Hello, this is Father Paul, and I'm glad we're
taking this journey together to read the Bible
in a year. Today's reading is from 2 Kings chapters
4 through 6. Chapter 4 A certain woman of the
wives of the sons of the prophets cried out to
Elisha, saying, Your servant, my husband, is
dead, and you know that your servant feared the
Lord, and the creditor is coming to take my two
sons to be his slaves. So Elisha said to her,
What shall I do for you? tell me what do you
have in the house and she said your maidservant
has nothing in the house but a jar of oil then
he said go borrow vessels from everywhere from
all your neighbors empty vessels do not gather
just a few And when you have come in, you shall
shut the door behind you and your sons, then
pour it into all those vessels and set aside
the full ones. So she went from him and shut
the door behind her and her sons, who brought
the vessels to her, and she poured it out. Now
it came to pass, when the vessels were full,
that she said to her son, Bring me another vessel.
And he said to her, There is not another vessel.
So the oil ceased. Then she came and told the
man of God, and he said, Go sell the oil and
pay your debt. You and your sons live on the
rest. Now it happened one day that Elisha went
to Shunem, where there was a notable woman, and
she persuaded him to eat some food. So it was
as often as he passed by, he would turn in there
to eat some food. And she said to her husband,
Look now, I know that this is a holy man of God
who passes by us regularly. Please let us make
a small upper room on the wall, and let us put
a bed for him there, and a table and a chair
and a lampstand, so it will be whenever he comes
to us, he can turn in there. And it happened
one day that he came there, and he turned into
the upper room and lay down there. Then he said
to Gehazi his servant, Call this Shunammite woman.
When he had called her, she stood before him,
and he said to him, Say now to her, Look, you
have been concerned for us with all this care.
What can I do for you? Do you want me to speak
on your behalf to the king or to the commander
of the army? She answered, I dwell among my own
people. So he said, What then is to be done for
her? And Gehazi answered, Actually, she has no
son, and her husband is old. So he said, Call
her. When he had called her, she stood in the
doorway. Then he said, About this time next year
you shall embrace a son. And she said, No, my
lord, man of God, do not lie to your maidservant.
But the woman conceived and bore a son when the
appointed time had come, of which Elisha had
told her. And the child grew. Now it happened
one day that he went out to his father, to the
reapers, and he said to his father, My head,
my head. So he said to a servant, Carry him to
his mother. When he had taken him and brought
him to his mother, he sat on her knees till noon,
and then died. And she went up and laid him on
the bed of the man of God, shut the door upon
him, and went out. Then she called her husband
and said, Please send me one of the young men
and one of the donkeys, that I may run to the
man of God and come back. So he said, Why are
you going to him today? It is neither the new
moon nor the Sabbath. And she said, It is well.
Then she saddled the donkey and said to her servant,
Drive and go forward. Do not slacken the pace
for me unless I tell you. And so she departed
and went to the man of God at Mount Carmel. So
it was when the man of God saw her far off that
he said to his servant Gehazi, Look, the Shunammite
woman, please run now to meet her and say to
her, Is it well with you? Is it well with your
husband? Is it well with the child? And she answered,
It is well. Now when she came to the man of God
at the hill, she caught him by the feet, but
Gehazi came near to push her away. But the man
of God said, Let her alone, for her soul is in
deep distress, and the Lord has hidden it from
me and has not told me. So she said, Did I ask
for a son, my lord? Did I not say, Do not deceive
me? Then he said to Gehazi, Get yourself ready,
and take my staff in your hand, and be on your
way. If you meet anyone, do not greet him, and
if anyone greets you, do not answer him, but
lay my staff on the face of the child. And the
mother of the child said, As the lord lives,
and as your soul lives, I will not leave you.
So he arose and followed her. Now Gehazi went
on ahead of them, and laid the staff on the face
of the child. But there was neither voice nor
hearing. Therefore he went back to meet him,
and told him, saying, The child has not awakened.
When Elisha came into the house, there was the
child lying dead on his bed. He went in, therefore,
shut the door behind the two of them, and prayed
to the Lord. And he went up and lay on the child,
and put his mouth on his mouth, his eyes on his
eyes, and his hands on his hands, and he stretched
himself out on the child. And the flesh of the
child became warm. He returned and walked back
and forth in the house, and again went up and
stretched himself out on him. Then the child
sneezed seven times, and the child opened his
eyes. And he called Gehazi and said, So he called
her, and when she came in to him, he said, So
she went in, fell at his feet, and bowed to the
ground. Then she picked up her son and went out.
