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Psalm 2

1  Why are the nations in tumult, ♦︎
   and why do the peoples devise a vain plot?
2  The kings of the earth rise up,
      and the rulers take counsel together, ♦︎
   against the Lord and against his anointed:
3  ‘Let us break their bonds asunder ♦︎
   and cast away their cords from us.’
4  He who dwells in heaven shall laugh them to scorn; ♦︎
   the Lord shall have them in derision.
5  Then shall he speak to them in his wrath ♦︎
   and terrify them in his fury:
6  ‘Yet have I set my king ♦︎
   upon my holy hill of Zion.’
7  I will proclaim the decree of the Lord; ♦︎
   he said to me: ‘You are my Son; this day have I begotten you.
8  ‘Ask of me and I will give you the nations for your inheritance ♦︎
   and the ends of the earth for your possession.
9  ‘You shall break them with a rod of iron ♦︎
   and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.’
10  Now therefore be wise, O kings; ♦︎
   be prudent, you judges of the earth.
11  Serve the Lord with fear, and with trembling kiss his feet, ♦︎
   lest he be angry and you perish from the way,
      for his wrath is quickly kindled.
12  Happy are all they ♦︎
   who take refuge in him.

Psalm 99

1  The Lord is king: let the peoples tremble; ♦︎
   he is enthroned above the cherubim: let the earth shake.
2  The Lord is great in Zion ♦︎
   and high above all peoples.
3  Let them praise your name, which is great and awesome; ♦︎
   the Lord our God is holy.
4  Mighty king, who loves justice,
      you have established equity; ♦︎
   you have executed justice and righteousness in Jacob.
5  Exalt the Lord our God; ♦︎
   bow down before his footstool, for he is holy.
6  Moses and Aaron among his priests
      and Samuel among those who call upon his name; ♦︎
   they called upon the Lord and he answered them.
7  He spoke to them out of the pillar of cloud; ♦︎
   they kept his testimonies and the law that he gave them.
8  You answered them, O Lord our God; ♦︎
   you were a God who forgave them
      and pardoned them for their offences.
9  Exalt the Lord our God
      and worship him upon his holy hill, ♦︎
   for the Lord our God is holy.

Elijah Flees from Jezebel

19Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. ²Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, ‘So may the gods do to me, and more also, if I do not make your life like the life of one of them by this time tomorrow.’ ³Then he was afraid; he got up and fled for his life, and came to Beer-sheba, which belongs to Judah; he left his servant there.

4 But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a solitary broom tree. He asked that he might die: ‘It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life, for I am no better than my ancestors.’ ⁵Then he lay down under the broom tree and fell asleep. Suddenly an angel touched him and said to him, ‘Get up and eat.’ ⁶He looked, and there at his head was a cake baked on hot stones, and a jar of water. He ate and drank, and lay down again. ⁷The angel of the Lord came a second time, touched him, and said, ‘Get up and eat, otherwise the journey will be too much for you.’ ⁸He got up, and ate and drank; then he went in the strength of that food for forty days and forty nights to Horeb the mount of God. ⁹At that place he came to a cave, and spent the night there.

Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, ‘What are you doing here, Elijah?’ ¹⁰He answered, ‘I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away.’

Elijah Meets God at Horeb

11 He said, ‘Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.’ Now there was a great wind, so strong that it was splitting mountains and breaking rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; ¹²and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of sheer silence. ¹³When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. Then there came a voice to him that said, ‘What are you doing here, Elijah?’ ¹⁴He answered, ‘I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away.’ ¹⁵Then the Lord said to him, ‘Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus; when you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael as king over Aram. ¹⁶Also you shall anoint Jehu son of Nimshi as king over Israel; and you shall anoint Elisha son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah as prophet in your place.

Eyewitnesses of Christ’s Glory

16 For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we had been eyewitnesses of his majesty. ¹⁷For he received honour and glory from God the Father when that voice was conveyed to him by the Majestic Glory, saying, ‘This is my Son, my Beloved,^* with whom I am well pleased.’ ¹⁸We ourselves heard this voice come from heaven, while we were with him on the holy mountain.

19 So we have the prophetic message more fully confirmed. You will do well to be attentive to this as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. ²⁰First of all you must understand this, that no prophecy of scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, ²¹because no prophecy ever came by human will, but men and women moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.^*

The Coming of Elijah

9 As they were coming down the mountain, he ordered them to tell no one about what they had seen, until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead. ¹⁰So they kept the matter to themselves, questioning what this rising from the dead could mean. ¹¹Then they asked him, ‘Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?’ ¹²He said to them, ‘Elijah is indeed coming first to restore all things. How then is it written about the Son of Man, that he is to go through many sufferings and be treated with contempt? ¹³But I tell you that Elijah has come, and they did to him whatever they pleased, as it is written about him.’

The Transfiguration

2 Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, ³and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no one^* on earth could bleach them. ⁴And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, who were talking with Jesus. ⁵Then Peter said to Jesus, ‘Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings,^* one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.’ ⁶He did not know what to say, for they were terrified. ⁷Then a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice, ‘This is my Son, the Beloved;^* listen to him!’ ⁸Suddenly when they looked around, they saw no one with them any more, but only Jesus.

The Coming of Elijah

9 As they were coming down the mountain, he ordered them to tell no one about what they had seen, until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead. ¹⁰So they kept the matter to themselves, questioning what this rising from the dead could mean. ¹¹Then they asked him, ‘Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?’ ¹²He said to them, ‘Elijah is indeed coming first to restore all things. How then is it written about the Son of Man, that he is to go through many sufferings and be treated with contempt? ¹³But I tell you that Elijah has come, and they did to him whatever they pleased, as it is written about him.’