June 27th

And the royal officer on whose hand the king was leaning answered the man of God and said, “Behold, if Yahweh should make windows in heaven, could this thing be?” Then he said, “Behold, you will see it with your own eyes, but you will not eat of it.”

Now there were four leprous men at the entrance of the gate; and they said to one another, “Why do we sit here until we die?

If we say, ‘We will enter the city,’ then the famine is in the city and we will die there; and if we sit here, we die also. So now come, and let us go over to the camp of the Arameans. If they spare us, we will live; and if they put us to death, we will die.”

So they arose at twilight to go to the camp of the Arameans. Then they came to the outskirts of the camp of the Arameans, but behold, there was no one there.

Now the Lord had caused the camp of the Arameans to hear a sound of chariots and a sound of horses, even the sound of a great military force, so that they said to one another, “Behold, the king of Israel has hired against us the kings of the Hittites and the kings of the Egyptians, to come upon us.”

Therefore they arose and fled in the twilight, and forsook their tents and their horses and their donkeys, even the camp just as it was, and fled for their life.

So these lepers came to the outskirts of the camp and entered one tent and ate and drank. Then they carried from there silver and gold and clothes, and they went and hid them; and they returned and entered another tent and carried from there also and went and hid them.

Then they said to one another, “We are not doing right. This day is a day of good news, but we are keeping silent; if we wait until morning light, punishment will overtake us. So now, come, let us go and tell the king’s household.”

So they came and called to the gatekeepers of the city, and they told them, saying, “We came to the camp of the Arameans, and behold, there was no one there, nor the voice of man, only the horses tied and the donkeys tied, and the tents just as they were.”

And the gatekeepers called and told it within the king’s household.

Then the king arose in the night and said to his servants, “I will now tell you what the Arameans have done to us. They know that we are hungry; therefore they have gone from the camp to hide themselves in the field, saying, ‘When they come out of the city, we will capture them alive and get into the city.’ ”

And one of his servants answered and said, “Please, let some men take five of the remaining horses, which remain in the city. Behold, they will be in any case like all the multitude of Israel who remain in it; behold, they will be in any case like all the multitude of Israel who have already come to an end, so let us send and see.”

They took therefore two chariots with horses, and the king sent after the camp of the Arameans, saying, “Go and see.”

Then they went after them to the Jordan, and behold, all the way was full of clothes and equipment which the Arameans had thrown away in their haste. Then the messengers returned and told the king.

So the people went out and plundered the camp of the Arameans. Then a seah of fine flour was sold for a shekel and two seahs of barley for a shekel, according to the word of Yahweh.

Now the king appointed the royal officer on whose hand he leaned to have charge of the gate; but the people trampled on him at the gate, and he died just as the man of God had spoken, who spoke when the king came down to him.

So 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 will be sold tomorrow about this time at the gate of Samaria.”

And the royal officer had answered the man of God and said, “Now behold, if Yahweh should make windows in heaven, could such a thing be?” And he had said, “Behold, you will see it with your own eyes, but you will not eat of it.”

And so it happened to him, for the people trampled on him at the gate and he died.

Now Elisha spoke to the woman whose son he had restored to life, saying, “Arise and go with your household, and sojourn wherever you can sojourn; for Yahweh has called for a famine, and it will even come on the land for seven years.”

So the woman arose and did according to the word of the man of God, and she went with her household and sojourned in the land of the Philistines seven years.

Now it happened at the end of seven years, that the woman returned from the land of the Philistines; and she went out to cry out to the king for her house and for her field.

Now the king was speaking with Gehazi, the young man of the man of God, saying, “Please recount to me all the great things that Elisha has done.”

Now it happened as he was recounting to the king how he had restored to life the one who was dead, that behold, the woman whose son he had restored to life was crying out to the king for her house and for her field. And Gehazi said, “My lord, O king, this is the woman, and this is her son, whom Elisha restored to life.”

Then the king asked the woman, and she recounted it to him. So the king appointed for her a certain officer, saying, “Restore all that was hers and all the produce of the field from the day that she left the land even until now.”

Then Elisha came to Damascus. Now Ben-hadad king of Aram was sick, and it was told to him, saying, “The man of God has come here.”

And the king said to Hazael, “Take a present in your hand and go to meet the man of God, and inquire of Yahweh by him, saying, ‘Will I be restored to life from this sickness?’ ”

So Hazael went to meet him and took a present in his hand, even every kind of good thing of Damascus, forty camels’ loads; and he came and stood before him and said, “Your son Ben-hadad king of Aram has sent me to you, saying, ‘Will I be restored to life from this sickness?’ ”

Then Elisha said to him, “Go, say to him, ‘You will surely be restored to life,’ but Yahweh has shown me that he will certainly die.”

