< 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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;
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
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.
20 And he said, Fetch me a new flask, and put salt therein: and they fetched 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.
22 So the waters were healed unto this day, according to the word of Elisha' which he spoke.
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!
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.
25 And he went from there to mount Carmel, and from there he returned to Samaria.
