Elijah declares a drought

This story is told by Rob - See the synopsis for this story.

In the thirty-eighth year of Asa king of Judah, Ahab son of Omri became king of Israel,
and he reigned in Samaria over Israel twenty-two years.
Ahab son of Omri did more evil in the eyes of Yahweh than any of those before him.
He not only considered it trivial to commit the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat,
but he also married Jezebel daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians,
and began to serve Baal and worship him.
He set up an altar for Baal in the temple of Baal that he built in Samaria.
Ahab also made an Asherah pole and did more to provoke Yahweh, the God of Israel, to anger
than did all the kings of Israel before him.

In Ahab's time, Hiel of Bethel rebuilt Jericho.
He laid its foundations at the cost of his firstborn son Abiram,
and he set up its gates at the cost of his youngest son Segub,
in accordance with the word of Yahweh spoken by Joshua son of Nun.

Now Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab,
"As Yahweh, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve,
there will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years except at my word."

Then the word of Yahweh came to Elijah:
"Leave here, turn eastward and hide in the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan.
You will drink from the brook, and I have ordered the ravens to feed you there."

So he did what Yahweh had told him.
He went to the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan, and stayed there.
The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening,
and he drank from the brook.

Some time later the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land.
Then the word of Yahweh came to him:
"Go at once to Zarephath of Sidon and stay there.
I have commanded a widow in that place to supply you with food."

So he went to Zarephath.
When he came to the town gate, a widow was there gathering sticks.
He called to her and asked, "Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?"
As she was going to get it, he called, "And bring me, please, a piece of bread."

"As surely as Yahweh your God lives," she replied,
"I don't have any bread--only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug.
I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son,
that we may eat it--and die."

Elijah said to her, "Don't be afraid. Go home and do as you have said.
But first make a small cake of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me,
and then make something for yourself and your son.
For this is what Yahweh, the God of Israel, says:
`The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry
until the day Yahweh gives rain on the land.' "

She went away and did as Elijah had told her.
So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family.
For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry,
in keeping with the word of Yahweh spoken by Elijah.

Some time later the son of the woman who owned the house became ill.
He grew worse and worse, and finally stopped breathing.
She said to Elijah, "What do you have against me, man of God?
Did you come to remind me of my sin and kill my son?"

"Give me your son," Elijah replied.
He took him from her arms, carried him to the upper room where he was staying, and laid him on his bed.
Then he cried out to Yahweh,
"O YAHWEH my God, have you brought tragedy also upon this widow I am staying with,
by causing her son to die?"
Then he stretched himself out on the boy three times and cried to Yahweh,
"O YAHWEH my God, let this boy's life return to him!"

Yahweh heard Elijah's cry, and the boy's life returned to him, and he lived.
Elijah picked up the child and carried him down from the room into the house.
He gave him to his mother and said, "Look, your son is alive!"

Then the woman said to Elijah,
"Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of Yahweh from your mouth is the truth."


Showdown between Yahweh and Baal

This story is told by Simon - See the synopsis for this story.

After a long time, in the third year, the word of Yahweh came to Elijah:
"Go and present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the land."
So Elijah went to present himself to Ahab.

Now the famine was severe in Samaria, and Ahab had summoned Obadiah, who was in charge of his palace.
(Obadiah was a devout believer in Yahweh.
While Jezebel was killing off Yahweh's prophets,
Obadiah had taken a hundred prophets and hidden them in two caves, fifty in each,
and had supplied them with food and water.)
Ahab had said to Obadiah,
"Go through the land to all the springs and valleys.
Maybe we can find some grass to keep the horses and mules alive
so we will not have to kill any of our animals."
So they divided the land they were to cover, Ahab going in one direction and Obadiah in another.

As Obadiah was walking along, Elijah met him.
Obadiah recognized him, bowed down to the ground, and said, "Is it really you, my lord Elijah?"

