Elijah Denounces Ahaziah

1 ^aAfter the death of Ahab, Moab ^brebelled against Israel.

2 Now Ahaziah fell through the lattice in his upper chamber in Samaria, and lay sick; so he sent messengers, telling them, “Go, inquire of ^cBaal-zebub, the god of Ekron, ^dwhether I shall recover from this sickness.” 3 But the angel of the Lord said to Elijah ^ethe Tishbite, “Arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria, and say to them, ‘Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going to inquire of ^cBaal-zebub, the god of Ekron? 4 Now therefore thus says the Lord, ^fYou shall not come down from the bed to which you have gone up, but you shall surely die.’” So Elijah went.

5 The messengers returned to the king, and he said to them, “Why have you returned?” 6 And they said to him, “There came a man to meet us, and said to us, ‘Go back to the king who sent you, and say to him, Thus says the Lord, Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are sending to inquire of ^cBaal-zebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore you shall not come down from the bed to which you have gone up, but you shall surely die.’” 7 He said to them, “What kind of man was he who came to meet you and told you these things?” 8 They answered him, ^g“He wore a garment of hair, with a belt of leather about his waist.” And he said, “It is Elijah the Tishbite.”

9 Then the king sent to him a captain of fifty men with his fifty. He went up to Elijah, who was sitting on the top of a hill, and said to him, ^h“O man of God, the king says, ‘Come down.’” 10 But Elijah answered the captain of fifty, “If I am a man of God, ⁱlet fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty.” Then fire came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty.

11 Again the king sent to him another captain of fifty men with his fifty. And he answered and said to him, “O man of God, this is the king’s order, ‘Come down quickly!’” 12 But Elijah answered them, “If I am a man of God, ^jlet fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty.” Then the fire of God came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty.

13 Again the king sent the captain of a third fifty with his fifty. And the third captain of fifty went up and came and fell on his knees before Elijah and entreated him, “O man of God, please let my life, and the life of these fifty servants of yours, ^kbe precious in your sight. 14 Behold, fire came down from heaven and consumed the two former captains of fifty men with their fifties, but now let my life be precious in your sight.” 15 Then the angel of the Lord said to Elijah, “Go down with him; do not be afraid of him.” So he arose and went down with him to the king 16 and said to him, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Because you have sent messengers to inquire of ^cBaal-zebub, the god of Ekron—is it because there is no God in Israel to inquire of his word?—therefore you shall not come down from the bed to which you have gone up, but you shall surely die.’”

17 So he died according to the word of the Lord that Elijah had spoken. Jehoram became king in his place ^lin the second year of Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, because Ahaziah had no son. 18 Now the rest of the acts of Ahaziah that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?

Elijah Taken to Heaven

1 Now when the Lord was about to ^mtake Elijah up to heaven by a whirlwind, Elijah and ⁿElisha were on their way from ^oGilgal. 2 And Elijah said to Elisha, ^p“Please stay here, for the Lord has sent me as far as Bethel.” But Elisha said, ^q“As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they went down to Bethel. 3 And ^rthe sons of the prophets who were in Bethel came out to Elisha and said to him, “Do you know that today the Lord will take away your master from over you?” And he said, “Yes, I know it; keep quiet.”

4 Elijah said to him, “Elisha, ^pplease stay here, for the Lord has sent me to ^tJericho.” But he said, ^q“As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they came to Jericho. 5 ^rThe sons of the prophets who were at Jericho drew near to Elisha and said to him, “Do you know that today the Lord will take away your master from over you?” And he answered, “Yes, I know it; keep quiet.”

6 Then Elijah said to him, ^p“Please stay here, for the Lord has sent me to the Jordan.” But he 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 of ^rthe sons of the prophets also went and stood at some distance from them, as they both were standing by the Jordan. 8 Then Elijah ^utook his cloak and rolled it up and struck the water, ^vand the water was parted to the one side and to the other, till the two of them could go over on dry ground.

9 When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, “Ask what I shall do for you, before I am taken from you.” And Elisha said, “Please let there be a double portion of your spirit on me.” 10 And he said, “You have asked a hard thing; yet, if you see me as I am being taken from you, it shall be so for you, but if you do not see me, it shall not be so.” 11 And as they still went on and talked, behold, ^wchariots of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them. And Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. 12 And Elisha saw it and he cried, “My father, my father! ^xThe chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” And he saw him no more.

Then he took hold of his own clothes ^yand tore them in two pieces. 13 And he took up the cloak of Elijah that had fallen from him and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. 14 Then he took the cloak of Elijah that had fallen from him and struck the water, saying, “Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah?” And when he had struck the water, ^vthe water was parted to the one side and to the other, and Elisha went over.

Elisha Succeeds Elijah

15 Now when ^rthe sons of the prophets who were at Jericho saw him opposite them, they said, “The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha.” And they came to meet him and bowed to the ground before him. 16 And they said to him, “Behold now, there are with your servants fifty strong men. Please let them go and seek your master. It may be that ^zthe Spirit of the Lord has caught him up and cast him upon some mountain or into some valley.” And he said, “You shall not send.” 17 But when they urged him ^atill he was ashamed, he said, “Send.” They sent therefore fifty men. And for three days they sought him but did not find him. 18 And they came back to him while he was staying at Jericho, and he said to them, “Did I not say to you, ‘Do not go’?”

