Elijah Taken to Heaven

2 When Yahweh was going to take Elijah to heaven in a windstorm, Elijah and Elisha left Gilgal. ² Elijah said to Elisha, “Please stay here because Yahweh is sending me to Bethel.”

Elisha answered, “I solemnly swear, as Yahweh lives and as you live, I will not abandon you.” So they went to Bethel.

³ Some of the disciples of the prophets at Bethel came to Elisha. They asked him, “Do you know that Yahweh is going to take your master from you today?”

He answered, “Yes, I know. Be quiet.”

⁴ Elijah said, “Elisha, please stay here because Yahweh is sending me to Jericho.”

Elisha answered, “I solemnly swear, as Yahweh lives and as you live, I will not abandon you.” So they went to Jericho.

⁵ Then some of the disciples of the prophets who were in Jericho approached Elisha. They asked, “Do you know that Yahweh is going to take your master from you today?”

He answered, “Yes, I know. Be quiet.”

⁶ Elijah said to Elisha, “Please stay here because Yahweh is sending me to the Jordan River.”

Elisha answered, “I solemnly swear, as Yahweh lives and as you live, I will not abandon you.”

⁷ Fifty disciples of the prophets stood at a distance as Elijah and Elisha stood by the Jordan River. ⁸ Elijah took his coat, rolled it up, and struck the water with it. The water divided to their left and their right, and the two men crossed the river on dry ground.

⁹ While they were crossing, Elijah asked Elisha, “What should I do for you before I’m taken from you?”

Elisha answered, “Let me inherit a double share of your spirit.”

¹⁰ Elijah said, “You have asked for something difficult. If you see me taken from you, it will be yours. Otherwise, it will not.”

¹¹ As they continued walking and talking, a fiery chariot with fiery horses separated the two of them, and Elijah went to heaven in a windstorm.

¹² When Elisha saw this, he cried out, “Master! Master! Israel’s chariot and horses!” When he couldn’t see Elijah anymore, he grabbed his own garment and tore it in two to show his grief. ¹³ Then he picked up Elijah’s coat (which had fallen off Elijah), went back, and stood on the bank of the Jordan River. ¹⁴ He took the coat and struck the water with it. He asked, “Where is Yahweh Elohim of Elijah?” As he struck the water, it divided to his left and his right, and Elisha crossed the river.

¹⁵ The disciples of the prophets who were at Jericho saw him from a distance. They said, “Elijah’s spirit rests on Elisha!” Then they went to meet him and bowed in front of him with their faces touching the ground. ¹⁶ They said to him, “There are 50 strong men here with us. Please let them go and search for your master. Maybe the Ruach Yahweh lifted him up and dropped him on one of the hills or in one of the valleys.”

Elisha answered, “Don’t send them to look.” ¹⁷ But the disciples kept urging him to send the men until he was embarrassed. So he said, “Send them.” They sent 50 men who searched for three days without finding him. ¹⁸ They returned to Elisha in Jericho, where he was waiting. He said, “Didn’t I tell you not to go?”

Elisha Purifies Jericho’s Water

¹⁹ The people of the city of Jericho told Elisha, “This city’s location is as good as you will ever find. But the water is bad, and the land cannot grow crops.”

²⁰ Elisha said, “Bring me a new jar, and put salt in it.” They brought it to him. ²¹ He went to the spring and threw the salt into it. Then he said, “This is what Yahweh says: I have purified this water. No more deaths or crop failures will come from this water.” ²² To this day the water is still pure, as Elisha had said.

²³ From there he went to Bethel. As he walked along the road, some boys came out of the city and mocked him. They said, “Go away, baldy! Go away!”

²⁴ Looking back, he saw them and cursed them in Yahweh’s name. Two bears came out of the woods and tore 42 of these youths apart. ²⁵ He left that place, went to Mount Carmel, and returned to Samaria.

Elisha and the Widow’s Olive Oil

4 One of the wives of a disciple of the prophets called to Elisha, “Sir, my husband is dead! You know how he feared Yahweh. Now a creditor has come to take my two children as slaves.”

² Elisha asked her, “What should I do for you? Tell me, what do you have in your house?”

She answered, “I have nothing in the house except a jar of olive oil.”

³ Elisha said, “Borrow many empty containers from all your neighbors. ⁴ Then close the door behind you and your children, and pour oil into all those containers. When one is full, set it aside.”

⁵ So she left him and closed the door behind her and her children. The children kept bringing containers to her, and she kept pouring. ⁶ When the containers were full, she told her son, “Bring me another container.”

He told her, “There are no more containers.” So the olive oil stopped flowing. ⁷ She went and told the man of Elohim.

He said, “Sell the oil, and pay your debt. The rest is for you and your children.”

Elisha Brings a Shunem Woman’s Son Back to Life

⁸ One day Elisha was traveling through Shunem, where a rich woman lived. She had invited him to eat with her. So whenever he was in the area, he stopped in to eat.

