2 Kings 7

⁵Then Joshua told the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.”

¹²“I have heard the grumbling of the Israelites. Tell them, ‘At twilight you will eat meat, and in the morning you will be filled with bread. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God.’”

⁴And He said to me, “Prophesy concerning these bones and tell them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord!

⁹So they said to the messengers who had come, “Tell the men of Jabesh-gilead: ‘Deliverance will be yours tomorrow by the time the sun is hot.’” And when the messengers relayed this to the men of Jabesh, they rejoiced.

¹³But Moses told the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the Lord’s salvation, which He will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians you see today, you will never see again.

⁵The Lord set a time, saying, “Tomorrow the Lord will do this in the land.”

⁶And the next day the Lord did just that. All the livestock of the Egyptians died, but not one animal belonging to the Israelites died.

¹¹In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, on the seventeenth day of the second month, all the fountains of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened.

¹²So she laughed to herself, saying, “After I am worn out and my master is old, will I now have this pleasure?”

¹³And the Lord asked Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Can I really bear a child when I am old?’

¹⁰Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house. Test Me in this,” says the Lord of Hosts. “See if I will not open the windows of heaven and pour out for you blessing without measure.

⁴¹Again and again they tested God and provoked the Holy One of Israel.

³What if some did not have faith? Will their lack of faith nullify God’s faithfulness?

¹³if we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.

⁴⁵A diseased person must wear torn clothes and let his hair hang loose, and he must cover his mouth and cry out, ‘Unclean, unclean!’

⁴⁶As long as he has the infection, he remains unclean. He must live alone in a place outside the camp.

²“Command the Israelites to send away from the camp anyone with a skin disease, anyone who has a bodily discharge, and anyone who is defiled by a dead body.

³You must send away male and female alike; send them outside the camp so they will not defile their camp, where I dwell among them.”

⁴If we say, ‘Let us go into the city,’ we will die there from the famine in the city; but if we sit here, we will also die. So come now, let us go over to the camp of the Arameans. If they let us live, we will live; if they kill us, we will die.”

¹⁴Why are we just sitting here? Gather together, let us flee to the fortified cities and perish there, for the Lord our God has doomed us. He has given us poisoned water to drink, because we have sinned against the Lord.

⁴Now the king had been speaking to Gehazi, the servant of the man of God, saying, “Please relate to me all the great things Elisha has done.”

¹³Why should you and your people die by sword and famine and plague, as the Lord has decreed against any nation that does not serve the king of Babylon?

¹⁸If I go out to the country, I see those slain by the sword; if I enter the city, I see those ravaged by famine! For both prophet and priest travel to a land they do not know.’”

¹⁴For we will surely die and be like water poured out on the ground, which cannot be recovered. Yet God does not take away a life, but He devises ways that the banished one may not be cast out from Him.

¹⁷Finally he came to his senses and said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have plenty of food, but here I am, starving to death!

¹⁸I will get up and go back to my father and say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.

¹⁶“Go and assemble all the Jews who can be found in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day, and I and my maidens will fast as you do. After that, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish!”

⁹Who knows? God may turn and relent; He may turn from His fierce anger, so that we will not perish.”

²⁷Just as man is appointed to die once, and after that to face judgment,

⁷The Lord will cause the enemies who rise up against you to be defeated before you. They will march out against you in one direction but flee from you in seven.

⁶And as they watch, lift your bags to your shoulder and take them out at dusk; cover your face so that you cannot see the land. For I have made you a sign to the house of Israel.”

⁷So I did as I was commanded. I brought out my bags for exile by day, and in the evening I dug through the wall by hand. I took my belongings out at dusk, carrying them on my shoulder as they watched.

⁸But if the one making the vow is too poor to pay the valuation, he is to present the person before the priest, who shall set the value according to what the one making the vow can afford.

¹⁷And David struck them down from twilight until the evening of the next day. Not a man escaped, except four hundred young men who fled, riding off on camels.

¹²And at dusk the prince among them will lift his bags to his shoulder and go out. They will dig through the wall to bring him out. He will cover his face so he cannot see the land.

²⁶But no one may consecrate a firstborn of the livestock, because a firstborn belongs to the Lord. Whether it is an ox or a sheep, it is the Lord’s.

²⁴As soon as you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, move quickly, because this will mean that the Lord has gone out before you to strike the camp of the Philistines.”

¹Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, who rely on horses, who trust in their abundance of chariots and in their multitude of horsemen. They do not look to the Holy One of Israel; they do not seek the Lord.

²⁹A chariot could be imported from Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse for a hundred and fifty. Likewise, they exported them to all the kings of the Hittites and to the kings of Aram.

