The Greed of Gehazi

²⁰ But Gehazi, the servant of Elisha, the man of God, said to himself, “My master should not have let this Aramean get away without accepting any of his gifts. As surely as the Lord lives, I will chase after him and get something from him.”

¹² He said to his servant Gehazi, “Tell the woman from Shunem I want to speak to her.” When she appeared,

⁷ “You must not misuse the name of the Lord your God. The Lord will not let you go unpunished if you misuse his name.

³¹ “May God strike me and even kill me if I don’t separate Elisha’s head from his shoulders this very day,” the king vowed.

³⁶ Then Elisha summoned Gehazi. “Call the child’s mother!” he said. And when she came in, Elisha said, “Here, take your son!”

³¹ Gehazi hurried on ahead and laid the staff on the child’s face, but nothing happened. There was no sign of life. He returned to meet Elisha and told him, “The child is still dead.”

¹⁴ They commit adultery with their eyes, and their desire for sin is never satisfied. They lure unstable people into sin, and they are well trained in greed. They live under God’s curse. ¹⁵ They have wandered off the right road and followed the footsteps of Balaam son of Beor,^[a] who loved to earn money by doing wrong.

² Care for the flock that God has entrusted to you. Watch over it willingly, not grudgingly—not for what you will get out of it, but because you are eager to serve God.

⁷ A church leader^[a] is a manager of God’s household, so he must live a blameless life. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered; he must not be a heavy drinker,^[b] violent, or dishonest with money.

¹⁰ Demas has deserted me because he loves the things of this life and has gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, and Titus has gone to Dalmatia.