Tagged: Elisha
August 1
2 Kings 12
1In the seventh year of Jehu’s rule, Jehoash became king; and he was ruling for forty years in Jerusalem; his mother’s name was Zibiah of Beer-sheba.
2Jehoash did what was right in the eyes of the Lord all his days, because he was guided by the teaching of Jehoiada the priest.
3But the high places were not taken away; the people went on making offerings and burning them in the high places.
4And Jehoash said to the priests, All the money of the holy things, which comes into the house of the Lord, (the amount fixed for every man’s payment,) and all the money given by any man freely from the impulse of his heart,
5Let the priests take, every man from his friends and neighbours, to make good what is damaged in the house, wherever it is to be seen.
6But in the twenty-third year of King Jehoash, the priests had not made good the damaged parts of the house.
7Then King Jehoash sent for Jehoiada the priest, and the other priests, and said to them, Why have you not made good what is damaged in the house? now take no more money from your neighbours, but give it for the building up of the house.
8So the priests made an agreement to take no more money from the people, and not to make good what was damaged in the house.
9But Jehoiada the priest took a chest, and making a hole in the cover of it, put it by the altar, on the right side when one comes into the house of the Lord; and the priests who kept the door put in it regularly all the money which was taken into the house of the Lord.
10And when they saw that there was much money in the chest, the king’s scribe and the high priest came and put it in bags, noting the amount of all the money there was in the house of the Lord.
11And the money which was measured out they gave regularly to those who were responsible for overseeing the work, and these gave it in payment to the woodworkers and the builders who were working on the house of the Lord,
12And to the wall-builders and the stone-cutters, and to get wood and cut stone for building up the broken parts of the house of the Lord, and for everything needed to put the house in good order.
13But the money was not used for making silver cups or scissors or basins or wind-instruments or any vessels of gold or silver for the house of the Lord;
14But it was all given to the workmen who were building up the house.
15And they did not get any statement of accounts from the men to whom the money was given for the workmen, for they made use of it with good faith.
16The money of the offerings for error and the sin-offerings was not taken into the house of the Lord; it was the priests’.
17Then Hazael, king of Aram, went up against Gath and took it; and his purpose was to go up to Jerusalem.
18Then Jehoash, king of Judah, took all the holy things which Jehoshaphat and Jehoram and Ahaziah his fathers, the kings of Judah, had given to the Lord, together with the things he himself had given, and all the gold in the Temple store and in the king’s house, and sent it to Hazael, king of Aram; and he went away from Jerusalem.
19Now the rest of the acts of Joash, and all he did, are they not recorded in the book of the history of the kings of Israel?
20And his servants made a secret design and put Joash to death at the house of Millo on the way down to Silla.
21And Jozacar, the son of Shimeath, and Jehozabad, the son of Shomer, his servants, came to him and put him to death; and they put him into the earth with his fathers in the town of David; and Amaziah his son became king in his place.
2 Kings 13
1In the twenty-third year of Joash, the son of Ahaziah, king of Judah, Jehoahaz, the son of Jehu, became king over Israel in Samaria, ruling for seventeen years.
2He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, copying the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, which he did and made Israel do; he did not keep himself from them.
3So the wrath of the Lord was burning against Israel, and he gave them up into the power of Hazael, king of Aram, and into the power of Ben-hadad, the son of Hazael, again and again.
4Then Jehoahaz made prayer to the Lord, and the Lord gave ear to him, for he saw how cruelly Israel was crushed by the king of Aram.
5(And the Lord gave Israel a saviour, so that they became free from the hands of the Aramaeans; and the children of Israel were living in their tents as in the past.
6But still they did not give up the sin of Jeroboam, which he made Israel do, but went on with it; and there was an image of Asherah in Samaria.)
7For out of all his army, Jehoahaz had only fifty horsemen and ten carriages and ten thousand footmen; the king of Aram had given them up to destruction, crushing them like dust.
8Now the rest of the acts of Jehoahaz, and all he did, and his great power, are they not recorded in the book of the history of the kings of Israel?
9And Jehoahaz went to rest with his fathers, and was put into the earth in Samaria; and Joash his son became king in his place.
10In the thirty-seventh year of the rule of Joash, king of Judah, Joash, the son of Jehoahaz, became king over Israel in Samaria, ruling for sixteen years.
11He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, not turning away from the sin of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, which he did and made Israel do, but he went on with it.
12Now the rest of the acts of Joash, and all he did, and the force with which he went to war against Amaziah, king of Judah, are they not recorded in the book of the history of the kings of Israel?
13And Joash went to rest with his fathers and Jeroboam took his place as king; and Joash was put into the earth in Samaria with the kings of Israel.
14Now Elisha became ill with the disease which was the cause of his death: and Joash, king of Israel, came down to him, and weeping over him said, My father, my father, the war-carriages of Israel and its horsemen!
15Then Elisha said to him, Take bow and arrows: and he took bow and arrows.
16And he said to the king of Israel, Put your hand on the bow: and he put his hand on it; and Elisha put his hands on the king’s hands.
17Then he said; Let the window be open to the east: and he got it open. Then Elisha said, Let the arrow go; and he let it go. And he said, The Lord’s arrow of salvation, of salvation over Aram; for you will overcome the Aramaeans in Aphek and put an end to them.
18And he said, Take the arrows: and he took them. And he said to the king of Israel, Send them down into the earth; and he did so three times and no more.
19Then the man of God was angry with him and said, If you had done it five or six times, then you would have overcome Aram completely; but now you will only overcome them three times.
20And death came to Elisha and they put his body into the earth. Now in the spring of the year, armed bands of Moabites frequently came, overrunning the land.
21And while they were putting a dead man into the earth, they saw a band coming; and they put the man quickly into the place where Elisha’s body was; and the dead man, on touching Elisha’s bones, came to life again, and got up on his feet.
22And Israel was crushed under the power of Hazael, king of Aram, all the days of Jehoahaz.
23But the Lord was kind to them and had pity on them, caring for them, because of his agreement with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; he would not put them to destruction or send them away from before his face till now.
24Then Hazael, king of Aram, came to his end; and Ben-hadad his son became king in his place.
25And Jehoash, the son of Jehoahaz, took again from Ben-hadad, the son of Hazael, the towns which he had taken from Jehoahaz his father in war. Three times Jehoash overcame him and got back the towns of Israel.
Micah 3
1And I said, Give ear, now, you heads of Jacob and rulers of the people of Israel: is it not for you to have knowledge of what is right?
2You who are haters of good and lovers of evil, pulling off their skin from them and their flesh from their bones;
3Like meat they take the flesh of my people for their food, skinning them and crushing their bones, yes, cutting them up as if for the pot, like flesh inside the cooking-pot.
4Then they will be crying to the Lord for help, but he will not give them an answer: yes, he will keep his face veiled from them at that time, because their acts have been evil.
5This is what the Lord has said about the prophets by whom my people have been turned from the right way; who, biting with their teeth, say, Peace; and if anyone puts nothing in their mouths they make ready for war against him.
6For this cause it will be night for you, without a vision; and it will be dark for you, without knowledge of the future; the sun will go down over the prophets, and the day will be black over them.
7And the seers will be shamed, and the readers of the future will be at a loss, all of them covering their lips; for there is no answer from God.
8But I truly am full of the spirit of the Lord, with power of judging and with strength to make clear to Jacob his wrongdoing and to Israel his sin.
9Then give ear to this, you heads of the children of Jacob, you rulers of the children of Israel, hating what is right, twisting what is straight.
