< 2 Kings 2 >

1 And it comes to pass, at YHWH’s taking up Elijah to the heavens in a whirlwind, that Elijah goes, and Elisha, from Gilgal,
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 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.
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 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.”
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 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.
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 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.”
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 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—
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 have gone on, and stand opposite [them] far off—and both of them have 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 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.
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 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”;
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 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.”
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 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.
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 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.
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 takes up the robe of Elijah that fell from off him, and turns back and stands on the edge 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 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.
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 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,
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 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.”
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 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;
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 return to him—and he is abiding in Jericho—and he says to them, “Did I not say to you, Do not go?”
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 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.”
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 says, “Bring a new dish to me, and place salt there”; and they bring [it] to him,
Elisha replied, “Bring me a new bowl and put salt in it,” so they brought it to him.
21 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.”
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 are healed to this day, according to the word of Elisha that he spoke.
So the waters were healed to this day, by the word which Elisha spoke.
23 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!”
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 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.
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 he goes from there to the hill of Carmel, and from there he has turned back to Samaria.
Then Elisha went from there to Mount Carmel, and from there he returned to Samaria.

< 2 Kings 2 >