⁹They also had breastplates like breastplates of iron, and the sound of their wings was like the roar of many horses and chariots rushing into battle.

²In the fifth year of Rehoboam’s reign, because they had been unfaithful to the Lord, Shishak king of Egypt attacked Jerusalem

³with 1,200 chariots, 60,000 horsemen, and countless troops who came with him out of Egypt—Libyans, Sukkites, and Cushites.

¹⁵Then the kings of the earth, the nobles, the commanders, the rich, the mighty, and every slave and free man hid in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains.

¹⁶And they said to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of the One seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb.

¹The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are as bold as a lion.

⁴For behold, the kings assembled; they all advanced together.

⁵They saw and were astounded; they fled in terror.

¹¹designate cities to serve as your cities of refuge, so that a person who kills someone unintentionally may flee there.

¹²You are to have these cities as a refuge from the avenger, so that the manslayer will not die until he stands trial before the assembly.

⁷Some trust in chariots and others in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.

⁸They collapse and fall, but we rise up and stand firm.

¹⁴Escape will fail the swift, the strong will not prevail by his strength, and the mighty will not save his life.

¹⁵The archer will not stand his ground, the fleet of foot will not escape, and the horseman will not save his life.

¹⁷A horse is a vain hope for salvation; even its great strength cannot save.

⁴⁴The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and in his joy he went and sold all he had and bought that field.

²¹When I saw among the spoils a beautiful cloak from Shinar, two hundred shekels of silver, and a bar of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them. They are hidden in the ground inside my tent, with the silver underneath.”

²⁴When Gehazi came to the hill, he took the gifts from the servants and stored them in the house. Then he dismissed the men, and they departed.

¹⁸But the servant who had received the one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground, and hid his master’s money.

⁸But ten of the men among them said to Ishmael, “Do not kill us, for we have hidden treasure in the field—wheat, barley, oil, and honey!” So he refrained from killing them with the others.

⁷How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, “Your God reigns!”

⁴Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

⁶For the Lord had caused the Arameans to hear the sound of chariots, horses, and a great army, so that they said to one another, “Look, the king of Israel must have hired the kings of the Hittites and Egyptians to attack us.”

²⁷I was the first to tell Zion: ‘Look, here they are!’ And I gave to Jerusalem a herald of good news.

¹⁵Look to the mountains—the feet of one who brings good news, who proclaims peace! Celebrate your feasts, O Judah; fulfill your vows. For the wicked will never again march through you; they will be utterly cut off.

⁴“Is it a time for you yourselves to live in your paneled houses, while this house lies in ruins?”

⁵Now this is what the Lord of Hosts says: “Consider carefully your ways.

¹A song of ascents. Of Solomon. Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain; unless the Lord protects the city, its watchmen stand guard in vain.

²⁶the watchman saw another man running, and he called out to the gatekeeper, “Look! Another man is running alone!” “This one also brings good news,” said the king.

³⁴It is like a man going on a journey who left his house, put each servant in charge of his own task, and instructed the doorkeeper to keep watch.

³⁵Therefore keep watch, because you do not know when the master of the house will return—whether in the evening, at midnight, when the rooster crows, or in the morning.

¹¹The gatekeepers shouted the news, and it was reported to the king’s household.

⁶For the Lord had caused the Arameans to hear the sound of chariots, horses, and a great army, so that they said to one another, “Look, the king of Israel must have hired the kings of the Hittites and Egyptians to attack us.”

⁷Thus the Arameans had arisen and fled at twilight, abandoning their tents and horses and donkeys. The camp was intact, and they had run for their lives.

⁴with these orders: “Pay attention. You are to lie in ambush behind the city, not too far from it. All of you must be ready.

²⁵So there was a great famine in Samaria. Indeed, they besieged the city so long that a donkey’s head sold for eighty shekels of silver, and a quarter cab of dove’s dung sold for five shekels of silver.

²⁶As the king of Israel was passing by on the wall, a woman cried out to him, “Help me, my lord the king!”

¹³Naaman’s servants, however, approached him and said, “My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more, then, when he tells you, ‘Wash and be cleansed’?”

⁹Those slain by the sword are better off than those who die of hunger, who waste away, pierced with pain because the fields lack produce.

⁴If we say, ‘Let us go into the city,’ we will die there from the famine in the city; but if we sit here, we will also die. So come now, let us go over to the camp of the Arameans. If they let us live, we will live; if they kill us, we will die.”

¹⁸If I go out to the country, I see those slain by the sword; if I enter the city, I see those ravaged by famine! For both prophet and priest travel to a land they do not know.’”