10They are building up Zion with blood, and Jerusalem with evil-doing.
11Its heads take rewards for judging, and the priests take payment for teaching, and the prophets get silver for reading the future: but still, supporting themselves on the Lord, they say, Is not the Lord among us? no evil will overtake us.
12For this reason, Zion will be ploughed like a field because of you, and Jerusalem will become a mass of broken walls, and the mountain of the house like a high place in the woods.
1 Corinthians 16
1Now about the giving of money for the saints, as I gave orders to the churches of Galatia, so do you.
2On the first day of the week, let every one of you put by him in store, in measure as he has done well in business, so that it may not be necessary to get money together when I come.
3And when I come, I will send the men of your selection with letters to take the money you have got together to Jerusalem.
4And if it is possible for me to go there, they will go with me.
5But I will come to you after I have gone through Macedonia, for that is my purpose;
6But I may be with you for a time, or even for the winter, so that you may see me on my way, wherever I go.
7For it is not my desire to see you now, on my way; because it is my hope to be with you for some time, if that is the Lord’s pleasure.
8But I will be at Ephesus till Pentecost;
9For a great and important door there is open to me, and there are a number of people against me.
10Now if Timothy comes, see that he is with you without fear; because he is doing the Lord’s work, even as I am:
11See then that he has the honour which is right. But send him on his way in peace, so that he may come to me: for I am looking for him with the brothers.
12But as for Apollos, the brother, I had a great desire for him to come to you with the brothers, but it was not his pleasure to come now; but he will come when he has a chance.
13Be on the watch, unmoved in the faith, and be strong like men.
14Let all you do be done in love.
15Now I make my request to you, my brothers, for you have knowledge that the house of Stephanas is the first-fruits of Achaia, and that they have made themselves the servants of the saints,
16That you put yourselves under such, and under everyone who is helping the Lord’s work.
17And I am glad of the coming of Stephanas and Fortunatus and Achaicus: for they have done what was needed to make your work complete.
18For they gave comfort to my spirit and to yours: for which cause give respect to such people.
19The churches of Asia send their love to you. So do Aquila and Prisca, with the church which is in their house.
20All the brothers send their love to you. Give one another a holy kiss.
21I, Paul, send you these words of love in my writing.
22If any man has not love for the Lord, let him be cursed. Maran atha (our Lord comes).
23The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
24My love be with you all in Christ Jesus. So be it.
July 28
2 Kings 8
1Now Elisha had said to the woman whose son he had given back to life, Go now, with all the people of your house, and get a living-place for yourselves wherever you are able; for by the word of the Lord, there will be great need of food in the land; and this will go on for seven years.
2So the woman got up and did as the man of God said; and she and the people of her house were living in the land of the Philistines for seven years.
3And when the seven years were ended, the woman came back from the land of the Philistines and went to the king with a request for her house and her land.
4Now the king was talking with Gehazi, the servant of the man of God, saying, Now, give me an account of all the great things Elisha has done.
5And while he was giving the king the story of how Elisha had given life to the dead, the woman whose son had come back to life came to the king with a request for her house and her land. And Gehazi said, My lord king, this is the woman and this is her son, whose life Elisha gave back to him.
6And in answer to the king’s questions, the woman gave him all the story. So the king gave orders to one of his unsexed servants, saying, Give her back all her property, and all the produce of her fields from the day when she went away from the land up till now.
7And Elisha came to Damascus; and Ben-hadad, king of Aram, was ill; and they said to him, The man of God has come.
8Then the king said to Hazael, Take an offering with you, and go to see the man of God and get directions from the Lord by him, saying, Am I going to get better from my disease?
9So Hazael went to see him, taking with him forty camels with offerings on their backs of every sort of good thing from Damascus; and when he came before him, he said, Your son Ben-hadad, king of Aram, has sent me to you, saying, Will I get better from this disease?
10And Elisha said to him, Go, say to him, You will certainly get better; but the Lord has made it clear to me that only death is before him.
11And he kept his eyes fixed on him till he was shamed, and the man of God was overcome with weeping.
12And Hazael said, Why is my lord weeping? Then he said in answer, Because I see the evil which you will do to the children of Israel: burning down their strong towns, putting their young men to death with the sword, smashing their little ones against the stones, and cutting open the women who are with child.
13And Hazael said, How is it possible that your servant, who is only a dog, will do this great thing? And Elisha said, The Lord has made it clear to me that you will be king over Aram.
14Then he went away from Elisha and came in to his master, who said to him, What did Elisha say to you? And his answer was, He said that you would certainly get well.
15Now on the day after, Hazael took the bed-cover, and making it wet with water, put it over Ben-hadad’s face, causing his death: and Hazael became king in his place.
16In the fifth year of Joram, the son of Ahab, king of Israel, Jehoram, the son of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, became king.
17He was thirty-two years old when he became king; and he was ruling in Jerusalem for eight years.
18He went in the ways of the kings of Israel, as the family of Ahab did: for the daughter of Ahab was his wife; and he did evil in the eyes of the Lord.
19But it was not the Lord’s purpose to send destruction on Judah, because of David his servant, to whom he had given his word that he would have a light for ever.
20In his time, Edom made themselves free from the rule of Judah, and took a king for themselves.
21Then Joram went over to Zair, with all his war-carriages; … made an attack by night on the Edomites, whose forces were all round him, … the captains of the war-carriages; and the people went in flight to their tents.
22So Edom made themselves free from the rule of Judah to this day. And at the same time, Libnah made itself free.
23Now the rest of the acts of Joram, and all he did, are they not recorded in the book of the history of the kings of Judah?
24And Joram went to rest with his fathers and was put into the earth with his fathers in the town of David: and Ahaziah his son became king in his place.
25In the twelfth year that Joram, the son of Ahab, was king of Israel, Ahaziah, the son of Jehoram, king of Judah, became king;
26Ahaziah was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he was ruling in Jerusalem for one year. His mother’s name was Athaliah, the daughter of Omri, king of Israel.
27He went in the ways of the family of Ahab, and did evil in the eyes of the Lord as the family of Ahab did, for he was a son-in-law of the family of Ahab.
28He went with Joram, the son of Ahab, to make war on Hazael, king of Aram, at Ramoth-gilead: and Joram was wounded by the Aramaeans.
29So King Joram went back to Jezreel to get well from the wounds which the bowmen had given him at Ramah, when he was fighting against Hazael, king of Aram. And Ahaziah, the son of Jehoram, king of Judah, went down to see Joram, the son of Ahab, in Jezreel, because he was ill.
Jonah 3
1And the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time, saying,
2Up! go to Nineveh, that great town, and give it the word which I have given you.
3So Jonah got up and went to Nineveh as the Lord had said. Now Nineveh was a very great town, three days’ journey from end to end.
4And Jonah first of all went a day’s journey into the town, and crying out said, In forty days destruction will overtake Nineveh.
5And the people of Nineveh had belief in God; and a time was fixed for going without food, and they put on haircloth, from the greatest to the least.
6And the word came to the king of Nineveh, and he got up from his seat of authority, and took off his robe, and covering himself with haircloth, took his seat in the dust.
7And he had it given out in Nineveh, By the order of the king and his great men, no man or beast, herd or flock, is to have a taste of anything; let them have no food or water:
8And let man and beast be covered with haircloth, and let them make strong prayers to God: and let everyone be turned from his evil way and the violent acts of their hands.
9Who may say that God will not be turned, changing his purpose and turning away from his burning wrath, so that destruction may not overtake us?
