7 Times Jesus Claimed to Be God

Devoted Together

5 Days of Prayer and Thanksgiving in the Psalms

Fear vs Faith: Mind Your Mindset

Nurturing Your Desire for More in a Healthy Way

Walking in Victory: A 5-Day Journey to Spiritual Freedom

How God Doubled Our Income in 18 Days

Living With Power

5 Prayers for Your Daughter’s School Year

Legacy: God Honors the Heart by Vance K. Jackson

The Listener’s Bible®: NIV Edition

New International Version™  (Anglicised), Audio Edition

Holy Bible, New International Version™ (Anglicised), South Asian Audio Edition

<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bkPRO">
 <div class="chapter ch6" data-usfm="PRO.6">
 <div class="label">6</div><div class="s1">Warnings Against Folly</div><div class="q1"> 1My son, if you have put up security for your neighbor,</div><div class="q2">if you have shaken hands in pledge for a stranger,</div><div class="q1"> 2you have been trapped by what you said,</div><div class="q2">ensnared by the words of your mouth.</div><div class="q1"> 3So do this, my son, to free yourself,</div><div class="q2">since you have fallen into your neighbor&#8217;s hands:</div><div class="q1">Go&#8212;to the point of exhaustion&#8212;#6:3 Or Go and humble yourself,</div><div class="q2">and give your neighbor no rest!</div><div class="q1"> 4Allow no sleep to your eyes,</div><div class="q2">no slumber to your eyelids.</div><div class="q1"> 5Free yourself, like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter,</div><div class="q2">like a bird from the snare of the fowler.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 6Go to the ant, you sluggard;</div><div class="q2">consider its ways and be wise!</div><div class="q1"> 7It has no commander,</div><div class="q2">no overseer or ruler,</div><div class="q1"> 8yet it stores its provisions in summer</div><div class="q2">and gathers its food at harvest.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 9How long will you lie there, you sluggard?</div><div class="q2">When will you get up from your sleep?</div><div class="q1"> 10A little sleep, a little slumber,</div><div class="q2">a little folding of the hands to rest&#8212;</div><div class="q1"> 11and poverty will come on you like a thief</div><div class="q2">and scarcity like an armed man.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 12A troublemaker and a villain,</div><div class="q2">who goes about with a corrupt mouth,</div><div class="q2"> 13who winks maliciously with his eye,</div><div class="q2">signals with his feet</div><div class="q2">and motions with his fingers,</div><div class="q2"> 14who plots evil with deceit in his heart&#8212;</div><div class="q2">he always stirs up conflict.</div><div class="q1"> 15Therefore disaster will overtake him in an instant;</div><div class="q2">he will suddenly be destroyed&#8212;without remedy.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 16There are six things the Lord hates,</div><div class="q2">seven that are detestable to him:</div><div class="q3"> 17haughty eyes,</div><div class="q3">a lying tongue,</div><div class="q3">hands that shed innocent blood,</div><div class="q3"> 18a heart that devises wicked schemes,</div><div class="q3">feet that are quick to rush into evil,</div><div class="q3"> 19a false witness who pours out lies</div><div class="q3">and a person who stirs up conflict in the community.</div><div class="s1">Warning Against Adultery</div><div class="q1"> 20My son, keep your father&#8217;s command</div><div class="q2">and do not forsake your mother&#8217;s teaching.</div><div class="q1"> 21Bind them always on your heart;</div><div class="q2">fasten them around your neck.</div><div class="q1"> 22When you walk, they will guide you;</div><div class="q2">when you sleep, they will watch over you;</div><div class="q2">when you awake, they will speak to you.</div><div class="q1"> 23For this command is a lamp,</div><div class="q2">this teaching is a light,</div><div class="q1">and correction and instruction</div><div class="q2">are the way to life,</div><div class="q1"> 24keeping you from your neighbor&#8217;s wife,</div><div class="q2">from the smooth talk of a wayward woman.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 25Do not lust in your heart after her beauty</div><div class="q2">or let her captivate you with her eyes.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 26For a prostitute can be had for a loaf of bread,</div><div class="q2">but another man&#8217;s wife preys on your very life.</div><div class="q1"> 27Can a man scoop fire into his lap</div><div class="q2">without his clothes being burned?</div><div class="q1"> 28Can a man walk on hot coals</div><div class="q2">without his feet being scorched?</div><div class="q1"> 29So is he who sleeps with another man&#8217;s wife;</div><div class="q2">no one who touches her will go unpunished.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 30People do not despise a thief if he steals</div><div class="q2">to satisfy his hunger when he is starving.</div><div class="q1"> 31Yet if he is caught, he must pay sevenfold,</div><div class="q2">though it costs him all the wealth of his house.</div><div class="q1"> 32But a man who commits adultery has no sense;</div><div class="q2">whoever does so destroys himself.</div><div class="q1"> 33Blows and disgrace are his lot,</div><div class="q2">and his shame will never be wiped away.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 34For jealousy arouses a husband&#8217;s fury,</div><div class="q2">and he will show no mercy when he takes revenge.</div><div class="q1"> 35He will not accept any compensation;</div><div class="q2">he will refuse a bribe, however great it is.</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bkPSA">
 <div class="chapter ch91" data-usfm="PSA.91">
