2 Kings 2
1 Just before the Lord took Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were walking together on their way from Gilgal.
And it comes to pass, at YHWH’s taking up Elijah to the heavens in a whirlwind, that Elijah goes, and Elisha, from Gilgal,
2 Elijah said to Elisha, “Please stay here, for the Lord has sent me to Bethel.” But Elisha replied, “As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they went to Bethel.
and Elijah says to Elisha, “Please abide here, for YHWH has sent me to Beth-El”; and Elisha says, “YHWH lives, and your soul lives, if I leave you”; and they go down to Beth-El.
3 The sons of the prophets who lived in Bethel came to Elisha and told him, “You do know that the Lord is going to take your master away from you today, don't you?” “Yes, I know,” he replied. “Don't talk about it.”
And sons of the prophets who [are] in Beth-El come out to Elisha, and say to him, “Have you known that today YHWH is taking your lord from your head?” And he says, “I also have known—keep silent.”
4 Then Elijah said to him, “Please stay here, Elisha, for the Lord has sent me to Jericho.” He replied, “As the Lord lives, and as you live, I will not leave you.” So they went to Jericho.
And Elijah says to him, “Elisha, please abide here, for YHWH has sent me to Jericho”; and he says, “YHWH lives, and your soul lives, if I leave you”; and they come to Jericho.
5 The sons of the prophets who lived in Jericho came to Elisha and told him, “You do know that the Lord is going to take your master away from you today, don't you?” “Yes, I know,” he replied. “Don't talk about it.”
And sons of the prophets who [are] in Jericho come near to Elisha, and say to him, “Have you known that today YHWH is taking your lord from your head?” And he says, “I also have known—keep silent.”
6 Then Elijah said to him, “Please stay here, Elisha, for the Lord has sent me to the Jordan.” He replied, “As the Lord lives, and as you live, I will not leave you.” So they travelled on together.
And Elijah says to him, “Please abide here, for YHWH has sent me to the Jordan”; and he says, “YHWH lives, and your soul lives, if I leave you”; and both of them go on—
7 Then a group of fifty of the sons of the prophets went and stood facing Elijah and Elisha at a distance as the two of them stood by the Jordan.
and fifty men of the sons of the prophets have gone on, and stand opposite [them] far off—and both of them have stood by the Jordan.
8 Elijah took his cloak, rolled it up, and hit the water. It divided to the one side and to the other and both of them crossed over on dry ground.
And Elijah takes his robe, and wraps [it] together, and strikes the waters, and they are halved, here and there, and both of them pass over on dry land.
9 When they arrived on the other side, Elijah asked Elisha, “What can I do for you before I'm taken from you?” “Please let me have a double amount of your spirit,” Elisha replied.
And it comes to pass, at their passing over, that Elijah has said to Elisha, “Ask what I do for you before I am taken from you.” And Elisha says, “Indeed, please let there be a double portion of your spirit to me”;
10 “What you have asked for is hard,” Elijah responded. “But if you see me when I am taken from you, you will have it, otherwise not.”
and he says, “You have asked a hard thing; if you see me taken from you, it is to you so; and if not, it is not.”
11 As they were walking along, talking, a chariot of fire and horses of fire came between them, and Elijah was taken up in the whirlwind to heaven.
And it comes to pass, they are going, going on and speaking, and behold, a chariot of fire and horses of fire [appear], and they separate between them both, and Elijah goes up to the heavens in a whirlwind.
12 Elisha saw what happened and cried out, “My father! My father! Look! The chariots and horsemen of Israel!” Then Elisha couldn't see him anymore. He took his clothes and ripped them to pieces.
And Elisha is seeing, and he is crying, “My father! My father! The chariot of Israel and its horsemen!” And he has not seen him again; and he takes hold on his garments and tears them into two pieces.
13 Then Elisha picked up Elijah's cloak that had fallen from him, and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan.
And he takes up the robe of Elijah that fell from off him, and turns back and stands on the edge of the Jordan,
14 He took Elijah's cloak that had fallen from him, hit the water, and cried out, “Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah?” When he hit the water, it divided to the one side and to the other and Elisha crossed over.
and he takes the robe of Elijah that fell from off him, and strikes the waters, and says, “Where [is] YHWH, God of Elijah—even He?” And he strikes the waters, and they are halved, here and there, and Elisha passes over.
15 The sons of the prophets who lived in Jericho saw him from the opposite side and shouted out, “Elijah's spirit now rests upon Elisha!” They went over to meet him, and bowed to the ground before him.
And they see him—the sons of the prophets who [are] in Jericho—from opposite [them], and they say, “The spirit of Elijah has rested on Elisha”; and they come to meet him, and bow themselves to him to the earth,
16 “Look,” they said to Elisha, “we your servants have fifty good men here. Please allow them to go and search for your master. Maybe the Spirit of the Lord has taken him and put him down on a mountain or in a valley somewhere.” “Don't bother sending them,” Elisha replied.
and say to him, “Now behold, there are fifty men with your servants, sons of valor: please let them go, and they seek your lord, lest the Spirit of YHWH has taken him up, and casts him on one of the hills or into one of the valleys”; and he says, “You do not send.”
17 But they went on trying to persuade him until he was too embarrassed to say no. “Go ahead and send them,” he told them. So they sent fifty men, who searched for Elijah for three days but couldn't find him.
And they press on him, until he is ashamed, and he says, “Send”; and they send fifty men, and they seek three days, and have not found him;
18 When they returned to Elisha, who was staying in Jericho, he said to them, “Didn't I tell you not to bother going?”
and they return to him—and he is abiding in Jericho—and he says to them, “Did I not say to you, Do not go?”
19 The townspeople said to Elisha, “Look, sir, while our town has a good location as you can see, the water is bad and the soil is poor.”
And the men of the city say to Elisha, “Now behold, the site of the city [is] good, as my lord sees, and the waters [are] bad, and the earth sterile.”
20 “Bring me a brand new bowl and put some salt in it,” he replied. So they brought it to him.
And he says, “Bring a new dish to me, and place salt there”; and they bring [it] to him,
21 Then Elisha went to the spring, threw the salt into it, and said, “This is what the Lord says: ‘I have purified this water. It won't cause death or miscarriages anymore.’”
and he goes out to the source of the waters, and casts salt there, and says, “Thus said YHWH: I have given healing to these waters; there is not anymore death and sterility there.”
22 The water there is still pure to this very day, just as Elisha said it would be.
And the waters are healed to this day, according to the word of Elisha that he spoke.
23 Elisha went on from there to Bethel. As he was walking along the road, a group of youths came from the town. They made fun of him, calling out, “Go on up, baldy! Go on up, baldy!”
And he goes up from there to Beth-El, and he is going up in the way, and little youths have come out from the city, and scoff at him, and say to him, “Go up, bald-head! Go up, bald-head!”
24 Turning around, he looked at them and called down a curse on them in the Lord's name. Suddenly two female bears came out of the forest and mauled forty-two of them.
And he looks behind him, and sees them, and declares them vile in the Name of YHWH, and two bears come out of the forest and ripped apart forty-two of the boys.
25 Elisha carried on to Mount Carmel, and from there he went back to Samaria.
And he goes from there to the hill of Carmel, and from there he has turned back to Samaria.
