Elijah Flees Jezebel

1 Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and how ^qhe had killed all the prophets with the sword. 2 Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, ^r“So may the gods do to me and more also, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by this time tomorrow.” 3 Then he was afraid, and he arose and ran for his life and came to ^sBeersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there.

4 But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness and came and sat down under a broom tree. ^tAnd he asked that he might die, saying, “It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life, for I am no better than my fathers.” 5 And he lay down and slept under a broom tree. And behold, an angel touched him and said to him, “Arise and eat.” 6 And he looked, and behold, there was at his head a cake baked on hot stones and a jar of water. And he ate and drank and lay down again. 7 And the angel of the Lord came again a second time and touched him and said, “Arise and eat, for the journey is too great for you.” 8 And he arose and ate and drank, and went in the strength of that food ^uforty days and forty nights to ^vHoreb, the mount of God.

The Lord Speaks to Elijah

9 There he came to a cave and lodged in it. And behold, ^wthe word of the Lord came to him, and he said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” 10 He said, “I have been very ^xjealous for the Lord, the God of hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, ^ythrown down your altars, and ^zkilled your prophets with the sword, ^aand I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away.” 11 And he said, “Go out and ^bstand on the mount before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and ^ca great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind ^dan earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. 12 And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper.¹ 13 And when Elijah heard it, ^ehe wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And behold, ^fthere came a voice to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” 14 He said, ^x“I have been very jealous for the Lord, the God of hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, ^ythrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword, and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away.” 15 And the Lord said to him, “Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus. And when you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael to be king over Syria. 16 ^gAnd Jehu the son of Nimshi you shall anoint to be king over Israel, and ^hElisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah you shall anoint to be prophet in your place. 17 And the one who escapes from ⁱthe sword of Hazael ^jshall Jehu put to death, and the one who escapes from the sword of Jehu ^kshall Elisha put to death. 18 ^lYet I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not ^mkissed him.”

The Call of Elisha

19 So he departed from there and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen in front of him, and he was with the twelfth. Elijah passed by him and cast ⁿhis cloak upon him. 20 And he left the oxen and ran after Elijah and said, ^o“Let me kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you.” And he said to him, “Go back again, for what have I done to you?” 21 And he returned from following him and took the yoke of oxen and sacrificed them and boiled their flesh ^pwith the yokes of the oxen and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he arose and went after Elijah and assisted him.

Righteousness Through Faith in Christ

1 Finally, my brothers,^{1 k}rejoice in the Lord. ^lTo write the same things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you.

2 Look out for ^mthe dogs, look out for ⁿthe evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh. 3 For ^owe are the circumcision, ^pwho worship ^qby the Spirit of God² and ^rglory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh— 4 ^sthough I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 ^tcircumcised on the eighth day, ^uof the people of Israel, ^vof the tribe of Benjamin, ^ua Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, ^wa Pharisee; 6 ^xas to zeal, ^ya persecutor of the church; ^zas to righteousness under the law,³ blameless. 7 But ^awhatever gain I had, ^bI counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of ^cthe surpassing worth of ^dknowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I ^ehave suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having ^fa righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but ^gthat which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— 10 ^hthat I may know him and ⁱthe power of his resurrection, and ^jmay share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 that by any means possible I may ^kattain the resurrection from the dead.

Straining Toward the Goal

12 Not that I have already ^lobtained this or ^mam already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. 13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: ⁿforgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for ^othe prize of the upward ^pcall of God in Christ Jesus. 15 Let those of us who are ^qmature think this way, and if in anything ^ryou think otherwise, ^sGod will reveal that also to you. 16 Only ^tlet us hold true to what we have attained.

17 Brothers, ^ujoin in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk ^vaccording to the example you have in us. 18 For ^wmany, of whom I have often told you and now tell you ^xeven with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. 19 ^yTheir end is destruction, ^ztheir god is their belly, and ^athey glory in their shame, with ^bminds set on earthly things. 20 But ^cour citizenship is in heaven, and ^dfrom it we ^eawait a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who will transform ^four lowly body ^gto be like his glorious body, ^hby the power that enables him even ⁱto subject all things to himself.

Woe to Those at Ease in Zion

8 ⁿThe Lord God has sworn by himself, declares the Lord, the God of hosts:

9 And ^qif ten men remain in one house, they shall die. 10 And when one’s relative, ^rthe one who anoints him for burial, shall take him up to bring the bones out of the house, and shall say to him who is in the innermost parts of the house, “Is there still anyone with you?” he shall say, “No”; and he shall say, ^s“Silence! We must not mention the name of the Lord.”

Who Is like the Lord Our God?