 <div class="label">91</div><div class="cl">Psalm 91</div><div class="q1"> 1Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High</div><div class="q2">will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.#91:1 Hebrew Shaddai</div><div class="q1"> 2I will say of the Lord, &#8220;He is my refuge and my fortress,</div><div class="q2">my God, in whom I trust.&#8221;</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 3Surely he will save you</div><div class="q2">from the fowler&#8217;s snare</div><div class="q2">and from the deadly pestilence.</div><div class="q1"> 4He will cover you with his feathers,</div><div class="q2">and under his wings you will find refuge;</div><div class="q2">his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.</div><div class="q1"> 5You will not fear the terror of night,</div><div class="q2">nor the arrow that flies by day,</div><div class="q1"> 6nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,</div><div class="q2">nor the plague that destroys at midday.</div><div class="q1"> 7A thousand may fall at your side,</div><div class="q2">ten thousand at your right hand,</div><div class="q2">but it will not come near you.</div><div class="q1"> 8You will only observe with your eyes</div><div class="q2">and see the punishment of the wicked.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 9If you say, &#8220;The Lord is my refuge,&#8221;</div><div class="q2">and you make the Most High your dwelling,</div><div class="q1"> 10no harm will overtake you,</div><div class="q2">no disaster will come near your tent.</div><div class="q1"> 11For he will command his angels concerning you</div><div class="q2">to guard you in all your ways;</div><div class="q1"> 12they will lift you up in their hands,</div><div class="q2">so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.</div><div class="q1"> 13You will tread on the lion and the cobra;</div><div class="q2">you will trample the great lion and the serpent.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 14&#8220;Because he#91:14 That is, probably the king loves me,&#8221; says the Lord, &#8220;I will rescue him;</div><div class="q2">I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.</div><div class="q1"> 15He will call on me, and I will answer him;</div><div class="q2">I will be with him in trouble,</div><div class="q2">I will deliver him and honor him.</div><div class="q1"> 16With long life I will satisfy him</div><div class="q2">and show him my salvation.&#8221;</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bkREV">
 <div class="chapter ch3" data-usfm="REV.3">
 <div class="label">3</div><div class="s1">To the Church in Sardis</div><div class="m"> 1 &#8220;To the angel # 3:1 Or messenger ; also in verses 7 and 14 of the church in Sardis write:</div><div class="b"></div><div class="pi1"> These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits # 3:1 That is, the sevenfold Spirit of God and the seven stars. I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. 2Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have found your deeds unfinished in the sight of my God. 3Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; hold it fast, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you.</div><div class="pi1"> 4 Yet you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy. 5The one who is victorious will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out the name of that person from the book of life, but will acknowledge that name before my Father and his angels. 6Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.</div><div class="s1">To the Church in Philadelphia</div><div class="m"> 7 &#8220;To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write:</div><div class="b"></div><div class="pi1"> These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open. 8I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. 9I will make those who are of the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews though they are not, but are liars&#8212;I will make them come and fall down at your feet and acknowledge that I have loved you. 10Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come on the whole world to test the inhabitants of the earth.</div><div class="pi1"> 11 I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown. 12The one who is victorious I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will they leave it. I will write on them the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on them my new name. 13Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.</div><div class="s1">To the Church in Laodicea</div><div class="m"> 14 &#8220;To the angel of the church in Laodicea write:</div><div class="b"></div><div class="pi1"> These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God&#8217;s creation. 15I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! 16So, because you are lukewarm&#8212;neither hot nor cold&#8212;I am about to spit you out of my mouth. 17You say, &#8216;I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.&#8217; But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. 18I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.</div><div class="pi1"> 19 Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent. 20Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.</div><div class="pi1"> 21 To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne. 22Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.&#8221;</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bk1KI">
 <div class="chapter ch18" data-usfm="1KI.18">
