Omri Reigns in Israel

21 Then the people of Israel were divided into two parts. Half of the people followed Tibni the son of Ginath, to make him king, and half followed Omri. 22 But the people who followed Omri overcame the people who followed Tibni the son of Ginath. So Tibni died, and Omri became king. 23 In the thirty-first year of Asa king of Judah, ^lOmri began to reign over Israel, and he reigned for twelve years; six years he reigned in Tirzah. 24 He bought the hill of Samaria from Shemer for two talents¹ of silver, and he fortified the hill and called the name of the city that he built Samaria, after the name of Shemer, the owner of the hill.

25 Omri ^mdid what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and did more evil than all who were before him. 26 For he walked in all the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and in the sins that he made Israel to sin, provoking the Lord, the God of Israel, to anger by their idols. 27 Now the rest of the acts of Omri that he did, and the might that he showed, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? 28 And Omri slept with his fathers and was buried in Samaria, and Ahab his son reigned in his place.

Ahab Reigns in Israel

29 In the thirty-eighth year of Asa king of Judah, Ahab the son of Omri began to reign over Israel, and Ahab the son of Omri reigned over Israel in Samaria twenty-two years. 30 And Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the Lord, more than all who were before him. 31 And as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, he took for his wife ⁿJezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and went and served Baal and worshiped him. 32 He erected an altar for Baal in the ^ohouse of Baal, which he built in Samaria. 33 And Ahab made an Asherah. Ahab did more to provoke the Lord, the God of Israel, to anger than all the kings of Israel who were before him. 34 In his days Hiel of Bethel built Jericho. He laid its foundation at the cost of Abiram his firstborn, and set up its gates at the cost of his youngest son Segub, ^paccording to the word of the Lord, which he spoke by Joshua the son of Nun.

Elijah Predicts a Drought

1 ^qNow ^rElijah the Tishbite, of Tishbe² in Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, before whom I stand, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word.” 2 And the word of the Lord came to him: 3 “Depart from here and turn eastward and hide yourself by the brook Cherith, which is east of the Jordan. 4 You shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.” 5 So he went and did according to the word of the Lord. He went and lived by the brook Cherith that is east of the Jordan. 6 And the ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook. 7 And after a while the brook dried up, because there was no rain in the land.

The Widow of Zarephath

8 Then the word of the Lord came to him, 9 “Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to feed you.” 10 So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, a widow was there gathering sticks. And he called to her and said, “Bring me a little water in a vessel, that I may drink.” 11 And as she was going to bring it, he called to her and said, “Bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.” 12 And she said, “As the Lord your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of flour in a jar and a little ^soil in a jug. And now I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it and die.” 13 And Elijah said to her, “Do not fear; go and do as you have said. But first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me, and afterward make something for yourself and your son. 14 For thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘The jar of flour shall not be spent, and the jug of oil shall not be empty, until the day that the Lord sends rain upon the earth.’” 15 And she went and did as Elijah said. And she and he and her household ate for many days. 16 The jar of flour was not spent, neither did the jug of oil become empty, according to the word of the Lord that he spoke by Elijah.

Elijah Raises the Widow’s Son

17 ^tAfter this the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, became ill. And his illness was so severe that there was no breath left in him. 18 And she said to Elijah, “What have you against me, O man of God? You have come to me to bring my sin to ^uremembrance and to cause the death of my son!” 19 And he said to her, “Give me your son.” And he took him from her arms and carried him up into the upper chamber where he lodged, and laid him on his own bed. 20 And he cried to the Lord, “O Lord my God, have you brought calamity even upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by killing her son?” 21 Then he stretched himself upon the child three times and cried to the Lord, “O Lord my God, let this child’s life³ come into him again.” 22 And the Lord listened to the voice of Elijah. And the life of the child came into him again, and he revived. 23 And Elijah took the child and brought him down from the upper chamber into the house and ^vdelivered him to his mother. And Elijah said, “See, your son lives.” 24 And the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is truth.”

Put On the New Self

1 If then you have been ^draised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, ^eseated at the right hand of God. 2 ^fSet your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. 3 For ^gyou have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 ^hWhen Christ who is your¹ life appears, then you also will appear with him ⁱin glory.

5 ^jPut to death therefore what is earthly in you:² sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, ^kwhich is idolatry. 6 ^lOn account of these the wrath of God is coming.³ 7 ^mIn these you too once walked, when you were living in them. 8 But ⁿnow you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. 9 ^oDo not lie to one another, seeing that you have ^pput off the ^qold self⁴ with its practices 10 and have ^rput on the ^snew self, which is being ^trenewed in knowledge ^uafter the image of its creator. 11 Here there is ^vnot Greek and Jew, ^wcircumcised and uncircumcised, ^xbarbarian, Scythian, ^yslave,⁵ free; but Christ is all, and in all.

12 ^zPut on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, ^acompassionate hearts, ^bkindness, ^chumility, ^dmeekness, and ^epatience, 13 bearing with one another and, ^fif one has a complaint against another, ^gforgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 14 And ^habove all these put on love, which ⁱbinds everything together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the ^jpeace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were ^kcalled in ^lone body. And be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and ^madmonishing one another in all wisdom, ⁿsinging psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17 And ^owhatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the ^pname of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Rules for Christian Households

18 ^qWives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. 19 ^rHusbands, love your wives, and do not be harsh with them. 20 ^sChildren, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord. 21 ^tFathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged. 22 ^uBondservants, obey in everything those who are your ^vearthly masters,⁶ not by way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but with sincerity of heart, ^wfearing the Lord. 23 Whatever you do, work heartily, ^xas for the Lord and not for men, 24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the ^yinheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ. 25 For the wrongdoer will be paid back for the wrong he has done, and there is ^zno partiality.

1 Masters, treat your bondservants⁷ justly and fairly, ^aknowing that you also have a Master in heaven.

Further Instructions

2 ^bContinue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. 3 At the same time, ^cpray also for us, that God may open to us a ^ddoor for the word, to declare the ^emystery of Christ, ^fon account of which I am in prison— 4 that I may make it clear, which is ^ghow I ought to speak.

5 ^hWalk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. 6 ⁱLet your speech always be gracious, ^jseasoned with salt, ^kso that you may know how you ought to answer each person.

Final Greetings

7 ^lTychicus will tell you all about my activities. ^mHe is a beloved brother and faithful minister and fellow servant⁸ in the Lord. 8 I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are and that he may ⁿencourage your hearts, 9 and with him ^oOnesimus, our faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you. They will tell you of everything that has taken place here.

10 Aristarchus my fellow prisoner greets you, and Mark the cousin of Barnabas (concerning whom you have received instructions—if he comes to you, welcome him), 11 and Jesus who is called Justus. These are the only men of ^pthe circumcision among my fellow workers for the kingdom of God, and they have been a comfort to me. 12 Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ Jesus, greets you, always ^qstruggling on your behalf in his prayers, that you may stand ^rmature and fully assured in all the will of God. 13 For I bear him witness that he has worked hard for you and for those in Laodicea and in Hierapolis. 14 ^sLuke the beloved physician greets you, as does ^tDemas. 15 Give my greetings to the brothers⁹ at Laodicea, and to Nympha and ^uthe church in her house. 16 And ^vwhen this letter has been read among you, have it also read in the church of the Laodiceans; and see that you also read the letter from Laodicea. 17 And say to ^wArchippus, “See that you ^xfulfill the ministry that you have received in the Lord.”

18 ^yI, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. Remember my chains. ^zGrace be with you.