And Elisha returned to Gilgal, and there was
a famine in the land. Now the sons of the prophets
were sitting before him, and he said to his servant,
Put on the large pot and boil stew for the sons
of the prophets. So one went out into the field
to gather herbs and found a wild vine, and gathered
from it a lapful of wild gourds, and came and
sliced them into a pot of stew, though they did
not know what they were. Then they served it
to the men to eat. Now it happened as they were
eating the stew that they cried out and said,
Man of God, there is death in the pot. And they
could not eat it. So he said, Then bring some
flour. And he put it into the pot and said, Serve
it to the people that they may eat. And there
was nothing harmful in the pot. Then a man came
from Baal, Shalisha, and brought the man of God
bread of the first fruits, twenty loaves of barley
bread, and new ripened grain in his knapsack.
And he said, Give it to the people that they
may eat. But his servant said, What, shall I
set this before one hundred men? He said again,
Give it to the people, that they may eat. For
thus says the Lord, They shall eat and have some
left over. So he set it before them, and they
ate and had some left over, according to the
word of the Lord. Chapter 5 Now Naaman, commander
of the army of the king of Syria, was a great
and honorable man in the eyes of his master,
because by him the Lord had given victory to
Syria. He was also a mighty man of valor. but
a leper. And the Syrians had gone out on raids,
and had brought back captive a young girl from
the land of Israel. She waited on Naaman's wife.
Then she said to her mistress, If only my master
were with the prophet who is now in Samaria,
for he would heal him of his leprosy. And Naaman
went in and told his master, saying, Thus and
thus, said the girl who is from the land of Israel.
Then the king of Syria said, Go now, and I will
send a letter to the king of Israel. So he departed
and took with him ten talents of silver, six
thousand shekels of gold, and ten changes of
clothing. Then he brought the letter to the king
of Israel, which said, Now be advised, when this
letter comes to you, that I have sent Naaman
my servant to you, that you may heal him of his
leprosy. And it happened when the king of Israel
read the letter, that he tore his clothes and
said, Am I God, to kill and make alive, that
this man sends a man to me, to heal him of his
leprosy? Therefore please consider and see how
he seeks a quarrel with me. So it was when Elisha
the man of God heard that the king of Israel
had torn his clothes that he sent to the king,
saying, Why have you torn your clothes? Please
let him come to me, and he shall know that there
is a prophet in Israel. Then Naaman went with
his horses and chariot, and he stood at the door
of Elisha's house. And Elisha sent a messenger
to him, saying, Go and wash in the Jordan seven
times, and your flesh shall be restored to you,
and you shall be clean. But Naaman became furious,
and went away and said, Indeed I said to myself,
He will surely come out to me, and stand, and
call on the name of the Lord his God, and wave
his hand over the place, and heal the leprosy.
Are not the Abana and the Farpar, the rivers
of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel?
Could I not wash in them and be clean? So he
turned and went away in a rage. And his servants
came near and spoke to him and said, My father,
if the prophet had told you to do something great,
would you not have done it? How much more then
when he says to you, Wash and be clean? So he
went down and dipped seven times in the Jordan,
according to the saying of the man of God. And
his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little
child, and he was clean. And he returned to the
man of God, he and all his aides, and came and
stood before him. And he said, Indeed, now I
know that there is no God in all the earth except
in Israel. Now, therefore, please take a gift
from your servant. But he said, As the Lord lives,
before whom I stand, I will receive nothing.
And he urged them to take it, but he refused.
So Naaman said, Then, if not, please let your
servant be given two mule loads of earth, for
your servant will no longer offer either burnt
offering or sacrifice to other gods, but to the
Lord. Yet in this thing may the Lord pardon your
servant. When my master goes into the temple
of Ramon to worship there, and he leans on my
hand, and I bow down in the temple of Ramon.
When I bow down in the temple of Ramon, may the
Lord please pardon your servant in this thing.
Then he said to him, Go in peace. So he departed
from him a short distance. But Gehazi, the servant
of Elisha, the man of God, said, Look, my master
has spared Naaman the Syrian while not receiving
from his hands what he brought. But as the Lord
lives, I will run after him and take something
from him. So Gehazi pursued Naaman. When Naaman
saw him running after him, he got down from the
chariot to meet him and said, Is all well? And
he said, All is well. My master has sent me,
saying, Indeed, just now two young men of the
sons of the prophets have come to me from the
mountains of Ephraim. Please give them a talent
of silver and two changes of garments. So Naaman
said, Please take two talents. And he urged him
and bound two talents of silver in two bags with
two changes of garments and handed them to two
of his servants, and they carried them on ahead
of him. When he came to the citadel, he took
them from their hand and stored them away in
the house. Then he let the men go, and they departed.
