DRAWING FROM the RIGHT WELL

Competing for Christ

Wait Well: Trusting God's Timing

Who Owns Your Time?

Faith That Endures

Journey Through 1 Thessalonians

Overcoming Marital Anxiety

Lifestyle of Worship - Part 2

When to Forgive and Stand Firm

Praying God's Word: 7-Day Guide for the Buddhist World

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 bk2KI">
 <div class="chapter ch6" data-usfm="2KI.6">
 <div class="label">6</div><div class="s1">An Axhead Floats</div><div class="p"> 1The company of the prophets said to Elisha, &#8220;Look, the place where we meet with you is too small for us. 2Let us go to the Jordan, where each of us can get a pole; and let us build a place there for us to meet.&#8221;</div><div class="p">And he said, &#8220;Go.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 3Then one of them said, &#8220;Won&#8217;t you please come with your servants?&#8221;</div><div class="p">&#8220;I will,&#8221; Elisha replied. 4And he went with them.</div><div class="p">They went to the Jordan and began to cut down trees. 5As one of them was cutting down a tree, the iron axhead fell into the water. &#8220;Oh no, my lord!&#8221; he cried out. &#8220;It was borrowed!&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 6The man of God asked, &#8220;Where did it fall?&#8221; When he showed him the place, Elisha cut a stick and threw it there, and made the iron float. 7&#8220;Lift it out,&#8221; he said. Then the man reached out his hand and took it.</div><div class="s1">Elisha Traps Blinded Arameans</div><div class="p"> 8Now the king of Aram was at war with Israel. After conferring with his officers, he said, &#8220;I will set up my camp in such and such a place.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 9The man of God sent word to the king of Israel: &#8220;Beware of passing that place, because the Arameans are going down there.&#8221; 10So the king of Israel checked on the place indicated by the man of God. Time and again Elisha warned the king, so that he was on his guard in such places.</div><div class="p"> 11This enraged the king of Aram. He summoned his officers and demanded of them, &#8220;Tell me! Which of us is on the side of the king of Israel?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 12&#8220;None of us, my lord the king,&#8221; said one of his officers, &#8220;but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the very words you speak in your bedroom.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 13&#8220;Go, find out where he is,&#8221; the king ordered, &#8220;so I can send men and capture him.&#8221; The report came back: &#8220;He is in Dothan.&#8221; 14Then he sent horses and chariots and a strong force there. They went by night and surrounded the city.</div><div class="p"> 15When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. &#8220;Oh no, my lord! What shall we do?&#8221; the servant asked.</div><div class="p"> 16&#8220;Don&#8217;t be afraid,&#8221; the prophet answered. &#8220;Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 17And Elisha prayed, &#8220;Open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see.&#8221; Then the Lord opened the servant&#8217;s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.</div><div class="p"> 18As the enemy came down toward him, Elisha prayed to the Lord, &#8220;Strike this army with blindness.&#8221; So he struck them with blindness, as Elisha had asked.</div><div class="p"> 19Elisha told them, &#8220;This is not the road and this is not the city. Follow me, and I will lead you to the man you are looking for.&#8221; And he led them to Samaria.</div><div class="p"> 20After they entered the city, Elisha said, &#8220;Lord, open the eyes of these men so they can see.&#8221; Then the Lord opened their eyes and they looked, and there they were, inside Samaria.</div><div class="p"> 21When the king of Israel saw them, he asked Elisha, &#8220;Shall I kill them, my father? Shall I kill them?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 22&#8220;Do not kill them,&#8221; he answered. &#8220;Would you kill those you have captured with your own sword or bow? Set food and water before them so that they may eat and drink and then go back to their master.&#8221; 23So he prepared a great feast for them, and after they had finished eating and drinking, he sent them away, and they returned to their master. So the bands from Aram stopped raiding Israel&#8217;s territory.</div><div class="s1">Famine in Besieged Samaria</div><div class="p"> 24Some time later, Ben-Hadad king of Aram mobilized his entire army and marched up and laid siege to Samaria. 25There was a great famine in the city; the siege lasted so long that a donkey&#8217;s head sold for eighty shekels#6:25 That is, about 2 pounds or about 920 grams of silver, and a quarter of a cab#6:25 That is, probably about 1/4 pound or about 100 grams of seed pods#6:25 Or of doves&#8217; dung for five shekels.