4 Kings 2
2
1And it came to pass, when the Lord would take up Elias into heaven by a whirlwind, that Elias and Eliseus were going from Galgal.
2And Elias said to Eliseus: Stay thou here, because the Lord hath sent me as far as Bethel. And Eliseus said to him: As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. And when they were come down to Bethel,
3The sons of the prophets, that were at Bethel, came forth to Eliseus, and said to him: Dost thou know that this day the Lord will take away thy master from thee? And he answered: I also know it. Hold your peace.
4And Elias said to Eliseus: Stay here, because the Lord hath sent me to Jericho. And he said: As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. And when they were come to Jericho,
5The sons of the prophets that were at Jericho came to Eliseus, and said to him: Dost thou know that this day the Lord will take away thy master from thee? And he said: I also know it. Hold your peace.
6And Elias said to him: Stay here, because the Lord hath sent me as far as the Jordan. And he said: As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. And they two went on together,
7And fifty men of the sons of the prophets followed them, and stood in sight at a distance. But they two stood by the Jordan.
8And Elias took his mantle, and folded it together, and struck the waters: and they were divided hither and thither. And they both passed over on dry ground.
9And when they were gone over, Elias said to Eliseus: Ask what thou wilt have me to do for thee, before I be taken away from thee. And Eliseus said: I beseech thee that in me may be thy double spirit.
10And he answered: Thou hast asked a hard thing. Nevertheless if thou see me when I am taken from thee, thou shalt have what thou hast asked: but if thou see me not, thou shalt not have it.
11And as they went on, walking and talking together, behold, a fiery chariot, and fiery horses parted them both asunder: and Elias went up by a whirlwind into heaven.
12And Eliseus saw him, and cried: My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the driver thereof. And he saw him no more. And he took hold of his own garments, and rent them in two pieces.
13And he took up the mantle of Elias, that fell from him: and going back, he stood upon the bank of the Jordan,
14And he struck the waters with the mantle of Elias, that had fallen from him, and they were not divided. And he said: Where is now the God of Elias? And he struck the waters, and they were divided, hither and thither: and Eliseus passed over.
15And the sons of the prophets at Jericho, who were over against him, seeing it said: The spirit of Elias hath rested upon Eliseus. And coming to meet him, they worshipped him, falling to the ground;
16And they said to him: Behold, there are with thy servants fifty strong men, that can go, and seek thy master; lest perhaps the spirit of the Lord hath taken him up and cast him upon some mountain or into some valley. And he said: Do not send.
17But they pressed him, till he consented, and said: Send. And they sent fifty men: and they sought three days but found him not.
18And they came back to him: for he abode at Jericho. And he said to them: Did I not say to you: Do not send?
19And the men of the city said to Eliseus: Behold, the situation of this city is very good, as thou, my lord, seest; but the waters are very bad, and the ground barren.
20And he said: Bring me a new vessel, and put salt into it. And when they had brought it,
21He went out to the spring of the waters, and cast the salt into it, and said: Thus saith the Lord: I have healed these waters, and there shall be no more in them death or barrenness.
22And the waters were healed unto this day, according to the word of Eliseus, which he spoke.
23And he went up from thence to Bethel. And as he was going up by the way, little boys came out of the city and mocked him, saying: Go up, thou bald head. Go up, thou bald head.
24And looking back, he saw them, and cursed them in the name of the Lord: and there came forth two bears out of the forest, and tore of them two and forty boys.
25And from thence he went to mount Carmel: and from thence he returned to Samaria.
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4 Kings 2: DRC1752
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An historical text maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society.
2 Kings 2
2
Elijah Is Taken Up to Heaven
1Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal. The Lord was going to use a strong wind to take Elijah up to heaven. 2Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here. The Lord has sent me to Bethel.”
But Elisha said, “I won’t leave you. And that’s just as sure as the Lord and you are alive.” So they went down to Bethel.
3There was a group of prophets at Bethel. They came out to where Elisha was. They asked him, “Do you know what the Lord is going to do? He’s going to take your master away from you today.”
“Yes, I know,” Elisha replied. “So be quiet.”
4Then Elijah said to him, “Stay here, Elisha. The Lord has sent me to Jericho.”
Elisha replied, “I won’t leave you. And that’s just as sure as the Lord and you are alive.” So they went to Jericho.
5There was a group of prophets at Jericho. They went up to where Elisha was. They asked him, “Do you know what the Lord is going to do? He’s going to take your master away from you today.”
“Yes, I know,” Elisha replied. “So be quiet.”
6Then Elijah said to him, “Stay here. The Lord has sent me to the Jordan River.”
Elisha replied, “I won’t leave you. And that’s just as sure as the Lord and you are alive.” So the two of them walked on.
7Fifty men from the group of prophets followed them. The men stopped and stood not far away from them. They faced the place where Elijah and Elisha had stopped at the Jordan River. 8Elijah rolled up his coat. Then he struck the water with it. The water parted to the right and to the left. The two of them went across the river on dry ground.
9After they had gone across, Elijah said to Elisha, “Tell me. What can I do for you before I’m taken away from you?”
“Please give me a double share of your spirit,” Elisha replied.
10“You have asked me for something that’s very hard to do,” Elijah said. “But suppose you see me when I’m taken away from you. Then you will receive what you have asked for. If you don’t see me, you won’t receive it.”
11They kept walking along and talking together. Suddenly there appeared a chariot and horses made of fire. The chariot and horses came between the two men. Then Elijah went up to heaven in a strong wind. 12Elisha saw it and cried out to Elijah, “My father! You are like a father to me! You, Elijah, are the true chariots and horsemen of Israel!” Elisha didn’t see Elijah anymore. Then Elisha took hold of his own garment and tore it in two.
13He picked up the coat that had fallen from Elijah. He went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan River. 14Then he struck the water with Elijah’s coat. “Where is the power of the Lord?” he asked. “Where is the power of the God of Elijah?” When Elisha struck the water, it parted to the right and to the left. He went across the river.
15The group of prophets from Jericho were watching. They said, “The spirit of Elijah has been given to Elisha.” They went over to Elisha. They bowed down to him with their faces toward the ground. 16“Look,” they said. “We have 50 capable men. Let them go and look for your master. Perhaps the Spirit of the Lord has lifted him up. Maybe he has put him down on a mountain or in a valley.”
“No,” Elisha replied. “Don’t send them.”
17But they kept asking until he felt he couldn’t say no. So he said, “Send them.” And they sent 50 men. They looked for Elijah for three days. But they didn’t find him. 18So they returned to Elisha. He was staying in Jericho. Elisha said to them, “Didn’t I tell you not to go?”
Elisha Makes Jericho’s Water Pure
19The people of Jericho said to Elisha, “Look. This town has a good location. You can see that for yourself. But the spring of water here is bad. So the land doesn’t produce anything.”
20“Bring me a new bowl,” Elisha said. “Put some salt in it.” So they brought it to him.
21Then he went out to the spring. He threw the salt into it. He told the people, “The Lord says, ‘I have made this water pure. It will never cause death again. It will never keep the land from producing crops again.’ ” 22The water has stayed pure to this day. That’s what Elisha had said would happen.
Some Boys Make Fun of Elisha
23Elisha left Jericho and went up to Bethel. He was walking along the road. Some boys came out of the town. They made fun of him. “Get out of here, baldy!” they said. “Get out of here! You don’t even have any hair on your head!” 24He turned around and looked at them. And he asked for bad things to happen to them. He did it in the name of the Lord. Then two bears came out of the woods. They attacked 42 of the boys. 25Elisha went on to Mount Carmel. From there he returned to Samaria.
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