Moab Rebels Against Israel

1 In the eighteenth year of ^cJehoshaphat king of Judah, ^dJehoram the son of Ahab became king over Israel in Samaria, and he reigned twelve years. 2 He ^edid what was evil in the sight of the Lord, though not like his father and mother, for he put away the pillar of Baal that his father had made. 3 Nevertheless, he clung to the ^fsin of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which he made Israel to sin; he did not depart from it.

4 Now Mesha king of Moab was a sheep breeder, and ^ghe had to deliver to the king of Israel 100,000 ^hlambs and the wool of 100,000 rams. 5 But ⁱwhen Ahab died, the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel. 6 So King Jehoram marched out of Samaria at that time and mustered all Israel. 7 And he went and sent word to Jehoshaphat king of Judah: “The king of Moab has rebelled against me. Will you go with me to battle against Moab?” And he said, “I will go. ^jI am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses.” 8 Then he said, “By which way shall we march?” Jehoram answered, “By the way of the wilderness of Edom.”

9 So the king of Israel went with the king of Judah and the ^kking of Edom. And when they had made a circuitous march of seven days, there was no water for the army or for the animals that followed them. 10 Then the king of Israel said, “Alas! The Lord has called these three kings to give them into the hand of Moab.” 11 And Jehoshaphat said, ^l“Is there no prophet of the Lord here, through whom we may inquire of the Lord?” Then one of the king of Israel’s servants answered, “Elisha the son of Shaphat is here, who poured water on the hands of Elijah.” 12 And Jehoshaphat said, “The word of the Lord is with him.” So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom went down to him.

13 And Elisha said to the king of Israel, “What have I to do with you? Go to the prophets of your father and to the prophets of your mother.” But the king of Israel said to him, “No; it is the Lord who has called these three kings to give them into the hand of Moab.” 14 And Elisha said, ^m“As the Lord of hosts lives, before whom I stand, were it not that I have regard for Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, I would neither look at you nor see you. 15 But now bring me a musician.” And ⁿwhen the musician played, ^othe hand of the Lord came upon him. 16 And he said, “Thus says the Lord, ‘I will make this dry streambed full of pools.’ 17 For thus says the Lord, ‘You shall not see wind or rain, but that streambed shall be filled with water, so that you shall drink, you, your livestock, and your animals.’ 18 This is a light thing in the sight of the Lord. He will also give the Moabites into your hand, 19 and you shall attack every fortified city and every choice city, and shall fell every good tree and stop up all springs of water and ruin every good piece of land with stones.” 20 The next morning, about the ^ptime of offering the sacrifice, behold, water came from the direction of Edom, till the country was filled with water.

21 When all the Moabites heard that the kings had come up to fight against them, all who were able to put on armor, from the youngest to the oldest, were called out and were drawn up at the border. 22 And when they rose early in the morning and the sun shone on the water, the Moabites saw the water opposite them as red as blood. 23 And they said, “This is blood; the kings have surely fought together and struck one another down. Now then, Moab, to the spoil!” 24 But when they came to the camp of Israel, the Israelites rose and struck the Moabites, till they fled before them. And they went forward, striking the Moabites as they went.¹ 25 And they overthrew the cities, and on every good piece of land every man threw a stone until it was covered. They stopped every spring of water and felled all the good trees, till only its stones were left in ^qKir-hareseth, and the slingers surrounded and attacked it. 26 When the king of Moab saw that the battle was going against him, he took with him 700 swordsmen to break through, opposite the king of Edom, but they could not. 27 Then he took his oldest son who was to reign in his place and ^roffered him for a burnt offering on the wall. And there came great wrath against Israel. And they withdrew from him and returned to their own land.

Elisha and the Widow’s Oil

1 Now the wife of one of the ^ssons of the prophets cried to Elisha, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared the Lord, but the creditor has come to take my two children to be his slaves.” 2 And Elisha said to her, “What shall I do for you? Tell me; what have you in the house?” And she said, “Your servant has nothing in the house except a jar of ^toil.” 3 Then he said, “Go outside, borrow vessels from all your neighbors, empty vessels and not too few. 4 Then go in and shut the door behind yourself and your sons and pour into all these vessels. And when one is full, set it aside.” 5 So she went from him and shut the door behind herself and her sons. And as she poured they brought the vessels to her. 6 When the vessels were full, she said to her son, “Bring me another vessel.” And he said to her, “There is not another.” Then the oil stopped flowing. 7 She came and told the ^uman of God, and he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debts, and you and your sons can live on the rest.”

Elisha and the Shunammite Woman

8 One day Elisha went on to Shunem, where a wealthy woman lived, who urged him to eat some food. So whenever he passed that way, he would turn in there to eat food. 9 And she said to her husband, “Behold now, I know that this is a holy man of God who is continually passing our way. 10 Let us make a small room on the roof with walls and put there for him a bed, a table, a chair, and a lamp, so that whenever he comes to us, he can go in there.”

