2 Reyes 2

Elijah is taken up to heaven

¹When the LORD was about to take Elijah up to heaven by a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were setting out from Gilgal. ²Elijah said to Elisha, “Please stay here, because the LORD has sent me on to Bethel.” But Elisha said, “As surely as the LORD lives and as surely as you live, I will not leave you.” Then they went down together to Bethel. ³The company of prophets at Bethel came out to Elisha and asked him, “Do you know that the LORD is going to take your master from you today?” He said, “Yes, I know. Say no more.” ⁴Then Elijah said to him, “Elisha, please stay here, because the LORD has sent me to Jericho.” But he said, “As surely as the LORD lives and as surely as you live, I will not leave you.” So they came to Jericho. ⁵The company of prophets who were at Jericho came up to Elisha and said to him, “Do you know that the LORD is going to take your master from you today?” He answered, “Yes, I know. Say no more.” ⁶Then Elijah said to him, “Please stay here, because the LORD has sent me to the Jordan.” But he said, “As surely as the LORD lives and as surely as you live, I will not leave you.” And the two of them walked on. ⁷Fifty men of the company of prophets went along and stood some distance away, facing them, while the two of them stood beside the Jordan. ⁸Then Elijah took his cloak, rolled it up and struck the water. The water divided to one side and the other, and the two of them crossed over on dry ground. ⁹When they had crossed over, Elijah said to Elisha, “Before I am taken from you, tell me what I can do for you.” Elisha answered, “Please let me receive a double portion of your spirit.”^{a 10}Elijah said, “You have asked for something difficult. If you see me being taken from you, you will have it; if you do not, you will not.” ¹¹As they were walking along and talking, suddenly a chariot of fire with horses of fire came between the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in the whirlwind. ¹²Elisha saw it, and he cried out, “My father, my father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” And he did not see him again. Then he gripped his own garments and tore them in two.^{b 13}He picked up Elijah’s cloak, which had fallen from him, and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. ¹⁴He took Elijah’s cloak that had fallen from him, struck the water and said, “Where is the LORD, the God of Elijah?” When he too had struck the water, it divided to one side and the other, and Elisha crossed over.^{c 15}When the company of prophets from Jericho, who were watching from the other side, saw him, they said, “The spirit of Elijah has come to rest on Elisha.” They went to meet him and bowed to the ground before him. ¹⁶They said to him, “Look, we your servants have fifty strong men with us. Please let them go and look for your master. It may be that the Spirit of the LORD has carried him off and set him down on some mountain or in some valley.” But he said, “Do not send them.” ¹⁷But they kept pressing him until he was embarrassed to refuse, so he said, “Send them.” They sent fifty men, and for three days they searched but did not find him. ¹⁸When they came back to him, he was staying at Jericho. He said to them, “Did I not tell you not to go?” ¹⁹The men of the city said to Elisha, “Look, my lord, as you can see, this city is in a good place, but the water is bad, and the land causes miscarriages.” ²⁰He said, “Bring me a new bowl and put salt in it.” So they brought it to him. ²¹Then he went out to the spring and threw the salt into it, and said, “The LORD says this: ‘I have healed this water. From now on it will no longer cause death or miscarriage.’” ²²So the water has been wholesome to this day, just as Elisha had said.

Elisha at Bethel

²³From there Elisha went up to Bethel. As he was going up the road, some young lads came out of the city and mocked him, saying, “Go on up, baldhead! Go on up, baldhead!”^{d 24}He turned around, looked at them, and cursed them in the name of the LORD. Then two female bears came out of the forest and savaged forty-two of the youngsters. ²⁵From there he went on to Mount Carmel, and from there he went back to Samaria.