1 And it came to pass, when the LORD would take Elijah up 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 has sent me to Bethel. And Elisha said unto him, As the LORD lives and as thy soul lives, 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 today? And he said, Yes, I know it; be silent.
4 And Elijah said unto him again, Elisha, tarry here, for the LORD has sent me to Jericho. And he said, As the LORD lives and as thy soul lives, 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 today? And he answered, Yes, I know it; be silent.
6 And Elijah said unto him, Tarry, I pray thee, here, for the LORD has sent me to the Jordan. And he said, As the LORD lives and as thy soul lives, I will not leave thee. And thus the two went on. 7 And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went and stood in front of them afar off; and the two of them stood by the Jordan. 8 And Elijah took his mantle and wrapped it together and smote the waters, and they separated to one side and the other so that they both went over on dry ground.
9 And when they had gone over, Elijah said unto Elisha, Ask what I shall do for thee before I am 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 difficult thing. If thou shalt 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, a chariot of fire with horses of fire separated the two, and Elijah went up into heaven in a whirlwind.
12 And as Elisha saw it, 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 And lifting up the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, he went back and stood by the bank of the Jordan. 14 And taking up the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, he smote the waters, and said, Where is the LORD God of Elijah? And when he smote the waters, they separated to one side and the other, and Elisha went over.
15 And seeing him, the sons of the prophets who were at Jericho said, The spirit of Elijah rests 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 are fifty strong men with thy slaves; let them go and seek thy master; peradventure the Spirit of the LORD has taken him up and cast him upon some mountain or into some valley. And he said, Do not send them. 17 But when they urged him until he was ashamed, he said, Send. They sent therefore fifty men, and they sought him three days, but did not find him. 18 And when they came again to him (for he tarried at Jericho), he said unto them, Did I not tell you to not go?
19 And the men of the city said unto Elisha, Behold, the seat of this city is good, as my lord sees, but the water is evil, and the ground barren. 20 Then he said, Bring me a new cruse and put salt in it. And they brought it to him. 21 And he went forth unto the springs of the waters and cast the salt in there and said, Thus hath the LORD said, I have healed these waters; there shall be no more death or barrenness in them. 22 So the waters were healed unto this day, according to the word which Elisha spoke.
23 Then he went up from there unto Bethel, and as he was going up by the way, the young men {or servants} of the city came forth and mocked him, saying, 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 two bears came forth out of the forest and tore apart forty-two young men of them. 25 And he went from there to Mount Carmel, and from there he returned to Samaria.