Elijah Flees from Jezebel

19 Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword.^{(A) 2} Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “So may the gods do to me and more also, if I do not make your life like the life of one of them by this time tomorrow.”^{(B) 3} Then he was afraid;^[a] he got up and fled for his life and came to Beer-sheba, which belongs to Judah; he left his servant there.

⁴ But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness and came and sat down under a solitary broom tree. He asked that he might die, “It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life, for I am no better than my ancestors.”^{(C) 5} Then he lay down under the broom tree and fell asleep. Suddenly an angel touched him and said to him, “Get up and eat.” ⁶ He looked, and there at his head was a cake baked on hot stones and a jar of water. He ate and drank and lay down again. ⁷ The angel of the Lord came a second time, touched him, and said, “Get up and eat, or the journey will be too much for you.” ⁸ He got up and ate and drank; then he went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb the mount of God.^{(D) 9} At that place he came to a cave and spent the night there.

Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” ¹⁰ He answered, “I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts, for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away.”^(E)

Elijah Meets God at Horeb

¹¹ He said, “Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.” Now there was a great wind, so strong that it was splitting mountains and breaking 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,^{(F) 12} and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire, and after the fire a sound of sheer silence. ¹³ When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. Then there came a voice to him that said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”^{(G) 14} He answered, “I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts, for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away.”^{(H) 15} Then the Lord said to him, “Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus; when you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael as king over Aram.^{(I) 16} Also you shall anoint Jehu son of Nimshi as king over Israel, and you shall anoint Elisha son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah as prophet in your place.^{(J) 17} Whoever escapes from the sword of Hazael, Jehu shall kill, and whoever escapes from the sword of Jehu, Elisha shall kill.^{(K) 18} Yet I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him.”^(L)

Elisha Becomes Elijah’s Disciple

¹⁹ So he set out from there and found Elisha son of Shaphat, who was plowing. There were twelve yoke of oxen ahead of him, and he was with the twelfth. Elijah passed by him and threw his mantle over him.^{(M) 20} He left the oxen, ran after Elijah, and said, “Let me kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you.” Then Elijah^[b] said to him, “Go back again, for what have I done to you?”^{(N) 21} He returned from following him, took the yoke of oxen, and slaughtered them; using the equipment from the oxen, he boiled their flesh and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he set out and followed Elijah and became his servant.^(O)

Encouragement to Be Generous

8 We want you to know, brothers and sisters, about the grace of God that has been granted to the churches of Macedonia, ² for during a severe ordeal of affliction their abundant joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. ³ For, as I can testify, they voluntarily gave according to their means and even beyond their means, ⁴ begging us earnestly for the favor^[a] of partnering in this ministry to the saints,^{(A) 5} and not as we expected. Instead, they gave themselves first to the Lord and, by the will of God, to us, ⁶ so that we might urge Titus that, as he had already made a beginning, so he should also complete this generous undertaking^[b] among you.^{(B) 7} Now as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in utmost eagerness, and in our love for you^[c]—so we want you to excel also in this generous undertaking.^[d](C)

⁸ I do not say this as a command, but I am, by mentioning the eagerness of others, testing the genuineness of your love.^{(D) 9} For you know the generous act^[e] of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich.^{(E) 10} And in this matter I am giving my opinion: it is beneficial for you who began last year not only to do something but even to desire to do something.^{(F) 11} Now finish doing it, so that your eagerness may be matched by completing it according to your means.^{(G) 12} For if the eagerness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what one does not have.^{(H) 13} For I do not mean that there should be relief for others and hardship for you, but it is a question of equality between ¹⁴ your present abundance and their need, so that their abundance may also supply your need, in order that there may be equality. ¹⁵ As it is written,

Commendation of Titus

¹⁶ But thanks be to God, who put in the heart of Titus the same eagerness for you that I myself have. ¹⁷ For he not only accepted our appeal, but since he is more eager than ever, he is going to you of his own accord. ¹⁸ With him we are sending the brother who is praised among all the churches for his work for the gospel,^{(J) 19} and not only that, but he has also been appointed by the churches to travel with us while we are administering this generous undertaking^[f] for the glory of the Lord himself^[g] and to show our goodwill.^{(K) 20} We are making this arrangement lest anyone blame us about this generous gift that we are administering, ²¹ for we are setting our minds on what is right not only before the Lord but also before the people.^{(L) 22} And with them we are sending our brother whom we have often tested and found eager in many matters but who is now more eager than ever because of his great confidence in you. ²³ As for Titus, he is my partner and coworker in your service; as for our brothers, they are messengers^[h] of the churches, the glory of Christ.^{(M) 24} Therefore openly before the churches, show them the proof of your love and of our reason for boasting about you to them.^(N)

Naboth’s Vineyard

21 Later the following events took place: Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard in Jezreel beside the palace of King Ahab of Samaria.^{(A) 2} And Ahab said to Naboth, “Give me your vineyard, so that I may have it for a vegetable garden, because it is near my house; I will give you a better vineyard for it, or, if it seems good to you, I will give you its value in money.”^{(B) 3} But Naboth said to Ahab, “The Lord forbid that I should give you my ancestral inheritance.”^{(C) 4} Ahab went home resentful and sullen because of what Naboth the Jezreelite had said to him, for he had said, “I will not give you my ancestral inheritance.” He lay down on his bed, turned away his face, and would not eat.^(D)

