Elijah Denounces Ahaziah

1 ^aAfter the death of Ahab, Moab ^brebelled against Israel.

2 Now Ahaziah fell through the lattice in his upper chamber in Samaria, and lay sick; so he sent messengers, telling them, “Go, inquire of ^cBaal-zebub, the god of Ekron, ^dwhether I shall recover from this sickness.” 3 But the angel of the Lord said to Elijah ^ethe Tishbite, “Arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria, and say to them, ‘Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going to inquire of ^cBaal-zebub, the god of Ekron? 4 Now therefore thus says the Lord, ^fYou shall not come down from the bed to which you have gone up, but you shall surely die.’” So Elijah went.

5 The messengers returned to the king, and he said to them, “Why have you returned?” 6 And they said to him, “There came a man to meet us, and said to us, ‘Go back to the king who sent you, and say to him, Thus says the Lord, Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are sending to inquire of ^cBaal-zebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore you shall not come down from the bed to which you have gone up, but you shall surely die.’” 7 He said to them, “What kind of man was he who came to meet you and told you these things?” 8 They answered him, ^g“He wore a garment of hair, with a belt of leather about his waist.” And he said, “It is Elijah the Tishbite.”

9 Then the king sent to him a captain of fifty men with his fifty. He went up to Elijah, who was sitting on the top of a hill, and said to him, ^h“O man of God, the king says, ‘Come down.’” 10 But Elijah answered the captain of fifty, “If I am a man of God, ⁱlet fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty.” Then fire came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty.

11 Again the king sent to him another captain of fifty men with his fifty. And he answered and said to him, “O man of God, this is the king’s order, ‘Come down quickly!’” 12 But Elijah answered them, “If I am a man of God, ^jlet fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty.” Then the fire of God came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty.

13 Again the king sent the captain of a third fifty with his fifty. And the third captain of fifty went up and came and fell on his knees before Elijah and entreated him, “O man of God, please let my life, and the life of these fifty servants of yours, ^kbe precious in your sight. 14 Behold, fire came down from heaven and consumed the two former captains of fifty men with their fifties, but now let my life be precious in your sight.” 15 Then the angel of the Lord said to Elijah, “Go down with him; do not be afraid of him.” So he arose and went down with him to the king 16 and said to him, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Because you have sent messengers to inquire of ^cBaal-zebub, the god of Ekron—is it because there is no God in Israel to inquire of his word?—therefore you shall not come down from the bed to which you have gone up, but you shall surely die.’”

17 So he died according to the word of the Lord that Elijah had spoken. Jehoram became king in his place ^lin the second year of Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, because Ahaziah had no son. 18 Now the rest of the acts of Ahaziah that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?

Elijah Taken to Heaven

1 Now when the Lord was about to ^mtake Elijah up to heaven by a whirlwind, Elijah and ⁿElisha were on their way from ^oGilgal. 2 And Elijah said to Elisha, ^p“Please stay here, for the Lord has sent me as far as Bethel.” But Elisha said, ^q“As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they went down to Bethel. 3 And ^rthe sons of the prophets who were in Bethel came out to Elisha and said to him, “Do you know that today the Lord will take away your master from over you?” And he said, “Yes, I know it; keep quiet.”

4 Elijah said to him, “Elisha, ^pplease stay here, for the Lord has sent me to ^tJericho.” But he said, ^q“As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they came to Jericho. 5 ^rThe sons of the prophets who were at Jericho drew near to Elisha and said to him, “Do you know that today the Lord will take away your master from over you?” And he answered, “Yes, I know it; keep quiet.”

6 Then Elijah said to him, ^p“Please stay here, for the Lord has sent me to the Jordan.” But he said, “As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So the two of them went on. 7 Fifty men of ^rthe sons of the prophets also went and stood at some distance from them, as they both were standing by the Jordan. 8 Then Elijah ^utook his cloak and rolled it up and struck the water, ^vand the water was parted to the one side and to the other, till the two of them could go over on dry ground.

9 When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, “Ask what I shall do for you, before I am taken from you.” And Elisha said, “Please let there be a double portion of your spirit on me.” 10 And he said, “You have asked a hard thing; yet, if you see me as I am being taken from you, it shall be so for you, but if you do not see me, it shall not be so.” 11 And as they still went on and talked, behold, ^wchariots of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them. And Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. 12 And Elisha saw it and he cried, “My father, my father! ^xThe chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” And he saw him no more.

Then he took hold of his own clothes ^yand tore them in two pieces. 13 And he took up the cloak of Elijah that had fallen from him and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. 14 Then he took the cloak of Elijah that had fallen from him and struck the water, saying, “Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah?” And when he had struck the water, ^vthe water was parted to the one side and to the other, and Elisha went over.

Elisha Succeeds Elijah

15 Now when ^rthe sons of the prophets who were at Jericho saw him opposite them, they said, “The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha.” And they came to meet him and bowed to the ground before him. 16 And they said to him, “Behold now, there are with your servants fifty strong men. Please let them go and seek your master. It may be that ^zthe Spirit of the Lord has caught him up and cast him upon some mountain or into some valley.” And he said, “You shall not send.” 17 But when they urged him ^atill he was ashamed, he said, “Send.” They sent therefore fifty men. And for three days they sought him but did not find him. 18 And they came back to him while he was staying at Jericho, and he said to them, “Did I not say to you, ‘Do not go’?”

19 Now the men of the city said to Elisha, “Behold, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord sees, but the water is bad, and the land is unfruitful.” 20 He said, “Bring me a new bowl, and put salt in it.” So they brought it to him. 21 Then he went to the spring of water and ^bthrew salt in it and said, “Thus says the Lord, I have healed this water; from now on neither death nor miscarriage shall come from it.” 22 So the water has been healed to this day, according to the word that Elisha spoke.

