Examine Yourselves

13 ^(A)This is the third time that I am coming to you. ^(B)On the ^[a]testimony of two or three witnesses every matter shall be confirmed. ² I have previously said when I was present the second time, and though now absent I say in advance to those who have ^(C)sinned in the past and to all the rest as well, that ^(D)if I come again I will not ^(E)spare anyone, ³ since you are ^(F)seeking proof of the ^(G)Christ who speaks in me, who is not weak toward you, but ^(H)mighty in you. ⁴ For indeed He was ^(I)crucified because of weakness, yet He lives ^(J)because of the power of God. For we too are ^(K)weak ^[b]in Him, yet ^(L)we will live with Him because of the power of God directed toward you.

^5 (M)Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; ^(N)examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you—unless indeed you ^[c](O)fail the test? ⁶ But I expect that you will realize that we ourselves ^[d]do not fail the test. ⁷ Now we pray to God that you do nothing wrong; not so that we ourselves may appear approved, but that you may do what is right, though we may ^[e]appear unapproved. ⁸ For we cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth. ⁹ For we rejoice when we ourselves are ^(P)weak, but you are strong; this we also pray for, ^[f]that you ^(Q)become mature. ¹⁰ For this reason I am writing these things while absent, so that when present ^(R)I need not use ^(S)severity, in accordance with the ^(T)authority which the Lord gave me for building up and not for tearing down.

^11 (U)Finally, brothers and sisters, ^[g]rejoice, ^(V)mend your ways, be comforted, ^(W)be like-minded, ^(X)live in peace; and ^(Y)the God of love and peace will be with you. ^12 (Z)Greet one another with a holy kiss. ^13 (AA)All the ^[h]saints greet you.

^14 (AB)The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the ^(AC)love of God, and the ^(AD)fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all.

Division of the Land

48 “Now ^(A)these are the names of the tribes: from the northern extremity, ^[a]beside the way of Hethlon to ^[b]Lebo-hamath, as far as Hazar-enan at the border of Damascus, toward the north ^[c]beside Hamath, ^[d]running from east to west, ^(B)Dan, one portion. ² Beside the border of Dan, from the east side to the west side, ^(C)Asher, one portion. ³ Beside the border of Asher, from the east side to the west side, ^(D)Naphtali, one portion. ⁴ Beside the border of Naphtali, from the east side to the west side, ^(E)Manasseh, one portion. ⁵ Beside the border of Manasseh, from the east side to the west side, ^(F)Ephraim, one portion. ⁶ Beside the border of Ephraim, from the east side to the west side, ^(G)Reuben, one portion. ⁷ Beside the border of Reuben, from the east side to the west side, ^(H)Judah, one portion.

⁸ “And beside the border of Judah, from the east side to the west side, shall be the ^[e]allotment which you shall ^[f]set apart, twenty-five thousand ^[g]cubits in width, and in length like one of the portions, from the east side to the west side; and the ^(I)sanctuary shall be in the middle of it. ⁹ The allotment that you shall set apart to the Lord shall be twenty-five thousand cubits in length and ten thousand in width.

Portion for the Priests

¹⁰ The holy allotment shall be for these, namely for the ^(J)priests, toward the north twenty-five thousand cubits in length, toward the west ten thousand in width, toward the east ten thousand in width, and toward the south twenty-five thousand in length; and the sanctuary of the Lord shall be in its midst. ¹¹ It shall be for the priests who are sanctified of the ^(K)sons of Zadok, who have ^[h]taken the responsibility I gave them, who did not go astray when the sons of Israel went astray as the ^(L)Levites went astray. ¹² It shall be an allotment to them from the allotment of the land, a most holy reserve, by the border of the Levites. ¹³ And alongside the border of the priests, the Levites shall have twenty-five thousand cubits in length and ten thousand in width. The entire length shall be twenty-five thousand cubits and the width ten thousand. ¹⁴ Moreover, they ^(M)shall not sell or exchange any of it, or allow this ^[i]choice portion of land to pass to others; for it is holy to the Lord.

¹⁵ “The remainder, five thousand cubits in width and twenty-five thousand ^[j]in length, shall be for ^(N)common use for the city, for homes and for ^[k]open spaces; and the city shall be in its midst. ¹⁶ And these shall be its measurements: the north side, 4,500 cubits, the south side ^(O)4,500 cubits, the east side 4,500 cubits, and the west side, 4,500 cubits. ¹⁷ The city shall have ^[l]open spaces: on the north 250 cubits, on the south 250 cubits, on the east 250 cubits, and on the west 250 cubits. ¹⁸ The remainder of the length alongside the holy allotment shall be ten thousand cubits toward the east and ten thousand toward the west; and it shall be ^[m]alongside the holy allotment. And its produce shall be food for the workers of the city. ¹⁹ And the workers of the city, out of all the tribes of Israel, shall cultivate it. ²⁰ The whole allotment shall be twenty-five thousand by twenty-five thousand cubits; you shall ^[n]set apart the holy allotment, a ^[o]square, with the ^[p]property of the city.

