God Judges Ahaziah

1 Moab ^(A)rebelled against Israel ^(B)after the death of Ahab.

² Now ^(C)Ahaziah fell through the lattice of his upper room in Samaria, and was injured; so he sent messengers and said to them, “Go, inquire of ^(D)Baal-Zebub,^[a] the god of ^(E)Ekron, whether I shall recover from this injury.” ³ But the ^[b]angel of the Lord said to Elijah 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 departed.

⁵ And when the messengers returned to ^[c]him, he said to them, “Why have you come back?”

⁶ So they said to him, “A man came up to meet us, and said to us, ‘Go, return 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 Then he said to them, “What kind of man was it who came up to meet you and told you these words?”

⁸ So they answered him, ^(F)“A hairy man wearing a leather belt around his waist.”

And he said, ^(G)“It is Elijah the Tishbite.”

⁹ Then the king sent to him a captain of fifty with his fifty men. So he went up to him; and there he was, sitting on the top of a hill. And he spoke to him: “Man of God, the king has said, ‘Come down!’ ”

¹⁰ So Elijah answered and said to the captain of fifty, “If I am a man of God, then ^(H)let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men.” And fire came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty. ¹¹ Then he sent to him another captain of fifty with his fifty men.

And he answered and said to him: “Man of God, thus has the king said, ‘Come down quickly!’ ”

¹² So Elijah answered and said to them, “If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men.” And the fire of God came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty.

¹³ Again, he sent a third captain of fifty with his fifty men. And the third captain of fifty went up, and came and ^[d]fell on his knees before Elijah, and pleaded with him, and said to him: “Man of God, please let my life and the life of these fifty servants of yours ^(I)be precious in your sight. ¹⁴ Look, fire has come down from heaven and burned up the first two captains of fifties with their fifties. But let my life now be precious in your sight.”

¹⁵ And the ^[e]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 Then he 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 Ahaziah died according to the word of the Lord which Elijah had spoken. Because he had no son, ^(J)Jehoram^[f] became king in his place, in the second year of Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah.

¹⁸ Now the rest of the acts of Ahaziah which he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?

The Spiritual War

10 Now ^(A)I, Paul, myself am pleading with you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ—^(B)who in presence am lowly among you, but being absent am bold toward you. ² But I beg you ^(C)that when I am present I may not be bold with that confidence by which I intend to be bold against some, who think of us as if we walked according to the flesh. ³ For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. ^4 (D)For the weapons ^(E)of our warfare are not ^[a]carnal but ^(F)mighty in God ^(G)for pulling down strongholds, ^5 (H)casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, ^6 (I)and being ready to punish all disobedience when ^(J)your obedience is fulfilled.

Reality of Paul’s Authority

^7 (K)Do you look at things according to the outward appearance? ^(L)If anyone is convinced in himself that he is Christ’s, let him again consider this in himself, that just as he is Christ’s, even ^[b]so ^(M)we are Christ’s. ⁸ For even if I should boast somewhat more ^(N)about our authority, which the Lord gave ^[c]us for ^[d]edification and not for your destruction, ^(O)I shall not be ashamed— ⁹ lest I seem to terrify you by letters. ¹⁰ “For his letters,” they say, “are weighty and powerful, but ^(P)his bodily presence is weak, and his ^(Q)speech contemptible.” ¹¹ Let such a person consider this, that what we are in word by letters when we are absent, such we will also be in deed when we are present.

Limits of Paul’s Authority

^12 (R)For we dare not class ourselves or compare ourselves with those who commend themselves. But they, measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise. ^13 (S)We, however, will not boast beyond measure, but within the limits of the sphere which God appointed us—a sphere which especially includes you. ¹⁴ For we are not overextending ourselves (as though our authority did not extend to you), ^(T)for it was to you that we came with the gospel of Christ; ¹⁵ not boasting of things beyond measure, that is, ^(U)in other men’s labors, but having hope, that as your faith is increased, we shall be greatly enlarged by you in our sphere, ¹⁶ to preach the gospel in the regions beyond you, and not to boast in another man’s sphere of accomplishment.

¹⁷ But ^(V)“he who glories, let him glory in the Lord.” ¹⁸ For ^(W)not he who commends himself is approved, but ^(X)whom the Lord commends.

Elijah Ascends to Heaven

2 And it came to pass, when the Lord was about to ^(A)take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, that Elijah went with ^(B)Elisha from Gilgal. ² Then Elijah said to Elisha, ^(C)“Stay here, please, for the Lord has sent me on to Bethel.”

But Elisha said, “As the Lord lives, and ^(D)as your soul lives, I will not leave you!” So they went down to Bethel.

³ Now ^(E)the sons of the prophets who were at Bethel came out to Elisha, and said to him, “Do you know that the Lord will take away your master ^[a]from over you today?”

And he said, “Yes, I know; keep silent!”

⁴ Then Elijah said to him, “Elisha, stay here, please, for the Lord has sent me on to Jericho.”

But he said, “As the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you!” So they came to Jericho.

⁵ Now the sons of the prophets who were at Jericho came to Elisha and said to him, “Do you know that the Lord will take away your master from over you today?”

So he answered, “Yes, I know; keep silent!”

⁶ Then Elijah said to him, “Stay here, please, for the Lord has sent me on to the Jordan.”