10And God saw what they did, how they were turned from their evil way; and God’s purpose was changed as to the evil which he said he would do to them, and he did it not.
1 Corinthians 14:1-25
1Go after love; still desiring to have the things which the Spirit gives, but most of all that you may have the prophet’s power.
2For he who makes use of tongues is not talking to men but to God; because no one has the sense of what he is saying; but in the Spirit he is talking of secret things.
3But the word of the prophet gives men knowledge and comfort and strength.
4He who makes use of tongues may do good to himself; but he who gives the prophet’s word does good to the church.
5Now though it is my desire for you all to have the power of tongues, it would give me more pleasure to be hearing the prophet’s word from you; for this is a greater thing than using tongues, if the sense is not given at the same time, for the good of the church.
6But, now, my brothers, if I come to you using tongues, what profit will it be to you, if I do not give you a revelation, or knowledge, or the word of the prophet, or teaching?
7Even things without life, having a voice, such as a music-pipe or other instrument, if they do not give out different sounds, who may be certain what is being played?
8For if the war-horn gives out an uncertain note, who will get ready for the fight?
9So if you, in using a strange tongue, say words which have no sense, how will anyone take in what you are saying? for you will be talking to the air.
10There are, it may be, a number of different voices in the world, and no voice is without sense.
11But if the sense of the voice is not clear to me, I am like a man from a strange country to him who is talking, and he will be the same to me.
12So if you are desiring the things which the Spirit gives, let your minds be turned first to the things which are for the good of the church.
13For this reason, let the man who has the power of using tongues make request that he may, at the same time, be able to give the sense.
14For if I make use of tongues in my prayers, my spirit makes the prayer, but not my mind.
15What then? let my prayer be from the spirit, and equally from the mind; let my song be from the spirit, and equally from mind.
16For if you give a blessing with the spirit, how will the man who has no knowledge say, So be it, after your prayer, seeing that he has not taken in what you are saying?
17For your giving of the blessing is certainly well done, but of no profit to the man without knowledge.
18I give praise to God that I am able to make use of tongues more than you all:
19But in the church it would be better for me to make use of five words of which the sense was clear, so that others might have profit, than ten thousand words in a strange tongue.
20My brothers, do not be children in mind: in evil be as little children, but in mind be of full growth.
21In the law it is said, By men of other tongues and by strange lips will my words come to this people; and not even so will they give ear to me, says the Lord.
22For this reason tongues are for a sign, not to those who have faith, but to those who have not: but the prophet’s word is for those who have faith, and not for the rest who have not.
23If, then, the church has come together, and all are using tongues, and there come in men without knowledge or faith, will they not say that you are unbalanced?
24But if all are teaching as prophets, and a man without faith or knowledge comes in, he is tested by all, he is judged by all;
25The secrets of his heart are made clear; and he will go down on his face and give worship to God, saying that God is truly among you.
July 26
2 Kings 6
1Now the sons of the prophets said to Elisha, There is not room enough for us in the place where we are living under your care;
2So let us go to Jordan, and let everyone get to work cutting boards, and we will make a living-place for ourselves there. And he said to them, Go, then.
3And one of them said, Be pleased to go with your servants. And he said, I will go.
4So he went with them. And when they came to Jordan, they got to work cutting down trees.
5But one of them, while cutting a board, let the head of his axe go into the water; and he gave a cry, and said, This is a bad business, my master, for it is another’s.
6And the man of God said, Where did it go in? and when he saw the place where it had gone into the water, cutting a stick, he put it into the water, and the iron came up to the top of the water.
7Then he said, Take it up. So he put out his hand and took it.
8At that time the king of Aram was making war against Israel; and he had a meeting with the chiefs of his army and said, I will be waiting in secret in some named place.
9And the man of God sent to the king of Israel, saying, Take care to keep away from that place, for the Aramaeans are waiting there in secret.
10So the king of Israel sent to the place where the man of God had said there was danger, and kept clear of it more than once.
11And at this, the mind of the king of Aram was greatly troubled, and he sent for his servants and said to them, Will you not make clear to me which of us is helping the king of Israel?
12And one of them said, Not one of us, my lord king; but Elisha, the prophet in Israel, gives the king of Israel news of the words you say even in your bedroom.
13Then he said, Go and see where he is, so that I may send and get him. And news came to him that he was in Dothan.
14So he sent there horses and carriages and a great army; and they came by night, circling the town.
15Now the servant of the man of God, having got up early and gone out, saw an army with horses and carriages of war all round the town. And the servant said to him, O my master, what are we to do?
16And he said in answer, Have no fear; those who are with us are more than those who are with them.
17Then Elisha made a prayer to the Lord, saying, Lord, let his eyes be open so that he may see. And the Lord made the young man’s eyes open; and he saw that all the mountain was full of horses and carriages of fire round Elisha.
18Now when the Aramaeans came down to Elisha, he made a prayer to the Lord saying, Lord, make this people blind. And he made them blind at Elisha’s request.
19And Elisha said to them, This is not the way, and this is not the town: come after me so that I may take you to the man you are searching for. And he took them to Samaria.
20And when they had come into Samaria, Elisha said, Lord, let the eyes of these men be open so that they may see. And the Lord made their eyes open, and they saw that they were in the middle of Samaria.
21And the king of Israel, when he saw them, said to Elisha, My father, am I to put them to the sword?
22But he said in answer, You are not to put them to death; have you any right to put to death those whom you have not taken prisoner with your sword and your bow? put bread and water before them, so that they may have food and drink and go to their master.
23So he made ready a great feast for them, and when they had had food and drink, he sent them away and they went back to their master. And no more bands of Aramaeans came into the land of Israel.
24Now after this, Ben-hadad, king of Aram, got together all his army and went up to make an attack on Samaria, shutting the town in on all sides with his forces.
25And they became very short of food in Samaria; for they kept it shut in till the price of an ass’s head was eighty shekels of silver, and a small measure of doves’ droppings was five shekels of silver.
26And when the king of Israel was going by on the wall, a woman came crying out to him, and said, Help! my lord king.
27And he said, If the Lord does not give you help, where am I to get help for you? from the grain-floor or the grape-crusher?
28And the king said to her, What is troubling you? And she said in answer, This woman said to me, Give your son to be our food today, and we will have my son tomorrow.
29So, boiling my son, we had a meal of him; and on the day after I said to her, Now give your son for our food; but she has put her son in a secret place.
30Then the king, hearing what the woman said, took his robes in his hands, violently parting them; and, while he was walking on the wall, the people, looking, saw that under his robe he had haircloth on his flesh.
31Then he said, May God’s punishment come on me if Elisha, the son of Shaphat, keeps his head on his body after this day.
32But Elisha was in his house, and the responsible men were seated there with him; and before the king got there, Elisha said to those who were with him, Do you see how this cruel and violent man has sent to take away my life?
33While he was still talking to them, the king came down and said, This evil is from the Lord; why am I to go on waiting any longer for the Lord?
2 Kings 7:1-2
1Then Elisha said, Give ear to the word of the Lord: the Lord says, Tomorrow, about this time, a measure of good meal will be offered for the price of a shekel and two measures of barley for a shekel, in the market-place of Samaria.
2Then the captain whose arm was supporting the king said to the man of God, Even if the Lord made windows in heaven, would such a thing be possible? And he said, Your eyes will see it, but you will not have a taste of the food.
Jonah 1
1And the word of the Lord came to Jonah, the son of Amittai, saying,
2Up! go to Nineveh, that great town, and let your voice come to it; for their evil-doing has come up before me.
