³⁶ Then the priest shall command that they empty the house before the priest goes to examine the disease, lest all that is in the house be declared unclean. And afterward the priest shall go in to see the house. ³⁷ And he shall examine the disease. And if the disease is in the walls of the house with greenish or reddish spots, and if it appears to be deeper than the surface, ³⁸ then the priest shall go out of the house to the door of the house and shut up the house seven days. ³⁹ And the priest shall come again on the seventh day, and look. If the disease has spread in the walls of the house, ⁴⁰ then the priest shall command that they take out the stones in which is the disease and throw them into an unclean place outside the city. ⁴¹ And he shall have the inside of the house scraped all around, and the plaster that they scrape off they shall pour out in an unclean place outside the city. ⁴² Then they shall take other stones and put them in the place of those stones, and he shall take other plaster and plaster the house.

⁴³ “If the disease breaks out again in the house, after he has taken out the stones and scraped the house and plastered it, ⁴⁴ then the priest shall go and look. And if the disease has spread in the house, it is a ^(A)persistent leprous disease in the house; it is unclean. ⁴⁵ And he shall break down the house, its stones and timber and all the plaster of the house, and he shall carry them out of the city to an unclean place. ⁴⁶ Moreover, whoever enters the house while it is shut up shall be unclean until the evening, ⁴⁷ and whoever sleeps in the house ^(B)shall wash his clothes, and whoever eats in the house shall wash his clothes.

⁴⁸ “But if the priest comes and looks, and if the disease has not spread in the house after the house was plastered, then the priest shall pronounce the house clean, for the disease is healed. ⁴⁹ And for the ^(C)cleansing of the house he shall take ^(D)two small birds, with cedarwood and scarlet yarn and hyssop, ⁵⁰ and shall kill one of the birds in an earthenware vessel over fresh water ⁵¹ and shall take the cedarwood and the hyssop and the scarlet yarn, along with the live bird, and dip them in the blood of the bird that was killed and in the fresh water and sprinkle the house seven times. ⁵² Thus he shall cleanse the house with the blood of the bird and with the fresh water and with the live bird and with the cedarwood and hyssop and scarlet yarn. ⁵³ And he shall let the live bird go out of the city ^(E)into the open country. So he shall ^(F)make atonement for the house, and it shall be clean.”

⁵⁴ This is the law for any case of leprous disease: for ^(G)an itch, ⁵⁵ for ^(H)leprous disease in a garment or in ^(I)a house, ⁵⁶ and ^(J)for a swelling or an eruption or a spot, ⁵⁷ to ^(K)show when it is unclean and when it is clean. This is the law for leprous disease.

Elisha and the Shunammite Woman

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

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

Elisha Raises the Shunammite's Son

¹⁸ When the child had grown, he went out one day to his father among the reapers. ¹⁹ And he said to his father, “Oh, ^(J)my head, my head!” The father said to his servant, “Carry him to his mother.” ²⁰ And when he had lifted him and brought him to his mother, the child sat on her lap till noon, and then he died. ²¹ And she went up ^(K)and laid him on the bed of the ^(L)man of God and shut the door behind him and went out. ²² Then she called to her husband and said, “Send me one of the servants and one of the donkeys, that I may quickly go to ^(M)the man of God and come back again.” ²³ And he said, “Why will you go to him today? It is neither ^(N)new moon nor Sabbath.” She said, “All is well.” ²⁴ Then she saddled the donkey, and she said to her servant, “Urge the animal on; do not slacken the pace for me unless I tell you.” ²⁵ So she set out and came to the man of God ^(O)at Mount Carmel.

