2 Kings 2
New American Standard Bible
Elijah Taken to Heaven
2 Now it came about, when the Lord was about to (A)bring Elijah up by a [a]whirlwind to heaven, that Elijah left (B)Gilgal with (C)Elisha. 2 And Elijah said to Elisha, “(D)Stay here please, for the Lord has sent me as far as (E)Bethel.” But Elisha said, “(F)As surely as the Lord lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they went down to Bethel. 3 Then (G)the sons of the prophets who were at Bethel went out to Elisha and said to him, “Are you aware that the Lord will take away your master from over [b]you today?” And he said, “Yes, I am aware; say nothing about it.”
4 And Elijah said to him, “Elisha, please (H)stay here, for the Lord has sent me to (I)Jericho.” But he said, “(J)As surely as the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they came to Jericho. 5 Then (K)the sons of the prophets who were at Jericho approached Elisha and said to him, “(L)Do you know that the Lord will take away your master from over [c]you today?” And he [d]answered, “Yes, I know; say nothing about it.” 6 And Elijah said to him, “Please (M)stay here, for the Lord has sent me to (N)the Jordan.” But he said, “As surely as the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So the two of them went on.
7 Now (O)fifty men of the sons of the prophets went and stood opposite them at a distance, while the two of them stood by the Jordan. 8 And Elijah (P)took his coat, folded it, and (Q)struck the waters, and they were divided here and there, so that the two of them crossed over on dry ground.
9 When they had crossed over, Elijah said to Elisha, “Ask me what I should do for you before I am taken from you.” And Elisha said, “Please let a (R)double portion of your spirit be upon me.” 10 He said, “You have asked a hard thing. Nevertheless, if you (S)see me when I am taken from you, it shall be so for you; but if not, it shall not be so.” 11 And as they were walking along and talking, behold, (T)a chariot of fire appeared with horses of fire, and they separated the two of them. Then Elijah went up by a [e]whirlwind to heaven. 12 And Elisha was watching it and he was crying out, “(U)My father, my father, the chariot of Israel and its horsemen!” And he did not see [f]Elijah again. Then (V)he took hold of his own clothes and tore them in two pieces. 13 He also took up the coat of Elijah that had fallen from him, and he went back and stood by the bank of the Jordan. 14 Then he took the coat of Elijah that had fallen from him and struck the waters, and said, “Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah?” And when he also had (W)struck the waters, they were divided here and there; and Elisha crossed over.
Elisha Succeeds Elijah
15 Now when (X)the sons of the prophets who were at Jericho opposite him saw him, they said, “The spirit of Elijah has settled on Elisha.” And they came to meet him and bowed down to the ground before him. 16 Then they said to him, “Behold now, there are with your servants fifty strong men; please let them go and search for your master, in case (Y)the Spirit of the Lord has taken him up and cast him on some mountain or into some valley.” But he said, “You shall not send anyone.” 17 Yet when (Z)they urged him until he was ashamed to refuse, he said, “Send them.” So they sent fifty men; and they searched for three days, but did not find him. 18 They returned to him while he was staying in Jericho; and he said to them, “Did I not say to you, ‘Do not go’?”
19 Then the men of the city said to Elisha, “Behold now, the site of the city is pleasant, as my lord sees; but the water is bad and the land [g]is unfruitful.” 20 And he said, “Bring me a new jar, and put salt [h]in it.” So they brought it to him. 21 Then he went out to the spring of water and (AA)threw salt [i]in it and said, “This is what the Lord says: ‘I have [j]purified these waters; there shall not come from there death or [k]unfruitfulness any longer.’” 22 So the waters have been [l]purified to this day, in accordance with the word of Elisha which he spoke.
23 Now he went up from there to Bethel; and as he was going up by the road, some young boys came out from the city and (AB)ridiculed him and said to him, “Go up, you baldhead; go up, you baldhead!” 24 When he looked behind him and saw them, he (AC)cursed them in the name of the Lord. Then two female bears came out of the woods and tore up forty-two [m]of the boys. 25 He then went on from there to (AD)Mount Carmel, and from there he returned to Samaria.
