2 Kings 1-2

New International Version

The Lord’s Judgment on Ahaziah

1 After Ahab’s death, Moab^(A) rebelled against Israel. ²Now Ahaziah had fallen through the lattice of his upper room in Samaria and injured himself. So he sent messengers,^(B) saying to them, “Go and consult Baal-Zebub,^(C) the god of Ekron,^(D) to see if I will recover^(E) from this injury.”

³But the angel^(F) of the Lord said to Elijah^(G) the Tishbite, “Go up and meet the messengers of the king of Samaria and ask them, ‘Is it because there is no God in Israel^(H) that you are going off to consult Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron?’ ⁴Therefore this is what the Lord says: ‘You will not leave^(I) the bed you are lying on. You will certainly die!’” So Elijah went.

⁵When the messengers returned to the king, he asked them, “Why have you come back?”

⁶“A man came to meet us,” they replied. “And he said to us, ‘Go back to the king who sent you and tell him, “This is what the Lord says: Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are sending messengers to consult Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore you will not leave^(J) the bed you are lying on. You will certainly die!”’”

⁷The king asked them, “What kind of man was it who came to meet you and told you this?”

⁸They replied, “He had a garment of hair^[a]^(K) and had a leather belt around his waist.”

The king said, “That was Elijah the Tishbite.”

⁹Then he sent^(L) to Elijah a captain^(M) with his company of fifty men. The captain went up to Elijah, who was sitting on the top of a hill, and said to him, “Man of God, the king says, ‘Come down!’”

¹⁰Elijah answered the captain, “If I am a man of God, may fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men!” Then fire^(N) fell from heaven and consumed the captain and his men.

¹¹At this the king sent to Elijah another captain with his fifty men. The captain said to him, “Man of God, this is what the king says, ‘Come down at once!’”

¹²“If I am a man of God,” Elijah replied, “may fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men!” Then the fire of God fell from heaven and consumed him and his fifty men.

¹³So the king sent a third captain with his fifty men. This third captain went up and fell on his knees before Elijah. “Man of God,” he begged, “please have respect for my life^(O) and the lives of these fifty men, your servants! ¹⁴See, fire has fallen from heaven and consumed the first two captains and all their men. But now have respect for my life!”

¹⁵The angel^(P) of the Lord said to Elijah, “Go down with him; do not be afraid^(Q) of him.” So Elijah got up and went down with him to the king.

¹⁶He told the king, “This is what the Lord says: Is it because there is no God in Israel for you to consult that you have sent messengers^(R) to consult Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron? Because you have done this, you will never leave^(S) the bed you are lying on. You will certainly die!” ¹⁷So he died,^(T) according to the word of the Lord that Elijah had spoken.

Because Ahaziah had no son, Joram^[b]^(U) succeeded him as king in the second year of Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah. ¹⁸As for all the other events of Ahaziah’s reign, and what he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel?

Elijah Taken Up to Heaven

2 When the Lord was about to take^(V) Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind,^(W) Elijah and Elisha^(X) were on their way from Gilgal.^(Y) ²Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here;^(Z) the Lord has sent me to Bethel.”

But Elisha said, “As surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you.”^(AA) So they went down to Bethel.

³The company^(AB) of the prophets at Bethel came out to Elisha and asked, “Do you know that the Lord is going to take your master from you today?”

“Yes, I know,” Elisha replied, “so be quiet.”

⁴Then Elijah said to him, “Stay here, Elisha; the Lord has sent me to Jericho.^(AC)”

And he replied, “As surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you.” So they went to Jericho.

⁵The company^(AD) of the prophets at Jericho went up to Elisha and asked him, “Do you know that the Lord is going to take your master from you today?”

“Yes, I know,” he replied, “so be quiet.”

⁶Then Elijah said to him, “Stay here;^(AE) the Lord has sent me to the Jordan.”^(AF)

And he replied, “As surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you.”^(AG) So the two of them walked on.

⁷Fifty men from the company of the prophets went and stood at a distance, facing the place where Elijah and Elisha had stopped at the Jordan. ⁸Elijah took his cloak,^(AH) rolled it up and struck^(AI) the water with it. The water divided^(AJ) to the right and to the left, and the two of them crossed over on dry^(AK) ground.

⁹When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, “Tell me, what can I do for you before I am taken from you?”

“Let me inherit a double^(AL) portion of your spirit,”^(AM) Elisha replied.

¹⁰“You have asked a difficult thing,” Elijah said, “yet if you see me when I am taken from you, it will be yours—otherwise, it will not.”

