2 Kings 2
1 So it came about, when Yahweh was going to take up Elijah by a whirlwind into heaven, that Elijah left with Elisha from Gilgal.
Just before the Lord took Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were walking together on their way from Gilgal.
2 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.
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 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.”
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 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.
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 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.”
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 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.
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 Later, fifty of the sons of the prophets stood opposite them at a distance while the two stood by the 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 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.
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 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.”
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 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.”
“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 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.
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 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.
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 He picked up Elijah's cloak that had fallen off him, and went back to stand by the bank of the 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 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.
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 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.
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 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.”
“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 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.
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 They came back to Elisha, while he stayed at Jericho, and he said to them, “Did I not say to you, 'Do not go'?”
When they returned to Elisha, who was staying in Jericho, he said to them, “Didn't I tell you not to bother going?”
19 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.”
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 Elisha replied, “Bring me a new bowl and put salt in it,” so they 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 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.'”
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 So the waters were healed to this day, by the word which Elisha spoke.
The water there is still pure to this very day, just as Elisha said it would be.
23 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!”
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 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.
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 Then Elisha went from there to Mount Carmel, and from there he returned to Samaria.
Elisha carried on to Mount Carmel, and from there he went back to Samaria.