But he said, “As the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you!” So the two of them went on. ⁷ And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went and stood facing them at a distance, while the two of them stood by the Jordan. ⁸ Now Elijah took his mantle, rolled it up, and struck the water; and ^(F)it was divided this way and that, so that the two of them crossed over on dry ^(G)ground.

⁹ And so it was, when they had crossed over, that Elijah said to Elisha, “Ask! What may I do for you, before I am taken away from you?”

Elisha said, “Please let a double portion of your spirit be upon me.”

¹⁰ So he said, “You have asked a hard thing. Nevertheless, if you see me when I am taken from you, it shall be so for you; but if not, it shall not be so.” ¹¹ Then it happened, as they continued on and talked, that suddenly ^(H)a chariot of fire appeared with horses of fire, and separated the two of them; and Elijah ^(I)went up by a whirlwind into heaven.

¹² And Elisha saw it, and he cried out, ^(J)“My father, my father, the chariot of Israel and its horsemen!” So he saw him no more. And he took hold of his own clothes and tore them into two pieces. ¹³ He also took up the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and went back and stood by the bank of the Jordan. ¹⁴ Then he took the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and struck the water, and said, “Where is the Lord God of Elijah?” And when he also had struck the water, ^(K)it was divided this way and that; and Elisha crossed over.

¹⁵ Now when the sons of the prophets who were ^(L)from^[b] Jericho saw him, they said, “The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha.” And they came to meet him, and bowed to the ground before him. ¹⁶ Then they said to him, “Look now, there are fifty strong men with your servants. Please let them go and search for your master, ^(M)lest perhaps the Spirit of the Lord has taken him up and cast him upon some mountain or into some valley.”

And he said, “You shall not send anyone.”

¹⁷ But when they urged him till he was ^(N)ashamed, he said, “Send them!” Therefore they sent fifty men, and they searched for three days but did not find him. ¹⁸ And when they came back to him, for he had stayed in Jericho, he said to them, “Did I not say to you, ‘Do not go’?”

Elisha Performs Miracles

¹⁹ Then the men of the city said to Elisha, “Please notice, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord sees; but the water is bad, and the ground barren.”

²⁰ And he said, “Bring me a new bowl, and put salt in it.” So they brought it to him. ²¹ Then he went out to the source of the water, and ^(O)cast in the salt there, and said, “Thus says the Lord: ‘I have ^[c]healed this water; from it there shall be no more death or barrenness.’ ” ²² So the water remains ^(P)healed to this day, according to the word of Elisha which he spoke.

Jesus Handed Over to Pontius Pilate^(A)

23 Then ^(B)the whole multitude of them arose and led Him to ^(C)Pilate. ² And they began to ^(D)accuse Him, saying, “We found this fellow ^(E)perverting ^[a]the nation, and ^(F)forbidding to pay taxes to Caesar, saying ^(G)that He Himself is Christ, a King.”

^3 (H)Then Pilate asked Him, saying, “Are You the King of the Jews?”

He answered him and said, “It is as you say.”

⁴ So Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowd, ^(I)“I find no fault in this Man.”

⁵ But they were the more fierce, saying, “He stirs up the people, teaching throughout all Judea, beginning from ^(J)Galilee to this place.”

Jesus Faces Herod

⁶ When Pilate heard ^[b]of Galilee, he asked if the Man were a Galilean. ⁷ And as soon as he knew that He belonged to ^(K)Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent Him to Herod, who was also in Jerusalem at that time. ⁸ Now when Herod saw Jesus, ^(L)he was exceedingly glad; for he had desired for a long time to see Him, because ^(M)he had heard many things about Him, and he hoped to see some miracle done by Him. ⁹ Then he questioned Him with many words, but He answered him ^(N)nothing. ¹⁰ And the chief priests and scribes stood and vehemently accused Him. ^11 (O)Then Herod, with his ^[c]men of war, treated Him with contempt and mocked Him, arrayed Him in a gorgeous robe, and sent Him back to Pilate. ¹² That very day ^(P)Pilate and Herod became friends with each other, for previously they had been at enmity with each other.

Taking the Place of Barabbas^(Q)

^13 (R)Then Pilate, when he had called together the chief priests, the rulers, and the people, ¹⁴ said to them, ^(S)“You have brought this Man to me, as one who misleads the people. And indeed, ^(T)having examined Him in your presence, I have found no fault in this Man concerning those things of which you accuse Him; ¹⁵ no, neither did Herod, for ^[d]I sent you back to him; and indeed nothing deserving of death has been done by Him. ^16 (U)I will therefore chastise Him and release Him” ^17 (V)(for^[e] it was necessary for him to release one to them at the feast).

¹⁸ And ^(W)they all cried out at once, saying, “Away with this Man, and release to us Barabbas”— ¹⁹ who had been thrown into prison for a certain rebellion made in the city, and for murder.

²⁰ Pilate, therefore, wishing to release Jesus, again called out to them. ²¹ But they shouted, saying, “Crucify Him, crucify Him!”

²² Then he said to them the third time, “Why, what evil has He done? I have found no reason for death in Him. I will therefore chastise Him and let Him go.”

²³ But they were insistent, demanding with loud voices that He be crucified. And the voices of these men ^[f]and of the chief priests prevailed. ²⁴ So ^(X)Pilate gave sentence that it should be as they requested. ^25 (Y)And he released ^[g]to them the one they requested, who for rebellion and murder had been thrown into prison; but he delivered Jesus to their will.