1 W hen the Lord was about to take Elijah up to heaven by a wind-storm, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal.

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

2 E lijah said to Elisha, “Stay here, I ask you. 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.

And Elijah said unto Elisha, Tarry here, I pray thee; for the Lord hath sent me to Bethel. And Elisha said unto him, As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they went down to Bethel.

3 T hen the sons of the men who spoke for God at Bethel came out to Elisha. They said to him, “Do you know that the Lord will take Elijah from you today?” And he said, “Yes, I know. Say no more.”

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

4 E lijah said to him, “Elisha, I ask you to stay here. For the Lord has sent me to Jericho.” But Elisha said, “As the Lord lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they came to Jericho.

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

5 T he sons of the men who spoke for God at Jericho came to Elisha. They said to him, “Do you know that the Lord will take Elijah from you today?” And he answered, “Yes, I know. Say no more.”

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

6 T hen Elijah said to him, “I ask you to stay here. For the Lord has sent me to the Jordan.” And Elisha said, “As the Lord lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So the two of them went on.

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

7 N ow fifty sons of the men who tell what will happen in the future went and stood on the other side of the Jordan River a long way off from the two of them who were standing by the Jordan.

And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went, and stood to view afar off: and they two stood by Jordan.

8 T hen Elijah took his coat and rolled it up and hit the water. And the water divided to one side and to the other, so the two of them crossed the Jordan on dry ground.

And 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.

9 W hen they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, “Ask what I should do for you before I am taken from you.” And Elisha said, “I ask you, let twice the share of your spirit be upon me.”

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

10 E lijah said, “You have asked a hard thing. But if you see me when I am taken from you, it will be given to you. But if not, it will not be so.”

And 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.

11 A s they went on and talked, a war-wagon of fire and horses of fire came between them. And Elijah went up by a wind-storm to heaven.

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

12 E lisha saw it and cried out, “My father, my father, the war-wagon of Israel and its horsemen!” And he saw Elijah no more. Then he took hold of his own clothes and tore them in two pieces.

And Elisha saw it, and he cried, My father, my father, the chariot 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.

13 H e picked up Elijah’s coat that had fallen from him. And he returned and stood by the side of the Jordan.

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

14 H e took Elijah’s coat that fell from him, and hit the water and said, “Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah?” When he hit the water, it was divided to one side and to the other, and Elisha crossed the Jordan.

And he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and smote the waters, and said, Where is the Lord God of Elijah? and when he also had smitten the waters, they parted hither and thither: and Elisha went over.

15 T he sons of the men who tell what will happen in the future at Jericho saw him. And they said, “The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha.” They came to meet him and bowed to the ground in front of him.

And when the sons of the prophets which were to view at Jericho 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.

16 T hey said to him, “Now see, there are fifty strong men with your servants. Let them go and look for your teacher. It might be that the Spirit of the Lord has taken him up and put him down on some mountain or into some valley.” And Elisha said, “Do not send them.”

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

17 B ut they talked to him until he was ashamed, and he said, “Send them.” So they sent fifty men to look for Elijah. But after three days they did not find him.

And 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.

18 T hey returned to Elisha while he was staying at Jericho. And he said to them, “Did I not tell you, ‘Do not go’?” Powerful Works of Elisha

And when they came again to him, (for he tarried at Jericho,) he said unto them, Did I not say unto you, Go not?

19 T hen the men of the city said to Elisha, “See, it is pleasing to live in this city, as my lord sees. But the water is bad. And the land does not bring fruit.”

And the men of the city said unto Elisha, Behold, I pray thee, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord seeth: but the water is naught, and the ground barren.

20 E lisha said, “Bring me a new jar, and put salt in it.” So they brought it to him.

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

21 T hen he went out to the well of water and threw salt into it, and said, “This is what the Lord says, ‘I have made this water pure. It will not cause death or loss of fruit any more.’”

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

22 S o the water has been pure to this day, just as Elisha said.

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

23 T hen he left there and went to Bethel. On the way, some young boys came out from the city and made fun of him. They said to him, “Go up, you man with no hair! Go up, you man with no hair!”

And he went up from thence unto Bethel: and as he was going up by the way, there came forth little children out of the city, and mocked him, and said unto him, Go up, thou bald head; go up, thou bald head.

24 H e looked behind him and saw them, and cursed them in the name of the Lord. Then two female bears came from among the trees and tore up forty-two of the boys.

And he turned back, and looked on them, and cursed them in the name of the Lord. And there came forth two she bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two children of them.

25 E lisha went from there to Mount Carmel, then returned to Samaria.

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