Portion for the Prince

²¹ “The ^(P)remainder shall be for the prince, on the one side and on the other of the holy allotment and of the ^[q]property of the city; in front of the twenty-five thousand cubits of the allotment toward the east border and westward in front of the twenty-five thousand toward the west border, alongside the portions, it shall be for the prince. And the holy allotment and the sanctuary of the house shall be in the middle of it. ²² And exclusive of the ^[r]property of the Levites and the ^[s]property of the city, which are in the middle of that which belongs to the prince, everything between the border of Judah and the border of Benjamin shall belong to the prince.

Portion for Other Tribes

²³ “As for the rest of the tribes: from the east side to the west side, ^(Q)Benjamin, one portion. ²⁴ Beside the border of Benjamin, from the east side to the west side, ^(R)Simeon, one portion. ²⁵ Beside the border of Simeon, from the east side to the west side, ^(S)Issachar, one portion. ²⁶ Beside the border of Issachar, from the east side to the west side, ^(T)Zebulun, one portion. ²⁷ Beside the border of Zebulun, from the east side to the west side, ^(U)Gad, one portion. ²⁸ And beside the border of Gad, at the south side toward the south, the border shall be from ^(V)Tamar to the waters of Meribath-kadesh, to the brook of Egypt, to the ^(W)Great Sea. ²⁹ This is the ^(X)land which you shall divide by lot to the tribes of Israel for an inheritance, and these are their several portions,” declares the Lord ^[t]God.

The City Gates

³⁰ “Now these are the exits of the city: on the ^(Y)north side, 4,500 cubits by measurement, ^31 [u]shall be the gates of the city, ^[v](Z)named for the tribes of Israel, three gates toward the north: the gate of Reuben, one; the gate of Judah, one; and the gate of Levi, one. ³² On the east side, 4,500 cubits, ^[w]shall be three gates: the gate of Joseph, one; the gate of Benjamin, one; and the gate of Dan, one. ³³ On the south side, 4,500 cubits by measurement, ^[x]shall be three gates: the gate of Simeon, one; the gate of Issachar, one; and the gate of Zebulun, one. ³⁴ On the west side, 4,500 cubits, shall be three gates: the gate of Gad, one; the gate of Asher, one; and the gate of Naphtali, one. ³⁵ The city shall be eighteen thousand cubits all around; and the ^(AA)name of the city from that day shall be, ‘^[y]The ^(AB)Lord is there.’”

Ahaziah’s Messengers Meet Elijah

1 Now ^(A)Moab broke with Israel after the death of Ahab. ² And Ahaziah fell through the window lattice in his upper chamber which was in Samaria, and became ill. So he sent messengers and said to them, “Go, ^(B)inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, ^(C)whether I will recover from this sickness.” ³ But the angel of the Lord said to ^(D)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 ^(E)Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron?’ ⁴ Now therefore, this is what the Lord says: ‘^[a](F)You will not get down from the bed upon which you have lain, but you shall certainly die.’” Then Elijah departed.

⁵ When the messengers returned to ^[b]Ahaziah, he said to them, “^[c]Why have you returned?” ⁶ 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, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are sending messengers ^(G)to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore ^[d]you will not get down from the bed upon which you have lain, but you shall certainly die.’”’” ⁷ Then he said to them, “What ^[e]did the man look like, who came up to meet you and spoke these words to you?” ⁸ And they said to him, “^(H)He was a hairy man with a leather ^[f]belt worn around his waist.” And he said, “It is Elijah the Tishbite.”

⁹ Then the king ^(I)sent to him a captain of fifty with his fifty men. And he went up to him, and behold, he was sitting on the top of the hill. And he said to him, “You man of God, the king says, ‘Come down.’” ¹⁰ But Elijah replied to the captain of fifty, “If I am a man of God, ^(J)may fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty.” ^(K)Then fire came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty men.

¹¹ So the king again sent to him another captain of fifty with his fifty men. And he said to him, “You man of God, this is what the king says: ‘Come down quickly!’” ¹² But Elijah replied to them, “If I am a man of God, may 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 men.

¹³ So the king ^(L)again sent the captain of a third fifty with his fifty men. When the third captain of fifty went up, he came and bowed down on his knees before Elijah, and begged him and said to him, “You man of God, please let my life and the lives of these fifty servants of yours be precious in your sight. ¹⁴ Behold, fire came down from heaven and consumed the first two captains of fifty with their fifties; but now let my ^[g]life be precious in your sight.” ¹⁵ And ^(M)the angel of the Lord said to Elijah, “Go down with him; ^(N)do not be afraid of him.” So he got up and went down with him to the king. ¹⁶ Then he said to him, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Since you have sent messengers ^(O)to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron—is it because there is no God in Israel to inquire of His word? Therefore ^[h]you will not get down from the bed upon which you have lain, but you shall certainly die.’”

