13 Then people brought little
children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and pray for them. But the
disciples rebuked them.
14 Jesus
said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the
kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” 15 When he had
placed his hands on them, he went on from there.
When Jesus had finished saying
these things, he left Galilee and went into the region of Judea to the other
side of the Jordan. 2 Large crowds followed him, and he healed
them there.
3 Some
Pharisees came to him to test him. They asked, “Is it lawful for a man to
divorce his wife for any and every reason?”
4 “Haven’t
you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and
female,’[a]5 and
said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to
his wife, and the two will become one flesh’[b]? 6 So
they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together,
let no one separate.”
7 “Why
then,” they asked, “did Moses command that a man give his wife a certificate of
divorce and send her away?”
8 Jesus
replied, “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were
hard. But it was not this way from the beginning. 9 I tell you
that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries
another woman commits adultery.”
10 The
disciples said to him, “If this is the situation between a husband and wife, it
is better not to marry.”
11 Jesus
replied, “Not everyone can accept this word, but only those to whom it has been
given. 12 For there are eunuchs who were born that way, and
there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by others—and there are those who
choose to live like eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. The one who
can accept this should accept it.”
When the Lord was about to take Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind,
Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal. 2 Elijah said
to Elisha, “Stay here; 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.” So they went down to Bethel.
3 The
company 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.”
4 Then
Elijah said to him, “Stay here, Elisha; the Lord
has sent me to Jericho.”
And
he replied, “As surely as the Lord
lives and as you live, I will not leave you.” So they went to Jericho.
5 The
company 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.”
6 Then
Elijah said to him, “Stay here; the Lord
has sent me to the Jordan.”
And
he replied, “As surely as the Lord
lives and as you live, I will not leave you.” So the two of them walked on.
7 Fifty
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. 8 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.
9 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.
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.”
11 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. 12 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 garment and tore it in two.
13 Elisha
then picked up Elijah’s cloak that had fallen from him and went back and stood
on the bank of the Jordan. 14 He took the cloak that had fallen
from Elijah and struck 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.
15 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. 16 “Look,” they said, “we your servants have fifty
able men. Let them go and look for your master. Perhaps the Spirit of the Lord has picked him up and set him down
on some mountain or in some valley.”
“No,”
Elisha replied, “do not send them.”
17 But
they persisted until he was too embarrassed to refuse. So he said, “Send them.”
And they sent fifty men, who searched for three days but did not find him. 18 When
they returned to Elisha, who was staying in Jericho, he said to them, “Didn’t I
tell you not to go?”
