Bible Reading for April 23

2 Kings Chapter 6

1 And the sons of the prophets said unto Elisha, Behold now, the place
where we dwell with thee is too strait for us.

2 Let us go, we pray thee, unto Jordan, and take thence every man a
beam, and let us make us a place there, where we may dwell. And he
answered, Go ye.

3 And one said, Be content, I pray thee, and go with thy servants. And
he answered, I will go.

4 So he went with them. And when they came to Jordan, they cut down wood.

5 But as one was felling a beam, the axe head fell into the water: and
he cried, and said, Alas, master! for it was borrowed.

6 And the man of God said, Where fell it? And he shewed him the place.
And he cut down a stick, and cast it in thither; and the iron did swim.

7 Therefore said he, Take it up to thee. And he put out his hand, and
took it.

8 Then the king of Syria warred against Israel, and took counsel with
his servants, saying, In such and such a place shall be my camp.

9 And the man of God sent unto the king of Israel, saying, Beware that
thou pass not such a place; for thither the Syrians are come down.

10 And the king of Israel sent to the place which the man of God told
him and warned him of, and saved himself there, not once nor twice.

11 Therefore the heart of the king of Syria was sore troubled for this
thing; and he called his servants, and said unto them, Will ye not shew
me which of us is for the king of Israel?

12 And one of his servants said, None, my lord, O king: but Elisha, the
prophet that is in Israel, telleth the king of Israel the words that
thou speakest in thy bedchamber.

13 And he said, Go and spy where he is, that I may send and fetch him.
And it was told him, saying, Behold, he is in Dothan.

14 Therefore sent he thither horses, and chariots, and a great host: and
they came by night, and compassed the city about.

15 And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone
forth, behold, an host compassed the city both with horses and chariots.
And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! how shall we do?

16 And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than
they that be with them.

17 And Elisha prayed, and said, LORD, I pray thee, open his eyes, that
he may see. And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw:
and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round
about Elisha.

18 And when they came down to him, Elisha prayed unto the LORD, and
said, Smite this people, I pray thee, with blindness. And he smote them
with blindness according to the word of Elisha.

19 And Elisha said unto them, This is not the way, neither is this the
city: follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom ye seek. But he
led them to Samaria.

20 And it came to pass, when they were come into 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, behold, they were in the midst of
Samaria.

21 And the king of Israel said unto Elisha, when he saw them, My father,
shall I smite them? shall I smite them?

22 And he answered, Thou shalt not smite them: wouldest thou smite those
whom thou hast taken captive with thy sword and with thy bow? set bread
and water before them, that they may eat and drink, and go to their master.

23 And he prepared great provision for them: and when they had eaten and
drunk, he sent them away, and they went to their master. So the bands of
Syria came no more into the land of Israel.

24 And it came to pass after this, that Benhadad king of Syria gathered
all his host, and went up, and besieged Samaria.

25 And there was a great famine in Samaria: and, behold, they besieged
it, until an ass's head was sold for fourscore pieces of silver, and the
fourth part of a cab of dove's dung for five pieces of silver.

26 And as the king of Israel was passing by upon the wall, there cried a
woman unto him, saying, Help, my lord, O king.

27 And he said, If the LORD do not help thee, whence shall I help thee?
out of the barnfloor, or out of the winepress?

28 And the king said unto her, What aileth thee? And she answered, This
woman said unto me, Give thy son, that we may eat him to day, and we
will eat my son to morrow.

29 So we boiled my son, and did eat him: and I said unto her on the next
day, Give thy son, that we may eat him: and she hath hid her son.

30 And it came to pass, when the king heard the words of the woman, that
he rent his clothes; and he passed by upon the wall, and the people
looked, and, behold, he had sackcloth within upon his flesh.

31 Then he said, God do so and more also to me, if the head of Elisha
the son of Shaphat shall stand on him this day.

32 But Elisha sat in his house, and the elders sat with him; and the
king sent a man from before him: but ere the messenger came to him, he
said to the elders, See ye how this son of a murderer hath sent to take
away mine head? look, when the messenger cometh, shut the door, and hold
him fast at the door: is not the sound of his master's feet behind him?

33 And while he yet talked with them, behold, the messenger came down
unto him: and he said, Behold, this evil is of the LORD; what should I
wait for the LORD any longer?

2 Kings Chapter 7

1 Then Elisha said, Hear ye the word of the LORD; Thus saith the LORD,
To morrow about this time shall a measure of fine flour be sold for a
shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, in the gate of Samaria.

2 Then a lord on whose hand the king leaned answered the man of God, and
said, Behold, if the LORD would make windows in heaven, might this thing
be? And he said, Behold, thou shalt see it with thine eyes, but shalt
not eat thereof.

3 And there were four leprous men at the entering in of the gate: and
they said one to another, Why sit we here until we die?

4 If we say, We will enter into the city, then the famine is in the
city, and we shall die there: and if we sit still here, we die also. Now
therefore come, and let us fall unto the host of the Syrians: if they
save us alive, we shall live; and if they kill us, we shall but die.

5 And they rose up in the twilight, to go unto the camp of the Syrians:
and when they were come to the uttermost part of the camp of Syria,
behold, there was no man there.

6 For the Lord had made the host of the Syrians to hear a noise of
chariots, and a noise of horses, even the noise of a great host: and
they said one to another, Lo, the king of Israel hath hired against us
the kings of the Hittites, and the kings of the Egyptians, to come upon us.

7 Wherefore they arose and fled in the twilight, and left their tents,
and their horses, and their asses, even the camp as it was, and fled for
their life.

8 And when these lepers came to the uttermost part of the camp, they
went into one tent, and did eat and drink, and carried thence silver,
and gold, and raiment, and went and hid it; and came again, and entered
into another tent, and carried thence also, and went and hid it.

9 Then they said one to another, We do not well: this day is a day of
good tidings, and we hold our peace: if we tarry till the morning light,
some mischief will come upon us: now therefore come, that we may go and
tell the king's household.

10 So they came and called unto the porter of the city: and they told
them, saying, We came to the camp of the Syrians, and, behold, there was
no man there, neither voice of man, but horses tied, and asses tied, and
the tents as they were.

11 And he called the porters; and they told it to the king's house within.

12 And the king arose in the night, and said unto his servants, I will
now shew you what the Syrians have done to us. They know that we be
hungry; therefore are they 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.

13 And one of his servants answered and said, Let some take, I pray
thee, five of the horses that remain, which are left in the city,
(behold, they are as all the multitude of Israel that are left in it:
behold, I say, they are even as all the multitude of the Israelites that
are consumed:) and let us send and see.

14 They took therefore two chariot horses; and the king sent after the
host of the Syrians, saying, Go and see.

15 And they went after them unto Jordan: and, lo, all the way was full
of garments and vessels, which the Syrians had cast away in their haste.
And the messengers returned, and told the king.

16 And the people went out, and spoiled the tents of the Syrians. So a
measure of fine flour was sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley
for a shekel, according to the word of the LORD.

17 And the king appointed the lord on whose hand he leaned to have the
charge of the gate: and the people trode upon him in the gate, and he
died, as the man of God had said, who spake when the king came down to him.

18 And it came to pass as the man of God had spoken to the king, saying,
Two measures of barley for a shekel, and a measure of fine flour for a
shekel, shall be to morrow about this time in the gate of Samaria:

19 And that lord answered the man of God, and said, Now, behold, if the
LORD should make windows in heaven, might such a thing be? And he said,
Behold, thou shalt see it with thine eyes, but shalt not eat thereof.