2 KingsChapter 2

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¹The LORD was about to take Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind. Just before this, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal. ²Elijah said to Elisha, "Please stay here. The LORD has sent me on to Bethel." But Elisha answered, "As surely as the LORD lives, and as surely as you live, I will not leave you." So they went down to Bethel. ³Then the sons of the prophets at Bethel came out to Elisha. They said, "Do you know that the LORD will take your master away from you today?" "Yes, I know," he answered. "Don't talk about it." ⁴Then Elijah said to Elisha, "Please stay here. The LORD has sent me on to Jericho." But Elisha answered, "As surely as the LORD lives, and as surely as you live, I will not leave you." So they went to Jericho. ⁵Then the sons of the prophets at Jericho came up to Elisha. They said, "Do you know that the LORD will take your master away from you today?" "Yes, I know," he answered. "Don't talk about it." ⁶Then Elijah said to Elisha, "Please stay here. The LORD has sent me on to the Jordan." But Elisha answered, "As surely as the LORD lives, and as surely as you live, I will not leave you." So the two of them went on. ⁷Fifty of the sons of the prophets went along too. They stood a long way off, facing Elijah and Elisha. The two of them stood by the Jordan. ⁸Elijah took his cloak and rolled it up. He hit the water with it. The water split apart to the right and to the left. Then the two of them crossed over on dry ground. ⁹After they crossed over, Elijah said to Elisha, "Tell me, what can I do for you before I am taken away from you?" Elisha answered, "Please let me receive a double share of your spirit." ¹⁰"You have asked for a hard thing," Elijah said. "But if you see me as I am taken from you, it will be yours. If you don't, it won't be." ¹¹They were walking along and talking together. Suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared. They came between the two of them. And Elijah went up into heaven in a whirlwind. ¹²Elisha saw it and cried out, "My father, my father! The chariots and horsemen of Israel!" Then he saw Elijah no more. So Elisha took hold of his own clothes and tore them in two. ¹³Elisha also picked up the cloak that had fallen from Elijah. He went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. ¹⁴He took Elijah's cloak that had fallen from him and hit the water with it. "Where now is the LORD, the God of Elijah?" he asked. When he hit the water, it split apart to the right and to the left. And Elisha crossed over. ¹⁵The sons of the prophets from Jericho were watching him. When they saw what happened, they said, "The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha." They went to meet him. They bowed down to the ground in front of him. ¹⁶"Listen," they said to Elisha. "We your servants have fifty strong men. Please let them go and look for your master. Maybe the Spirit of the LORD has picked him up and set him down on a mountain or in a valley." "Don't send them," Elisha answered. ¹⁷But they kept pushing him until he was ashamed to say no. So he said, "Send them." They sent fifty men. The men searched for three days, but they did not find Elijah. ¹⁸Elisha was staying in Jericho. When the men came back to him, he said, "Didn't I tell you not to go?" ¹⁹Then the men of the city said to Elisha, "Our lord, please notice that this city is in a good place, as you can see. But the water is bad, and the land doesn't produce crops." ²⁰"Bring me a new bowl," he answered, "and put some salt in it." So they brought it to him. ²¹Elisha went out to the spring and threw the salt into it. He said, "This is what the LORD says: 'I have healed this water. It will no longer cause death or keep things from bearing fruit.'" ²²And the water there has stayed healthy to this day, just as Elisha said. ²³From there Elisha went up to Bethel. As he was walking up the road, a group of boys came out of the city. They made fun of him. They chanted, "Go up, you baldhead! Go up, you baldhead!" ²⁴Elisha turned around and looked at them. He called down a curse on them in the name of the LORD. Suddenly two female bears came out of the woods. They tore apart forty-two of the boys. ²⁵Elisha went on to Mount Carmel. From there he went back to Samaria.