2Kings 4-7; Psalms 102 - Prayer Tents

Elisha Helps a Poor Widow

4One day the widow of a member of the group of prophets came to Elisha and cried out, "My husband who served you is dead, and you know how he feared the LORD. But now a creditor has come, threatening to take my two sons as slaves."H6817H259H802H802H1121H5030H477H559H5650H376H4191H3045H5650H3373H3068H5383H935H3947H8147H3206H5650

2"What can I do to help you?" Elisha asked. "Tell me, what do you have in the house?" "Nothing at all, except a flask of olive oil," she replied.H477H559H6213H5046H3426H1004H559H8198H1004H610H8081

3And Elisha said, "Borrow as many empty jars as you can from your friends and neighbors.H559H3212H7592H3627H2351H7934H7386H3627H4591

4Then go into your house with your sons and shut the door behind you. Pour olive oil from your flask into the jars, setting each one aside when it is filled."H935H5462H1817H1121H3332H3627H5265H4392

5So she did as she was told. Her sons kept bringing jars to her, and she filled one after another.H3212H5462H1817H1157H1121H1992H5066H3332

6Soon every container was full to the brim! "Bring me another jar," she said to one of her sons."There aren't any more!" he told her. And then the olive oil stopped flowing.H3627H4390H559H1121H5066H3627H559H3627H8081H5975

7When she told the man of God what had happened, he said to her, "Now sell the olive oil and pay your debts, and you and your sons can live on what is left over."H935H5046H376H430H559H3212H4376H8081H7999H5386H2421H1121H3498

Elisha and the Woman from Shunem

8One day Elisha went to the town of Shunem. A wealthy woman lived there, and she urged him to come to her home for a meal. After that, whenever he passed that way, he would stop there for something to eat.H3117H477H5674H7766H1419H802H2388H398H3899H1767H5674H5493H398H3899

9She said to her husband, "I am sure this man who stops in from time to time is a holy man of God.H559H376H3045H6918H376H430H5674H8548

10Let's build a small room for him on the roof and furnish it with a bed, a table, a chair, and a lamp. Then he will have a place to stay whenever he comes by."H6213H6996H5944H7023H7760H4296H7979H3678H4501H935H5493

11One day Elisha returned to Shunem, and he went up to this upper room to rest.H3117H935H5493H5944H7901

12He said to his servant Gehazi, "Tell the woman from Shunem I want to speak to her." When she appeared,H559H1522H5288H7121H7767H7121H5975H6440

13Elisha said to Gehazi, "Tell her, 'We appreciate the kind concern you have shown us. What can we do for you? Can we put in a good word for you to the king or to the commander of the army?'" "No," she replied, "my family takes good care of me."H559H559H2729H2731H6213H3426H1696H4428H8269H6635H559H3427H8432H5971

14Later Elisha asked Gehazi, "What can we do for her?" Gehazi replied, "She doesn't have a son, and her husband is an old man."H559H6213H1522H559H61H1121H376H2204

15"Call her back again," Elisha told him. When the woman returned, Elisha said to her as she stood in the doorway,H559H7121H7121H5975H6607

16"Next year at this time you will be holding a son in your arms!" "No, my lord!" she cried. "O man of God, don't deceive me and get my hopes up like that."H559H4150H6256H2416H2263H1121H559H113H376H430H3576H8198

17But sure enough, the woman soon became pregnant. And at that time the following year she had a son, just as Elisha had said.H802H2029H3205H1121H4150H477H1696H6256H2416

18One day when her child was older, he went out to help his father, who was working with the harvesters.H3206H1431H3117H3318H1H7114

19Suddenly he cried out, "My head hurts! My head hurts!" His father said to one of the servants, "Carry him home to his mother."H559H1H7218H7218H559H5288H5375H517

20So the servant took him home, and his mother held him on her lap. But around noontime he died.H5375H935H517H3427H1290H6672H4191

