3rd September

¹ Then spake Elisha unto the woman, whose son he had restored to life, saying, Arise, and go thou and thine household, and sojourn wheresoever thou canst sojourn: for the LORD hath called for a famine; and it shall also come upon the land seven years.² And the woman arose, and did after the saying of the man of God: and she went with her household, and sojourned in the land of the Philistines seven years.³ And it came to pass at the seven years' end, that the woman returned out of the land of the Philistines: and she went forth to cry unto the king for her house and for her land.⁴ And the king talked with Gehazi the servant of the man of God, saying, Tell me, I pray thee, all the great things that Elisha hath done.⁵ And it came to pass, as he was telling the king how he had restored a dead body to life, that, behold, the woman, whose son he had restored to life, cried to the king for her house and for her land. And Gehazi said, My lord, O king, this is the woman, and this is her son, whom Elisha restored to life.⁶ And when the king asked the woman, she told him. So the king appointed unto her a certain officer, saying, Restore all that was hers, and all the fruits of the field since the day that she left the land, even until now.⁷ And Elisha came to Damascus; and Benhadad the king of Syria was sick; and it was told him, saying, The man of God is come hither.⁸ And the king said unto Hazael, Take a present in thine hand, and go, meet the man of God, and enquire of the LORD by him, saying, Shall I recover of this disease?⁹ So Hazael went to meet him, and took a present with him, even of every good thing of Damascus, forty camels' burden, and came and stood before him, and said, Thy son Benhadad king of Syria hath sent me to thee, saying, Shall I recover of this disease?¹⁰ And Elisha said unto him, Go, say unto him, Thou mayest certainly recover: howbeit the LORD hath shewed me that he shall surely die.¹¹ And he settled his countenance stedfastly, until he was ashamed: and the man of God wept.¹² And Hazael said, Why weepeth my lord? And he answered, Because I know the evil that thou wilt do unto the children of Israel: their strong holds wilt thou set on fire, and their young men wilt thou slay with the sword, and wilt dash their children, and rip up their women with child.¹³ And Hazael said, But what, is thy servant a dog, that he should do this great thing? And Elisha answered, The LORD hath shewed me that thou shalt be king over Syria.¹⁴ So he departed from Elisha, and came to his master; who said to him, What said Elisha to thee? And he answered, He told me that thou shouldest surely recover.¹⁵ And it came to pass on the morrow, that he took a thick cloth, and dipped it in water, and spread it on his face, so that he died: and Hazael reigned in his stead.¹⁶ And in the fifth year of Joram the son of Ahab king of Israel, Jehoshaphat being then king of Judah, Jehoram the son of Je hoshaphat king of Judah began to reign.¹⁷ Thirty and two years old was he when he began to reign; and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem.¹⁸ And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, as did the house of Ahab: for the daughter of Ahab was his wife: and he did evil in the sight of the LORD.¹⁹ Yet the LORD would not destroy Judah for David his servant's sake, as he promised him to give him alway a light, and to his children.²⁰ In his days Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah, and made a king over themselves.²¹ So Joram went over to Zair, and all the chariots with him: and he rose by night, and smote the Edomites which compassed him about, and the captains of the chariots: and the people fled into their tents.²² Yet Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah unto this day. Then Libnah revolted at the same time.²³ And 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?²⁴ And Joram slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David: and Ahaziah his son reigned in his stead.²⁵ In the twelfth year of Joram the son of Ahab king of Israel did Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah begin to reign.²⁶ Two and twenty years old was Ahaziah when he began to reign; and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Athaliah, the daughter of Omri king of Israel.²⁷ And he walked in the way of the house of Ahab, and did evil in the sight of the LORD, as did the house of Ahab: for he was the son in law of the house of Ahab.²⁸ And he went with Joram the son of Ahab to the war against Hazael king of Syria in Ramothgilead; and the Syrians wounded Joram.²⁹ And king Joram went back to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds which the Syrians had given him at Ramah, when he fought against Hazael king of Syria. And Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah went down to see Joram the son of Ahab in Jezreel, because he was sick.

