2 Kings 2
1 And it came to pass, when the Lord was about to take up Elijah by a storm-wind to heaven, that Elijah went out with Elisha' from Gilgal.
Now when the Lord was about to take Elijah up to heaven in a great wind, Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal.
2 And Elijah said unto Elisha', Remain, I pray thee, here; for the Lord hath sent me as far as Beth-el. But Elisha' said, As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they went down to Beth-el.
And Elijah said to Elisha, Come no farther for the Lord has sent me to Beth-el. But Elisha said, As the Lord is living and as your soul is living, I will not be parted from you. So they went down to Beth-el.
3 And the sons of the prophets that were at Beth-el came forth to Elisha', and said unto him, Knowest thou that today the Lord will take away thy master from thy head? And he said, I also know it; be still.
And at Beth-el the sons of the prophets came out to Elisha and said, Has it been made clear to you that the Lord is going to take away your master from over you today? And he said, Yes, I have knowledge of it: say no more.
4 And Elijah said unto him, Elisha', remain, I pray thee, here; for the Lord hath sent me to Jericho. But he said, As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they came to Jericho.
Then Elijah said to him, Come no farther, for the Lord has sent me to Jericho. But he said, As the Lord is living and as your soul is living, I will not be parted from you. So they went on to Jericho.
5 And the sons of the prophets that were at Jericho came near to Elisha', and said unto him, Knowest thou that today the Lord will take away thy master from thy head? And he said, I also know it; be still.
And at Jericho the sons of the prophets came up to Elisha and said to him, Has it been made clear to you that the Lord is going to take away your master from over you today? And he said in answer, Yes, I have knowledge of it: say no more.
6 And Elijah said unto him, Remain, I pray thee, here; for the Lord hath sent me to the Jordan. But he said, As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So these two went on.
Then Elijah said to him, Come no farther, for the Lord has sent me to Jordan. But he said, As the Lord is living and as your soul is living, I will not be parted from you. So they went on together.
7 And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went, and stood opposite [to them] afar off: and those two stood by the Jordan.
And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went out and took their places facing them a long way off, while the two of them were by the edge of Jordan.
8 And Elijah took his mantle, and folded it together, and smote the waters, and they were divided hither and thither, and they went, both of them, over on dry ground.
Then Elijah took off his robe, and, rolling it up, gave the water a blow with it, and the waters were parted, flowing back this way and that, so that they went over on dry land.
9 And it came to pass, when they passed over, that Elijah said unto Elisha', Ask what I shall do for thee, before I shall be taken away from thee. And Elisha' said, Let there be, I pray thee, a double portion of thy spirit upon me.
And when they had come to the other side, Elijah said to Elisha, Say what you would have me do for you before I am taken from you. And Elisha said, Be pleased to let a special measure of your spirit be on me.
10 And he said, Thou hast asked a hard thing: if thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so [given] unto thee; but if not, it shall not be.
And he said, You have made a hard request: still, if you see me when I am taken from you, you will get your desire; but if not, it will not be so.
11 And it came to pass, as they went on, speaking as they were going, that, behold, there came a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a storm-wind to heaven.
And while they went on their way, going on talking together, suddenly there were carriages and horses of fire separating them from one another and Elijah went up to heaven in a great wind.
12 And Elisha' saw it, and he cried, My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and their horsemen. And he saw him no more; and he took hold of his clothes, and rent them in two pieces.
And when Elisha saw it he gave a cry, My father, my father, the carriages of Israel and its horsemen! And he saw him no longer; and he was full of grief.
13 And he lifted up the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and went back, and stood by the border of the Jordan;
Then he took up Elijah's robe, which had been dropped from him, and went back till he came to the edge of Jordan.
14 And he took the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and smote the waters, and said, Where is the Lord the God of Elijah? and when he also had smitten the waters, they parted hither and thither; and Elisha' passed over.
And he took Elijah's robe, which had been dropped from him, and giving the water a blow with it, said, Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah? and at his blow the waters were parted this way and that; and Elisha went over.
15 And when the sons of the prophets who were at Jericho, at a distance, saw him, they said, The spirit of Elijah Doth rest on Elisha'. And they came forth to meet him, and bowed themselves unto him to the ground.
And when the sons of the prophets who were facing him at Jericho saw him, they said, The spirit of Elijah is resting on Elisha. And they came out to him, and went down on the earth before him.
16 And they said unto him, Behold now, there are among thy servants fifty strong men; let them go, we pray thee, and seek thy master; peradventure the Spirit of the Lord hath taken him up, and cast him upon one of the mountains, or into one of the valleys. And he said, Ye must not send.
And they said, Your servants have with us here fifty strong men; be pleased to let them go in search of Elijah; for it may be that the spirit of the Lord has taken him up and put him down on some mountain or in some valley. But he said, Do not send them.
17 And they urged him till he was ashamed, when he said, Send. And they sent fifty men; and they sought three days, but found him not.
But when they kept on requesting him, he was shamed and said, Send, then. So they sent fifty men; but after searching for three days, they came back without having seen him.
18 And they returned again to him, for he had remained at Jericho; and he then said unto them, Did I not say unto you, Ye should not go?
And they came back to him, while he was still at Jericho; and he said to them, Did I not say to you, Go not?
19 And the men of the city said unto Elisha', Behold, I pray thee, the situation of this city is good, as my Lord seeth; but the water is bad, and the land causeth untimely births.
Now the men of the town said to Elisha, You see that the position of this town is good; but the water is bad, causing the young of the cattle to come to birth dead.
20 And he said, Fetch me a new flask, and put salt therein: and they fetched it to him.
So he said, Get me a new vessel, and put salt in it; and they took it to him.
21 And he went forth unto the spring of the waters, and cast therein the salt, and said, Thus hath said the Lord, I have healed these waters; there shall not be from there any more death or untimely births.
Then he went out to the spring from which the water came, and put salt in it, and said, The Lord says, Now I have made this water sweet; no longer will it be death-giving or unfertile.
22 So the waters were healed unto this day, according to the word of Elisha' which he spoke.
And the water was made sweet again to this day, as Elisha said.
23 And he went up from there to Beth-el: and as he was going up by the way, there came forth young lads out of the city, and they mocked him, and said unto him, Go up, bald-head! go up, bald-head!
Then from there he went up to Beth-el; and on his way, some little boys came out from the town and made sport of him, crying, Go up, old no-hair! go up, old no-hair!
24 And he turned back, and looked on them, and cursed them in the name of the Lord; and there came forth two she-bears out of the forest, and tore of them forty and two boys.
And turning back, he saw them, and put a curse on them in the name of the Lord. And two she-bears came out of the wood and put forty-two of the children to death.
25 And he went from there to mount Carmel, and from there he returned to Samaria.
From there he went to Mount Carmel, and came back from there to Samaria.