Now he went in and stood before his master. Elisha
said to him, Where did you go, Gehazi? And he
said, Your servant did not go anywhere. Then
he said to him, Did not my heart go with you
when the man turned back from his chariot to
meet you? is it time to receive money and to
receive clothing olive groves and vineyards sheep
and oxen male and female servants therefore the
leprosy of naaman shall cling to you and your
descendants for ever and he went out from his
presence leprous as white as snow chapter six
and the sons of the prophets said to elisha see
now the place where we dwell with you is too
small for us Please let us go to the Jordan,
and let every man take a beam from there, and
let us make there a place where we may dwell.
So he answered, Go. Then one said, Please consent
to go with your servants. And he answered, I
will go. So he went with them, and when they
came to the Jordan, they cut down trees. But
as one was cutting down a tree, the iron axe
head fell into the water, and he cried out and
said, Alas, master, for it was borrowed. So the
man of God said, Where did it fall? And he showed
him the place, so he cut off a stick and threw
it in there, and he made the iron float. Therefore
he said, Pick it up for yourself. So he reached
out his hand and took it. Now the king of Syria
was making war against Israel. And he consulted
with his servants, saying, My camp will be in
such and such a place. And the man of God sent
to the king of Israel, saying, Beware that you
do not pass this place, for the Syrians are coming
down there. Then the king of Israel sent someone
to the place of which the man of God had told
him. Thus he warned him, and he was watchful
there, not just once or twice. Therefore the
heart of the king of Syria was greatly troubled
by this thing, and he called his servants and
said to them, Will you not show me which of us
is for the king of Israel? And one of his servants
said, None, my lord, O king. But Elisha, the
prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel
the words that you speak in your bedroom. So
he said, Go and see where he is, that I may send
and get him. And it was told him, saying, Surely
he is in Dothan. Therefore he sent horses and
chariots and a great army there, and they came
by night and surrounded the city. And when the
servant of the man of God arose early and went
out, there was an army surrounding the city with
horses and chariots. And his servant said to
him, Alas, my master, what shall we do? So he
answered, Do not fear, for those who are with
us are more than those who are with them. And
Elisha prayed and said, Lord, I pray, open his
eyes that he may see. Then the Lord opened the
eyes of the young man and he saw. And behold,
the mountain was full of horses and chariots
of fire all around Elisha. So when the Syrians
came down to him, Elisha prayed to the Lord and
said, Strike this people, I pray, with blindness.
And he struck them with blindness according to
the word of Elisha. Now Elisha said to them,
This is not the way, nor is this the city. Follow
me and I will bring you to the man whom you seek.
But he led them to Samaria. So it was when they
had come to Samaria that Elisha said, Lord, open
the eyes of these men that they may see. And
the Lord opened their eyes and they saw. And
there they were inside Samaria. Now when the
king of Israel saw them, he said to Elisha, My
father, shall I kill them? Shall I kill them?
But he answered, You shall not kill them. Would
you kill those whom you have taken captive with
your sword and your bow? Set food and water before
them that they may eat and drink and go to their
master. then he prepared a great feast for them
and after they ate and drank he sent them away
and they went to their master so the bands of
syrian raiders came no more into the land of
israel and it happened after this that ben hadad
king of syria gathered all his army and went
up and besieged samaria And there was a great
famine in Samaria, and indeed they besieged it
until a donkey's head was sold for eighty shekels
of silver and one -fourth of a cab of dove droppings
for five shekels of silver. Then as the king
of Israel was passing by on the wall, a woman
cried out to him, saying, Help my lord, O king!
And he said, If the lord does not help you, where
can I find help for you? From the threshing floor
or from the winepress? Then the king said to
her, What is troubling you? And she answered,
This woman said to me, Give your son that we
may eat him today, and we will eat my son tomorrow.
So we boiled my son and ate him. And I said to
her on the next day, Give your son that we may
eat him. But she has hidden her son. Now it happened,
when the king heard the words of the woman, that
he tore his clothes. And as he passed by on the
wall, the people looked, and there underneath
he had sackcloth on his body. Then he said, God,
do so to me, and more also, if the head of Elisha,
the son of Shaphat, remains on him today. But
Elisha was sitting in his house, and the elders
were sitting with him. And the king sent a man
ahead of him. But before the messenger came to
him, he said to the elders, Do you see how this
son of a murderer has sent someone to take away
my head? Look, when the messenger comes, shut
the door and hold him fast at the door. Is not
the sound of his master's feet behind him? And
while he was still talking with them, there was
the messenger coming down to him. And then the
king said, Surely this calamity is from the Lord.
Why should I wait for the Lord any longer? I
hope you enjoyed today's reading as much as I
did, and I look forward to seeing you again tomorrow
to continue on our journey. God bless you and
have a great day.