⁵ But after Ahab died, the king of Moab rebelled^(A) against the king of Israel. ⁶ So at that time King Joram set out from Samaria and mobilized all Israel. ⁷ He also sent this message to Jehoshaphat king of Judah: “The king of Moab has rebelled against me. Will you go with me to fight^(B) against Moab?”

“I will go with you,” he replied. “I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses.”

⁸ “By what route shall we attack?” he asked.

“Through the Desert of Edom,” he answered.

⁹ So the king of Israel set out with the king of Judah and the king of Edom.^(C) After a roundabout march of seven days, the army had no more water for themselves or for the animals with them.

¹⁰ “What!” exclaimed the king of Israel. “Has the Lord called us three kings together only to deliver us into the hands of Moab?”

¹¹ But Jehoshaphat asked, “Is there no prophet of the Lord here, through whom we may inquire^(D) of the Lord?”

An officer of the king of Israel answered, “Elisha^(E) son of Shaphat is here. He used to pour water on the hands of Elijah.^[a](F)”

¹² Jehoshaphat said, “The word^(G) of the Lord is with him.” So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom went down to him.

¹³ Elisha said to the king of Israel, “Why do you want to involve me? Go to the prophets of your father and the prophets of your mother.”

“No,” the king of Israel answered, “because it was the Lord who called us three kings together to deliver us into the hands of Moab.”

¹⁴ Elisha said, “As surely as the Lord Almighty lives, whom I serve, if I did not have respect for the presence of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, I would not pay any attention to you. ¹⁵ But now bring me a harpist.”^(H)

While the harpist was playing, the hand^(I) of the Lord came on Elisha ¹⁶ and he said, “This is what the Lord says: I will fill this valley with pools of water. ¹⁷ For this is what the Lord says: You will see neither wind nor rain, yet this valley will be filled with water,^(J) and you, your cattle and your other animals will drink. ¹⁸ This is an easy^(K) thing in the eyes of the Lord; he will also deliver Moab into your hands. ¹⁹ You will overthrow every fortified city and every major town. You will cut down every good tree, stop up all the springs, and ruin every good field with stones.”

²⁰ The next morning, about the time^(L) for offering the sacrifice, there it was—water flowing from the direction of Edom! And the land was filled with water.^(M)

²¹ Now all the Moabites had heard that the kings had come to fight against them; so every man, young and old, who could bear arms was called up and stationed on the border. ²² When they got up early in the morning, the sun was shining on the water. To the Moabites across the way, the water looked red—like blood. ²³ “That’s blood!” they said. “Those kings must have fought and slaughtered each other. Now to the plunder, Moab!”

²⁴ But when the Moabites came to the camp of Israel, the Israelites rose up and fought them until they fled. And the Israelites invaded the land and slaughtered the Moabites. ²⁵ They destroyed the towns, and each man threw a stone on every good field until it was covered. They stopped up all the springs and cut down every good tree. Only Kir Hareseth^(N) was left with its stones in place, but men armed with slings surrounded it and attacked it.

²⁶ When the king of Moab saw that the battle had gone against him, he took with him seven hundred swordsmen to break through to the king of Edom, but they failed. ²⁷ Then he took his firstborn^(O) son, who was to succeed him as king, and offered him as a sacrifice on the city wall. The fury against Israel was great; they withdrew and returned to their own land.

The Widow’s Olive Oil

4 The wife of a man from the company^(A) of the prophets cried out to Elisha, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that he revered the Lord. But now his creditor^(B) is coming to take my two boys as his slaves.”

² Elisha replied to her, “How can I help you? Tell me, what do you have in your house?”

“Your servant has nothing there at all,” she said, “except a small jar of olive oil.”^(C)

³ Elisha said, “Go around and ask all your neighbors for empty jars. Don’t ask for just a few. ⁴ Then go inside and shut the door behind you and your sons. Pour oil into all the jars, and as each is filled, put it to one side.”

⁵ She left him and shut the door behind her and her sons. They brought the jars to her and she kept pouring. ⁶ When all the jars were full, she said to her son, “Bring me another one.”

But he replied, “There is not a jar left.” Then the oil stopped flowing.

⁷ She went and told the man of God,^(D) and he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debts. You and your sons can live on what is left.”

The Shunammite’s Son Restored to Life

⁸ One day Elisha went to Shunem.^(E) And a well-to-do woman was there, who urged him to stay for a meal. So whenever he came by, he stopped there to eat. ⁹ She said to her husband, “I know that this man who often comes our way is a holy man of God. ¹⁰ Let’s make a small room on the roof and put in it a bed and a table, a chair and a lamp for him. Then he can stay^(F) there whenever he comes to us.”