³³While Elisha was still speaking with them, the messenger came down to him. And the king said, “This calamity is from the Lord. Why should I wait for the Lord any longer?”

⁷But whatever was gain to me I count as loss for the sake of Christ.

⁸More than that, I count all things as loss compared to the surpassing excellence of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ

²⁰In that day men will cast away to the moles and bats their idols of silver and gold—the idols they made to worship.

²⁶What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?

¹Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off every encumbrance and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with endurance the race set out for us.

³What will you do on the day of reckoning when devastation comes from afar? To whom will you flee for help? Where will you leave your wealth?

²⁴So they will hang on him all the glory of his father’s house: the descendants and the offshoots—all the lesser vessels, from bowls to every kind of jar.

¹Then Elisha said, “Hear the word of the Lord! This is what the Lord says: ‘About this time tomorrow at the gate of Samaria, a seah of fine flour will sell for a shekel, and two seahs of barley will sell for a shekel.’”

⁴Your spoil, O nations, is gathered as by locusts; like a swarm of locusts men sweep over it.

²³Your ropes are slack; they cannot secure the mast or spread the sail. Then an abundance of spoils will be divided, and even the lame will carry off plunder.

¹⁶Though he heaps up silver like dust and piles up a wardrobe like clay,

¹⁷what he lays up, the righteous will wear, and his silver will be divided by the innocent.

¹²“Kings and their armies flee in haste; she who waits at home divides the plunder.

¹Woe to you, O destroyer never destroyed, O traitor never betrayed! When you have finished destroying, you will be destroyed. When you have finished betraying, you will be betrayed.

³²Now Elisha was sitting in his house, and the elders were sitting with him. The king sent a messenger ahead, but before he arrived, Elisha said to the elders, “Do you see how this murderer has sent someone to cut off my head? Look, when the messenger comes, shut the door to keep him out. Is not the sound of his master’s footsteps behind him?”

²But the officer on whose arm the king leaned answered the man of God, “Look, even if the Lord were to make windows in heaven, could this really happen?” “You will see it with your own eyes,” replied Elisha, “but you will not eat any of it.”

¹⁰For the hand of the Lord will rest on this mountain. But Moab will be trampled in his place as straw is trodden into the dung pile.

³³“Throw her down!” yelled Jehu. So they threw her down, and her blood splattered on the wall and on the horses as they trampled her underfoot.

²⁹How much more severely do you think one deserves to be punished who has trampled on the Son of God, profaned the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and insulted the Spirit of grace?

¹⁰Then my enemy will see and will be covered with shame—she who said to me, “Where is the Lord your God?” My eyes will see her; at that time she will be trampled like mud in the streets.

¹⁴Is anything too difficult for the Lord? At the appointed time I will return to you—in about a year—and Sarah will have a son.”

³²Now Elisha was sitting in his house, and the elders were sitting with him. The king sent a messenger ahead, but before he arrived, Elisha said to the elders, “Do you see how this murderer has sent someone to cut off my head? Look, when the messenger comes, shut the door to keep him out. Is not the sound of his master’s footsteps behind him?”

¹Then Elisha said, “Hear the word of the Lord! This is what the Lord says: ‘About this time tomorrow at the gate of Samaria, a seah of fine flour will sell for a shekel, and two seahs of barley will sell for a shekel.’”

²But the officer on whose arm the king leaned answered the man of God, “Look, even if the Lord were to make windows in heaven, could this really happen?” “You will see it with your own eyes,” replied Elisha, “but you will not eat any of it.”

²But the officer on whose arm the king leaned answered the man of God, “Look, even if the Lord were to make windows in heaven, could this really happen?” “You will see it with your own eyes,” replied Elisha, “but you will not eat any of it.”

¹²But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust Me to show My holiness in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this assembly into the land that I have given them.”

¹⁸And to whom did He swear that they would never enter His rest? Was it not to those who disobeyed?

¹⁹So we see that it was because of their unbelief that they were unable to enter.

⁹The head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is the son of Remaliah. If you do not stand firm in your faith, then you will not stand at all.’”

⁵This is what the Lord says: “Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind, who makes mere flesh his strength and turns his heart from the Lord.

⁶He will be like a shrub in the desert; he will not see when prosperity comes. He will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives.

²³When he has filled his stomach, God will vent His fury upon him, raining it down on him as he eats.

²⁰Early in the morning they got up and left for the Wilderness of Tekoa. As they set out, Jehoshaphat stood up and said, “Hear me, O people of Judah and Jerusalem. Believe in the Lord your God, and you will be upheld; believe in His prophets, and you will succeed.”