Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
24 Lord, ·you have made many things;
with your wisdom you made them all [Prov. 8:22–31].
The earth is full of your ·riches [or creatures].
25 Look at the sea, so big and wide,
with creatures large and small, ·creeping [swarming] things that cannot be counted.
26 Ships travel over the ocean,
and there is Leviathan [C a sea monster and symbol of chaos; 74:14; Job 3:8; 41:1; Is. 27:1],
which you made to play there.
27 All these things ·depend [hope; wait] on you
to give them their food at the right time.
28 When you give it to them,
they gather it up.
When you open your hand,
they are ·filled [satisfied] with good food.
29 When you ·turn away [L hide your face] from them,
they ·become frightened [are terrified].
When you take away their breath,
they ·die [expire] and turn to dust [Gen. 2:7; Eccl. 12:7].
30 When you ·breathe [L send your breath/or Spirit] on them,
they are created [Gen. 2:7],
and you make the land new again.
31 May the glory of the Lord [C his manifest presence] be forever.
May the Lord ·enjoy [rejoice in] what he has made.
32 He just looks at the earth, and it ·shakes [trembles].
He touches the mountains, and they smoke.
33 I will sing to the Lord all my life;
I will ·sing praises [make a psalm] to my God as long as I live.
34 May my ·thoughts [meditations] please him;
I ·am happy [will rejoice] in the Lord.
35 Let sinners be ·destroyed [obliterated] from the earth,
and let the wicked live no longer.
·My whole being [T O my soul], ·praise [bless] the Lord.
Praise the Lord.
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.
Zechariah and Elizabeth
5 During the time ·Herod ruled Judea [L of Herod, king of Judea], there was a priest named Zechariah who belonged to ·Abijah’s group [the priestly division/order of Abijah; C priests were divided into twenty-four divisions; 2 Chr. 31:2]. Zechariah’s wife, Elizabeth, came from the ·family [L daughters; C female descendants] of Aaron [C brother of Moses and first high priest of Israel; for a priest like Zechariah to marry a woman of priestly ancestry was a special blessing]. 6 [L Both] Zechariah and Elizabeth ·truly did what God said was good [L were righteous before God]. They ·did [followed; walked in] everything the Lord commanded and were ·without fault [blameless] in keeping his ·law [regulations; requirements]. 7 But they had no children, because Elizabeth ·could not have a baby [could not conceive; T was barren], and both of them were very old [Gen. 17:17; 18:11].
8 One day Zechariah was serving as a priest before God, because his ·group [order; division] was on duty. 9 According to the custom of the ·priests [L priesthood], he was chosen by lot [C similar to dice; used to determine God’s will] to go into the Temple of the Lord and burn incense [1 Chr. 6:49; Heb. 9:6]. 10 ·There were a great many people [L The whole multitude of the people were] outside praying at the ·time [L hour] the incense was offered. 11 Then an angel ·of [sent by] the Lord appeared to Zechariah, standing on the right side of the incense ·table [altar]. 12 When he saw the angel, Zechariah was ·startled [shaken] and frightened. 13 But the angel said to him, “Zechariah, don’t be afraid. God has heard your ·prayer [petition]. Your wife, Elizabeth, will ·give birth to [bear for you] a son, and you will name him John. 14 He will bring you joy and ·gladness [delight], and many people will ·be happy [rejoice] because of his birth. 15 [L For; Because] John will be a great man ·for [in the eyes of; L before] the Lord. He will never drink wine or beer [C indicating he will be set apart to God for special service; Num. 6:3], and even ·from birth [or in his mother’s womb; 1:41, 44], he will be filled with the Holy Spirit. 16 He will help many ·people [L of the children] of Israel return to the Lord their God [1 Kin. 18:37]. 17 He will go before ·the Lord [L him] in [the] spirit and power ·like [of] Elijah. He will ·make peace between parents and [L turn the hearts of parents/fathers back to] their children and will bring those who are not obeying God back to the ·right way of thinking [or wisdom of the righteous], ·to make a people ready [L to prepare a people who are fit/ready] for the ·coming of the Lord [L Lord; Mal. 4:5–6].”
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