2 The Lord was now ready to take Elijah up to heaven in a storm of wind. At this time, Elijah and Elisha were travelling from Gilgal. 2 Elijah said to Elisha, ‘Stay here, because the Lord has sent me to Bethel.’ But Elisha replied, ‘I will not leave you. I promise that, as surely as the Lord lives and as surely as you also live.’
So they went down to Bethel together. 3 A group of prophets lived in Bethel. They came out to Elisha and they asked him, ‘Do you know that the Lord will take your master away from you today?’ Elisha replied, ‘Yes, I do know that, but do not talk about it now.’
4 Then Elijah said to Elisha, ‘Stay here, because the Lord has sent me to Jericho.’ But Elisha replied, ‘I will not leave you. I promise that, as surely as the Lord lives and as surely as you live.’
So they went to Jericho together. 5 A group of prophets lived in Jericho. They went out to Elisha and they asked him, ‘Do you know that the Lord will take your master away from you today?’ Elisha replied, ‘Yes, I do know that, but do not talk about it now.’
6 Then Elijah said to Elisha, ‘Stay here, because the Lord has sent me to the Jordan River.’ But Elisha replied, ‘I will not leave you. I promise that, as surely as the Lord lives and as surely as you live.’
So they continued to travel together. 7 50 men who belonged to the group of prophets went and they stood near the Jordan River. They were standing not far away from Elijah and Elisha. They watched what happened. 8 Elijah took off his coat. He rolled it up and he hit the water with it. The water became separate to the left side and to the right side. Elijah and Elisha went across the river on dry ground.
9 After they had crossed the river, Elijah said to Elisha, ‘The Lord will soon take me away from you. What do you want me to do for you before that happens?’ Elisha replied, ‘Please let me have twice as much of your spirit.’ 10 Elijah said, ‘You have asked a difficult thing. But watch carefully when God takes me from you. If you see it happen, you will receive that spirit. If you do not see me, you will not receive it.’
11 So they walked along and they talked together. Suddenly a chariot that was burning with fire appeared. The horses that pulled it were also burning with fire. The chariot went between Elijah and Elisha. Elijah went up to heaven in a storm of wind. 12 When Elisha saw this, he shouted, ‘My father! My father! [ a ] You are riding in Israel's chariot! Israel's men are riding on the horses!’
After that, Elisha could not see Elijah again. He took hold of his own clothes and he tore them into pieces because he was very upset. 13 He picked up Elijah's coat that had fallen off. He went and he stood on the shore of the Jordan River. 14 He took Elijah's coat and he hit the water with it. He said, ‘Now is the Lord , Elijah's God, with me?’ When he hit the water with Elijah's coat, the water became separate, to the left side and to the right side. Elisha went across the river.
15 The group of prophets from Jericho were standing not far away. They saw what happened. They said, ‘The spirit that gave power to Elijah is now with Elisha.’ They went to meet Elisha. They bent down low to the ground to respect him. 16 They said to him, ‘Please, sir! We are your servants. We have 50 strong men with us. Let them go and look for your master. Perhaps the Spirit [ b ] of the Lord has carried him away. Maybe it has dropped him somewhere on a mountain or in a valley.’ But Elisha replied, ‘No. Do not send them to look for him.’
17 But the prophets asked him many times to do this. Elisha was too ashamed to refuse. So he said, ‘Send them to look.’ They sent 50 men who looked for Elijah for three days. But they did not find him. 18 When they returned, Elisha was waiting for them in Jericho. He said to them, ‘I told you not to go and look for Elijah.’
19 One day, the leaders in Jericho said to Elisha, ‘Please listen to us, sir. You can see that our city is in a good place. But the water here is bad. The land does not give us good crops.’ 20 Elisha said, ‘Bring a new bowl to me with some salt in it.’ So they brought it to him. 21 Then Elisha went out to the city's spring of water. He threw the salt into it. He said, ‘This is what the Lord says: “I have made this water clean again. It will no longer cause people to die. The land will no longer be useless for crops.” ’
22 Since that time, the water has always been pure. This is what Elisha had said would happen.
23 Elisha went from Jericho to Bethel. While he travelled along the road, some boys came out of the town. They laughed at Elisha. They shouted at him, ‘Bald man, move on! Go away, you bald man!’ 24 Elisha turned around and he looked at them. He asked the Lord to punish them. Two bears came out from the forest. They tore 42 of the boys in pieces.
25 Then Elisha travelled to Mount Carmel. From there, he returned to Samaria.
2 It was near the time for the Lord to take Elijah by a whirlwind up into heaven. Elijah and Elisha started to leave Gilgal.
2 Elijah said to Elisha, “Please stay here, because the Lord told me to go to Bethel.”
But Elisha said, “I promise, as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you.” So the two men went down to Bethel.
