2 Kings 2:19 | New International Reader’s Version

New International Reader’s Version

Elijah is taken up to heaven

1 Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal. The LORD was going to use a strong wind to take Elijah up to heaven. 2 Elijah said to Elisha, ‘Stay here. The LORD has sent me to Bethel.’ But Elisha said, ‘I won’t leave you. And that’s just as sure as the LORD and you are alive.’ So they went down to Bethel. 3 There was a group of prophets at Bethel. They came out to where Elisha was. They asked him, ‘Do you know what the LORD is going to do? He’s going to take your master away from you today.’ ‘Yes, I know,’ Elisha replied. ‘So be quiet.’ 4 Then Elijah said to him, ‘Stay here, Elisha. The LORD has sent me to Jericho.’ Elisha replied, ‘I won’t leave you. And that’s just as sure as the LORD and you are alive.’ So they went to Jericho. 5 There was a group of prophets at Jericho. They went up to where Elisha was. They asked him, ‘Do you know what the LORD is going to do? He’s going to take your master away from you today.’ ‘Yes, I know,’ Elisha replied. ‘So be quiet.’ 6 Then Elijah said to him, ‘Stay here. The LORD has sent me to the River Jordan.’ Elisha replied, ‘I won’t leave you. And that’s just as sure as the LORD and you are alive.’ So the two of them walked on. 7 Fifty men from the group of prophets followed them. The men stopped and stood not far away from them. They faced the place where Elijah and Elisha had stopped at the River Jordan. 8 Elijah rolled up his coat. Then he struck the water with it. The water parted to the right and to the left. The two of them went across the river on dry ground. 9 After they had gone across, Elijah said to Elisha, ‘Tell me. What can I do for you before I’m taken away from you?’ ‘Please give me a double share of your spirit,’ Elisha replied. 10 ‘You have asked me for something that’s very hard to do,’ Elijah said. ‘But suppose you see me when I’m taken away from you. Then you will receive what you have asked for. If you don’t see me, you won’t receive it.’ 11 They kept walking along and talking together. Suddenly there appeared a chariot and horses made of fire. The chariot and horses came between the two men. Then Elijah went up to heaven in a strong wind. 12 Elisha saw it and cried out to Elijah, ‘My father! You are like a father to me! You, Elijah, are the true chariots and horsemen of Israel!’ Elisha didn’t see Elijah anymore. Then Elisha took hold of his own garment and tore it in two. 13 He picked up the coat that had fallen from Elijah. He went back and stood on the bank of the River Jordan. 14 Then he struck the water with Elijah’s coat. ‘Where is the power of the LORD?’ he asked. ‘Where is the power of the God of Elijah?’ When Elisha struck the water, it parted to the right and to the left. He went across the river. 15 The group of prophets from Jericho were watching. They said, ‘The spirit of Elijah has been given to Elisha.’ They went over to Elisha. They bowed down to him with their faces towards the ground. 16 ‘Look’, they said. ‘We have 50 capable men. Let them go and look for your master. Perhaps the Spirit of the LORD has lifted him up. Maybe he has put him down on a mountain or in a valley.’ ‘No’, Elisha replied. ‘Don’t send them.’ 17 But they kept asking until he felt he couldn’t say no. So he said, ‘Send them.’ And they sent 50 men. They looked for Elijah for three days. But they didn’t find him. 18 So they returned to Elisha. He was staying in Jericho. Elisha said to them, ‘Didn’t I tell you not to go?’

Elisha makes Jericho’s water pure

19 The people of Jericho said to Elisha, ‘Look. This town has a good location. You can see that for yourself. But the spring of water here is bad. So the land doesn’t produce anything.’ 20 ‘Bring me a new bowl,’ Elisha said. ‘Put some salt in it.’ So they brought it to him. 21 Then he went out to the spring. He threw the salt into it. He told the people, ‘The LORD says, “I have made this water pure. It will never cause death again. It will never keep the land from producing crops again.” ’ 22 The water has stayed pure to this day. That’s what Elisha had said would happen.

Some boys make fun of Elisha

23 Elisha left Jericho and went up to Bethel. He was walking along the road. Some boys came out of the town. They made fun of him. ‘Get out of here, baldy!’ they said. ‘Get out of here! You don’t even have any hair on your head!’ 24 He turned round and looked at them. And he asked for bad things to happen to them. He did it in the name of the LORD. Then two bears came out of the woods. They attacked 42 of the boys. 25 Elisha went on to Mount Carmel. From there he returned to Samaria.

