2 Kings 2
1 And it came to pass when Jehovah would take up Elijah into the heavens by a whirlwind, that Elijah went 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 And Elijah said to Elisha, Abide here, I pray thee; for Jehovah has sent me to Bethel. And Elisha said, As Jehovah liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee! 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 And the sons of the prophets that were at Bethel came forth to Elisha, and said to him, Dost thou know that Jehovah will take away thy master from over thy head to-day? And he said, I also know it: be silent!
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 And Elijah said to him, Elisha, abide here, I pray thee; for Jehovah has sent me to Jericho. And he said, As Jehovah liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee! And they came 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 And the sons of the prophets that were at Jericho drew near to Elisha and said to him, Dost thou know that Jehovah will take away thy master from over thy head to-day? And he said, I also know it: be silent!
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 And Elijah said to him, Abide here, I pray thee; for Jehovah has sent me to the Jordan. And he said, As Jehovah liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee! And they 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 And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went and stood opposite afar off; and they 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 And Elijah took his mantle, and wrapped it together, and smote the waters, and they were divided hither and thither; and they two went 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 And it came to pass when they had gone over, that Elijah said to Elisha, Ask what I shall do for thee, before I am taken away from thee. And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon 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 And he said, Thou hast asked a hard thing: if thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so to thee; but if not, it shall not be [so].
“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 And it came to pass as they went on, and talked, that behold, a chariot of fire and horses of fire; and they parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into the heavens.
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 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. Then he took hold of his own garments and rent them in 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 And he took up the mantle of Elijah which fell from him, and went back and stood 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 and he took the mantle of Elijah which had fallen from him, and smote the waters, and said, Where is Jehovah, the God of Elijah? He also smote the waters, and they parted hither and thither, and Elisha went 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 And the sons of the prophets who were at Jericho on the opposite side saw him, and they said, The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha. And 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 and said to him, Behold now, there are with thy servants fifty valiant men; let them go, we pray thee, and seek thy master, lest perhaps the Spirit of Jehovah have taken him up, and cast him upon some mountain, or into some ravine. And he said, Ye shall not send.
“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 And they pressed him till he was ashamed, and he said, Send. They sent therefore fifty men, and they sought 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 And they came again to him (now he was staying at Jericho); and he said to them, Did I not say to you, Go not?
When they returned to Elisha, who was staying in Jericho, he said to them, “Didn't I tell you not to bother going?”
19 And the men of the city said to Elisha, Behold now, the situation of the city is good, as my lord sees; but the water is bad, and the land is barren.
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 And he said, Bring me a new cruse, and put salt in it. And 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 And he went forth to the source of the waters, and cast the salt in there, and said, Thus saith Jehovah: I have healed these waters: there shall not be from thence any more death or barrenness.
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 And the waters were healed to this day, according to the saying of Elisha which he spoke.
The water there is still pure to this very day, just as Elisha said it would be.
23 And he went up from thence to Bethel, and as he went up by the way, there came forth little boys out of the city, and mocked him, and said to him, Go up, bald head; go up, bald head!
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 And he turned back, and looked on them, and cursed them in the name of Jehovah. And there came forth two she-bears out of the wood, and tore forty-two children of them.
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 And he went from thence to mount Carmel, and from thence he returned to Samaria.
Elisha carried on to Mount Carmel, and from there he went back to Samaria.