¹¹As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire^(AN) and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven^(AO) in a whirlwind.^(AP) ¹²Elisha saw this and cried out, “My father! My father! The chariots^(AQ) and horsemen of Israel!” And Elisha saw him no more. Then he took hold of his garment and tore^(AR) it in two.

¹³Elisha then picked up Elijah’s cloak that had fallen from him and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. ¹⁴He took the cloak^(AS) that had fallen from Elijah and struck^(AT) the water with it. “Where now is the Lord, the God of Elijah?” he asked. When he struck the water, it divided to the right and to the left, and he crossed over.

¹⁵The company^(AU) of the prophets from Jericho, who were watching, said, “The spirit^(AV) of Elijah is resting on Elisha.” And they went to meet him and bowed to the ground before him. ¹⁶“Look,” they said, “we your servants have fifty able men. Let them go and look for your master. Perhaps the Spirit^(AW) of the Lord has picked him up^(AX) and set him down on some mountain or in some valley.”

“No,” Elisha replied, “do not send them.”

¹⁷But they persisted until he was too embarrassed^(AY) to refuse. So he said, “Send them.” And they sent fifty men, who searched for three days but did not find him. ¹⁸When they returned to Elisha, who was staying in Jericho, he said to them, “Didn’t I tell you not to go?”

Healing of the Water

¹⁹The people of the city said to Elisha, “Look, our lord, this town is well situated, as you can see, but the water is bad and the land is unproductive.”

²⁰“Bring me a new bowl,” he said, “and put salt in it.” So they brought it to him.

²¹Then he went out to the spring and threw^(AZ) the salt into it, saying, “This is what the Lord says: ‘I have healed this water. Never again will it cause death or make the land unproductive.’” ²²And the water has remained pure^(BA) to this day, according to the word Elisha had spoken.

Elisha Is Jeered

²³From there Elisha went up to Bethel. As he was walking along the road, some boys came out of the town and jeered^(BB) at him. “Get out of here, baldy!” they said. “Get out of here, baldy!” ²⁴He turned around, looked at them and called down a curse^(BC) on them in the name^(BD) of the Lord. Then two bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the boys. ²⁵And he went on to Mount Carmel^(BE) and from there returned to Samaria.

Footnotes

2 Kings 1:8 Or He was a hairy man
2 Kings 1:17 Hebrew Jehoram, a variant of Joram

Jeremiah 8-9

New International Version

8 “‘At that time, declares the Lord, the bones of the kings and officials of Judah, the bones of the priests and prophets, and the bones^(A) of the people of Jerusalem will be removed^(B) from their graves. ²They will be exposed to the sun and the moon and all the stars of the heavens, which they have loved and served^(C) and which they have followed and consulted and worshiped.^(D) They will not be gathered up or buried,^(E) but will be like dung lying on the ground.^(F) ³Wherever I banish them,^(G) all the survivors of this evil nation will prefer death to life,^(H) declares the Lord Almighty.’

Sin and Punishment

⁴“Say to them, ‘This is what the Lord says:

“‘When people fall down, do they not get up?^(I)
    When someone turns away,^(J) do they not return?
⁵Why then have these people turned away?
    Why does Jerusalem always turn away?
They cling to deceit;^(K)
    they refuse to return.^(L)
⁶I have listened^(M) attentively,
    but they do not say what is right.
None of them repent^(N) of their wickedness,
    saying, “What have I done?”
Each pursues their own course^(O)
    like a horse charging into battle.
⁷Even the stork in the sky
    knows her appointed seasons,
and the dove, the swift and the thrush
    observe the time of their migration.
But my people do not know^(P)
    the requirements of the Lord.

⁸“‘How can you say, “We are wise,
    for we have the law^(Q) of the Lord,”
when actually the lying pen of the scribes
    has handled it falsely?
⁹The wise^(R) will be put to shame;
    they will be dismayed^(S) and trapped.^(T)
Since they have rejected the word^(U) of the Lord,
    what kind of wisdom^(V) do they have?
¹⁰Therefore I will give their wives to other men
    and their fields to new owners.^(W)
From the least to the greatest,
    all are greedy for gain;^(X)
prophets^(Y) and priests alike,
    all practice deceit.^(Z)
¹¹They dress the wound of my people
    as though it were not serious.
“Peace, peace,” they say,
    when there is no peace.^(AA)
¹²Are they ashamed of their detestable conduct?
    No, they have no shame^(AB) at all;
    they do not even know how to blush.
So they will fall among the fallen;
    they will be brought down when they are punished,^(AC)
says the Lord.^(AD)

