Book of Common Prayer

By David when he pretended to be insane in the presence of Abimelech; Abimelech threw him out, so David left.

Elisha Brings a Shunem Woman’s Son Back to Life

⁸ One day Elisha was traveling through Shunem, where a rich woman lived. She had invited him to eat ⌞with her⌟. So whenever he was in the area, he stopped in to eat.

⁹ She told her husband, “I know he’s a holy man of God. And he regularly travels past our house. ¹⁰ Let’s make a small room on the roof and put a bed, table, chair, and lamp stand there for him. He can stay there whenever he comes to visit us.”

¹¹ One day he came ⌞to their house⌟, went into the upstairs room, and rested there. ¹² He told his servant Gehazi, “Call this Shunem woman.”

Gehazi called her, and she stood in front of him. ¹³ Elisha said to Gehazi, “Ask her what we can do for her, since she has gone to a lot of trouble for us. Maybe she would like us to speak to the king or the commander of the army for her.”

She answered, “I’m already living among my own people.”

¹⁴ “What should we do for her?” Elisha asked.

Gehazi answered, “Well, she has no son, and her husband is old.”

¹⁵ Elisha said, “Call her.” So Gehazi called her, and she stood in the doorway. ¹⁶ Elisha said, “At this time next spring, you will hold a baby boy in your arms.”

She answered, “Don’t say that, sir. Don’t lie to me. You’re a man of God.”

¹⁷ But the woman became pregnant and had a son at that time next year, as Elisha had told her.

¹⁸ Several years later the boy went to his father, who was with the harvest workers. ¹⁹ ⌞Suddenly,⌟ he said to his father, “My head! My head!”

The father told his servant, “Carry him to his mother.”

²⁰ The servant picked him up and brought him to his mother. The boy sat on her lap until noon, when he died. ²¹ She took him upstairs and laid him on the bed of the man of God, left ⌞the room⌟, and shut the door behind her. ²² She called her husband and said, “Please send me one of the servants and one of the donkeys. I will go quickly to the man of God and come back again.”

²³ Her husband asked, “Why are you going to him today? It isn’t a New Moon Festival or a day of rest—a holy day.”

But she said goodbye to him.

²⁴ She saddled the donkey. Then she told her servant, “Lead on. Don’t slow down unless I tell you.” ²⁵ So she came to the man of God at Mount Carmel.

When he saw her coming at a distance, he told his servant Gehazi, “There is the woman from Shunem. ²⁶ Run to meet her and ask her how she, her husband, and the boy are doing.”

“Everyone’s fine,” she answered.

²⁷ When she came to the man of God at the mountain, she took hold of his feet. Gehazi went to push her away. But the man of God said, “Leave her alone. She is bitter. The Lord has hidden the reason from me. He hasn’t told me.”

²⁸ The woman said, “I didn’t ask you for a son. I said, ‘Don’t raise my hopes.’ ”

²⁹ The man of God told Gehazi, “Put on a belt, take my shepherd’s staff in your hand, and go. Whenever you meet anyone, don’t stop to greet him. If he greets you, don’t stop to answer him. Lay my staff on the boy’s face.”

³⁰ The boy’s mother said, “I solemnly swear, as the Lord and you live, I will not leave without you.” So Elisha got up and followed her.

³¹ Gehazi went ahead of them and put the staff on the boy’s face, but there was no sound or sign of life. So Gehazi came back to meet the man of God. Gehazi told him, “The boy didn’t wake up.”

³² When Elisha came to the house, the dead boy was lying on Elisha’s bed. ³³ He went into the room, closed the door, and prayed to the Lord. ³⁴ Then he lay on the boy, putting his mouth on the boy’s mouth, his eyes on the boy’s eyes, his hands on the boy’s hands. He crouched over the boy’s body, and it became warm. ³⁵ Elisha got up, walked across the room and came back, and then got back on the bed and crouched over him. The boy sneezed seven times and opened his eyes. ³⁶ Elisha called Gehazi and said, “Call the Shunem woman.” Gehazi called her. When she came to him, he said, “Take your son.”

