2 Kings 2
1 Now it happened that, when the Lord willed to lift up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were going out of Gilgal.
When Yahweh was about to take [the prophet] Elijah up to heaven in a (whirlwind/twisting wind), Elijah and [his fellow prophet] Elisha were traveling [south] from Gilgal [town].
2 And Elijah said to Elisha: “Remain here. For the Lord has sent me as far as Bethel.” And Elisha said to him, “As the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, I will not forsake you.” And when they had descended to Bethel,
Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here, because Yahweh has told [only] me to go to Bethel [town].” But Elisha replied, “Just as certainly as Yahweh lives and you live, I will not leave you!” So they went down [together] to Bethel.
3 the sons of the prophets, who were at Bethel, went out to Elisha. And they said to him, “Do you not know that today the Lord will take away your lord from you?” And he responded: “I know it. Be silent.”
A group of prophets came to Elisha [and Elijah before they entered the town], and they asked Elisha, “Do you know that Yahweh is going to take your master/boss [Elijah] away from you today?” Elisha answered, “Certainly I know that, but don’t talk about it!” [IDM]
4 Then Elijah said to Elisha: “Remain here. For the Lord has sent me to Jericho.” And he said, “As the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, I will not forsake you.” And when they had arrived at Jericho,
Then Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here, because Yahweh has told [only] me to go to Jericho.” But Elisha replied [again], “Just as certainly as Yahweh lives and you live, I will not leave you!” So they went [together] to Jericho [city].
5 the sons of the prophets, who were at Jericho, drew near to Elisha. And they said to him, “Do you not know that today the Lord will take away your lord from you?” And he said: “I know it. Be silent.”
[As they neared] Jericho, a group of prophets who were from there came to Elisha and said to him, “Do you know that Yahweh is going to take your master/boss [Elijah] away from you today?” He answered again, “Certainly I know that, but don’t talk about it!” [IDM]
6 Then Elijah said to him: “Remain here. For the Lord has sent me as far as the Jordan.” And he said, “As the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, I will not forsake you.” And so, the two of them continued on together.
Then Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here, because Yahweh has told [only] me to go to the Jordan [River].” But [again] Elisha replied, “As certainly as Yahweh lives and you live, I will not leave you!” So they continued walking together.
7 And fifty men from the sons of the prophets followed them, and they stood opposite them, at a distance. But the two of them were standing above the Jordan.
Fifty men from a group of prophets [who were from Jericho] also went, but they watched from a distance as Elijah and Elisha stopped at the edge of the Jordan [River].
8 And Elijah took his cloak, and he rolled it up, and he struck the waters, which were divided into two parts. And they both went across on dry ground.
Then Elijah rolled up his cloak and struck the water with it. A path opened up for them through the river, and they walked across [as though they were] on dry ground.
9 And when they had gone across, Elijah said to Elisha, “Ask what you wish that I may do for you, before I am taken from you.” And Elisha said, “I beg you, that twice your spirit may be accomplished in me.”
When they came to the other side, Elijah said to Elisha, “What do you want me to do for you before (I am taken away/Yahweh takes me away)?” Elisha replied, “I want to receive twice as much of your power [as you have had, ] (OR enable me to very powerfully continue your ministry).”
10 And he responded: “You have requested a difficult thing. Nevertheless, if you see me when I am taken from you, you will have what you requested. But if you do not see, it shall not be.”
Elijah replied, “You have asked for something which is difficult [for me to cause to happen]. But, if you see me when (I am taken from you/Yahweh takes me from you), you will get what you are requesting. But if you do not see me, then you will not get it.”
11 And as they continued on, they were conversing while walking. And behold, a fiery chariot with fiery horses divided the two. And Elijah ascended by a whirlwind into heaven.
As they were walking and talking, suddenly a chariot that had fire [surrounding it], pulled by horses which also had fire [surrounding them], appeared. [The chariot driver] drove the chariot between Elijah and Elisha and separated them. Then Elijah was taken up to heaven in a (whirlwind/twisting wind).
12 Then Elisha saw it, and he cried out: “My father, my father! The chariot of Israel with its driver!” And he saw him no more. And he took hold of his own garments, and he tore them into two parts.
