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以利亚被接升天

耶和华将要用旋风接以利亚往天上去的时候,以利亚和以利沙一起离开吉甲。 以利亚对以利沙说:“你留在这里吧,因为耶和华差派我到伯特利去。”以利沙说:“我指着永活的耶和华和你的性命起誓:我必不离开你。”于是他们下到伯特利去。 在伯特利的先知门徒出来见以利沙,对他说:“你知道今天耶和华要接你的老师离开你吗?”他说:“我已经知道了,你们别再多说。” 以利亚对以利沙说:“你留在这里吧,因为耶和华差派我往耶利哥。”他说:“我指着永活的耶和华和你的性命起誓:我必不离开你。”于是他们来到耶利哥。 在耶利哥的先知门徒前来见以利沙,对他说:“你知道今天耶和华要接你的老师离开你吗?”他说:“我已经知道了,你们别再多说。” 以利亚对他说:“你留在这里吧,因为耶和华差派我往约旦河去。”以利沙说:“我指着永活的耶和华和你的性命起誓:我必不离开你。”于是他们二人继续前行。

先知门徒中有五十人跟着他们,远远地站在他们对面;他们二人在约旦河河边站着。 以利亚拿着自己的外衣,把它卷起,击打河水,河水就左右分开,他们二人就在干地上走过去了。 他们过去之后,以利亚对以利沙说:“在我没有被接离开你以先,我可以为你作些甚么,你尽管求吧!”以利沙说:“求你使你的灵双倍地临到我。” 10 以利亚说:“你所求的是一件难事,不过我被接离开你的时候,如果你看见我,就必得着,否则就得不着了。” 11 他们边走边谈的时候,忽然,有火车火马把他们二人分开,以利亚就在旋风中被接往天上去了。 12 以利沙看见,就喊叫:“我父!我父!以色列的战车马兵啊!”跟着就不再看见他了。以利沙抓住自己的衣服,把它撕成两片。 13 他拾起以利亚身上掉下来的外衣,就回去,站在约旦河河边。 14 他拿着从以利亚身上掉下来的外衣,击打河水,说:“耶和华以利亚的 神在哪里呢?”他一击打河水,河水就左右分开,以利沙就走过去了。

15 那些耶利哥的先知门徒在远处看见,就说:“以利亚的灵在以利沙身上了。”他们就来迎接他,俯伏在地拜他。 16 他们对他说:“请看,你的仆人这里有五十个壮士;请让他们去寻找你的老师,或者耶和华的灵把他提去,丢在某一座山上,或某一处山谷里。”以利沙说:“你们不必派人去了。” 17 他们恳求他,使他不好意思推辞,于是他说:“你们派人去吧。”他们就派出五十个人,寻觅了三天,仍然找不着。 18 于是他们回到以利沙那里;那时,他还停留在耶利哥,他对他们说:“我不是告诉了你们不必去的吗?”

以利沙治好耶利哥恶劣的水

19 那城的人对以利沙说:“请看这城的地势很好,老师你也看见,可惜水恶劣,以致此地没有出产。” 20 以利沙说:“给我拿一个新碗来,里面要盛点盐。”他们就把碗拿给他。 21 他就出去到水源那里,把盐倒在那里,然后说:“耶和华这样说:‘我已经医好了这水,从此不再有人死亡,地也不再没有出产了。’” 22 那水果然治好了,直到今日,正如以利沙所说的话。

23 以利沙从那里上伯特利去,正沿路上去的时候,从城里有一班年轻人走出来,讥笑他,说:“秃头的上去吧!秃头的上去吧!” 24 以利沙回头看着他们,奉耶和华的名咒诅他们。于是有两只母熊从树林里走出来,撕裂了他们中间四十二个年轻人。 25 以利沙从那里上迦密山,又从迦密山回到撒玛利亚。

VI. Elisha Succeeds Elijah[a]

Chapter 2

Elijah’s Journey. When the Lord was about to take Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind, he and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal.[b]

Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here, please. The Lord has sent me on to Bethel.” Elisha replied, “As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they went down to Bethel. The guild prophets who were in Bethel went out to Elisha and asked him, “Do you know that today the Lord will take your master from you?” He replied, “Yes, I know that. Be still.”