3And Jonah got up to go in flight to Tarshish, away from the Lord; and he went down to Joppa, and saw there a ship going to Tarshish: so he gave them the price of the journey and went down into it to go with them to Tarshish, away from the Lord.
4And the Lord sent out a great wind on to the sea and there was a violent storm in the sea, so that the ship seemed in danger of being broken.
5Then the sailors were full of fear, every man crying to his god; and the goods in the ship were dropped out into the sea to make the weight less. But Jonah had gone down into the inmost part of the ship where he was stretched out in a deep sleep.
6And the ship’s captain came to him and said to him, What are you doing sleeping? Up! say a prayer to your God, if by chance God will give a thought to us, so that we may not come to destruction.
7And they said to one another, Come, let us put this to the decision of chance and see on whose account this evil has come on us. So they did so, and Jonah was seen to be the man.
8Then they said to him, Now make clear to us what is your work, and where you come from? what is your country, and who are your people?
9And he said to them, I am a Hebrew, a worshipper of the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.
10And the men were in great fear, and they said to him, What is this you have done? For the men had knowledge of his flight from the Lord because he had not kept it from them.
11And they said to him, What are we to do to you so that the sea may become calm for us? For the sea was getting rougher and rougher.
12And he said to them, Take me up and put me into the sea, and the sea will become calm for you: for I am certain that because of me this great storm has come on you.
13And the men were working hard to get back to the land, but they were not able to do so: for the sea got rougher and rougher against them.
14So, crying to the Lord, they said, Give ear to our prayer, O Lord, give ear, and do not let destruction overtake us because of this man’s life; do not put on us the sin of taking life without cause: for you, O Lord, have done what seemed good to you.
15So they took Jonah up and put him into the sea: and the sea was no longer angry.
16Then great was the men’s fear of the Lord; and they made an offering to the Lord and took oaths to him.
17And the Lord made ready a great fish to take Jonah into its mouth; and Jonah was inside the fish for three days and three nights.
1 Corinthians 12
1But about the things of the spirit, my brothers, it is not right for you to be without teaching.
2You are conscious that when you were Gentiles, in whatever way you were guided, you went after images without voice or power.
3So it is my desire for you to be clear about this; that no one is able to say by the Spirit of God that Jesus is cursed; and no one is able to say that Jesus is Lord, but by the Holy Spirit.
4Now there are different qualities given to men, but the same Spirit.
5And there are different sorts of servants, but the same Lord.
6And there are different operations, but the same God, who is working all things in all.
7But to every man some form of the Spirit’s working is given for the common good.
8For to one are given words of wisdom through the Spirit; and to another words of knowledge through the same Spirit:
9To another faith in the same Spirit; and to another the power of taking away disease, by the one Spirit;
10And to another the power of working wonders; and to another the prophet’s word; and to another the power of testing spirits; to another different sorts of tongues; and to another the power of making clear the sense of the tongues:
11But all these are the operations of the one and the same Spirit, giving to every man separately as his pleasure is.
12For as the body is one, and has a number of parts, and all the parts make one body, so is Christ.
13For through the baptism of the one Spirit we were all formed into one body, Jews or Greeks, servants or free men, and were all made full of the same Spirit.
14For the body is not one part, but a number of parts.
15If the foot says, Because I am not the hand, I am not a part of the body; it is no less a part of the body.
16And if the ear says, Because I am not the eye, I am not a part of the body; it is a part of the body all the same.
17If all the body was an eye, where would be the hearing? if all was hearing, where would be the smelling?
18But now God has put every one of the parts in the body as it was pleasing to him.
19And if they were all one part, where would the body be?
20But now they are all different parts, but one body.
21And the eye may not say to the hand, I have no need of you: or again the head to the feet, I have no need of you.
22No, those parts which seem to be feeble are the more necessary;
23And to those parts of the body which seem to have less honour we give all the more honour; and to those parts of the body which are a cause of shame to us we give the greater respect;
24But those parts of the body which are beautiful have no need of such care: and so the body has been joined together by God in such a way as to give more honour to those parts which had need of it;
25So that there might be no division in the body; but all the parts might have the same care for one another.
26And if there is pain in one part of the body, all the parts will be feeling it; or if one part is honoured, all the parts will be glad.
27Now you are the body of Christ, and every one of you the separate parts of it.
28And God has put some in the church, first, Apostles; second, prophets; third, teachers; then those with wonder-working powers, then those with the power of taking away disease, helpers, wise guides, users of strange tongues.
29Are all Apostles? are all prophets? are all teachers? have all the power of working wonders?
30Are all able to take away disease? have all the power of tongues? are all able to give their sense?
31But let your desires be turned to the more important things given by the Spirit. And now I am pointing out to you an even better way.
July 25
2 Kings 5
1Now Naaman, chief of the army of the king of Aram, was a man of high position with his master, and greatly respected, because by him the Lord had given salvation to Aram; but he was a leper.
2Now the Aramaeans had gone out in bands, and taken prisoner from Israel a little girl, who became servant to Naaman’s wife.
3And she said to her master’s wife, If only my lord would go to the prophet in Samaria, he would make him well.
4And someone went and said to his lord, This is what the girl from the land of Israel says.
5So the king of Aram said, Go then; and I will send a letter to the king of Israel. And he went, taking with him ten talents of silver and six thousand shekels of gold, and ten changes of clothing.
6And he took the letter to the king of Israel, in which the king of Aram had said, See, I have sent my servant Naaman to you to be made well, for he is a leper.
7But the king of Israel, after reading the letter, was greatly troubled and said, Am I God, to give death and life? why does this man send a leper to me to be made well? is it not clear that he is looking for a cause of war?
8Now Elisha, the man of God, hearing that the king of Israel had done this, sent to the king, saying, Why are you troubled? send the man to me, so that he may see that there is a prophet in Israel.
9So Naaman, with all his horses and his carriages, came to the door of Elisha’s house.
10And Elisha sent a servant to him, saying, Go to Jordan, and after washing seven times in its waters your flesh will be well again and you will be clean.
11But Naaman was angry and went away and said, I had the idea that he would come out to see such an important person as I am, and make prayer to the Lord his God, and with a wave of his hand over the place make the leper well.
12Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? may I not be washed in them and become clean? So turning, he went away in wrath.
13Then his servants came to him and said, If the prophet had given you orders to do some great thing, would you not have done it? how much more then, when he says to you, Be washed and become clean?
14Then he went down seven times into the waters of Jordan, as the man of God had said; and his flesh became like the flesh of a little child again, and he was clean.
15Then he went back to the man of God, with all his train, and, taking his place before him, said, Now I am certain that there is no God in all the earth, but only in Israel: now then, take an offering from me.
16But he said, By the life of the Lord whose servant I am, I will take nothing from you. And he did his best to make him take it but he would not.
17Then Naaman said, If you will not, then let there be given to your servant as much earth as two beasts are able to take on their backs; because from now on, your servant will make no offering or burned offering to other gods, but only to the Lord.
18But may your servant have the Lord’s forgiveness for this one thing: when my master goes into the house of Rimmon for worship there, supported on my arm, and my head is bent in the house of Rimmon; when his head is bent in the house of Rimmon, may your servant have the Lord’s forgiveness for this thing.
19And he said to him, Go in peace. And he went from him some distance.
20But Gehazi, the servant of Elisha, the man of God, said, Now my master has taken nothing from Naaman, this Aramaean, of what he would have given him: by the living Lord, I will go after him and get something from him.
21So Gehazi went after Naaman. And when Naaman saw him running after him, he got down from his carriage and went back to him and said, Is all well?