19 Now the men of the city said to Elisha, “Behold, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord sees, but the water is bad, and the land is unfruitful.” 20 He said, “Bring me a new bowl, and put salt in it.” So they brought it to him. 21 Then he went to the spring of water and ^bthrew salt in it and said, “Thus says the Lord, I have healed this water; from now on neither death nor miscarriage shall come from it.” 22 So the water has been healed to this day, according to the word that Elisha spoke.

23 He went up from there to Bethel, and while he was going up on the way, some small boys came out of the city and jeered at him, saying, “Go up, you baldhead! Go up, you baldhead!” 24 And he turned around, and when he saw them, ^che cursed them in the name of the Lord. And two she-bears came out of the woods and tore forty-two of the boys. 25 From there he went on to ^dMount Carmel, and from there he returned ^eto Samaria.

How Shall We Sing the Lord’s Song?

Wives and Husbands

1 Likewise, wives, ^kbe subject to your own husbands, so that ^leven if some do not obey the word, ^mthey may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives, 2 when they see your ⁿrespectful and pure conduct. 3 ^oDo not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear— 4 but let your adorning be ^pthe hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious. 5 For this is how the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves, by submitting to their own husbands, 6 as Sarah obeyed Abraham, ^qcalling him lord. And you are her children, if you do good and ^rdo not fear anything that is frightening.

7 Likewise, ^shusbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker ^tvessel, since they are heirs with you¹ of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered.

Suffering for Righteousness’ Sake

8 Finally, all of you, ^uhave unity of mind, sympathy, ^vbrotherly love, ^wa tender heart, and ^xa humble mind. 9 ^yDo not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, ^zbless, for ^ato this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing. 10 For

13 Now ^cwho is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? 14 ^dBut even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. ^eHave no fear of them, ^fnor be troubled, 15 but ^gin your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, ^halways being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and ⁱrespect, 16 ^jhaving a good conscience, so that, ^kwhen you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. 17 For ^lit is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil.

18 For Christ also ^msuffered^{2 n}once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, ^othat he might bring us to God, being put to death ^pin the flesh but made alive ^qin the spirit, 19 in which³ he went and ^qproclaimed⁴ to the spirits in prison, 20 because⁵ they formerly did not obey, ^rwhen God’s patience waited in the days of Noah, ^swhile the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, ^teight persons, were brought safely through water. 21 Baptism, which corresponds to this, ^unow saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but ^vas an appeal to God for a good conscience, ^wthrough the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22 who has gone into heaven and ^xis at the right hand of God, ^ywith angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him.

Stewards of God’s Grace

1 Since therefore ^zChrist suffered in the flesh,^{6 a}arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for ^bwhoever has suffered in the flesh ^chas ceased from sin, 2 ^dso as to live for ^ethe rest of the time in the flesh ^fno longer for human passions but ^gfor the will of God. 3 For the time that is past ^hsuffices ⁱfor doing what the Gentiles want to do, living in sensuality, passions, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties, and lawless idolatry. 4 With respect to this they are surprised when you do not join them in the same flood of ^jdebauchery, and ^kthey malign you; 5 but they will give account to him who is ready ^lto judge the living and the dead. 6 For this is why ^mthe gospel was preached even to those who are dead, that though judged in the flesh the way people are, they might live in the spirit the way God does.

7 ⁿThe end of all things is at hand; therefore ^obe self-controlled and sober-minded ^pfor the sake of your prayers. 8 Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since ^qlove covers a multitude of sins. 9 ^rShow hospitality to one another without grumbling. 10 ^sAs each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, ^tas good stewards of God’s varied grace: 11 whoever speaks, as one who speaks ^uoracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves ^vby the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything ^wGod may be glorified through Jesus Christ. ^xTo him belong glory and ^ydominion forever and ever. Amen.

Suffering as a Christian

12 Beloved, do not be surprised at ^zthe fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. 13 But rejoice ^ainsofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad ^bwhen his glory is revealed. 14 ^cIf you are insulted ^dfor the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory⁷ and of God rests upon you. 15 But ^elet none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or ^fas a meddler. 16 Yet ^eif anyone suffers as a ^gChristian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God ^din that name. 17 For it is time for judgment ^hto begin at the household of God; and ⁱif it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who ^jdo not obey the gospel of God? 18 And

19 Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will ^lentrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.

Shepherd the Flock of God

1 So I exhort the elders among you, ^mas a fellow elder and ⁿa witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: 2 ^oshepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight,^{9 p}not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you;^{10 q}not for shameful gain, but eagerly; 3 not ^rdomineering over those in your charge, but ^sbeing examples to the flock. 4 And when ^tthe chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the ^uunfading ^vcrown of glory. 5 Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. ^wClothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for ^x“God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

6 ^xHumble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, 7 ^ycasting all your anxieties on him, because ^zhe cares for you. 8 ^aBe sober-minded; ^bbe watchful. Your ^cadversary the devil ^dprowls around ^elike a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 9 ^fResist him, ^gfirm in your faith, knowing that ^hthe same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. 10 And ⁱafter you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, ^jwho has called you to his ^keternal glory in Christ, will himself ^lrestore, ^mconfirm, strengthen, and establish you. 11 ⁿTo him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Final Greetings

12 By ^oSilvanus, a faithful brother as I regard him, ^pI have written briefly to you, exhorting and declaring that this is ^qthe true grace of God. ^rStand firm in it. 13 She who is at Babylon, who is likewise chosen, sends you greetings, and so does ^sMark, my son. 14 ^tGreet one another with the kiss of love.

^uPeace to all of you who are in Christ.