Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 93[a]
93 The Lord reigns.
He is robed in majesty.
The Lord is robed;
he wears strength around his waist.[b]
Indeed, the world is established; it cannot be moved.
2 Your throne has been secure from ancient times;
you have always been king.[c]
3 The waves[d] roar, O Lord,
the waves roar,
the waves roar and crash.[e]
4 Above the sound of the surging water,[f]
and the mighty waves of the sea,
the Lord sits enthroned in majesty.[g]
5 The rules you set down[h] are completely reliable.[i]
Holiness[j] aptly adorns your house, O Lord, forever.[k]
Elijah Makes a Swift Departure
2 Just before[a] the Lord took Elijah up to heaven in a windstorm, Elijah and Elisha were traveling from Gilgal. 2 Elijah told Elisha, “Stay here, for the Lord has sent me to Bethel.” But Elisha said, “As certainly as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you.” So they went down to Bethel. 3 Some members of the prophetic guild[b] in Bethel came out to Elisha and said, “Do you know that today the Lord is going to take your master from you?”[c] He answered, “Yes, I know. Be quiet.”
4 Elijah said to him, “Elisha, stay here, for the Lord has sent me to Jericho.” But he replied, “As certainly as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you.” So they went to Jericho. 5 Some members of the prophetic guild in Jericho approached Elisha and said, “Do you know that today the Lord is going to take your master from you?” He answered, “Yes, I know. Be quiet.”
6 Elijah said to him, “Stay here, for the Lord has sent me to the Jordan.” But he replied, “As certainly as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you.” So they traveled on together. 7 The fifty members of the prophetic guild went and stood opposite them at a distance, while Elijah and Elisha[d] stood by the Jordan. 8 Elijah took his cloak, folded it up, and hit the water with it. The water divided, and the two of them crossed over on dry ground.
9 When they had crossed over, Elijah said to Elisha, “What can I do for you,[e] before I am taken away from you?” Elisha answered, “May I receive a double portion of the prophetic spirit that energizes you?”[f] 10 Elijah[g] replied, “That’s a difficult request![h] If you see me taken from you, may it be so, but if you don’t, it will not happen.”
11 As they were walking along and talking, suddenly a fiery chariot[i] pulled by fiery horses appeared.[j] They went between Elijah and Elisha,[k] and Elijah went up to heaven in a windstorm. 12 While Elisha was watching, he was crying out, “My father, my father! The chariot and horsemen of Israel!”[l] Then he could no longer see him. He grabbed his clothes and tore them in two.
New Life Individually
2 And although you were[a] dead[b] in your offenses and sins, 2 in which[c] you formerly lived[d] according to this world’s present path,[e] according to the ruler of the domain[f] of the air, the ruler of[g] the spirit[h] that is now energizing[i] the sons of disobedience,[j] 3 among whom[k] all of us[l] also[m] formerly lived out our lives in the cravings of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath[n] even as the rest…[o]
4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of his great love with which he loved us, 5 even though we were dead in offenses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you are saved![p]— 6 and he raised us up together with him and seated us together with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 to demonstrate in the coming ages[q] the surpassing wealth of his grace in kindness toward[r] us in Christ Jesus.
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