Today’s
Reading : 2Kings 6 - 8 and 1Corinthians 13
(KJV)
2Kings 6
2Ki
6:1 And the sons of the prophets said unto
Elisha, Behold now, the place where we dwell with thee is too strait for us.
2Ki 6:2 Let us go, we pray thee, unto Jordan, and
take thence every man a beam, and let us make us a place there, where we may
dwell. And he answered, Go ye.
2Ki 6:3 And one said, Be content, I pray thee, and go
with thy servants. And he answered, I will go.
2Ki 6:4 So he went with them. And when they came to Jordan,
they cut down wood.
2Ki 6:5 But as one was felling a beam, the axe head
fell into the water: and he cried, and said, Alas, master! for it was borrowed.
2Ki 6:6 And the man of God said, Where fell it? And
he showed him the place. And he cut down a stick, and cast it in thither; and the iron did swim.
2Ki 6:7 Therefore said he, Take it up to thee. And he put out his hand, and took
it.
2Ki 6:8 Then the king of Syria warred against Israel,
and took counsel with his servants, saying, In such and such a place shall be
my camp.
2Ki 6:9 And the man of God sent unto the king of
Israel, saying, Beware that thou pass not such a place; for thither the Syrians
are come down.
2Ki 6:10 And the king of Israel sent to the place
which the man of God told him and warned him of, and saved himself there, not
once nor twice.
2Ki 6:11 Therefore the heart of the king of Syria was
sore troubled for this thing; and he called his servants, and said unto them,
Will ye not show me which of us is for
the king of Israel?
2Ki 6:12 And one of his servants said, None, my lord,
O king: but Elisha, the prophet that is
in Israel, telleth the king of Israel the words that
thou speakest in thy bedchamber.
2Ki 6:13 And he said, Go and spy where he is, that I may send and fetch him. And it was
told him, saying, Behold, he is in Dothan.
2Ki 6:14 Therefore sent he thither horses, and
chariots, and a great host: and they came by night, and compassed the city
about.
2Ki 6:15 And when the servant of the man of God was
risen early, and gone forth, behold, a host compassed the city both with horses
and chariots. And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! how shall we do?
2Ki 6:16 And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are
more than they that be with them.
2Ki 6:17 And Elisha prayed, and said, LORD, I pray
thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the LORD opened the eyes of the young
man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was
full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.
2Ki 6:18 And when they came down to him, Elisha prayed
unto the LORD, and said, Smite this people, I pray thee, with blindness. And he
smote them with blindness according to the word of Elisha.
2Ki 6:19 And Elisha said unto them, This is not the way, neither is this the city: follow me, and I will bring you
to the man whom ye seek. But he led them to Samaria.
2Ki 6:20 And it came to pass, when they were come into
Samaria, that Elisha said, LORD, open the eyes of these men, that they may see. And the LORD opened their
eyes, and they saw; and, behold, they were in the midst of Samaria.
2Ki 6:21 And the king of Israel said unto Elisha, when
he saw them, My father, shall I smite them?
shall I smite them?
2Ki 6:22 And he answered, Thou shalt
not smite them: wouldest
thou smite those whom thou hast taken captive with thy sword and with thy bow?
set bread and water before them, that they may eat and drink, and go to their
master.
2Ki 6:23 And he prepared great provision for them: and
when they had eaten and drunk, he sent them away, and they went to their
master. So the bands of Syria came no more into the land of Israel.
2Ki 6:24 And it came to pass after this, that Ben-hadad king of Syria gathered all his host, and went up, and
besieged Samaria.
2Ki 6:25 And there was a great famine in Samaria: and,
behold, they besieged it, until an ass's head was sold
for fourscore pieces of silver, and the
fourth part of a cab of dove's dung for five pieces
of silver.
2Ki 6:26 And as the king of Israel was passing by upon
the wall, there cried a woman unto him, saying, Help, my lord, O king.
2Ki 6:27 And he said, If the LORD do not help thee,
whence shall I help thee? out of the barnfloor, or
out of the winepress?
2Ki 6:28 And the king said unto her, What aileth thee? And she answered, This woman said unto me,
Give thy son, that we may eat him today, and we will eat my son tomorrow.
2Ki 6:29 So we boiled my son, and did eat him: and I
said unto her on the next day, Give thy son, that we may eat him: and she hath
hid her son.
2Ki 6:30 And it came to pass, when the king heard the
words of the woman, that he rent his clothes; and he passed by upon the wall,
and the people looked, and, behold, he had sackcloth within upon his flesh.
2Ki 6:31 Then he said, God do so and more also to me,
if the head of Elisha the son of Shaphat shall stand
on him this day.
2Ki 6:32 But Elisha sat in his house, and the elders
sat with him; and the king sent a man from before him: but ere the
messenger came to him, he said to the elders, See ye how this son of a murderer
hath sent to take away mine head? look, when the messenger cometh, shut the
door, and hold him fast at the door: is
not the sound of his master's feet behind him?
