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

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

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

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

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

1 And it came to passe when the Lord would take vp Elijah into heauen by a whirlewinde, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal.

2 And Elijah said vnto Elisha, Tarie here, I pray thee: for the Lord hath sent me to Bethel: and Elisha said vnto him, As the Lord liueth, and as thy soule liueth, I wil not leaue thee. So they went downe to Bethel.

3 And the sonnes of the Prophets that were at Bethel, came foorth to Elisha, and said vnto him, Knowest thou that the Lord will take away thy master from thy head to day? And he said, Yea, I know it, hold you your peace.

4 And Elijah said vnto him, Elisha, tarie here, I pray thee: for the Lord hath sent me to Iericho: And hee said, As the Lord liueth, and as thy soule liueth, I will not leaue thee. So they came to Iericho.

5 And the sonnes of the Prophets that were at Iericho came to Elisha, and said vnto him, Knowest thou that the Lord will take away thy master from thy head to day? And hee answered, Yea, I knowe it, holde you your peace.

6 And Elijah said vnto him, Tarie, I pray thee, here: for the Lord hath sent me to Iordan. And he said, As the Lord liueth, and as thy soule liueth, I will not leaue thee. And they two went on.

7 And fiftie men of the sonnes of the Prophets went, and stood to view afarre off: and they two stood by Iordan.

8 And Elijah tooke his mantle, and wrapt it together, and smote the waters, and they were diuided hither and thither, so that they two went ouer on drie ground.

9 And it came to passe when they were gone ouer, that Elijah said vnto Elisha, Aske what I shall doe for thee, before I be taken away from thee. And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be vpon me.

10 And hee said, Thou hast asked a hard thing: neuerthelesse, if thou see me, when I am taken from thee, it shall be so vnto thee: but if not, it shall not be so.

11 And it came to passe as they still went on and talked, that beholde, there appeared a charet of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder, and Elijah went vp by a whirlewind into heauen.

12 And Elisha saw it, and he cried, My father, my father, the charet of Israel, and the horsemen thereof. And he saw him no more: and he tooke hold of his owne cloathes, and rent them in two pieces.

13 He tooke vp also the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and went back, and stood by the banke of Iordan.

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

15 And when the sonnes of the Prophets which were to view at Iericho, saw him, they said, The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha: And they came to meet him, and bowed themselues to the ground before him.

16 And they said vnto him, Behold now, there bee with thy seruants fiftie strong men, let them goe, we pray thee, and seeke thy master: lest peraduenture the Spirit of the Lord hath taken him vp, and cast him vpon some mountaine, or into some valley. And he said, Ye shall not send.

17 And when they vrged him, till he was ashamed, he said, Send. They sent therefore fiftie men, and they sought three dayes, but found him not.

18 And when they came againe to him (for he taried at Iericho) hee said vnto them, Did I not say vnto you, Goe not?

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

20 And hee said, Bring mee a new cruse, and put salt therein. And they brought it to him.

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

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

23 And he went vp from thence vnto Bethel: and as hee was going vp by the way, there came foorth little children out of the citie, and mocked him, and said vnto him, Goe vp thou bald head, Goe vp thou bald head.

24 And hee turned backe, and looked on them, and cursed them in the Name of the Lord: and there came foorth two shee Beares out of the wood, and tare fortie and two children of them.

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

I == Gen 5:24 ; 1st Kings 19:21

 

II == Ruth 1:15-16 ; 1st Sam 1:26 ; 2nd Kings 2:4 , 6 ; 4:30

 

 

 

III == 1st Kings 20:35 ; 2nd Kings 2:5 , 7 , 15 ; 4:1 , 38 ; 9:1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

VIII == Ex 14:21 ; Josh 3:16 ; 2nd Kings 2:14

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

XI == 2nd Kings 6:17

 

 

 

XII == 2nd Kings 13:14

 

 

 

 

 

XIV == 2nd Kings 2:8

 

 

 

 

XV == 2nd Kings 2:7

 

 

 

XVI == 1st Kings 18:12 ; Ezek 8:3 ; Actss 8:39

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

XXI == Ez 15:25 ; 2nd Kings 4:41 ; 6:6 ; John 9:6

 

 

1 When the LORD was about to take Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind, he and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal.

2 "Stay here, please," Elijah said to Elisha. "The LORD has sent me on to Bethel." "As the LORD lives, and as you yourself live," Elisha replied, "I will not leave you." So they went down to Bethel,

3 where the guild prophets went out to Elisha and asked him, "Do you know that the LORD will take your master from over you today?" "Yes, I know it," he replied. "Keep still."

4 Then Elijah said to him, "Stay here, please, Elisha, for the LORD has sent me on to Jericho." "As the LORD lives, and as you yourself live," Elisha replied, "I will not leave you."

5 They went on to Jericho, where the guild prophets approached Elisha and asked him, "Do you know that the LORD will take your master from over you today?" "Yes, I know it," he replied. "Keep still."

6 Elijah said to Elisha, "Please stay here; the LORD has sent me on to the Jordan." "As the LORD lives, and as you yourself live," Elisha replied, "I will not leave you." And so the two went on together.

