Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

²⁴ How many have been Thy works, O Jehovah, All of them in wisdom Thou hast made, Full is the earth of thy possessions.

²⁵ This, the sea, great and broad of sides, There [are] moving things -- innumerable, Living creatures -- small with great.

²⁶ There do ships go: leviathan, That Thou hast formed to play in it.

²⁷ All of them unto Thee do look, To give their food in its season.

²⁸ Thou dost give to them -- they gather, Thou dost open Thy hand -- they [are] satisfied [with] good.

²⁹ Thou hidest Thy face -- they are troubled, Thou gatherest their spirit -- they expire, And unto their dust they turn back.

³⁰ Thou sendest out Thy Spirit, they are created, And Thou renewest the face of the ground.

³¹ The honour of Jehovah is to the age, Jehovah rejoiceth in His works,

³² Who is looking to earth, and it trembleth, He cometh against hills, and they smoke.

³³ I sing to Jehovah during my life, I sing praise to my God while I exist.

³⁴ Sweet is my meditation on Him, I -- I do rejoice in Jehovah.

³⁵ Consumed are sinners from the earth, And the wicked are no more. Bless, O my soul, Jehovah. Praise ye Jehovah!

2 And it cometh to pass, at Jehovah's taking up Elijah in a whirlwind to the heavens, that Elijah goeth, and Elisha, from Gilgal,

² and Elijah saith unto Elisha, `Abide, I pray thee, here, for Jehovah hath sent me unto Beth-El;' and Elisha saith, `Jehovah liveth, and thy soul liveth, if I leave thee;' and they go down to Beth-El.

³ And sons of the prophets who [are] in Beth-El come out unto Elisha, and say unto him, `Hast thou known that to-day Jehovah is taking thy lord from thy head?' and he saith, `I also have known -- keep silent.'

⁴ And Elijah saith to him, `Elisha, abide, I pray thee, here, for Jehovah hath sent me to Jericho;' and he saith, `Jehovah liveth, and thy soul liveth, if I leave thee;' and they come in to Jericho.

⁵ And sons of the prophets who [are] in Jericho come nigh unto Elisha, and say unto him, `Hast thou known that to-day Jehovah is taking thy lord from thy head?' and he saith, `I also have known -- keep silent.'

⁶ And Elijah saith to him, `Abide, I pray thee, here, for Jehovah hath sent me to the Jordan;' and he saith, `Jehovah liveth, and thy soul liveth, if I leave thee;' and they go on both of them,

⁷ -- and fifty men of the sons of the prophets have gone on, and stand over-against afar off -- and both of them have stood by the Jordan.

⁸ And Elijah taketh his robe, and wrappeth [it] together, and smiteth the waters, and they are halved, hither and thither, and they pass over both of them on dry land.

⁹ And it cometh to pass, at their passing over, that Elijah hath said unto Elisha, `Ask, what do I do for thee before I am taken from thee?' and Elisha saith, `Then let there be, I pray thee, a double portion of thy spirit unto me;'

¹⁰ and he saith, `Thou hast asked a hard thing; if thou dost see me taken from thee, it is to thee so; and if not, it is not.'

¹¹ And it cometh to pass, they are going, going on and speaking, and lo, a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and they separate between them both, and Elijah goeth up in a whirlwind, to the heavens.

¹² And Elisha is seeing, and he is crying, `My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and its horsemen;' and he hath not seen him again; and he taketh hold on his garments, and rendeth them into two pieces.

¹³ And he taketh up the robe of Elijah, that fell from off him, and turneth back and standeth on the edge of the Jordan,

¹⁴ and he taketh the robe of Elijah that fell from off him, and smiteth the waters, and saith, `Where [is] Jehovah, God of Elijah -- even He?' and he smiteth the waters, and they are halved, hither and thither, and Elisha passeth over.

¹⁵ And they see him -- the sons of the prophets who [are] in Jericho -- over-against, and they say, `Rested hath the spirit of Elijah on Elisha;' and they come to meet him, and bow themselves to him to the earth,

⁵ There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest, by name Zacharias, of the course of Abijah, and his wife of the daughters of Aaron, and her name Elisabeth;

⁶ and they were both righteous before God, going on in all the commands and righteousnesses of the Lord blameless,

⁷ and they had no child, because that Elisabeth was barren, and both were advanced in their days.

⁸ And it came to pass, in his acting as priest, in the order of his course before God,

⁹ according to the custom of the priesthood, his lot was to make perfume, having gone into the sanctuary of the Lord,

¹⁰ and all the multitude of the people were praying without, at the hour of the perfume.

¹¹ And there appeared to him a messenger of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of the perfume,

¹² and Zacharias, having seen, was troubled, and fear fell on him;

¹³ and the messenger said unto him, `Fear not, Zacharias, for thy supplication was heard, and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear a son to thee, and thou shalt call his name John,

¹⁴ and there shall be joy to thee, and gladness, and many at his birth shall joy,

¹⁵ for he shall be great before the Lord, and wine and strong drink he may not drink, and of the Holy Spirit he shall be full, even from his mother's womb;

¹⁶ and many of the sons of Israel he shall turn to the Lord their God,

¹⁷ and he shall go before Him, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn hearts of fathers unto children, and disobedient ones to the wisdom of righteous ones, to make ready for the Lord, a people prepared.'