2Ki 6:33 And while he yet talked with them, behold,
the messenger came down unto him: and he said, Behold, this evil is of the LORD; what should I wait for the LORD
any longer?
2Kings 7
2Ki
7:1 Then Elisha said, Hear ye the word of the
LORD; Thus saith the LORD, Tomorrow about this time shall a measure of fine flour be sold
for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, in the gate of Samaria.
2Ki 7:2 Then a lord on whose hand the king leaned
answered the man of God, and said, Behold, if
the LORD would make windows in heaven, might this thing be? And he said, Behold,
thou shalt see it
with thine eyes, but shalt
not eat thereof.
2Ki 7:3 And there were four leprous men at the
entering in of the gate: and they said one to another, Why sit we here until we
die?
2Ki 7:4 If we say, We will enter into the city, then the
famine is in the city, and we shall die
there: and if we sit still here, we die also. Now therefore come, and let us
fall unto the host of the Syrians: if they save us alive, we shall live; and if
they kill us, we shall but die.
2Ki 7:5 And they rose up in the twilight, to go unto
the camp of the Syrians: and when they were come to the uttermost part of the
camp of Syria, behold, there was no man there.
2Ki 7:6 For the Lord had made the host of the Syrians
to hear a noise of chariots, and a noise of horses, even
the noise of a great host: and they said one to another, Lo, the king of Israel
hath hired against us the kings of the Hittites, and the kings of the
Egyptians, to come upon us.
2Ki 7:7 Wherefore they arose and fled in the
twilight, and left their tents, and their horses, and their asses, even the
camp as it was, and fled for their life.
2Ki 7:8 And when these lepers came to the uttermost
part of the camp, they went into one tent, and did eat and drink, and carried
thence silver, and gold, and raiment, and went and hid it; and came again, and entered into another
tent, and carried thence also, and went
and hid it.
2Ki 7:9 Then they said one to another, We do not
well: this day is a day of good tidings,
and we hold our peace: if we tarry till the morning light, some mischief will
come upon us: now therefore come, that we may go and tell the king's household.
2Ki 7:10 So they came and called unto the porter of
the city: and they told them, saying, We came to the camp of the Syrians, and,
behold, there was no man there, neither voice of man, but horses tied, and
asses tied, and the tents as they were.
2Ki 7:11 And he called the porters; and they told it to the king's house within.
2Ki 7:12 And the king arose in the night, and said
unto his servants, I will now show you what the Syrians have done to us. They
know that we be hungry; therefore are
they gone out of the camp to hide themselves in the field, saying, When they
come out of the city, we shall catch them alive, and get into the city.
2Ki 7:13 And one of his servants answered and said,
Let some take, I pray thee, five of the
horses that remain, which are left in the city, (behold, they are as all the multitude of Israel that are left
in it: behold, I say, they are
even as all the multitude of the Israelites that are consumed:) and let us send
and see.
2Ki 7:14 They took therefore two chariot horses; and
the king sent after the host of the Syrians, saying, Go and see.
2Ki 7:15 And they went after them unto Jordan: and,
lo, all the way was full of garments and
vessels, which the Syrians had cast away in their haste. And the messengers
returned, and told the king.
2Ki 7:16 And the people went out, and spoiled the
tents of the Syrians. So a measure of fine flour was sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel,
according to the word of the LORD.
2Ki 7:17 And the king appointed the lord on whose hand
he leaned to have the charge of the gate: and the people trod upon him in the
gate, and he died, as the man of God had said, who spoke when the king came
down to him.
2Ki 7:18 And it came to pass as the man of God had
spoken to the king, saying, Two measures of barley for a shekel, and a measure
of fine flour for a shekel, shall be tomorrow about this time in the gate of
Samaria:
2Ki 7:19 And that lord answered the man of God, and
said, Now, behold, if the LORD should
make windows in heaven, might such a thing be? And he said, Behold, thou shalt see it with thine eyes, but
shalt not eat thereof.
2Ki 7:20 And so it fell out unto him: for the people
trod upon him in the gate, and he died.
2Kings 8
2Ki
8:1 Then spoke Elisha unto the woman, whose son
he had restored to life, saying, Arise, and go thou and thine
household, and sojourn wheresoever thou canst
sojourn: for the LORD hath called for a famine; and it shall also come upon the
land seven years.
2Ki 8:2 And the woman arose, and did after the saying
of the man of God: and she went with her household, and sojourned in the land
of the Philistines seven years.
2Ki 8:3 And it came to pass at the seven years' end,
that the woman returned out of the land of the Philistines: and she went forth
to cry unto the king for her house and for her land.
2Ki 8:4 And the king talked with Gehazi
the servant of the man of God, saying, Tell me, I pray thee, all the great
things that Elisha hath done.