 <div class="label">18</div><div class="s1">Elijah and Obadiah</div><div class="p"> 1After a long time, in the third year, the word of the Lord came to Elijah: &#8220;Go and present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the land.&#8221; 2So Elijah went to present himself to Ahab.</div><div class="p">Now the famine was severe in Samaria, 3and Ahab had summoned Obadiah, his palace administrator. (Obadiah was a devout believer in the Lord. 4While Jezebel was killing off the Lord&#8217;s prophets, Obadiah had taken a hundred prophets and hidden them in two caves, fifty in each, and had supplied them with food and water.) 5Ahab had said to Obadiah, &#8220;Go through the land to all the springs and valleys. Maybe we can find some grass to keep the horses and mules alive so we will not have to kill any of our animals.&#8221; 6So they divided the land they were to cover, Ahab going in one direction and Obadiah in another.</div><div class="p"> 7As Obadiah was walking along, Elijah met him. Obadiah recognized him, bowed down to the ground, and said, &#8220;Is it really you, my lord Elijah?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 8&#8220;Yes,&#8221; he replied. &#8220;Go tell your master, &#8216;Elijah is here.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 9&#8220;What have I done wrong,&#8221; asked Obadiah, &#8220;that you are handing your servant over to Ahab to be put to death? 10As surely as the Lord your God lives, there is not a nation or kingdom where my master has not sent someone to look for you. And whenever a nation or kingdom claimed you were not there, he made them swear they could not find you. 11But now you tell me to go to my master and say, &#8216;Elijah is here.&#8217; 12I don&#8217;t know where the Spirit of the Lord may carry you when I leave you. If I go and tell Ahab and he doesn&#8217;t find you, he will kill me. Yet I your servant have worshiped the Lord since my youth. 13Haven&#8217;t you heard, my lord, what I did while Jezebel was killing the prophets of the Lord? I hid a hundred of the Lord&#8217;s prophets in two caves, fifty in each, and supplied them with food and water. 14And now you tell me to go to my master and say, &#8216;Elijah is here.&#8217; He will kill me!&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 15Elijah said, &#8220;As the Lord Almighty lives, whom I serve, I will surely present myself to Ahab today.&#8221;</div><div class="s1">Elijah on Mount Carmel</div><div class="p"> 16So Obadiah went to meet Ahab and told him, and Ahab went to meet Elijah. 17When he saw Elijah, he said to him, &#8220;Is that you, you troubler of Israel?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 18&#8220;I have not made trouble for Israel,&#8221; Elijah replied. &#8220;But you and your father&#8217;s family have. You have abandoned the Lord&#8217;s commands and have followed the Baals. 19Now summon the people from all over Israel to meet me on Mount Carmel. And bring the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal and the four hundred prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel&#8217;s table.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 20So Ahab sent word throughout all Israel and assembled the prophets on Mount Carmel. 21Elijah went before the people and said, &#8220;How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.&#8221;</div><div class="p">But the people said nothing.</div><div class="p"> 22Then Elijah said to them, &#8220;I am the only one of the Lord&#8217;s prophets left, but Baal has four hundred and fifty prophets. 23Get two bulls for us. Let Baal&#8217;s prophets choose one for themselves, and let them cut it into pieces and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. I will prepare the other bull and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. 24Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the Lord. The god who answers by fire&#8212;he is God.&#8221;</div><div class="p">Then all the people said, &#8220;What you say is good.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 25Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, &#8220;Choose one of the bulls and prepare it first, since there are so many of you. Call on the name of your god, but do not light the fire.&#8221; 26So they took the bull given them and prepared it.</div><div class="p">Then they called on the name of Baal from morning till noon. &#8220;Baal, answer us!&#8221; they shouted. But there was no response; no one answered. And they danced around the altar they had made.</div><div class="p"> 27At noon Elijah began to taunt them. &#8220;Shout louder!&#8221; he said. &#8220;Surely he is a god! Perhaps he is deep in thought, or busy, or traveling. Maybe he is sleeping and must be awakened.&#8221; 28So they shouted louder and slashed themselves with swords and spears, as was their custom, until their blood flowed. 29Midday passed, and they continued their frantic prophesying until the time for the evening sacrifice. But there was no response, no one answered, no one paid attention.</div><div class="p"> 30Then Elijah said to all the people, &#8220;Come here to me.&#8221; They came to him, and he repaired the altar of the Lord, which had been torn down. 31Elijah took twelve stones, one for each of the tribes descended from Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord had come, saying, &#8220;Your name shall be Israel.&#8221; 32With the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord, and he dug a trench around it large enough to hold two seahs#18:32 That is, probably about 24 pounds or about 11 kilograms of seed. 33He arranged the wood, cut the bull into pieces and laid it on the wood. Then he said to them, &#8220;Fill four large jars with water and pour it on the offering and on the wood.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 34&#8220;Do it again,&#8221; he said, and they did it again.</div><div class="p">&#8220;Do it a third time,&#8221; he ordered, and they did it the third time. 35The water ran down around the altar and even filled the trench.