Elijah Escapes from Jezebel

19 And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, also how he had ^(A)executed all the prophets with the sword. ² Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, ^(B)“So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time.” ³ And when he saw that, he arose and ran for his life, and went to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there.

⁴ But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a ^[a]broom tree. And he ^(C)prayed that he might die, and said, “It is enough! Now, Lord, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers!”

⁵ Then as he lay and slept under a broom tree, suddenly an ^[b]angel touched him, and said to him, “Arise and eat.” ⁶ Then he looked, and there by his head was a cake baked on ^[c]coals, and a jar of water. So he ate and drank, and lay down again. ⁷ And the ^[d]angel of the Lord came back the second time, and touched him, and said, “Arise and eat, because the journey is too great for you.” ⁸ So he arose, and ate and drank; and he went in the strength of that food forty days and ^(D)forty nights as far as ^(E)Horeb, the mountain of God.

⁹ And there he went into a cave, and spent the night in that place; and behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and He said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

¹⁰ So he said, ^(F)“I have been very ^(G)zealous for the Lord God of hosts; for the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and ^(H)killed Your prophets with the sword. ^(I)I alone am left; and they seek to take my life.”

God’s Revelation to Elijah

¹¹ Then He said, “Go out, and stand ^(J)on the mountain before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord ^(K)passed by, and ^(L)a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; ¹² and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire ^[e]a still small voice.

¹³ So it was, when Elijah heard it, that ^(M)he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. ^(N)Suddenly a voice came to him, and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

^14 (O)And he said, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God of hosts; because the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life.”

¹⁵ Then the Lord said to him: “Go, return on your way to the Wilderness of Damascus; ^(P)and when you arrive, anoint Hazael as king over Syria. ¹⁶ Also you shall anoint ^(Q)Jehu the son of Nimshi as king over Israel. And ^(R)Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel Meholah you shall anoint as prophet in your place. ^17 (S)It shall be that whoever escapes the sword of Hazael, Jehu will ^(T)kill; and whoever escapes the sword of Jehu, ^(U)Elisha will kill. ^18 (V)Yet I have reserved seven thousand in Israel, all whose knees have not bowed to Baal, ^(W)and every mouth that has not kissed him.”

Elisha Follows Elijah

¹⁹ So he departed from there, and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he was with the twelfth. Then Elijah passed by him and threw his ^(X)mantle on him. ²⁰ And he left the oxen and ran after Elijah, and said, ^(Y)“Please let me kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you.”

And he said to him, “Go back again, for what have I done to you?”

²¹ So Elisha turned back from him, and took a yoke of oxen and slaughtered them and ^(Z)boiled their flesh, using the oxen’s equipment, and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he arose and followed Elijah, and became his servant.

Excel in Giving

8 Moreover, brethren, we make known to you the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia: ² that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and ^(A)their deep poverty abounded in the riches of their liberality. ³ For I bear witness that according to their ability, yes, and beyond their ability, they were freely willing, ⁴ imploring us with much urgency ^[a]that we would receive the gift and ^(B)the fellowship of the ministering to the saints. ⁵ And not only as we had hoped, but they first ^(C)gave themselves to the Lord, and then to us by the ^(D)will of God. ⁶ So ^(E)we urged Titus, that as he had begun, so he would also complete this grace in you as well. ⁷ But as ^(F)you abound in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all diligence, and in your love for us—see ^(G)that you abound in this grace also.

Christ Our Pattern

^8 (H)I speak not by commandment, but I am testing the sincerity of your love by the diligence of others. ⁹ For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, ^(I)that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become ^(J)rich.

¹⁰ And in this ^(K)I give advice: ^(L)It is to your advantage not only to be doing what you began and ^(M)were desiring to do a year ago; ¹¹ but now you also must complete the doing of it; that as there was a readiness to desire it, so there also may be a completion out of what you have. ¹² For ^(N)if there is first a willing mind, it is accepted according to what one has, and not according to what he does not have.

¹³ For I do not mean that others should be eased and you burdened; ¹⁴ but by an equality, that now at this time your abundance may supply their lack, that their abundance also may supply your lack—that there may be equality. ¹⁵ As it is written, ^(O)“He who gathered much had nothing left over, and he who gathered little had no lack.”

Collection for the Judean Saints

¹⁶ But thanks be to God who ^[b]puts the same earnest care for you into the heart of Titus. ¹⁷ For he not only accepted the exhortation, but being more diligent, he went to you of his own accord. ¹⁸ And we have sent with him ^(P)the brother whose praise is in the gospel throughout all the churches, ¹⁹ and not only that, but who was also ^(Q)chosen by the churches to travel with us with this gift, which is administered by us ^(R)to the glory of the Lord Himself and to show your ready mind, ²⁰ avoiding this: that anyone should blame us in this lavish gift which is administered by us— ^21 (S)providing honorable things, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men.

²² And we have sent with them our brother whom we have often proved diligent in many things, but now much more diligent, because of the great confidence which we have in you. ²³ If anyone inquires about ^(T)Titus, he is my partner and fellow worker concerning you. Or if our brethren are inquired about, they are ^(U)messengers^[c] of the churches, the glory of Christ. ²⁴ Therefore show to them, ^[d]and before the churches, the proof of your love and of our ^(V)boasting on your behalf.

Naboth Is Murdered for His Vineyard

21 And it came to pass after these things that Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard which was in ^(A)Jezreel, next to the palace of Ahab king of Samaria. ² So Ahab spoke to Naboth, saying, “Give me your ^(B)vineyard, that I may have it for a vegetable garden, because it is near, next to my house; and for it I will give you a vineyard better than it. Or, if it seems good to you, I will give you its worth in money.”

