2 Kings 2

Elijah Ascends to Heaven

1 And it came to pass, when the Lord was about to take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal.2 Then Elijah said to Elisha, Stay here, please, for the Lord has sent me on to Bethel. But Elisha said, As the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you! So they went down to Bethel.3 Now the sons of the prophets who were at Bethel came out to Elisha, and said to him, Do you know that the Lord will take away your master from over you today? And he said, Yes, I know; keep silent!4 Then Elijah said to him, Elisha, stay here, please, for the Lord has sent me on to Jericho. But he said, As the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you! So they came to Jericho.5 Now the sons of the prophets who were at Jericho came to Elisha and said to him, Do you know that the Lord will take away your master from over you today? So he answered, Yes, I know; keep silent!6 Then Elijah said to him, Stay here, please, for the Lord has sent me on to the Jordan.7 And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went and stood facing them at a distance, while the two of them stood by the Jordan.8 Now Elijah took his mantle, rolled it up, and struck the water; and it was divided this way and that, so that the two of them crossed over on dry ground.9 And so it was, when they had crossed over, that Elijah said to Elisha, Ask! What may I do for you, before I am taken away from you? Elisha said, Please let a double portion of your spirit be upon me.10 So he said, You have asked a hard thing. Nevertheless, if you see me when I am taken from you, it shall be so for you; but if not, it shall not be so. 11 Then it happened, as they continued on and talked, that suddenly a chariot of fire appeared with horses of fire, and separated the two of them; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.12 And Elisha saw it, and he cried out, My father, my father, the chariot of Israel and its horsemen! So he saw him no more. And he took hold of his own clothes and tore them into two pieces.13 He also took up the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and went back and stood by the bank of the Jordan.14 Then he took the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and struck the water, and said, Where is the Lord God of Elijah? And when he also had struck the water, it was divided this way and that; and Elisha crossed over.15 Now when the sons of the prophets who were from Jericho saw him, they said, The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha. And they came to meet him, and bowed to the ground before him.16 Then they said to him, Look now, there are fifty strong men with your servants. Please let them go and search for your master, lest perhaps the Spirit of the Lord has taken him up and cast him upon some mountain or into some valley. And he said, You shall not send anyone.17 But when they urged him till he was ashamed, he said, Send them! Therefore they sent fifty men, and they searched for three days but did not find him.18 And when they came back to him, for he had stayed in Jericho, he said to them, Did I not say to you, Do not go?

Elisha Performs Miracles

19 Then the men of the city said to Elisha, Please notice, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord sees; but the water is bad, and the ground barren.20 And he said, Bring me a new bowl, and put salt in it. So they brought it to him.21 Then he went out to the source of the water, and cast in the salt there, and said, Thus says the Lord: I have healed this water; from it there shall be no more death or barrenness.22 So the water remains healed to this day, according to the word of Elisha which he spoke.23 Then he went up from there to Bethel; and as he was going up the road, some youths came from the city and mocked him, and said to him, Go up, you baldhead! Go up, you baldhead!24 So he turned around and looked at them, and pronounced a curse on them in the name of the Lord. And two female bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the youths.25 Then he went from there to Mount Carmel, and from there he returned to Samaria.

2 KINGS 2

The [Lord] //Takes Elijah Away

1 Not long before the [Lord] took Elijah up into heaven in a strong wind, Elijah and Elisha were leaving Gilgal.

2 Elijah said to Elisha, “The [Lord] wants me to go to Bethel, but you must stay here.”
Elisha replied, “I swear by the living [Lord] and by your own life that I will stay with you no matter what!” And he went with Elijah to Bethel.

3 A group of prophets who lived there asked Elisha, “Do you know that today the [Lord] is going to take away your master?”
“Yes, I do,” Elisha answered. “But don't remind me of it.”

4 Elijah then said, “Elisha, now the [Lord] wants me to go to Jericho, but you must stay here.”
Elisha replied, “I swear by the living [Lord] and by your own life, that I will stay with you no matter what!” And he went with Elijah to Jericho.

5 A group of prophets who lived there asked Elisha, “Do you know that today the [Lord] is going to take away your master?”
“Yes, I do,” Elisha answered. “But don't remind me of it.”

6 Elijah then said to Elisha, “Now the [Lord] wants me to go to the Jordan River, but you must stay here.”
Elisha replied, “I swear by the living [Lord] and by your own life that I will never leave you!” So the two of them walked on together.
7 Fifty prophets followed Elijah and Elisha from Jericho, then stood at a distance and watched as the two men walked toward the river.

8 When they got there, Elijah took off his coat, then he rolled it up and struck the water with it. At once a path opened up through the river, and the two of them walked across on dry ground.

9  t After they had reached the other side, Elijah said, “Elisha, the [Lord] will soon take me away. What can I do for you before that happens?”
Elisha answered, “Please give me twice as much of your power as you give the other prophets, so I can be the one who takes your place as their leader.”

10 “It won't be easy,” Elijah answered. “It can happen only if you see me as I am being taken away.”
11 Elijah and Elisha were walking along and talking, when suddenly there appeared between them a flaming chariot pulled by fiery horses. At once, a strong wind took Elijah up into heaven.

12 t Elisha saw this and shouted, “Israel's cavalry and chariots have taken my master away!”t After Elijah had gone, Elisha tore his clothes in sorrow.
13 Elijah's coat had fallen off, so Elisha picked it up and walked back to the Jordan River.

14 He struck the water with the coat and wondered, “Will the [Lord] perform miracles for me as he did for Elijah?” As soon as Elisha did this, a dry path opened up through the water, and he walked across.

15 When the prophets from Jericho saw what happened, they said to each other, “Elisha now has Elijah's power.”
They walked over to him, bowed down,

16 and said, “There are 50 strong men here with us. Please let them go look for your master. Maybe the Spirit of the [Lord] carried him off to some mountain or valley.”
“No,” Elisha replied, “they won't find him.”
17 They kept begging until he was embarrassed to say no. He finally agreed, and the prophets sent the men out. They looked three days for Elijah but never found him.

18 They returned to Jericho, and Elisha said, “I told you that you wouldn't find him.”

Elisha Makes //the Water Pure //at Jericho

19 One day the people of Jericho said, “Elisha, you can see that our city is in a good spot. But the water from our spring is so bad that it even keeps our crops from growing.”

20 He replied, “Put some salt in a new bowl and bring it to me.”
They brought him the bowl of salt,

21 and he carried it to the spring. He threw the salt into the water and said, “The [Lord] has made this water pure again. From now on you'll be able to grow crops, and no one will starve.”

22 The water has been fine ever since, just as Elisha said.

Some Boys Make Fun //of Elisha

23 Elisha left and headed toward Bethel. Along the way some boys started making fun of him by shouting, “Go away, baldy! Get out of here!”

24 Elisha turned around and stared at the boys. Then he cursed them in the name of the [Lord]. At once two bears ran out of the woods and ripped to pieces 42 of the boys.
25 Elisha went up to Mount Carmel, then returned to Samaria.