2Kings 2

Elijah Is Taken Up to Heaven

2The time came for the LORD to take Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind. Elijah and Elisha set out from Gilgal,H3068H5927H452H8064H5591H452H3212H477H15372and on the way Elijah said to Elisha, "Now stay here; the LORD has ordered me to go to Bethel." But Elisha answered, "I swear by my loyalty to the living LORD and to you that I will not leave you." So they went on to Bethel.H452H559H477H3427H3068H7971H1008H477H559H3068H2416H5315H2416H5800H3381H10083A group of prophets who lived there went to Elisha and asked him, "Do you know that the LORD is going to take your master away from you today?" "Yes, I know," Elisha answered. "But let's not talk about it."H1121H5030H1008H3318H477H559H3045H3068H3947H113H7218H3117H559H3045H28144Then Elijah said to Elisha, "Now stay here; the LORD has ordered me to go to Jericho." But Elisha answered, "I swear by my loyalty to the living LORD and to you that I will not leave you." So they went on to Jericho.H452H559H477H3427H3068H7971H3405H559H3068H2416H5315H2416H5800H935H34055A group of prophets who lived there went to Elisha and asked him, "Do you know that the LORD is going to take your master away from you today?" "Yes, I know," Elisha answered. "But let's not talk about it."H1121H5030H3405H5066H477H559H3045H3068H3947H113H7218H3117H559H3045H28146Then Elijah said to Elisha, "Now stay here; the LORD has ordered me to go to the Jordan River." But Elisha answered, "I swear by my loyalty to the living LORD and to you that I will not leave you." So they went on,H452H559H3427H3068H7971H3383H559H3068H2416H5315H2416H5800H8147H32127and fifty of the prophets followed them to the Jordan. Elijah and Elisha stopped by the river, and the fifty prophets stood a short distance away.H2572H376H1121H5030H1980H5975H5048H7350H8147H5975H33838Then Elijah took off his cloak, rolled it up, and struck the water with it; the water divided, and he and Elisha crossed to the other side on dry ground.H452H3947H155H1563H5221H4325H2673H8147H5674H27249There, Elijah said to Elisha, "Tell me what you want me to do for you before I am taken away." "Let me receive the share of your power that will make me your successor," Elisha answered.H5674H452H559H477H7592H6213H3947H477H559H8147H6310H730710"That is a difficult request to grant," Elijah replied. "But you will receive it if you see me as I am being taken away from you; if you don't see me, you won't receive it."H559H7592H7185H7200H394711They kept talking as they walked on; then suddenly a chariot of fire pulled by horses of fire came between them, and Elijah was taken up to heaven by a whirlwind.H1980H1980H1696H7393H784H5483H784H6504H8147H996H452H5927H5591H806412Elisha saw it and cried out to Elijah, "My father, my father! Mighty defender of Israel! You are gone!" And he never saw Elijah again. In grief Elisha tore his cloak in two.H477H7200H6817H1H1H7393H3478H6571H7200H2388H899H7167H8147H716813Then he picked up Elijah's cloak that had fallen from him, and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan.H7311H155H452H5307H7725H5975H8193H338314He struck the water with Elijah's cloak and said, "Where is the LORD, the God of Elijah?" Then he struck the water again, and it divided, and he walked over to the other side.H3947H155H452H5307H5221H4325H559H3068H430H452H5221H4325H2673H477H567415The fifty prophets from Jericho saw him and said, "The power of Elijah is on Elisha!" They went to meet him, bowed down before him,H1121H5030H3405H7200H559H7307H452H5117H477H935H7125H7812H77616and said, "There are fifty of us here, all strong men. Let us go and look for your master. Maybe the spirit of the LORD has carried him away and left him on some mountain or in some valley." "No, you must not go," Elisha answered.H559H3426H5650H2572H2428H1121H582H3212H1245H113H7307H3068H5375H7993H259H2022H259H1516H559H797117But they insisted until he gave in and let them go. The fifty of them went and looked high and low for Elijah for three days, but didn't find him.H6484H954H559H7971H7971H2572H376H1245H7969H3117H467218Then they returned to Elisha, who had waited at Jericho, and he said to them, "Didn't I tell you not to go?"H7725H3427H3405H559H559H3212

Miracles of Elisha

19Some men from Jericho went to Elisha and said, "As you know, sir, this is a fine city, but the water is bad and causes miscarriages."H582H5892H559H477H4186H5892H2896H113H7200H4325H7451H776H792120"Put some salt in a new bowl and bring it to me," he ordered. They brought it to him,H559H3947H2319H6746H7760H4417H394721and he went to the spring, threw the salt in the water, and said, "This is what the LORD says: 'I make this water pure, and it will not cause any more deaths or miscarriages.' "H3318H4161H4325H7993H4417H559H559H3068H7495H4325H4194H792122And that water has been pure ever since, just as Elisha said it would be.H4325H7495H3117H1697H477H169623Elisha left Jericho to go to Bethel, and on the way some boys came out of a town and made fun of him. "Get out of here, baldy!" they shouted.H5927H1008H5927H1870H3318H6996H5288H5892H7046H559H5927H7142H5927H714224Elisha turned around, glared at them, and cursed them in the name of the LORD. Then two she-bears came out of the woods and tore forty-two of the boys to pieces.H6437H310H7200H7043H8034H3068H3318H8147H1677H3293H1234H705H8147H320625Elisha went on to Mount Carmel and later returned to Samaria.H3212H2022H3760H7725H8111