2 KINGS 2

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Elijah Taken to Heaven  2:1 Now when the Lord was about to take Elijah up to heaven by a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal. 2 And Elijah said to Elisha, “Please stay here, for the Lord has sent me as far as Bethel.” But Elisha said, “As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they went down to Bethel. 3 And the 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, please stay here, for the Lord has sent me to Jericho.” But he said, “As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they came to Jericho. 5 The 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, “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 the sons of the prophets also went and stood at some distance from them, as they both were standing by the Jordan. 8 Then Elijah took his cloak and rolled it up and struck the water, and 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, chariots 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! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” And he saw him no more.
    Then he took hold of his own clothes and 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, the water was parted to the one side and to the other, and Elisha went over. Elisha Succeeds Elijah15 Now when the 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 the 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 till 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 threw 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, he 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 Mount Carmel, and from there he returned to Samaria.

PSALM 131

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I Have Calmed and Quieted My SoulA Song of Ascents. Of David.
131:1

O Lord, my heart is not lifted up;

my eyes are not raised too high;

I do not occupy myself with things

too great and too marvelous for me. 2

But I have calmed and quieted my soul,

like a weaned child with its mother;

like a weaned child is my soul within me.
3

O Israel, hope in the Lord

from this time forth and forevermore.

PSALM 132

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The Lord Has Chosen ZionA Song of Ascents.
132:1

Remember, O Lord, in David’s favor,

all the hardships he endured, 2

how he swore to the Lord

and vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob, 3

“I will not enter my house

or get into my bed, 4

I will not give sleep to my eyes

or slumber to my eyelids, 5

until I find a place for the Lord,

a dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob.”
6

Behold, we heard of it in Ephrathah;

we found it in the fields of Jaar. 7

“Let us go to his dwelling place;

let us worship at his footstool!”
8

Arise, O Lord, and go to your resting place,

you and the ark of your might. 9

Let your priests be clothed with righteousness,

and let your saints shout for joy. 10

For the sake of your servant David,

do not turn away the face of your anointed one.
11

The Lord swore to David a sure oath

from which he will not turn back:

“One of the sons of your body

I will set on your throne. 12

If your sons keep my covenant

and my testimonies that I shall teach them,

their sons also forever

shall sit on your throne.”
13

For the Lord has chosen Zion;

he has desired it for his dwelling place: 14

“This is my resting place forever;

here I will dwell, for I have desired it. 15

I will abundantly bless her provisions;

I will satisfy her poor with bread. 16

Her priests I will clothe with salvation,

and her saints will shout for joy. 17

There I will make a horn to sprout for David;

I have prepared a lamp for my anointed. 18

His enemies I will clothe with shame,

but on him his crown will shine.”

PROVERBS 13

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13:1

A wise son hears his father’s instruction,

but a scoffer does not listen to rebuke. 2

From the fruit of his mouth a man eats what is good,

but the desire of the treacherous is for violence. 3

Whoever guards his mouth preserves his life;

he who opens wide his lips comes to ruin. 4

The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing,

while the soul of the diligent is richly supplied. 5

The righteous hates falsehood,

but the wicked brings shame and disgrace. 6

Righteousness guards him whose way is blameless,

but sin overthrows the wicked. 7

One pretends to be rich, yet has nothing;

another pretends to be poor, yet has great wealth. 8

The ransom of a man’s life is his wealth,

but a poor man hears no threat. 9

The light of the righteous rejoices,

but the lamp of the wicked will be put out. 10

By insolence comes nothing but strife,

but with those who take advice is wisdom. 11

Wealth gained hastily will dwindle,

but whoever gathers little by little will increase it. 12

Hope deferred makes the heart sick,

but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life. 13

Whoever despises the word brings destruction on himself,

but he who reveres the commandment will be rewarded. 14

The teaching of the wise is a fountain of life,

that one may turn away from the snares of death. 15

Good sense wins favor,

but the way of the treacherous is their ruin. 16

Every prudent man acts with knowledge,

but a fool flaunts his folly. 17

A wicked messenger falls into trouble,

but a faithful envoy brings healing. 18

Poverty and disgrace come to him who ignores instruction,

but whoever heeds reproof is honored. 19

A desire fulfilled is sweet to the soul,

but to turn away from evil is an abomination to fools. 20

Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise,

but the companion of fools will suffer harm. 21

Disaster pursues sinners,

but the righteous are rewarded with good. 22

A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children,

but the sinner’s wealth is laid up for the righteous. 23

The fallow ground of the poor would yield much food,

but it is swept away through injustice. 24

Whoever spares the rod hates his son,

but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him. 25

The righteous has enough to satisfy his appetite,

but the belly of the wicked suffers want.