Proverbs 11
13A talebearer reveals secrets, But he who is of a faithful spirit conceals a matter.
14Where there is no counsel, the people fall; But in the multitude of counselors there is safety.
15He who is surety for a stranger will suffer, But one who hates being surety is secure.
16A gracious woman retains honor, But ruthless men retain riches.
17The merciful man does good for his own soul, But he who is cruel troubles his own flesh.
18The wicked man does deceptive work, But he who sows righteousness will have a sure reward.
19As righteousness leads to life, So he who pursues evil pursues it to his own death.
20Those who are of a perverse heart are an abomination to the LORD, But the blameless in their ways are His delight.
21Though they join forces, the wicked will not go unpunished; But the posterity of the righteous will be delivered.
22As a ring of gold in a swine's snout, So is a lovely woman who lacks discretion.
23The desire of the righteous is only good, But the expectation of the wicked is wrath.
24There is one who scatters, yet increases more; And there is one who withholds more than is right, But it leads to poverty.
25The generous soul will be made rich, And he who waters will also be watered himself.
26The people will curse him who withholds grain, But blessing will be on the head of him who sells it.
Isaiah 65
8Thus says the LORD: "As the new wine is found in the cluster, And one says, "Do not destroy it, For a blessing is in it,' So will I do for My servants' sake, That I may not destroy them all.
9I will bring forth descendants from Jacob, And from Judah an heir of My mountains; My elect shall inherit it, And My servants shall dwell there.
10Sharon shall be a fold of flocks, And the Valley of Achor a place for herds to lie down, For My people who have sought Me.
11"But you are those who forsake the LORD, Who forget My holy mountain, Who prepare a table for Gad, And who furnish a drink offering for Meni.
12Therefore I will number you for the sword, And you shall all bow down to the slaughter; Because, when I called, you did not answer; When I spoke, you did not hear, But did evil before My eyes, And chose that in which I do not delight."
13Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: "Behold, My servants shall eat, But you shall be hungry; Behold, My servants shall drink, But you shall be thirsty; Behold, My servants shall rejoice, But you shall be ashamed;
14Behold, My servants shall sing for joy of heart, But you shall cry for sorrow of heart, And wail for grief of spirit.
15You shall leave your name as a curse to My chosen; For the Lord GOD will slay you, And call His servants by another name;
16So that he who blesses himself in the earth Shall bless himself in the God of truth; And he who swears in the earth Shall swear by the God of truth; Because the former troubles are forgotten, And because they are hidden from My eyes.
Job 42
1Then Job answered the LORD and said:
2"I know that You can do everything, And that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You.
3You asked, "Who is this who hides counsel without knowledge?' Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, Things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.
4Listen, please, and let me speak; You said, "I will question you, and you shall answer Me.'
5"I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, But now my eye sees You.
6Therefore I abhor myself, And repent in dust and ashes."
2 Kings 6
8Now the king of Syria was making war against Israel; and he consulted with his servants, saying, "My camp will be in such and such a place."
9And the man of God sent to the king of Israel, saying, "Beware that you do not pass this place, for the Syrians are coming down there."
10Then the king of Israel sent someone to the place of which the man of God had told him. Thus he warned him, and he was watchful there, not just once or twice.
11Therefore the heart of the king of Syria was greatly troubled by this thing; and he called his servants and said to them, "Will you not show me which of us is for the king of Israel?"
12And one of his servants said, "None, my lord, O king; but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the words that you speak in your bedroom."
13So he said, "Go and see where he is, that I may send and get him." And it was told him, saying, "Surely he is in Dothan."
14Therefore he sent horses and chariots and a great army there, and they came by night and surrounded the city.
15And when the servant of the man of God arose early and went out, there was an army, surrounding the city with horses and chariots. And his servant said to him, "Alas, my master! What shall we do?"
16So he answered, "Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them."
17And Elisha prayed, and said, "LORD, I pray, open his eyes that he may see." Then the LORD opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.
18So when the Syrians came down to him, Elisha prayed to the LORD, and said, "Strike this people, I pray, with blindness." And He struck them with blindness according to the word of Elisha.
19Now Elisha said to them, "This is not the way, nor is this the city. Follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom you seek." But he led them to Samaria.
20So it was, when they had come to Samaria, that Elisha said, "LORD, open the eyes of these men, that they may see." And the LORD opened their eyes, and they saw; and there they were, inside Samaria!
21Now when the king of Israel saw them, he said to Elisha, "My father, shall I kill them? Shall I kill them?"
22But he answered, "You shall not kill them. Would you kill those whom you have taken captive with your sword and your bow? Set food and water before them, that they may eat and drink and go to their master."
23Then he prepared a great feast for them; and after they ate and drank, he sent them away and they went to their master. So the bands of Syrian raiders came no more into the land of Israel.
24And it happened after this that Ben-Hadad king of Syria gathered all his army, and went up and besieged Samaria.