</div><div class="p"> 36At the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: &#8220;Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. 37Answer me, Lord, answer me, so these people will know that you, Lord, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 38Then the fire of the Lord fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench.</div><div class="p"> 39When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, &#8220;The Lord&#8212;he is God! The Lord&#8212;he is God!&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 40Then Elijah commanded them, &#8220;Seize the prophets of Baal. Don&#8217;t let anyone get away!&#8221; They seized them, and Elijah had them brought down to the Kishon Valley and slaughtered there.</div><div class="p"> 41And Elijah said to Ahab, &#8220;Go, eat and drink, for there is the sound of a heavy rain.&#8221; 42So Ahab went off to eat and drink, but Elijah climbed to the top of Carmel, bent down to the ground and put his face between his knees.</div><div class="p"> 43&#8220;Go and look toward the sea,&#8221; he told his servant. And he went up and looked.</div><div class="p">&#8220;There is nothing there,&#8221; he said.</div><div class="p">Seven times Elijah said, &#8220;Go back.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 44The seventh time the servant reported, &#8220;A cloud as small as a man&#8217;s hand is rising from the sea.&#8221;</div><div class="p">So Elijah said, &#8220;Go and tell Ahab, &#8216;Hitch up your chariot and go down before the rain stops you.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 45Meanwhile, the sky grew black with clouds, the wind rose, a heavy rain started falling and Ahab rode off to Jezreel. 46The power of the Lord came on Elijah and, tucking his cloak into his belt, he ran ahead of Ahab all the way to Jezreel.</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bk1KI">
 <div class="chapter ch19" data-usfm="1KI.19">
 <div class="label">19</div><div class="s1">Elijah Flees to Horeb</div><div class="p"> 1Now Ahab told Jezebel everything Elijah had done and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. 2So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah to say, &#8220;May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like that of one of them.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 3Elijah was afraid#19:3 Or Elijah saw and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, 4while he himself went a day&#8217;s journey into the wilderness. He came to a broom bush, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. &#8220;I have had enough, Lord,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.&#8221; 5Then he lay down under the bush and fell asleep.</div><div class="p">All at once an angel touched him and said, &#8220;Get up and eat.&#8221; 6He looked around, and there by his head was some bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water. He ate and drank and then lay down again.</div><div class="p"> 7The angel of the Lord came back a second time and touched him and said, &#8220;Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you.&#8221; 8So he got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he traveled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God. 9There he went into a cave and spent the night.</div><div class="s1">The Lord Appears to Elijah</div><div class="p">And the word of the Lord came to him: &#8220;What are you doing here, Elijah?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 10He replied, &#8220;I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 11The Lord said, &#8220;Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.&#8221;</div><div class="p">Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. 12After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. 13When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.</div><div class="p">Then a voice said to him, &#8220;What are you doing here, Elijah?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 14He replied, &#8220;I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 15The Lord said to him, &#8220;Go back the way you came, and go to the Desert of Damascus. When you get there, anoint Hazael king over Aram. 16Also, anoint Jehu son of Nimshi king over Israel, and anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah to succeed you as prophet. 17Jehu will put to death any who escape the sword of Hazael, and Elisha will put to death any who escape the sword of Jehu. 18Yet I reserve seven thousand in Israel&#8212;all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and whose mouths have not kissed him.&#8221;</div><div class="s1">The Call of Elisha</div><div class="p"> 19So Elijah went from there and found Elisha son of Shaphat. He was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen, and he himself was driving the twelfth pair. Elijah went up to him and threw his cloak around him. 20Elisha then left his oxen and ran after Elijah. &#8220;Let me kiss my father and mother goodbye,&#8221; he said, &#8220;and then I will come with you.&#8221;</div><div class="p">&#8220;Go back,&#8221; Elijah replied. &#8220;What have I done to you?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 21So Elisha left him and went back. He took his yoke of oxen and slaughtered them. He burned the plowing equipment to cook the meat and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he set out to follow Elijah and became his servant.</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bk1KI">
 <div class="chapter ch20" data-usfm="1KI.20">
