2 Kings 2
2
1And it cometh to pass, at Jehovah's taking up Elijah in a whirlwind to the heavens, that Elijah goeth, and Elisha, from Gilgal,
2and Elijah saith unto Elisha, ‘Abide, I pray thee, here, for Jehovah hath sent me unto Beth-El;’ and Elisha saith, ‘Jehovah liveth, and thy soul liveth, if I leave thee;’ and they go down to Beth-El.
3And sons of the prophets who [are] in Beth-El come out unto Elisha, and say unto him, ‘Hast thou known that to-day Jehovah is taking thy lord from thy head?’ and he saith, ‘I also have known — keep silent.’
4And Elijah saith to him, ‘Elisha, abide, I pray thee, here, for Jehovah hath sent me to Jericho;’ and he saith, ‘Jehovah liveth, and thy soul liveth, if I leave thee;’ and they come in to Jericho.
5And sons of the prophets who [are] in Jericho come nigh unto Elisha, and say unto him, ‘Hast thou known that to-day Jehovah is taking thy lord from thy head?’ and he saith, ‘I also have known — keep silent.’
6And Elijah saith to him, ‘Abide, I pray thee, here, for Jehovah hath sent me to the Jordan;’ and he saith, ‘Jehovah liveth, and thy soul liveth, if I leave thee;’ and they go on both of them,
7— and fifty men of the sons of the prophets have gone on, and stand over-against afar off — and both of them have stood by the Jordan.
8And Elijah taketh his robe, and wrappeth [it] together, and smiteth the waters, and they are halved, hither and thither, and they pass over both of them on dry land.
9And it cometh to pass, at their passing over, that Elijah hath said unto Elisha, ‘Ask, what do I do for thee before I am taken from thee?’ and Elisha saith, ‘Then let there be, I pray thee, a double portion of thy spirit unto me;’
10and he saith, ‘Thou hast asked a hard thing; if thou dost see me taken from thee, it is to thee so; and if not, it is not.’
11And it cometh to pass, they are going, going on and speaking, and lo, a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and they separate between them both, and Elijah goeth up in a whirlwind, to the heavens.
12And Elisha is seeing, and he is crying, ‘My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and its horsemen;’ and he hath not seen him again; and he taketh hold on his garments, and rendeth them into two pieces.
13And he taketh up the robe of Elijah, that fell from off him, and turneth back and standeth on the edge of the Jordan,
14and he taketh the robe of Elijah that fell from off him, and smiteth the waters, and saith, ‘Where [is] Jehovah, God of Elijah — even He?’ and he smiteth the waters, and they are halved, hither and thither, and Elisha passeth over.
15And they see him — the sons of the prophets who [are] in Jericho — over-against, and they say, ‘Rested hath the spirit of Elijah on Elisha;’ and they come to meet him, and bow themselves to him to the earth,
16and say unto him, ‘Lo, we pray thee, there are with thy servants fifty men, sons of valour: let them go, we pray thee, and they seek thy lord, lest the Spirit of Jehovah hath taken him up, and doth cast him on one of the hills, or into one of the valleys;’ and he saith, ‘Ye do not send.’
17And they press upon him, till he is ashamed, and he saith, ‘Send ye;’ and they send fifty men, and they seek three days, and have not found him;
18and they turn back unto him — and he is abiding in Jericho — and he saith unto them, ‘Did I not say unto you, Do not go?’
19And the men of the city say unto Elisha, ‘Lo, we pray thee, the site of the city [is] good, as my lord seeth, and the waters [are] bad, and the earth sterile.’
20And he saith, ‘Bring to me a new dish, and place there salt;’ and they bring [it] unto him,
21and he goeth out unto the source of the waters, and casteth there salt, and saith, ‘Thus said Jehovah, I have given healing to these waters; there is not thence any more death and sterility.’
22And the waters are healed unto this day, according to the word of Elisha, that he spake.
23And he goeth up thence to Beth-El, and he is going up in the way, and little youths have come out from the city, and scoff at him, and say to him, ‘Go up, bald-head! go up, baldhead!’
