2 Kings 2
1 When Yahweh was about to take [the prophet] Elijah up to heaven in a (whirlwind/twisting wind), Elijah and [his fellow prophet] Elisha were traveling [south] from Gilgal [town].
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, because Yahweh has told [only] me to go to Bethel [town].” But Elisha replied, “Just as certainly as Yahweh lives and you live, I will not leave you!” So they went down [together] 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 A group of prophets came to Elisha [and Elijah before they entered the town], and they asked Elisha, “Do you know that Yahweh is going to take your master/boss [Elijah] away from you today?” Elisha answered, “Certainly I know that, but don’t talk about it!” [IDM]
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 Then Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here, because Yahweh has told [only] me to go to Jericho.” But Elisha replied [again], “Just as certainly as Yahweh lives and you live, I will not leave you!” So they went [together] to Jericho [city].
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 [As they neared] Jericho, a group of prophets who were from there came to Elisha and said to him, “Do you know that Yahweh is going to take your master/boss [Elijah] away from you today?” He answered again, “Certainly I know that, but don’t talk about it!” [IDM]
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 Elisha, “Stay here, because Yahweh has told [only] me to go to the Jordan [River].” But [again] Elisha replied, “As certainly as Yahweh lives and you live, I will not leave you!” So they continued walking together.
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 Fifty men from a group of prophets [who were from Jericho] also went, but they watched from a distance as Elijah and Elisha stopped at the edge of the Jordan [River].
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 Then Elijah rolled up his cloak and struck the water with it. A path opened up for them through the river, and they walked across [as though they were] 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 When they came to the other side, Elijah said to Elisha, “What do you want me to do for you before (I am taken away/Yahweh takes me away)?” Elisha replied, “I want to receive twice as much of your power [as you have had, ] (OR enable me to very powerfully continue your ministry).”
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 replied, “You have asked for something which is difficult [for me to cause to happen]. But, if you see me when (I am taken from you/Yahweh takes me from you), you will get what you are requesting. But if you do not see me, then you will not get it.”
“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 were walking and talking, suddenly a chariot that had fire [surrounding it], pulled by horses which also had fire [surrounding them], appeared. [The chariot driver] drove the chariot between Elijah and Elisha and separated them. Then Elijah was taken up to heaven in a (whirlwind/twisting wind).
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. He cried out, “My father/master! My father/master! The chariots of us Israeli people and their drivers [have taken my master away]!” [They disappeared into the sky, ] and Elisha never saw Elijah again. Then Elisha tore his own robe into two pieces [to show that he was sad].
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 Elijah’s cloak [had fallen off when he was taken away, so] Elisha picked it up and returned to the bank of the Jordan [River].
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 [rolled up the cloak and] struck the water with it, and cried out, “Will Yahweh, the God who [enabled] Elijah [to perform miracles, enable me to do similar things]?” Then the water separated, and a path opened up for him, and Elisha went across.
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 group of prophets from Jericho saw what happened, they exclaimed, “Elisha now has the power that Elijah had!” [MTY] They walked over to him and bowed down in front of 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 [One of] them said, “Sir, if you permit us, 50 of our strongest men will go and search for your master [on the other side of the river]. Perhaps the Spirit of Yahweh has left him on some mountain or in some valley.” Elisha replied, “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 they kept insisting. Finally he was tired of saying “No,” and he said, “Okay, send them.” So 50 men searched for three days, but they did not find Elijah.
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 returned to Jericho, and Elisha was still there. He said to them, “I told you that you should not go, [because you would not find him]!” [RHQ]
When they returned to Elisha, who was staying in Jericho, he said to them, “Didn't I tell you not to bother going?”
19 Then the leaders of [Jericho] city came to talk with Elisha. One of them said, “Our master, we have a problem. You can see that this is a very nice place [to live in]. But the water is bad, and as a result, crops will not grow on the land.”
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 said to them, “Put some salt in a new bowl and bring the bowl to me.” 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 Then he went out to the spring [from which the people in the town got water]. He threw the salt into the spring. Then he said, “This is what Yahweh says: ‘I have made this water good/pure. No longer will anyone die, from having drunk this water, and now crops will be able to grow.’” [LIT]
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 water became pure, just as Elisha said it would be. Since that time it has always remained pure.
The water there is still pure to this very day, just as Elisha said it would be.
23 Elisha left Jericho and went up to Bethel. As he was walking along the road, a group of young boys from Bethel [saw him and] started to make fun of him. They continued shouting, “Go away, you bald-headed man!”
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 turned around and looked/glared at them. He asked Yahweh to (curse them/do something bad to them). Immediately two bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two 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 Elisha left Bethel and went to Carmel Mountain, and after that he returned to Samaria [city].
Elisha carried on to Mount Carmel, and from there he went back to Samaria.
