The Axe Head Recovered

6 Now ^(A)the sons of the prophets said to Elisha, “Behold now, the place before you where we are living is too limited for us. ² Please let us go to the Jordan and each of us take from there a beam, and let us make a place there for ourselves where we may live.” So he said, “Go.” ³ Then one said, “Please be willing to go with your servants.” And he ^[a]answered, “I shall go.” ⁴ So he went with them; and when they came to the Jordan, they cut down trees. ⁵ But as one was felling a beam, ^[b]the axe head fell into the water; and he cried out and said, “Alas, my master! For 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 He said, “Take it up for yourself.” So he put out his hand and took it.

The Arameans Plot to Capture Elisha

⁸ Now the king of Aram was warring against Israel; and he ^[c]counseled with his servants saying, “In such and such a place shall be my camp.” ^9 (C)The man of God sent word to the king of Israel saying, “Beware that you do not pass this place, for the Arameans are coming down there.” ¹⁰ The king of Israel sent to the place about which the man of God had told him; thus he warned him, so that he guarded himself there, ^[d]more than once or twice.

¹¹ Now the heart of the king of Aram was enraged over this thing; and he called his servants and said to them, “Will you tell me which of us is for the king of Israel?” ¹² One of his servants said, “No, my lord, O 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, that I may send and take him.” And it was told him, saying, “Behold, he is in ^(D)Dothan.” ¹⁴ He sent horses and chariots and a great 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, “Alas, my master! ^[e]What shall we do?” ¹⁶ So he ^[f]answered, “^(E)Do not fear, for ^(F)those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” ¹⁷ Then Elisha prayed and said, “^(G)O Lord, I pray, open his eyes 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 When they came down to him, Elisha prayed to the Lord and said, “Strike this ^[g]people with blindness, I pray.” So He ^(I)struck them with blindness according to 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, “O ^(J)Lord, open the eyes of these men, 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 He ^[j]answered, “You shall not ^[k]kill them. Would you ^[l](L)kill those you have taken captive with your sword and with your bow? ^(M)Set bread and water before them, that they may eat and drink and go to their master.” ²³ So he prepared a great 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 king of Aram gathered all his army and went up and besieged Samaria. ²⁵ There was a great ^(P)famine in Samaria; and behold, they besieged 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 As the king of Israel was passing by on the wall a woman cried out to him, saying, “Help, my lord, O king!” ²⁷ He said, “^[n]If the Lord does not help you, from where shall I help you? From the threshing floor, or from the wine press?” ²⁸ And the king said to her, “^(Q)What ^[o]is the matter with you?” And she ^[p]answered, “This woman said to me, ‘Give your son that we may eat him today, and we will eat my son tomorrow.’ ^29 (R)So we boiled my son and ate him; and I said to her on the next day, ‘Give your son, that we may eat him’; but she has hidden her son.” ³⁰ When the king heard the words of the woman, ^(S)he tore his clothes—now he was passing by on the wall—and the people looked, and behold, he had sackcloth ^[q]beneath on his ^[r]body. ³¹ Then he said, “May ^(T)God do so to me and more also, if the head of Elisha the son of Shaphat ^[s]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 to take away my head? Look, when the messenger comes, shut the door and ^[t]hold the door shut against him. Is not the sound of his master’s feet 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?”

The Demoniac Cured

^26 (A)Then they sailed to the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. ²⁷ And when He came out onto the land, He was met by a man from the city who was possessed with demons; and who had not put on any clothing for a long time, and was not living in a house, but in the tombs. ²⁸ Seeing Jesus, he cried out and fell before Him, and said in a loud voice, “^[a](B)What business do we have with each other, Jesus, Son of ^(C)the Most High God? I beg You, do not torment me.” ²⁹ For He had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For it had seized him many times; and he was bound with chains and shackles and kept under guard, and yet he would break his bonds and be driven by the demon into the desert. ³⁰ And Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” And he said, “^(D)Legion”; for many demons had entered him. ³¹ They were imploring Him not to command them to go away into ^(E)the abyss.

³² Now there was a herd of many swine feeding there on the mountain; and the demons implored Him to permit them to enter ^[b]the swine. And He gave them permission. ³³ And the demons came out of the man and entered the swine; and the herd rushed down the steep bank into ^(F)the lake and was drowned.

³⁴ When the herdsmen saw what had happened, they ran away and reported it in the city and out in the country. ³⁵ The people went out to see what had happened; and they came to Jesus, and found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting down ^(G)at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind; and they became frightened. ³⁶ Those who had seen it reported to them how the man who was ^(H)demon-possessed had been ^[c]made well. ³⁷ And all the people of the country of the Gerasenes and the surrounding district asked Him to leave them, for they were gripped with great fear; and He got into a boat and returned. ^38 (I)But the man from whom the demons had gone out was begging Him that he might ^[d]accompany Him; but He sent him away, saying, ³⁹ “Return to your house and describe what great things God has done for you.” So he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him.

Miracles of Healing

^40 (J)And as Jesus returned, the ^[e]people welcomed Him, for they had all been waiting for Him. ^41 (K)And there came a man named Jairus, and he was an ^[f](L)official of the synagogue; and he fell at Jesus’ feet, and began to implore Him to come to his house; ⁴² for he had an ^[g]only daughter, about twelve years old, and she was dying. But as He went, the crowds were pressing against Him.

⁴³ And a woman who had a hemorrhage for twelve years, and could not be healed by anyone, ⁴⁴ came up behind Him and touched the fringe of His ^[h]cloak, and immediately her hemorrhage stopped. ⁴⁵ And Jesus said, “Who is the one who touched Me?” And while they were all denying it, Peter said, “^(M)Master, the ^[i]people are crowding and pressing in on You.” ⁴⁶ But Jesus said, “Someone did touch Me, for I was aware that ^(N)power had gone out of Me.” ⁴⁷ When the woman saw that she had not escaped notice, she came trembling and fell down before Him, and declared in the presence of all the people the reason why she had touched Him, and how she had been immediately healed. ⁴⁸ And He said to her, “Daughter, ^(O)your faith has ^[j]made you well; ^(P)go in peace.”

⁴⁹ While He was still speaking, someone *came from the house of ^(Q)the synagogue official, saying, “Your daughter has died; do not trouble the Teacher anymore.” ⁵⁰ But when Jesus heard this, He answered him, “^(R)Do not be afraid any longer; only believe, and she will be ^[k]made well.” ⁵¹ When He came to the house, He did not allow anyone to enter with Him, except Peter and John and James, and the girl’s father and mother. ⁵² Now they were all weeping and ^(S)lamenting for her; but He said, “Stop weeping, for she has not died, but ^(T)is asleep.” ⁵³ And they began laughing at Him, knowing that she had died. ⁵⁴ He, however, took her by the hand and called, saying, “Child, arise!” ⁵⁵ And her spirit returned, and she got up immediately; and He gave orders for something to be given her to eat. ⁵⁶ Her parents were amazed; but He ^(U)instructed them to tell no one what had happened.