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.

⁶ Then Elijah said to him, ^(A)“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 ^(B)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 ^(C)took his cloak and rolled it up and struck the water, ^(D)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, ^(E)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! ^(F)The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” And he saw him no more.

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

In the Day of Trouble I Seek the Lord

To the choirmaster: according to ^(A)Jeduthun. A Psalm of ^(B)Asaph.

Christ Has Set Us Free

5 For ^(A)freedom Christ has ^(B)set us free; ^(C)stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to ^(D)a yoke of ^(E)slavery.

¹³ For you were called to freedom, brothers. ^(A)Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love ^(B)serve one another. ¹⁴ For ^(C)the whole law is fulfilled in one word: ^(D)“You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” ¹⁵ But if you ^(E)bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another.

Keep in Step with the Spirit

¹⁶ But I say, ^(F)walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify ^(G)the desires of the flesh. ¹⁷ For ^(H)the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, ^(I)to keep you from doing the things you want to do. ¹⁸ But if you are ^(J)led by the Spirit, ^(K)you are not under the law. ¹⁹ Now ^(L)the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, ²⁰ idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, ^(M)divisions, ²¹ envy,^[a] drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that ^(N)those who do^[b] such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. ²² But ^(O)the fruit of the Spirit is ^(P)love, joy, peace, patience, ^(Q)kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ^23 (R)gentleness, ^(S)self-control; ^(T)against such things there is no law. ²⁴ And those who belong to Christ Jesus ^(U)have crucified the flesh with its ^(V)passions and desires.

²⁵ If we live by the Spirit, ^(W)let us also keep in step with the Spirit.

A Samaritan Village Rejects Jesus

⁵¹ When the days drew near for ^(A)him to be taken up, ^(B)he set his face ^(C)to go to Jerusalem. ⁵² And ^(D)he sent messengers ahead of him, who went and entered a village of ^(E)the Samaritans, to make preparations for him. ⁵³ But ^(F)the people did not receive him, because ^(G)his face was set toward Jerusalem. ⁵⁴ And when his disciples James and John saw it, they said, “Lord, do you want us to tell ^(H)fire to come down from heaven and consume them?”^{[a] 55} But he turned and rebuked them.^{[b] 56} And they went on to another village.

The Cost of Following Jesus

⁵⁷ As they were going ^(I)along the road, ^(J)someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” ⁵⁸ And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” ⁵⁹ To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” ⁶⁰ And Jesus^[c] said to him, “Leave ^(K)the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and ^(L)proclaim the kingdom of God.” ⁶¹ Yet another said, “I will follow you, Lord, ^(M)but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” ⁶² Jesus said to him, ^(N)“No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”