Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Elijah Taken to Heaven
2 And it came about when the Lord was about to (A)take up Elijah by a [a]whirlwind to heaven, that Elijah went with (B)Elisha from (C)Gilgal. 2 Elijah said to Elisha, “(D)Stay here please, for the Lord has sent me as far as (E)Bethel.” But Elisha said, “(F)As the Lord lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they went down to Bethel. 3 Then (G)the sons of the prophets who were at Bethel came out to Elisha and said to him, “Do you know that the Lord will take away your master from over [b]you today?” And he said, “Yes, I know; be still.”
4 Elijah said to him, “Elisha, please (H)stay here, for the Lord has sent me to (I)Jericho.” But he said, “(J)As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they came to Jericho. 5 (K)The sons of the prophets who were at Jericho approached Elisha and said to him, “(L)Do you know that the Lord will take away your master from over [c]you today?” And he [d]answered, “Yes, I know; be still.” 6 Then Elijah said to him, “Please (M)stay here, for the Lord has sent me to (N)the Jordan.” And he said, “As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So the two of them went on.
7 Now (O)fifty men of the sons of the prophets went and stood opposite them at a distance, while the two of them stood by the Jordan. 8 Elijah (P)took his mantle and folded it together and (Q)struck the waters, and they were divided here and there, so that the two of them crossed over on dry ground.
9 When they had crossed over, Elijah said to Elisha, “Ask what I shall do for you before I am taken from you.” And Elisha said, “Please, let a (R)double portion of your spirit be upon me.” 10 He said, “You have asked a hard thing. Nevertheless, if you (S)see me when I am taken from you, it shall be so for you; but if not, it shall not be so.” 11 As they were going along and talking, behold, there appeared (T)a chariot of fire and horses of fire which separated the two of them. And Elijah went up by a [e]whirlwind to heaven. 12 Elisha saw it and cried out, “(U)My father, my father, the [f]chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” And he saw [g]Elijah no more. Then (V)he took hold of his own clothes and tore them in two pieces.
God the Judge of the Righteous and the Wicked.
A Psalm of [a]Asaph.
50 (A)The Mighty One, God, the Lord, has spoken,
And summoned the earth (B)from the rising of the sun to its setting.
2 Out of Zion, (C)the perfection of beauty,
God (D)has shone forth.
3 May our God (E)come and not keep silence;
(F)Fire devours before Him,
And it is very (G)tempestuous around Him.
4 He (H)summons the heavens above,
And the earth, to judge His people:
5 “Gather My (I)godly ones to Me,
Those who have made a (J)covenant with Me by (K)sacrifice.”
6 And the (L)heavens declare His righteousness,
For (M)God Himself is judge. [b]Selah.
3 And even if our (A)gospel is (B)veiled, it is veiled [a]to (C)those who are perishing, 4 in whose case (D)the god of (E)this [b]world has (F)blinded the minds of the unbelieving [c]so that they might not see the (G)light of the gospel of the (H)glory of Christ, who is the (I)image of God. 5 For we (J)do not preach ourselves but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your bond-servants [d]for Jesus’ sake. 6 For God, who said, “(K)Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has (L)shone in our hearts to give the (M)Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.
2 (A)Six days later, Jesus *took with Him (B)Peter and [a]James and John, and *brought them up on a high mountain by themselves. And He was transfigured before them; 3 and (C)His garments became radiant and exceedingly white, as no launderer on earth can whiten them. 4 Elijah appeared to them along with Moses; and they were talking with Jesus. 5 Peter *said to Jesus, “(D)Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; (E)let us make three [b]tabernacles, one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” 6 For he did not know what to answer; for they became terrified. 7 Then a cloud [c]formed, overshadowing them, and (F)a voice [d]came out of the cloud, “(G)This is My beloved Son, [e]listen to Him!” 8 All at once they looked around and saw no one with them anymore, except Jesus alone.
9 (H)As they were coming down from the mountain, He (I)gave them orders not to relate to anyone what they had seen, [f]until the Son of Man rose from the dead.
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