21She carried him up and laid him on the bed of the man of God, then shut the door and left him there.H5927H7901H4296H376H430H5462H3318

22She sent a message to her husband: "Send one of the servants and a donkey so that I can hurry to the man of God and come right back."H7121H376H559H7971H259H5288H259H860H7323H376H430H7725

23"Why go today?" he asked. "It is neither a new moon festival nor a Sabbath." But she said, "It will be all right."H559H1980H3117H2320H7676H559H7965

24So she saddled the donkey and said to the servant, "Hurry! Don't slow down unless I tell you to."H2280H860H559H5288H5090H3212H6113H7392H559

25As she approached the man of God at Mount Carmel, Elisha saw her in the distance. He said to Gehazi, "Look, the woman from Shunem is coming.H3212H935H376H430H2022H3760H376H430H7200H559H1522H5288H1975H7767

26Run out to meet her and ask her, 'Is everything all right with you, your husband, and your child?'" "Yes," the woman told Gehazi, "everything is fine."H7323H7125H559H7965H7965H376H7965H3206H559H7965

27But when she came to the man of God at the mountain, she fell to the ground before him and caught hold of his feet. Gehazi began to push her away, but the man of God said, "Leave her alone. She is deeply troubled, but the LORD has not told me what it is."H935H376H430H2022H2388H7272H1522H5066H1920H376H430H559H7503H5315H4843H3068H5956H5046

28Then she said, "Did I ask you for a son, my lord? And didn't I say, 'Don't deceive me and get my hopes up'?"H559H7592H1121H113H559H7952

29Then Elisha said to Gehazi, "Get ready to travel

; take my staff and go! Don't talk to anyone along the way. Go quickly and lay the staff on the child's face."H559H1522H2296H4975H3947H4938H3027H3212H4672H376H1288H376H1288H6030H7760H4938H6440H5288

30But the boy's mother said, "As surely as the LORD lives and you yourself live, I won't go home unless you go with me." So Elisha returned with her.H517H5288H559H3068H2416H5315H2416H5800H6965H3212H310

31Gehazi hurried on ahead and laid the staff on the child's face, but nothing happened. There was no sign of life. He returned to meet Elisha and told him, "The child is still dead."H1522H5674H6440H7760H4938H6440H5288H6963H7182H7725H7125H5046H559H5288H6974

32When Elisha arrived, the child was indeed dead, lying there on the prophet's bed.H477H935H1004H5288H4191H7901H4296

33He went in alone and shut the door behind him and prayed to the LORD.H935H5462H1817H8147H6419H3068

34Then he lay down on the child's body, placing his mouth on the child's mouth, his eyes on the child's eyes, and his hands on the child's hands. And as he stretched out on him, the child's body began to grow warm again!H5927H7901H3206H7760H6310H6310H5869H5869H3709H3709H1457H1320H3206H2552

35Elisha got up, walked back and forth across the room once, and then stretched himself out again on the child. This time the boy sneezed seven times and opened his eyes!H7725H3212H1004H259H2008H259H2008H5927H1457H5288H2237H7651H6471H5288H6491H5869

36Then Elisha summoned Gehazi. "Call the child's mother!" he said. And when she came in, Elisha said, "Here, take your son!"H7121H1522H559H7121H7767H7121H935H559H5375H1121

37She fell at his feet and bowed before him, overwhelmed with gratitude. Then she took her son in her arms and carried him downstairs.H935H5307H7272H7812H776H5375H1121H3318

Miracles during a Famine

38Elisha now returned to Gilgal, and there was a famine in the land. One day as the group of prophets was seated before him, he said to his servant, "Put a large pot on the fire, and make some stew for the rest of the group."H477H7725H1537H7458H776H1121H5030H3427H6440H559H5288H8239H1419H5518H1310H5138H1121H5030

39One of the young men went out into the field to gather herbs and came back with a pocketful of wild gourds. He shredded them and put them into the pot without realizing they were poisonous.H259H3318H7704H3950H219H4672H7704H1612H3950H7704H6498H899H4393H935H6398H5518H5138H3045

