The Daily Audio Bible

3 Now Jehoram the son of Ahab began to reign over Israel in Samaria in the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and reigned twelve years. ² And he did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah, but not like his father, and like his mother; for he put away the ^[a]pillar of Baal that his father had made. ³ Nevertheless he cleaved unto the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, wherewith he made Israel to sin; he departed not therefrom.

⁴ Now Mesha king of Moab was a sheep-master; and he rendered unto the king of Israel ^[b]the wool of a hundred thousand lambs, and of a hundred thousand rams. ⁵ But it came to pass, when Ahab was dead, that the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel. ⁶ And king Jehoram went out of Samaria at that time, and mustered all Israel. ⁷ And he went and sent to Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, saying, The king of Moab hath rebelled against me: wilt thou go with me against Moab to battle? And he said, I will go up: I am as thou art, my people as thy people, my horses as thy horses. ⁸ And he said, Which way shall we go up? And he answered, The way of the wilderness of Edom. ⁹ So the king of Israel went, and the king of Judah, and the king of Edom; and they made a circuit of seven days’ journey: and there was no water for the host, nor for the beasts that followed them. ¹⁰ And the king of Israel said, Alas! for Jehovah hath called these three kings together to deliver them into the hand of Moab. ¹¹ But Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of Jehovah, that we may inquire of Jehovah by him? And one of the king of Israel’s servants answered and said, Elisha the son of Shaphat is here, who poured water on the hands of Elijah. ¹² And Jehoshaphat said, The word of Jehovah is with him. So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom went down to him.

¹³ And Elisha said unto the king of Israel, What have I to do with thee? get thee to the prophets of thy father, and to the prophets of thy mother. And the king of Israel said unto him, Nay; for Jehovah hath called these three kings together to deliver them into the hand of Moab. ¹⁴ And Elisha said, As Jehovah of hosts liveth, before whom I stand, surely, were it not that I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, I would not look toward thee, nor see thee. ¹⁵ But now bring me a minstrel. And it came to pass, when the minstrel played, that the hand of Jehovah came upon him. ¹⁶ And he said, Thus saith Jehovah, Make this valley full of trenches. ¹⁷ For thus saith Jehovah, Ye shall not see wind, neither shall ye see rain; yet that valley shall be filled with water, and ye shall drink, both ye and your cattle and your beasts. ¹⁸ And this is but a light thing in the sight of Jehovah: he will also deliver the Moabites into your hand. ¹⁹ And ye shall smite every fortified city, and every choice city, and shall fell every good tree, and stop all fountains of water, and mar every good piece of land with stones. ²⁰ And it came to pass in the morning, about the time of offering the oblation, that, behold, there came water by the way of Edom, and the country was filled with water.

²¹ Now when all the Moabites heard that the kings were come up to fight against them, they ^[c]gathered themselves together, all that were able to ^[d]put on armor, and upward, and stood on the border. ²² And they rose up early in the morning, and the sun shone upon the water, and the Moabites saw the water over against them as red as blood: ²³ and they said, This is blood; the kings ^[e]are surely destroyed, and they have smitten each man his fellow: now therefore, Moab, to the spoil. ²⁴ And when they came to the camp of Israel, the Israelites rose up and smote the Moabites, so that they fled before them; and they went forward ^[f]into the land smiting the Moabites. ²⁵ And they beat down the cities; and on every good piece of land they cast every man his stone, and filled it; and they stopped all the fountains of water, and felled all the good trees, until in Kir-hareseth only they left the stones thereof; howbeit the slingers went about it, and smote it. ²⁶ And when the king of Moab saw that the battle was too sore for him, he took with him seven hundred men that drew sword, to break through unto the king of Edom; but they could not. ²⁷ Then he took his eldest son that should have reigned in his stead, and offered him for a burnt-offering upon the wall. And ^[g]there was great wrath against Israel: and they departed from him, and returned to their own land.