When the man of God saw her coming, he said to Gehazi his servant, “Look, there is the Shunammite. ²⁶ Run at once to meet her and say to her, ‘Is all well with you? Is all well with your husband? Is all well with the child?’” And she answered, “All is well.” ²⁷ And when she came ^(P)to the mountain to the man of God, she caught hold of his feet. And Gehazi came to push her away. But the man of God said, “Leave her alone, for she is in bitter distress, and the Lord has hidden it from me and has not told me.” ²⁸ Then she said, “Did I ask my lord for a son? ^(Q)Did I not say, ‘Do not deceive me?’” ²⁹ He said to Gehazi, ^(R)“Tie up your garment and ^(S)take my staff in your hand and go. If you meet anyone, ^(T)do not greet him, and if anyone greets you, do not reply. And ^(U)lay my staff on the face of the child.” ³⁰ Then the mother of the child said, ^(V)“As the Lord lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So he arose and followed her. ³¹ Gehazi went on ahead and laid the staff on the face of the child, but there was no sound or sign of life. Therefore he returned to meet him and told him, “The child ^(W)has not awakened.”

³² When Elisha came into the house, he saw the child lying dead on his bed. ³³ So he went in and ^(X)shut the door behind the two of them ^(Y)and prayed to the Lord. ³⁴ Then he went up and lay on the child, putting his mouth on his mouth, his eyes on his eyes, and his hands on his hands. And as ^(Z)he stretched himself upon him, the flesh of the child became warm. ³⁵ Then he got up again and walked once back and forth in the house, and went up ^(AA)and stretched himself upon him. The child sneezed seven times, and the child opened his eyes. ³⁶ Then he summoned Gehazi and said, “Call this Shunammite.” So he called her. And when she came to him, he said, “Pick up your son.” ³⁷ She came and fell at his feet, bowing to the ground. ^(AB)Then she picked up her son and went out.

Elisha Purifies the Deadly Stew

³⁸ And Elisha came again to ^(AC)Gilgal when ^(AD)there was a famine in the land. And as ^(AE)the sons of the prophets ^(AF)were sitting before him, he said to his servant, ^(AG)“Set on the large pot, and boil stew for the sons of the prophets.” ³⁹ One of them went out into the field to gather herbs, and found a wild vine and gathered from it his lap full of wild gourds, and came and cut them up into the pot of stew, not knowing what they were. ⁴⁰ And they poured out some for the men to eat. But while they were eating of the stew, they cried out, “O man of God, there is death in the pot!” And they could not eat it. ⁴¹ He said, “Then bring flour.” ^(AH)And he threw it into the pot and said, “Pour some out for the men, that they may eat.” And there was no harm in the pot.

⁴² A man came from ^(AI)Baal-shalishah, ^(AJ)bringing the man of God bread of the firstfruits, twenty loaves of barley and fresh ears of grain in his sack. And Elisha said, ^(AK)“Give to the men, that they may eat.” ⁴³ But his servant said, “How can I set this before a hundred men?” So he repeated, “Give them to the men, that they may eat, for thus says the Lord, ‘They shall eat and have some left.’” ⁴⁴ So he set it before them. And they ate and had some left, according to the word of the Lord.

Abominations in the Temple

8 ^(A)In the sixth year, in the sixth month, on the fifth day of the month, ^(B)as I sat in my house, with ^(C)the elders of Judah sitting before me, ^(D)the hand of the Lord God fell upon me there. ² Then I looked, and behold, ^(E)a form that had the appearance of a man.^{[a] (F)}Below what appeared to be his waist was fire, and above his waist was something like the appearance of brightness, like ^(G)gleaming metal.^{[b] 3} He ^(H)put out the form of a hand and took me by a lock of my head, and the Spirit lifted me up ^(I)between earth and heaven and ^(J)brought me in ^(K)visions of God to Jerusalem, ^(L)to the entrance of the gateway of the inner court that faces north, ^(M)where was the seat of the ^(N)image of jealousy, ^(O)which provokes to jealousy. ⁴ And behold, ^(P)the glory of the God of Israel was there, like the vision that I saw ^(Q)in the valley.

