¹And it came to pass, when the Lᴏʀᴅ was about to take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal. ²Then Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here, please, for the Lᴏʀᴅ has sent me on to Bethel.” But Elisha said, “As the Lᴏʀᴅ lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you!” So they went down to Bethel. ³Now the sons of the prophets who were at Bethel came out to Elisha, and said to him, “Do you know that the Lᴏʀᴅ will take away your master from over you today?” And he said, “Yes, I know; keep silent!” ⁴Then Elijah said to him, “Elisha, stay here, please, for the Lᴏʀᴅ has sent me on to Jericho.” But he said, “As the Lᴏʀᴅ lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you!” So they came to Jericho. ⁵Now the sons of the prophets who were at Jericho came to Elisha and said to him, “Do you know that the Lᴏʀᴅ will take away your master from over you today?” So he answered, “Yes, I know; keep silent!” ⁶Then Elijah said to him, “Stay here, please, for the Lᴏʀᴅ has sent me on to the Jordan.” But he said, “As the Lᴏʀᴅ lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you!” So the two of them went on. ⁷And 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. ⁸Now Elijah took his mantle, rolled it up, and struck the water; and it was divided this way and that, so that the two of them crossed over on dry ground. ⁹And 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.” ¹⁰So 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.” ¹¹Then it happened, as they continued on and talked, that suddenly a chariot of fire appeared with horses of fire, and separated the two of them; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. ¹²And Elisha saw it, and he cried out, “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. ¹³He also took up the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and went back and stood by the bank of the Jordan. ¹⁴Then he took the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and struck the water, and said, “Where is the Lᴏʀᴅ God of Elijah?” And when he also had struck the water, it was divided this way and that; and Elisha crossed over. ¹⁵Now when the sons of the prophets who were from Jericho saw him, they said, “The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha.” And they came to meet him, and bowed to the ground before him. ¹⁶Then they said to him, “Look now, there are fifty strong men with your servants. Please let them go and search for your master, lest perhaps the Spirit of the Lᴏʀᴅ has taken him up and cast him upon some mountain or into some valley.” And he said, “You shall not send anyone.” ¹⁷But when they urged him till he was ashamed, he said, “Send them!” Therefore they sent fifty men, and they searched for three days but did not find him. ¹⁸And when they came back to him, for he had stayed in Jericho, he said to them, “Did I not say to you, ‘Do not go’?” ¹⁹Then the men of the city said to Elisha, “Please notice, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord sees; but the water is bad, and the ground barren.” ²⁰And he said, “Bring me a new bowl, and put salt in it.” So they brought it to him. ²¹Then he went out to the source of the water, and cast in the salt there, and said, “Thus says the Lᴏʀᴅ: ‘I have healed this water; from it there shall be no more death or barrenness.’ ” ²²So the water remains healed to this day, according to the word of Elisha which he spoke. ²³Then he went up from there to Bethel; and as he was going up the road, some youths came from the city and mocked him, and said to him, “Go up, you baldhead! Go up, you baldhead!” ²⁴So he turned around and looked at them, and pronounced a curse on them in the name of the Lᴏʀᴅ. And two female bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the youths. ²⁵Then he went from there to Mount Carmel, and from there he returned to Samaria.

¹Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, ²not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come. ³Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, ⁴who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. ⁵Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? ⁶And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time. ⁷For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way. ⁸And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming. ⁹The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, ¹⁰and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. ¹¹And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, ¹²that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness. ¹³But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth, ¹⁴to which He called you by our gospel, for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. ¹⁵Therefore, brethren, stand fast and hold the traditions which you were taught, whether by word or our epistle. ¹⁶Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and our God and Father, who has loved us and given us everlasting consolation and good hope by grace, ¹⁷comfort your hearts and establish you in every good word and work.