English Standard Version

Elijah Taken to Heaven

1 Now when the Lord was about to take Elijah up to heaven by a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal. (Ge 5:24; Jos 5:9; 1Ki 19:19; 2Ki 4:38)

Ge 5:24Jos 5:91Ki 19:192Ki 4:38

2 And Elijah said to Elisha, “Please stay here, 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. (Ru 1:15; Ru 3:13) 3 And the sons of the prophets who were in Bethel came out to Elisha and said to him, “Do you know that today the Lord will take away your master from over you?” And he said, “Yes, I know it; keep quiet.” (1Ki 20:35; 2Ki 4:1; 2Ki 4:38; 2Ki 5:22; 2Ki 6:1; 2Ki 9:1)

1Ki 20:352Ki 4:12Ki 4:382Ki 5:222Ki 6:12Ki 9:1

4 Elijah said to him, “Elisha, please stay here, for the Lord has sent me to Jericho.” But he said, “As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they came to Jericho. (Jos 6:26; 1Ki 16:34; 2Ki 2:2) 5 The sons of the prophets who were at Jericho drew near to Elisha and said to him, “Do you know that today the Lord will take away your master from over you?” And he answered, “Yes, I know it; keep quiet.” (2Ki 2:3) 6 Then Elijah said to him, “Please stay here, for the Lord has sent me to the Jordan.” But he said, “As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So the two of them went on. (2Ki 2:2) 7 Fifty men of the sons of the prophets also went and stood at some distance from them, as they both were standing by the Jordan. (2Ki 2:3) 8 Then Elijah took his cloak and rolled it up and struck the water, and the water was parted to the one side and to the other, till the two of them could go over on dry ground. (Ex 14:21; Jos 3:16; 1Ki 19:19) 9 When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, “Ask what I shall do for you, before I am taken from you.” And Elisha said, “Please let there be a double portion of your spirit on me.” 10 And he said, “You have asked a hard thing; yet, if you see me as I am being taken from you, it shall be so for you, but if you do not see me, it shall not be so.” 11 And as they still went on and talked, behold, chariots of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them. And Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. (2Ki 6:17) 12 And Elisha saw it and he cried, “My father, my father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” And he saw him no more. Then he took hold of his own clothes and tore them in two pieces. (1Ki 11:30; 2Ki 13:14) 13 And he took up the cloak of Elijah that had fallen from him and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. 14 Then he took the cloak of Elijah that had fallen from him and struck the water, saying, “Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah?” And when he had struck the water, the water was parted to the one side and to the other, and Elisha went over. (2Ki 2:8)

Elisha Succeeds Elijah

15 Now when the sons of the prophets who were at Jericho saw him opposite them, they said, “The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha.” And they came to meet him and bowed to the ground before him. (2Ki 2:3) 16 And they said to him, “Behold now, there are with your servants fifty strong men. Please let them go and seek your master. It may be that the Spirit of the Lord has caught him up and cast him upon some mountain or into some valley.” And he said, “You shall not send.” (1Ki 18:12) 17 But when they urged him till he was ashamed, he said, “Send.” They sent therefore fifty men. And for three days they sought him but did not find him. (2Ki 8:11) 18 And they came back to him while he was staying at Jericho, and he said to them, “Did I not say to you, ‘Do not go’?” 19 Now the men of the city said to Elisha, “Behold, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord sees, but the water is bad, and the land is unfruitful.” 20 He said, “Bring me a new bowl, and put salt in it.” So they brought it to him. 21 Then he went to the spring of water and threw salt in it and said, “Thus says the Lord, I have healed this water; from now on neither death nor miscarriage shall come from it.” (Ex 15:25; 2Ki 4:41) 22 So the water has been healed to this day, according to the word that Elisha spoke. 23 He went up from there to Bethel, and while he was going up on the way, some small boys came out of the city and jeered at him, saying, “Go up, you baldhead! Go up, you baldhead!” 24 And he turned around, and when he saw them, he cursed them in the name of the Lord. And two she-bears came out of the woods and tore forty-two of the boys. (Ne 13:25) 25 From there he went on to Mount Carmel, and from there he returned to Samaria. (Jos 19:26; 1Ki 18:19; 2Ki 3:11)