 <div class="label">20</div><div class="s1">Ben-Hadad Attacks Samaria</div><div class="p"> 1Now Ben-Hadad king of Aram mustered his entire army. Accompanied by thirty-two kings with their horses and chariots, he went up and besieged Samaria and attacked it. 2He sent messengers into the city to Ahab king of Israel, saying, &#8220;This is what Ben-Hadad says: 3&#8216;Your silver and gold are mine, and the best of your wives and children are mine.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 4The king of Israel answered, &#8220;Just as you say, my lord the king. I and all I have are yours.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 5The messengers came again and said, &#8220;This is what Ben-Hadad says: &#8216;I sent to demand your silver and gold, your wives and your children. 6But about this time tomorrow I am going to send my officials to search your palace and the houses of your officials. They will seize everything you value and carry it away.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 7The king of Israel summoned all the elders of the land and said to them, &#8220;See how this man is looking for trouble! When he sent for my wives and my children, my silver and my gold, I did not refuse him.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 8The elders and the people all answered, &#8220;Don&#8217;t listen to him or agree to his demands.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 9So he replied to Ben-Hadad&#8217;s messengers, &#8220;Tell my lord the king, &#8216;Your servant will do all you demanded the first time, but this demand I cannot meet.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221; They left and took the answer back to Ben-Hadad.</div><div class="p"> 10Then Ben-Hadad sent another message to Ahab: &#8220;May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if enough dust remains in Samaria to give each of my men a handful.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 11The king of Israel answered, &#8220;Tell him: &#8216;One who puts on his armor should not boast like one who takes it off.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 12Ben-Hadad heard this message while he and the kings were drinking in their tents,#20:12 Or in Sukkoth; also in verse 16 and he ordered his men: &#8220;Prepare to attack.&#8221; So they prepared to attack the city.</div><div class="s1">Ahab Defeats Ben-Hadad</div><div class="p"> 13Meanwhile a prophet came to Ahab king of Israel and announced, &#8220;This is what the Lord says: &#8216;Do you see this vast army? I will give it into your hand today, and then you will know that I am the Lord.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 14&#8220;But who will do this?&#8221; asked Ahab.</div><div class="p">The prophet replied, &#8220;This is what the Lord says: &#8216;The junior officers under the provincial commanders will do it.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</div><div class="p">&#8220;And who will start the battle?&#8221; he asked.</div><div class="p">The prophet answered, &#8220;You will.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 15So Ahab summoned the 232 junior officers under the provincial commanders. Then he assembled the rest of the Israelites, 7,000 in all. 16They set out at noon while Ben-Hadad and the 32 kings allied with him were in their tents getting drunk. 17The junior officers under the provincial commanders went out first.</div><div class="p">Now Ben-Hadad had dispatched scouts, who reported, &#8220;Men are advancing from Samaria.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 18He said, &#8220;If they have come out for peace, take them alive; if they have come out for war, take them alive.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 19The junior officers under the provincial commanders marched out of the city with the army behind them 20and each one struck down his opponent. At that, the Arameans fled, with the Israelites in pursuit. But Ben-Hadad king of Aram escaped on horseback with some of his horsemen. 21The king of Israel advanced and overpowered the horses and chariots and inflicted heavy losses on the Arameans.</div><div class="p"> 22Afterward, the prophet came to the king of Israel and said, &#8220;Strengthen your position and see what must be done, because next spring the king of Aram will attack you again.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 23Meanwhile, the officials of the king of Aram advised him, &#8220;Their gods are gods of the hills. That is why they were too strong for us. But if we fight them on the plains, surely we will be stronger than they. 24Do this: Remove all the kings from their commands and replace them with other officers. 25You must also raise an army like the one you lost&#8212;horse for horse and chariot for chariot&#8212;so we can fight Israel on the plains. Then surely we will be stronger than they.&#8221; He agreed with them and acted accordingly.</div><div class="p"> 26The next spring Ben-Hadad mustered the Arameans and went up to Aphek to fight against Israel. 27When the Israelites were also mustered and given provisions, they marched out to meet them. The Israelites camped opposite them like two small flocks of goats, while the Arameans covered the countryside.</div><div class="p"> 28The man of God came up and told the king of Israel, &#8220;This is what the Lord says: &#8216;Because the Arameans think the Lord is a god of the hills and not a god of the valleys, I will deliver this vast army into your hands, and you will know that I am the Lord.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 29For seven days they camped opposite each other, and on the seventh day the battle was joined. The Israelites inflicted a hundred thousand casualties on the Aramean foot soldiers in one day. 30The rest of them escaped to the city of Aphek, where the wall collapsed on twenty-seven thousand of them. And Ben-Hadad fled to the city and hid in an inner room.</div><div class="p"> 31His officials said to him, &#8220;Look, we have heard that the kings of Israel are merciful. Let us go to the king of Israel with sackcloth around our waists and ropes around our heads. Perhaps he will spare your life.