22And he said, All is well: but my master has sent me, saying, Even now, two young men of the sons of the prophets have come to me from the hill-country of Ephraim; will you give me a talent of silver and two changes of clothing for them?
23And Naaman said, Be good enough to take two talents. And forcing him to take them, he put two talents of silver in two bags, with two changes of clothing, and gave them to his two servants to take before him.
24When he came to the hill, he took them from their hands, and put them away in the house; and he sent the men away, and they went.
25Then he came in and took his place before his master. And Elisha said to him, Where have you come from, Gehazi? And he said, Your servant went nowhere.
26And he said to him, Did not my heart go with you, when the man got down from his carriage and went back to you? Is this a time for getting money, and clothing, and olive-gardens and vine-gardens, and sheep and oxen, and men-servants and women-servants?
27Because of what you have done, the disease of Naaman the leper will take you in its grip, and your seed after you, for ever. And he went out from before him a leper as white as snow.
Obadiah 1
1The vision of Obadiah. This is what the Lord has said about Edom: We have had word from the Lord, and a representative has been sent among the nations, saying, Up! and let us make war against her.
1 Corinthians 11:17-34
17But in giving you this order, there is one thing about which I am not pleased: it is that when you come together it is not for the better but for the worse.
18For first of all, it has come to my ears that when you come together in the church, there are divisions among you, and I take the statement to be true in part.
19For divisions are necessary among you, in order that those who have God’s approval may be clearly seen among you.
20But now, when you come together, it is not possible to take the holy meal of the Lord:
21For when you take your food, everyone takes his meal before the other; and one has not enough food, and another is the worse for drink.
22What? have you not houses to take your meals in? or have you no respect for the church of God, putting the poor to shame? What am I to say to you? am I to give you praise? certainly not.
23For it was handed down to me from the Lord, as I gave it to you, that the Lord Jesus, on the night when Judas was false to him, took bread,
24And when it had been broken with an act of praise, he said, This is my body which is for you: do this in memory of me.
25In the same way, with the cup, after the meal, he said, This cup is the new testament in my blood: do this, whenever you take it, in memory of me.
26For whenever you take the bread and the cup you give witness to the Lord’s death till he comes.
27If, then, anyone takes the bread or the cup of the Lord in the wrong spirit, he will be responsible for the body and blood of the Lord.
28But let no man take of the bread and the cup without testing himself.
29For a man puts himself in danger, if he takes part in the holy meal without being conscious that it is the Lord’s body.
30For this cause a number of you are feeble and ill, and a number are dead.
31But if we were true judges of ourselves, punishment would not come on us.
32But if punishment does come, it is sent by the Lord, so that we may be safe when the world is judged.
33So then, my brothers, when you come together to the holy meal of the Lord, let there be waiting for one another.
34If any man is in need of food, let him take his meal in his house; so that you may not come together to your damage. And the rest I will put in order when I come.
July 24
2 Kings 4
1Now a certain woman, the wife of one of the sons of the prophets, came crying to Elisha and said, Your servant my husband is dead; and to your knowledge he was a worshipper of the Lord; but now, the creditor has come to take my two children as servants in payment of his debt.
2Then Elisha said to her, What am I to do for you? say now, what have you in the house? And she said, Your servant has nothing in the house but a pot of oil.
3Then he said, Go out to all your neighbours and get vessels, a very great number of them.
4Then go in, and, shutting the door on yourself and your sons, put oil into all these vessels, putting on one side the full ones.
5So she went away, and when the door was shut on her and her sons, they took the vessels to her and she put oil into them.
6And when all the vessels were full, she said to her son, Get me another vessel. And he said, There are no more. And the flow of oil was stopped.
7So she came to the man of God and gave him word of what she had done. And he said, Go and get money for the oil and make payment of your debt, and let the rest be for the needs of yourself and your sons.
8Now there came a day when Elisha went to Shunem, and there was a woman of high position living there, who made him come in and have a meal with her. And after that, every time he went by, he went into her house for a meal.
9And she said to her husband, Now I see that this is a holy man of God, who comes by day after day.
10So let us make a little room on the wall; and put a bed there for him, and a table and a seat and a light; so that when he comes to us, he will be able to go in there.
11Now one day, when he had gone there, he went into the little room and took his rest there.
12And he said to Gehazi, his servant, Send for this Shunammite. So in answer to his voice she came before him.
13And he said to him, Now say to her, See, you have taken all this trouble for us; what is to be done for you? will you have any request made for you to the king or the captain of the army? But she said, I am living among my people.
14So he said, What then is to be done for her? And Gehazi made answer, Still there is this, she has no son and her husband is old.
15Then he said, Send for her. And in answer to his voice she took her place at the door.
16And Elisha said, At this time in the coming year you will have a son in your arms. And she said, No, my lord, O man of God, do not say what is false to your servant.
17Then the woman became with child and gave birth to a son at the time named, in the year after, as Elisha had said to her.
18Now one day, when the child was older, he went out to his father to where the grain was being cut.
19And he said to his father, My head, my head! And the father said to a servant, Take him in to his mother.
20And he took him in to his mother, and she took him on her knees and kept him there till the middle of the day, when his life went from him.
21Then she went up and put him on the bed of the man of God, shutting the door on him, and went out.
22And she said to her husband, Send me one of the servants and one of the asses so that I may go quickly to the man of God and come back again.
23And he said, Why are you going to him today? it is not a new moon or a Sabbath. But she said, It is well.
24Then she made the ass ready and said to her servant, Keep driving on; do not make a stop without orders from me.
25So she went, and came to Mount Carmel, to the man of God. And when the man of God saw her coming in his direction, he said to Gehazi, his servant, See, there is the Shunammite;
26Go quickly to her, and on meeting her say to her, Are you well? and your husband and the child, are they well? And she said in answer, All is well.
27And when she came to where the man of God was on the hill, she put her hands round his feet; and Gehazi came near with the purpose of pushing her away; but the man of God said, Let her be, for her soul is bitter in her; and the Lord has kept it secret from me, and has not given me word of it.
28Then she said, Did I make a request to my lord for a son? did I not say, Do not give me false words?
29Then he said to Gehazi, Make yourself ready, and take my stick in your hand, and go: if you come across anyone on the way, give him no blessing, and if anyone gives you a blessing, give him no answer. And put my stick on the child’s face.
30But the mother of the child said, As the Lord is living and as your soul is living, I will not go back without you. So he got up and went with her.
31And Gehazi went on before them and put the stick on the child’s face; but there was no voice, and no one gave attention. So he went back, and meeting him gave him the news, saying, The child is not awake.
32And when Elisha came into the house he saw the child dead, stretched on his bed.
33So he went in, and shutting the door on the two of them, made prayer to the Lord.
34Then he got up on the bed, stretching himself out on the child, and put his mouth on the child’s mouth, his eyes on his eyes and his hands on his hands; and the child’s body became warm.
35Then he came back, and after walking once through the house and back, he went up, stretching himself out on the child seven times; and the child’s eyes became open.
36And he gave orders to Gehazi, and said, Send for the Shunammite. And she came in answer to his voice. And he said, Take up your son.
37And she came in, and went down on her face to the earth at his feet; then she took her son in her arms and went out.
38And Elisha went back to Gilgal, now there was very little food in the land; and the sons of the prophets were seated before him. And he said to his servant, Put the great pot on the fire, and make soup for the sons of the prophets.
39And one went out into the field to get green plants and saw a vine of the field, and pulling off the fruit of it till the fold of his robe was full, he came back and put the fruit, cut up small, into the pot of soup, having no idea what it was.
