2 Kings 2

Modern

Literal

Elijah Taken Up to Heaven

¹Shortly before the LORD took Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal,

¹And it came to pass, at YHWH taking up Elijah by a whirlwind into the heavens, that Elijah and Elisha went from Gilgal.

²and Elijah said to Elisha, “Please stay here, for the LORD has sent me on to Bethel.”

But Elisha replied, “As surely as the LORD lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.”

So they went down to Bethel.

²And Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here please, for YHWH has sent me as far as Bethel.” And Elisha said, “As YHWH lives and as your soul lives, I will not leave you.” And they went down to Bethel.

³Then the sons of the prophets at Bethel came out to Elisha and said, “Do you know that the LORD will take your master away from you today?”

“Yes, I know,” he replied. “Do not speak of it.”

³And the sons of the prophets who were at Bethel came out to Elisha and said to him, “Do you know that today YHWH will take away your master from over your head?” And he said, “Yes, I know. Keep silent.”

⁴And Elijah said to Elisha, “Please stay here, for the LORD has sent me on to Jericho.”

But Elisha replied, “As surely as the LORD lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.”

So they went to Jericho.

⁴And Elijah said to him, “Elisha, stay here please, for YHWH has sent me to Jericho.” And he said, “As YHWH lives and as your soul lives, I will not leave you.” And they came to Jericho.

⁵Then the sons of the prophets at Jericho came up to Elisha and said, “Do you know that the LORD will take your master away from you today?”

“Yes, I know,” he replied. “Do not speak of it.”

⁵And the sons of the prophets who were at Jericho came to Elisha, and they said to him, “Do you know that today YHWH will take away your master from over your head?” And he answered, “Yes, I know. Keep silent.”

⁶And Elijah said to Elisha, “Please stay here, for the LORD has sent me on to the Jordan.”

But Elisha replied, “As surely as the LORD lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.”

So the two of them went on.

⁶And Elijah said to him, “Stay here, please, for YHWH has sent me to the Jordan.” And he said, “As YHWH lives and as your soul lives, I will not leave you.” And the two of them went on.

⁷Then a company of fifty of the sons of the prophets went and stood at a distance, facing Elijah and Elisha as the two of them stood by the Jordan.

⁷And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went and stood facing them at a distance, and the two of them stood by the Jordan.

⁸And Elijah took his cloak, rolled it up, and struck the waters, which parted to the right and to the left, so that the two of them crossed over on dry ground.

⁸And Elijah took his cloak and rolled it up, and he struck the waters, and they were divided here and here, and the two of them passed over on the dry ground.

⁹After they had crossed over, Elijah said to Elisha, “Tell me, what can I do for you before I am taken away from you?”

“Please, let me inherit a double portion of your spirit,” Elisha replied.

⁹And so it was at their passing over, that Elijah said to Elisha, “Ask what I may do for you before I am taken away from you.” And Elisha said, “Let be, please, a double portion of your spirit upon me.”

¹⁰“You have requested a difficult thing,” said Elijah. “Nevertheless, if you see me as I am taken from you, it will be yours. But if not, then it will not be so.”

¹⁰And he said, “You have made it difficult by asking. If you see me taken from you, it will be so for you. But if not, it will not be.”

¹¹As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire with horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up into heaven in a whirlwind.

¹¹And it came to pass, as they were walking, walking on and speaking, that behold a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and they separated between the two of them, and Elijah went up in the whirlwind into the heavens.

¹²As Elisha watched, he cried out, “My father, my father, the chariots and horsemen of Israel!” And he saw Elijah no more. So taking hold of his own clothes, he tore them in two.

¹²And Elisha saw it, and he cried out, “My father, my father, the chariot of Israel and its horsemen,” and he saw him no more. And he took hold of his own clothes and tore them into two pieces.

¹³Elisha also picked up the cloak that had fallen from Elijah, and he went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan.

¹³And He took up the cloak of Elijah that had fallen from him, and he returned and stood by the bank of the Jordan.

¹⁴Then he took the cloak of Elijah that had fallen from him and struck the waters. “Where now is the LORD, the God of Elijah?” he asked.

And when he had struck the waters, they parted to the right and to the left, and Elisha crossed over.

¹⁴And he took the cloak of Elijah that had fallen from him and struck the waters, and he said, “Where is YHWH, God of Elijah—even he?” And he struck the waters, and they were divided here and here. And Elisha passed over.

Elisha Succeeds Elijah

¹⁵When the sons of the prophets who were watching him from Jericho saw what had happened, they said, “The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha.” And they went to meet him and bowed down to the ground before him.

¹⁵And saw him the sons of the prophets who were from Jericho facing him, and they said, “The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha.” And they came to meet him and bowed before him to the ground.

¹⁶“Look now,” they said to Elisha, “we your servants have fifty valiant men. Please let them go and search for your master. Perhaps the Spirit of the LORD has taken him up and put him on one of the mountains or in one of the valleys.”

“Do not send them,” Elisha replied.

¹⁶And they said to him, “Behold now, there are with your servants fifty men, sons of valor. Let them go, please, and search for your master, lest the Spirit of YHWH has taken him up and cast him upon one of the mountains, or into one of the valleys.” And he said, “You shall not send anyone.”

¹⁷But when they pressed him to the point of embarrassment, he said, “Send them.”

And they sent fifty men, who searched for three days but did not find Elijah.

¹⁷And they urged him until he was ashamed, and he said, “Send them.” And they sent fifty men, and they searched for three days, and they did not find him.

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

¹⁸And they came back to him, for he had stayed in Jericho. And he said to them, “Did not I say to you not to go?”

Elisha Heals the Waters of Jericho

¹⁹Then the men of the city said to Elisha, “Please note, our lord, that the city’s location is good, as you can see. But the water is bad and the land is unfruitful.”

¹⁹And the men of the city said to Elisha, “Behold, please, the site of the city is good, as my lord sees. And the waters are bad and the ground barren.”

²⁰“Bring me a new bowl,” he replied, “and put some salt in it.”

So they brought it to him,

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

²¹and Elisha went out to the spring, cast the salt into it, and said, “This is what the LORD says: ‘I have healed this water. No longer will it cause death or unfruitfulness.’”^a

²¹And he went out to the source of the waters, and he cast in there the salt and said, “Thus says YHWH, ‘I have healed these waters. There shall not be from there anymore death or barrenness.’”

²²And the waters there have been healthy to this day, according to the word spoken by Elisha.

²²And the waters were healed up to this day, according to the word of Elisha that he spoke.

Elisha Mocked

²³From there, Elisha went up to Bethel, and as he was walking up the road, a group of boys came out^a of the city and jeered at him, chanting, “Go up, you baldhead! Go up, you baldhead!”

²³And he went up from there to Bethel, and he was going up the road, and some little youths came from the city and mocked him and said to him, “Go up, baldhead! Go up, baldhead!”

²⁴Then he turned around, looked at them, and called down a curse on them in the name of the LORD.

Suddenly two female bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the boys.

²⁴And he turned around and looked at them, and he cursed them in the name of YHWH. And two female bears came out of the woods and mauled of them forty-two youths.

²⁵And Elisha went on to Mount Carmel, and from there he returned to Samaria.

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