< Kings IV 2 >

1 And it came to pass, when the Lord was going to take Eliu with a whirlwind as it were into heaven, that Eliu and Elisaie went out of Galgala.
Just before the Lord took Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were walking together on their way from Gilgal.
2 And Eliu said to Elisaie, Stay here, I pray you; for God has sent me to Baethel. And Elisaie said, [As] the Lord lives and your soul lives, I will not leave you; so they came to Baethel.
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.
3 And the sons of the prophets who were in Baethel came to Elisaie, and said to him, Do you know, that the Lord this day is going to take your lord away from your head? And he said, Yes, I know [it]; be silent.
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.”
4 And Eliu said to Elisaie, Stay here, I pray you; for the Lord has sent me to Jericho. And he said, [As] the Lord lives and your soul lives, I will not leave you. And they came to Jericho.
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.
5 And the sons of the prophets who were in Jericho drew near to Elisaie, and said to him, Do you know that the Lord is about to take away your master today from your head? And he said, Yes, I know [it]; hold your peace.
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.”
6 And Eliu said to him, Stay here, I pray you, for the Lord has sent me to Jordan. And Elisaie said, [As] the Lord lives and your soul lives, I will not leave you: and they both went on.
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.
7 And fifty men of the sons of the prophets [went also], and they stood opposite afar off: and both stood on [the bank] of Jordan.
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.
8 And Eliu took his mantle, and wrapped it together, and struck the water: and the water was divided on this side and on that side, and they both went over on dry ground.
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.
9 And it came to pass while they were crossing over, that Eliu said to Elisaie, Ask what I shall do for you before I am taken up from you. And Elisaie said, Let there be, I pray you, a double [portion] of your spirit upon me.
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.
10 And Eliu said, You have asked a hard thing: if you shall see me when I am taken up from you, then shall it be so to you; and if not, it shall not be [so].
“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.”
11 And it came to pass as they were going, they went on talking; and, behold, a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and it separated between them both; and Eliu was taken up in a whirlwind as it were into heaven.
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.
12 And Elisaie saw, and cried, Father, father, the chariot of Israel, and the horseman thereof! And he saw him no more: and he took hold of his garments, and tore them into two pieces.
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.
13 And Elisaie took up the mantle of Eliu, which fell from off him upon Elisaie; and Elisaie returned, and stood upon the brink of Jordan;
Then Elisha picked up Elijah's cloak that had fallen from him, and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan.
14 and he took the mantle of Eliu, which fell from off him, and struck the water, and said, Where is the Lord God of Eliu? and he struck the waters, and they were divided hither and there; and Elisaie went over.
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.
15 And the sons of the prophets who were in Jericho on the opposite side saw him, and said, The spirit of Eliu has rested upon Elisaie. And they came to meet him, and did obeisance to him to the ground.
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.
16 And they said to him, Behold now, [there are] with your servants fifty men of strength: let them go now, and seek your lord: perhaps the Spirit of the Lord has taken him up, and cast him into Jordan, or on one of the mountains, or on one of the hills. And Elisaie said, You shall not send.
“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.
17 And they pressed him until he was ashamed; and he said, Send. And they sent fifty men, and sought three days, and found him not.
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.
18 And they returned to him, for he lived in Jericho: and Elisaie said, Did I not say to you, Go not?
When they returned to Elisha, who was staying in Jericho, he said to them, “Didn't I tell you not to bother going?”
19 And the men of the city said to Elisaie, Behold, the situation of the city [is] good, as [our] lord sees; but the waters [are] bad, and the ground barren.
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.”
20 And Elisaie said, Bring me a new pitcher, and put salt in it. And they took [one], and brought [it] to him.
“Bring me a brand new bowl and put some salt in it,” he replied. So they brought it to him.
21 And Elisaie went out to the spring of the waters, and cast salt therein, and says, Thus says the Lord, I have healed these waters; there shall not be any longer death thence or barren [land].
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.’”
22 And the waters were healed until this day, according to the word of Elisaie which he spoke.
The water there is still pure to this very day, just as Elisha said it would be.
23 And he went up thence to Baethel: and as he was going up by the way there came up also little children from the city, and mocked him, and said to him, Go up, bald-head, go up.
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!”
24 And he turned after them, and saw them, and cursed them in the name of the Lord. And, behold, there came out two bears out of the wood, and they tore forty and two children of them.
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.
25 And he went thence to mount Carmel, and returned thence to Samaria.
Elisha carried on to Mount Carmel, and from there he went back to Samaria.

< Kings IV 2 >