2Ki 8:5 And it came to pass, as he was telling the
king how he had restored a dead body to life, that, behold, the woman, whose
son he had restored to life, cried to the king for her house and for her land.
And Gehazi said, My lord, O king, this is the woman, and this is her son, whom Elisha restored to life.
2Ki 8:6 And when the king asked the woman, she told
him. So the king appointed unto 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.
2Ki 8:7 And Elisha came to Damascus; and Ben-hadad the king of Syria was sick; and it was told him,
saying, The man of God is come hither.
2Ki 8:8 And the king said unto Hazael,
Take a present in thine hand, and go, meet the man of
God, and inquire of the LORD by him, saying, Shall I recover of this disease?
2Ki 8:9 So Hazael went to
meet him, and took a present with him, even of every good thing of Damascus,
forty camels' burden, and came and stood before him, and said, Thy son Ben-hadad king of Syria hath sent me to thee, saying, Shall I
recover of this disease?
2Ki 8:10 And Elisha said unto him, Go, say unto him,
Thou mayest certainly recover: howbeit the LORD hath
showed me that he shall surely die.
2Ki 8:11 And he settled his countenance steadfastly,
until he was ashamed: and the man of God wept.
2Ki 8:12 And Hazael said,
Why weepeth my lord? And he answered, Because I know
the evil that thou wilt do unto the children of Israel: their strongholds wilt
thou set on fire, and their young men wilt thou slay with the sword, and wilt
dash their children, and rip up their women with child.
2Ki 8:13 And Hazael said,
But what, is thy servant a dog, that he
should do this great thing? And Elisha answered, The LORD hath showed me that
thou shalt be king over Syria.
2Ki 8:14 So he departed from Elisha, and came to his
master; who said to him, What said Elisha to thee? And he answered, He told me that thou shouldest
surely recover.
2Ki 8:15 And it came to pass on the morrow, that he
took a thick cloth, and dipped it in
water, and spread it on his face, so
that he died: and Hazael reigned in his stead.
2Ki 8:16 And in the fifth year of Joram
the son of Ahab king of Israel, Jehoshaphat being
then king of Judah, Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat
king of Judah began to reign.
2Ki 8:17 Thirty and two years old was he when he began
to reign; and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem.
2Ki 8:18 And he walked in the way of the kings of
Israel, as did the house of Ahab: for the daughter of Ahab was his wife: and he
did evil in the sight of the LORD.
2Ki 8:19 Yet the LORD would not destroy Judah for
David his servant's sake, as he promised him to give him always a light, and to his children.
2Ki 8:20 In his days Edom revolted from under the hand
of Judah, and made a king over themselves.
2Ki 8:21 So Joram went over
to Zair, and all the chariots with him: and he rose
by night, and smote the Edomites which compassed him
about, and the captains of the chariots: and the people fled into their tents.
2Ki 8:22 Yet Edom revolted from under the hand of
Judah unto this day. Then Libnah revolted at the same
time.
2Ki 8:23 And 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?
2Ki 8:24 And Joram slept
with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David: and Ahaziah his son reigned in his stead.
2Ki 8:25 In the twelfth year of Joram
the son of Ahab king of Israel did Ahaziah the son of
Jehoram king of Judah begin to reign.
2Ki 8:26 Two and twenty years old was Ahaziah when he
began to reign; and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Athaliah, the daughter
of Omri king of Israel.
2Ki 8:27 And he walked in the way of the house of
Ahab, and did evil in the sight of the LORD, as did
the house of Ahab: for he was the
son-in-law of the house of Ahab.
2Ki 8:28 And he went with Joram
the son of Ahab to the war against Hazael king of
Syria in Ramoth-gilead; and the Syrians wounded Joram.
2Ki 8:29 And king Joram went
back to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds which the
Syrians had given him at Ramah, when he fought against Hazael
king of Syria. And Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah went down to see Joram
the son of Ahab in Jezreel, because he was sick.
1Corinthians 13
1Co
13:1 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of
angels, and have not charity, I am become as
sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.
1Co 13:2 And though I have the
gift of
prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have
all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am
nothing.
1Co 13:3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor,
and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.
1Co 13:4 Charity suffereth
long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not
itself, is not puffed up,
1Co 13:5 Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;
1Co 13:6 Rejoiceth not in
iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;
1Co 13:7 Beareth all things,
believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.
1Co 13:8 Charity never faileth:
but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be
tongues, they shall cease; whether there
be knowledge, it shall vanish away.
1Co 13:9 For we know in part, and we prophesy in part.
1Co 13:10 But when that which is perfect is come, then
that which is in part shall be done away.
1Co 13:11 When I was a child, I spake
as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a
man, I put away childish things.
1Co 13:12 For now we see through a glass, darkly; but
then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am
known.
1Co 13:13 And now abideth
faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.