Footnotes
- 2 Kings 2:1 Or windstorm
- 2 Kings 2:3 Lit your head
- 2 Kings 2:5 Lit your head
- 2 Kings 2:5 Lit said
- 2 Kings 2:11 Or windstorm
- 2 Kings 2:12 Lit him
- 2 Kings 2:19 Lit causes miscarriages
- 2 Kings 2:20 Lit there
- 2 Kings 2:21 Lit there
- 2 Kings 2:21 Lit healed
- 2 Kings 2:21 Lit anything causing miscarriages
- 2 Kings 2:22 Lit healed
- 2 Kings 2:24 Lit boys from them
2 Kings 2
New Living Translation
Elijah Taken into Heaven
2 When the Lord was about to take Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were traveling from Gilgal. 2 And Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here, for the Lord has told me to go to Bethel.”
But Elisha replied, “As surely as the Lord lives and you yourself live, I will never leave you!” So they went down together to Bethel.
3 The group of prophets from Bethel came to Elisha and asked him, “Did you know that the Lord is going to take your master away from you today?”
“Of course I know,” Elisha answered. “But be quiet about it.”
4 Then Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here, for the Lord has told me to go to Jericho.”
But Elisha replied again, “As surely as the Lord lives and you yourself live, I will never leave you.” So they went on together to Jericho.
5 Then the group of prophets from Jericho came to Elisha and asked him, “Did you know that the Lord is going to take your master away from you today?”
“Of course I know,” Elisha answered. “But be quiet about it.”
6 Then Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here, for the Lord has told me to go to the Jordan River.”
But again Elisha replied, “As surely as the Lord lives and you yourself live, I will never leave you.” So they went on together.
7 Fifty men from the group of prophets also went and watched from a distance as Elijah and Elisha stopped beside the Jordan River. 8 Then Elijah folded his cloak together and struck the water with it. The river divided, and the two of them went across on dry ground!
9 When they came to the other side, Elijah said to Elisha, “Tell me what I can do for you before I am taken away.”
And Elisha replied, “Please let me inherit a double share of your spirit and become your successor.”
10 “You have asked a difficult thing,” Elijah replied. “If you see me when I am taken from you, then you will get your request. But if not, then you won’t.”
11 As they were walking along and talking, suddenly a chariot of fire appeared, drawn by horses of fire. It drove between the two men, separating them, and Elijah was carried by a whirlwind into heaven. 12 Elisha saw it and cried out, “My father! My father! I see the chariots and charioteers of Israel!” And as they disappeared from sight, Elisha tore his clothes in distress.
13 Elisha picked up Elijah’s cloak, which had fallen when he was taken up. Then Elisha returned to the bank of the Jordan River. 14 He struck the water with Elijah’s cloak and cried out, “Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah?” Then the river divided, and Elisha went across.
15 When the group of prophets from Jericho saw from a distance what happened, they exclaimed, “Elijah’s spirit rests upon Elisha!” And they went to meet him and bowed to the ground before him. 16 “Sir,” they said, “just say the word and fifty of our strongest men will search the wilderness for your master. Perhaps the Spirit of the Lord has left him on some mountain or in some valley.”
“No,” Elisha said, “don’t send them.” 17 But they kept urging him until they shamed him into agreeing, and he finally said, “All right, send them.” So fifty men searched for three days but did not find Elijah. 18 Elisha was still at Jericho when they returned. “Didn’t I tell you not to go?” he asked.
Elisha’s First Miracles
19 One day the leaders of the town of Jericho visited Elisha. “We have a problem, my lord,” they told him. “This town is located in pleasant surroundings, as you can see. But the water is bad, and the land is unproductive.”
20 Elisha said, “Bring me a new bowl with salt in it.” So they brought it to him. 21 Then he went out to the spring that supplied the town with water and threw the salt into it. And he said, “This is what the Lord says: I have purified this water. It will no longer cause death or infertility.[a]” 22 And the water has remained pure ever since, just as Elisha said.
23 Elisha left Jericho and went up to Bethel. As he was walking along the road, a group of boys from the town began mocking and making fun of him. “Go away, baldy!” they chanted. “Go away, baldy!” 24 Elisha turned around and looked at them, and he cursed them in the name of the Lord. Then two bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of them. 25 From there Elisha went to Mount Carmel and finally returned to Samaria.
Footnotes
- 2:21 Or or make the land unproductive; Hebrew reads or barrenness.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