3 The group of prophets [ a ] at Bethel came to Elisha and said to him, “Do you know that the Lord will take your master away from you today?”
Elisha said, “Yes, I know. Don’t talk about it.”
4 Elijah said to Elisha, “Please stay here, because the Lord told me to go to Jericho.”
But Elisha said, “I promise, as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you!” So the two men went to Jericho.
5 The group of prophets at Jericho came to Elisha and said to him, “Do you know that the Lord will take your master away from you today?”
Elisha answered, “Yes, I know. Don’t talk about it.”
6 Elijah said to Elisha, “Please stay here, because the Lord told me to go to the Jordan River.”
Elisha answered, “I promise, as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you!” So the two men went on.
7 There were 50 men from the group of prophets who followed them. Elijah and Elisha stopped at the Jordan River. The 50 men stood far away from Elijah and Elisha. 8 Elijah took off his coat, folded it, and hit the water with it. The water separated to the right and to the left. Then Elijah and Elisha crossed the river on dry ground.
9 After they crossed the river, Elijah said to Elisha, “What do you want me to do for you before God takes me away from you?”
Elisha said, “I ask you for a double share of your spirit on me.”
10 Elijah said, “You have asked a hard thing. If you see me when I am taken from you, it will happen. But if you don’t see me when I am taken from you, it will not happen.”
11 Elijah and Elisha were walking and talking together. Suddenly, some horses and a chariot came and separated Elijah from Elisha. The horses and the chariot were like fire. Then Elijah was carried up into heaven in a whirlwind.
12 Elisha saw it, and shouted, “My father! My father! The chariot of Israel and his horses! [ b ] ”
Elisha never saw Elijah again. Elisha grabbed his own clothes and tore them in two to show his sadness. 13 Elijah’s coat had fallen to the ground, so Elisha picked it up. He went back and stood at the edge of the Jordan River. 14 He hit the water and said, “Where is the Lord , the God of Elijah?” Just as Elisha hit the water, the water separated to the right and to the left! Then Elisha crossed the river.
15 When the group of prophets at Jericho saw Elisha, they said, “Elijah’s spirit is now on Elisha!” They came to meet Elisha. They bowed very low to the ground before him. 16 They said, “Look, we have 50 good men. Please let them go and look for your master. Maybe the Lord ’s Spirit has taken Elijah up and dropped him on some mountain or in some valley.”
But Elisha answered, “No, don’t send men to look for Elijah!”
17 The group of prophets begged Elisha until he was embarrassed. Then Elisha said, “Send the men to look for Elijah.”
The group of prophets sent the 50 men to look for Elijah. They looked three days, but they could not find him. 18 So the men went to Jericho where Elisha was staying and told him. Elisha said to them, “I told you not to go.”
19 The men of the city said to Elisha, “Sir, you can see this city is in a nice place, but the water is bad. That is why the land cannot grow crops.”
20 Elisha said, “Bring me a new bowl and put salt in it.”
They brought the bowl to Elisha. 21 Then he went out to the place where the water began flowing from the ground. Elisha threw the salt into the water and said, “The Lord said, ‘I am making this water pure! From now on this water will not cause any more death or keep the land from growing crops.’”
22 The water became pure and is still good today. It happened just as Elisha had said.
23 Elisha went from that city to Bethel. He was walking up the hill to the city, and some boys were coming down out of the city. They began making fun of him. They said, “Go away, you bald-headed man! Go away, you bald-headed man!”
24 Elisha looked back and saw them. He asked the Lord to cause bad things to happen to them. Then two bears came out of the forest and attacked the boys. There were 42 boys ripped apart by the bears.
25 Elisha left Bethel and went to Mount Carmel and from there he went back to Samaria.
2 And it came to pass, when the Lord would take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal.
2 And Elijah said unto Elisha, Tarry here, I pray thee; for the Lord hath sent me to Bethel. And Elisha said unto him, As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they went down to Bethel.
3 And the sons of the prophets that were at Bethel came forth to Elisha, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Lord will take away thy master from thy head to day? And he said, Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace.
4 And Elijah said unto him, Elisha, tarry here, I pray thee; for the Lord hath sent me to Jericho. And 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 to Elisha, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Lord will take away thy master from thy head to day? And he answered, Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace.
6 And Elijah said unto him, Tarry, I pray thee, here; for the Lord hath sent me to Jordan. And he said, As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. And they two went on.
7 And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went, and stood to view afar off: and they two stood by Jordan.
8 And Elijah took his mantle, and wrapped it together, and smote the waters, and they were divided hither and thither, so that they two went over on dry ground.
9 And it came to pass, when they were gone over, that Elijah said unto Elisha, Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be taken away from thee. And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me.
10 And he said, Thou hast asked a hard thing: nevertheless, if thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee; but if not, it shall not be so.