40Then they gave the men soup from the pot. And while they were drinking the soup, they gave a cry, and said, O man of God, there is death in the pot; and they were not able to take any more food.
41But he said, Get some meal. And he put it into the pot, and said, Now give it to the people so that they may have food. And there was nothing bad in the pot.
42Now a man came from Baal-shalishah with an offering of first-fruits for the man of God, twenty barley cakes and garden fruit in his bag. And he said, Give these to the people for food.
43But his servant said, How am I to put this before a hundred men? But he said, Give it to the people for food; for the Lord says, There will be food for them and some over.
44So he put it before them, and they had a meal and there was more than enough, as the Lord had said.
Amos 9
1I saw the Lord stationed by the side of the altar, giving blows to the tops of the pillars so that the doorsteps were shaking: and he said, I will let all of them be broken with earth-shocks; I will put the last of them to the sword: if any one of them goes in flight he will not get away, not one of them will be safe.
2Even if they go deep into the underworld, my hand will take them up from there; if they go up to heaven, I will get them down:
3Though they take cover on the top of Carmel, I will go in search of them and get them out; though they keep themselves from my eyes in the bed of the sea, I will give orders to the great snake there and he will give them a bite:
4And though they are taken away as prisoners by their attackers, even there will I give orders to the sword to put them to death: my eyes will be fixed on them for evil and not for good.
5For the Lord, the God of armies, is he at whose touch the land is turned to water, and everyone in it will be given up to sorrow; all of it will be overflowing like the River, and will go down again like the River of Egypt;
6It is he who makes his rooms in the heaven, basing his arch on the earth; whose voice goes out to the waters of the sea, and sends them flowing over the face of the earth; the Lord is his name.
7Are you not as the children of the Ethiopians to me, O children of Israel? says the Lord. Have I not taken Israel up out of the land of Egypt, and the Philistines from Caphtor, and the Aramaeans from Kir?
8See, the eyes of the Lord are on the evil kingdom, and I will put an end to it in all the earth; but I will not send complete destruction on Jacob, says the Lord.
9For see, I will give orders, and I will have Israel moved about among all the nations, as grain is moved about by the shaking of the tray, but not the smallest seed will be dropped on the earth.
10All those sinners among my people will be put to the sword who say, Evil will not overtake us or come face to face with us.
11In that day I will put up the tent of David which has come down, and make good its broken places; and I will put up again his damaged walls, building it up as in the past;
12So that the rest of Edom may be their heritage, and all the nations who have been named by my name, says the Lord, who is doing this.
13See, the days will come, says the Lord, when the ploughman will overtake him who is cutting the grain, and the crusher of the grapes him who is planting seed; and sweet wine will be dropping from the mountains, and the hills will be turned into streams of wine.
14And I will let the fate of my people Israel be changed, and they will be building up again the waste towns and living in them; they will again be planting vine-gardens and taking the wine for their drink; and they will make gardens and get the fruit of them.
15And I will have them planted in their land, and never again will they be uprooted from their land which I have given them, says the Lord your God.
1 Corinthians 11:1-16
1So take me for your example, even as I take Christ for mine.
2Now I am pleased to see that you keep me in memory in all things, and that you give attention to the teaching which was handed down from me to you.
3But it is important for you to keep this fact in mind, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man, and the head of Christ is God.
4Every man who takes part in prayer, or gives teaching as a prophet, with his head covered, puts shame on his head.
5But every woman who does so with her head unveiled, puts shame on her head: for it is the same as if her hair was cut off.
6For if a woman is not veiled, let her hair be cut off; but if it is a shame to a woman to have her hair cut off, let her be veiled.
7For it is not right for a man to have his head covered, because he is the image and glory of God: but the woman is the glory of the man.
8For the man did not come from the woman, but the woman from the man.
9And the man was not made for the woman, but the woman for the man.
10For this reason it is right for the woman to have a sign of authority on her head, because of the angels.
11But the woman is not separate from the man, and the man is not separate from the woman in the Lord.
12For as the woman is from the man, so the man is through the woman; but all things are from God.
13Be judges yourselves of the question: does it seem right for a woman to take part in prayer unveiled?
14Does it not seem natural to you that if a man has long hair, it is a cause of shame to him?
15But if a woman has long hair, it is a glory to her: for her hair is given to her for a covering.
16But if any man will not be ruled in this question, this is not our way of doing things, and it is not done in the churches of God.
July 22
2 Kings 1
1After the death of Ahab, Moab made itself free from the authority of Israel.
2Now Ahaziah had a fall from the window of his room in Samaria, and was ill. And he sent men, and said to them, Put a question to Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, about the outcome of my disease, to see if I will get well or not.
3But the angel of the Lord said to Elijah the Tishbite, Go now, and, meeting the men sent by the king of Samaria, say to them, Is it because there is no God in Israel, that you are going to get directions from Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron?
4Give ear then to the words of the Lord: You will never again get down from the bed on to which you have gone up, but death will certainly come to you. Then Elijah went away.
5And the men he had sent came back to the king; and he said to them, Why have you come back?
6And they said to him, On our way we had a meeting with a man who said, Go back to the king who sent you and say to him, The Lord says, Is it because there is no God in Israel that you send to put a question to Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron? For this reason, you will not come down from the bed on to which you have gone up, but death will certainly come to you.
7And he said to them, What sort of a man was it who came and said these words to you?
8And they said in answer, He was a man clothed in a coat of hair, with a leather band about his body. Then he said, It is Elijah the Tishbite.
9Then the king sent to him a captain of fifty with his fifty men; and he went up to him where he was seated on the top of a hill, and said to him, O man of God, the king has said, Come down.
10And Elijah in answer said to the captain of fifty, If I am a man of God, may fire come down from heaven on you and on your fifty men, and put an end to you. Then fire came down from heaven and put an end to him and his fifty men.
11Then the king sent another captain of fifty with his fifty men; and he said to Elijah, O man of God, the king says, Come down quickly.
12And Elijah in answer said, If I am a man of God, may fire come down from heaven on you and on your fifty men, and put an end to you. And the fire of God came down from heaven, and put an end to him and his fifty men.
13Then he sent a third captain of fifty with his fifty men; and the third captain of fifty went up, and falling on his knees before Elijah, requesting mercy of him, said, O man of God, let my life and the life of these your fifty servants be of value to you.
14For fire came down from heaven and put an end to the first two captains of fifty and their fifties; but now let my life be of value in your eyes.
15Then the angel of the Lord said to Elijah, Go down with him; have no fear of him. So he got up and went down with him to the king.
16And he said to him, This is the word of the Lord: Because you sent men to put a question to Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, for this reason you will never again get down from the bed on to which you have gone up, but death will certainly come to you.
17So death came to him, as the Lord had said by the mouth of Elijah. And Jehoram became king in his place in the second year of the rule of Jehoram, son of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah; because he had no son.
18Now the rest of the acts of Ahaziah, are they not recorded in the book of the history of the kings of Israel?
2 Kings 2
1Now when the Lord was about to take Elijah up to heaven in a great wind, Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal.
2And Elijah said to Elisha, Come no farther for the Lord has sent me to Beth-el. But Elisha said, As the Lord is living and as your soul is living, I will not be parted from you. So they went down to Beth-el.
3And at Beth-el the sons of the prophets came out to Elisha and said, Has it been made clear to you that the Lord is going to take away your master from over you today? And he said, Yes, I have knowledge of it: say no more.