40Some of the stew was served to the men. But after they had eaten a bite or two they cried out, "Man of God, there's poison in this stew!" So they would not eat it.H3332H582H398H398H5138H6817H559H376H430H4194H5518H3201H398

41Elisha said, "Bring me some flour." Then he threw it into the pot and said, "Now it's all right; go ahead and eat." And then it did not harm them.H559H3947H7058H7993H5518H559H3332H5971H398H1697H7451H5518

42One day a man from Baal-shalishah brought the man of God a sack of fresh grain and twenty loaves of barley bread made from the first grain of his harvest. Elisha said, "Give it to the people so they can eat."H935H376H1190H935H376H430H3899H1061H6242H3899H8184H3759H6861H559H5414H5971H398

43"What?" his servant exclaimed. "Feed a hundred people with only this?" But Elisha repeated, "Give it to the people so they can eat, for this is what the LORD says: Everyone will eat, and there will even be some left over!"H8334H559H5414H6440H3967H376H559H5414H5971H398H559H3068H398H3498

44And when they gave it to the people, there was plenty for all and some left over, just as the LORD had promised.H5414H6440H398H3498H1697H3068

The Healing of Naaman

5The king of Aram had great admiration for Naaman, the commander of his army, because through him the LORD had given Aram great victories. But though Naaman was a mighty warrior, he suffered from leprosy

.H5283H8269H6635H4428H758H1419H376H6440H113H5375H3068H5414H8668H758H1368H376H2428H6879

2At this time Aramean raiders had invaded the land of Israel, and among their captives was a young girl who had been given to Naaman's wife as a maid.H758H3318H1416H7617H776H3478H6996H5291H6440H5283H802

3One day the girl said to her mistress, "I wish my master would go to see the prophet in Samaria. He would heal him of his leprosy."H559H1404H305H113H6440H5030H8111H227H622H6883

4So Naaman told the king what the young girl from Israel had said.H935H5046H113H559H1696H5291H776H3478

5"Go and visit the prophet," the king of Aram told him. "I will send a letter of introduction for you to take to the king of Israel." So Naaman started out, carrying as gifts 750 pounds of silver, 150 pounds of gold

, and ten sets of clothing.H4428H758H559H3212H935H7971H5612H4428H3478H3212H3947H3027H6235H3603H3701H8337H505H2091H6235H2487H899

6The letter to the king of Israel said: "With this letter I present my servant Naaman. I want you to heal him of his leprosy."H935H5612H4428H3478H559H5612H935H7971H5283H5650H622H6883

7When the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes in dismay and said, "This man sends me a leper to heal! Am I God, that I can give life and take it away? I can see that he's just trying to pick a fight with me."H4428H3478H7121H5612H7167H899H559H430H4191H2421H2088H7971H622H376H6883H389H3045H7200H579

8But when Elisha, the man of God, heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes in dismay, he sent this message to him: "Why are you so upset? Send Naaman to me, and he will learn that there is a true prophet here in Israel."H477H376H430H8085H4428H3478H7167H899H7971H4428H559H7167H899H935H3045H3426H5030H3478

9So Naaman went with his horses and chariots and waited at the door of Elisha's house.H5283H935H5483H7393H5975H6607H1004H477

10But Elisha sent a messenger out to him with this message: "Go and wash yourself seven times in the Jordan River. Then your skin will be restored, and you will be healed of your leprosy."H477H7971H4397H559H1980H7364H3383H7651H6471H1320H7725H2891

11But Naaman became angry and stalked away. "I thought he would certainly come out to meet me!" he said. "I expected him to wave his hand over the leprosy and call on the name of the LORD his God and heal me!H5283H7107H3212H559H559H3318H3318H5975H7121H8034H3068H430H5130H3027H4725H622H6879

