2 Kings 2
Christian Standard Bible
Elijah in the Whirlwind
2 The time had come for the Lord to take Elijah up to heaven(A) in a whirlwind.(B) Elijah and Elisha(C) were traveling from Gilgal,(D) 2 and Elijah said to Elisha,(E) “Stay here;(F) the Lord is sending me on to Bethel.”(G)
But Elisha replied, “As the Lord lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.”(H) So they went down to Bethel.
3 Then the sons of the prophets(I) who were at Bethel came out to Elisha and said, “Do you know that the Lord will take your master away from you today?” (J)
He said, “Yes, I know. Be quiet.”
4 Elijah said to him, “Elisha, stay here; the Lord is sending me to Jericho.”(K)
But Elisha said, “As the Lord lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they went to Jericho.
5 Then the sons of the prophets who were in Jericho came up to Elisha and said, “Do you know that the Lord will take your master away from you today?”
He said, “Yes, I know. Be quiet.”
6 Elijah said to him, “Stay here; the Lord is sending me to the Jordan.”(L)
But Elisha said, “As the Lord lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So the two of them went on.
7 Fifty men from the sons of the prophets came and stood observing them at a distance while the two of them stood by the Jordan. 8 Elijah took his mantle,(M) rolled it up, and struck the water, which parted to the right and left. Then the two of them crossed over on dry ground.(N) 9 When they had crossed over, Elijah said to Elisha, “Tell me what I can do for you before I am taken from you.”
So Elisha answered, “Please, let me inherit two shares of your spirit.”(O)
10 Elijah replied, “You have asked for something difficult. If you see me being taken from you,(P) you will have it. If not, you won’t.”
11 As they continued walking and talking, a chariot of fire with horses of fire(Q) suddenly appeared and separated the two of them. Then Elijah went up into heaven in the whirlwind.(R) 12 As Elisha watched, he kept crying out, “My father, my father, the chariots and horsemen of Israel!” (S)
Elisha Succeeds Elijah
When he could see him no longer, he took hold of his own clothes, tore them in two,(T) 13 picked up the mantle(U) that had fallen off Elijah, and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. 14 He took the mantle Elijah had dropped, and he struck the water. “Where is the Lord God of Elijah?” he asked. He struck the water himself, and it parted to the right and the left, and Elisha crossed over.
15 When the sons of the prophets from Jericho who were observing saw him, they said, “The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha.” They came to meet him and bowed down to the ground in front of him.
16 Then the sons of the prophets said to Elisha, “Since there are fifty strong men here with your servants, please let them go and search for your master. Maybe the Spirit of the Lord has carried him away and put him on one of the mountains or into one of the valleys.”(V)
He answered, “Don’t send them.”
17 However, they urged him to the point of embarrassment,(W) so he said, “Send them.” They sent fifty men, who looked for three days but did not find him. 18 When they returned to him in Jericho(X) where he was staying, he said to them, “Didn’t I tell you not to go?”
19 The men of the city said to Elisha, “My lord can see that even though the city’s location is good, the water is bad and the land unfruitful.”(Y)
20 He replied, “Bring me a new bowl and put salt in it.”(Z)
After they had brought him one, 21 Elisha went out to the spring, threw salt in it,(AA) and said, “This is what the Lord says: ‘I have healed this water. No longer will death or unfruitfulness result from it.’” 22 Therefore, the water still remains healthy today according to the word that Elisha spoke.
23 From there Elisha went up to Bethel.(AB) As he was walking up the path, some small boys came out of the city and jeered at him,(AC) chanting, “Go up, baldy! Go up, baldy!” 24 He turned around, looked at them, and cursed them in the name of the Lord.(AD) Then two female bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the children. 25 From there Elisha went to Mount Carmel,(AE) and then he returned to Samaria.(AF)
2 Kings 2
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Elijah Ascends to Heaven
2 Now when the Lord was about to take Elijah up to heaven by a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal.(A) 2 Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here, for the Lord has sent me as far as Bethel.” But Elisha said, “As the Lord lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they went down to Bethel.(B) 3 The company of prophets who were in Bethel came out to Elisha and said to him, “Do you know that today the Lord will take your master away from you?” And he said, “Yes, I know; keep silent.”(C)
4 Elijah said to him, “Elisha, stay here, for the Lord has sent me to Jericho.” But he said, “As the Lord lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they came to Jericho.(D) 5 The company of prophets who were at Jericho drew near to Elisha and said to him, “Do you know that today the Lord will take your master away from you?” And he answered, “Yes, I know; keep silent.”(E)
6 Then Elijah said to him, “Stay here, for the Lord has sent me to the Jordan.” But he said, “As the Lord lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So the two of them went on.(F) 7 Fifty men of the company of prophets also went and stood at some distance from them, as they both were standing by the Jordan.(G) 8 Then Elijah took his mantle and rolled it up and struck the water; the water was parted to the one side and to the other, and the two of them crossed on dry ground.(H)
9 When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, “Tell me what I may do for you before I am taken from you.” Elisha said, “Please let me inherit a double share of your spirit.” 10 He responded, “You have asked a hard thing, yet if you see me as I am being taken from you, it will be granted you; if not, it will not.” 11 As they continued walking and talking, a chariot of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them, and Elijah ascended in a whirlwind into heaven.(I) 12 Elisha kept watching and crying out, “Father, father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” But when he could no longer see him, he grasped his own clothes and tore them in two pieces.(J)
Elisha Succeeds Elijah
13 He picked up the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. 14 He took the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him and struck the water. He said, “Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah? Where is he?” He struck the water again, and the water was parted to the one side and to the other, and Elisha crossed over.(K)
15 When the company of prophets who were at Jericho saw him at a distance, they declared, “The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha.” They came to meet him and bowed to the ground before him.(L) 16 They said to him, “See now, we have fifty strong men among your servants; please let them go and seek your master; it may be that the spirit of the Lord has caught him up and thrown him down on some mountain or into some valley.” He responded, “No, do not send them.”(M) 17 But when they urged him to the point of embarrassment, he said, “Send them.” So they sent fifty men who searched for three days but did not find him.(N) 18 When they came back to him (he had remained at Jericho), he said to them, “Did I not say to you, ‘Do not go’?”
Elisha Performs Miracles
19 Now the people of the city said to Elisha, “The location of this city is good, as my lord sees, but the water is bad, and the land is unfruitful.” 20 He said, “Bring me a new bowl, and put salt in it.” So they brought it to him. 21 Then he went to the spring of water and threw the salt into it and said, “Thus says the Lord: I have made this water wholesome; from now on neither death nor miscarriage shall come from it.”(O) 22 So the water has been wholesome to this day, according to the word that Elisha spoke.
23 He went up from there to Bethel, and while he was going up on the way, some small boys came out of the city and jeered at him, saying, “Go away, baldhead! Go away, baldhead!” 24 When he turned around and saw them, he cursed them in the name of the Lord. Then two she-bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the boys.(P) 25 From there he went on to Mount Carmel and then returned to Samaria.(Q)
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New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.