11 And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.
12 And Elisha saw it, and he cried, My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof. And he saw him no more: and he took hold of his own clothes, and rent them in two pieces.
13 He took up also the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and went back, and stood by the bank of Jordan;
14 And he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and smote the waters, and said, Where is the Lord God of Elijah? and when he also had smitten the waters, they parted hither and thither: and Elisha went over.
15 And when the sons of the prophets which were to view at Jericho saw him, they said, The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha. And they came to meet him, and bowed themselves to the ground before him.
16 And they said unto him, Behold now, there be with thy servants fifty strong men; let them go, we pray thee, and seek thy master: lest peradventure the Spirit of the Lord hath taken him up, and cast him upon some mountain, or into some valley. And he said, Ye shall not send.
17 And when they urged him till he was ashamed, he said, Send. They sent therefore fifty men; and they sought three days, but found him not.
18 And when they came again to him, (for he tarried at Jericho,) he said unto them, Did I not say unto you, Go not?
19 And the men of the city said unto Elisha, Behold, I pray thee, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord seeth: but the water is naught, and the ground barren.
20 And he said, Bring me a new cruse, and put salt therein. And they brought it to him.
21 And he went forth unto the spring of the waters, and cast the salt in there, and said, Thus saith the Lord , I have healed these waters; there shall not be from thence any more death or barren land.
22 So the waters were healed unto this day, according to the saying of Elisha which he spake.
23 And he went up from thence unto Bethel: and as he was going up by the way, there came forth little children out of the city, and mocked him, and said unto him, Go up, thou bald head; go up, thou 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 wood, and tare forty and two children of them.
25 And he went from thence to mount Carmel, and from thence he returned to Samaria.
2 Now it came about, when the Lord was about to ( A ) bring Elijah up by a [ a ] whirlwind to heaven, that Elijah left ( B ) Gilgal with ( C ) Elisha. 2 And Elijah said to Elisha, “ ( D ) Stay here please, for the Lord has sent me as far as ( E ) Bethel.” But Elisha said, “ ( F ) As surely as the Lord lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they went down to Bethel. 3 Then ( G ) the sons of the prophets who were at Bethel went out to Elisha and said to him, “Are you aware that the Lord will take away your master from over [ b ] you today?” And he said, “Yes, I am aware; say nothing about it .”
4 And Elijah said to him, “Elisha, please ( H ) stay here, for the Lord has sent me to ( I ) Jericho.” But he said, “ ( J ) As surely as the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they came to Jericho. 5 Then ( K ) the sons of the prophets who were at Jericho approached Elisha and said to him, “ ( L ) Do you know that the Lord will take away your master from over [ c ] you today?” And he [ d ] answered, “Yes, I know; say nothing about it .” 6 And Elijah said to him, “Please ( M ) stay here, for the Lord has sent me to ( N ) the Jordan.” But he said, “As surely as the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So the two of them went on.
7 Now ( O ) fifty men of the sons of the prophets went and stood opposite them at a distance, while the two of them stood by the Jordan. 8 And Elijah ( P ) took his coat, folded it, and ( Q ) struck the waters, and they were divided here and there, so that the two of them crossed over on dry ground.
9 When they had crossed over, Elijah said to Elisha, “Ask me what I should do for you before I am taken from you.” And Elisha said, “Please let a ( R ) double portion of your spirit be upon me.” 10 He said, “You have asked a hard thing. Nevertheless , if you ( S ) see me when I am taken from you, it shall be so for you; but if not, it shall not be so .” 11 And as they were walking along and talking, behold, ( T ) a chariot of fire appeared with horses of fire, and they separated the two of them. Then Elijah went up by a [ e ] whirlwind to heaven. 12 And Elisha was watching it and he was crying out, “ ( U ) My father, my father, the chariot of Israel and its horsemen!” And he did not see [ f ] Elijah again. Then ( V ) he took hold of his own clothes and tore them in two pieces. 13 He also took up the coat of Elijah that had fallen from him, and he went back and stood by the bank of the Jordan. 14 Then he took the coat of Elijah that had fallen from him and struck the waters, and said, “Where is the Lord , the God of Elijah?” And when he also had ( W ) struck the waters, they were divided here and there; and Elisha crossed over.
15 Now when ( X ) the sons of the prophets who were at Jericho opposite him saw him, they said, “The spirit of Elijah has settled on Elisha.” And they came to meet him and bowed down to the ground before him. 16 Then they said to him, “Behold now, there are with your servants fifty strong men; please let them go and search for your master, in case ( Y ) the Spirit of the Lord has taken him up and cast him on some mountain or into some valley.” But he said, “You shall not send anyone .” 17 Yet when ( Z ) they urged him until he was ashamed to refuse , he said, “Send them .” So they sent fifty men; and they searched for three days, but did not find him. 18 They returned to him while he was staying in Jericho; and he said to them, “Did I not say to you, ‘Do not go’?”