12Aren't the rivers of Damascus, the Abana and the Pharpar, better than any of the rivers of Israel? Why shouldn't I wash in them and be healed?" So Naaman turned and went away in a rage.H71H549H6554H5104H1834H2896H4325H3478H7364H2891H6437H3212H2534

13But his officers tried to reason with him and said, "Sir

, if the prophet had told you to do something very difficult, wouldn't you have done it? So you should certainly obey him when he says simply, 'Go and wash and be cured!'"H5650H5066H1696H559H1H5030H1696H1419H1697H6213H637H559H7364H2891

14So Naaman went down to the Jordan River and dipped himself seven times, as the man of God had instructed him. And his skin became as healthy as the skin of a young child's, and he was healed!H3381H2881H7651H6471H3383H1697H376H430H1320H7725H1320H6996H5288H2891

15Then Naaman and his entire party went back to find the man of God. They stood before him, and Naaman said, "Now I know that there is no God in all the world except in Israel. So please accept a gift from your servant."H7725H376H430H4264H935H5975H6440H559H3045H430H776H3478H3947H1293H5650

16But Elisha replied, "As surely as the LORD lives, whom I serve, I will not accept any gifts." And though Naaman urged him to take the gift, Elisha refused.H559H3068H2416H6440H5975H3947H6484H3947H3985

17Then Naaman said, "All right, but please allow me to load two of my mules with earth from this place, and I will take it back home with me. From now on I will never again offer burnt offerings or sacrifices to any other god except the LORD.H5283H559H5414H5650H6776H6505H4853H127H5650H6213H5930H2077H312H430H3068

18However, may the LORD pardon me in this one thing: When my master the king goes into the temple of the god Rimmon to worship there and leans on my arm, may the LORD pardon me when I bow, too."H1697H3068H5545H5650H113H935H1004H7417H7812H8172H3027H7812H1004H7417H7812H1004H7417H3068H5545H5650H1697

19"Go in peace," Elisha said. So Naaman started home again.H559H3212H7965H3212H3530H776

The Greed of Gehazi

20But Gehazi, the servant of Elisha, the man of God, said to himself, "My master should not have let this Aramean get away without accepting any of his gifts. As surely as the LORD lives, I will chase after him and get something from him."H1522H5288H477H376H430H559H113H2820H5283H761H3947H3027H935H3068H2416H7323H310H3947H3972

21So Gehazi set off after Naaman. When Naaman saw Gehazi running after him, he climbed down from his chariot and went to meet him. "Is everything all right?" Naaman asked.H1522H7291H310H5283H5283H7200H7323H310H5307H4818H7125H559H7965

22"Yes," Gehazi said, "but my master has sent me to tell you that two young prophets from the hill country of Ephraim have just arrived. He would like 75 pounds

of silver and two sets of clothing to give to them."H559H7965H113H7971H559H935H2022H669H8147H5288H1121H5030H5414H3603H3701H8147H2487H899

23"By all means, take twice as much

silver," Naaman insisted. He gave him two sets of clothing, tied up the money in two bags, and sent two of his servants to carry the gifts for Gehazi.H5283H559H2974H3947H3603H6555H6696H8147H3603H3701H8147H2754H8147H2487H899H5414H8147H5288H5375H6440

24But when they arrived at the citadel

, Gehazi took the gifts from the servants and sent the men back. Then he went and hid the gifts inside the house.H935H6076H3947H3027H6485H1004H582H7971H3212

25When he went in to his master, Elisha asked him, "Where have you been, Gehazi?" "I haven't been anywhere," he replied.H935H5975H113H477H559H370H1522H559H5650H1980H575

26But Elisha asked him, "Don't you realize that I was there in spirit when Naaman stepped down from his chariot to meet you? Is this the time to receive money and clothing, olive groves and vineyards, sheep and cattle, and male and female servants?H559H1980H3820H376H2015H4818H7125H6256H3947H3701H3947H899H2132H3754H6629H1241H5650H8198