Jehoram Reigns over Israel

¹⁷ So Ahaziah died in accordance with the word of the Lord which Elijah had spoken. And since he had no son, Jehoram became king in his place ^(P)in the second year of Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah. ¹⁸ Now as for 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?

Elijah Taken to Heaven

2 Now it came about, when the Lord was about to ^(Q)bring Elijah up by a ^[i]whirlwind to heaven, that Elijah left ^(R)Gilgal with ^(S)Elisha. ² And Elijah said to Elisha, “^(T)Stay here please, for the Lord has sent me as far as ^(U)Bethel.” But Elisha said, “^(V)As surely as the Lord lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they went down to Bethel. ³ Then ^(W)the sons of the prophets who were at Bethel went out to Elisha and said to him, “Are you aware that the Lord will take away your master from over ^[j]you today?” And he said, “Yes, I am aware; say nothing about it.”

⁴ And Elijah said to him, “Elisha, please ^(X)stay here, for the Lord has sent me to ^(Y)Jericho.” But he said, “^(Z)As surely as the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they came to Jericho. ⁵ Then ^(AA)the sons of the prophets who were at Jericho approached Elisha and said to him, “^(AB)Do you know that the Lord will take away your master from over ^[k]you today?” And he ^[l]answered, “Yes, I know; say nothing about it.” ⁶ And Elijah said to him, “Please ^(AC)stay here, for the Lord has sent me to ^(AD)the Jordan.” But he said, “As surely as the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So the two of them went on.

⁷ Now ^(AE)fifty men of the sons of the prophets went and stood opposite them at a distance, while the two of them stood by the Jordan. ⁸ And Elijah ^(AF)took his coat, folded it, and ^(AG)struck the waters, and they were divided here and there, so that the two of them crossed over on dry ground.

⁹ When they had crossed over, Elijah said to Elisha, “Ask me what I should do for you before I am taken from you.” And Elisha said, “Please let a ^(AH)double portion of your spirit be upon me.” ¹⁰ He said, “You have asked a hard thing. Nevertheless, if you ^(AI)see me when I am taken from you, it shall be so for you; but if not, it shall not be so.” ¹¹ And as they were walking along and talking, behold, ^(AJ)a chariot of fire appeared with horses of fire, and they separated the two of them. Then Elijah went up by a ^[m]whirlwind to heaven. ¹² And Elisha was watching it and he was crying out, “^(AK)My father, my father, the chariot of Israel and its horsemen!” And he did not see ^[n]Elijah again. Then ^(AL)he took hold of his own clothes and tore them in two pieces. ¹³ He also took up the coat of Elijah that had fallen from him, and he went back and stood by the bank of the Jordan. ¹⁴ Then he took the coat of Elijah that had fallen from him and struck the waters, and said, “Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah?” And when he also had ^(AM)struck the waters, they were divided here and there; and Elisha crossed over.

Elisha Succeeds Elijah

¹⁵ Now when ^(AN)the sons of the prophets who were at Jericho opposite him saw him, they said, “The spirit of Elijah has settled on Elisha.” And they came to meet him and bowed down to the ground before him. ¹⁶ Then they said to him, “Behold now, there are with your servants fifty strong men; please let them go and search for your master, in case ^(AO)the Spirit of the Lord has taken him up and cast him on some mountain or into some valley.” But he said, “You shall not send anyone.” ¹⁷ Yet when ^(AP)they urged him until he was ashamed to refuse, he said, “Send them.” So they sent fifty men; and they searched for three days, but did not find him. ¹⁸ They returned to him while he was staying in Jericho; and he said to them, “Did I not say to you, ‘Do not go’?”

¹⁹ Then the men of the city said to Elisha, “Behold now, the site of the city is pleasant, as my lord sees; but the water is bad and the land ^[o]is unfruitful.” ²⁰ And he said, “Bring me a new jar, and put salt ^[p]in it.” So they brought it to him. ²¹ Then he went out to the spring of water and ^(AQ)threw salt ^[q]in it and said, “This is what the Lord says: ‘I have ^[r]purified these waters; there shall not come from there death or ^[s]unfruitfulness any longer.’” ²² So the waters have been ^[t]purified to this day, in accordance with the word of Elisha which he spoke.

²³ Now he went up from there to Bethel; and as he was going up by the road, some young boys came out from the city and ^(AR)ridiculed him and said to him, “Go up, you baldhead; go up, you baldhead!” ²⁴ When he looked behind him and saw them, he ^(AS)cursed them in the name of the Lord. Then two female bears came out of the woods and tore up forty-two ^[u]of the boys. ²⁵ He then went on from there to ^(AT)Mount Carmel, and from there he returned to Samaria.