Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Remembering God’s Help
For the director of music. For Jeduthun [C a Levitical musician; 1 Chr. 16:41–42; 25:1, 6; 2 Chr. 5:12]. A psalm of Asaph [C a Levitical musician, a descendant of Gershon, at the time of David; 1 Chr. 6:39; 15:17; 2 Chr. 5:12].
77 I cry out to God;
I call to God, and he ·will hear [or heard] me.
2 I ·look [sought] for the Lord on the day of ·trouble [L my distress].
All night long I ·reach out my untiring hands [L flow forth my hand and it does not grow weak],
but I ·cannot [refuse to] be comforted.
3 When I remember God, I ·become upset [moan];
when I ·think [reflect; meditate], ·I become afraid [my soul faints]. ·
4 You ·keep my eyes from closing [L grab the eyelids of my eyes].
I am too ·upset [disturbed] to say anything.
5 I keep thinking about the old days,
the years of long ago [C when things were going well].
6 At night I remember my songs.
I ·think [meditate] and ·I ask myself [L my spirit inquires]:
7 “Will the Lord reject us forever?
Will he never be ·kind [favorable] to us again?
8 Is his ·love [loyalty] gone forever?
Has he stopped speaking for all time [C he questions God’s commitment to the covenant]?
9 Has God forgotten ·mercy [compassion]?
Is he too angry to ·pity [have mercy on] us?” ·
10 Then I say, “This is what makes me sad:
·For years the power of God Most High was with us [L The right hand of the God Most High has changed].”
11 I remember what the Lord did;
I remember the ·miracles [wonderful acts] you did long ago.
12 I ·think [mused] about all the things you did
and ·consider [meditated on] your deeds.
13 God, your ways are holy.
·No god [L What god…?] is as great as our God.
14 You are the God who does ·miracles [wonders];
you have ·shown [made known to] people your power.
15 By your ·power [L arm] you have ·saved [redeemed] your people,
the descendants of Jacob and Joseph. ·
16 God, the waters saw you;
they saw you and ·became afraid [L writhed];
the deep waters shook with fear.
17 The clouds poured down their rain.
The ·sky [clouds] ·thundered [L gave forth a sound].
Your lightning flashed back and forth like arrows.
18 Your thunder sounded in the whirlwind.
Lightning lit up the world.
The earth trembled and ·shook [quaked].
19 You made a way through the sea
and paths through the ·deep [L many] waters,
but your footprints were not ·seen [revealed].
20 You led your people like a flock
by ·using [L the hand of] Moses and Aaron [Ex. 14–15].
Elijah Is Taken to Heaven
2 When the Lord was about to take Elijah by a whirlwind up into heaven, Elijah and Elisha were leaving Gilgal. 2 Elijah said to Elisha, “Please stay here. The Lord has ·told me to go to [L sent me as far as] Bethel.”
But Elisha said, “As the Lord lives, and as you live, I won’t leave you.” So they went down to Bethel. 3 The ·groups [company; brotherhood; L sons] of prophets at Bethel came out to Elisha and said to him, “Do you know the Lord will take your ·master [lord] away from you today?”
Elisha said, “Yes, I know, ·but don’t talk about it [be quiet/still].”
4 Elijah said to him, “Stay here, Elisha, because the Lord has sent me to Jericho.”
But Elisha said, “As the Lord lives, and as you live, I won’t leave you.”
So they went to Jericho. 5 The ·groups [company; brotherhood; L sons] of prophets at Jericho came to Elisha and said, “Do you know that the Lord will take your ·master [lord] away from you today?”
Elisha answered, “Yes, I know, ·but don’t talk about it [be quiet/still].”
6 Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here. The Lord has sent me to the Jordan River.”
Elisha answered, “As the Lord lives, and as you live, I won’t leave you.”
So the two of them went on. 7 Fifty men of the ·groups [company; brotherhood; L sons] of prophets came and stood ·far [at a distance] from where Elijah and Elisha were standing by the Jordan. 8 Elijah took off his ·coat [cloak; T mantle], ·rolled [folded] it up, and hit the water. The water divided to ·the right and to the left [L one side and the other], and Elijah and Elisha crossed over on dry ground [C reminiscent of the crossing of the Sea; Ex. 14].
9 After they had crossed over, Elijah said to Elisha, “What can I do for you before I am taken from you?”
Elisha said, “Leave me a double ·share [portion] of your spirit [C like a firstborn heir (Deut. 21:17), he asks for double the blessing of other followers of Elijah, not twice as much as Elijah].”
10 Elijah said, “You have asked a ·hard [difficult] thing. But if you see me when I am taken from you, it will be ·yours [as you request]. If you don’t, it won’t happen.”
11 As they were walking along and talking, a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and ·separated [drove between] Elijah from Elisha. Then Elijah ·went up [ascended] to heaven in a whirlwind. 12 Elisha saw it and shouted, “My father! My father! The chariots of Israel and ·their horsemen [its charioteers/or horses]!” And Elisha did not see him anymore. Then Elisha grabbed his own clothes and tore them in two [C a sign of mourning or distress].
13 He picked up Elijah’s ·coat [cloak; T mantle] that had fallen from him. Then he returned and stood on the bank of the Jordan. 14 Elisha hit the water with Elijah’s ·coat [cloak; T mantle] and said, “Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah?” When he hit the water, it divided to ·the right and to the left [L one side and the other], and Elisha crossed over [2:8].
15 The ·groups [company; brotherhood; L sons] of prophets at Jericho were watching from a distance and said, “·Elisha now has the spirit Elijah had [L Elijah’s spirit now rests on Elisha].” And they came to meet him, bowing down to the ground before him. 16 They said to him, “There are fifty ·strong [able] men with us. Please let them go and look for your ·master [lord]. Maybe the Spirit of the Lord has taken Elijah up and set him down on some mountain or in some valley.”
But Elisha answered, “No, don’t send them.”
17 When the ·groups [company; brotherhood; L sons] of prophets had begged Elisha until he ·couldn’t refuse them anymore [was too embarrassed/ashamed to refuse], he said, “Send them.” So they sent fifty men who looked for three days, but they could not find him. 18 Then they came back to Elisha at Jericho where he was staying. He said to them, “I told you not to go, didn’t I?”
The Power of Faith(A)
20 The next morning as Jesus was passing by with his ·followers [disciples], they saw the fig tree ·dry and dead [withered], even to the roots. 21 Peter ·remembered the tree and said to Jesus, “·Teacher [L Rabbi], look! The fig tree you cursed is ·dry and dead [withered]!”
22 Jesus answered, “Have faith in God. 23 I tell you the truth, you can say to this mountain, ‘·Go [Be lifted up], fall into the sea.’ And if you have no doubts in your ·mind [heart] and believe that what you say will happen, ·God will do it for you [it will be done for you]. 24 So I tell you to believe that you have received ·the things [everything] you ask for in prayer, and ·God will give them to you [you will receive them]. 25 When you ·are praying [L stand praying], if you ·are angry with [have anything against] someone, forgive him so that your Father in heaven will also forgive your ·sins [transgressions; trespasses].
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.