Elijah said to him, “Elisha, stay here, please. The Lord has sent me on to Jericho.” Elisha replied, “As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they came to Jericho. The guild prophets who were in Jericho approached Elisha and asked him, “Do you know that today the Lord will take your master from you?” He replied, “Yes, I know that. Be still.”

Elijah said to him, “Stay here, please. The Lord has sent me on to the Jordan.” Elisha replied, “As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So the two went on together. Fifty of the guild prophets followed and stood facing them at a distance, while the two of them stood next to the Jordan.

Elisha Succeeds Elijah. Elijah took his mantle, rolled it up and struck the water: it divided, and the two of them crossed over on dry ground.(A)

(B)When they had crossed over, Elijah said to Elisha, “Request whatever I might do for you, before I am taken from you.” Elisha answered, “May I receive a double portion of your spirit.”[c] 10 He replied, “You have asked something that is not easy. Still, if you see me taken up from you, your wish will be granted; otherwise not.” 11 As they walked on still conversing, a fiery chariot and fiery horses came between the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind,(C) 12 and Elisha saw it happen. He cried out, “My father! my father![d] Israel’s chariot and steeds!” Then he saw him no longer.

He gripped his own garment, tore it into two pieces, 13 and picked up the mantle which had fallen from Elijah. Then he went back and stood at the bank of the Jordan. 14 Wielding the mantle which had fallen from Elijah, he struck the water and said, “The Lord, the God of Elijah—where is he now?”[e] He struck the water: it divided, and he crossed over.

Elisha’s Journey. 15 The guild prophets in Jericho, who were on the other side, saw him and said, “The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha.” They went to meet him, bowing to the ground before him.(D) 16 They said, “Among your servants are fifty brave men. Let them go in search of your master. Perhaps the spirit of the Lord has lifted him up and left him on some mountain or in some valley.” He answered, “Do not send them.”(E) 17 But they kept urging him, until he was embarrassed and said, “Send them.” So they sent the fifty men, who searched for three days without finding him.(F) 18 When they returned to Elisha in Jericho, where he was staying, he said to them, “Did I not tell you not to go?”

19 (G)The inhabitants of the city complained to Elisha, “The site of the city is fine indeed, as my lord can see, but the water is bad and the land sterile.” 20 Elisha said, “Bring me a new bowl and put salt into it.” When they had brought it to him, 21 he went out to the spring and threw salt into it, saying, “Thus says the Lord: I have purified this water. Never again shall death or sterility come from it.” 22 And the water has stayed pure even to this day, according to the word Elisha had spoken.

23 [f]From there Elisha went up to Bethel. While he was on the way, some little boys came out of the city and jeered at him: “Go away, baldy; go away, baldy!” 24 The prophet turned and saw them, and he cursed them in the name of the Lord. Then two she-bears came out of the woods and tore forty-two of the children to pieces.

25 From there he went to Mount Carmel, and returned to Samaria from there.

Footnotes

  1. 2:1–25 The story of Elisha’s succession to Elijah’s prophetic office is oddly set between the death of Ahaziah (1:17) and the accession of his successor (3:1). The effect is to place this scene, which is the central scene in the whole of 1–2 Kings, outside of time. It thereby becomes almost mythic in its import and reminds us that, behind the transitory flow of kings and kingdoms, stand the eternal word of God and the prophets who give it voice. Just as 1–2 Kings pivots on this chapter, so this scene too is concentrically constructed. Together Elijah and Elisha journey to Bethel, thence to Jericho, and thence across the Jordan. There Elijah is taken up in the whirlwind and Elijah’s mantle of power comes to Elisha. Now alone, Elisha crosses the Jordan again, returns to Jericho and thence back to Bethel.
  2. 2:1 Gilgal: there are several places in the Hebrew Bible named Gilgal; the word probably means “circle,” viz. of stones. Here the route of the prophets’ journey rules out the most famous Gilgal (Jos 4–5), the one near Jericho. This Gilgal may have been located in the area of modern Jiljulieh, approximately seven miles north of Bethel, which seems to preserve the ancient name.
  3. 2:9 Double portion of your spirit: as the firstborn son inherited a double portion of his father’s property (Dt 21:17), so Elisha asks to inherit from Elijah his spirit of prophecy in the degree befitting his principal disciple. In Nm 11:17–25, God bestows some of the spirit of Moses on others.
  4. 2:12 My father: a religious title accorded prophetic leaders; cf. 6:21; 8:9; and 13:14, where King Joash of Israel reacts to Elisha’s own impending death with the same words Elisha uses here.
  5. 2:14 The Lord, the God of Elijah—where is he now?: the words in Hebrew have an incantatory quality, as if Elisha is invoking both the divine name and the name of his departed master in an attempt to duplicate Elijah’s miracle.
  6. 2:23–24 This story probably was told to warn children of the importance of respect for prophets.