³⁷ Then she immediately bowed at his feet. She took her son and left.

¹⁰ A disciple named Ananias lived in the city of Damascus. The Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias!”

Ananias answered, “Yes, Lord.”

¹¹ The Lord told him, “Get up! Go to Judas’ house on Straight Street, and ask for a man named Saul from the city of Tarsus. He’s praying. ¹² In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias place his hands on him to restore his sight.”

¹³ Ananias replied, “Lord, I’ve heard a lot of people tell about the many evil things this man has done to your people in Jerusalem. ¹⁴ Saul has come here to Damascus with authority from the chief priests to put anyone who calls on your name in prison.”

¹⁵ The Lord told Ananias, “Go! I’ve chosen this man to bring my name to nations, to kings, and to the people of Israel. ¹⁶ I’ll show him how much he has to suffer for the sake of my name.”

¹⁷ Ananias left and entered Judas’ house. After he placed his hands on Saul, Ananias said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on your way to Damascus, sent me to you. He wants you to see again and to be filled with the Holy Spirit.”

¹⁸ Immediately, something like fish scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. Then Saul stood up and was baptized. ¹⁹ After he had something to eat, his strength came back to him.

Saul was with the disciples in the city of Damascus for several days. ²⁰ He immediately began to spread the word in their synagogues that Jesus was the Son of God. ²¹ Everyone who heard him was amazed. They asked, “Isn’t this the man who destroyed those who worshiped the one named Jesus in Jerusalem? Didn’t he come here to take these worshipers as prisoners to the chief priests ⌞in Jerusalem⌟?”

²² Saul grew more powerful, and he confused the Jews living in Damascus by proving that Jesus was the Messiah. ²³ Later the Jews planned to murder Saul, ²⁴ but Saul was told about their plot. They were watching the city gates day and night in order to murder him. ²⁵ However, Saul’s disciples lowered him in a large basket through an opening in the wall one night.

²⁶ After Saul arrived in Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples. But everyone was afraid of him. They wouldn’t believe that he was a disciple.

²⁷ Then Barnabas took an interest in Saul and brought him to the apostles. Barnabas told the apostles how Saul had seen the Lord on the road and that the Lord had spoken to him. Barnabas also told them how boldly Saul had spoken about the one named Jesus in the city of Damascus. ²⁸ Then Saul went throughout Jerusalem with the disciples. He spoke boldly with the power and authority of the Lord.

²⁹ He talked and argued with Greek-speaking Jews, but they tried to murder him. ³⁰ As soon as the disciples found out about this, they took Saul to Caesarea and sent him to Tarsus.

³¹ Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace. The number of people increased as people lived in the fear of the Lord and the comfort of the Holy Spirit.

⁷ Crowds of people were coming to be baptized by John. He would say to them, “You poisonous snakes! Who showed you how to flee from God’s coming anger? ⁸ Do those things that prove that you have turned to God and have changed the way you think and act. Don’t say, ‘Abraham is our ancestor.’ I guarantee that God can raise up descendants for Abraham from these stones. ⁹ The ax is now ready to cut the roots of the trees. Any tree that doesn’t produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into a fire.”

¹⁰ The crowds asked him, “What should we do?”

¹¹ He answered them, “Whoever has two shirts should share with the person who doesn’t have any. Whoever has food should share it too.”

¹² Some tax collectors came to be baptized. They asked him, “Teacher, what should we do?”

¹³ He told them, “Don’t collect more money than you are ordered to collect.”

¹⁴ Some soldiers asked him, “And what should we do?”

He told them, “Be satisfied with your pay, and never use threats or blackmail to get money from anyone.”

¹⁵ People’s hopes were rising as they all wondered whether John was the Messiah. ¹⁶ John replied to all of them, “I baptize you with water. But the one who is more powerful than I is coming. I am not worthy to untie his sandal straps. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. ¹⁷ His winnowing ^[a] shovel is in his hand to clean up his threshing floor.^[b] He will gather the wheat into his barn, but he will burn the husks in a fire that can never be put out.”

¹⁸ With many other encouraging words, he told the Good News to the people.