2 Kings 5 - 6, Matthew 17-18:14, Psalm 17

Naaman Cleansed from Leprosy

5Now ^aNaaman, commander of the army of the king of Aram, was a great man ¹with his master, and ²highly respected, because by him Yahweh had given salvation to Aram. The man was also a mighty man of valor, but he was a leper. ²Now the Arameans had gone out ^ain marauding bands and had taken captive a little girl from the land of Israel; and she ¹waited on Naaman’s wife. ³And she said to her mistress, “I wish that my master were before the prophet who is in Samaria! Then he would cure him of his leprosy.” ⁴Then ¹Naaman went in and told his master, saying, “Thus and thus spoke the girl who is from the land of Israel.” ⁵Then the king of Aram said, “Go ¹now, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel.” So he went and ^atook in his hand ²ten talents of silver and ³six thousand shekels of gold and ten ^bchanges of clothes.

⁶And he brought the letter to the king of Israel, saying, “So now as this letter comes to you, behold, I have sent Naaman my servant to you, that you may cure him of his leprosy.”

⁷Now it happened that when the king of Israel read the letter, ^ahe tore his clothes and said, “^bAm I God, to put to death and to make alive, that this man is sending word to me to cure a man of his leprosy? But ^cknow now, and see how he is seeking ¹a quarrel against me.”

⁸Now it happened when Elisha ^athe man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, that he sent word to the king, saying, “Why have you torn your clothes? Now let him come to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel.” ⁹So Naaman came with his horses and his chariots and stood at the doorway of the house of Elisha. ¹⁰And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, “^aGo and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh will be restored to you and you will be clean.” ¹¹But Naaman was furious and went away and said, “Behold, I said to myself, ‘He will surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of Yahweh his God, and wave his hand over the place and cure the leper.’ ¹²“Are not ¹Abanah and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?” So he turned and ^awent away in wrath. ¹³^aThen his servants approached and spoke to him and said, “^bMy father, had the prophet spoken with you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more then, when he says to you, ‘Wash, and be clean’?” ¹⁴So he went down and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God; and ^ahis flesh was restored like the flesh of a young boy and ^bhe was clean.

Gehazi’s Leprosy

¹⁵Then he returned to the man of God ¹with all his camp, and came and stood before him, and said, “Behold now, ^aI know that there is no God in all the earth, but in Israel; so now please ^btake a blessing from your servant.” ¹⁶But he said, “^aAs Yahweh lives, before whom I stand, ^bI will take nothing.” And he urged him to take it, but he refused. ¹⁷So Naaman said, “If not, please let your servant at least be given two mules’ load of ^aearth; for your servant will no longer offer burnt offering nor will he sacrifice to other gods, but to Yahweh. ¹⁸“In this matter may Yahweh pardon your servant: when my master goes into the house of Rimmon to worship there, and ^ahe leans on my hand and I bow myself in the house of Rimmon, when I bow myself in the house of Rimmon, Yahweh pardon your servant in this matter.” ¹⁹And he said to him, “^aGo in peace.” So he went from him some distance.

²⁰Then ^aGehazi, the young man of Elisha the man of God, said to himself, “Behold, my master has spared this Naaman the Aramean, ¹by not receiving from his hands what he brought. ^bAs Yahweh lives, I will run after him and take something from him.” ²¹So Gehazi pursued Naaman. And Naaman saw one running after him, so he came down from the chariot to meet him and said, “Is all at peace?” ²²And he said, “^aAll is at peace. My master has sent me, saying, ‘Behold, just now two young men of the sons of the prophets have come to me from ^bthe hill country of Ephraim. Please give them a talent of silver and ^ctwo changes of clothes.’” ²³Then Naaman said, “^aBe pleased to take two talents.” And he urged him and bound two talents of silver in two bags with two changes of clothes and gave them to two of his young men; and they carried them before him. ²⁴So he came to the ¹hill, and he took them from their hand and ^adeposited them in the house. Then he sent the men away, and they departed. ²⁵But he came in and stood before his master. And Elisha said to him, “Where have you been, Gehazi?” And he said, “^aYour servant went nowhere.”

²⁶Then he said to him, “Did not my heart go with you, when the man turned from his chariot to meet you? ^aIs it a time to receive money and to receive clothes and olive groves and vineyards and sheep and oxen and male and female slaves? ²⁷“Thus the leprosy of Naaman shall cling to you and to your seed forever.” So he went out from his presence ^aa leper as white as snow.

