from my enemies.

The cords of death encompassed me,

And the torrents of vileness terrified me.

The cords of Sheol surrounded me;

The snares of death confronted me.

In my distress I called upon Yahweh,

And cried to my God for help;

He heard my voice out of His temple,

And my cry for help before Him came into His ears.

Then the earth shook and quaked;

And the foundations of the mountains were trembling

And were shaken, because He was angry.

Smoke went up out of His nostrils,

And fire from His mouth devoured;

Coals were kindled by it.

He bowed the heavens and came down

With thick darkness under His feet.

He rode upon a cherub and flew;

And He sped upon the wings of the wind.

He made darkness His hiding place, His canopy around Him,

Darkness of waters, thick clouds of the skies.

From the brightness before Him passed His thick clouds,

Hailstones and coals of fire.

Yahweh also thundered in the heavens,

And the Most High gave forth His voice,

Hailstones and coals of fire.

He sent out His arrows, and scattered them,

And lightning flashes in abundance, and threw them into confusion.

Then the channels of water appeared,

And the foundations of the world were laid bare

At Your rebuke, O Yahweh,

At the blast of the breath of Your nostrils.

He sent from on high, He took me;

He drew me out of many waters.

He delivered me from my strong enemy,

And from those who hated me, for they were too mighty for me.

They confronted me in the day of my disaster,

But Yahweh was my support.

He brought me forth also into a broad place;

He rescued me, because He delighted in me.

Yahweh has rewarded me according to my righteousness;

According to the cleanness of my hands He has recompensed me.

For I have kept the ways of Yahweh,

And have not wickedly departed from my God.

For all His judgments were before me,

And I did not put away His statutes from me.

I was also blameless with Him,

And I kept myself from my iniquity.

Therefore Yahweh has recompensed me according to my righteousness,

According to the cleanness of my hands before His eyes.