⁷ Then the Lord God formed the man of ^(A)dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the ^(B)man became a living ^[a]person.

Jacob’s Fear of Esau

32 Now as Jacob went on his way, ^(A)the angels of God met him. ² And when he saw them, Jacob said, “This is God’s ^[a]camp.” So he named that place ^[b](B)Mahanaim.

Jacob Wrestles

²⁴ Then Jacob was left alone, and a man ^(A)wrestled with him until daybreak. ²⁵ When the man saw that he had not prevailed against him, he touched the socket of ^[a]Jacob’s hip; and the socket of Jacob’s hip was dislocated while he wrestled with him. ²⁶ Then he said, “Let me go, for the dawn is breaking.” But he said, “^(B)I will not let you go unless you bless me.” ²⁷ So he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” ²⁸ Then ^(C)he said, “Your name shall no longer be Jacob, but ^[b]Israel; for you have contended with God and with men, and have prevailed.” ²⁹ And ^(D)Jacob asked him and said, “Please tell me your name.” But he said, “Why is it that you ask my name?” And he blessed him there. ³⁰ So Jacob named the place ^[c]Peniel, for he said, “^(E)I have seen God face to face, yet my ^[d]life has been ^[e]spared.”

^21 (A)So Balaam arose in the morning, saddled his donkey, and went with the leaders of Moab.

The Angel and Balaam

²² But God was angry that he was going, ^(B)and the angel of the Lord took his stand in the road as an adversary against him. Now he was riding on his donkey, and his two servants were with him. ²³ When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road with his sword drawn in his hand, the donkey turned off from the road and went into the field; and Balaam struck the donkey to guide her back onto the road. ²⁴ Then the angel of the Lord stood in a narrow path of the vineyards, with a stone wall on this side and on that side. ²⁵ When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, she pressed herself against the wall and pressed Balaam’s foot against the wall, so he struck her again. ²⁶ Then the angel of the Lord went further, and stood in a narrow place where there was no way to turn to the right or to the left. ²⁷ When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, she lay down under Balaam; so ^(C)Balaam was angry and struck the donkey with his staff. ²⁸ Then ^(D)the Lord opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, “What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?” ²⁹ And Balaam said to the donkey, “It is because you have made a mockery of me! If only there had been a sword in my hand! For ^(E)I would have killed you by now!” ³⁰ But the donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your donkey on which you have ridden all your life to this day? Have I ever been in the habit of doing such a thing to you?” And he said, “No.”

³¹ Then the Lord opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw ^(F)the angel of the Lord standing in the way with his sword drawn in his hand; and he bowed ^[a]all the way to the ground. ³² Then the angel of the Lord said to him, “Why have you struck your donkey these three times? Behold, I have come out as an adversary, because your way was ^(G)reckless and contrary to me. ³³ But the donkey saw me and turned away from me these three times. If she had not turned away from me, I certainly would have killed you just now, and let her live.”

¹³ Now it came about when Joshua was by Jericho, he raised his eyes and looked, and behold, ^(A)a man was standing opposite him with his sword drawn in his hand, and Joshua went to him and said to him, “Are you for us or for our enemies?” ¹⁴ He said, “No; rather I have come now as captain of the army of the Lord.” And Joshua ^(B)fell on his face to the ground, and bowed down, and said to him, “What has my lord to say to his servant?” ¹⁵ And the captain of the Lord’s army said to Joshua, “^(C)Remove your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so.

^6 (A)So Saul inquired of the Lord, but ^(B)the Lord did not answer him, either in ^(C)dreams, or by the ^(D)Urim, or by the prophets. ⁷ Then Saul said to his servants, “Find for me a woman who is a medium, so that I may go to her and inquire of her.” And his servants said to him, “Behold, ^(E)there is a woman who is a medium at ^(F)En-dor.”