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 32Wearing sackcloth around their waists and ropes around their heads, they went to the king of Israel and said, &#8220;Your servant Ben-Hadad says: &#8216;Please let me live.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</div><div class="p">The king answered, &#8220;Is he still alive? He is my brother.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 33The men took this as a good sign and were quick to pick up his word. &#8220;Yes, your brother Ben-Hadad!&#8221; they said.</div><div class="p">&#8220;Go and get him,&#8221; the king said. When Ben-Hadad came out, Ahab had him come up into his chariot.</div><div class="p"> 34&#8220;I will return the cities my father took from your father,&#8221; Ben-Hadad offered. &#8220;You may set up your own market areas in Damascus, as my father did in Samaria.&#8221;</div><div class="p">Ahab said, &#8220;On the basis of a treaty I will set you free.&#8221; So he made a treaty with him, and let him go.</div><div class="s1">A Prophet Condemns Ahab</div><div class="p"> 35By the word of the Lord one of the company of the prophets said to his companion, &#8220;Strike me with your weapon,&#8221; but he refused.</div><div class="p"> 36So the prophet said, &#8220;Because you have not obeyed the Lord, as soon as you leave me a lion will kill you.&#8221; And after the man went away, a lion found him and killed him.</div><div class="p"> 37The prophet found another man and said, &#8220;Strike me, please.&#8221; So the man struck him and wounded him. 38Then the prophet went and stood by the road waiting for the king. He disguised himself with his headband down over his eyes. 39As the king passed by, the prophet called out to him, &#8220;Your servant went into the thick of the battle, and someone came to me with a captive and said, &#8216;Guard this man. If he is missing, it will be your life for his life, or you must pay a talent#20:39 That is, about 75 pounds or about 34 kilograms of silver.&#8217; 40While your servant was busy here and there, the man disappeared.&#8221;</div><div class="p">&#8220;That is your sentence,&#8221; the king of Israel said. &#8220;You have pronounced it yourself.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 41Then the prophet quickly removed the headband from his eyes, and the king of Israel recognized him as one of the prophets. 42He said to the king, &#8220;This is what the Lord says: &#8216;You have set free a man I had determined should die.#20:42 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them. Therefore it is your life for his life, your people for his people.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221; 43Sullen and angry, the king of Israel went to his palace in Samaria.</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bk1KI">
 <div class="chapter ch21" data-usfm="1KI.21">
 <div class="label">21</div><div class="s1">Naboth&#8217;s Vineyard</div><div class="p"> 1Some time later there was an incident involving a vineyard belonging to Naboth the Jezreelite. The vineyard was in Jezreel, close to the palace of Ahab king of Samaria. 2Ahab said to Naboth, &#8220;Let me have your vineyard to use for a vegetable garden, since it is close to my palace. In exchange I will give you a better vineyard or, if you prefer, I will pay you whatever it is worth.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 3But Naboth replied, &#8220;The Lord forbid that I should give you the inheritance of my ancestors.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 4So Ahab went home, sullen and angry because Naboth the Jezreelite had said, &#8220;I will not give you the inheritance of my ancestors.&#8221; He lay on his bed sulking and refused to eat.</div><div class="p"> 5His wife Jezebel came in and asked him, &#8220;Why are you so sullen? Why won&#8217;t you eat?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 6He answered her, &#8220;Because I said to Naboth the Jezreelite, &#8216;Sell me your vineyard; or if you prefer, I will give you another vineyard in its place.&#8217; But he said, &#8216;I will not give you my vineyard.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 7Jezebel his wife said, &#8220;Is this how you act as king over Israel? Get up and eat! Cheer up. I&#8217;ll get you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 8So she wrote letters in Ahab&#8217;s name, placed his seal on them, and sent them to the elders and nobles who lived in Naboth&#8217;s city with him. 9In those letters she wrote:</div><div class="pm">&#8220;Proclaim a day of fasting and seat Naboth in a prominent place among the people. 10But seat two scoundrels opposite him and have them bring charges that he has cursed both God and the king. Then take him out and stone him to death.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 11So the elders and nobles who lived in Naboth&#8217;s city did as Jezebel directed in the letters she had written to them. 12They proclaimed a fast and seated Naboth in a prominent place among the people. 13Then two scoundrels came and sat opposite him and brought charges against Naboth before the people, saying, &#8220;Naboth has cursed both God and the king.&#8221; So they took him outside the city and stoned him to death. 14Then they sent word to Jezebel: &#8220;Naboth has been stoned to death.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 15As soon as Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned to death, she said to Ahab, &#8220;Get up and take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite that he refused to sell you. He is no longer alive, but dead.&#8221; 16When Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, he got up and went down to take possession of Naboth&#8217;s vineyard.