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.

God Himself Is Judge

A Psalm of ^(A)Asaph.

¹² Since we have such a hope, ^(A)we are very bold, ¹³ not like Moses, ^(B)who would put a veil over his face so that the Israelites might not gaze at the outcome of what was being brought to an end.

¹⁴ But ^(A)their minds were ^(B)hardened. For to this day, ^(C)when they read ^(D)the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away. ¹⁵ Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts. ¹⁶ But when ^(E)one^[a] turns to the Lord, ^(F)the veil is removed. ¹⁷ Now the Lord^[b] is the Spirit, and where ^(G)the Spirit of the Lord is, there is ^(H)freedom. ¹⁸ And we all, with unveiled face, ^(I)beholding ^(J)the glory of the Lord,^{[c] (K)}are being transformed into the same image ^(L)from one degree of glory to another.^[d] For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.

The Light of the Gospel

4 Therefore, having ^(A)this ministry ^(B)by the mercy of God,^[a] we do not lose heart. ² But we have renounced ^(C)disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice^[b] cunning or ^(D)to tamper with God's word, but ^(E)by the open statement of the truth ^(F)we would commend ourselves to everyone's conscience in the sight of God. ³ And even ^(G)if our gospel is veiled, ^(H)it is veiled to ^(I)those who are perishing. ⁴ In their case ^(J)the god of this world ^(K)has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing ^(L)the light of ^(M)the gospel of the glory of Christ, ^(N)who is the image of God. ⁵ For what ^(O)we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ^(P)ourselves as your servants^[c] for Jesus' sake. ⁶ For God, who said, ^(Q)“Let light shine out of darkness,” ^(R)has shone in our hearts to give ^(S)the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

The Light of the Gospel

4 Therefore, having ^(A)this ministry ^(B)by the mercy of God,^[a] we do not lose heart. ² But we have renounced ^(C)disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice^[b] cunning or ^(D)to tamper with God's word, but ^(E)by the open statement of the truth ^(F)we would commend ourselves to everyone's conscience in the sight of God. ³ And even ^(G)if our gospel is veiled, ^(H)it is veiled to ^(I)those who are perishing. ⁴ In their case ^(J)the god of this world ^(K)has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing ^(L)the light of ^(M)the gospel of the glory of Christ, ^(N)who is the image of God. ⁵ For what ^(O)we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ^(P)ourselves as your servants^[c] for Jesus' sake. ⁶ For God, who said, ^(Q)“Let light shine out of darkness,” ^(R)has shone in our hearts to give ^(S)the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.