⁸ Then Saul ^(G)disguised himself by putting on different clothes, and went, he and two men with him, and they came to the woman by night; and he said, “^(H)Consult the spirit for me, please, and ^(I)bring up for me the one whom I shall ^[a]name for you.” ⁹ But the woman said to him, “Behold, you know ^(J)what Saul has done, that he has eliminated the mediums and spiritists from the land. Why are you then setting a trap for my life, to bring about my death?” ¹⁰ So Saul swore an oath to her by the Lord, saying, “As the Lord lives, no punishment shall come upon you for this thing.” ¹¹ Then the woman said, “Whom shall I bring up for you?” And he said, “Bring up Samuel for me.” ¹² When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out with a loud voice; and the woman spoke to Saul, saying, “Why have you deceived me? For you are Saul!” ¹³ But the king said to her, “Do not be afraid; but what do you see?” And the woman said to Saul, “I see a ^[b]divine being coming up from the earth.” ¹⁴ He said to her, “^[c]How does he appear?” And she said, “An old man is coming up, and ^(K)he is wrapped in a robe.” Then Saul knew that it was Samuel, and ^(L)he bowed with his face to the ground and paid ^[d]homage.

¹⁵ And Samuel said to Saul, “Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?” Saul replied, “I am very distressed, for the Philistines are waging war against me, and ^(M)God has abandoned me and ^(N)no longer answers me, either through prophets or in dreams; therefore I have called you, so that you may let me know what I should do.” ¹⁶ Samuel said, “But why ask me, since the Lord has abandoned you and has become your enemy? ¹⁷ And the Lord has done ^[e]just ^(O)as He spoke through me; for the Lord has torn the kingdom from your hand and given it to your neighbor, to David. ¹⁸ Just as ^(P)you did not ^[f]obey the Lord and did not execute His fierce wrath on Amalek, so the Lord has done this thing to you this day. ¹⁹ Furthermore, the Lord will also hand Israel along with you over to the Philistines; so tomorrow ^(Q)you and your sons will be with me. Indeed, the Lord will hand the army of Israel over to the Philistines!”

Elijah Raises the Widow’s Son

¹⁷ Now it happened after these things that the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, became sick; and his ^[a]condition became very grave, until at the end ^[b]he was no longer breathing. ¹⁸ So she said to Elijah, “^[c](A)Why is my business any of yours, you ^(B)man of God? Yet you have come to me to bring my wrongdoing to remembrance, and to put my son to death!” ¹⁹ But he said to her, “Give me your son.” Then he took him from her ^[d]arms and carried him up to the upstairs room where he was living, and laid him on his own bed. ²⁰ And he called to the Lord and said, “Lord, my God, have You also brought catastrophe upon the widow with whom I am ^[e]staying, by causing her son to die?” ^21 (C)Then he stretched himself out over the boy three times, and called to the Lord and said, “Lord, my God, please, let this boy’s life return ^[f]to him.” ²² And the Lord listened to the voice of Elijah, ^(D)and the life of the boy returned ^[g]to him and he revived. ²³ Elijah then took the boy and brought him down from the upstairs room into the house and gave him to his mother; and Elijah said, “See, your son is alive.” ²⁴ Then the woman said to Elijah, “^(E)Now I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is truth.”

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 ^(A)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, ^[a]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 ^(B)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! ^[b]What are we to do?” ¹⁶ And he said, “^(C)Do not be afraid, for ^(D)those who are with us are ^[c]greater than those who are with them.” ¹⁷ Then Elisha prayed and said, “^(E)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 ^(F)horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.

Vision of the Valley of Dry Bones

37 The ^(A)hand of the Lord was upon me, and He ^(B)brought me out ^[a]by the Spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of the ^(C)valley; and it was full of bones. ² He had me pass among them all around, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley; and behold, they were very dry. ³ Then He said to me, “Son of man, ^(D)can these bones live?” And I answered, “Lord ^[b]God, ^(E)You Yourself know.” ⁴ Again He said to me, “^(F)Prophesy over these bones and say to them, ‘You dry bones, ^(G)hear the word of the Lord.’ ⁵ This is what the Lord God says to these bones: ‘Behold, I am going to make ^[c](H)breath enter you so that you may come to life. ⁶ And I will ^[d]attach tendons to you, make flesh grow back on you, cover you with skin, and put breath in you so that you may come to life; and you will ^(I)know that I am the Lord.’”

⁷ So I prophesied ^(J)as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a loud noise, and behold, a ^[e]rattling; and the bones came together, bone to its bone. ⁸ And I looked, and behold, tendons were on them, and flesh grew and skin covered them; but there was no breath in them. ⁹ Then He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, ‘The Lord God says this: “Come from the four winds, breath, and ^(K)breathe on these slain, so that they ^(L)come to life.”’” ¹⁰ So I prophesied as He commanded me, and the ^(M)breath entered them, and they came to life and stood on their feet, an ^(N)exceedingly great army.