Elijah Taken to Heaven

2 Now when the Lord was about to ^(A)take Elijah up to heaven by a whirlwind, Elijah and ^(B)Elisha were on their way from ^(C)Gilgal. ² And Elijah said to Elisha, ^(D)“Please stay here, for the Lord has sent me as far as Bethel.” But Elisha said, ^(E)“As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they went down to Bethel. ³ And ^(F)the 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, ^(G)please stay here, for the Lord has sent me to ^(H)Jericho.” But he said, ^(I)“As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they came to Jericho. ^5 (J)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, ^(K)“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 ^(L)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 ^(M)took his cloak and rolled it up and struck the water, ^(N)and 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, ^(O)chariots 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! ^(P)The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” And he saw him no more.

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

Elisha Succeeds Elijah

¹⁵ Now when ^(S)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.

Tremble at the Presence of the Lord

The Mystery of the Gospel Revealed

3 For this reason I, Paul, ^(A)a prisoner of Christ Jesus ^(B)on behalf of you Gentiles— ² assuming that you have heard of ^(C)the stewardship of ^(D)God's grace that was given to me for you, ^3 (E)how the mystery was made known to me ^(F)by revelation, ^(G)as I have written briefly. ^4 (H)When you read this, you can perceive my insight into ^(I)the mystery of Christ, ⁵ which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. ⁶ This mystery is^[a] that the Gentiles are ^(J)fellow heirs, ^(K)members of the same body, and ^(L)partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.

^7 (M)Of this gospel I was made ^(N)a minister according to the gift of ^(O)God's grace, which was given me ^(P)by the working of his power.

⁸ To me, ^(A)though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, ^(B)to preach to the Gentiles the ^(C)unsearchable ^(D)riches of Christ, ⁹ and ^(E)to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery ^(F)hidden for ages in^[a] God, ^(G)who created all things, ¹⁰ so that through the church the manifold ^(H)wisdom of God ^(I)might now be made known to ^(J)the rulers and authorities ^(K)in the heavenly places. ¹¹ This was ^(L)according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, ¹² in whom we have ^(M)boldness and ^(N)access with ^(O)confidence through our ^(P)faith in him. ¹³ So I ask you not to lose heart over what I am suffering ^(Q)for you, ^(R)which is your glory.

Prayer for Spiritual Strength

¹⁴ For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, ¹⁵ from whom ^(S)every family^[b] in heaven and on earth is named, ¹⁶ that according to ^(T)the riches of his glory ^(U)he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit ^(V)in your inner being, ^17 (W)so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being ^(X)rooted and ^(Y)grounded in love, ¹⁸ may have strength to ^(Z)comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and ^(AA)height and depth, ¹⁹ and to know the love of Christ ^(AB)that surpasses knowledge, that ^(AC)you may be filled with all ^(AD)the fullness of God.

^20 (AE)Now to ^(AF)him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, ^(AG)according to the power at work within us, ^21 (AH)to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

Jesus Walks on the Water

^45 (A)Immediately he ^(B)made his disciples get into ^(C)the boat and go before him to the other side, ^(D)to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. ⁴⁶ And after he had taken leave of them, ^(E)he went up on the mountain to pray. ⁴⁷ And when ^(F)evening came, the boat was out on the sea, and he was alone on the land. ⁴⁸ And he saw that they were making headway painfully, for the wind was against them. And about ^(G)the fourth watch of the night^[a] he came to them, walking on the sea. ^(H)He meant to pass by them, ⁴⁹ but when they saw him walking on the sea they thought it was a ghost, and cried out, ⁵⁰ for they all saw him and ^(I)were terrified. But immediately he spoke to them and said, ^(J)“Take heart; it is I. ^(K)Do not be afraid.” ⁵¹ And he got into the boat with them, and the wind ceased. And they were utterly astounded, ⁵² for ^(L)they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts ^(M)were hardened.