11 One day he came there, and he turned into the chamber and rested there. 12 And he said to ^vGehazi his servant, “Call this Shunammite.” When he had called her, she stood before him. 13 And he said to him, “Say now to her, ‘See, you have taken all this trouble for us; what is to be done for you? Would you have a word spoken on your behalf to the king or to the commander of the army?’” She answered, “I dwell among my own people.” 14 And he said, “What then is to be done for her?” Gehazi answered, “Well, she has no son, and her husband is old.” 15 He said, “Call her.” And when he had called her, she stood in the doorway. 16 And he said, “At this season, ^wabout this time next year, you shall embrace a son.” And she said, “No, my lord, O man of God; do not lie to your servant.” 17 But the woman conceived, and she bore a son about that time the following spring, as Elisha had said to her.

Beth

Greeting

1 Paul and Timothy, servants¹ of Christ Jesus,

To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers² and deacons:³

2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Thanksgiving and Prayer

3 ^aI thank my God in all my ^bremembrance of you, 4 always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with ^cjoy, 5 because of ^dyour partnership in the gospel ^efrom the first day until now. 6 And I am sure of this, that ^fhe who began a good work in you ^gwill bring it to completion at the ^hday of Jesus Christ. 7 It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you ⁱin my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace,⁴ both in my ^jimprisonment and in the ^kdefense and confirmation of the gospel. 8 For ^lGod is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus. 9 And it is my prayer that ^myour love may abound more and more, with ⁿknowledge and all discernment, 10 so that you may ^oapprove what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, 11 filled with the ^pfruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, ^qto the glory and praise of God.

The Advance of the Gospel

12 I want you to know, brothers,⁵ that what has happened to me ^rhas really served to advance the gospel, 13 so that it has become known ^sthroughout the whole imperial guard⁶ and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. 14 And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word⁷ without fear.

15 ^tSome indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will. 16 The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. 17 The former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment. 18 What then? ^uOnly that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice.

To Live Is Christ

Yes, and I will rejoice, 19 for I know that ^vthrough your prayers and the help of the ^wSpirit of Jesus Christ ^xthis will turn out for my deliverance, 20 as it is my eager expectation and ^yhope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full ^zcourage now as always Christ will be ^ahonored in my body, whether by life or by death. 21 ^bFor to me to live is Christ, and to die is ^cgain. 22 ^dIf I am to live in the flesh, that means ^efruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. 23 I am hard pressed between the two. ^fMy desire is to ^gdepart and be with Christ, for that is far better. 24 But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. 25 ^hConvinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your ⁱprogress and joy in the faith, 26 so that ^jin me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again.

27 Only ^klet your manner of life be worthy⁸ of the gospel of Christ, so that ^lwhether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are ^mstanding firm in one spirit, ⁿwith one mind ^ostriving side by side for the faith of the gospel, 28 and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a ^pclear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God. 29 For ^qit has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake, 30 engaged in the same conflict ^rthat you saw I had and now hear that I still have.

Christ’s Example of Humility

1 So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any ^sparticipation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, 2 ^tcomplete my joy by ^ubeing of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. 3 Do nothing from ^vselfish ambition or ^wconceit, ^xbut in ^yhumility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 ^zLet each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 ^aHave this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,⁹ 6 ^bwho, ^cthough ^dhe was in the form of God, ^edid not count ^fequality with God a thing to be grasped,¹⁰ 7 but ^gemptied himself, by taking the form of a servant,^{11 h}being born ⁱin the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he ^jhumbled himself by becoming ^kobedient to the point of death, ^leven death on a cross. 9 ^mTherefore God has highly ⁿexalted him and bestowed on him the name that is ^oabove every name, 10 so that at the ^pname of Jesus ^qevery knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue ^rconfess that ^sJesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Lights in the World

12 Therefore, my beloved, ^tas you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, ^uwork out your own salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who ^vworks in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

14 Do all things ^wwithout grumbling or ^xdisputing, 15 that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a ^ycrooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as ^zlights in the world, 16 holding fast to the ^aword of life, so that in the day of Christ ^bI may be proud that I did not ^crun ^din vain or labor in vain. 17 ^eEven if I am to be poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrificial offering of your faith, ^fI am glad and ^grejoice with you all. 18 Likewise you also should be glad and rejoice with me.

Timothy and Epaphroditus

19 ^hI hope in the Lord Jesus ⁱto send Timothy to you soon, so that I too may be cheered by news of you. 20 For I have no one like him, who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare. 21 For they all seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. 22 But you know Timothy’s¹² proven worth, how as a ^json¹³ with a father ^khe has served with me in the gospel. 23 I hope therefore to send him just as soon as I see how it will go with me, 24 and ^lI trust in the Lord that shortly I myself will come also.

25 I have thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus my brother and fellow worker and ^mfellow soldier, and your messenger and minister to my need, 26 for he has been longing for you all and has been distressed because you heard that he was ill. 27 Indeed he was ill, near to death. But God had mercy on him, and not only on him but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow. 28 I am the more eager to send him, therefore, that you may rejoice at seeing him again, and that I may be less anxious. 29 So ⁿreceive him in the Lord with all joy, and ^ohonor such men, 30 for he ^pnearly died¹⁴ for the work of Christ, risking his life ^qto complete what was lacking in your service to me.