4 Kingdoms 2
Elijah Caught Up to Heaven
1 As the time came to be for the Lord to take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha went from Gilgal.†
2 Then Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here, please, for the Lord sent me to Bethel.” But Elisha said, “As the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you!” So they went to Bethel.
3 Now the sons of the prophets at Bethel came out to Elisha, and said to him, “Do you know that this day the Lord will take away your master from over your head?” And he said, “I know. Please be silent!”
4 Then Elijah said to him, “Elisha, stay here, please, for the Lord sent me to Jericho.” But he said, “As the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you!” And they went to Jericho.
5 Now the sons of the prophets in Jericho came to Elisha and said to him, “Do you know that this day the Lord will take away your master from over your head?” So he answered, “I know, please be silent!”
6 Then Elijah said to him, “Stay here, please, for the Lord sent me on to the Jordan.” But Elisha said, “As the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you!” So both of them went on.
7 Fifty men of the sons of the prophets went and stood facing them at a distance, while the two of them stood by the Jordan.
8 Now Elijah took his mantle, rolled it up, and struck the water. The water divided this way and that, and the two of them crossed on dry ground.†
9 So it was that during the time they crossed over, Elijah said to Elisha, “Ask what I may do for you, before I am taken away from you.” Elisha said, “Please let a double portion of your spirit be upon me.”
10 So Elijah said, “You have asked a hard thing. If you see me when I am taken up from you, it shall be so for you; and if not, it shall not be so.”
11 Thus it came to be, as they walked and continued to talk, behold a chariot of fire appeared with horses of fire, and the fire separated them one from the other; and Elijah was taken up into heaven by a whirlwind.†
12 Then Elisha saw it and cried aloud, “Father, O father, the chariot of Israel and its horsemen!” He saw Elijah no more, and he took hold of his own clothes and tore them into two pieces.†
13 Then he raised Elijah’s mantle, which fell from Elijah and upon Elisha, and Elisha returned and stood on the bank of the River Jordan.†
14 He took Elijah’s mantle which had fallen upon him and struck the water, but it did not divide. Then he said, “Where is the Lord God of Elijah himself?” And he struck the water again, and it divided this way and that. So Elisha crossed over.
15 When the sons of the prophets in Jericho met him and saw him, they said, “The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha.” And they came to meet him and bowed to the ground before him.†
16 They said to him, “Look! There are fifty men of power with your servants. Please let them go and search for your master, lest perhaps the Spirit of the Lord took him up and cast him into the Jordan or onto one of the mountains or onto one of the hills.” Elisha said, “Send no one.”
17 But they urged him till he was ashamed, and he said, “Send them!” They sent fifty men and searched for three days, but did not find him.
18 They came back to where Elisha stayed in Jericho. And he said to them, “Did I not say to you, ‘Do not go’?”
Elisha Works Miracles
19 Then the men of the city said to Elisha, “Behold, as my lord can see, this city is a pleasant place to live, but the water is bad, and the ground is barren.”
20 So Elisha said, “Bring me a new water pitcher and put salt in it.” So they brought it to him.
21 Then he went out to the spring of the waters and cast salt into it, and said, “Thus says the Lord: ‘I have healed these waters; from them there shall no longer be death or barrenness.’ ”
22 So the water was healed by the word Elisha spoke, and so it remains today.
23 From there he went up to Bethel. Along the way some young boys came from the city who continued teasing him by saying, “Go up, baldy, go up!”†
24 So Elisha turned around and stared at them. He then cursed them in the name of the Lord, and two female bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the boys.
25 From there he went to Mount Carmel, and from there he returned to Samaria.
Psalms 91
1 A psalm of an ode; for the Sabbath day. †
2 It is good to give thanks to the Lord And to sing to Your name, O Most High,
3 To proclaim Your mercy in the morning And Your truth at night,
4 On the harp of ten strings, with an ode on the lyre.
5 For You make me glad, O Lord, with Your work, And I will greatly rejoice in the works of Your hands.
6 How magnificent are Your works, O Lord; Your thoughts are exceedingly deep.
7 A man without discernment shall not know these things, And a senseless man shall not understand them.
8 When sinners grow like grass, And all the workers of lawlessness have arrogant looks, It is so that they may be destroyed unto ages of ages.
9 But You, O Lord, are Most High forever;
10 For behold, Your enemies shall perish, And all who work lawlessness shall be scattered abroad;
11 And my horn shall be exalted like the unicorn, And my old age shall be blessed with rich mercy;
12 My eye looked upon my enemies, And my ear shall hear of evildoers who rise up against me.
13 The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree; He shall be multiplied like the cedar in Lebanon.
14 Those planted in the house of the Lord Shall blossom forth in the courts of our God;
15 They shall still be increased in a rich old age, And shall be prospering
16 So as to proclaim, “The Lord my God is upright, And there is no wrongdoing in Him.”
Proverbs of Solomon 19
25 When a pestilent man is punished, a man without discernment becomes more astute, But if you reprove a discerning man, he will understand perception.†
26 He who dishonors his father and pushes away his mother, He will be shamed and reproached.
27 A son who forsakes guarding his father’s instruction, He will think about evil sayings.
28 He who becomes surety for an undiscerning child despises the ordinance, And the mouth of the ungodly swallows judgments.
29 Lashes are prepared for the intemperate And punishments for the shoulders of those without discernment.†
Luke 15
The Lost Sheep
1 Then all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Him to hear Him.
2 And the Pharisees and scribes complained, saying, “This Man receives sinners and eats with them.”†
3 So He spoke this parable to them, saying:
4 “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it?†
5 And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.
6 And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’
7 I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance.
The Lost Coin
8 “Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? †
9 And when she has found it, she calls her friends and neighbors together, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the piece which I lost!’
10 Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”