#6:25 That is, about 2 ounces or about 58 grams</div><div class="p"> 26As the king of Israel was passing by on the wall, a woman cried to him, &#8220;Help me, my lord the king!&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 27The king replied, &#8220;If the Lord does not help you, where can I get help for you? From the threshing floor? From the winepress?&#8221; 28Then he asked her, &#8220;What&#8217;s the matter?&#8221;</div><div class="p">She answered, &#8220;This woman said to me, &#8216;Give up your son so we may eat him today, and tomorrow we&#8217;ll eat my son.&#8217; 29So we cooked my son and ate him. The next day I said to her, &#8216;Give up your son so we may eat him,&#8217; but she had hidden him.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 30When the king heard the woman&#8217;s words, he tore his robes. As he went along the wall, the people looked, and they saw that, under his robes, he had sackcloth on his body. 31He said, &#8220;May God deal with me, be it ever so severely, if the head of Elisha son of Shaphat remains on his shoulders today!&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 32Now Elisha was sitting in his house, and the elders were sitting with him. The king sent a messenger ahead, but before he arrived, Elisha said to the elders, &#8220;Don&#8217;t you see how this murderer is sending someone to cut off my head? Look, when the messenger comes, shut the door and hold it shut against him. Is not the sound of his master&#8217;s footsteps behind him?&#8221; 33While he was still talking to them, the messenger came down to him.</div><div class="p">The king said, &#8220;This disaster is from the Lord. Why should I wait for the Lord any longer?&#8221;</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bk2KI">
 <div class="chapter ch7" data-usfm="2KI.7">
 <div class="label">7</div><div class="p"> 1Elisha replied, &#8220;Hear the word of the Lord. This is what the Lord says: About this time tomorrow, a seah#7:1 That is, probably about 12 pounds or about 5.5 kilograms of flour; also in verses 16 and 18 of the finest flour will sell for a shekel#7:1 That is, about 2/5 ounce or about 12 grams; also in verses 16 and 18 and two seahs#7:1 That is, probably about 20 pounds or about 9 kilograms of barley; also in verses 16 and 18 of barley for a shekel at the gate of Samaria.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 2The officer on whose arm the king was leaning said to the man of God, &#8220;Look, even if the Lord should open the floodgates of the heavens, could this happen?&#8221;</div><div class="p">&#8220;You will see it with your own eyes,&#8221; answered Elisha, &#8220;but you will not eat any of it!&#8221;</div><div class="s1">The Siege Lifted</div><div class="p"> 3Now there were four men with leprosy#7:3 The Hebrew for leprosy was used for various diseases affecting the skin; also in verse 8. at the entrance of the city gate. They said to each other, &#8220;Why stay here until we die? 4If we say, &#8216;We&#8217;ll go into the city&#8217;&#8212;the famine is there, and we will die. And if we stay here, we will die. So let&#8217;s go over to the camp of the Arameans and surrender. If they spare us, we live; if they kill us, then we die.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 5At dusk they got up and went to the camp of the Arameans. When they reached the edge of the camp, no one was there, 6for the Lord had caused the Arameans to hear the sound of chariots and horses and a great army, so that they said to one another, &#8220;Look, the king of Israel has hired the Hittite and Egyptian kings to attack us!&#8221; 7So they got up and fled in the dusk and abandoned their tents and their horses and donkeys. They left the camp as it was and ran for their lives.</div><div class="p"> 8The men who had leprosy reached the edge of the camp, entered one of the tents and ate and drank. Then they took silver, gold and clothes, and went off and hid them. They returned and entered another tent and took some things from it and hid them also.</div><div class="p"> 9Then they said to each other, &#8220;What we&#8217;re doing is not right. This is a day of good news and we are keeping it to ourselves. If we wait until daylight, punishment will overtake us. Let&#8217;s go at once and report this to the royal palace.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 10So they went and called out to the city gatekeepers and told them, &#8220;We went into the Aramean camp and no one was there&#8212;not a sound of anyone&#8212;only tethered horses and donkeys, and the tents left just as they were.&#8221; 11The gatekeepers shouted the news, and it was reported within the palace.</div><div class="p"> 12The king got up in the night and said to his officers, &#8220;I will tell you what the Arameans have done to us. They know we are starving; so they have left the camp to hide in the countryside, thinking, &#8216;They will surely come out, and then we will take them alive and get into the city.