27Because you have done this, you and your descendants will suffer from Naaman's leprosy forever." When Gehazi left the room, he was covered with leprosy; his skin was white as snow.H6883H5283H1692H2233H5769H3318H6440H6879H7950

The Floating Ax Head

6One day the group of prophets came to Elisha and told him, "As you can see, this place where we meet with you is too small.H1121H5030H559H6440H477H4725H3427H6862 2Let's go down to the Jordan River, where there are plenty of logs. There we can build a new place for us to meet." "All right," he told them, "go ahead."H3212H3383H3947H376H259H6982H6213H4725H3427H559H3212 3"Please come with us," someone suggested."I will," he said.H259H559H2974H3212H5650H559H3212 4So he went with them. When they arrived at the Jordan, they began cutting down trees.H3212H935H3383H1504H6086 5But as one of them was cutting a tree, his ax head fell into the river. "Oh, sir!" he cried. "It was a borrowed ax!"H259H5307H6982H1270H5307H4325H6817H559H162H113H7592 6"Where did it fall?" the man of God asked. When he showed him the place, Elisha cut a stick and threw it into the water at that spot. Then the ax head floated to the surface.H376H430H559H575H5307H7200H4725H7094H6086H7993H1270H6687 7"Grab it," Elisha said. And the man reached out and grabbed it.H559H7311H7971H3027H3947

Elisha Traps the Arameans

8When the king of Aram was at war with Israel, he would confer with his officers and say, "We will mobilize our forces at such and such a place."H4428H758H3898H3478H3289H5650H559H6423H492H4725H8466 9But immediately Elisha, the man of God, would warn the king of Israel, "Do not go near that place, for the Arameans are planning to mobilize their troops there."H376H430H7971H4428H3478H559H8104H5674H2088H4725H758H5185 10So the king of Israel would send word to the place indicated by the man of God. Time and again Elisha warned the king, so that he would be on the alert there.H4428H3478H7971H4725H376H430H559H2094H8104H259H8147 11The king of Aram became very upset over this. He called his officers together and demanded, "Which of you is the traitor? Who has been informing the king of Israel of my plans?"H3820H4428H758H5590H1697H7121H5650H559H5046H4428H3478 12"It's not us, my lord the king," one of the officers replied. "Elisha, the prophet in Israel, tells the king of Israel even the words you speak in the privacy of your bedroom!"H259H5650H559H113H4428H477H5030H3478H5046H4428H3478H1697H1696H2315H4904 13"Go and find out where he is," the king commanded, "so I can send troops to seize him." And the report came back: "Elisha is at Dothan."H559H3212H7200H351H7971H3947H5046H559H1886 14So one night the king of Aram sent a great army with many chariots and horses to surround the city.H7971H5483H7393H3515H2428H935H3915H5362H5892H5362 15When the servant of the man of God got up early the next morning and went outside, there were troops, horses, and chariots everywhere. "Oh, sir, what will we do now?" the young man cried to Elisha.H8334H376H430H6965H7925H3318H2428H5437H5892H5483H7393H5288H559H162H113H6213 16"Don't be afraid!" Elisha told him. "For there are more on our side than on theirs!"H559H3372H7227 17Then Elisha prayed, "O LORD, open his eyes and let him see!" The LORD opened the young man's eyes, and when he looked up, he saw that the hillside around Elisha was filled with horses and chariots of fire.H477H6419H559H3068H6491H5869H7200H3068H6491H5869H5288H7200H2022H4390H5483H7393H784H5439H477 18As the Aramean army advanced toward him, Elisha prayed, "O LORD, please make them blind." So the LORD struck them with blindness as Elisha had asked.H3381H477H6419H3068H559H5221H1471H5575H5221H5575H1697H477 19Then Elisha went out and told them, "You have come the wrong way! This isn't the right city! Follow me, and I will take you to the man you are looking for." And he led them to the city of Samaria.H477H559H1870H2090H5892H3212H310H3212H376H1245H3212H8111 20As soon as they had entered Samaria, Elisha prayed, "O LORD, now open their eyes and let them see." So the LORD opened their eyes, and they discovered that they were in the middle of Samaria.H935H8111H477H559H3068H6491H5869H7200H3068H6491H5869H7200H8432H8111 21When the king of Israel saw them, he shouted to Elisha, "My father, should I kill them? Should I kill them?"H4428H3478H559H477H7200H1H5221H5221 22"Of course not!" Elisha replied. "Do we kill prisoners of war? Give them food and drink and send them home again to their master."H559H5221H5221H7617H2719H7198H7760H3899H4325H6440H398H8354H3212H113 23So the king made a great feast for them and then sent them home to their master. After that, the Aramean raiders stayed away from the land of Israel.H3739H1419H3740H398H8354H7971H3212H113H1416H758H935H3254H776H3478

