Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Elisha Purifies the Deadly Stew

³⁸ And Elisha came again to ^(A)Gilgal when ^(B)there was a famine in the land. And as ^(C)the sons of the prophets ^(D)were sitting before him, he said to his servant, ^(E)“Set on the large pot, and boil stew for the sons of the prophets.” ³⁹ One of them went out into the field to gather herbs, and found a wild vine and gathered from it his lap full of wild gourds, and came and cut them up into the pot of stew, not knowing what they were. ⁴⁰ And they poured out some for the men to eat. But while they were eating of the stew, they cried out, “O man of God, there is death in the pot!” And they could not eat it. ⁴¹ He said, “Then bring flour.” ^(F)And he threw it into the pot and said, “Pour some out for the men, that they may eat.” And there was no harm in the pot.

³¹ Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, saying, ^(A)“Rabbi, eat.” ³² But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” ³³ So the disciples said to one another, ^(B)“Has anyone brought him something to eat?” ³⁴ Jesus said to them, ^(C)“My food is ^(D)to do the will of him who sent me and ^(E)to accomplish his work. ³⁵ Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest’? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that ^(F)the fields are white for harvest. ³⁶ Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that ^(G)sower and ^(H)reaper ^(I)may rejoice together. ³⁷ For here the saying holds true, ^(J)‘One sows and another reaps.’ ³⁸ I sent you to reap ^(K)that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, ^(L)and you have entered into their labor.”