7 Fifty of the guild prophets followed, and when the two stopped at the Jordan, stood facing them at a distance.

8 Elijah took his mantle, rolled it up and struck the water, which divided, and both crossed over on dry ground.

9 When they had crossed over, Elijah said to Elisha, "Ask for whatever I may do for you, before I am taken from you." Elisha answered, "May I receive a double portion of your spirit."

10 "You have asked something that is not easy," he replied. "Still, if you see me taken up from you, your wish will be granted; otherwise not."

11 As they walked on conversing, a flaming chariot and flaming horses came between them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind.

12 When Elisha saw it happen he cried out, "My father! my father! Israel's chariots and drivers!" But when he could no longer see him, Elisha gripped his own garment and tore it in two.

13 Then he picked up Elijah's mantle which had fallen from him, and went back and stood at the bank of the Jordan.

14 Wielding the mantle which had fallen from Elijah, he struck the water in his turn and said, "Where is the LORD, the God of Elijah?" When Elisha struck the water it divided and he crossed over.

15 The guild prophets in Jericho, who were on the other side, saw him and said, "The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha." They went to meet him, bowing to the ground before him.

16 "Among your servants are fifty brave men," they said. "Let them go in search of your master. Perhaps the spirit of the LORD has carried him away to some mountain or some valley." "Do not send them," he answered.

17 However, they kept urging him, until he was embarrassed and said, "Send them." So they sent the fifty men, who searched for three days without finding him.

18 When they returned to Elisha in Jericho, where he was staying, he said to them, "Did I not tell you not to go?"

19 Once the inhabitants of the city complained to Elisha, "The site of the city is fine indeed, as my lord can see, but the water is bad and the land unfruitful."

20 "Bring me a new bowl," Elisha said, "and put salt into it." When they had brought it to him,

21 he went out to the spring and threw salt into it, saying, "Thus says the LORD, 'I have purified this water. Never again shall death or miscarriage spring from it.'"

22 And the water has stayed pure even to this day, just as Elisha prophesied.

23 From there Elisha went up to Bethel. While he was on the way, some small boys came out of the city and jeered at him. "Go up, baldhead," they shouted, "go up, baldhead!"

24 The prophet turned and saw them, and he cursed them in the name of the LORD. Then two she-bears came out of the woods and tore forty-two of the children to pieces.

25 From there he went to Mount Carmel, and thence he returned to Samaria.

v 1-8. Many events in Elijah’s life were of a dramatic nature, such as going to heaven in a whirlwind without dying, typical of believers caught away at the Rapture. Elisha performed amazing miracles too, but his were usually for the well-being of others. Three times in these verses Elijah says to “tarry”, but Elisha persists in following him. Some feel Elijah was testing him, while others believe Elijah, out of humility, wanted privacy, and God was testing Elisha’s persistence. The sons of the prophets (students at the schools for prophets), as well as Elisha and Elijah, knew Elijah was going to be called away, but they probably did not know how. Elisha was not rude, but didn’t want to discuss it. Fifty of them gathered near the Jordan to witness the event, so they also witnessed the dividing of the water.

 

v 9-11. Elijah knew Elisha was following in the anticipation of receiving a parting blessing, so he asks what he desired. Elisha was not asking for twice what Elijah had, but as a firstborn receives a double blessing, Deut. 21:17, Elisha, first among the prophets, asks for a double portion of the Spirit that the other prophets receive. This was not in the hands of Elijah, but the Lord. He could merely assure Elisha that if he saw him depart, that would be a sign that God would grant his desire. The two were separated by the chariot and horses of fire, but it was a whirlwind which took Elijah up to heaven. The horses and chariots of fire are again mentioned in 2 Ki. 6:17. We find in Ps. 68:17 that they are actually” twenty thousand, even thousands of angels”, and symbolized military power. They may have actually appeared as wheels of a chariot, Ezek. 1:19, 10:16. Possibly the Lord was among them as at Sinai.

v 12-14. Having seen Elijah’s departure, Elisha acted in faith and tore his own garments apart before retrieving Elijah’s mantle. He immediately appropriated that faith by striking the water and calling on God to part them as He had for Elijah.

v 15-18. Having seen the whirlwind catch away Elijah and the parting of the Jordan twice, the prophets bowed in respect for Elisha. Perhaps they had not been permitted to see the angels, so they thought Elijah may have been dropped in some remote area. Elisha knew better, but to avoid appearing cold hearted, he allowed them to search. When they returned, he merely reminded them what he had said, and they respected his  word more after that.

v 19-22. Elisha was still at Jericho, so this must have happened soon after. The men of the city quickly learned of Elisha’s promotion and came to him with their problem. The water had apparently turned bad enough that it destroyed the crop they were irrigating  The new bowl perhaps represented new leadership through Elisha. The unlikely use of salt illustrated that the Lord was greater than Baal, and He, not the fertility god Baal, would bring fertility to their land. Permanent healing was a continuing reminder of the power of the Lord.

v 23. These little children could better be translated young men, probably those who were training at Bethel to be false prophets of Baal. Elisha’s head was probably covered, but the expression “bald head”, a common disrespect for shaved leper. They didn’t believe Elijah’s translation, and challenged Elisha to go up the same way. He did not condemn them for his own sake, but for their disregard for the Lord. Probably these bears had been robbed of their whelps and wounded these 42 young men. His trip to Mount Carmel was probably for spiritual refreshment before further service.