¹¹ One day when Elisha came, he went up to his room and lay down there. ¹² He said to his servant Gehazi, “Call the Shunammite.”^(G) So he called her, and she stood before him. ¹³ Elisha said to him, “Tell her, ‘You have gone to all this trouble for us. Now what can be done for you? Can we speak on your behalf to the king or the commander of the army?’”

She replied, “I have a home among my own people.”

¹⁴ “What can be done for her?” Elisha asked.

Gehazi said, “She has no son, and her husband is old.”

¹⁵ Then Elisha said, “Call her.” So he called her, and she stood in the doorway. ¹⁶ “About this time^(H) next year,” Elisha said, “you will hold a son in your arms.”

“No, my lord!” she objected. “Please, man of God, don’t mislead your servant!”

¹⁷ But the woman became pregnant, and the next year about that same time she gave birth to a son, just as Elisha had told her.

¹⁸ The child grew, and one day he went out to his father, who was with the reapers.^{(I) 19} He said to his father, “My head! My head!”

His father told a servant, “Carry him to his mother.” ²⁰ After the servant had lifted him up and carried him to his mother, the boy sat on her lap until noon, and then he died. ²¹ She went up and laid him on the bed^(J) of the man of God, then shut the door and went out.

²² She called her husband and said, “Please send me one of the servants and a donkey so I can go to the man of God quickly and return.”

²³ “Why go to him today?” he asked. “It’s not the New Moon^(K) or the Sabbath.”

“That’s all right,” she said.

²⁴ She saddled the donkey and said to her servant, “Lead on; don’t slow down for me unless I tell you.” ²⁵ So she set out and came to the man of God at Mount Carmel.^(L)

When he saw her in the distance, the man of God said to his servant Gehazi, “Look! There’s the Shunammite!

3 Are we beginning to commend ourselves^(A) again? Or do we need, like some people, letters of recommendation^(B) to you or from you? ² You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everyone.^{(C) 3} You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God,^(D) not on tablets of stone^(E) but on tablets of human hearts.^(F)

⁴ Such confidence^(G) we have through Christ before God. ⁵ Not that we are competent in ourselves^(H) to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God.^{(I) 6} He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant^(J)—not of the letter^(K) but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.^(L)

The Greater Glory of the New Covenant

⁷ Now if the ministry that brought death,^(M) which was engraved in letters on stone, came with glory, so that the Israelites could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of its glory,^(N) transitory though it was, ⁸ will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious? ⁹ If the ministry that brought condemnation^(O) was glorious, how much more glorious is the ministry that brings righteousness!^{(P) 10} For what was glorious has no glory now in comparison with the surpassing glory. ¹¹ And if what was transitory came with glory, how much greater is the glory of that which lasts!

¹² Therefore, since we have such a hope,^(Q) we are very bold.^{(R) 13} We are not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face^(S) to prevent the Israelites from seeing the end of what was passing away. ¹⁴ But their minds were made dull,^(T) for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant^(U) is read.^(V) It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away. ¹⁵ Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. ¹⁶ But whenever anyone turns to the Lord,^(W) the veil is taken away.^{(X) 17} Now the Lord is the Spirit,^(Y) and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.^(Z)

Present Weakness and Resurrection Life

4 Therefore, since through God’s mercy^(A) we have this ministry, we do not lose heart.^{(B) 2} Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways;^(C) we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God.^(D) On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience^(E) in the sight of God. ³ And even if our gospel^(F) is veiled,^(G) it is veiled to those who are perishing.^{(H) 4} The god^(I) of this age^(J) has blinded^(K) the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ,^(L) who is the image of God.^{(M) 5} For what we preach is not ourselves,^(N) but Jesus Christ as Lord,^(O) and ourselves as your servants^(P) for Jesus’ sake. ⁶ For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,”^[a](Q) made his light shine in our hearts^(R) to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.^(S)

⁷ But we have this treasure in jars of clay^(T) to show that this all-surpassing power is from God^(U) and not from us. ⁸ We are hard pressed on every side,^(V) but not crushed; perplexed,^(W) but not in despair; ⁹ persecuted,^(X) but not abandoned;^(Y) struck down, but not destroyed.^{(Z) 10} We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus,^(AA) so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.^{(AB) 11} For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake,^(AC) so that his life may also be revealed in our mortal body. ¹² So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.^(AD)

¹³ It is written: “I believed; therefore I have spoken.”^[b](AE) Since we have that same spirit of^[c] faith,^(AF) we also believe and therefore speak, ¹⁴ because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead^(AG) will also raise us with Jesus^(AH) and present us with you to himself.^{(AI) 15} All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving^(AJ) to overflow to the glory of God.

¹⁶ Therefore we do not lose heart.^(AK) Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly^(AL) we are being renewed^(AM) day by day. ¹⁷ For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.^{(AN) 18} So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen,^(AO) since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.