Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

53 The fool hath said in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt and have done abominable iniquity; there is none that doeth good.

² God looked down from heaven upon the children of men to see if there were any that understood, that had sought God.

³ Every one of them has turned back; they have altogether become filthy; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.

⁴ Have the workers of iniquity no knowledge—those who eat up my people as they eat bread? They have not called upon God.

⁵ There they were in great fear, where no fear was; for God hath scattered the bones of him that encampeth against thee; thou hast put them to shame, because God hath despised them.

⁶ O that the salvation of Israel might come out of Zion! When God bringeth back His captive people, Jacob shall rejoice and Israel shall be glad.

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 feared the Lord; and the creditor hath come to take unto him my two sons 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, “Thine handmaid hath not anything in the house, save a pot of oil.”

³ Then he said, “Go, borrow thee vessels abroad from all thy neighbors, even empty vessels; borrow not a few.

⁴ And when thou hast come in, thou shalt shut the door upon thee and upon thy sons, and shalt 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, who 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 flow ceased.

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 children on the rest.”

¹⁰ And the apostles, when they had returned, told Him all that they had done. And He took them and went aside privately into a desert place belonging to the city called Bethsaida.

¹¹ And the people, when they learned of it, followed Him. And He received them and spoke unto them of the Kingdom of God, and healed those who had need of healing.

¹² And when the day began to wear away, then came the twelve and said unto Him, “Send the multitude away, that they may go into the towns and country round about and lodge and get victuals, for we are here in a desert place.

¹³ But He said unto them, “Give ye them to eat.” And they said, “We have no more than five loaves and two fishes, unless we should go and buy meat for all these people.”

¹⁴ For they were about five thousand men. And He said to His disciples, “Make them sit down by fifties in a company.”

¹⁵ And they did so, and made them all sit down.

¹⁶ Then He took the five loaves and the two fishes, and looking up to Heaven, He blessed them and broke, and gave to the disciples to set before the multitude.

¹⁷ And they ate and were all filled, and there were taken up of fragments that remained to them twelve baskets.