</div><div class="p"> 17Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite: 18&#8220;Go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, who rules in Samaria. He is now in Naboth&#8217;s vineyard, where he has gone to take possession of it. 19Say to him, &#8216;This is what the Lord says: Have you not murdered a man and seized his property?&#8217; Then say to him, &#8216;This is what the Lord says: In the place where dogs licked up Naboth&#8217;s blood, dogs will lick up your blood&#8212;yes, yours!&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 20Ahab said to Elijah, &#8220;So you have found me, my enemy!&#8221;</div><div class="p">&#8220;I have found you,&#8221; he answered, &#8220;because you have sold yourself to do evil in the eyes of the Lord. 21He says, &#8216;I am going to bring disaster on you. I will wipe out your descendants and cut off from Ahab every last male in Israel&#8212;slave or free.#21:21 Or Israel&#8212;every ruler or leader 22I will make your house like that of Jeroboam son of Nebat and that of Baasha son of Ahijah, because you have aroused my anger and have caused Israel to sin.&#8217;</div><div class="p"> 23&#8220;And also concerning Jezebel the Lord says: &#8216;Dogs will devour Jezebel by the wall of#21:23 Most Hebrew manuscripts; a few Hebrew manuscripts, Vulgate and Syriac (see also 2 Kings 9:26) the plot of ground at Jezreel.&#8217;</div><div class="p"> 24&#8220;Dogs will eat those belonging to Ahab who die in the city, and the birds will feed on those who die in the country.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 25(There was never anyone like Ahab, who sold himself to do evil in the eyes of the Lord, urged on by Jezebel his wife. 26He behaved in the vilest manner by going after idols, like the Amorites the Lord drove out before Israel.)</div><div class="p"> 27When Ahab heard these words, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and fasted. He lay in sackcloth and went around meekly.</div><div class="p"> 28Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite: 29&#8220;Have you noticed how Ahab has humbled himself before me? Because he has humbled himself, I will not bring this disaster in his day, but I will bring it on his house in the days of his son.&#8221;</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bk2KI">
 <div class="chapter ch1" data-usfm="2KI.1">
 <div class="label">1</div><div class="s1">The Lord&#8217;s Judgment on Ahaziah</div><div class="p"> 1After Ahab&#8217;s death, Moab rebelled against Israel. 2Now Ahaziah had fallen through the lattice of his upper room in Samaria and injured himself. So he sent messengers, saying to them, &#8220;Go and consult Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron, to see if I will recover from this injury.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 3But the angel of the Lord said to Elijah the Tishbite, &#8220;Go up and meet the messengers of the king of Samaria and ask them, &#8216;Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going off to consult Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron?&#8217; 4Therefore this is what the Lord says: &#8216;You will not leave the bed you are lying on. You will certainly die!&#8217;&#8198;&#8221; So Elijah went.</div><div class="p"> 5When the messengers returned to the king, he asked them, &#8220;Why have you come back?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 6&#8220;A man came to meet us,&#8221; they replied. &#8220;And he said to us, &#8216;Go back to the king who sent you and tell him, &#8220;This is what the Lord says: Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are sending messengers to consult Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore you will not leave the bed you are lying on. You will certainly die!&#8221;&#8198;&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 7The king asked them, &#8220;What kind of man was it who came to meet you and told you this?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 8They replied, &#8220;He had a garment of hair#1:8 Or He was a hairy man and had a leather belt around his waist.&#8221;</div><div class="p">The king said, &#8220;That was Elijah the Tishbite.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 9Then he sent to Elijah a captain with his company of fifty men. The captain went up to Elijah, who was sitting on the top of a hill, and said to him, &#8220;Man of God, the king says, &#8216;Come down!&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 10Elijah answered the captain, &#8220;If I am a man of God, may fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men!&#8221; Then fire fell from heaven and consumed the captain and his men.</div><div class="p"> 11At this the king sent to Elijah another captain with his fifty men. The captain said to him, &#8220;Man of God, this is what the king says, &#8216;Come down at once!&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 12&#8220;If I am a man of God,&#8221; Elijah replied, &#8220;may fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men!&#8221; Then the fire of God fell from heaven and consumed him and his fifty men.</div><div class="p"> 13So the king sent a third captain with his fifty men. This third captain went up and fell on his knees before Elijah. &#8220;Man of God,&#8221; he begged, &#8220;please have respect for my life and the lives of these fifty men, your servants! 14See, fire has fallen from heaven and consumed the first two captains and all their men. But now have respect for my life!&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 15The angel of the Lord said to Elijah, &#8220;Go down with him; do not be afraid of him.&#8221; So Elijah got up and went down with him to the king.</div><div class="p"> 16He told the king, &#8220;This is what the Lord says: Is it because there is no God in Israel for you to consult that you have sent messengers to consult Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron? Because you have done this, you will never leave the bed you are lying on. You will certainly die!&#8221; 17So he died, according to the word of the Lord that Elijah had spoken.</div><div class="p">Because Ahaziah had no son, Joram#1:17 Hebrew Jehoram, a variant of Joram succeeded him as king in the second year of Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah. 18As for all the other events of Ahaziah&#8217;s reign, and what he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel?</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bk2KI">