¹ How is the gold become dim! how is the most fine gold changed! the stones of the sanctuary are poured out in the top of every street.² The precious sons of Zion, comparable to fine gold, how are they esteemed as earthen pitchers, the work of the hands of the potter!³ Even the sea monsters draw out the breast, they give suck to their young ones: the daughter of my people is become cruel, like the ostriches in the wilderness.⁴ The tongue of the sucking child cleaveth to the roof of his mouth for thirst: the young children ask bread, and no man breaketh it unto them.⁵ They that did feed delicately are desolate in the streets: they that were brought up in scarlet embrace dunghills.⁶ For the punishment of the iniquity of the daughter of my people is greater than the punishment of the sin of Sodom, that was overthrown as in a moment, and no hands stayed on her.⁷ Her Nazarites were purer than snow, they were whiter than milk, they were more ruddy in body than rubies, their polishing was of sapphire:⁸ Their visage is blacker than a coal; they are not known in the streets: their skin cleaveth to their bones; it is withered, it is become like a stick.⁹ They that be slain with the sword are better than they that be slain with hunger: for these pine away, stricken through for want of the fruits of the field.¹⁰ The hands of the pitiful women have sodden their own children: they were their meat in the destruction of the daughter of my people.¹¹ The LORD hath accomplished his fury; he hath poured out his fierce anger, and hath kindled a fire in Zion, and it hath devoured the foundations thereof.¹² The kings of the earth, and all the inhabitants of the world, would not have believed that the adversary and the enemy should have entered into the gates of Jerusalem.¹³ For the sins of her prophets, and the iniquities of her priests, that have shed the blood of the just in the midst of her,¹⁴ They have wandered as blind men in the streets, they have polluted themselves with blood, so that men could not touch their garments.¹⁵ They cried unto them, Depart ye; it is unclean; depart, depart, touch not: when they fled away and wandered, they said among the heathen, They shall no more sojourn there.¹⁶ The anger of the LORD hath divided them; he will no more regard them: they respected not the persons of the priests, they favoured not the elders.¹⁷ As for us, our eyes as yet failed for our vain help: in our watching we have watched for a nation that could not save us.¹⁸ They hunt our steps, that we cannot go in our streets: our end is near, our days are fulfilled; for our end is come.¹⁹ Our persecutors are swifter than the eagles of the heaven: they pursued us upon the mountains, they laid wait for us in the wilderness.²⁰ The breath of our nostrils, the anointed of the LORD, was taken in their pits, of whom we said, Under his shadow we shall live among the heathen.²¹ Rejoice and be glad, O daughter of Edom, that dwellest in the land of Uz; the cup also shall pass through unto thee: thou shalt be drunken, and shalt make thyself naked.²² The punishment of thine iniquity is accomplished, O daughter of Zion; he will no more carry thee away into captivity: he will visit thine iniquity, O daughter of Edom; he will discover thy sins.

¹ Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, unto the church of God which is at Corinth, with all the saints which are in all Achaia:² Grace be to you and peace from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.³ Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort;⁴ Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.⁵ For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ.⁶ And whether we be afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effectual in the enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer: or whether we be comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation.⁷ And our hope of you is stedfast, knowing, that as ye are partakers of the sufferings, so shall ye be also of the consolation.⁸ For we would not, brethren, have you ignorant of our trouble which came to us in Asia, that we were pressed out of measure, above strength, insomuch that we despaired even of life:⁹ But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead:¹⁰ Who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver: in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us;¹¹ Ye also helping together by prayer for us, that for the gift bestowed upon us by the means of many persons thanks may be given by many on our behalf.¹² For our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God, we have had our conversation in the world, and more abundantly to you-ward.¹³ For we write none other things unto you, than what ye read or acknowledge; and I trust ye shall acknowledge even to the end;¹⁴ As also ye have acknowledged us in part, that we are your rejoicing, even as ye also are our's in the day of the Lord Jesus.¹⁵ And in this confidence I was minded to come unto you before, that ye might have a second benefit;¹⁶ And to pass by you into Macedonia, and to come again out of Macedonia unto you, and of you to be brought on my way toward Judaea.¹⁷ When I therefore was thus minded, did I use lightness? or the things that I purpose, do I purpose according to the flesh, that with me there should be yea yea, and nay nay?¹⁸ But as God is true, our word toward you was not yea and nay.¹⁹ For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us, even by me and Silvanus and Timotheus, was not yea and nay, but in him was yea.²⁰ For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us.²¹ Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God;²² Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.²³ Moreover I call God for a record upon my soul, that to spare you I came not as yet unto Corinth.²⁴ Not for that we have dominion over your faith, but are helpers of your joy: for by faith ye stand.

¹ But I determined this with myself, that I would not come again to you in heaviness.² For if I make you sorry, who is he then that maketh me glad, but the same which is made sorry by me?³ And I wrote this same unto you, lest, when I came, I should have sorrow from them of whom I ought to rejoice; having confidence in you all, that my joy is the joy of you all.⁴ For out of much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote unto you with many tears; not that ye should be grieved, but that ye might know the love which I have more abundantly unto you.⁵ But if any have caused grief, he hath not grieved me, but in part: that I may not overcharge you all.⁶ Sufficient to such a man is this punishment, which was inflicted of many.⁷ So that contrariwise ye ought rather to forgive him, and comfort him, lest perhaps such a one should be swallowed up with overmuch sorrow.⁸ Wherefore I beseech you that ye would confirm your love toward him.⁹ For to this end also did I write, that I might know the proof of you, whether ye be obedient in all things.¹⁰ To whom ye forgive any thing, I forgive also: for if I forgave any thing, to whom I forgave it, for your sakes forgave I it in the person of Christ;¹¹ Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.¹² Furthermore, when I came to Troas to preach Christ's gospel, and a door was opened unto me of the Lord,¹³ I had no rest in my spirit, because I found not Titus my brother: but taking my leave of them, I went from thence into Macedonia.¹⁴ Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place.¹⁵ For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish:¹⁶ To the one we are the savour of death unto death; and to the other the savour of life unto life. And who is sufficient for these things?¹⁷ For we are not as many, which corrupt the word of God: but as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God speak we in Christ.