23 He went up from there to Bethel, and while he was going up on the way, some small boys came out of the city and jeered at him, saying, “Go up, you baldhead! Go up, you baldhead!” 24 And he turned around, and when he saw them, ^che cursed them in the name of the Lord. And two she-bears came out of the woods and tore forty-two of the boys. 25 From there he went on to ^dMount Carmel, and from there he returned ^eto Samaria.

Your Word Is a Lamp to My Feet

Aleph

Greeting

1 Paul and Timothy, servants¹ of Christ Jesus,

To all the ^asaints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the ^boverseers² and ^cdeacons:³

2 ^dGrace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Thanksgiving and Prayer

3 ^eI thank my God ^fin all my remembrance of you, 4 always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, 5 ^gbecause of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. 6 And I am sure of this, that he who began ^ha good work in you ⁱwill bring it to completion at ^jthe day of Jesus Christ. 7 It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you ^kin my heart, for you are all ^lpartakers with me of grace,⁴ both ^min my imprisonment and in ⁿthe defense and confirmation of the gospel. 8 For ^oGod is my witness, ^phow I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus. 9 And it is my prayer that ^qyour love may abound more and more, ^rwith knowledge and all discernment, 10 so that you may approve what is excellent, ^sand so be pure and blameless ^tfor the day of Christ, 11 filled ^uwith the fruit of righteousness that comes ^vthrough Jesus Christ, ^wto the glory and praise of God.

The Advance of the Gospel

12 I want you to know, brothers,⁵ that what has happened to me has really ^xserved to advance the gospel, 13 so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard⁶ and ^yto all the rest that ^zmy imprisonment is for Christ. 14 And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold ^ato speak the word⁷ without fear.

15 ^bSome indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will. 16 The latter do it out of love, ^cknowing that I am put here for ^dthe defense of the gospel. 17 The former proclaim Christ ^eout of selfish ambition, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment. 18 What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice.

To Live Is Christ

Yes, and I will rejoice, 19 for I know that ^fthrough your prayers and ^gthe help of ^hthe Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance, 20 as it is my eager expectation and hope ⁱthat I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full ^jcourage now as always Christ ^kwill be honored in my body, ^lwhether by life or by death. 21 For to me ^mto live is Christ, and to die is gain. 22 If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. 23 ⁿI am hard pressed between the two. My desire is ^oto depart and ^pbe with Christ, for that is far better. 24 But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. 25 ^qConvinced of this, ^rI know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your ^sprogress and ^tjoy in the faith, 26 so that in me ^uyou may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again.

27 Only ^vlet your manner of life be ^wworthy⁸ of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you ^xthat you are standing firm in one spirit, with ^yone mind ^zstriving side by side for the faith of the gospel, 28 and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is ^aa clear sign to them of their destruction, but ^bof your salvation, and that from God. 29 For ^cit has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also ^bsuffer for his sake, 30 engaged in the same ^dconflict that ^eyou saw I had and now hear that I still have.

Christ’s Example of Humility

1 So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from ^flove, any ^gparticipation in the Spirit, any ^haffection and sympathy, 2 ⁱcomplete my joy by being ^jof the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. 3 Do nothing from ^kselfish ambition or ^lconceit, but in ^mhumility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you ⁿlook not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 ^oHave this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,⁹ 6 ^pwho, though he was in ^qthe form of God, did not count equality with God ^ra thing to be grasped,¹⁰ 7 but ^semptied himself, by taking the form of a ^tservant,^{11 u}being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by ^vbecoming obedient to the point of death, ^weven death on a cross. 9 ^xTherefore ^yGod has ^zhighly exalted him and bestowed on him ^athe name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus ^bevery knee should bow, ^cin heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and ^devery tongue confess that Jesus Christ is ^eLord, to the glory of God the Father.

Lights in the World

12 Therefore, my beloved, ^fas you have always ^gobeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for ^hit is God who works in you, both to will and to work for ⁱhis good pleasure.

14 Do all things ^jwithout grumbling or ^kdisputing, 15 that you may be blameless and innocent, ^lchildren of God ^mwithout blemish ⁿin the midst of ^oa crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine ^pas lights in the world, 16 holding fast to ^qthe word of life, so that in ^rthe day of Christ ^sI may be proud that ^tI did not run in vain or labor in vain. 17 Even if I am to be ^upoured out as a drink offering upon ^vthe sacrificial offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. 18 Likewise you also should be glad and rejoice with me.

Timothy and Epaphroditus

19 I hope in the Lord Jesus ^wto send Timothy to you soon, so that I too may be cheered by news of you. 20 For I have no one ^xlike him, who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare. 21 For they all ^yseek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. 22 But you know Timothy’s^{12 z}proven worth, how ^aas a son¹³ with a father ^bhe has served with me in the gospel. 23 I hope therefore to send him just as soon as I see how it will go with me, 24 and ^cI trust in the Lord that shortly I myself will come also.

25 I have thought it necessary to send to you ^dEpaphroditus my brother and fellow worker and ^efellow soldier, and your messenger and ^fminister to my need, 26 for he has been longing for you all and has been distressed because you heard that he was ill. 27 Indeed he was ill, near to death. But God had mercy on him, and not only on him but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow. 28 I am the more eager to send him, therefore, that you may rejoice at seeing him again, and that I may be less anxious. 29 So ^greceive him in the Lord with all joy, and ^hhonor such men, 30 for he nearly died^{14 i}for the work of Christ, risking his life ^jto complete what was lacking in your service to me.