19 Then the men of the city said to Elisha, “Behold now, the site of the city is pleasant, as my lord sees; but the water is bad and the land [ g ] is unfruitful.” 20 And he said, “Bring me a new jar, and put salt [ h ] in it.” So they brought it to him. 21 Then he went out to the spring of water and ( AA ) threw salt [ i ] in it and said, “This is what the Lord says: ‘I have [ j ] purified these waters; there shall not come from there death or [ k ] unfruitfulness any longer.’” 22 So the waters have been [ l ] purified to this day, in accordance with the word of Elisha which he spoke.
23 Now he went up from there to Bethel; and as he was going up by the road, some young boys came out from the city and ( AB ) ridiculed him and said to him, “Go up, you baldhead; go up, you baldhead!” 24 When he looked behind him and saw them, he ( AC ) cursed them in the name of the Lord . Then two female bears came out of the woods and tore up forty-two [ m ] of the boys. 25 He then went on from there to ( AD ) Mount Carmel, and from there he returned to Samaria.
2 When the Lord was about to take ( A ) Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind, ( B ) Elijah and Elisha ( C ) were on their way from Gilgal. ( D ) 2 Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here; ( E ) the Lord has sent me to Bethel.”
But Elisha said, “As surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you.” ( F ) So they went down to Bethel.
3 The company ( G ) of the prophets at Bethel came out to Elisha and asked, “Do you know that the Lord is going to take your master from you today?”
“Yes, I know,” Elisha replied, “so be quiet.”
4 Then Elijah said to him, “Stay here, Elisha; the Lord has sent me to Jericho. ( H ) ”
And he replied, “As surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you.” So they went to Jericho.
5 The company ( I ) of the prophets at Jericho went up to Elisha and asked him, “Do you know that the Lord is going to take your master from you today?”
“Yes, I know,” he replied, “so be quiet.”
6 Then Elijah said to him, “Stay here; ( J ) the Lord has sent me to the Jordan.” ( K )
And he replied, “As surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you.” ( L ) So the two of them walked on.
7 Fifty men from the company of the prophets went and stood at a distance, facing the place where Elijah and Elisha had stopped at the Jordan. 8 Elijah took his cloak, ( M ) rolled it up and struck ( N ) the water with it. The water divided ( O ) to the right and to the left, and the two of them crossed over on dry ( P ) ground.
9 When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, “Tell me, what can I do for you before I am taken from you?”
“Let me inherit a double ( Q ) portion of your spirit,” ( R ) Elisha replied.
10 “You have asked a difficult thing,” Elijah said, “yet if you see me when I am taken from you, it will be yours—otherwise, it will not.”
11 As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire ( S ) and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven ( T ) in a whirlwind. ( U ) 12 Elisha saw this and cried out, “My father! My father! The chariots ( V ) and horsemen of Israel!” And Elisha saw him no more. Then he took hold of his garment and tore ( W ) it in two.
13 Elisha then picked up Elijah’s cloak that had fallen from him and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. 14 He took the cloak ( X ) that had fallen from Elijah and struck ( Y ) the water with it. “Where now is the Lord , the God of Elijah?” he asked. When he struck the water, it divided to the right and to the left, and he crossed over.
15 The company ( Z ) of the prophets from Jericho, who were watching, said, “The spirit ( AA ) of Elijah is resting on Elisha.” And they went to meet him and bowed to the ground before him. 16 “Look,” they said, “we your servants have fifty able men. Let them go and look for your master. Perhaps the Spirit ( AB ) of the Lord has picked him up ( AC ) and set him down on some mountain or in some valley.”
“No,” Elisha replied, “do not send them.”
17 But they persisted until he was too embarrassed ( AD ) to refuse. So he said, “Send them.” And they sent fifty men, who searched for three days but did not find him. 18 When they returned to Elisha, who was staying in Jericho, he said to them, “Didn’t I tell you not to go?”
19 The people of the city said to Elisha, “Look, our lord, this town is well situated, as you can see, but the water is bad and the land is unproductive.”
20 “Bring me a new bowl,” he said, “and put salt in it.” So they brought it to him.
21 Then he went out to the spring and threw ( AE ) the salt into it, saying, “This is what the Lord says: ‘I have healed this water. Never again will it cause death or make the land unproductive.’” 22 And the water has remained pure ( AF ) to this day, according to the word Elisha had spoken.
23 From there Elisha went up to Bethel. As he was walking along the road, some boys came out of the town and jeered ( AG ) at him. “Get out of here, baldy!” they said. “Get out of here, baldy!” 24 He turned around, looked at them and called down a curse ( AH ) on them in the name ( AI ) of the Lord . Then two bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the boys. 25 And he went on to Mount Carmel ( AJ ) and from there returned to Samaria.
