Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
24 How many are your works, O Yahweh;
all of them you have done in wisdom.
The earth is full of your creatures.
25 This is the great and wide[a] sea,
in which are moving animals without number,
living things small and great.
26 There the ships sail.
Leviathan is there that you formed to play with.[b]
27 They all wait for you
to give them their food at the proper time.[c]
28 You give to them; they gather it.
You open your hand, they are filled with what is good.
29 You hide your face, they are terrified.
You take away their breath, they die
and return to their dust.
30 You send forth your Spirit,[d] they are created,
and you renew the face of the ground.
31 May the glory of Yahweh endure forever.
May Yahweh be glad in his works,
32 the one who looks at the earth and it quakes,
and touches the mountains and they smoke.
33 I will sing to Yahweh throughout my life;
I will sing praise to my God while I remain alive.[e]
34 May my meditation be pleasing to him.
I will be glad in Yahweh.
Elijah Taken Away from Elisha
2 When Yahweh was about to take Elijah up in the storm to heaven, Elijah and Elisha went from Gilgal. 2 Elijah said to Elisha, “Please stay here, for Yahweh has sent me up to Bethel.” Elisha said, “As Yahweh lives[a] and as your soul lives,[b] I will certainly not leave you!” So they went down to Bethel. 3 Then the sons of the prophets who were in Bethel came out to Elisha, and they said to him, “Do you know that Yahweh is going to take your master from you[c] today?” He said, “I also know; be quiet!”
4 Elijah said to him, “Elisha, please stay here because Yahweh has sent me to Jericho.” And he said, “As Yahweh lives[d] and as your soul lives,[e] I will certainly not leave you!” So they came to Jericho. 5 Then the sons of the prophets who were in Jericho came near to Elisha, and they said to him, “Do you know that Yahweh is going to take your master from you[f] today?” He said, “I also know; be quiet!”
6 Then Elijah said to him, “Please stay here, because Yahweh has sent me to the Jordan.” He said, “As Yahweh lives[g] and as your soul lives,[h] I will certainly not leave you!” So the two of them went on. 7 Then fifty men from the sons of the prophets went and stood opposite them at a distance while the two of them stood by the Jordan. 8 Elijah took his cloak, rolled it up, and struck the water. It divided in two,[i] and the two of them crossed over on dry land.
9 After they crossed over, Elijah said to Elisha, “Ask what I may do for you before I am taken away from you.” Then Elisha said, “Please let there come to me a double portion of your spirit.” 10 He said, “What you ask is difficult. If you see me being taken from you, it will be so for you, but if not, it will not happen.” 11 Then they were walking, talking as they went. Suddenly a fiery chariot with horses of fire appeared and separated between the two of them. Elijah went up in the storm to the heavens 12 while Elisha was watching and crying out, “My father, my father; the chariot of Israel and its horsemen!” But he could not see him any longer, and he grasped his clothes and tore them in two pieces.
13 Then he picked up Elijah’s cloak that had fallen off of him, and he returned and stood on the bank of the Jordan. 14 He took Elijah’s cloak that had fallen from upon him and struck the water. Then he said, “Where is Yahweh, the God of Elijah?” So he also struck the water, and it divided in two,[j] and Elisha crossed over.
Elisha Begins His Ministry
15 When the sons of the prophets who were at Jericho saw him from the other side, they declared, “The spirit of Elijah rests upon Elisha,” and they came to meet him and bowed down to him to the ground.
The Prediction of John the Baptist’s Birth
5 It happened that in the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a certain priest, Zechariah by name, of the division of Abijah. And he had a wife[a] from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. 6 And they were both righteous in the sight of God, living blamelessly in all the commandments and regulations of the Lord. 7 And they did not have[b] a child, because Elizabeth was barren. And they were both advanced in years.[c]
8 And it happened that while[d] he was serving as priest before God in the order of his division, 9 according to the custom of the priesthood he was chosen by lot to enter into the temple of the Lord to burn incense. 10 And the whole crowd of the people were praying outside at the hour of the incense offering. 11 And an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. 12 And Zechariah was terrified when he[e] saw the angel,[f] and fear fell upon him. 13 But the angel said to him,
“Do not be afraid, Zechariah,
because your prayer has been heard,
and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son,
and you will call his name John.
14 And you will experience joy and exultation,[g]
and many will rejoice at his birth.
15 For he will be great in the sight of the Lord,
and he must never drink wine or beer,
and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit
while he is[h] still in his mother’s womb.
16 And he will turn many of the sons of Israel
to the Lord their God.
17 And he will go on before him
in the spirit and power of Elijah,
to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,
and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous,
to prepare for the Lord a people made ready.”
2012 by Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software