"Yes," he replied. "Go tell your master, `Elijah is here.' "

"What have I done wrong," asked Obadiah,
"that you are handing your servant over to Ahab to be put to death?
As surely as Yahweh your God lives,
there is not a nation or kingdom where my master has not sent someone to look for you.
And whenever a nation or kingdom claimed you were not there, he made them swear they could not find you.
But now you tell me to go to my master and say, `Elijah is here.'
I don't know where the Spirit of Yahweh may carry you when I leave you.
If I go and tell Ahab and he doesn't find you, he will kill me.
Yet I your servant have worshiped Yahweh since my youth.
Haven't you heard, my Yahweh, what I did while Jezebel was killing the prophets of Yahweh?
I hid a hundred of Yahweh's prophets in two caves, fifty in each, and supplied them with food and water.
And now you tell me to go to my master and say, `Elijah is here.' He will kill me!"

Elijah said, "As Yahweh Almighty lives, whom I serve, I will surely present myself to Ahab today."

So Obadiah went to meet Ahab and told him, and Ahab went to meet Elijah.
When he saw Elijah, he said to him, "Is that you, you troubler of Israel?"


"I have not made trouble for Israel," Elijah replied.
"But you and your father's family have.
You have abandoned Yahweh's commands and have followed the Baals.
Now summon the people from all over Israel to meet me on Mount Carmel.
And bring the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal and the four hundred prophets of Asherah,
who eat at Jezebel's table."

So Ahab sent word throughout all Israel and assembled the prophets on Mount Carmel.
Elijah went before the people and said,
"How long will you waver between two opinions?
If Yahweh is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him."
But the people said nothing.

Then Elijah said to them,
"I am the only one of Yahweh's prophets left, but Baal has four hundred and fifty prophets.
Get two bulls for us.
Let them choose one for themselves,
and let them cut it into pieces and put it on the wood but not set fire to it.
I will prepare the other bull and put it on the wood but not set fire to it.
Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of Yahweh.
The god who answers by fire--he is God."
Then all the people said, "What you say is good."

Elijah said to the prophets of Baal,
"Choose one of the bulls and prepare it first, since there are so many of you.
Call on the name of your god, but do not light the fire."
So they took the bull given them and prepared it.
Then they called on the name of Baal from morning till noon.
"O Baal, answer us!" they shouted. But there was no response; no one answered.
And they danced around the altar they had made.

At noon Elijah began to taunt them.
"Shout louder!" he said. "Surely he is a god! Perhaps he is deep in thought, or busy, or traveling.
Maybe he is sleeping and must be awakened."
So they shouted louder and slashed themselves with swords and spears, as was their custom,
until their blood flowed.
Midday passed, and they continued their frantic prophesying until the time for the evening sacrifice.
But there was no response, no one answered, no one paid attention.



Then Elijah said to all the people, "Come here to me."
They came to him, and he repaired the altar of Yahweh, which was in ruins.
Elijah took twelve stones, one for each of the tribes descended from Jacob,
to whom the word of Yahweh had come, saying, "Your name shall be Israel."
With the stones he built an altar in the name of Yahweh,
and he dug a trench around it large enough to hold fifteen litres of seed.
He arranged the wood, cut the bull into pieces and laid it on the wood.
Then he said to them, "Fill four large jars with water and pour it on the offering and on the wood."

"Do it again," he said, and they did it again.
"Do it a third time," he ordered, and they did it the third time.
The water ran down around the altar and even filled the trench.

At the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed:
"O YAHWEH, God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel
and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command.
Answer me, O YAHWEH, answer me, so these people will know that you, O YAHWEH, are God,
and that you are turning their hearts back again."

Then the fire of Yahweh fell
and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench.

When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, "Yahweh--he is God! Yahweh--he is God!"

Then Elijah commanded them, "Seize the prophets of Baal. Don't let anyone get away!"
They seized them, and Elijah had them brought down to the Kishon Valley and slaughtered there.