Elijah Taken Up to Heaven

When the Lord was about to take(A) Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind,(B) Elijah and Elisha(C) were on their way from Gilgal.(D) Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here;(E) the Lord has sent me to Bethel.”

But Elisha said, “As surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you.”(F) So they went down to Bethel.

The company(G) of the prophets at Bethel came out to Elisha and asked, “Do you know that the Lord is going to take your master from you today?”

“Yes, I know,” Elisha replied, “so be quiet.”

Then Elijah said to him, “Stay here, Elisha; the Lord has sent me to Jericho.(H)

And he replied, “As surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you.” So they went to Jericho.

The company(I) of the prophets at Jericho went up to Elisha and asked him, “Do you know that the Lord is going to take your master from you today?”

“Yes, I know,” he replied, “so be quiet.”

Then Elijah said to him, “Stay here;(J) the Lord has sent me to the Jordan.”(K)

And he replied, “As surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you.”(L) So the two of them walked on.

Fifty men from the company of the prophets went and stood at a distance, facing the place where Elijah and Elisha had stopped at the Jordan. Elijah took his cloak,(M) rolled it up and struck(N) the water with it. The water divided(O) to the right and to the left, and the two of them crossed over on dry(P) ground.

When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, “Tell me, what can I do for you before I am taken from you?”

“Let me inherit a double(Q) portion of your spirit,”(R) Elisha replied.

10 “You have asked a difficult thing,” Elijah said, “yet if you see me when I am taken from you, it will be yours—otherwise, it will not.”

11 As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire(S) and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven(T) in a whirlwind.(U) 12 Elisha saw this and cried out, “My father! My father! The chariots(V) and horsemen of Israel!” And Elisha saw him no more. Then he took hold of his garment and tore(W) it in two.

13 Elisha then picked up Elijah’s cloak that had fallen from him and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. 14 He took the cloak(X) that had fallen from Elijah and struck(Y) the water with it. “Where now is the Lord, the God of Elijah?” he asked. When he struck the water, it divided to the right and to the left, and he crossed over.

15 The company(Z) of the prophets from Jericho, who were watching, said, “The spirit(AA) of Elijah is resting on Elisha.” And they went to meet him and bowed to the ground before him. 16 “Look,” they said, “we your servants have fifty able men. Let them go and look for your master. Perhaps the Spirit(AB) of the Lord has picked him up(AC) and set him down on some mountain or in some valley.”

“No,” Elisha replied, “do not send them.”

17 But they persisted until he was too embarrassed(AD) to refuse. So he said, “Send them.” And they sent fifty men, who searched for three days but did not find him. 18 When they returned to Elisha, who was staying in Jericho, he said to them, “Didn’t I tell you not to go?”

Healing of the Water

19 The people of the city said to Elisha, “Look, our lord, this town is well situated, as you can see, but the water is bad and the land is unproductive.”

20 “Bring me a new bowl,” he said, “and put salt in it.” So they brought it to him.

21 Then he went out to the spring and threw(AE) the salt into it, saying, “This is what the Lord says: ‘I have healed this water. Never again will it cause death or make the land unproductive.’” 22 And the water has remained pure(AF) to this day, according to the word Elisha had spoken.

Elisha Is Jeered

23 From there Elisha went up to Bethel. As he was walking along the road, some boys came out of the town and jeered(AG) at him. “Get out of here, baldy!” they said. “Get out of here, baldy!” 24 He turned around, looked at them and called down a curse(AH) on them in the name(AI) of the Lord. Then two bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the boys. 25 And he went on to Mount Carmel(AJ) and from there returned to Samaria.