Moab Rebels Against Israel

1 ^fIn the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, Jehoram the son of Ahab became king over Israel in Samaria, and he reigned twelve years. 2 He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, though not like his father and mother, for he put away the ^gpillar of Baal ^hthat his father had made. 3 Nevertheless, he clung to ⁱthe sin of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, ^jwhich he made Israel to sin; he did not depart from it.

4 Now Mesha king of Moab was a sheep breeder, ^kand he had to deliver to the king of Israel 100,000 lambs and the wool of 100,000 rams. 5 But ^lwhen 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. ^mI 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 ⁿthe king 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! ^oThe Lord has called these three kings to give them into the hand of Moab.” 11 ^pAnd Jehoshaphat said, “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, ^q“Elisha the son of Shaphat is here, ^rwho 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, ^s“What have I to do with you? Go to ^tthe prophets of your father and to ^uthe prophets of your mother.” But the king of Israel said to him, “No; it is ^othe Lord who has called these three kings to give them into the hand of Moab.” 14 And Elisha said, ^v“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 ^wbring me a musician.” And when the musician played, ^xthe 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 ^yand ruin every good piece of land with stones.” 20 The next morning, about the time of ^zoffering 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 ^aon 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 ^bKir-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 ^cswordsmen 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 ^dand offered 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 ^esons of the prophets cried to Elisha, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared the Lord, ^fbut 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 oil.” 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 ^gman 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 ^hShunem, where a ⁱwealthy 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 ^gman 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 ^jGehazi 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 ^kthe 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, ^labout this time next year, you shall embrace a son.” And she said, “No, my lord, ^gO man of God; ^mdo not lie to your servant.” 17 But the woman conceived, and she bore a son about that time ^lthe following spring, as Elisha had said to her.

Beth

Greeting

1 Paul and Timothy, servants¹ of Christ Jesus,

To all the ^asaints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the ^boverseers² and ^cdeacons:³

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

Thanksgiving and Prayer

3 ^eI thank my God ^fin all my remembrance of you, 4 always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, 5 ^gbecause of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. 6 And I am sure of this, that he who began ^ha good work in you ⁱwill bring it to completion at ^jthe day of Jesus Christ. 7 It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you ^kin my heart, for you are all ^lpartakers with me of grace,⁴ both ^min my imprisonment and in ⁿthe defense and confirmation of the gospel. 8 For ^oGod is my witness, ^phow I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus. 9 And it is my prayer that ^qyour love may abound more and more, ^rwith knowledge and all discernment, 10 so that you may approve what is excellent, ^sand so be pure and blameless ^tfor the day of Christ, 11 filled ^uwith the fruit of righteousness that comes ^vthrough Jesus Christ, ^wto 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 has really ^xserved to advance the gospel, 13 so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard⁶ and ^yto all the rest that ^zmy imprisonment is for Christ. 14 And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold ^ato speak the word⁷ without fear.

15 ^bSome indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will. 16 The latter do it out of love, ^cknowing that I am put here for ^dthe defense of the gospel. 17 The former proclaim Christ ^eout of selfish ambition, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment. 18 What then? Only 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 ^fthrough your prayers and ^gthe help of ^hthe Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance, 20 as it is my eager expectation and hope ⁱthat I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full ^jcourage now as always Christ ^kwill be honored in my body, ^lwhether by life or by death. 21 For to me ^mto live is Christ, and to die is gain. 22 If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. 23 ⁿI am hard pressed between the two. My desire is ^oto depart and ^pbe with Christ, for that is far better. 24 But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. 25 ^qConvinced of this, ^rI know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your ^sprogress and ^tjoy in the faith, 26 so that in me ^uyou may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again.

27 Only ^vlet your manner of life be ^wworthy⁸ of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you ^xthat you are standing firm in one spirit, with ^yone mind ^zstriving side by side for the faith of the gospel, 28 and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is ^aa clear sign to them of their destruction, but ^bof your salvation, and that from God. 29 For ^cit has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also ^bsuffer for his sake, 30 engaged in the same ^dconflict that ^eyou 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 ^flove, any ^gparticipation in the Spirit, any ^haffection and sympathy, 2 ⁱcomplete my joy by being ^jof the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. 3 Do nothing from ^kselfish ambition or ^lconceit, but in ^mhumility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you ⁿlook not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 ^oHave this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,⁹ 6 ^pwho, though he was in ^qthe form of God, did not count equality with God ^ra thing to be grasped,¹⁰ 7 but ^semptied himself, by taking the form of a ^tservant,^{11 u}being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by ^vbecoming obedient to the point of death, ^weven death on a cross. 9 ^xTherefore ^yGod has ^zhighly exalted him and bestowed on him ^athe name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus ^bevery knee should bow, ^cin heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and ^devery tongue confess that Jesus Christ is ^eLord, to the glory of God the Father.

Lights in the World

12 Therefore, my beloved, ^fas you have always ^gobeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for ^hit is God who works in you, both to will and to work for ⁱhis good pleasure.

14 Do all things ^jwithout grumbling or ^kdisputing, 15 that you may be blameless and innocent, ^lchildren of God ^mwithout blemish ⁿin the midst of ^oa crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine ^pas lights in the world, 16 holding fast to ^qthe word of life, so that in ^rthe day of Christ ^sI may be proud that ^tI did not run in vain or labor in vain. 17 Even if I am to be ^upoured out as a drink offering upon ^vthe sacrificial offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. 18 Likewise you also should be glad and rejoice with me.

Timothy and Epaphroditus

19 I hope in the Lord Jesus ^wto send Timothy to you soon, so that I too may be cheered by news of you. 20 For I have no one ^xlike him, who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare. 21 For they all ^yseek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. 22 But you know Timothy’s^{12 z}proven worth, how ^aas a son¹³ with a father ^bhe 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 ^cI trust in the Lord that shortly I myself will come also.

25 I have thought it necessary to send to you ^dEpaphroditus my brother and fellow worker and ^efellow soldier, and your messenger and ^fminister 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 ^greceive him in the Lord with all joy, and ^hhonor such men, 30 for he nearly died^{14 i}for the work of Christ, risking his life ^jto complete what was lacking in your service to me.