Ben-Hadad Besieges Samaria

24Some time later, however, King Ben-hadad of Aram mustered his entire army and besieged Samaria.H310H1130H4428H758H6908H4264H5927H6696H8111 25As a result, there was a great famine in the city. The siege lasted so long that a donkey's head sold for eighty pieces of silver, and a cup of dove's dung sold for five pieces

of silver.H1419H7458H8111H6696H2543H7218H8084H3701H7255H6894H1686H3123H2755H2568H3701 26One day as the king of Israel was walking along the wall of the city, a woman called to him, "Please help me, my lord the king!"H4428H3478H5674H2346H6817H802H559H3467H113H4428 27He answered, "If the LORD doesn't help you, what can I do? I have neither food from the threshing floor nor wine from the press to give you."H559H3068H3467H370H3467H1637H3342 28But then the king asked, "What is the matter?" She replied, "This woman said to me: 'Come on, let's eat your son today, then we will eat my son tomorrow.'H4428H559H559H802H559H5414H1121H398H3117H398H1121H4279 29So we cooked my son and ate him. Then the next day I said to her, 'Kill your son so we can eat him,' but she has hidden her son."H1310H1121H398H559H312H3117H5414H1121H398H2244H1121 30When the king heard this, he tore his clothes in despair. And as the king walked along the wall, the people could see that he was wearing burlap under his robe next to his skin.H4428H8085H1697H802H7167H899H5674H2346H5971H7200H8242H1004H1320 31"May God strike me and even kill me if I don't separate Elisha's head from his shoulders this very day," the king vowed.H559H430H6213H3254H7218H477H1121H8202H5975H3117 32Elisha was sitting in his house with the elders of Israel when the king sent a messenger to summon him. But before the messenger arrived, Elisha said to the elders, "A murderer has sent a man to cut off my head. When he arrives, shut the door and keep him out. We will soon hear his master's steps following him."H477H3427H1004H2205H3427H7971H376H6440H4397H935H559H2205H7200H1121H7523H7971H5493H7218H7200H4397H935H5462H1817H3905H1817H6963H113H7272H310 33While Elisha was still saying this, the messenger arrived. And the king

said, "All this misery is from the LORD! Why should I wait for the LORD any longer?"H1696H4397H3381H559H7451H3068H3176H3068

7Elisha replied, "Listen to this message from the LORD! This is what the LORD says: By this time tomorrow in the markets of Samaria, five quarts of choice flour will cost only one piece of silver

, and ten quarts of barley grain will cost only one piece of silver."H477H559H8085H1697H3068H559H3068H4279H6256H5429H5560H8255H5429H8184H8255H8179H8111 2The officer assisting the king said to the man of God, "That couldn't happen even if the LORD opened the windows of heaven!" But Elisha replied, "You will see it happen with your own eyes, but you won't be able to eat any of it!"H7991H3027H4428H8172H6030H376H430H559H3068H6213H699H8064H1697H559H7200H5869H398

