Elijah Is Taken Up to Heaven
1Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal. The Lord was going to use a strong wind to take Elijah up to heaven. 2Elijah 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.
3There 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.”
4Then 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.
5There 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.”
6Then Elijah said to him, “Stay here. The Lord has sent me to the Jordan River.”
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.
7Fifty 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 Jordan River. 8Elijah 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.
9After 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.”
11They 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. 12Elisha 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.
13He picked up the coat that had fallen from Elijah. He went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan River. 14Then 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.
15The 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 toward 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.”
17But 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. 18So 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
19The 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.
21Then 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.’ ” 22The water has stayed pure to this day. That’s what Elisha had said would happen.
Some Boys Make Fun of Elisha
23Elisha 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!” 24He turned around 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. 25Elisha went on to Mount Carmel. From there he returned to Samaria.
Elias é arrebatado
1-2Tinha chegado a altura do Senhor levar Elias para o céu num remoinho. Elias disse a Eliseu, quando deixaram Gilgal: “Fica aqui, porque o Senhor disse-me que fosse a Betel.” Eliseu respondeu-lhe: “Tão certo como vive o Senhor e vive a tua alma, que não te deixarei!” Foram pois a Betel juntos. 3Os jovens profetas da escola de Betel vieram ao encontro deles e perguntaram a Eliseu: “Sabes que o Senhor vai levar Elias hoje para si?” “Sim, calem-se!” respondeu Eliseu. “Já sei isso.”
4Elias disse a Eliseu: “Peço-te que fiques aqui em Betel, porque o Senhor mandou-me a Jericó.” Eliseu tornou a responder: “Tão certo como vive o Senhor e vive a tua alma que não te deixarei.” Por isso, foram juntos até Jericó.
5Os estudantes da escola de Jericó vieram ter com Eliseu e perguntaram-lhe: “Sabes que o Senhor vai levar o teu mestre para si?” Eliseu respondeu: “Estejam calados. Eu sei bem!”
6Elias disse a Eliseu: “Por favor, fica aqui, porque o Senhor mandou-me ao rio Jordão.” Eliseu respondeu como anteriormente: “Tão certo como vive o Senhor e vive a tua alma que não te deixarei.”
7Foram juntos e chegaram ao rio Jordão, enquanto os cinquenta jovens profetas ficavam a ver, à distância. 8Elias tirou a capa, dobrou-a e bateu com ela na água; a torrente dividiu-se e eles passaram a seco.
9Quando chegaram ao outro lado, Elias disse a Eliseu: “Pede-me o que quiseres, antes que eu seja levado.” E Eliseu respondeu: “Peço-te que me dês uma porção dobrada do teu poder profético.2.9 Literalmente: Peço-te que haja uma porção dobrada do teu espírito sobre mim.”
10“Pedes uma dura coisa. Se puderes ver-me, quando for levado de junto de ti, obterás o que pretendes. Se não, não o obterás.”
11Enquanto iam caminhando e conversando, de repente um carro de fogo apareceu e passou pelo meio deles, separando-os. Elias foi, assim, levado para os céus num remoinho. 12Eliseu, que viu tudo, gritou: “Meu pai! Meu pai! Carro de Israel e seus condutores!” Quando o carro desapareceu, Eliseu rasgou a sua roupa.
13Depois pegou na capa que Elias deixou cair e voltou para a margem do Jordão. 14Pegou, então, na capa que Elias tinha deixado cair e bateu na água com ela, dizendo: “Onde está o Senhor, o Deus de Elias?.” A corrente separou-se e Eliseu passou em seco para o outro lado.
15Quando os jovens profetas de Jericó viram o que acontecera, disseram: “O poder profético de Elias ficou em Eliseu!” E foram ter com ele e inclinaram-se diante dele até ao chão. 16“Senhor, basta que digas uma palavra e cinquenta dos nossos homens mais valentes irão à procura do teu senhor no deserto; talvez o Espírito do Senhor o tenha deixado sobre algum monte ou ravina.” Eliseu respondeu: “Não façam nada disso.”
17Contudo, eles continuaram a insistir, a ponto de o importunarem; por fim acedeu: “Está bem! Vão lá!” Foram então cinquenta rapazes à procura dele durante três dias, mas não o acharam. 18Eliseu estava ainda em Jericó quando eles voltaram: “Não vos disse para não irem?”
Purificação da água
19Os responsáveis da cidade de Jericó vieram falar com Eliseu: “Temos um problema: a cidade está bem localizada, como podes ver, mas a água é má e a terra é estéril.”
20“Tragam-me uma tigela nova cheia de sal.” Trouxeram-lha. 21Depois, dirigiu-se ao poço da povoação e deitou lá para dentro o sal, dizendo: “O Senhor curou estas águas. Não mais causarão nem morte nem infertilidade.” 22Na verdade, as águas ficaram purificadas, tal como Eliseu dissera.
Rapazes fazem troça de Eliseu
23De Jericó dirigiu-se a Betel. Quando ia a caminho, alguns rapazes da cidade começaram a troçar dele. “Sobe, careca!”, gritavam eles. “Sobe, careca!” 24Ele voltou-se e amaldiçoou-os em nome do Senhor. Apareceram então duas ursas que saíam dos bosques e mataram quarenta e dois deles. 25Depois foi para o monte Carmelo e finalmente voltou para Samaria.