 <div class="chapter ch2" data-usfm="2KI.2">
 <div class="label">2</div><div class="s1">Elijah Taken Up to Heaven</div><div class="p"> 1When the Lord was about to take Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal. 2Elijah said to Elisha, &#8220;Stay here; the Lord has sent me to Bethel.&#8221;</div><div class="p">But Elisha said, &#8220;As surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you.&#8221; So they went down to Bethel.</div><div class="p"> 3The company of the prophets at Bethel came out to Elisha and asked, &#8220;Do you know that the Lord is going to take your master from you today?&#8221;</div><div class="p">&#8220;Yes, I know,&#8221; Elisha replied, &#8220;so be quiet.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 4Then Elijah said to him, &#8220;Stay here, Elisha; the Lord has sent me to Jericho.&#8221;</div><div class="p">And he replied, &#8220;As surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you.&#8221; So they went to Jericho.</div><div class="p"> 5The company of the prophets at Jericho went up to Elisha and asked him, &#8220;Do you know that the Lord is going to take your master from you today?&#8221;</div><div class="p">&#8220;Yes, I know,&#8221; he replied, &#8220;so be quiet.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 6Then Elijah said to him, &#8220;Stay here; the Lord has sent me to the Jordan.&#8221;</div><div class="p">And he replied, &#8220;As surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you.&#8221; So the two of them walked on.</div><div class="p"> 7Fifty men from the company of the prophets went and stood at a distance, facing the place where Elijah and Elisha had stopped at the Jordan. 8Elijah took his cloak, rolled it up and struck the water with it. The water divided to the right and to the left, and the two of them crossed over on dry ground.</div><div class="p"> 9When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, &#8220;Tell me, what can I do for you before I am taken from you?&#8221;</div><div class="p">&#8220;Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit,&#8221; Elisha replied.</div><div class="p"> 10&#8220;You have asked a difficult thing,&#8221; Elijah said, &#8220;yet if you see me when I am taken from you, it will be yours&#8212;otherwise, it will not.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 11As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind. 12Elisha saw this and cried out, &#8220;My father! My father! The chariots and horsemen of Israel!&#8221; And Elisha saw him no more. Then he took hold of his garment and tore it in two.</div><div class="p"> 13Elisha then picked up Elijah&#8217;s cloak that had fallen from him and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. 14He took the cloak that had fallen from Elijah and struck the water with it. &#8220;Where now is the Lord, the God of Elijah?&#8221; he asked. When he struck the water, it divided to the right and to the left, and he crossed over.</div><div class="p"> 15The company of the prophets from Jericho, who were watching, said, &#8220;The spirit of Elijah is resting on Elisha.&#8221; And they went to meet him and bowed to the ground before him. 16&#8220;Look,&#8221; they said, &#8220;we your servants have fifty able men. Let them go and look for your master. Perhaps the Spirit of the Lord has picked him up and set him down on some mountain or in some valley.&#8221;</div><div class="p">&#8220;No,&#8221; Elisha replied, &#8220;do not send them.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 17But they persisted until he was too embarrassed to refuse. So he said, &#8220;Send them.&#8221; And they sent fifty men, who searched for three days but did not find him. 18When they returned to Elisha, who was staying in Jericho, he said to them, &#8220;Didn&#8217;t I tell you not to go?&#8221;</div><div class="s1">Healing of the Water</div><div class="p"> 19The people of the city said to Elisha, &#8220;Look, our lord, this town is well situated, as you can see, but the water is bad and the land is unproductive.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 20&#8220;Bring me a new bowl,&#8221; he said, &#8220;and put salt in it.&#8221; So they brought it to him.</div><div class="p"> 21Then he went out to the spring and threw the salt into it, saying, &#8220;This is what the Lord says: &#8216;I have healed this water. Never again will it cause death or make the land unproductive.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221; 22And the water has remained pure to this day, according to the word Elisha had spoken.</div><div class="s1">Elisha Is Jeered</div><div class="p"> 23From there Elisha went up to Bethel. As he was walking along the road, some boys came out of the town and jeered at him. &#8220;Get out of here, baldy!&#8221; they said. &#8220;Get out of here, baldy!&#8221; 24He turned around, looked at them and called down a curse on them in the name of the Lord. Then two bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the boys. 25And he went on to Mount Carmel and from there returned to Samaria.</div>
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