Outcasts Visit the Enemy Camp

3Now there were four men with leprosy

sitting at the entrance of the city gates. "Why should we sit here waiting to die?" they asked each other.H702H6879H582H6607H8179H559H376H7453H3427H4191 4"We will starve if we stay here, but with the famine in the city, we will starve if we go back there. So we might as well go out and surrender to the Aramean army. If they let us live, so much the better. But if they kill us, we would have died anyway."H559H935H5892H7458H5892H4191H3427H4191H3212H5307H4264H758H2421H2421H4191H4191 5So at twilight they set out for the camp of the Arameans. But when they came to the edge of the camp, no one was there!H6965H5399H935H4264H758H935H7097H4264H758H376 6For the Lord had caused the Aramean army to hear the clatter of speeding chariots and the galloping of horses and the sounds of a great army approaching. "The king of Israel has hired the Hittites and Egyptians

to attack us!" they cried to one another.H136H4264H758H8085H6963H7393H6963H5483H6963H1419H2428H559H376H251H4428H3478H7936H4428H2850H4428H4714H935 7So they panicked and ran into the night, abandoning their tents, horses, donkeys, and everything else, as they fled for their lives.H6965H5127H5399H5800H168H5483H2543H4264H5127H5315 8When the lepers arrived at the edge of the camp, they went into one tent after another, eating and drinking wine; and they carried off silver and gold and clothing and hid it.H6879H935H7097H4264H935H259H168H398H8354H5375H3701H2091H899H3212H2934H7725H935H312H168H5375H3212H2934 9Finally, they said to each other, "This is not right. This is a day of good news, and we aren't sharing it with anyone! If we wait until morning, some calamity will certainly fall upon us. Come on, let's go back and tell the people at the palace."H559H376H7453H6213H3117H3117H1309H2814H2442H1242H216H5771H4672H3212H935H5046H4428H1004 10So they went back to the city and told the gatekeepers what had happened. "We went out to the Aramean camp," they said, "and no one was there! The horses and donkeys were tethered and the tents were all in order, but there wasn't a single person around!"H935H7121H7778H5892H5046H559H935H4264H758H376H6963H120H5483H631H2543H631H168 11Then the gatekeepers shouted the news to the people in the palace.H7121H7778H5046H4428H1004H6441

Israel Plunders the Camp

12The king got out of bed in the middle of the night and told his officers, "I know what has happened. The Arameans know we are starving, so they have left their camp and have hidden in the fields. They are expecting us to leave the city, and then they will take us alive and capture the city."H4428H6965H3915H559H5650H5046H758H6213H3045H7457H3318H4264H2247H7704H559H3318H5892H8610H2416H935H5892 13One of his officers replied, "We had better send out scouts to check into this. Let them take five of the remaining horses. If something happens to them, it will be no worse than if they stay here and die with the rest of us."H259H5650H6030H559H3947H2568H5483H7604H7604H1995H3478H7604H1995H3478H8552H7971H7200 14So two chariots with horses were prepared, and the king sent scouts to see what had happened to the Aramean army.H3947H8147H7393H5483H4428H7971H310H4264H758H559H3212H7200 15They went all the way to the Jordan River, following a trail of clothing and equipment that the Arameans had thrown away in their mad rush to escape. The scouts returned and told the king about it.H3212H310H3383H1870H4392H899H3627H758H7993H2648H4397H7725H5046H4428 16Then the people of Samaria rushed out and plundered the Aramean camp. So it was true that five quarts of choice flour were sold that day for one piece of silver, and ten quarts of barley grain were sold for one piece of silver, just as the LORD had promised.H5971H3318H962H4264H758H5429H5560H8255H5429H8184H8255H1697H3068 17The king appointed his officer to control the traffic at the gate, but he was knocked down and trampled to death as the people rushed out. So everything happened exactly as the man of God had predicted when the king came to his house.H4428H6485H7991H3027H8172H8179H5971H7429H8179H4191H376H430H1696H1696H4428H3381 18The man of God had said to the king, "By this time tomorrow in the markets of Samaria, five quarts of choice flour will cost one piece of silver, and ten quarts of barley grain will cost one piece of silver."H376H430H1696H4428H559H5429H8184H8255H5429H5560H8255H4279H6256H8179H8111 19The king's officer had replied, "That couldn't happen even if the LORD opened the windows of heaven!" And the man of God had said, "You will see it happen with your own eyes, but you won't be able to eat any of it!"H7991H6030H376H430H559H3068H6213H699H8064H1697H559H7200H5869H398 20And so it was, for the people trampled him to death at the gate!H5971H7429H8179H4191