⁹ She told her husband, “I know he’s a holy man of Elohim. And he regularly travels past our house. ¹⁰ Let’s make a small room on the roof and put a bed, table, chair, and lamp stand there for him. He can stay there whenever he comes to visit us.”

¹¹ One day he came to their house, went into the upstairs room, and rested there. ¹² He told his servant Gehazi, “Call this Shunem woman.”

Gehazi called her, and she stood in front of him. ¹³ Elisha said to Gehazi, “Ask her what we can do for her, since she has gone to a lot of trouble for us. Maybe she would like us to speak to the king or the commander of the army for her.”

She answered, “I’m already living among my own people.”

¹⁴ “What should we do for her?” Elisha asked.

Gehazi answered, “Well, she has no son, and her husband is old.”

¹⁵ Elisha said, “Call her.” So Gehazi called her, and she stood in the doorway. ¹⁶ Elisha said, “At this time next spring, you will hold a baby boy in your arms.”

She answered, “Don’t say that, sir. Don’t lie to me. You’re a man of Elohim.”

¹⁷ But the woman became pregnant and had a son at that time next year, as Elisha had told her.

¹⁸ Several years later the boy went to his father, who was with the harvest workers. ¹⁹ Suddenly, he said to his father, “My head! My head!”

The father told his servant, “Carry him to his mother.”

²⁰ The servant picked him up and brought him to his mother. The boy sat on her lap until noon, when he died. ²¹ She took him upstairs and laid him on the bed of the man of Elohim, left the room, and shut the door behind her. ²² She called her husband and said, “Please send me one of the servants and one of the donkeys. I will go quickly to the man of Elohim and come back again.”

²³ Her husband asked, “Why are you going to him today? It isn’t a New Moon Festival or a day of worship.”

But she said goodbye to him.

²⁴ She saddled the donkey. Then she told her servant, “Lead on. Don’t slow down unless I tell you.” ²⁵ So she came to the man of Elohim at Mount Carmel.

When the man of Elohim saw her coming at a distance, he told his servant Gehazi, “There is the woman from Shunem. ²⁶ Run to meet her and ask her how she, her husband, and the boy are doing.”

“Everyone’s fine,” she answered.

²⁷ When she came to the man of Elohim at the mountain, she took hold of his feet. Gehazi went to push her away. But the man of Elohim said, “Leave her alone. She is bitter. Yahweh has hidden the reason from me. He hasn’t told me.”

²⁸ The woman said, “I didn’t ask you for a son. I said, ‘Don’t raise my hopes.’”

²⁹ The man of God told Gehazi, “Put on a belt, take my shepherd’s staff in your hand, and go. Whenever you meet anyone, don’t stop to greet him. If he greets you, don’t stop to answer him. Lay my staff on the boy’s face.”

³⁰ The boy’s mother said, “I solemnly swear, as Yahweh and you live, I will not leave without you.” So Elisha got up and followed her.

³¹ Gehazi went ahead of them and put the staff on the boy’s face, but there was no sound or sign of life. So Gehazi came back to meet the man of Elohim. Gehazi told him, “The boy didn’t wake up.”

³² When Elisha came to the house, the dead boy was lying on Elisha’s bed. ³³ He went into the room, closed the door, and prayed to Yahweh. ³⁴ Then he lay on the boy, putting his mouth on the boy’s mouth, his eyes on the boy’s eyes, his hands on the boy’s hands. He crouched over the boy’s body, and it became warm. ³⁵ Elisha got up, walked across the room and came back, and then got back on the bed and crouched over him. The boy sneezed seven times and opened his eyes. ³⁶ Elisha called Gehazi and said, “Call the Shunem woman.” Gehazi called her. When she came to him, he said, “Take your son.”

³⁷ Then she immediately bowed at his feet. She took her son and left.

Elisha and the Poisoned Food

³⁸ When Elisha went back to Gilgal, there was a famine in the country. One day, while the disciples of the prophets were meeting with him, he told his servant, “Put a large pot on the fire, and cook some stew for the disciples of the prophets.”

³⁹ One of them went into the field to gather vegetables and found a wild vine. He filled his clothes with wild gourds. Then he cut them into the pot of stew without knowing what they were. ⁴⁰ They dished out the food for the men to eat. As they were eating the stew, they cried out, “There’s death in the pot, man of Elohim!” So they couldn’t eat it.

⁴¹ Elisha said, “Bring some flour.” He threw it into the pot and said, “Dish it out for the people to eat.” Then there was nothing harmful in the pot.

Elisha Feeds a Hundred People

⁴² A man from Baal Shalisha brought bread made from the first harvested grain, 20 barley loaves, and fresh grain to the man of Elohim. The man of Elohim said, “Give it to the people to eat.”

⁴³ But his servant asked, “How can I set this in front of a hundred people?”