¹It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom one hundred and twenty satraps, to be over the whole kingdom; ²and over these, three governors, of whom Daniel was one, that the satraps might give account to them, so that the king would suffer no loss. ³Then this Daniel distinguished himself above the governors and satraps, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king gave thought to setting him over the whole realm. ⁴So the governors and satraps sought to find some charge against Daniel concerning the kingdom; but they could find no charge or fault, because he was faithful; nor was there any error or fault found in him. ⁵Then these men said, “We shall not find any charge against this Daniel unless we find it against him concerning the law of his God.” ⁶So these governors and satraps thronged before the king, and said thus to him: “King Darius, live forever! ⁷All the governors of the kingdom, the administrators and satraps, the counselors and advisors, have consulted together to establish a royal statute and to make a firm decree, that whoever petitions any god or man for thirty days, except you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions. ⁸Now, O king, establish the decree and sign the writing, so that it cannot be changed, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which does not alter.” ⁹Therefore King Darius signed the written decree. ¹⁰Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went home. And in his upper room, with his windows open toward Jerusalem, he knelt down on his knees three times that day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom since early days. ¹¹Then these men assembled and found Daniel praying and making supplication before his God. ¹²And they went before the king, and spoke concerning the king’s decree: “Have you not signed a decree that every man who petitions any god or man within thirty days, except you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions?” The king answered and said, “The thing is true, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which does not alter.” ¹³So they answered and said before the king, “That Daniel, who is one of the captives from Judah, does not show due regard for you, O king, or for the decree that you have signed, but makes his petition three times a day.” ¹⁴And the king, when he heard these words, was greatly displeased with himself, and set his heart on Daniel to deliver him; and he labored till the going down of the sun to deliver him. ¹⁵Then these men approached the king, and said to the king, “Know, O king, that it is the law of the Medes and Persians that no decree or statute which the king establishes may be changed.” ¹⁶So the king gave the command, and they brought Daniel and cast him into the den of lions. But the king spoke, saying to Daniel, “Your God, whom you serve continually, He will deliver you.” ¹⁷Then a stone was brought and laid on the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the signets of his lords, that the purpose concerning Daniel might not be changed. ¹⁸Now the king went to his palace and spent the night fasting; and no musicians were brought before him. Also his sleep went from him. ¹⁹Then the king arose very early in the morning and went in haste to the den of lions. ²⁰And when he came to the den, he cried out with a lamenting voice to Daniel. The king spoke, saying to Daniel, “Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the lions?” ²¹Then Daniel said to the king, “O king, live forever! ²²My God sent His angel and shut the lions’ mouths, so that they have not hurt me, because I was found innocent before Him; and also, O king, I have done no wrong before you.” ²³Then the king was exceedingly glad for him, and commanded that they should take Daniel up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no injury whatever was found on him, because he believed in his God. ²⁴And the king gave the command, and they brought those men who had accused Daniel, and they cast them into the den of lions—them, their children, and their wives; and the lions overpowered them, and broke all their bones in pieces before they ever came to the bottom of the den. ²⁵Then King Darius wrote: To all peoples, nations, and languages that dwell in all the earth: Peace be multiplied to you. ²⁶I make a decree that in every dominion of my kingdom men must tremble and fear before the God of Daniel. For He is the living God, And steadfast forever; His kingdom is the one which shall not be destroyed, And His dominion shall endure to the end. ²⁷He delivers and rescues, And He works signs and wonders In heaven and on earth, Who has delivered Daniel from the power of the lions. ²⁸So this Daniel prospered in the reign of Darius and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian.

¹Praise the Lᴏʀᴅ! Blessed is the man who fears the Lᴏʀᴅ, Who delights greatly in His commandments. ²His descendants will be mighty on earth; The generation of the upright will be blessed. ³Wealth and riches will be in his house, And his righteousness endures forever. ⁴Unto the upright there arises light in the darkness; He is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous. ⁵A good man deals graciously and lends; He will guide his affairs with discretion. ⁶Surely he will never be shaken; The righteous will be in everlasting remembrance. ⁷He will not be afraid of evil tidings; His heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lᴏʀᴅ. ⁸His heart is established; He will not be afraid, Until he sees his desire upon his enemies. ⁹He has dispersed abroad, He has given to the poor; His righteousness endures forever; His horn will be exalted with honor. ¹⁰The wicked will see it and be grieved; He will gnash his teeth and melt away; The desire of the wicked shall perish.

¹Praise the Lᴏʀᴅ! Praise, O servants of the Lᴏʀᴅ, Praise the name of the Lᴏʀᴅ! ²Blessed be the name of the Lᴏʀᴅ From this time forth and forevermore! ³From the rising of the sun to its going down The Lᴏʀᴅ’s name is to be praised. ⁴The Lᴏʀᴅ is high above all nations, His glory above the heavens. ⁵Who is like the Lᴏʀᴅ our God, Who dwells on high, ⁶Who humbles Himself to behold The things that are in the heavens and in the earth? ⁷He raises the poor out of the dust, And lifts the needy out of the ash heap, ⁸That He may seat him with princes— With the princes of His people. ⁹He grants the barren woman a home, Like a joyful mother of children. Praise the Lᴏʀᴅ!