Elijah Ascends to Heaven

2 And it came to pass, when the Lord was about to ^(A)take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, that Elijah went with ^(B)Elisha from Gilgal. ² Then Elijah said to Elisha, ^(C)“Stay here, please, for the Lord has sent me on to Bethel.”

But Elisha said, “As the Lord lives, and ^(D)as your soul lives, I will not leave you!” So they went down to Bethel.

³ Now ^(E)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 ^[a]from over you today?”

And he said, “Yes, I know; keep silent!”

⁴ Then Elijah said to him, “Elisha, stay here, please, for the Lord has sent me on to Jericho.”

But he said, “As the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you!” So they came to Jericho.

⁵ Now the sons of the prophets who were at Jericho came to Elisha and said to him, “Do you know that the Lord will take away your master from over you today?”

So he answered, “Yes, I know; keep silent!”

⁶ Then Elijah said to him, “Stay here, please, for the Lord has sent me on to the Jordan.”

But he said, “As the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you!” So the two of them went on. ⁷ And 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; and ^(F)it was divided this way and that, so that the two of them crossed over on dry ^(G)ground.

⁹ And so it was, when they had crossed over, that Elijah said to Elisha, “Ask! What may I 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 he said, “You have asked a hard thing. Nevertheless, if you see me when I am taken from you, it shall be so for you; but if not, it shall not be so.” ¹¹ Then it happened, as they continued on and talked, that suddenly ^(H)a chariot of fire appeared with horses of fire, and separated the two of them; and Elijah ^(I)went up by a whirlwind into heaven.

¹² And Elisha saw it, and he cried out, ^(J)“My father, my father, the chariot of Israel and its horsemen!” So he saw him no more. And he took hold of his own clothes and tore them into two pieces.

God the Righteous Judge

A Psalm of Asaph.

³ But even if our gospel is veiled, ^(A)it is veiled to those who are perishing, ⁴ whose minds ^(B)the god of this age ^(C)has blinded, who do not believe, lest ^(D)the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, ^(E)who is the image of God, should shine on them. ^5 (F)For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ^(G)ourselves your bondservants for Jesus’ sake. ⁶ For it is the God ^(H)who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has ^(I)shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

Jesus Transfigured on the Mount

^2 (A)Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John, and led them up on a high mountain apart by themselves; and He was transfigured before them. ³ His clothes became shining, exceedingly ^(B)white, like snow, such as no launderer on earth can whiten them. ⁴ And Elijah appeared to them with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus. ⁵ Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah”— ⁶ because he did not know what to say, for they were greatly afraid.

⁷ And a ^(C)cloud came and overshadowed them; and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is ^(D)My beloved Son. ^(E)Hear Him!” ⁸ Suddenly, when they had looked around, they saw no one anymore, but only Jesus with themselves.

^9 (F)Now as they came down from the mountain, He commanded them that they should tell no one the things they had seen, till the Son of Man had risen from the dead.