Elijah Denounces Ahaziah

1 ^aAfter the ^bdeath of Ahab, Moab ^crebelled against Israel.

2 Now ^dAhaziah fell through the lattice in his upper chamber in Samaria, and lay sick; so he sent messengers, telling them, “Go, inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of ^eEkron, ^fwhether I shall recover from this sickness.” 3 But the ^gangel of the Lord said to ^hElijah the 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 Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron? 4 Now therefore thus says the Lord, You 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 Baal-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, “He wore a ⁱgarment 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, “O man of God, the king says, ‘Come down.’” 10 But Elijah answered the captain of fifty, “If I am a man of God, let ^jfire 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, let 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, be 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 Baal-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. ^kJehoram became king in his place in the second year of ^lJehoram 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 ^mBook of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?

Elijah Taken to Heaven

1 Now when the Lord was about to take ⁿElijah up to heaven by a whirlwind, Elijah and ^oElisha were on their way from Gilgal. 2 And Elijah said to Elisha, “Please stay here, for the Lord has sent me as far as Bethel.” But Elisha said, “As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, ^pI will not leave you.” So they went down to Bethel. 3 And the ^qsons 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, please stay here, for the Lord has sent me to Jericho.” But he said, “As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they came to Jericho. 5 The 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, “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 the sons of the prophets also went and stood at some distance from them, as they both were standing by the Jordan. 8 Then Elijah took his ^rcloak and rolled it up and struck the water, ^sand 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 ^tlet there be a ^udouble 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, ^vchariots of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them. And Elijah ^wwent up by a whirlwind into heaven. 12 And Elisha saw it and he cried, ^x“My father, my father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” And he saw him no more.

Then he took hold of his own clothes and 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, the water was parted to the one side and to the other, and Elisha went over.

Elisha Succeeds Elijah

15 Now when the 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 the Spirit of the Lord has ^ycaught 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 till 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 ^zthrew 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 ^ato 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, he 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 Mount ^bCarmel, and from there he returned to Samaria.

Your Word Is a Lamp to My Feet

Aleph

Greeting

1 Paul and Timothy, servants¹ of Christ Jesus,

To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers² and deacons:³

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

Thanksgiving and Prayer

3 ^aI thank my God in all my ^bremembrance of you, 4 always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with ^cjoy, 5 because of ^dyour partnership in the gospel ^efrom the first day until now. 6 And I am sure of this, that ^fhe who began a good work in you ^gwill bring it to completion at the ^hday of Jesus Christ. 7 It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you ⁱin my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace,⁴ both in my ^jimprisonment and in the ^kdefense and confirmation of the gospel. 8 For ^lGod is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus. 9 And it is my prayer that ^myour love may abound more and more, with ⁿknowledge and all discernment, 10 so that you may ^oapprove what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, 11 filled with the ^pfruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, ^qto 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 ^rhas really served to advance the gospel, 13 so that it has become known ^sthroughout the whole imperial guard⁶ and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. 14 And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word⁷ without fear.

15 ^tSome indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will. 16 The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. 17 The former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment. 18 What then? ^uOnly 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 ^vthrough your prayers and the help of the ^wSpirit of Jesus Christ ^xthis will turn out for my deliverance, 20 as it is my eager expectation and ^yhope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full ^zcourage now as always Christ will be ^ahonored in my body, whether by life or by death. 21 ^bFor to me to live is Christ, and to die is ^cgain. 22 ^dIf I am to live in the flesh, that means ^efruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. 23 I am hard pressed between the two. ^fMy desire is to ^gdepart and be with Christ, for that is far better. 24 But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. 25 ^hConvinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your ⁱprogress and joy in the faith, 26 so that ^jin me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again.

27 Only ^klet your manner of life be worthy⁸ of the gospel of Christ, so that ^lwhether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are ^mstanding firm in one spirit, ⁿwith one mind ^ostriving side by side for the faith of the gospel, 28 and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a ^pclear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God. 29 For ^qit has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake, 30 engaged in the same conflict ^rthat you 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 love, any ^sparticipation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, 2 ^tcomplete my joy by ^ubeing of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. 3 Do nothing from ^vselfish ambition or ^wconceit, ^xbut in ^yhumility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 ^zLet each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 ^aHave this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,⁹ 6 ^bwho, ^cthough ^dhe was in the form of God, ^edid not count ^fequality with God a thing to be grasped,¹⁰ 7 but ^gemptied himself, by taking the form of a servant,^{11 h}being born ⁱin the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he ^jhumbled himself by becoming ^kobedient to the point of death, ^leven death on a cross. 9 ^mTherefore God has highly ⁿexalted him and bestowed on him the name that is ^oabove every name, 10 so that at the ^pname of Jesus ^qevery knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue ^rconfess that ^sJesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Lights in the World

12 Therefore, my beloved, ^tas you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, ^uwork out your own salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who ^vworks in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

14 Do all things ^wwithout grumbling or ^xdisputing, 15 that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a ^ycrooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as ^zlights in the world, 16 holding fast to the ^aword of life, so that in the day of Christ ^bI may be proud that I did not ^crun ^din vain or labor in vain. 17 ^eEven if I am to be poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrificial offering of your faith, ^fI am glad and ^grejoice with you all. 18 Likewise you also should be glad and rejoice with me.

Timothy and Epaphroditus

19 ^hI hope in the Lord Jesus ⁱto send Timothy to you soon, so that I too may be cheered by news of you. 20 For I have no one like him, who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare. 21 For they all seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. 22 But you know Timothy’s¹² proven worth, how as a ^json¹³ with a father ^khe 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 ^lI trust in the Lord that shortly I myself will come also.

25 I have thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus my brother and fellow worker and ^mfellow soldier, and your messenger and minister 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 ⁿreceive him in the Lord with all joy, and ^ohonor such men, 30 for he ^pnearly died¹⁴ for the work of Christ, risking his life ^qto complete what was lacking in your service to me.