³ But Naboth said to Ahab, “The Lord forbid ^(C)that I should give the inheritance of my fathers to you!”

⁴ So Ahab went into his house sullen and displeased because of the word which Naboth the Jezreelite had spoken to him; for he had said, “I will not give you the inheritance of my fathers.” And he lay down on his bed, and turned away his face, and would eat no food. ⁵ But ^(D)Jezebel his wife came to him, and said to him, “Why is your spirit so sullen that you eat no food?”

⁶ He said to her, “Because I spoke to Naboth the Jezreelite, and said to him, ‘Give me your vineyard for money; or else, if it pleases you, I will give you another vineyard for it.’ And he answered, ‘I will not give you my vineyard.’ ”

⁷ Then Jezebel his wife said to him, “You now exercise authority over Israel! Arise, eat food, and let your heart be cheerful; I will give you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.”

⁸ And she wrote letters in Ahab’s name, sealed them with his seal, and sent the letters to the elders and the nobles who were dwelling in the city with Naboth. ⁹ She wrote in the letters, saying,

¹¹ So the men of his city, the elders and nobles who were inhabitants of his city, did as Jezebel had sent to them, as it was written in the letters which she had sent to them. ^12 (G)They proclaimed a fast, and seated Naboth with high honor among the people. ¹³ And two men, scoundrels, came in and sat before him; and the scoundrels ^(H)witnessed against him, against Naboth, in the presence of the people, saying, “Naboth has blasphemed God and the king!” ^(I)Then they took him outside the city and stoned him with stones, so that he died. ¹⁴ Then they sent to Jezebel, saying, “Naboth has been stoned and is dead.”

¹⁵ And it came to pass, when Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned and was dead, that Jezebel said to Ahab, “Arise, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, which he refused to give you for money; for Naboth is not alive, but dead.” ¹⁶ So it was, when Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, that Ahab got up and went down to take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.

The Lord Condemns Ahab

^17 (J)Then the word of the Lord came to ^(K)Elijah the Tishbite, saying, ¹⁸ “Arise, go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, ^(L)who lives in Samaria. There he is, in the vineyard of Naboth, where he has gone down to take possession of it. ¹⁹ You shall speak to him, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Have you murdered and also taken possession?” ’ And you shall speak to him, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord: ^(M)“In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth, dogs shall lick your blood, even yours.” ’ ”

²⁰ So Ahab said to Elijah, ^(N)“Have you found me, O my enemy?”

And he answered, “I have found you, because ^(O)you have sold yourself to do evil in the sight of the Lord: ²¹ ‘Behold, ^(P)I will bring calamity on you. I will take away your ^(Q)posterity, and will cut off from Ahab ^(R)every male in Israel, both ^(S)bond and free. ²² I will make your house like the house of ^(T)Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of ^(U)Baasha the son of Ahijah, because of the provocation with which you have provoked Me to anger, and made Israel sin.’ ²³ And ^(V)concerning Jezebel the Lord also spoke, saying, ‘The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the ^[b]wall of Jezreel.’ ²⁴ The dogs shall eat ^(W)whoever belongs to Ahab and dies in the city, and the birds of the air shall eat whoever dies in the field.”

²⁵ But ^(X)there was no one like Ahab who sold himself to do wickedness in the sight of the Lord, ^(Y)because Jezebel his wife ^[c]stirred him up. ²⁶ And he behaved very abominably in following idols, according to all ^(Z)that the Amorites had done, whom the Lord had cast out before the children of Israel.

²⁷ So it was, when Ahab heard those words, that he tore his clothes and ^(AA)put sackcloth on his body, and fasted and lay in sackcloth, and went about mourning.

²⁸ And the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, ²⁹ “See how Ahab has humbled himself before Me? Because he ^(AB)has humbled himself before Me, I will not bring the calamity in his days. ^(AC)In the days of his son I will bring the calamity on his house.”

The Prayer in the Garden^(A)

^39 (B)Coming out, ^(C)He went to the Mount of Olives, as He was accustomed, and His disciples also followed Him. ^40 (D)When He came to the place, He said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.”

^41 (E)And He was withdrawn from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and prayed, ⁴² saying, “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless ^(F)not My will, but Yours, be done.” ^43 [a]Then ^(G)an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him. ^44 (H)And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.

⁴⁵ When He rose up from prayer, and had come to His disciples, He found them sleeping from sorrow. ⁴⁶ Then He said to them, “Why ^(I)do you sleep? Rise and ^(J)pray, lest you enter into temptation.”

Betrayal and Arrest in Gethsemane^(K)

⁴⁷ And while He was still speaking, ^(L)behold, a multitude; and he who was called ^(M)Judas, one of the twelve, went before them and drew near to Jesus to kiss Him. ⁴⁸ But Jesus said to him, “Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a ^(N)kiss?”

⁴⁹ When those around Him saw what was going to happen, they said to Him, “Lord, shall we strike with the sword?” ⁵⁰ And ^(O)one of them struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his right ear.

⁵¹ But Jesus answered and said, “Permit even this.” And He touched his ear and healed him.

^52 (P)Then Jesus said to the chief priests, captains of the temple, and the elders who had come to Him, “Have you come out, as against a ^(Q)robber, with swords and clubs? ⁵³ When I was with you daily in the ^(R)temple, you did not try to seize Me. But this is your ^(S)hour, and the power of darkness.”