102[A prayer of one overwhelmed with trouble, pouring out problems before the Lord.] Lord, hear my prayer! Listen to my plea!H8605H6041H5848H8210H7879H6440H3068H8085H8605H3068H7775H935

2Don’t turn away from me in my time of distress. Bend down to listen, and answer me quickly when I call to you.H5641H6440H3117H6862H5186H241H3117H7121H6030H4118

3For my days disappear like smoke, and my bones burn like red-hot coals.H3117H3615H6227H6106H2787H4168

4My heart is sick, withered like grass, and I have lost my appetite.H3820H5221H3001H6212H7911H398H3899

5Because of my groaning, I am reduced to skin and bones.H6963H585H6106H1692H1320

6I am like an owl in the desert, like a little owl in a far-off wilderness.H1819H6893H4057H3563H2723

7I lie awake, lonely as a solitary bird on the roof.H8245H6833H909H1406

8My enemies taunt me day after day. They mock and curse me.H341H2778H3117H1984H7650

9I eat ashes for food. My tears run down into my drinkH398H665H3899H4537H8249H1065

10because of your anger and wrath. For you have picked me up and thrown me out.H6440H2195H7110H5375H7993

11My life passes as swiftly as the evening shadows. I am withering away like grass.H3117H6738H5186H3001H6212

12But you, O Lord, will sit on your throne forever. Your fame will endure to every generation.H3068H3427H5769H2143H1755H1755

13You will arise and have mercy on Jerusalem

—and now is the time to pity her, now is the time you promised to help.H6965H7355H6726H6256H2603H4150H935

14For your people love every stone in her walls and cherish even the dust in her streets.H5650H7521H68H2603H6083

15Then the nations will tremble before the Lord. The kings of the earth will tremble before his glory.H1471H3372H8034H3068H4428H776H3519

16For the Lord will rebuild Jerusalem. He will appear in his glory.H3068H1129H6726H7200H3519

17He will listen to the prayers of the destitute. He will not reject their pleas.H6437H8605H6199H959H8605

18Let this be recorded for future generations, so that a people not yet born will praise the Lord.H3789H1755H314H5971H1254H1984H3050

19Tell them the Lord looked down from his heavenly sanctuary. He looked down to earth from heavenH8259H4791H6944H8064H3068H5027H776

20to hear the groans of the prisoners, to release those condemned to die.H8085H603H615H6605H1121H8546

21And so the Lord’s fame will be celebrated in Zion, his praises in Jerusalem,H5608H8034H3068H6726H8416H3389

22when multitudes gather together and kingdoms come to worship the Lord.H5971H6908H3162H4467H5647H3068

23He broke my strength in midlife, cutting short my days.H6031H3581H1870H7114H3117

24But I cried to him, “O my God, who lives forever, don’t take my life while I am so young!H559H410H5927H2677H3117H8141H1755H1755

25Long ago you laid the foundation of the earth and made the heavens with your hands.H6440H3245H776H8064H4639H3027

26They will perish, but you remain forever; they will wear out like old clothing. You will change them like a garment and discard them.H6H5975H1086H899H3830H2498H2498

27But you are always the same; you will live forever.H8141H8552

28The children of your people will live in security. Their children’s children will thrive in your presence.”H1121H5650H7931H2233H3559H6440