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 13One of his officers answered, &#8220;Have some men take five of the horses that are left in the city. Their plight will be like that of all the Israelites left here&#8212;yes, they will only be like all these Israelites who are doomed. So let us send them to find out what happened.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 14So they selected two chariots with their horses, and the king sent them after the Aramean army. He commanded the drivers, &#8220;Go and find out what has happened.&#8221; 15They followed them as far as the Jordan, and they found the whole road strewn with the clothing and equipment the Arameans had thrown away in their headlong flight. So the messengers returned and reported to the king. 16Then the people went out and plundered the camp of the Arameans. So a seah of the finest flour sold for a shekel, and two seahs of barley sold for a shekel, as the Lord had said.</div><div class="p"> 17Now the king had put the officer on whose arm he leaned in charge of the gate, and the people trampled him in the gateway, and he died, just as the man of God had foretold when the king came down to his house. 18It happened as the man of God had said to the king: &#8220;About this time tomorrow, a seah of the finest flour will sell for a shekel and two seahs of barley for a shekel at the gate of Samaria.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 19The officer had said to the man of God, &#8220;Look, even if the Lord should open the floodgates of the heavens, could this happen?&#8221; The man of God had replied, &#8220;You will see it with your own eyes, but you will not eat any of it!&#8221; 20And that is exactly what happened to him, for the people trampled him in the gateway, and he died.</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bkPSA">
 <div class="chapter ch115" data-usfm="PSA.115">
 <div class="label">115</div><div class="cl">Psalm 115</div><div class="q1"> 1Not to us, Lord, not to us</div><div class="q2">but to your name be the glory,</div><div class="q2">because of your love and faithfulness.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 2Why do the nations say,</div><div class="q2">&#8220;Where is their God?&#8221;</div><div class="q1"> 3Our God is in heaven;</div><div class="q2">he does whatever pleases him.</div><div class="q1"> 4But their idols are silver and gold,</div><div class="q2">made by human hands.</div><div class="q1"> 5They have mouths, but cannot speak,</div><div class="q2">eyes, but cannot see.</div><div class="q1"> 6They have ears, but cannot hear,</div><div class="q2">noses, but cannot smell.</div><div class="q1"> 7They have hands, but cannot feel,</div><div class="q2">feet, but cannot walk,</div><div class="q2">nor can they utter a sound with their throats.</div><div class="q1"> 8Those who make them will be like them,</div><div class="q2">and so will all who trust in them.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 9All you Israelites, trust in the Lord&#8212;</div><div class="q2">he is their help and shield.</div><div class="q1"> 10House of Aaron, trust in the Lord&#8212;</div><div class="q2">he is their help and shield.</div><div class="q1"> 11You who fear him, trust in the Lord&#8212;</div><div class="q2">he is their help and shield.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 12The Lord remembers us and will bless us:</div><div class="q2">He will bless his people Israel,</div><div class="q2">he will bless the house of Aaron,</div><div class="q1"> 13he will bless those who fear the Lord&#8212;</div><div class="q2">small and great alike.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 14May the Lord cause you to flourish,</div><div class="q2">both you and your children.</div><div class="q1"> 15May you be blessed by the Lord,</div><div class="q2">the Maker of heaven and earth.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 16The highest heavens belong to the Lord,</div><div class="q2">but the earth he has given to mankind.</div><div class="q1"> 17It is not the dead who praise the Lord,</div><div class="q2">those who go down to the place of silence;</div><div class="q1"> 18it is we who extol the Lord,</div><div class="q2">both now and forevermore.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1">Praise the Lord.#115:18 Hebrew Hallelu Yah</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bkREV">
 <div class="chapter ch17" data-usfm="REV.17">
