Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Elisha Purifies the Pot of Stew

³⁸ And Elisha returned to ^(A)Gilgal, and there was a ^(B)famine in the land. Now the sons of the prophets were ^(C)sitting before him; and he said to his servant, “Put on the large pot, and boil stew for the sons of the prophets.” ³⁹ So one went out into the field to gather herbs, and found a wild vine, and gathered from it a lapful of wild gourds, and came and sliced them into the pot of stew, though they did not know what they were. ⁴⁰ Then they served it to the men to eat. Now it happened, as they were eating the stew, that they cried out and said, “Man of God, there is ^(D)death in the pot!” And they could not eat it.

⁴¹ So he said, “Then bring some flour.” And ^(E)he put it into the pot, and said, “Serve it to the people, that they may eat.” And there was nothing harmful in the pot.

³¹ In the meantime His disciples urged Him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.”

³² But He said to them, “I have food to eat of which you do not know.”

³³ Therefore the disciples said to one another, “Has anyone brought Him anything to eat?”

³⁴ Jesus said to them, ^(A)“My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to ^(B)finish His work. ³⁵ Do you not say, ‘There are still four months and then comes ^(C)the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, ^(D)for they are already white for harvest! ^36 (E)And he who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, that ^(F)both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together. ³⁷ For in this the saying is true: ^(G)‘One sows and another reaps.’ ³⁸ I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; ^(H)others have labored, and you have entered into their labors.”