⁵ Then he said to me, ^(R)“Son of man, lift up your eyes now toward the north.” So I lifted up my eyes toward the north, and behold, north of ^(S)the altar gate, in the entrance, was this ^(T)image of jealousy. ⁶ And he said to me, “Son of man, ^(U)do you see what they are doing, ^(V)the great abominations that the house of Israel are committing here, ^(W)to drive me far from my sanctuary? But you will see still greater abominations.”

⁷ And he brought me to the entrance of the court, and when I looked, behold, there was a hole in the wall. ⁸ Then he said to me, “Son of man, ^(X)dig in the wall.” So I dug in the wall, and behold, there was an entrance. ⁹ And he said to me, “Go in, and see ^(Y)the vile abominations that they are committing here.” ¹⁰ So I went in and saw. And there, ^(Z)engraved on the wall all around, was ^(AA)every form of ^(AB)creeping things and loathsome beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel. ¹¹ And before them stood ^(AC)seventy men of ^(AD)the elders of the house of Israel, with Jaazaniah the son of ^(AE)Shaphan standing among them. Each had his censer in his hand, and ^(AF)the smoke of the cloud of incense went up. ¹² Then he said to me, “Son of man, have you seen what the elders of the house of Israel are doing ^(AG)in the dark, each ^(AH)in his room of pictures? For they say, ^(AI)‘The Lord does not see us, the Lord has forsaken the land.’” ¹³ He said also to me, ^(AJ)“You will see still greater abominations that they commit.”

¹⁴ Then he brought me to ^(AK)the entrance of the north gate of the house of the Lord, and behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz. ¹⁵ Then he said to me, “Have you seen this, O ^(AL)son of man? ^(AM)You will see still greater abominations than these.”

¹⁶ And he brought me into ^(AN)the inner court of the house of the Lord. And behold, at the entrance of the temple of the Lord, ^(AO)between the ^(AP)porch and ^(AQ)the altar, were about twenty-five men, ^(AR)with their backs to the temple of the Lord, and their faces toward the east, worshiping ^(AS)the sun toward the east. ¹⁷ Then he said to me, “Have you seen this, O ^(AT)son of man? Is it too light a thing for the house of Judah to commit ^(AU)the abominations that they commit here, that ^(AV)they should fill the land with violence and ^(AW)provoke me still further to anger? Behold, they put the branch to their^[c] nose. ¹⁸ Therefore ^(AX)I will act in wrath. ^(AY)My eye will not spare, nor will I have pity. ^(AZ)And though they cry in my ears with a loud voice, I will not hear them.”

The Lord Reigns

Judging Others

^37 (A)(B)“Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; ^(C)forgive, and you will be forgiven; ^38 (D)give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put ^(E)into your lap. For ^(F)with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.”

³⁹ He also told them a parable: ^(G)“Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit? ^40 (H)A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is ^(I)fully trained will be like his teacher. ^41 (J)Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but ^(K)do not notice the log that is in your own eye? ⁴² How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother's eye.

A Tree and Its Fruit

⁴³ “For ^(L)no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit, ⁴⁴ for ^(M)each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thornbushes, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush. ^45 (N)The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces ^(O)evil, ^(P)for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.

Build Your House on the Rock

^46 (Q)“Why ^(R)do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you? ^47 (S)Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: ⁴⁸ he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built.^{[a] 49 (T)}But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and ^(U)the ruin of that house was great.”

The Resurrection Body

³⁵ But someone will ask, ^(A)“How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?” ³⁶ You foolish person! ^(B)What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. ³⁷ And what you sow is not the body that is to be, but a bare kernel, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain. ³⁸ But God gives it a body as he has chosen, and to each kind of seed its own body. ³⁹ For not all flesh is the same, but there is one kind for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish. ⁴⁰ There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is of one kind, and the glory of the earthly is of another. ⁴¹ There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory.

^42 (C)So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. ⁴³ It is sown in dishonor; ^(D)it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. ⁴⁴ It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. ⁴⁵ Thus it is written, ^(E)“The first man Adam became a living being”;^{[a] (F)}the last Adam became a ^(G)life-giving spirit.