Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Thanksgiving for Rescue from Death.

A Psalm; a Song at the Dedication of the House. A Psalm of David.

The Shunammite’s Son

¹⁸ When the child was grown, the day came that he went out to his father, to the reapers. ¹⁹ And he said to his father, “My head, my head!” And his father said to his servant, “Carry him to his mother.” ²⁰ When he had carried him and brought him to his mother, he sat on her ^[a]lap until noon, and then he died. ²¹ And she went up and ^(A)laid him on the bed of ^(B)the man of God, and shut the door behind him and left. ²² Then she called to her husband and said, “Please send me one of the servants and one of the donkeys, so that I may run to the man of God and return.” ²³ But he said, “Why are you going to him today? It is neither ^(C)new moon nor Sabbath.” So she just said, “It will be fine.” ²⁴ Then she saddled the donkey and said to her servant, “Drive the donkey and go on; do not slow down ^[b]the pace for me unless I tell you.” ²⁵ So she went on and came to the man of God at ^(D)Mount Carmel.

When the man of God saw her at a distance, he said to Gehazi his servant, “Behold, that person there is the Shunammite. ²⁶ Please run now to meet her and say to her, ‘Is it going well for you? Is it going well for your husband? Is it going well for the child?’” Then she ^[c]answered, “It is going well.” ²⁷ But she came to the man of God ^(E)at the hill and took hold of his feet. And Gehazi came up to push her away, but the man of God said, “Leave her alone, for her soul is ^[d]troubled within her; and the Lord has concealed it from me and has not informed me.” ²⁸ Then she said, “Did I ask for a son from my lord? Did I not say, ‘^(F)Do not give me false hope’?”

²⁹ Then he said to Gehazi, “^[e](G)Get ready and ^(H)take my staff in your hand, and go; if you meet anyone, do not ^[f](I)greet him, and if anyone ^[g]greets you, do not reply to him. And ^(J)lay my staff on the boy’s face.” ³⁰ The mother of the boy said, “^(K)As surely as the Lord lives and you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So he got up and followed her. ³¹ Then Gehazi went on ahead of them and laid the staff on the boy’s face, but there was no sound or ^[h]response. So he returned to meet him and informed him, saying, “The boy ^(L)has not awakened.”

Great Generosity

8 Now, brothers and sisters, we make known to you the grace of God which has been ^(A)given in the churches of ^(B)Macedonia, ² that in a ^[a]great ordeal of affliction their abundance of joy and their deep poverty overflowed in the ^(C)wealth of their liberality. ³ For I testify that ^(D)according to their ability, and beyond their ability, they gave voluntarily, ⁴ begging us with much urging for the ^(E)favor ^[b]of participation in the ^[c](F)support of the ^[d]saints, ⁵ and this, not as we had ^[e]expected, but they first ^(G)gave themselves to the Lord and to us by ^(H)the will of God. ⁶ So we ^(I)urged ^(J)Titus that as he had previously ^(K)made a beginning, so he would also complete in you ^(L)this gracious work as well.

⁷ But just as you ^(M)excel ^(N)in everything, in faith, speaking, knowledge, and in all earnestness and in the ^[f]love we inspired in you, see that you also ^(O)excel in this gracious work.