⁵ His wife Jezebel came to him and said, “Why are you so depressed that you will not eat?” ⁶ He said to her, “Because I spoke to Naboth the Jezreelite and said to him, ‘Give me your vineyard for money, or if you prefer, I will give you another vineyard for it,’ but he answered, ‘I will not give you my vineyard.’ ” ⁷ His wife Jezebel said to him, “Do you now govern Israel? Get up, eat some food, and be cheerful; I will give you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.”^(E)

⁸ So she wrote letters in Ahab’s name and sealed them with his seal; she sent the letters to the elders and the nobles who lived with Naboth in his city.^{(F) 9} She wrote in the letters, “Proclaim a fast, and seat Naboth at the head of the assembly; ¹⁰ seat two scoundrels opposite him, and have them bring a charge against him, saying, ‘You have cursed God and the king.’ Then take him out and stone him to death.”^{(G) 11} The men of his city, the elders and the nobles who lived in his city, did as Jezebel had sent word to them. Just as it was written in the letters that she had sent to them, ¹² they proclaimed a fast and seated Naboth at the head of the assembly. ¹³ The two scoundrels came in and sat opposite him, and the scoundrels brought a charge against Naboth in the presence of the people, saying, “Naboth cursed God and the king.” So they took him outside the city and stoned him to death.^{(H) 14} Then they sent to Jezebel, saying, “Naboth has been stoned; he is dead.”

¹⁵ As soon as Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned and was dead, Jezebel said to Ahab, “Go, 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 As soon as Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, Ahab set out to go down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, to take possession of it.

Elijah Pronounces God’s Sentence

¹⁷ Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying,^{(I) 18} “Go down to meet King Ahab of Israel, who rules^[a] in Samaria; he is now in the vineyard of Naboth, where he has gone to take possession.^{(J) 19} You shall say to him: Thus says the Lord: Have you killed and also taken possession? You shall say to him: Thus says the Lord: In the place where dogs licked up the blood of Naboth, dogs will also lick up your blood.”^(K)

²⁰ Ahab said to Elijah, “Have you found me, O my enemy?” He answered, “I have found you. Because you have sold yourself to do what is evil in the sight of the Lord,^{(L) 21} I will bring disaster on you; I will consume you and will cut off from Ahab every male, bond or free, in Israel,^{(M) 22} and I will make your house like the house of Jeroboam son of Nebat and like the house of Baasha son of Ahijah, because you have provoked me to anger and have caused Israel to sin. ²³ Also concerning Jezebel the Lord said: The dogs shall eat Jezebel within the bounds of Jezreel.^{(N) 24} Anyone belonging to Ahab who dies in the city the dogs shall eat, and anyone of his who dies in the open country the birds of the air shall eat.”^(O)

²⁵ (Indeed, there was no one like Ahab, who sold himself to do what was evil in the sight of the Lord, urged on by his wife Jezebel. ²⁶ He acted most abominably in going after idols, as the Amorites had done, whom the Lord had driven out before the Israelites.)^(P)

²⁷ When Ahab heard those words, he tore his clothes and put sackcloth over his bare flesh; he fasted, lay in the sackcloth, and went about dejectedly.^{(Q) 28} Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, ²⁹ “Have you seen how Ahab has humbled himself before me? Because he has humbled himself before me, I will not bring the disaster in his days, but in his son’s days I will bring the disaster on his house.”^(R)

Jesus Prays on the Mount of Olives

³⁹ He came out and went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples followed him.^{(A) 40} When he reached the place, he said to them, “Pray that you may not come into the time of trial.”^{[a](B) 41} Then he withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, knelt down, and prayed, ⁴² “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me, yet not my will but yours be done.”^(C) [[⁴³ Then an angel from heaven appeared to him and gave him strength.^{(D) 44} In his anguish he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down on the ground.]]^{[b](E) 45} When he got up from prayer, he came to the disciples and found them sleeping because of grief, ⁴⁶ and he said to them, “Why are you sleeping? Get up and pray that you may not come into the time of trial.”^[c](F)

The Betrayal and Arrest of Jesus

⁴⁷ While he was still speaking, suddenly a crowd came, and the one called Judas, one of the twelve, was leading them. He approached Jesus to kiss him, ⁴⁸ but Jesus said to him, “Judas, is it with a kiss that you are betraying the Son of Man?” ⁴⁹ When those who were around him saw what was coming, they asked, “Lord, should we strike with the sword?”^{(G) 50} Then one of them struck the slave of the high priest and cut off his right ear. ⁵¹ But Jesus said, “No more of this!” And he touched his ear and healed him. ⁵² Then Jesus said to the chief priests, the officers of the temple police, and the elders who had come for him, “Have you come out with swords and clubs as though I were a rebel?^{(H) 53} When I was with you day after day in the temple, you did not lay hands on me. But this is your hour and the power of darkness!”^(I)