And Elijah said to Ahab, "Go, eat and drink, for there is the sound of a heavy rain."
So Ahab went off to eat and drink, but Elijah climbed to the top of Carmel,
bent down to the ground and put his face between his knees.

"Go and look toward the sea," he told his servant. And he went up and looked.
"There is nothing there," he said. Seven times Elijah said, "Go back."

The seventh time the servant reported, "A cloud as small as a man's hand is rising from the sea."
So Elijah said, "Go and tell Ahab, `Hitch up your chariot and go down before the rain stops you.' "

Meanwhile, the sky grew black with clouds, the wind rose, a heavy rain came on and Ahab rode off to Jezreel.
The power of Yahweh came upon Elijah
and, tucking his cloak into his belt, he ran ahead of Ahab all the way to Jezreel.

 


Elijah flees for his life

This story is told by Rob - See the synopsis for this story.

Now Ahab told Jezebel everything Elijah had done and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword.
So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah to say,
"May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely,
if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like that of one of them."

Elijah was afraid and ran for his life.
When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there,
while he himself went a day's journey into the desert.
He came to a broom tree, sat down under it and prayed that he might die.
"I have had enough, YAHWEH," he said. "Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors."
Then he lay down under the tree and fell asleep.
All at once an angel touched him and said, "Get up and eat."
He looked around, and there by his head was a cake of bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water.
He ate and drank and then lay down again.

The angel of Yahweh came back a second time and touched him and said,
"Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you."
So he got up and ate and drank.
Strengthened by that food, he traveled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb,
the mountain of God.
There he went into a cave and spent the night.
And the word of Yahweh came to him: "What are you doing here, Elijah?"

He replied, "I have been very zealous for Yahweh God Almighty.
The Israelites have rejected your covenant, broken down your altars,
and put your prophets to death with the sword.
I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too."

Yahweh said,
"Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of Yahweh, for Yahweh is about to pass by."
Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before Yahweh,
but Yahweh was not in the wind.
After the wind there was an earthquake, but Yahweh was not in the earthquake.
After the earthquake came a fire, but Yahweh was not in the fire.
And after the fire came a gentle whisper.
When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.
Then a voice said to him, "What are you doing here, Elijah?"



He replied, "I have been very zealous for Yahweh God Almighty.
The Israelites have rejected your covenant, broken down your altars,
and put your prophets to death with the sword.
I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too."

Yahweh said to him, "Go back the way you came, and go to the Desert of Damascus.
When you get there, anoint Hazael king over Syria.
Also, anoint Jehu son of Nimshi king over Israel,
and anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah to succeed you as prophet.
Jehu will put to death any who escape the sword of Hazael,
and Elisha will put to death any who escape the sword of Jehu.
Yet I reserve seven thousand in Israel-
-all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and all whose mouths have not kissed him."

So Elijah went from there and found Elisha son of Shaphat.
He was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen, and he himself was driving the twelfth pair.
Elijah went up to him and threw his cloak around him.
Elisha then left his oxen and ran after Elijah.
"Let me kiss my father and mother good-by," he said, "and then I will come with you."
"Go back," Elijah replied. "What have I done to you?"

So Elisha left him and went back. He took his yoke of oxen and slaughtered them.
He burned the plowing equipment to cook the meat and gave it to the people, and they ate.
Then he set out to follow Elijah and became his attendant.

 


The "incident" concerning Naboth's Vineyard

This story is told by Simon - See the synopsis for this story.

Some time later there was an incident involving a vineyard belonging to Naboth the Jezreelite.
The vineyard was in Jezreel, close to the palace of Ahab king of Samaria.
Ahab said to Naboth,
"Let me have your vineyard to use for a vegetable garden, since it is close to my palace.
In exchange I will give you a better vineyard or, if you prefer, I will pay you whatever it is worth."

But Naboth replied, "Yahweh forbid that I should give you the inheritance of my fathers."

So Ahab went home, sullen and angry because Naboth the Jezreelite had said,
"I will not give you the inheritance of my fathers."
He lay on his bed sulking and refused to eat.