And he fixed his gaze steadily on him until he was ashamed, and the man of God wept.

Then Hazael said, “Why does my lord weep?” Then he said, “Because I know the evil that you will do to the sons of Israel: their fortifications you will set on fire, and their young men you will kill with the sword, and their infants you will dash in pieces, and their pregnant women you will rip up.”

Then Hazael said, “But what is your servant, who is but a dog, that he should do this great thing?” And Elisha answered, “Yahweh has shown me that you will be king over Aram.”

So he went from Elisha and came to his master. And he said to him, “What did Elisha say to you?” And he said, “He said to me that you would surely be restored to life.”

Now it happened that on the following day, he took the cover and dipped it in water and spread it on his face; so he died. And Hazael became king in his place.

Now in the fifth year of Joram the son of Ahab king of Israel, Jehoshaphat being then the king of Judah, Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah became king.

He was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem.

And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, just as the house of Ahab had done, for the daughter of Ahab became his wife; and he did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh.

However, Yahweh was not willing to make Judah a ruin, for the sake of David His servant, since He had promised him to give a lamp to him through his sons always.

In his days Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah and made a king over themselves.

Then Joram crossed over to Zair, and all his chariots with him. And he arose by night and struck the Edomites who were surrounding him and the commanders of the chariots; but his army fled to their tents.

So Edom revolted against Judah to this day. Then Libnah revolted at the same time.

Now the rest of the acts of Joram and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?

So Joram slept with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of David; and Ahaziah his son became king in his place.

In the twelfth year of Joram the son of Ahab king of Israel, Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah became king.

Ahaziah was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Athaliah the granddaughter of Omri king of Israel.

He also walked in the way of the house of Ahab and did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh, like the house of Ahab had done, because he was a son-in-law of the house of Ahab.

Then he went with Joram the son of Ahab to war with Hazael king of Aram at Ramoth-gilead, and the Arameans struck Joram.

So King Joram returned to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds which the Arameans had caused by striking him at Ramah when he fought against Hazael king of Aram. Then Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah went down to see Joram the son of Ahab in Jezreel because he was sick.

But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property,

and kept back some of the price for himself, with his wife’s full knowledge. And bringing a portion of it, he laid it at the apostles’ feet.

But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back some of the price of the land?

While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not under your authority? Why is it that you laid this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.”

And as he heard these words, Ananias fell down and breathed his last; and great fear came over all who heard.

And the young men rose up and wrapped him up, and after carrying him out, they buried him.

Now there was an interval of about three hours, and his wife came in, not knowing what had happened.

And Peter responded to her, “Tell me whether you were paid this much for the land?” And she said, “Yes, that much.”

Then Peter said to her, “Why is it that you have agreed together to put the Spirit of the Lord to the test? Behold, the feet of those who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out as well.”

And immediately she fell at his feet and breathed her last, and the young men came in and found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her beside her husband.

And great fear came over the whole church, and over all who heard these things.

Now at the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were happening among the people, and they were all with one accord in Solomon’s Portico.

But none of the rest dared to associate with them; however, the people were holding them in high esteem.

And more than ever believers in the Lord were added to their number, multitudes of men and women,

to such an extent that they even carried the sick out into the streets and laid them on cots and mats, so that when Peter came by at least his shadow might fall on any one of them.

Also the multitude from the cities in the vicinity of Jerusalem were coming together, bringing people who were sick or afflicted with unclean spirits, and they were all being healed.

But the high priest rose up and those with him (that is the sect of the Sadducees), and they were filled with jealousy.

And they laid hands on the apostles and put them in a public jail.

But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the prison, and taking them out, he said,

“Go, stand and speak to the people in the temple the whole message of this Life.”

Upon hearing this, they entered into the temple about daybreak and began to teach.

Now when the high priest and those with him came, they called the Sanhedrin together, even all the Council of the sons of Israel, and sent orders to the jailhouse for them to be brought.

But the officers who came did not find them in the prison, and they returned and reported back,

saying, “We found the jailhouse locked quite securely and the guards standing at the doors, but we opened it and found no one inside.”

Now when the captain of the temple guard and the chief priests heard these words, they were greatly perplexed about them as to what would come of this.

But someone came and reported to them, “The men whom you put in prison are standing in the temple and teaching the people!”

Then the captain went along with the officers and proceeded to bring them back without violence (for they were afraid of the people, that they might be stoned).