2 Kings 2:15-25

New American Standard Bible

Elisha Succeeds Elijah

¹⁵ Now when ^(A)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 ^(B)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 ^(C)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 ^[a]is unfruitful.” ²⁰ And he said, “Bring me a new jar, and put salt ^[b]in it.” So they brought it to him. ²¹ Then he went out to the spring of water and ^(D)threw salt ^[c]in it and said, “This is what the Lord says: ‘I have ^[d]purified these waters; there shall not come from there death or ^[e]unfruitfulness any longer.’” ²² So the waters have been ^[f]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 ^(E)ridiculed him and said to him, “Go up, you baldhead; go up, you baldhead!” ²⁴ When he looked behind him and saw them, he ^(F)cursed them in the name of the Lord. Then two female bears came out of the woods and tore up forty-two ^[g]of the boys. ²⁵ He then went on from there to ^(G)Mount Carmel, and from there he returned to Samaria.