24And he looketh behind him, and seeth them, and declareth them vile in the name of Jehovah, and two bears come out of the forest, and rend of them forty and two lads.
25And he goeth thence unto the hill of Carmel, and thence he hath turned back to Samaria.
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2 Kings 2: YLT98
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2 Kings 2
2
Elijah is Taken Up to Heaven
1The time came for the LORD to take Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind. Elijah and Elisha set out from Gilgal, 2and on the way Elijah said to Elisha, “Now stay here; the LORD has ordered me to go to Bethel.”
But Elisha answered, “I swear by my loyalty to the living LORD and to you that I will not leave you.” So they went on to Bethel.
3A group of prophets who lived there went to Elisha and asked him, “Do you know that the LORD is going to take your master away from you today?”
“Yes, I know,” Elisha answered. “But let's not talk about it.”
4Then Elijah said to Elisha, “Now stay here; the LORD has ordered me to go to Jericho.”
But Elisha answered, “I swear by my loyalty to the living LORD and to you that I will not leave you.” So they went on to Jericho.
5A group of prophets who lived there went to Elisha and asked him, “Do you know that the LORD is going to take your master away from you today?”
“Yes, I know,” Elisha answered. “But let's not talk about it.”
6Then Elijah said to Elisha, “Now stay here; the LORD has ordered me to go to the River Jordan.”
But Elisha answered, “I swear by my loyalty to the living LORD and to you that I will not leave you.” So they went on, 7and fifty of the prophets followed them to the Jordan. Elijah and Elisha stopped by the river, and the fifty prophets stood a short distance away. 8Then Elijah took off his cloak, rolled it up, and struck the water with it; the water divided, and he and Elisha crossed to the other side on dry ground. 9#Deut 21.17There, Elijah said to Elisha, “Tell me what you want me to do for you before I am taken away.”
“Let me receive the share of your power that will make me your successor,”#2.9 the share… successor: Elisha asked for the share that the firstborn son inherited by law from his father (see Deut 21.17). Elisha answered.
10“That is a difficult request to grant,” Elijah replied. “But you will receive it if you see me as I am being taken away from you; if you don't see me, you won't receive it.”
11They kept talking as they walked on; then suddenly a chariot of fire pulled by horses of fire came between them, and Elijah was taken up to heaven by a whirlwind. 12#2 Kgs 13.14Elisha saw it and cried out to Elijah, “My father, my father! Mighty defender of Israel! You are gone!” And he never saw Elijah again.
In grief, Elisha tore his cloak in two. 13Then he picked up Elijah's cloak that had fallen from him, and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. 14He struck the water with Elijah's cloak, and said, “Where is the LORD, the God of Elijah?” Then he struck the water again, and it divided, and he walked over to the other side. 15The fifty prophets from Jericho saw him and said, “The power of Elijah is on Elisha!” They went to meet him, bowed down before him, 16and said, “There are fifty of us here, all strong men. Let us go and look for your master. Maybe the Spirit of the LORD has carried him away and left him on some mountain or in some valley.”
“No, you must not go,” Elisha answered.
17But they insisted until he gave in and let them go. The fifty of them went and looked high and low for Elijah for three days, but didn't find him. 18Then they returned to Elisha, who had waited at Jericho, and he said to them, “Didn't I tell you not to go?”
Miracles of Elisha
19Some men from Jericho went to Elisha and said, “As you know, sir, this is a fine city, but the water is bad and causes miscarriages.”
20“Put some salt in a new bowl, and bring it to me,” he ordered. They brought it to him, 21and he went to the spring, threw the salt in the water, and said, “This is what the LORD says: ‘I make this water pure, and it will not cause any more deaths or miscarriages.’ ” 22And that water has been pure ever since, just as Elisha said it would be.
23Elisha left Jericho to go to Bethel, and on the way some boys came out of a town and made fun of him. “Get out of here, baldy!” they shouted.
24Elisha turned round, glared at them, and cursed them in the name of the LORD. Then two she-bears came out of the woods and tore 42 of the boys to pieces.
25Elisha went on to Mount Carmel, and later returned to Samaria.
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Good News Bible with Deuterocanonicals/Apocrypha. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.