4Then Elijah said to him, Come no farther, for the Lord has sent me to Jericho. But he said, As the Lord is living and as your soul is living, I will not be parted from you. So they went on to Jericho.
5And at Jericho the sons of the prophets came up to Elisha and said to him, Has it been made clear to you that the Lord is going to take away your master from over you today? And he said in answer, Yes, I have knowledge of it: say no more.
6Then Elijah said to him, Come no farther, for the Lord has sent me to Jordan. But he said, As the Lord is living and as your soul is living, I will not be parted from you. So they went on together.
7And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went out and took their places facing them a long way off, while the two of them were by the edge of Jordan.
8Then Elijah took off his robe, and, rolling it up, gave the water a blow with it, and the waters were parted, flowing back this way and that, so that they went over on dry land.
9And when they had come to the other side, Elijah said to Elisha, Say what you would have me do for you before I am taken from you. And Elisha said, Be pleased to let a special measure of your spirit be on me.
10And he said, You have made a hard request: still, if you see me when I am taken from you, you will get your desire; but if not, it will not be so.
11And while they went on their way, going on talking together, suddenly there were carriages and horses of fire separating them from one another and Elijah went up to heaven in a great wind.
12And when Elisha saw it he gave a cry, My father, my father, the carriages of Israel and its horsemen! And he saw him no longer; and he was full of grief.
13Then he took up Elijah’s robe, which had been dropped from him, and went back till he came to the edge of Jordan.
14And he took Elijah’s robe, which had been dropped from him, and giving the water a blow with it, said, Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah? and at his blow the waters were parted this way and that; and Elisha went over.
15And when the sons of the prophets who were facing him at Jericho saw him, they said, The spirit of Elijah is resting on Elisha. And they came out to him, and went down on the earth before him.
16And they said, Your servants have with us here fifty strong men; be pleased to let them go in search of Elijah; for it may be that the spirit of the Lord has taken him up and put him down on some mountain or in some valley. But he said, Do not send them.
17But when they kept on requesting him, he was shamed and said, Send, then. So they sent fifty men; but after searching for three days, they came back without having seen him.
18And they came back to him, while he was still at Jericho; and he said to them, Did I not say to you, Go not?
19Now the men of the town said to Elisha, You see that the position of this town is good; but the water is bad, causing the young of the cattle to come to birth dead.
20So he said, Get me a new vessel, and put salt in it; and they took it to him.
21Then he went out to the spring from which the water came, and put salt in it, and said, The Lord says, Now I have made this water sweet; no longer will it be death-giving or unfertile.
22And the water was made sweet again to this day, as Elisha said.
23Then from there he went up to Beth-el; and on his way, some little boys came out from the town and made sport of him, crying, Go up, old no-hair! go up, old no-hair!
24And turning back, he saw them, and put a curse on them in the name of the Lord. And two she-bears came out of the wood and put forty-two of the children to death.
25From there he went to Mount Carmel, and came back from there to Samaria.
Amos 7
1This is what the Lord God let me see: and I saw that, when the growth of the late grass was starting, he made locusts; it was the late growth after the king’s cutting was done.
2And it came about that after they had taken all the grass of the land, I said, O Lord God, have mercy: how will Jacob be able to keep his place? for he is small.
3The Lord, changing his purpose about this, said, It will not be.
4This is what the Lord let me see: and I saw that the Lord God sent for a great fire to be the instrument of his punishment; and, after burning up the great deep, it was about to put an end to the Lord’s heritage.
5Then said I, O Lord God, let there be an end: how will Jacob be able to keep his place? for he is small.
6The Lord, changing his purpose about this, said, And this will not be.
7This is what he let me see: and I saw the Lord stationed by a wall made straight by a weighted line, and he had a weighted line in his hand.
8And the Lord said to me, Amos, what do you see? And I said, A weighted line. Then the Lord said, See, I will let down a weighted line among my people Israel; never again will my eyes be shut to their sin:
9And the high places of Isaac will be unpeopled, and the holy places of Israel will be made waste; and I will come up against the family of Jeroboam with the sword.
10Then Amaziah, the priest of Beth-el, sent to Jeroboam, king of Israel, saying, Amos has made designs against you among the people of Israel: the land is troubled by his words.
11For Amos has said, Jeroboam will be put to the sword, and Israel will certainly be taken away as a prisoner out of his land.
12And Amaziah said to Amos, O seer, go in flight into the land of Judah, and there get your living by working as a prophet:
13But be a prophet no longer at Beth-el: for it is the holy place of the king, and the king’s house.
14Then Amos in answer said to Amaziah, I am no prophet, or one of the sons of the prophets; I am a herdman and one who takes care of sycamore-trees:
15And the Lord took me from the flock, and the Lord said to me, Go, be a prophet to my people Israel.
16Now then, give ear to the word of the Lord: You say, Be no prophet to Israel, and say not a word against the people of Isaac.
17So this is what the Lord has said: Your wife will be a loose woman in the town, and your sons and your daughters will be put to the sword, and your land will be cut up into parts by a line; and you yourself will come to your end in an unclean land, and Israel will certainly be taken away a prisoner out of his land.
1 Corinthians 9
1Am I not free? am I not an Apostle? have I not seen Jesus our Lord? are you not my work in the Lord?
2If to others I am not an Apostle, at least I am one to you: for the fact that you are Christians is the sign that I am an Apostle.
3My answer to those who are judging me is this.
4Have we no right to take food and drink?
5Have we no right to take about with us a Christian wife, like the rest of the Apostles, and the brothers of the Lord, and Cephas?
6Or I only and Barnabas, have we no right to take a rest from work?
7Who ever goes to war without looking to someone to be responsible for his payment? who puts in vines and does not take the fruit of them? or who takes care of sheep without drinking of their milk?
8Am I talking as a man? does not the law say the same?
9For it says in the law of Moses, It is not right to keep the ox from taking the grain when he is crushing it. Is it for the oxen that God is giving orders?
10Or has he us in mind? Yes, it was said for us; because it is right for the ploughman to do his ploughing in hope, and for him who is crushing the grain to do his work hoping for a part in the fruits of it.
11If we have been planting the things of the Spirit for you, does it seem a great thing for you to give us a part in your things of this world?
12If others have a part in this right over you, have we not even more? But we did not make use of our right, so that we might put nothing in the way of the good news of Christ.
13Do you not see that the servants of the holy things get their living from the Temple, and the servants of the altar have their part in the food which is offered on the altar?
14Even so did the Lord give orders that the preachers of the good news might get their living from the good news.
15But I have not made use of any of these things: and I am not writing this in the hope that it may be so for me: for it would be better for me to undergo death, than for any man to make this pride of mine of no effect.
16For if I am a preacher of the good news, I have no cause for pride in this; because I am forced to do so, for a curse is on me if I do not.
17But if I do it gladly, I have a reward; and if not, I am under orders to do it.
18What then is my reward? This, that when I am giving the good news, I may give it without payment, not making use of my rights as a preacher of the good news.
19For though I was free from all men, I made myself a servant to all, so that more might have salvation.
20And to the Jews I was as a Jew, so that I might give the good news to them; to those under the law I was the same, not as being myself under the law, but so that I might give the good news to those under the law.
21To those without the law I was as one without the law, not as being without law to God, but as under law to Christ, so that I might give the good news to those without the law.
22To the feeble, I was as one who is feeble, so that they might have salvation: I have been all things to all men, so that some at least might have salvation.
23And I do all things for the cause of the good news, so that I may have a part in it.
