1And it came to pass, when the LORD would take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal. 2And Elijah said unto Elisha, Tarry here, I pray thee; for the LORD hath sent me to Beth-el. And Elisha said unto him, As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they went down to Beth-el. 3And the sons of the prophets that were at Beth-el 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. 4And 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. 5And 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. 6And 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. 7And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went, and stood to view afar off: and they two stood by Jordan.2.7 to view: Heb. in sight, or, over against 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.
9¶ 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. 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.2.10 Thou hast…: Heb. Thou hast done hard in asking 11And 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¶ 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.
13He took up also the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and went back, and stood by the bank of Jordan;2.13 bank: Heb. lip 14And 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. 15And 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¶ 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.2.16 strong…: Heb. sons of strength2.16 some mountain: Heb. one of the mountains 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. 18And when they came again to him, (for he tarried at Jericho,) he said unto them, Did I not say unto you, Go not?
19¶ 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.2.19 barren: Heb. causing to miscarry 20And he said, Bring me a new cruse, and put salt therein. And they brought it to him. 21And 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. 22So the waters were healed unto this day, according to the saying of Elisha which he spake.
23¶ And he went up from thence unto Beth-el: 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. 24And 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. 25And he went from thence to mount Carmel, and from thence he returned to Samaria.
以利亞被接到天上
1耶和華用旋風接以利亞升天之前，以利亞和以利沙正在離開吉甲的路上。 2以利亞對以利沙說：「你留在這裡吧，耶和華吩咐我去伯特利。」以利沙說：「我憑永活的耶和華和你的性命起誓，我決不離開你。」於是二人前往伯特利。 3伯特利的眾先知出來見以利沙，問他：「你知道耶和華今天要接走你師傅嗎？」他說：「我知道，請不要作聲。」
4以利亞對以利沙說：「你留在這裡吧，耶和華差遣我去耶利哥。」以利沙說：「我憑永活的耶和華和你的性命起誓，我決不離開你。」於是二人前往耶利哥。 5耶利哥的眾先知來見以利沙，問他：「你知道耶和華今天要接走你師傅嗎？」他說：「我知道，請不要作聲。」
6以利亞對以利沙說：「你留在這裡吧，耶和華差遣我去約旦河。」以利沙說：「我憑永活的耶和華和你的性命起誓，我決不離開你。」於是二人繼續前行。 7先知中有五十人跟他們來到約旦河，遠遠地站著，他們二人則站在河邊。 8以利亞脫下外衣捲起來，用它擊打河水，水立即左右分開，二人腳踏乾地而過。
9到對岸後，以利亞對以利沙說：「在我被接走之前，你要我為你做什麼？」以利沙說：「請將你的靈加倍地給我。」 10以利亞說：「這是個很難的要求。不過，我被接走的時候，如果你看得見我，就可以得到，否則就得不到。」 11他們邊走邊談，忽然有火馬拉的火車把他們二人隔開，以利亞乘著旋風升上了天。 12以利沙見此情景，便喊道：「我父啊！我父啊！以色列的戰車和騎兵啊！」以利沙見以利亞消失在天空中，就悲傷地把自己的衣服撕成兩半。
13他拿起以利亞身上掉下來的外衣，回到約旦河邊， 14用它擊打河水，說：「以利亞的上帝耶和華在哪裡呢？」河水就左右分開，以利沙便過了河。
15耶利哥的先知們從遠處看見他，就說：「以利亞的靈降在以利沙身上了。」他們就上前迎接，俯伏在他面前， 16說：「僕人們這裡有五十個壯士，請讓他們去尋找你師傅吧，或許耶和華的靈把他放在某座山上或某個山谷裡了。」以利沙說：「你們不要派人去找了。」 17他們再三懇求，以利沙難以推辭，就讓他們派人去了。他們派去了五十人，找了三天也沒有找到。 18他們回來的時候，以利沙仍在耶利哥。他對他們說：「我不是早就告訴你們不要去嗎？」
以利沙行神蹟
19耶利哥城的人對以利沙說：「我主，你看這城地勢很好，只是水不好，地裡長不出莊稼。」 20以利沙說：「拿一個新碗裝些鹽給我。」他們就去照辦。 21以利沙走到水源那裡，把鹽倒在水中說：「耶和華說，『我潔淨了這水，從此它不會再使人死亡，也不會再使土地貧瘠。』」 22果然如以利沙所說，那裡的水變好了，直到如今。
23以利沙從那裡去伯特利，正在趕路的時候，從城裡出來一群少年譏笑他說：「禿頭，上去吧！禿頭，上去吧！」 24以利沙轉身看著他們，奉耶和華的名咒詛他們。林中隨即走出來兩隻母熊，咬死了其中的四十二個少年。 25以利沙從伯特利上了迦密山，又從迦密山回到撒瑪利亞。