 <div class="label">17</div><div class="s1">Babylon, the Prostitute on the Beast</div><div class="p"> 1One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me, &#8220;Come, I will show you the punishment of the great prostitute, who sits by many waters. 2With her the kings of the earth committed adultery, and the inhabitants of the earth were intoxicated with the wine of her adulteries.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 3Then the angel carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness. There I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was covered with blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten horns. 4The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and was glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls. She held a golden cup in her hand, filled with abominable things and the filth of her adulteries. 5The name written on her forehead was a mystery:</div><div class="pc">babylon the great</div><div class="pc">the mother of prostitutes</div><div class="pc">and of the abominations of the earth.</div><div class="m"> 6I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of God&#8217;s holy people, the blood of those who bore testimony to Jesus.</div><div class="p">When I saw her, I was greatly astonished. 7Then the angel said to me: &#8220;Why are you astonished? I will explain to you the mystery of the woman and of the beast she rides, which has the seven heads and ten horns. 8The beast, which you saw, once was, now is not, and yet will come up out of the Abyss and go to its destruction. The inhabitants of the earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the creation of the world will be astonished when they see the beast, because it once was, now is not, and yet will come.</div><div class="p"> 9&#8220;This calls for a mind with wisdom. The seven heads are seven hills on which the woman sits. 10They are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; but when he does come, he must remain for only a little while. 11The beast who once was, and now is not, is an eighth king. He belongs to the seven and is going to his destruction.</div><div class="p"> 12&#8220;The ten horns you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but who for one hour will receive authority as kings along with the beast. 13They have one purpose and will give their power and authority to the beast. 14They will wage war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will triumph over them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings&#8212;and with him will be his called, chosen and faithful followers.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 15Then the angel said to me, &#8220;The waters you saw, where the prostitute sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations and languages. 16The beast and the ten horns you saw will hate the prostitute. They will bring her to ruin and leave her naked; they will eat her flesh and burn her with fire. 17For God has put it into their hearts to accomplish his purpose by agreeing to hand over to the beast their royal authority, until God&#8217;s words are fulfilled. 18The woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth.&#8221;</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bkLUK">
 <div class="chapter ch23" data-usfm="LUK.23">
 <div class="label">23</div><div class="p"> 1Then the whole assembly rose and led him off to Pilate. 2And they began to accuse him, saying, &#8220;We have found this man subverting our nation. He opposes payment of taxes to Caesar and claims to be Messiah, a king.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 3So Pilate asked Jesus, &#8220;Are you the king of the Jews?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> &#8220;You have said so,&#8221; Jesus replied.</div><div class="p"> 4Then Pilate announced to the chief priests and the crowd, &#8220;I find no basis for a charge against this man.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 5But they insisted, &#8220;He stirs up the people all over Judea by his teaching. He started in Galilee and has come all the way here.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 6On hearing this, Pilate asked if the man was a Galilean. 7When he learned that Jesus was under Herod&#8217;s jurisdiction, he sent him to Herod, who was also in Jerusalem at that time.</div><div class="p"> 8When Herod saw Jesus, he was greatly pleased, because for a long time he had been wanting to see him. From what he had heard about him, he hoped to see him perform a sign of some sort. 9He plied him with many questions, but Jesus gave him no answer. 10The chief priests and the teachers of the law were standing there, vehemently accusing him. 11Then Herod and his soldiers ridiculed and mocked him. Dressing him in an elegant robe, they sent him back to Pilate. 12That day Herod and Pilate became friends&#8212;before this they had been enemies.</div><div class="p"> 13Pilate called together the chief priests, the rulers and the people, 14and said to them, &#8220;You brought me this man as one who was inciting the people to rebellion. I have examined him in your presence and have found no basis for your charges against him. 15Neither has Herod, for he sent him back to us; as you can see, he has done nothing to deserve death. 16Therefore, I will punish him and then release him.