4 Now there cried a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets unto Elisha, saying, Thy servant my husband is dead; and thou knowest that thy servant did fear Jehovah: and the creditor is come to take unto him my two children to be bondmen. ² And Elisha said unto her, What shall I do for thee? tell me; what hast thou in the house? And she said, Thy handmaid hath not anything in the house, save a pot of oil. ³ Then he said, Go, borrow thee vessels abroad of all thy neighbors, even empty vessels; borrow not a few. ⁴ And thou shalt go in, and shut the door upon thee and upon thy sons, and pour out into all those vessels; and thou shalt set aside that which is full. ⁵ So she went from him, and shut the door upon her and upon her sons; they brought the vessels to her, and she poured out. ⁶ And it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said unto her son, Bring me yet a vessel. And he said unto her, There is not a vessel more. And the oil stayed. ⁷ Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, Go, sell the oil, and pay thy debt, and live thou and thy sons of the rest.

⁸ And it fell on a day, that Elisha passed to Shunem, where was a great woman; and she constrained him to eat bread. And so it was, that as oft as he passed by, he turned in thither to eat bread. ⁹ And she said unto her husband, Behold now, I perceive that this is a holy man of God, that passeth by us continually. ¹⁰ Let us make, I pray thee, a little chamber ^[h]on the wall; and let us set for him there a bed, and a table, and a seat, and a candlestick: and it shall be, when he cometh to us, that he shall turn in thither. ¹¹ And it fell on a day, that he came thither, and he turned into the chamber and lay there. ¹² And he said to Gehazi his servant, Call this Shunammite. And when he had called her, she stood before him. ¹³ And he said unto him, Say now unto her, Behold, thou hast ^[i]been careful for us with all this care; what is to be done for thee? wouldest thou be spoken for to the king, or to the captain of the host? And she answered, I dwell among mine own people. ¹⁴ And he said, What then is to be done for her? And Gehazi answered, Verily she hath no son, and her husband is old. ¹⁵ And he said, Call her. And when he had called her, she stood in the door. ¹⁶ And he said, At this season, when the time ^[j]cometh round, thou shalt embrace a son. And she said, Nay, my lord, thou man of God, do not lie unto thy handmaid.

¹⁷ And the woman conceived, and bare a son at that season, when the time came round, as Elisha had said unto her.

⁸ And at Lystra there sat a certain man, impotent in his feet, a cripple from his mother’s womb, who never had walked. ⁹ The same heard Paul speaking: who, fastening his eyes upon him, and seeing that he had faith to be made whole, ¹⁰ said with a loud voice, Stand upright on thy feet. And he leaped up and walked. ¹¹ And when the multitude saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voice, saying in the speech of Lycaonia, The gods are come down to us in the likeness of men. ¹² And they called Barnabas, ^[a]Jupiter; and Paul, ^[b]Mercury, because he was the chief speaker. ¹³ And the priest of Jupiter whose temple was before the city, brought oxen and garlands unto the gates, and would have done sacrifice with the multitudes. ¹⁴ But when the apostles, Barnabas and Paul, heard of it, they rent their garments, and sprang forth among the multitude, crying out ¹⁵ and saying, Sirs, why do ye these things? We also are men of like ^[c]passions with you, and bring you good tidings, that ye should turn from these vain things unto a living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and all that in them is: ¹⁶ who in the generations gone by suffered all the ^[d]nations to walk in their own ways. ¹⁷ And yet he left not himself without witness, in that he did good and gave you from heaven rains and fruitful seasons, filling your hearts with food and gladness. ¹⁸ And with these sayings scarce restrained they the multitudes from doing sacrifice unto them.

¹⁹ But there came Jews thither from Antioch and Iconium: and having persuaded the multitudes, they stoned Paul, and dragged him out of the city, supposing that he was dead. ²⁰ But as the disciples stood round about him, he rose up, and entered into the city: and on the morrow he went forth with Barnabas to Derbe. ²¹ And when they had ^[e]preached the gospel to that city, and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, and to Iconium, and to Antioch, ²² confirming the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that through many tribulations we must enter into the kingdom of God. ²³ And when they had appointed for them elders in every church, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on whom they had believed. ²⁴ And they passed through Pisidia, and came to Pamphylia. ²⁵ And when they had spoken the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia; ²⁶ and thence they sailed to Antioch, from whence they had been committed to the grace of God for the work which they had fulfilled. ²⁷ And when they were come, and had gathered the church together, they rehearsed all things that God had done with them, and that he had opened a door of faith unto the Gentiles. ²⁸ And they tarried no little time with the disciples.

Prayer for protection against persecutors.

For the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.