The Axe Head Floats

6And ^athe 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.” ³Then one said, “Please be willing to go with your servants.” And he ¹answered, “I shall go.” ⁴So he went with them; and they came to the Jordan and cut down trees. ⁵Now it happened that as one was felling a beam, ¹the axe head fell into the water; and he cried out and said, “Alas, my master! For it was borrowed.” ⁶Then the man of God said, “Where did it fall?” And when he showed him the place, ^ahe cut off a stick and threw it in there and made the iron float. ⁷And he said, “Take it up for yourself.” So he sent forth his hand and took it.

Horses and Chariots of Fire Around Elisha

⁸Now the king of Aram was warring against Israel; and he ¹counseled with his servants saying, “In such and such a place shall be my camp.” ⁹^aAnd 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.” ¹⁰And 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, ¹more than once or twice.

¹¹Then 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?” ¹²And 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.” ¹³So 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 ^aDothan.” ¹⁴So he sent horses and chariots and a heavy military force there, and they came by night and surrounded the city.

¹⁵Then 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! ¹What shall we do?” ¹⁶So he said, “^aDo not fear, for ^bthose who are with us are more than those who are with them.” ¹⁷Then Elisha prayed and said, “^aO 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 ^bhorses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. ¹⁸And they came down to him, and Elisha prayed to Yahweh and said, “Strike this ¹people with blindness, I pray.” So He ^astruck them with blindness according to the word of Elisha. ¹⁹Then 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.

²⁰Now it happened that when they had come into Samaria, Elisha said, “O ^aYahweh, 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. ²¹Then the king of Israel when he saw them, said to Elisha, “^aMy father, shall I strike them down? Shall I strike them down?” ²²And he said, “You shall not strike them down. Would you ^astrike down those you have taken captive with your sword and with your bow? ^bSet bread and water before them, that they may eat and drink and walk back to their master.” ²³So 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 ^athe marauding bands of Arameans did not come again into the land of Israel.

Aram’s Siege of Samaria

²⁴Now it happened afterwards, that ^aBen-hadad king of Aram gathered all his military camp and went up and besieged Samaria. ²⁵Now there was a great ^afamine in Samaria. And behold, they besieged it, until a donkey’s head was sold for ¹eighty shekels of silver, and a fourth of a ²kab of dove’s dung for five shekels of silver. ²⁶As the king of Israel was passing by on the wall, a woman cried out to him, saying, “Save, my lord, O king!” ²⁷He said, “¹If Yahweh does not save you, from where shall I save you? From the threshing floor, or from the wine press?” ²⁸And the king said to her, “^aWhat ¹is 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“^aSo 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.” ³⁰Now it happened that when the king heard the words of the woman, ^ahe tore his clothes—now he was passing by on the wall—and the people looked, and behold, he had sackcloth ¹beneath on his ²body. ³¹Then he said, “May ^aGod do so to me and more also, if the head of Elisha the son of Shaphat ¹remains on him today.”

Flour and Barley in Samaria

³²Now Elisha was sitting in his house, and ^athe 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 ^bsee how this son of a murderer has sent to take away my head? Look, when the messenger comes, shut the door and ¹hold the door shut against him. Is not the sound of his master’s feet behind him?” ³³While he was still speaking with them, behold, the messenger came down to him and he said, “^aBehold, this evil is from Yahweh; why should I wait for Yahweh any longer?”

The Transfiguration

17And ^asix days later Jesus *brought with Him ^bPeter and James and John his brother, and *led them up on a high mountain by themselves. ²And He was transfigured before them; and His face shone like the sun, and His garments became as white as light. ³And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him. ⁴And Peter answered and said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, ^aI will make three ¹booths here, one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” ⁵While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, ^aa voice out of the cloud said, “^bThis is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him!” ⁶And when the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces and were terrified. ⁷And Jesus came to them and touched them and said, “Get up, and ^ado not be afraid.” ⁸And lifting up their eyes, they saw no one except Jesus Himself alone.

⁹^aAnd as they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, saying, “^bTell the vision to no one until ^cthe Son of Man has ^drisen from the dead.” ¹⁰And His disciples asked Him, saying, “Why then do the scribes say that ^aElijah must come first?” ¹¹And He answered and said, “Elijah is coming and will restore all things; ¹²but I say to you that Elijah already came, and they did not recognize him, but did ¹to him whatever they wished. So also ^athe Son of Man is going to suffer ²at their hands.” ¹³Then the disciples understood that He had spoken to them about John the Baptist.

Jesus Casts Out a Demon

¹⁴^aAnd when they came to the crowd, a man came up to Jesus, falling on his knees before Him and saying, ¹⁵“¹Lord, have mercy on my son, for he has ²^,^aseizures and suffers terribly; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water. ¹⁶“And I brought him to Your disciples, and they could not cure him.” ¹⁷And Jesus answered and said, “O you unbelieving and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring him here to Me.” ¹⁸And Jesus rebuked him, and the demon came out of him, and the boy was cured ¹at once.

