⁹ There he went into a cave and spent the night.

The Lord appears to Elijah

And the word of the Lord came to him: ‘What are you doing here, Elijah?’

¹⁰ He replied, ‘I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.’

¹¹ The Lord said, ‘Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.’

Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. ¹² After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. ¹³ When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.

Then a voice said to him, ‘What are you doing here, Elijah?’

¹⁴ He replied, ‘I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.’

¹⁵ The Lord said to him, ‘Go back the way you came, and go to the Desert of Damascus. When you get there, anoint Hazael king over Aram. ¹⁶ Also, anoint Jehu son of Nimshi king over Israel, and anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah to succeed you as prophet. ¹⁷ Jehu will put to death any who escape the sword of Hazael, and Elisha will put to death any who escape the sword of Jehu. ¹⁸ Yet I reserve seven thousand in Israel – all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and whose mouths have not kissed him.’

Jesus walks on the water

²² Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. ²³ After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone, ²⁴ and the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.

²⁵ Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. ²⁶ When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. ‘It’s a ghost,’ they said, and cried out in fear.

²⁷ But Jesus immediately said to them: ‘Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.’

²⁸ ‘Lord, if it’s you,’ Peter replied, ‘tell me to come to you on the water.’

²⁹ ‘Come,’ he said.

Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came towards Jesus. ³⁰ But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, ‘Lord, save me!’

³¹ Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. ‘You of little faith,’ he said, ‘why did you doubt?’

³² And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. ³³ Then those who were in the boat worshipped him, saying, ‘Truly you are the Son of God.’

⁴ Christ is the culmination of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.

⁵ Moses writes this about the righteousness that is by the law: ‘The person who does these things will live by them.’^{[a] 6} But the righteousness that is by faith says: ‘Do not say in your heart, “Who will ascend into heaven?”’^[b] (that is, to bring Christ down) ⁷ ‘or “Who will descend into the deep?”’^[c] (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). ⁸ But what does it say? ‘The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,’^[d] that is, the message concerning faith that we proclaim: ⁹ if you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰ For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. ¹¹ As Scripture says, ‘Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.’^{[e] 12} For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile – the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, ¹³ for, ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’^[f]

¹⁴ How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? ¹⁵ And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!’^[g]

¹⁶ But not all the Israelites accepted the good news. For Isaiah says, ‘Lord, who has believed our message?’^{[h] 17} Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.