< 2 Kings 2 >

1 And it came to pass, when the Lord would take up Elias into heaven by a whirlwind, that Elias and Eliseus were going from Galgal.
So it came about, when Yahweh was going to take up Elijah by a whirlwind into heaven, that Elijah left with Elisha from Gilgal.
2 And Elias said to Eliseus: Stay thou here, because the Lord hath sent me as far as Bethel. And Eliseus said to him: As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. And when they were come down to Bethel,
Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here, please, because Yahweh has sent me to Bethel.” Elisha replied, “As Yahweh lives, and as you live, I will not leave you.” So they went down to Bethel.
3 The sons of the prophets, that were at Bethel, came forth to Eliseus, and said to him: Dost thou know that this day the Lord will take away thy master from thee? And he answered: I also know it: hold your peace.
The sons of the prophets who were at Bethel came to Elisha and said to him, “Do you know that Yahweh will take away your master from you today?” Elisha replied, “Yes, I know it, but do not talk about it.”
4 And Elias said to Eliseus: Stay here because the Lord hath sent me to Jericho. And he said: As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. And when they were come to Jericho,
Elijah said to him, “Elisha, wait here, please, for Yahweh has sent me to Jericho.” Then Elisha replied, “As Yahweh lives, and as you live, I will not leave you.” So they went to Jericho.
5 The sons of the prophets that were at Jericho, came to Eliseus, and said to him: Dost thou know that this day the Lord will take away thy master from thee? And he said: I also know it: hold your peace.
Then the sons of the prophets who were at Jericho came to Elisha and said to him, “Do you know that Yahweh will take away your master from you today?” Elisha answered, “Yes, I know it, but do not talk about it.”
6 And Elias said to him: Stay here, because the Lord hath sent me as far as the Jordan. And he said: As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee; and they two went on together,
Then Elijah said to him, “Stay here, please, for Yahweh has sent me to the Jordan.” Elisha replied, “As Yahweh lives, and as you live, I will not leave you.” So the two went on.
7 And fifty men of the sons of the prophets followed them, and stood in sight at a distance: but they two stood by the Jordan.
Later, fifty of the sons of the prophets stood opposite them at a distance while the two stood by the Jordan.
8 And Elias took his mantle and folded it together, and struck the waters, and they were divided hither and thither, and they both passed over on dry ground.
Elijah took his cloak, rolled it up, and struck the water with it. The river divided on both sides so that the two of them walked over on dry ground.
9 And when they were gone over, Elias said to Eliseus: Ask what thou wilt have me to do for thee, before I be taken away from thee. And Eliseus said: I beseech thee that in me may be thy double spirit.
It came about, after they had crossed over, that Elijah said to Elisha, “Ask me what I should do for you before I am taken from you.” Elisha replied, “Please let a double portion of your spirit come on me.”
10 And he answered: Thou hast asked a hard thing: nevertheless if thou see me when I am taken from thee, thou shalt have what thou hast asked: but if thou see me not, thou shalt not have it.
Elijah answered, “You have asked for a difficult thing. Nevertheless, if you see me when I am taken from you, this will happen for you, but if not, it will not happen.”
11 And as they went on, walking and talking together, behold a fiery chariot, and fiery horses parted them both asunder: and Elias went up by a whirlwind into heaven.
As they still went on and talked, behold, a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared, which separated the two men from each other, and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.
12 And Eliseus saw him, and cried: My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the driver thereof. And he saw him no more: and he took hold of his own garments, and rent them in two pieces.
Elisha saw it and cried out, “My father, my father, the chariots of Israel and their horsemen!” He saw Elijah no more, and he took hold of his own clothes and tore them into two pieces.
13 And he took up the mantle of Elias, that fell from him: and going back, he stood upon the bank of the Jordan,
He picked up Elijah's cloak that had fallen off him, and went back to stand by the bank of the Jordan.
14 And he struck the waters with the mantle of Elias, that had fallen from him, and they were not divided. And he said: Where is now the God of Elias? And he struck the waters, and they were divided, hither and thither, and Eliseus passed over.
He struck the water with Elijah's cloak that had fallen and said, “Where is Yahweh, the God of Elijah?” When he had struck the waters, they divided on both sides and Elisha crossed over.
15 And the sons of the prophets at Jericho, who were over against him, seeing it said: The spirit of Elias hath rested upon Eliseus. And coming to meet him, they worshipped him, falling to the ground,
When the sons of the prophets who were from Jericho saw him across from them, they said, “The spirit of Elijah does rest on Elisha!” So they came to meet him, and bowed themselves to the ground before him.
16 And they said to him: Behold, there are with thy servants fifty strong men, that can go, and seek thy master, lest perhaps the spirit of the Lord hath taken him up and cast him upon some mountain or into some valley. And he said: Do not send.
They said to him, “See now, among your servants there are fifty strong men. Let them go, we ask, and look for your master, in case the Spirit of Yahweh has taken him up and thrown him onto some mountain or into some valley.” Elisha answered, “No, do not send them.”
17 But they pressed him, till he consented, and said: Send. And they sent fifty men: and they sought three days but found him not.
But when they urged Elisha until he was ashamed, he said, “Send them.” Then they sent fifty men, and they looked for three days, but did not find him.
18 And they came back to him: for he abode at Jericho, and he said to them: Did I not say to you: Do not send?
They came back to Elisha, while he stayed at Jericho, and he said to them, “Did I not say to you, 'Do not go'?”
19 And the men of the city said to Eliseus: Behold the situation of this city is very good, as thou, my lord, seest: but the waters are very bad, and the ground barren.
The men of the city said to Elisha, “See, we beg of you, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my master can see, but the water is bad and the land is not fruitful.”
20 And he said: Bring me a new vessel, and put salt into it. And when they had brought it,
Elisha replied, “Bring me a new bowl and put salt in it,” so they brought it to him.
21 He went out to the spring of the waters, and cast the salt into it, and said: Thus saith the Lord: I have healed these waters, and there shall be no more in them death or barrenness.
Elisha went out to the spring of water and threw salt in it; then he said, “Yahweh says this, 'I have healed these waters. From this time on, there will be no more death or unfruitful land.'”
22 And the waters were healed unto this day, according to the word of Eliseus, which he spoke.
So the waters were healed to this day, by the word which Elisha spoke.
23 And he went up from thence to Bethel: and as he was going up by the way, little boys came out of the city and mocked him, saying: Go up, thou bald head; go up, thou bald head.
Then Elisha went up from there to Bethel. As he was going up the road, young boys came out of the city and mocked him; they said to him, “Go up, you baldhead! Go up, you baldhead!”
24 And looking back, he saw them, and cursed them in the name of the Lord: and there came forth two bears out of the forest, and tore of them two and forty boys.
Elisha looked behind him and saw them; he called on Yahweh to curse them. Then two female bears came out of the woods and injured forty-two of the boys.
25 And from thence he went to mount Carmel, and from thence he returned to Samaria.
Then Elisha went from there to Mount Carmel, and from there he returned to Samaria.

< 2 Kings 2 >