¹⁹Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?” ²⁰And He *said to them, “Because of your little faith; for truly I say to you, ^aif you have faith ¹the size of ^ba mustard seed, you will say to ^cthis mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and ^dnothing will be impossible to you. ²¹¹[“^aBut this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.”]

²²^aAnd while they were gathering together in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be ¹delivered into the hands of men; ²³and ^athey will kill Him, and He will be raised on the third day.” And they were deeply grieved.

The Temple Tax

²⁴Now when they came to Capernaum, those who collected ^athe ¹two-drachma tax came to Peter and said, “Does your teacher not pay ^bthe ²two-drachma tax?” ²⁵He *said, “Yes.” And when he came into the house, Jesus spoke to him first, saying, “What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth collect ^atolls or ^btaxes, from their sons or from strangers?” ²⁶And when Peter said, “From strangers,” Jesus said to him, “Then the sons are ¹exempt. ²⁷“However, so that we do not ¹^,^aoffend them, go to the sea and throw in a hook, and take the first fish that comes up; and when you open its mouth, you will find a ²stater. Take that and give it to them for Me and you.”

Who Is Greatest in Heaven?

18^aAt that ¹time the disciples came to Jesus and said, “^bWho then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” ²And He called a child to Himself and set him ¹before them, ³and said, “Truly I say to you, unless you ¹are converted and ^abecome like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. ⁴“Whoever therefore will humble himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. ⁵“And whoever receives one such child in My name receives Me; ⁶but ^awhoever ^bcauses one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it is better for him that a ¹heavy millstone be hung around his neck, and that he be drowned in the depth of the sea.

Stumbling Blocks

⁷“Woe to the world because of its stumbling blocks! For ^ait is inevitable that stumbling blocks come; nevertheless, woe to that man through whom the stumbling block comes!

⁸“^aAnd if your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; it is better for you to enter life crippled or lame, than, having two hands or two feet, to be cast into the eternal fire. ⁹“^aAnd if your eye causes you to stumble, tear it out and throw it from you. It is better for you to enter life with one eye, than, having two eyes, to be cast into the ¹^,^bfiery hell.

¹⁰“See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that ^atheir angels in heaven continually see the face of My Father who is in heaven. ¹¹¹[“^aFor the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.]

The Parable of the Lost Sheep

¹²“What do you think? ^aIf any man has one hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go and search for the one that is straying? ¹³“And if it turns out that he finds it, truly I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine which have not gone astray. ¹⁴“In this way, it is not the will ¹of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones perish.

In the Shadow of Your Wings

A Prayer of David.

Hear a ^arighteous cause, O Yahweh, ^bgive heed to my cry of lamentation;^cGive ear to my prayer, which is not from ^ddeceitful lips.²May ^amy ¹judgment come from Your presence;May Your eyes behold ^bwhat is upright.³You have ^atested my heart;You have visited me by night;You have ^btried me and ^cYou find ¹nothing;I have ^dpurposed that my mouth will not ²transgress.⁴As for the deeds of men, ^aby the word of Your lipsI have kept from the ^bpaths of the violent.⁵My ^asteps have held fast to Your ¹paths.My ^bfootsteps have not stumbled.⁶I have ^acalled upon You, for You will answer me, O God;^bIncline Your ear to me, hear my speech.⁷^aMarvelously show Your lovingkindnesses,O ^bSavior of those who take refuge ¹at Your right handFrom those who rise up against them.⁸Keep me as ¹the ^aapple of the eye;Hide me ^bin the shadow of Your wings⁹From the ^awicked who devastate me,My ^bdeadly enemies who surround me.¹⁰They have ^aclosed their ¹unfeeling heart,With their mouth they ^bspeak proudly.¹¹They have now ^asurrounded us in our steps;They set their eyes ^bto cast us down to the ground.¹²He is ^alike a lion that is eager to tear,And as a young lion ^blurking in hiding places.¹³^aArise, O Yahweh, confront him, ^bbring him low;^cProtect my soul from the wicked with ^dYour sword,¹⁴From men with ^aYour hand, O Yahweh,From men ¹of the world, ^bwhose portion is in this life,And whose belly You ^cfill with Your treasure;They are satisfied with children,And leave their excess to their infants.¹⁵As for me, I shall ^abehold Your face in righteousness;^bI will be satisfied ¹with Your ^clikeness when I awake.