Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
24 How countless are Your works, Lord!
In wisdom You have made them all;
the earth is full of Your creatures.[a](A)
25 Here is the sea, vast and wide,
teeming with creatures beyond number—
living things both large and small.(B)
26 There the ships move about,
and Leviathan, which You formed to play there.(C)
27 All of them wait for You
to give them their food at the right time.(D)
28 When You give it to them,
they gather it;
when You open Your hand,
they are satisfied with good things.(E)
29 When You hide Your face,
they are terrified;
when You take away their breath,
they die and return to the dust.(F)
30 When You send Your breath,[b]
they are created,
and You renew the face of the earth.(G)
31 May the glory of the Lord endure forever;
may the Lord rejoice in His works.(H)
32 He looks at the earth, and it trembles;
He touches the mountains,
and they pour out smoke.(I)
33 I will sing to the Lord all my life;
I will sing praise to my God while I live.(J)
34 May my meditation be pleasing to Him;
I will rejoice in the Lord.(K)
35 May sinners vanish from the earth
and wicked people be no more.(A)
My soul, praise Yahweh!
Hallelujah!
Elijah in the Whirlwind
2 The time had come for the Lord to take Elijah up to heaven(A) in a whirlwind.(B) Elijah and Elisha(C) were traveling from Gilgal,(D) 2 and Elijah said to Elisha,(E) “Stay here;(F) the Lord is sending me on to Bethel.”(G)
But Elisha replied, “As the Lord lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.”(H) So they went down to Bethel.
3 Then the sons of the prophets(I) who were at Bethel came out to Elisha and said, “Do you know that the Lord will take your master away from you today?”(J)
He said, “Yes, I know. Be quiet.”
4 Elijah said to him, “Elisha, stay here; the Lord is sending me to Jericho.”(K)
But Elisha said, “As the Lord lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they went to Jericho.
5 Then the sons of the prophets who were in Jericho came up to Elisha and said, “Do you know that the Lord will take your master away from you today?”
He said, “Yes, I know. Be quiet.”
6 Elijah said to him, “Stay here; the Lord is sending me to the Jordan.”(L)
But Elisha said, “As the Lord lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So the two of them went on.
7 Fifty men from the sons of the prophets came and stood facing them from a distance while the two of them stood by the Jordan. 8 Elijah took his mantle,(M) rolled it up, and struck the waters, which parted to the right and left. Then the two of them crossed over on dry ground.(N) 9 After they had crossed over, Elijah said to Elisha, “Tell me what I can do for you before I am taken from you.”
So Elisha answered, “Please, let me inherit two shares[a] of your spirit.”(O)
10 Elijah replied, “You have asked for something difficult. If you see me being taken from you,(P) you will have it. If not, you won’t.”
11 As they continued walking and talking, a chariot of fire with horses of fire(Q) suddenly appeared and separated the two of them. Then Elijah went up into heaven in the whirlwind.(R) 12 As Elisha watched, he kept crying out, “My father, my father, the chariots and horsemen of Israel!”(S) Then he never saw Elijah again. He took hold of his own clothes and tore them into two pieces.(T)
Elisha Succeeds Elijah
13 Elisha picked up the mantle(U) that had fallen off Elijah and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. 14 Then he took the mantle Elijah had dropped and struck the waters. “Where is the Lord God of Elijah?” he asked. He struck the waters himself, and they parted to the right and the left, and Elisha crossed over.
15 When the sons of the prophets from Jericho who were facing him saw him, they said, “The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha.” They came to meet him and bowed down to the ground in front of him.
Gabriel Predicts John’s Birth
5 In the days of King Herod(A) of Judea, there was a priest of Abijah’s division[a](B) named Zechariah. His wife was from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. 6 Both were righteous in God’s sight,(C) living without blame(D) according to all the commands and requirements of the Lord. 7 But they had no children[b] because Elizabeth could not conceive,[c] and both of them were well along in years.[d]
8 When his division was on duty(E) and he was serving as priest before God, 9 it happened that he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to enter the sanctuary of the Lord and burn incense.(F) 10 At the hour of incense the whole assembly of the people was praying outside. 11 An angel of the Lord(G) appeared to him, standing to the right of the altar of incense. 12 When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and overcome with fear.[e] 13 But the angel said to him:
Do not be afraid,(H) Zechariah,
because your prayer has been heard.
Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son,
and you will name him John.(I)
14 There will be joy and delight for you,
and many will rejoice at his birth.
15 For he will be great in the sight of the Lord
and will never drink wine or beer.(J)
He will be filled with the Holy Spirit
while still in his mother’s womb.(K)
16 He will turn many of the sons of Israel
to the Lord their God.
17 And he will go before Him
in the spirit and power of Elijah,
to turn the hearts of fathers
to their children,(L)
and the disobedient
to the understanding of the righteous,
to make ready for the Lord a prepared people.(M)
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