His wife Jezebel came in and asked him, "Why are you so sullen? Why won't you eat?"

He answered her, "Because I said to Naboth the Jezreelite,
`Sell me your vineyard; or if you prefer, I will give you another vineyard in its place.'
But he said, `I will not give you my vineyard.' "

Jezebel his wife said,
"Is this how you act as king over Israel? Get up and eat! Cheer up.
I'll get you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite."

So she wrote letters in Ahab's name, placed his seal on them,
and sent them to the elders and nobles who lived in Naboth's city with him.

In those letters she wrote:

"Proclaim a day of fasting and seat Naboth in a prominent place among the people.
But seat two scoundrels opposite him and have them testify that he has cursed both God and the king.
Then take him out and stone him to death."

So the elders and nobles who lived in Naboth's city
did as Jezebel directed in the letters she had written to them.
They proclaimed a fast and seated Naboth in a prominent place among the people.
Then two scoundrels came and sat opposite him
and brought charges against Naboth before the people, saying, "Naboth has cursed both God and the king."
So they took him outside the city and stoned him to death.
Then they sent word to Jezebel: "Naboth has been stoned and is dead."


As soon as Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned to death, she said to Ahab,
"Get up and take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite that he refused to sell you.
He is no longer alive, but dead."
When Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, he got up and went down to take possession of Naboth's vineyard.

Then the word of Yahweh came to Elijah the Tishbite:
"Go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, who rules in Samaria.
He is now in Naboth's vineyard, where he has gone to take possession of it. Say to him,
`This is what Yahweh says: Have you not murdered a man and seized his property?'
Then say to him,
`This is what Yahweh says:
In the place where dogs licked up Naboth's blood, dogs will lick up your blood--yes, yours!' "

Ahab said to Elijah, "So you have found me, my enemy!"

"I have found you," he answered, "because you have sold yourself to do evil in the eyes of Yahweh.
`I am going to bring disaster on you.
I will consume your descendants and cut off from Ahab every last male in Israel--slave or free.
I will make your house like that of Jeroboam son of Nebat and that of Baasha son of Ahijah,
because you have provoked me to anger and have caused Israel to sin.'

"And also concerning Jezebel Yahweh says: `Dogs will devour Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel.'

"Dogs will eat those belonging to Ahab who die in the city,
and the birds of the air will feed on those who die in the country."

 (There was never a man like Ahab, who sold himself to do evil in the eyes of Yahweh,
urged on by Jezebel his wife.
He behaved in the vilest manner by going after idols, like the Amorites Yahweh drove out before Israel.)

When Ahab heard these words, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and fasted.
He lay in sackcloth and went around meekly.

Then the word of Yahweh came to Elijah the Tishbite:
"Have you noticed how Ahab has humbled himself before me?
Because he has humbled himself, I will not bring this disaster in his day,
but I will bring it on his house in the days of his son."








Ahab meets his doom

This story is told by Rob - See the synopsis for this story.

For three years there was no war between Syria and Israel.
But in the third year Jehoshaphat king of Judah went down to see the king of Israel.
The king of Israel had said to his officials,
"Don't you know that Ramoth Gilead belongs to us
and yet we are doing nothing to retake it from the king of Syria?"

So he asked Jehoshaphat, "Will you go with me to fight against Ramoth Gilead?"
Jehoshaphat replied to the king of Israel,
"I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses."
But Jehoshaphat also said to the king of Israel, "First seek the counsel of Yahweh."

So the king of Israel brought together the prophets--about four hundred men--and asked them,
"Shall I go to war against Ramoth Gilead, or shall I refrain?"
"Go," they answered, "for the master will give it into the king's hand."

But Jehoshaphat asked, "Is there not a prophet of Yahweh here whom we can inquire of?"

The king of Israel answered Jehoshaphat,
"There is still one man through whom we can inquire of Yahweh,
but I hate him because he never prophesies anything good about me, but always bad.
He is Micaiah son of Imlah."
"The king should not say that," Jehoshaphat replied.