24Do you not see that in a running competition all take part, but only one gets the reward? So let your minds be fixed on the reward.
25And every man who takes part in the sports has self-control in all things. Now they do it to get a crown which is of this world, but we for an eternal crown.
26So then I am running, not uncertainly; so I am fighting, not as one who gives blows in the air:
27But I give blows to my body, and keep it under control, for fear that, after having given the good news to others, I myself might not have God’s approval.
July 18
1 Kings 19
1Ahab gave Jezebel news of all Elijah had done, and how he had put all the prophets to death with the sword.
2Then Jezebel sent a servant to Elijah, saying, May the gods’ punishment be on me if I do not make your life like the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time.
3And he got up, fearing for his life, and went in flight, and came to Beer-sheba in Judah, parting there from his servant;
4While he himself went a day’s journey into the waste land, and took a seat under a broom-plant, desiring for himself only death; for he said, It is enough: now, O Lord, take away my life, for I am no better than my fathers.
5And stretching himself on the earth, he went to sleep under the broom-plant; but an angel, touching him, said to him, Get up and have some food.
6And looking up, he saw by his head a cake cooked on the stones and a bottle of water. So he took food and drink and went to sleep again.
7And the angel of the Lord came again a second time, and touching him said, Get up and have some food, or the journey will be overmuch for your strength.
8So he got up and took food and drink, and in the strength of that food he went on for forty days and nights, to Horeb, the mountain of God.
9And there he went into a hole in the rock for the night; then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, What are you doing here, Elijah?
10And he said, I have been burning for the honour of the Lord, the God of armies; for the children of Israel have not kept your agreement; they have made destruction of your altars, and have put your prophets to death with the sword: till I, even I, am the only one living; and now they are attempting to take away my life.
11Then he said, Go out and take your place on the mountain before the Lord. Then the Lord went by, and mountains were parted by the force of a great wind, and rocks were broken before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind there was an earth-shock, but the Lord was not in the earth-shock.
12And after the earth-shock a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire, the sound of a soft breath.
13And Elijah, hearing it, went out, covering his face with his robe, and took his place in the opening of the hole. And there a voice came to him saying, What are you doing here, Elijah?
14And he said, I have been burning for the honour of the Lord, the God of armies; for the children of Israel have not kept your agreement; they have had your altars broken down, and have put your prophets to death with the sword: till I, even I, am the only one living; and now they are attempting to take away my life.
15And the Lord said to him, Go back on your way through the waste land to Damascus; and when you come there, put the holy oil on Hazael to make him king over Aram;
16And on Jehu, son of Nimshi, making him king over Israel; and on Elisha, the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah, to be prophet in your place.
17And it will come about that the man who gets away safe from the sword of Hazael, Jehu will put to death; and whoever gets away safe from the sword of Jehu, Elisha will put to death.
18But I will keep safe seven thousand in Israel, all those whose knees have not been bent to Baal, and whose mouths have given him no kisses.
19So he went away from there and came across Elisha, the son of Shaphat, ploughing with twelve yoke of oxen, he himself walking with the twelfth; and Elijah went up to him and put his robe on him.
20And letting the oxen be where they were, he came running after Elijah, and said, Only let me give a kiss to my father and mother, and then I will come after you. But he said to him, Go back again; for what have I done to you?
21And he went back, and took the oxen and put them to death, and cooking their flesh with the yokes of the oxen, he gave the people a feast. Then he got up and went after Elijah and became his servant.
Amos 3:3-15
3Is it possible for two to go walking together, if not by agreement?
4Will a lion give his loud cry in the woodland when no food is there? will the voice of the young lion be sounding from his hole if he has taken nothing?
5Is it possible for a bird to be taken in a net on the earth where no net has been put for him? will the net come up from the earth if it has taken nothing at all?
6If the horn is sounded in the town will the people not be full of fear? will evil come on a town if the Lord has not done it?
7Certainly the Lord will do nothing without making clear his secret to his servants, the prophets.
8The cry of the lion is sounding; who will not have fear? The Lord God has said the word; is it possible for the prophet to keep quiet?
9Give out the news in the great houses of Assyria and in the land of Egypt, and say, Come together on the mountains of Samaria, and see what great outcries are there, and what cruel acts are done in it.
10For they have no knowledge of how to do what is right, says the Lord, who are storing up violent acts and destruction in their great houses.
11For this reason, says the Lord, an attacker will come, shutting in the land on every side; and your strength will come down and your great houses will be made waste.
12These are the words of the Lord: As the keeper of sheep takes out of the mouth of the lion two legs or part of an ear; so will the children of Israel be made safe, who are resting in Samaria on seats of honour or on the silk cushions of a bed.
13Give ear now, and give witness against the family of Jacob, says the Lord God, the God of armies;
14For in the day when I give Israel punishment for his sins, I will send punishment on the altars of Beth-el, and the horns of the altar will be cut off and come down to the earth.
15And I will send destruction on the winter house with the summer house; the ivory houses will be falling down and the great houses will come to an end, says the Lord.
Amos 4:1-3
1Give ear to this word, you cows of Bashan, who are in the hill of Samaria, by whom the poor are kept down, and those in need are crushed; who say to their lords, Get out the wine and give us drink.
2The Lord God has taken an oath by his holy name, that the days are coming when they will take you away with hooks, and the rest of you with fish-hooks.
3And you will go out through the broken places, every one going straight before her, and you will be sent into Harmon, says the Lord.
1 Corinthians 6
1How is it, that if any one of you has a cause at law against another, he takes it before a Gentile judge and not before the saints?
2Is it not certain that the saints will be the judges of the world? if then the world will be judged by you, are you unable to give a decision about the smallest things?
3Is it not certain that we are to be the judges of angels? how much more then of the things of this life?
4If then there are questions to be judged in connection with the things of this life, why do you put them in the hands of those who have no position in the church?
5I say this to put you to shame. Is there not among you one wise man who may be able to give a decision between his brothers?
6But a brother who has a cause at law against another takes it before Gentile judges.
7More than this, it is not to your credit to have causes at law with one another at all. Why not put up with wrong? why not undergo loss?
8So far from doing this, you yourselves do wrong and take your brothers’ property.
9Have you not knowledge that evil-doers will have no part in the kingdom of God? Have no false ideas about this: no one who goes after the desires of the flesh, or gives worship to images, or is untrue when married, or is less than a man, or makes a wrong use of men,
10Or is a thief, or the worse for drink, or makes use of strong language, or takes by force what is not his, will have any part in the kingdom of God.
11And such were some of you; but you have been washed, you have been made holy, you have been given righteousness in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.
12I am free to do all things; but not all things are wise. I am free to do all things; but I will not let myself come under the power of any.
13Food is for the stomach and the stomach for food, and God will put an end to them together. But the body is not for the desires of the flesh, but for the Lord; and the Lord for the body:
14And God who made the Lord Jesus come back from the dead will do the same for us by his power.
15Do you not see that your bodies are part of the body of Christ? how then may I take what is a part of the body of Christ and make it a part of the body of a loose woman? such a thing may not be.
16Or do you not see that he who is joined to a loose woman is one body with her? for God has said, The two of them will become one flesh.
17But he who is united to the Lord is one spirit.
18Keep away from the desires of the flesh. Every sin which a man does is outside of the body; but he who goes after the desires of the flesh does evil to his body.
19Or are you not conscious that your body is a house for the Holy Spirit which is in you, and which has been given to you by God? and you are not the owners of yourselves;
20For a payment has been made for you: let God be honoured in your body.
Read THE BIBLE Through in A YEAR 