“Give it to the people to eat,” the man of Elohim said. “This is what Yahweh says: They will eat and even have some left over.”

⁴⁴ The servant set it in front of them. They ate and had some left over, as Yahweh had predicted.

Elisha and the Floating Ax Head

6 The disciples of the prophets said to Elisha, “The place where we’re staying is too small for us. ² Let’s go to the Jordan River. Each of us can get some logs and make a place for us to live there.”

Elisha said, “Go ahead.”

³ Then one of the disciples asked, “Won’t you please come with us?”

Elisha answered, “I’ll go.”

⁴ So he went with them. They came to the Jordan River and began to cut down trees. ⁵ As one of them was cutting down a tree, the ax head fell into the water. He cried out, “Oh no, master! It was borrowed!”

⁶ The man of Elohim asked, “Where did it fall?” When he showed Elisha the place, Elisha cut off a piece of wood. He threw it into the water at that place and made the ax head float. ⁷ Elisha said, “Pick it up.” The disciple reached for it and picked it up.

The Aramean Army Is Struck with Blindness

⁸ Whenever the king of Aram was fighting against Israel, he asked for advice from his officers about where they were to camp.

⁹ So the man of Elohim would send a message to the king of Israel, “Be careful not to go by that place. The Arameans are hiding there.” ¹⁰ Then the king of Israel would send someone to the place that the man of Elohim told him about. Elisha warned them so that they would be on their guard. He did this repeatedly.

¹¹ The king of Aram was very angry about this. He called his officers and asked them, “Won’t you tell me who among us is a spy for the king of Israel?”

¹² One of his officers answered, “No one, Your Majesty. Elisha, the prophet in Israel, tells the king of Israel everything you say—even what you say in your bedroom.”

¹³ The king said, “Find out where he is. Then I will send men to capture him.”

The king was told, “He is in Dothan.” ¹⁴ So the king sent horses and chariots and a large fighting unit there. They came at night and surrounded the city.

¹⁵ When the servant of the man of Elohim got up in the morning and went outside, he saw troops, horses, and chariots surrounding the city. Elisha’s servant asked, “Master, what should we do?”

¹⁶ Elisha answered, “Don’t be afraid. We have more forces on our side than they have on theirs.” ¹⁷ Then Elisha prayed, “Yahweh, please open his eyes so that he may see.” Yahweh opened the servant’s eyes and let him see. The mountain around Elisha was full of fiery horses and chariots.

¹⁸ As the Arameans came down to get him, Elisha prayed to Yahweh, “Please strike these people with blindness.” Yahweh struck them with blindness, as Elisha had asked. ¹⁹ Elisha told them, “This isn’t the way! This isn’t the city. Follow me, and I will lead you to the man you’re looking for.” So he led them into Samaria. ²⁰ When they came into Samaria, Elisha said, “Yahweh, open the eyes of these men, and let them see.” Yahweh opened their eyes and let them see that they were in the middle of Samaria.

²¹ When the king of Israel saw them, he asked Elisha, “Master, should I kill them? Should I kill them?”

²² Elisha answered, “Don’t kill them. Do you kill everyone you take captive in combat? Give them food and water. Let them eat and drink. Then let them go back to their master.”

²³ So the king prepared a great feast for them. They ate and drank, and then he sent them back to their master. After this, Aramean troops didn’t raid Israel’s territory anymore.

The Aramean Army Blockades Samaria

²⁴ Later King Benhadad of Aram assembled his whole army. They went to Samaria and blockaded it. ²⁵ The shortages caused by the blockade of Samaria became so severe that a donkey’s head sold for two pounds of silver and a half-pint of dove^[a] manure for two ounces of silver.

²⁶ As the king of Israel was walking on the city wall, a woman cried to him, “Help me, Your Majesty!”

²⁷ He answered, “If Yahweh doesn’t help you, how can I help you? I can’t give you something from the threshing floor^[b] or the winepress.” ²⁸ Then the king asked her, “What’s the matter?”

She answered, “This woman told me, ‘Give up your son. Let’s eat him today. We’ll eat my son tomorrow.’ ²⁹ So we boiled my son and ate him. The next day I told her, ‘Give up your son. We’ll eat him,’ but she hid her son.”

³⁰ When the king heard the woman say this, he tore his clothes in distress. As he was walking on the city wall, the people saw that he was wearing sackcloth under his clothes. ³¹ He said, “May Elohim strike me dead if the head of Elisha, son of Shaphat, stays on his body today.”

³² Elisha was sitting in his home with the city’s leaders. The king had sent one of his men ahead of him to Elisha’s house. But before the messenger arrived, Elisha asked the leaders, “Do you see how this murderer has sent someone to tear off my head? When the messenger comes, close the door. Hold it shut because the king will be following him.”

³³ While he was still talking to them, the messenger arrived. He said to Elisha, “This severe famine is from Yahweh. Why should I wait any longer for Yahweh to help us?”