The Axe Head Recovered

6 Now ^(A)the sons of the prophets said to Elisha, “Behold now, the place ^[a]before you where we are living is too cramped for us. ² Please let us go to the Jordan, and let us each take from there a beam, and let us construct a place there for ourselves, to live there.” So he said, “Go.” ³ Then one of them said, “Please agree and go with your servants.” And he said, “I will go.” ⁴ So he went with them; and when they came to the Jordan, they cut down trees. ⁵ But it happened that as one of them was ^[b]cutting down a beam, ^[c]the axe head fell into the water; and he cried out and said, “Oh, my master! It was borrowed!” ⁶ Then the man of God said, “Where did it fall?” And when he showed him the place, ^(B)he cut off a stick and threw it in there, and made the iron float. ⁷ Then he said, “Pick it up for yourself.” So he reached out his hand and took it.

The Arameans Plot to Capture Elisha

⁸ Now the king of Aram was making war against Israel; and he consulted with his servants, saying, “In such and such a place shall be my camp.” ⁹ But ^(C)the man of God sent word to the king of Israel, saying, “Be careful that you do not pass this place, because the Arameans are coming down there.” ¹⁰ And the king of Israel sent scouts to the place about which the man of God had told him; so he warned him, so that he was on his guard there, ^[d]more than once or twice.

¹¹ Now the heart of the king of Aram was enraged over this matter; and he called his servants and said to them, “Will you not tell me which of us is for the king of Israel?” ¹² One of his servants said, “No, my lord, the king; but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the words that you speak in your bedroom.” ¹³ So he said, “Go and see where he is, so that I may send men and take him.” And it was told to him, saying, “Behold, he is in ^(D)Dothan.” ¹⁴ So he sent horses and chariots and a substantial army there, and they came by night and surrounded the city.

¹⁵ Now when the attendant of the man of God had risen early and gone out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was circling the city. And his servant said to him, “This is hopeless, my master! ^[e]What are we to do?” ¹⁶ And he said, “^(E)Do not be afraid, for ^(F)those who are with us are ^[f]greater than those who are with them.” ¹⁷ Then Elisha prayed and said, “^(G)Lord, please, open his eyes so that he may see.” And the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he saw; and behold, the mountain was full of ^(H)horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. ¹⁸ And when they came down to him, Elisha prayed to the Lord and said, “Please strike this ^[g]people with blindness.” So He ^(I)struck them with blindness in accordance with the word of Elisha. ¹⁹ Then Elisha said to them, “This is not the way, nor is this the city; follow me and I will bring you to the man whom you seek.” And he brought them to Samaria.

²⁰ When they had come into Samaria, Elisha said, “^(J)Lord, open the eyes of these men, so that they may see.” So the Lord opened their eyes, and they saw; and behold, they were in the midst of Samaria. ²¹ Then the king of Israel when he saw them, said to Elisha, “^(K)My father, shall I ^[h]kill them? Shall I ^[i]kill them?” ²² But he ^[j]answered, “You shall not ^[k]kill them. Would you ^[l](L)kill those whom you have taken captive with your sword and your bow? ^(M)Set bread and water before them, so that they may eat and drink, and go to their master.” ²³ So he provided a large feast for them; and when they had eaten and drunk, he sent them away, and they went to their master. And ^(N)the marauding bands of Arameans did not come again into the land of Israel.

The Siege of Samaria—Cannibalism

²⁴ Now it came about after this, that ^(O)Ben-hadad the king of Aram gathered all his army, and went up and besieged Samaria. ²⁵ So there was a severe ^(P)famine in Samaria; and behold, they kept besieging it until a donkey’s head was sold for eighty shekels of silver, and a fourth of a ^[m]kab of dove’s dung for five shekels of silver. ²⁶ And as the king of Israel was passing by on the wall, a woman cried out to him, saying, “Help, my lord the king!” ²⁷ But he said, “^[n]If the Lord does not help you, from where am I to help you? From the threshing floor, or from the wine press?” ²⁸ Then the king said to her, “^(Q)What ^[o]is on your mind?” And she said, “This woman said to me, ‘Give your son so that we may eat him today, and we will eat my son tomorrow.’ ^29 (R)So we cooked my son and ate him; and I said to her on the next day, ‘Give your son, so that we may eat him’; but she has hidden her son.” ³⁰ When the king heard the woman’s words, ^(S)he tore his clothes—and he was passing by on the wall—and the people looked, and behold, he had sackcloth ^[p]underneath on his ^[q]body. ³¹ Then he said, “May ^(T)God do so to me and more so, if the head of Elisha the son of Shaphat ^[r]remains on him today.”

³² Now Elisha was sitting in his house, and ^(U)the elders were sitting with him. And the king sent a man from his presence; but before the messenger came to him, he said to the elders, “Do you ^(V)see how this son of a murderer has sent a man to cut off my head? Look, when the messenger comes, shut the door and ^[s]hold the door shut against him. Is the sound of his master’s feet not behind him?” ³³ While he was still talking with them, behold, the messenger came down to him and he said, “^(W)Behold, this evil is from the Lord; why should I wait for the Lord any longer?”

Overseers and Deacons

3 ^(A)It is a trustworthy statement: if any man aspires to the ^(B)office of ^[a]overseer, it is a fine work he desires to do. ^2 [b](C)An overseer, then, must be above reproach, ^(D)the husband of one wife, ^[c](E)temperate, self-controlled, respectable, ^(F)hospitable, ^(G)skillful in teaching, ^3 (H)not overindulging in wine, not ^[d]a bully, but gentle, not contentious, ^(I)free from the love of money. ⁴ He must be one who ^(J)manages his own household well, keeping his children under control with all dignity ⁵ (but if a man does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of ^(K)the church of God?), ⁶ and not a new convert, so that he will not become ^(L)conceited and fall into ^(M)condemnation ^[e]incurred by the devil. ⁷ And he must ^(N)have a good reputation with ^(O)those outside the church, so that he will not fall into ^[f]disgrace and ^(P)the snare of the devil.

^8 (Q)Deacons likewise must be men of dignity, not ^[g]insincere, ^(R)not prone to drink much wine, ^(S)not greedy for money, ^9 (T)but holding to the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience. ^10 (U)These men must also first be tested; then have them serve as deacons if they are beyond reproach. ^11 [h]Women must likewise be dignified, ^(V)not malicious gossips, but ^[i](W)temperate, faithful in all things. ^12 (X)Deacons must be ^(Y)husbands of one wife, and ^[j](Z)good managers of their children and their own households. ¹³ For those who have served well as deacons ^(AA)obtain for themselves a ^[k]high standing and great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.

¹⁴ I am writing these things to you, hoping to come to you before long; ¹⁵ but ^[l]in case I am delayed, I write so that you will know how one should act in ^(AB)the household of God, which is the ^(AC)church of ^(AD)the living God, the ^(AE)pillar and support of the truth. ¹⁶ Beyond question, great is ^(AF)the mystery of godliness: