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. ¹³ He also took up the mantle of Elijah that fell from him and returned and stood by the bank of the Jordan. ¹⁴ He took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him and struck the waters and said, “Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah?” And when he also had ^(W)struck the waters, they were divided here and there; and Elisha crossed over.

Elisha Succeeds Elijah

¹⁵ Now when ^(X)the sons of the prophets who were at Jericho opposite him saw him, they said, “The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha.” And they came to meet him and bowed themselves to the ground before him. ¹⁶ They said to him, “Behold now, there are with your servants fifty strong men, please let them go and search for your master; perhaps ^(Y)the Spirit of the Lord has taken him up and cast him on some mountain or into some valley.” And he said, “You shall not send.” ¹⁷ But when ^(Z)they urged him until he was ashamed, he said, “Send.” They sent therefore fifty men; and they searched three days but did not find him. ¹⁸ They returned to him while he was staying at Jericho; and he said to them, “Did I not say to you, ‘Do not go’?”

¹⁹ Then the men of the city said to Elisha, “Behold now, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord sees; but the water is bad and the land ^[h]is unfruitful.” ²⁰ He said, “Bring me a new jar, and put salt ^[i]in it.” So they brought it to him. ²¹ He went out to the spring of water and ^(AA)threw salt ^[j]in it and said, “Thus says the Lord, ‘I have ^[k]purified these waters; there shall not be from there death or ^[l]unfruitfulness any longer.’” ²² So the waters have been ^[m]purified to this day, according to the word of Elisha which he spoke.

²³ Then he went up from there to Bethel; and as he was going up by the way, young lads came out from the city and ^(AB)mocked him and said to him, “Go up, you baldhead; go up, you baldhead!” ²⁴ When he looked behind him and saw them, he ^(AC)cursed them in the name of the Lord. Then two female bears came out of the woods and tore up forty-two lads of ^[n]their number. ²⁵ He went from there to ^(AD)Mount Carmel, and from there he returned to Samaria.

Jehoram Meets Moab Rebellion

3 Now Jehoram the son of Ahab became king over Israel at Samaria ^(AE)in the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and reigned twelve years. ² He did evil in the sight of the Lord, though not like his father and his mother; for ^(AF)he put away the sacred pillar of Baal ^(AG)which his father had made. ³ Nevertheless, ^(AH)he clung to the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, ^(AI)which he made Israel sin; he did not depart from them.

⁴ Now Mesha king of Moab was a sheep breeder, and ^(AJ)used to pay the king of Israel 100,000 lambs and the wool of 100,000 rams. ⁵ But ^(AK)when Ahab died, the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel. ⁶ And King Jehoram went out of Samaria ^[o]at that time and mustered all Israel. ⁷ Then he went and sent word to Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, saying, “The king of Moab has rebelled against me. Will you go with me to fight against Moab?” And he said, “I will go up; ^(AL)I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses.” ⁸ He said, “Which way shall we go up?” And he ^[p]answered, “The way of the wilderness of Edom.”

⁹ So ^(AM)the king of Israel went with ^(AN)the king of Judah and ^(AO)the king of Edom; and they made a circuit of seven days’ journey, and there was no water for the army or for the cattle that followed them. ¹⁰ Then the king of Israel said, “Alas! For the Lord has called these three kings to give them into the hand of Moab.” ¹¹ But Jehoshaphat said, “^(AP)Is there not a prophet of the Lord here, that we may inquire of the Lord by him?” And one of the king of Israel’s servants answered and said, “^(AQ)Elisha the son of Shaphat is here, ^(AR)who used to pour water on the hands of Elijah.” ¹² Jehoshaphat said, “The word of the Lord is with him.” So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom went down to him.