¹³“‘I will take away their harvest,
declares the Lord.
    There will be no grapes on the vine.^(AE)
There will be no figs^(AF) on the tree,
    and their leaves will wither.^(AG)
What I have given them
    will be taken^(AH) from them.^[a]’”

¹⁴Why are we sitting here?
    Gather together!
Let us flee to the fortified cities^(AI)
    and perish there!
For the Lord our God has doomed us to perish
    and given us poisoned water^(AJ) to drink,
    because we have sinned^(AK) against him.
¹⁵We hoped for peace^(AL)
    but no good has come,
for a time of healing
    but there is only terror.^(AM)
¹⁶The snorting of the enemy’s horses^(AN)
    is heard from Dan;^(AO)
at the neighing of their stallions
    the whole land trembles.^(AP)
They have come to devour^(AQ)
    the land and everything in it,
    the city and all who live there.

¹⁷“See, I will send venomous snakes^(AR) among you,
vipers that cannot be charmed,^(AS)
and they will bite you,”
declares the Lord.

¹⁸You who are my Comforter^[b] in sorrow,
    my heart is faint^(AT) within me.
¹⁹Listen to the cry of my people
    from a land far away:^(AU)
“Is the Lord not in Zion?
    Is her King^(AV) no longer there?”

“Why have they aroused^(AW) my anger with their images,
with their worthless^(AX) foreign idols?”^(AY)

²⁰“The harvest is past,
the summer has ended,
and we are not saved.”

²¹Since my people are crushed,^(AZ) I am crushed;
    I mourn,^(BA) and horror grips me.
²²Is there no balm in Gilead?^(BB)
    Is there no physician^(BC) there?
Why then is there no healing^(BD)
    for the wound of my people?

9 ^[c]¹Oh, that my head were a spring of water
    and my eyes a fountain of tears!^(BE)
I would weep^(BF) day and night
    for the slain of my people.^(BG)
²Oh, that I had in the desert^(BH)
    a lodging place for travelers,
so that I might leave my people
    and go away from them;
for they are all adulterers,^(BI)
    a crowd of unfaithful^(BJ) people.

³“They make ready their tongue
    like a bow, to shoot lies;^(BK)
it is not by truth
    that they triumph^[d] in the land.
They go from one sin to another;
    they do not acknowledge^(BL) me,”
declares the Lord.
⁴“Beware of your friends;^(BM)
    do not trust anyone in your clan.^(BN)
For every one of them is a deceiver,^[e]^(BO)
    and every friend a slanderer.^(BP)
⁵Friend deceives friend,^(BQ)
    and no one speaks the truth.^(BR)
They have taught their tongues to lie;^(BS)
    they weary themselves with sinning.
⁶You^[f] live in the midst of deception;^(BT)
    in their deceit they refuse to acknowledge me,”
declares the Lord.

⁷Therefore this is what the Lord Almighty says:

“See, I will refine^(BU) and test^(BV) them,
    for what else can I do
    because of the sin of my people?
⁸Their tongue^(BW) is a deadly arrow;
    it speaks deceitfully.
With their mouths they all speak cordially to their neighbors,^(BX)
    but in their hearts they set traps^(BY) for them.^(BZ)
⁹Should I not punish them for this?”
    declares the Lord.
“Should I not avenge^(CA) myself
    on such a nation as this?”

¹⁰I will weep and wail for the mountains
    and take up a lament concerning the wilderness grasslands.^(CB)
They are desolate and untraveled,
    and the lowing of cattle is not heard.
The birds^(CC) have all fled
    and the animals are gone.

¹¹“I will make Jerusalem a heap^(CD) of ruins,
a haunt of jackals;^(CE)
and I will lay waste the towns of Judah^(CF)
so no one can live there.”^(CG)

¹²Who is wise^(CH) enough to understand this? Who has been instructed by the Lord and can explain it? Why has the land been ruined and laid waste like a desert that no one can cross?

¹³The Lord said, “It is because they have forsaken my law, which I set before them; they have not obeyed me or followed my law.^(CI) ¹⁴Instead, they have followed^(CJ) the stubbornness of their hearts;^(CK) they have followed the Baals, as their ancestors taught them.” ¹⁵Therefore this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “See, I will make this people eat bitter food^(CL) and drink poisoned water.^(CM) ¹⁶I will scatter them among nations^(CN) that neither they nor their ancestors have known,^(CO) and I will pursue them with the sword^(CP) until I have made an end of them.”^(CQ)

¹⁷This is what the Lord Almighty says:

“Consider now! Call for the wailing women^(CR) to come;
    send for the most skillful of them.
¹⁸Let them come quickly
    and wail over us
till our eyes overflow with tears
    and water streams from our eyelids.^(CS)
¹⁹The sound of wailing is heard from Zion:
    ‘How ruined^(CT) we are!
    How great is our shame!
We must leave our land
    because our houses are in ruins.’”