&#8221; [17]#23:17 Some manuscripts include here words similar to Matt. 27:15 and Mark 15:6.</div><div class="p"> 18But the whole crowd shouted, &#8220;Away with this man! Release Barabbas to us!&#8221; 19(Barabbas had been thrown into prison for an insurrection in the city, and for murder.)</div><div class="p"> 20Wanting to release Jesus, Pilate appealed to them again. 21But they kept shouting, &#8220;Crucify him! Crucify him!&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 22For the third time he spoke to them: &#8220;Why? What crime has this man committed? I have found in him no grounds for the death penalty. Therefore I will have him punished and then release him.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 23But with loud shouts they insistently demanded that he be crucified, and their shouts prevailed. 24So Pilate decided to grant their demand. 25He released the man who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, the one they asked for, and surrendered Jesus to their will.</div><div class="s1">The Crucifixion of Jesus</div><div class="p"> 26As the soldiers led him away, they seized Simon from Cyrene, who was on his way in from the country, and put the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus. 27A large number of people followed him, including women who mourned and wailed for him. 28Jesus turned and said to them, &#8220;Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep for yourselves and for your children. 29For the time will come when you will say, &#8216;Blessed are the childless women, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!&#8217; 30Then</div><div class="q1"> &#8220;&#8198;&#8216;they will say to the mountains, &#8220;Fall on us!&#8221;</div><div class="q2"> and to the hills, &#8220;Cover us!&#8221;&#8198;&#8217; # 23:30 
 Hosea 10:8
 </div><div class="m"> 31 For if people do these things when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 32Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed. 33When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him there, along with the criminals&#8212;one on his right, the other on his left. 34Jesus said, &#8220;Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.&#8221;#23:34 Some early manuscripts do not have this sentence. And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.</div><div class="p"> 35The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, &#8220;He saved others; let him save himself if he is God&#8217;s Messiah, the Chosen One.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 36The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar 37and said, &#8220;If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 38There was a written notice above him, which read: this is the king of the jews.</div><div class="p"> 39One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: &#8220;Aren&#8217;t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 40But the other criminal rebuked him. &#8220;Don&#8217;t you fear God,&#8221; he said, &#8220;since you are under the same sentence? 41We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 42Then he said, &#8220;Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.#23:42 Some manuscripts come with your kingly power&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 43Jesus answered him, &#8220;Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.&#8221;</div><div class="s1">The Death of Jesus</div><div class="p"> 44It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, 45for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. 46Jesus called out with a loud voice, &#8220;Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.&#8221;#23:46 Psalm 31:5 When he had said this, he breathed his last.</div><div class="p"> 47The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God and said, &#8220;Surely this was a righteous man.&#8221; 48When all the people who had gathered to witness this sight saw what took place, they beat their breasts and went away. 49But all those who knew him, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things.</div><div class="s1">The Burial of Jesus</div><div class="p"> 50Now there was a man named Joseph, a member of the Council, a good and upright man, 51who had not consented to their decision and action. He came from the Judean town of Arimathea, and he himself was waiting for the kingdom of God. 52Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus&#8217; body. 53Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen cloth and placed it in a tomb cut in the rock, one in which no one had yet been laid. 54It was Preparation Day, and the Sabbath was about to begin.</div><div class="p"> 55The women who had come with Jesus from Galilee followed Joseph and saw the tomb and how his body was laid in it. 56Then they went home and prepared spices and perfumes. But they rested on the Sabbath in obedience to the commandment.</div>
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