¹³ Now Elisha said to the king of Israel, “What do I have to do with you? ^(AS)Go to the prophets of your father and to the prophets of your mother.” And the king of Israel said to him, “No, for the Lord has called these three kings together to give them into the hand of Moab.” ¹⁴ Elisha said, “^(AT)As the Lord of hosts lives, before whom I stand, were it not that I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, I would not look at you nor see you. ¹⁵ But now ^(AU)bring me a minstrel.” And it came about, when the minstrel played, that ^(AV)the hand of the Lord came upon him. ¹⁶ He said, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Make this valley full of trenches.’ ¹⁷ For thus says the Lord, ‘You shall not see wind nor shall you see rain; yet that valley ^(AW)shall be filled with water, so that you shall drink, both you and your cattle and your beasts. ¹⁸ This is but a ^(AX)slight thing in the sight of the Lord; He will also give the Moabites into your hand. ^19 (AY)Then you shall strike every fortified city and every choice city, and fell every good tree and stop all springs of water, and mar every good piece of land with stones.’” ²⁰ It happened in the morning ^(AZ)about the time of offering the sacrifice, that behold, water came by the way of Edom, and the country was filled with water.

²¹ Now all the Moabites heard that the kings had come up to fight against them. And all who were able to ^[q]put on armor and older were summoned and stood on the border. ²² They rose early in the morning, and the sun shone on the water, and the Moabites saw the water opposite them as red as blood. ²³ Then they said, “This is blood; the kings have surely fought together, and they have slain one another. Now therefore, Moab, to the spoil!” ²⁴ But when they came to the camp of Israel, the Israelites arose and struck the Moabites, so that they fled before them; and they went forward ^[r]into the land, ^[s]slaughtering the Moabites. ^25 (BA)Thus they destroyed the cities; and each one threw a stone on every piece of good land and filled it. So they stopped all the springs of water and felled all the good trees, until in ^(BB)Kir-hareseth only they left its stones; however, the slingers went about it and struck it. ²⁶ When the king of Moab saw that the battle was too fierce for him, he took with him 700 men who drew swords, to break through to the king of Edom; but they could not. ²⁷ Then he took his oldest son who was to reign in his place, and ^(BC)offered him as a burnt offering on the wall. And there came great wrath against Israel, and they departed from him and returned to their own land.

The Beauty and Glory of Zion.

A Song; a Psalm of the sons of Korah.

The Temptation of Jesus

4 ^(A)Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness ^(B)to be tempted by the devil. ² And after He had ^(C)fasted forty days and forty nights, He ^[a]then became hungry. ³ And ^(D)the tempter came and said to Him, “If You are the ^(E)Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” ⁴ But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘^(F)Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.’”

⁵ Then the devil *took Him into ^(G)the holy city and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, ⁶ and *said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down; for it is written,

and

⁷ Jesus said to him, “^[b]On the other hand, it is written, ‘^(I)You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

^8 (J)Again, the devil *took Him to a very high mountain and *showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory; ⁹ and he said to Him, “^(K)All these things I will give You, if You fall down and ^[c]worship me.” ¹⁰ Then Jesus *said to him, “Go, Satan! For it is written, ‘^(L)You shall worship the Lord your God, and ^[d]serve Him only.’” ¹¹ Then the devil *left Him; and behold, ^(M)angels came and began to minister to Him.

Jesus Begins His Ministry

¹² Now when Jesus heard that ^(N)John had been taken into custody, ^(O)He withdrew into Galilee; ¹³ and leaving Nazareth, He came and ^(P)settled in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali. ¹⁴ This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet:

^17 (S)From that time Jesus began to ^[g]preach and say, “^(T)Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

The First Disciples

^18 (U)Now as Jesus was walking by ^(V)the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, ^(W)Simon who was called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. ¹⁹ And He *said to them, “^[h]Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” ²⁰ Immediately they left their nets and followed Him. ²¹ Going on from there He saw two other brothers, ^[i](X)James the son of Zebedee, and ^[j]John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and He called them. ²² Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him.

Ministry in Galilee

²³ Jesus was going ^(Y)throughout all Galilee, ^(Z)teaching in their synagogues and ^(AA)proclaiming the ^[k]gospel of the kingdom, and ^(AB)healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness among the people.

²⁴ The news about Him spread ^(AC)throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all who were ill, those suffering with various diseases and pains, ^(AD)demoniacs, ^[l](AE)epileptics, ^(AF)paralytics; and He healed them. ²⁵ Large crowds ^(AG)followed Him from Galilee and ^(AH)the Decapolis and Jerusalem and Judea and from ^(AI)beyond the Jordan.