So the king of Israel called one of his officials and said, "Bring Micaiah son of Imlah at once."

Dressed in their royal robes, the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah were sitting on their thrones
at the threshing floor by the entrance of the gate of Samaria, with all the prophets prophesying before them.
Now Zedekiah son of Kenaanah had made iron horns and he declared,
"This is what Yahweh says: `With these you will gore the Syrians until they are destroyed.' "

All the other prophets were prophesying the same thing.
"Attack Ramoth Gilead and be victorious," they said, "for Yahweh will give it into the king's hand."

The messenger who had gone to summon Micaiah said to him,
"Look, as one man the other prophets are predicting success for the king.
Let your word agree with theirs, and speak favorably."

But Micaiah said, "As surely as Yahweh lives, I can tell him only what Yahweh tells me."

When he arrived, the king asked him, "Micaiah, shall we go to war against Ramoth Gilead, or shall I refrain?"
"Attack and be victorious," he answered, "for Yahweh will give it into the king's hand."

The king said to him,
"How many times must I make you swear to tell me nothing but the truth in the name of Yahweh?"

Then Micaiah answered,
"I saw all Israel scattered on the hills like sheep without a shepherd, and Yahweh said,
`These people have no master. Let each one go home in peace.' "

The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat,
"Didn't I tell you that he never prophesies anything good about me, but only bad?"

Micaiah continued,
"Therefore hear the word of Yahweh:
I saw Yahweh sitting on his throne
with all the host of heaven standing around him on his right and on his left.
And Yahweh said, `Who will entice Ahab into attacking Ramoth Gilead and going to his death there?'
One suggested this, and another that. Finally, a spirit came forward, stood before Yahweh and said,
`I will entice him.'
`By what means?' Yahweh asked.
`I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouths of all his prophets,' he said.
`You will succeed in enticing him,' said Yahweh. `Go and do it.'

So now Yahweh has put a lying spirit in the mouths of all these prophets of yours.
Yahweh has decreed disaster for you."

Then Zedekiah son of Kenaanah went up and slapped Micaiah in the face.
"Which way did the spirit from Yahweh go when he went from me to speak to you?" he asked.

Micaiah replied, "You will find out on the day you go to hide in an inner room."

The king of Israel then ordered,
"Take Micaiah and send him back to Amon the ruler of the city and to Joash the king's son and say,
`This is what the king says:
Put this fellow in prison and give him nothing but bread and water until I return safely.' "

Micaiah declared,
"If you ever return safely, Yahweh has not spoken through me."
Then he added, "Mark my words, all you people!"

So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah went up to Ramoth Gilead.
The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, "I will enter the battle in disguise, but you wear your royal robes."
So the king of Israel disguised himself and went into battle.

Now the king of Syria had ordered his thirty-two chariot commanders,
"Do not fight with anyone, small or great, except the king of Israel."
When the chariot commanders saw Jehoshaphat, they thought, "Surely this is the king of Israel."
So they turned to attack him, but when Jehoshaphat cried out,
the chariot commanders saw that he was not the king of Israel and stopped pursuing him.

But someone drew his bow at random and hit the king of Israel between the sections of his armor.
The king told his chariot driver, "Wheel around and get me out of the fighting. I've been wounded."
All day long the battle raged, and the king was propped up in his chariot facing the Syrians.
The blood from his wound ran onto the floor of the chariot, and that evening he died.
As the sun was setting, a cry spread through the army: "Every man to his town; everyone to his land!"

So the king died and was brought to Samaria, and they buried him there.
They washed the chariot at a pool in Samaria (where the prostitutes bathed),
and the dogs licked up his blood, as the word of Yahweh had declared.

As for the other events of Ahab's reign,
including all he did, the palace he built and inlaid with ivory, and the cities he fortified,
are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel?
Ahab rested with his fathers. And Ahaziah his son succeeded him as king.

