The sentries patrolling the city saw me. I asked them, "Have you found my lover?"

On your walls, Jerusalem, I have placed sentries; They must never be silent day or night. They must remind the LORD of his promises And never let him forget them.

Then the LORD appointed sentries to listen for the trumpet's warning. But they said, "We will not listen."

Yes, the time is coming when sentries will call out on the hills of Ephraim, 'Let's go up to Zion, to the LORD our God.' "

"Mortal man," he said, "I am making you a lookout for the nation of Israel. You will pass on to them the warnings I give you.

"Now, mortal man, I am making you a lookout for the nation of Israel. You must pass on to them the warnings I give you.

Even the best and most honest of them are as worthless as weeds. The day has come when God will punish the people, as he warned them through their watchmen, the prophets. Now they are in confusion.

Obey your leaders and follow their orders. They watch over your souls without resting, since they must give to God an account of their service. If you obey them, they will do their work gladly; if not, they will do it with sadness, and that would be of no help to you.

A prophet named Elijah, from Tishbe in Gilead, said to King Ahab, "In the name of the LORD, the living God of Israel, whom I serve, I tell you that there will be no dew or rain for the next two or three years until I say so."

After some time, in the third year of the drought, the LORD said to Elijah, "Go and present yourself to King Ahab, and I will send rain."

At the hour of the afternoon sacrifice the prophet Elijah approached the altar and prayed, "O LORD, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, prove now that you are the God of Israel and that I am your servant and have done all this at your command.

The LORD sent fire down, and it burned up the sacrifice, the wood, and the stones, scorched the earth and dried up the water in the trench.

"If you return safely," Micaiah exclaimed, "then the LORD has not spoken through me!" And he added, "Listen, everyone, to what I have said!"

He struck the water with Elijah's cloak and said, "Where is the LORD, the God of Elijah?" Then he struck the water again, and it divided, and he walked over to the other side.

and he went to the spring, threw the salt in the water, and said, "This is what the LORD says: 'I make this water pure, and it will not cause any more deaths or miscarriages.' "

Now get me a musician." As the musician played his harp, the power of the LORD came on Elisha,

Even though you will not see any rain or wind, this stream bed will be filled with water, and you, your livestock, and your pack animals will have plenty to drink.' "

You will conquer all their beautiful fortified cities; you will cut down all their fruit trees, stop all their springs, and ruin all their fertile fields by covering them with stones."

The widow of a member of a group of prophets went to Elisha and said, "Sir, my husband has died! As you know, he was a God-fearing man, but now a man he owed money to has come to take away my two sons as slaves in payment for my husband's debt."

"Go to your neighbors and borrow as many empty jars as you can," Elisha told her.

So the woman went into her house with her sons, closed the door, took the small jar of olive oil, and poured oil into the jars as her sons brought them to her.

She went back to Elisha, the prophet, who said to her, "Sell the olive oil and pay all your debts, and there will be enough money left over for you and your sons to live on."

He closed the door and prayed to the LORD.

Elisha got up, walked around the room, and then went back and again stretched himself over the boy. The boy sneezed seven times and then opened his eyes.

She fell at Elisha's feet, with her face touching the ground; then she took her son and left.

but he answered, "Do you think this is enough for a hundred men?" Elisha replied, "Give it to them to eat, because the LORD says that they will eat and still have some left over."

So Naaman went down to the Jordan, dipped himself in it seven times, as Elisha had instructed, and he was completely cured. His flesh became firm and healthy like that of a child.

And now Naaman's disease will come upon you, and you and your descendants will have it forever!" When Gehazi left, he had the disease---his skin was as white as snow.

Then he prayed, "O LORD, open his eyes and let him see!" The LORD answered his prayer, and Elisha's servant looked up and saw the hillside covered with horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.

When the Syrians attacked, Elisha prayed, "O LORD, strike these men blind!" The LORD answered his prayer and struck them blind.

The personal attendant of the king said to Elisha, "That can't happen---not even if the LORD himself were to send grain at once!" "You will see it happen, but you won't get to eat any of the food," Elisha replied.

to which the officer had answered, "That can't happen---not even if the LORD himself were to send grain at once!" And Elisha had replied, "You will see it happen, but you won't get to eat any of the food."

One time during a funeral, one of those bands was seen, and the people threw the corpse into Elisha's tomb and ran off. As soon as the body came into contact with Elisha's bones, the man came back to life and stood up.

"Listen to this, you priests! Pay attention, people of Israel! Listen, you that belong to the royal family! You are supposed to judge with justice---so judgment will fall on you! You have become a trap at Mizpah, a net spread on Mount Tabor,

Now order all the people of Israel to meet me at Mount Carmel. Bring along the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of the goddess Asherah who are supported by Queen Jezebel."

So Ahab called in the prophets, about four hundred of them, and asked them, "Should I go and attack Ramoth, or not?" "Attack it," they answered. "The Lord will give you victory."

One of them, Zedekiah son of Chenaanah, made iron horns and said to Ahab, "This is what the LORD says: 'With these you will fight the Syrians and totally defeat them.' "

'How?' the LORD asked. The spirit replied, 'I will go and make all of Ahab's prophets tell lies.' The LORD said, 'Go and deceive him. You will succeed.' "

They act as if my people's wounds were only scratches. 'All is well,' they say, when all is not well.

Then I said, "Sovereign LORD, you know that the prophets are telling the people that there will be no war or starvation, because you have promised, they say, that there will be only peace in our land."

Your prophets had nothing to tell you but lies; Their preaching deceived you by never exposing your sin. They made you think you did not need to repent.

But it happened, because her prophets sinned and her priests were guilty of causing the death of innocent people.

They would not have been guilty of sin if I had not done among them the things that no one else ever did; as it is, they have seen what I did, and they hate both me and my Father.

But what if my untruth serves God's glory by making his truth stand out more clearly? Why should I still be condemned as a sinner?