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. 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, ^(R)the water was parted to the one side and to the other, and Elisha went over.

Elisha Succeeds Elijah

¹⁵ Now when ^(S)the sons of the prophets who were at Jericho saw him opposite them, they said, “The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha.” And they came to meet him and bowed to the ground before him.

Birth of John the Baptist Foretold

^5 (A)In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah,^{[a] (B)}of ^(C)the division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. ⁶ And they were both ^(D)righteous before God, walking ^(E)blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord. ⁷ But they had no child, because ^(F)Elizabeth was barren, and ^(G)both were advanced in years.

⁸ Now ^(H)while he was serving as priest before God when ^(I)his division was on duty, ⁹ according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot ^(J)to enter ^(K)the temple of the Lord and burn incense. ¹⁰ And the whole multitude of the people ^(L)were praying ^(M)outside at the hour of incense. ¹¹ And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of ^(N)the altar of incense. ¹² And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and ^(O)fear fell upon him. ¹³ But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for ^(P)your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and ^(Q)you shall call his name John. ¹⁴ And you will have joy and gladness, and many will ^(R)rejoice at his birth, ¹⁵ for he will be ^(S)great before the Lord. And ^(T)he must not drink wine or strong ^(U)drink, and ^(V)he will be ^(W)filled with the Holy Spirit, ^(X)even from his mother's womb. ¹⁶ And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, ¹⁷ and ^(Y)he will go before him ^(Z)in the spirit and power of Elijah, ^(AA)to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and ^(AB)the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, ^(AC)to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”