2 Kings 2

1And it came to pass, when Jehovah would take up Elijah by a whirlwind into heaven, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal.

1When the time came for the LORD to take Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha left Gilgal together.

2And Elijah said unto Elisha, Tarry here, I pray thee; for Jehovah hath sent me as far as Beth-el. And Elisha said, As Jehovah liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they went down to Beth-el.

2Elijah said to Elisha, 'Please stay here, because the LORD has sent me to Bethel.' But Elisha replied, 'As surely as the LORD lives and as you live, I will not leave you.' So they went down to Bethel.

3And the sons of the prophets that were at Beth-el came forth to Elisha, and said unto him, Knowest thou that Jehovah will take away thy master from thy head to-day? And he said, Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace.

3A group of prophets at Bethel came out to Elisha and asked, 'Do you know that the LORD is going to take your master away from you today?' He answered, 'Yes, I know; don't talk about it.'

4And Elijah said unto him, Elisha, tarry here, I pray thee; for Jehovah hath sent me to Jericho. And he said, As Jehovah liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they came to Jericho.

4Then Elijah said to him, 'Elisha, please stay here, because the LORD has sent me to Jericho.' But he replied, 'As surely as the LORD lives and as you live, I will not leave you.' So they went to Jericho.

5And the sons of the prophets that were at Jericho came near to Elisha, and said unto him, Knowest thou that Jehovah will take away thy master from thy head to-day? And he answered, Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace.

5The group of prophets at Jericho came to Elisha and asked, 'Do you know that the LORD is going to take your master away from you today?' He answered, 'Yes, I know; don't talk about it.'

6And Elijah said unto him, Tarry here, I pray thee; for Jehovah hath sent me to the Jordan. And he said, As Jehovah liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. And they two went on.

6Elijah said to him, 'Please stay here, because the LORD has sent me to the Jordan River.' But he replied, 'As surely as the LORD lives and as you live, I will not leave you.' So the two of them walked on.

7And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went, and stood over against them afar off: and they two stood by the Jordan.

7Fifty men from the group of prophets followed them and stood watching from a distance as Elijah and Elisha stopped by the Jordan.

8And Elijah took his mantle, and wrapped it together, and smote the waters, and they were divided hither and thither, so that they two went over on dry ground.

8Elijah took his cloak, rolled it up, and struck the water with it. The water divided to the right and left, and the two of them crossed over on dry ground.

9And it came to pass, when they were gone over, that Elijah said unto Elisha, Ask what I shall do for thee, before I am taken from thee. And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me.

9When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, 'Tell me, what can I do for you before I am taken away?' Elisha answered, 'Please let me inherit a double portion of your spirit.'

10And he said, Thou hast asked a hard thing: nevertheless, if thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee; but if not, it shall not be so.

10Elijah said, 'You have asked for a difficult thing. However, if you see me when I am taken from you, it will be yours; but if you don't see me, it will not happen.'

11And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, which parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.

11As they continued walking and talking, a chariot of fire and horses of fire suddenly appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind.

12And Elisha saw it, and he cried, My father, my father, the chariots of Israel and the horsemen thereof! And he saw him no more: and he took hold of his own clothes, and rent them in two pieces.

12Elisha saw it and cried out, 'My father! My father! The chariots and horsemen of Israel!' When he couldn't see Elijah anymore, he took hold of his own clothes and tore them in two.

13He took up also the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and went back, and stood by the bank of the Jordan.

13Elisha picked up the cloak that had fallen from Elijah and went back to stand on the bank of the Jordan.

14And he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and smote the waters, and said, Where is Jehovah, the God of Elijah? and when he also had smitten the waters, they were divided hither and thither; and Elisha went over.

14He took the cloak that had fallen from Elijah and struck the water with it. He asked, 'Where is the LORD, the God of Elijah?' When he struck the water, it divided to the right and left, and Elisha crossed over.

15And when the sons of the prophets that were at Jericho over against him saw him, they said, The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha. And they came to meet him, and bowed themselves to the ground before him.

15When the group of prophets from Jericho saw him from a distance, they said, 'The spirit of Elijah now rests on Elisha.' They went to meet him and bowed to the ground before him.

16And they said unto him, Behold now, there are with thy servants fifty strong men; let them go, we pray thee, and seek thy master, lest the Spirit of Jehovah hath taken him up, and cast him upon some mountain, or into some valley. And he said, Ye shall not send.

16They said, 'Look, we have fifty strong men here. Please let them go and look for your master. Maybe the Spirit of the LORD has picked him up and dropped him on some mountain or in some valley.' Elisha replied, 'No, do not send them.'

17And when they urged him till he was ashamed, he said, Send. They sent therefore fifty men; and they sought three days, but found him not.

17But they kept urging him until he was embarrassed, so he finally said, 'Send them.' They sent fifty men who searched for three days but did not find Elijah.

18And they came back to him, while he tarried at Jericho; and he said unto them, Did I not say unto you, Go not?

18When they returned to Elisha, who was staying in Jericho, he said to them, 'Didn't I tell you not to go?'

19And the men of the city said unto Elisha, Behold, we pray thee, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord seeth: but the water is bad, and the land miscarrieth.

19The people of the city said to Elisha, 'Look, our lord can see that this city is in a pleasant place, but the water is bad and the land causes miscarriages.'

20And he said, Bring me a new cruse, and put salt therein. And they brought it to him.

20Elisha said, 'Bring me a new bowl and put some salt in it.' So they brought it to him.

21And he went forth unto the spring of the waters, and cast salt therein, and said, Thus saith Jehovah, I have healed these waters; there shall not be from thence any more death or miscarrying.

21He went out to the spring and threw the salt into it, saying, 'This is what the LORD says: I have healed this water. It will never cause death or miscarriage again.'

22So the waters were healed unto this day, according to the word of Elisha which he spake.

22And the water has remained pure to this day, just as Elisha had said.

23And he went up from thence unto Beth-el; and as he was going up by the way, there came forth young lads out of the city, and mocked him, and said unto him, Go up, thou baldhead; go up, thou baldhead.

23From there Elisha went up to Bethel. As he was walking along the road, some young men came out of the town and mocked him, shouting, 'Go on up, you baldhead! Go on up, you baldhead!'

24And he looked behind him and saw them, and cursed them in the name of Jehovah. And there came forth two she-bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two lads of them.

24He turned around, looked at them, and called down a curse on them in the name of the LORD. Then two female bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the youths.

25And he went from thence to mount Carmel, and from thence he returned to Samaria.

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