Elisha saw it. He cried out, “My father/master! My father/master! The chariots of us Israeli people and their drivers [have taken my master away]!” [They disappeared into the sky, ] and Elisha never saw Elijah again. Then Elisha tore his own robe into two pieces [to show that he was sad].
13 And he picked up the cloak of Elijah, which had fallen from him. And turning back, he stood above the bank of the Jordan.
Elijah’s cloak [had fallen off when he was taken away, so] Elisha picked it up and returned to the bank of the Jordan [River].
14 And he struck the waters with the cloak of Elijah, which had fallen from him, and they were not divided. And he said, “Where is the God of Elijah, even now?” And he struck the waters, and they were divided here and there. And Elisha went across.
He [rolled up the cloak and] struck the water with it, and cried out, “Will Yahweh, the God who [enabled] Elijah [to perform miracles, enable me to do similar things]?” Then the water separated, and a path opened up for him, and Elisha went across.
15 Then the sons of the prophets, who were at Jericho, watching from a distance, said, “The spirit of Elijah has rested upon Elisha.” And approaching to meet him, they reverenced him prone on the ground.
When the group of prophets from Jericho saw what happened, they exclaimed, “Elisha now has the power that Elijah had!” [MTY] They walked over to him and bowed down in front of him.
16 And they said to him, “Behold, with your servants there are fifty strong men, who are able to go forth and to seek your lord. For perhaps, the Spirit of the Lord has taken him up and cast him upon some mountain, or into some valley.” But he said, “Do not send them.”
[One of] them said, “Sir, if you permit us, 50 of our strongest men will go and search for your master [on the other side of the river]. Perhaps the Spirit of Yahweh has left him on some mountain or in some valley.” Elisha replied, “No, do not send them.”
17 And they urged him, until he acquiesced and said, “Send them.” And they sent fifty men. And after they had searched for three days, they did not find him.
But they kept insisting. Finally he was tired of saying “No,” and he said, “Okay, send them.” So 50 men searched for three days, but they did not find Elijah.
18 And they returned to him, for he was living in Jericho. And he said to them: “Did I not say to you, ‘Do not send them?’”
They returned to Jericho, and Elisha was still there. He said to them, “I told you that you should not go, [because you would not find him]!” [RHQ]
19 Also, the men of the city said to Elisha: “Behold, this city is a very good habitation, as you yourself perceive, O lord. But the waters are very bad, and the ground is barren.”
Then the leaders of [Jericho] city came to talk with Elisha. One of them said, “Our master, we have a problem. You can see that this is a very nice place [to live in]. But the water is bad, and as a result, crops will not grow on the land.”
20 And so he said, “Bring a new vessel to me, and place salt in it.” And when they had brought it,
Elisha said to them, “Put some salt in a new bowl and bring the bowl to me.” So they brought it to him.
21 he went out to the source of the waters, and he cast the salt into it. And he said: “Thus says the Lord: I have healed these waters, and no longer shall there be death or barrenness in them.”
Then he went out to the spring [from which the people in the town got water]. He threw the salt into the spring. Then he said, “This is what Yahweh says: ‘I have made this water good/pure. No longer will anyone die, from having drunk this water, and now crops will be able to grow.’” [LIT]
22 Then the waters were healed, even to this day, in accord with the word of Elisha, which he spoke.
And the water became pure, just as Elisha said it would be. Since that time it has always remained pure.
23 Then he went up from there into Bethel. And as he was ascending along the way, little boys departed from the city. And they were mocking him, saying: “Go up, bald head! Go up, bald head!”
Elisha left Jericho and went up to Bethel. As he was walking along the road, a group of young boys from Bethel [saw him and] started to make fun of him. They continued shouting, “Go away, you bald-headed man!”
24 And when he had looked back, he saw them, and he cursed them in the name of the Lord. And two bears went out from the forest, and they wounded forty-two boys among them.
Elisha turned around and looked/glared at them. He asked Yahweh to (curse them/do something bad to them). Immediately two bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of them.
25 Then he went away from there to mount Carmel. And he returned from there into Samaria.
Elisha left Bethel and went to Carmel Mountain, and after that he returned to Samaria [city].