Ahaziah son of Ahab reigned over Israel two years.
He did evil in the eyes of Yahweh,
because he walked in the ways of his father and mother and in the ways of Jeroboam son of Nebat,
who caused Israel to sin.
He served and worshiped Baal and provoked Yahweh, the God of Israel, to anger, just as his father had done.
















Ahab's dynasty comes to an end

This story is told by Simon - See the synopsis for this story.

After Ahab's death, Moab rebelled against Israel.
Now Ahaziah had fallen through the lattice of his upper room in Samaria and injured himself.
So he sent messengers, saying to them,
"Go and consult Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron, to see if I will recover from this injury."

But the angel of Yahweh said to Elijah 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 that you are going off to consult Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron?'
Therefore this is what Yahweh says:
`You will not leave the bed you are lying on. You will certainly die!' "
So Elijah went.

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

"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 Yahweh says:
Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are sending men to consult Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron?
Therefore you will not leave the bed you are lying on. You will certainly die!" ' "

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

They replied, "He was a man with a garment of hair and with a leather belt around his waist."
The king said, "That was Elijah the Tishbite."

Then he sent to Elijah a captain 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!' "

Elijah 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 fell from heaven and consumed the captain and his men.

At 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!' "

"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.

So 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 and the lives of these fifty men, your servants!
See, fire has fallen from heaven and consumed the first two captains and all their men.
But now have respect for my life!"

The angel of Yahweh said to Elijah, "Go down with him; do not be afraid of him."
So Elijah got up and went down with him to the king.

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

Because Ahaziah had no son,
Joram succeeded him as king in the second year of Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah.
As 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 is taken up in a whirlwind

This story is told by Rob - See the synopsis for this story.

When Yahweh was about to take Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind,
Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal.

Elijah said to Elisha, "Stay here; Yahweh has sent me to Bethel."
But Elisha said, "As surely as Yahweh lives and as you live, I will not leave you."
So they went down to Bethel.

The company of the prophets at Bethel came out to Elisha and asked,
"Do you know that Yahweh is going to take your master from you today?"
"Yes, I know," Elisha replied, "but do not speak of it."
Then Elijah said to him, "Stay here, Elisha; Yahweh has sent me to Jericho."
And he replied, "As surely as Yahweh lives and as you live, I will not leave you."
So they went to Jericho.


The company of the prophets at Jericho went up to Elisha and asked him,
"Do you know that Yahweh is going to take your master from you today?"
"Yes, I know," he replied, "but do not speak of it."
Then Elijah said to him, "Stay here; Yahweh has sent me to the Jordan."
And he replied, "As surely as Yahweh lives and as you live, I will not leave you."
So the two of them walked on.

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

When 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 portion of your spirit," Elisha replied.

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

As they were walking along and talking together,
suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them,
and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind.
Elisha saw this and cried out, "My father! My father! The chariots and horsemen of Israel!"

And Elisha saw him no more.
Then he took hold of his own clothes and tore them apart.

He picked up the cloak that had fallen from Elijah and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan.
Then he took the cloak that had fallen from him and struck the water with it.
"Where now is Yahweh, the God of Elijah?" he asked.
When he struck the water, it divided to the right and to the left, and he crossed over.

The company of the prophets from Jericho, who were watching, said,
"The spirit of Elijah is resting on Elisha."
And they went to meet him and bowed to the ground before him.
 



"See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of Yahweh comes.
He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers;
or else I will come and strike the land with a curse."

Malachi 4:5







It is written in the prophets:

"I will send my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare your way" --
"a voice of one calling in the desert,
`Prepare the way for Yahweh,
make straight paths for him.' "

And so John came,
baptizing in the desert region and preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.

The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him.
Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.

John wore clothing made of camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist,
and he ate locusts and wild honey.

And this was his message:
"After me will come one more powerful than I,
the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie.
I baptize you with water,
but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."

Mark 1:2-8