²⁰Now, you women, hear the word of the Lord;
    open your ears to the words of his mouth.^(CU)
Teach your daughters how to wail;
    teach one another a lament.^(CV)
²¹Death has climbed in through our windows^(CW)
    and has entered our fortresses;
it has removed the children from the streets
    and the young men^(CX) from the public squares.

²²Say, “This is what the Lord declares:

“‘Dead bodies will lie
like dung^(CY) on the open field,
like cut grain behind the reaper,
with no one to gather them.’”

²³This is what the Lord says:

“Let not the wise boast of their wisdom^(CZ)
    or the strong boast of their strength^(DA)
    or the rich boast of their riches,^(DB)
²⁴but let the one who boasts boast^(DC) about this:
    that they have the understanding to know^(DD) me,
that I am the Lord,^(DE) who exercises kindness,^(DF)
    justice and righteousness^(DG) on earth,
    for in these I delight,”
declares the Lord.

²⁵“The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will punish all who are circumcised only in the flesh^(DH)— ²⁶Egypt, Judah, Edom, Ammon, Moab and all who live in the wilderness in distant places.^[g]^(DI) For all these nations are really uncircumcised,^(DJ) and even the whole house of Israel is uncircumcised in heart.^(DK)”

Footnotes

Jeremiah 8:13 The meaning of the Hebrew for this sentence is uncertain.
Jeremiah 8:18 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
Jeremiah 9:1 In Hebrew texts 9:1 is numbered 8:23, and 9:2-26 is numbered 9:1-25.
Jeremiah 9:3 Or lies; / they are not valiant for truth
Jeremiah 9:4 Or a deceiving Jacob
Jeremiah 9:6 That is, Jeremiah (the Hebrew is singular)
Jeremiah 9:26 Or wilderness and who clip the hair by their foreheads

1 Corinthians 4

New International Version

The Nature of True Apostleship

4 This, then, is how you ought to regard us: as servants^(A) of Christ and as those entrusted^(B) with the mysteries^(C) God has revealed. ²Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful. ³I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself. ⁴My conscience^(D) is clear, but that does not make me innocent.^(E) It is the Lord who judges me.^(F) ⁵Therefore judge nothing^(G) before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes.^(H) He will bring to light^(I) what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart. At that time each will receive their praise from God.^(J)

⁶Now, brothers and sisters, I have applied these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, so that you may learn from us the meaning of the saying, “Do not go beyond what is written.”^(K) Then you will not be puffed up in being a follower of one of us over against the other.^(L) ⁷For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive?^(M) And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?

⁸Already you have all you want! Already you have become rich!^(N) You have begun to reign—and that without us! How I wish that you really had begun to reign so that we also might reign with you! ⁹For it seems to me that God has put us apostles on display at the end of the procession, like those condemned to die^(O) in the arena. We have been made a spectacle^(P) to the whole universe, to angels as well as to human beings. ¹⁰We are fools for Christ,^(Q) but you are so wise in Christ!^(R) We are weak, but you are strong!^(S) You are honored, we are dishonored! ¹¹To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, we are in rags, we are brutally treated, we are homeless.^(T) ¹²We work hard with our own hands.^(U) When we are cursed, we bless;^(V) when we are persecuted,^(W) we endure it; ¹³when we are slandered, we answer kindly. We have become the scum of the earth, the garbage^(X) of the world—right up to this moment.

Paul’s Appeal and Warning

¹⁴I am writing this not to shame you^(Y) but to warn you as my dear children.^(Z) ¹⁵Even if you had ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father^(AA) through the gospel.^(AB) ¹⁶Therefore I urge you to imitate me.^(AC) ¹⁷For this reason I have sent to you^(AD) Timothy,^(AE) my son^(AF) whom I love, who is faithful in the Lord. He will remind you of my way of life in Christ Jesus, which agrees with what I teach everywhere in every church.^(AG)

¹⁸Some of you have become arrogant,^(AH) as if I were not coming to you.^(AI) ¹⁹But I will come to you very soon,^(AJ) if the Lord is willing,^(AK) and then I will find out not only how these arrogant people are talking, but what power they have. ²⁰For the kingdom of God is not a matter of^(AL) talk but of power.^(AM) ²¹What do you prefer? Shall I come to you with a rod of discipline,^(AN) or shall I come in love and with a gentle spirit?