Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

53 Only a fool would say to himself, “There is no God.” And why does he say it?^[a] Because of his wicked heart, his dark and evil deeds. His life is corroded with sin.

² God looks down from heaven, searching among all mankind to see if there is a single one who does right and really seeks for God. ³ But all have turned their backs on him; they are filthy with sin—corrupt and rotten through and through. Not one is good, not one! ⁴ How can this be? Can’t they understand anything? For they devour my people like bread and refuse to come to God. ⁵ But soon unheard-of terror will fall on them. God will scatter the bones of these, your enemies. They are doomed, for God has rejected them.

⁶ Oh, that God would come from Zion now and save Israel! Only when the Lord himself restores them can they ever be really happy again.

4 One day the wife of one of the seminary students came to Elisha to tell him of her husband’s death. He was a man who had loved God, she said. But he had owed some money when he died, and now the creditor was demanding it back. If she didn’t pay, he said he would take her two sons as his slaves.

² “What shall I do?” Elisha asked. “How much food do you have in the house?”

“Nothing at all, except a jar of olive oil,” she replied.

³ “Then borrow many pots and pans from your friends and neighbors!” he instructed. ⁴ “Go into your house with your sons and shut the door behind you. Then pour olive oil from your jar into the pots and pans, setting them aside as they are filled!”

⁵ So she did. Her sons brought the pots and pans to her, and she filled one after another! ⁶ Soon every container was full to the brim!

“Bring me another jar,” she said to her sons.

“There aren’t any more!” they told her. And then the oil stopped flowing!

⁷ When she told the prophet what had happened, he said to her, “Go and sell the oil and pay your debt, and there will be enough money left for you and your sons to live on!”

¹⁰ After the apostles returned to Jesus and reported what they had done, he slipped quietly away with them toward the city of Bethsaida. ¹¹ But the crowds found out where he was going and followed. And he welcomed them, teaching them again about the Kingdom of God and curing those who were ill.

¹² Late in the afternoon all twelve of the disciples came and urged him to send the people away to the nearby villages and farms, to find food and lodging for the night. “For there is nothing to eat here in this deserted spot,” they said.

¹³ But Jesus replied, “You feed them!”

“Why, we have only five loaves of bread and two fish among the lot of us,” they protested; “or are you expecting us to go and buy enough for this whole mob?” ¹⁴ For there were about 5,000 men there!

“Just tell them to sit down on the ground in groups of about fifty each,” Jesus replied. ¹⁵ So they did.

¹⁶ Jesus took the five loaves and two fish and looked up into the sky and gave thanks; then he broke off pieces for his disciples to set before the crowd. ¹⁷ And everyone ate and ate; still, twelve basketfuls of scraps were picked up afterwards!