¹³ When Elijah heard it, ^(A)he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. And behold, ^(B)a voice came to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

¹⁹ So he departed from there and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, while he was plowing with twelve pairs of oxen before him, and he with the twelfth. And Elijah passed over to him and threw ^(A)his mantle on him.

⁸ Elijah ^(A)took his mantle and folded it together and ^(B)struck the waters, and they were divided here and there, so that the two of them crossed over on dry ground.

¹³ He also took up the mantle of Elijah that fell from him and returned and stood by the bank of the Jordan. ¹⁴ He took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him and struck the waters and said, “Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah?” And when he also had ^(A)struck the waters, they were divided here and there; and Elisha crossed over.

Elisha Succeeds Elijah

¹⁵ Now when ^(B)the sons of the prophets who were at Jericho opposite him saw him, they said, “The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha.” And they came to meet him and bowed themselves to the ground before him. ¹⁶ They said to him, “Behold now, there are with your servants fifty strong men, please let them go and search for your master; perhaps ^(C)the Spirit of the Lord has taken him up and cast him on some mountain or into some valley.” And he said, “You shall not send.” ¹⁷ But when ^(D)they urged him until he was ashamed, he said, “Send.” They sent therefore fifty men; and they searched three days but did not find him. ¹⁸ They returned to him while he was staying at 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 situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord sees; but the water is bad and the land ^[a]is unfruitful.” ²⁰ He said, “Bring me a new jar, and put salt ^[b]in it.” So they brought it to him. ²¹ He went out to the spring of water and ^(E)threw salt ^[c]in it and said, “Thus says the Lord, ‘I have ^[d]purified these waters; there shall not be from there death or ^[e]unfruitfulness any longer.’” ²² So the waters have been ^[f]purified to this day, according to the word of Elisha which he spoke.

²³ Then he went up from there to Bethel; and as he was going up by the way, young lads came out from the city and ^(F)mocked him and said to him, “Go up, you baldhead; go up, you baldhead!” ²⁴ When he looked behind him and saw them, he ^(G)cursed them in the name of the Lord. Then two female bears came out of the woods and tore up forty-two lads of ^[g]their number. ²⁵ He went from there to ^(H)Mount Carmel, and from there he returned to Samaria.

⁴ Also it will come about in that day that the prophets will each be ^(A)ashamed of his vision when he prophesies, and they will not put on a ^(B)hairy robe in order to deceive;