25And there was a great famine in Samaria; and indeed they besieged it until a donkey's head was sold for eighty shekels of silver, and one-fourth of a kab of dove droppings for five shekels of silver.
26Then, as the king of Israel was passing by on the wall, a woman cried out to him, saying, "Help, my lord, O king!"
27And he said, "If the LORD does not help you, where can I find help for you? From the threshing floor or from the winepress?"
28Then the king said to her, "What is troubling you?" And she answered, "This woman said to me, "Give your son, that we may eat him today, and we will eat my son tomorrow.'
29So we boiled my son, and ate him. And I said to her on the next day, "Give your son, that we may eat him'; but she has hidden her son."
30Now it happened, when the king heard the words of the woman, that he tore his clothes; and as he passed by on the wall, the people looked, and there underneath he had sackcloth on his body.
31Then he said, "God do so to me and more also, if the head of Elisha the son of Shaphat remains on him today!"
32But Elisha was sitting in his house, and the elders were sitting with him. And the king sent a man ahead of him, but before the messenger came to him, he said to the elders, "Do you see how this son of a murderer has sent someone to take away my head? Look, when the messenger comes, shut the door, and hold him fast at the door. Is not the sound of his master's feet behind him?"
33And while he was still talking with them, there was the messenger, coming down to him; and then the king said, "Surely this calamity is from the LORD; why should I wait for the LORD any longer?"
2 Kings 7
1Then Elisha said, "Hear the word of the LORD. Thus says the LORD: "Tomorrow about this time a seah of fine flour shall be sold for a shekel, and two seahs of barley for a shekel, at the gate of Samaria."'
2So an officer on whose hand the king leaned answered the man of God and said, "Look, if the LORD would make windows in heaven, could this thing be?" And he said, "In fact, you shall see it with your eyes, but you shall not eat of it."
3Now there were four leprous men at the entrance of the gate; and they said to one another, "Why are we sitting here until we die?
4If we say, "We will enter the city,' the famine is in the city, and we shall die there. And if we sit here, we die also. Now therefore, come, let us surrender to the army of the Syrians. If they keep us alive, we shall live; and if they kill us, we shall only die."
5And they rose at twilight to go to the camp of the Syrians; and when they had come to the outskirts of the Syrian camp, to their surprise no one was there.
6For the LORD had caused the army of the Syrians to hear the noise of chariots and the noise of horses--the noise of a great army; so they said to one another, "Look, the king of Israel has hired against us the kings of the Hittites and the kings of the Egyptians to attack us!"
7Therefore they arose and fled at twilight, and left the camp intact--their tents, their horses, and their donkeys--and they fled for their lives.
8And when these lepers came to the outskirts of the camp, they went into one tent and ate and drank, and carried from it silver and gold and clothing, and went and hid them; then they came back and entered another tent, and carried some from there also, and went and hid it.
9Then they said to one another, "We are not doing right. This day is a day of good news, and we remain silent. If we wait until morning light, some punishment will come upon us. Now therefore, come, let us go and tell the king's household."
10So they went and called to the gatekeepers of the city, and told them, saying, "We went to the Syrian camp, and surprisingly no one was there, not a human sound--only horses and donkeys tied, and the tents intact."
11And the gatekeepers called out, and they told it to the king's household inside.
12So the king arose in the night and said to his servants, "Let me now tell you what the Syrians have done to us. They know that we are hungry; therefore they have gone out of the camp to hide themselves in the field, saying, "When they come out of the city, we shall catch them alive, and get into the city."'
13And one of his servants answered and said, "Please, let several men take five of the remaining horses which are left in the city. Look, they may either become like all the multitude of Israel that are left in it; or indeed, I say, they may become like all the multitude of Israel left from those who are consumed; so let us send them and see."
14Therefore they took two chariots with horses; and the king sent them in the direction of the Syrian army, saying, "Go and see."
15And they went after them to the Jordan; and indeed all the road was full of garments and weapons which the Syrians had thrown away in their haste. So the messengers returned and told the king.
16Then the people went out and plundered the tents of the Syrians. So a seah of fine flour was sold for a shekel, and two seahs of barley for a shekel, according to the word of the LORD.
17Now the king had appointed the officer on whose hand he leaned to have charge of the gate. But the people trampled him in the gate, and he died, just as the man of God had said, who spoke when the king came down to him.
18So it happened just as the man of God had spoken to the king, saying, "Two seahs of barley for a shekel, and a seah of fine flour for a shekel, shall be sold tomorrow about this time in the gate of Samaria."
19Then that officer had answered the man of God, and said, "Now look, if the LORD would make windows in heaven, could such a thing be?" And he had said, "In fact, you shall see it with your eyes, but you shall not eat of it."
20And so it happened to him, for the people trampled him in the gate, and he died.
Glory be to God forever. Amen.