were at Bethel came forth to Elisha, and said to 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 to 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 to 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 to him, Tarry here, I pray thee; 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. [1]
8 And Elijah took his mantle, and wrapped it together, and smote the waters, and they were divided to the one side and to the other, so that they two went over on dry ground.
9 And it came to pass, when they had gone over, that Elijah said to 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 hard thing: nevertheless, if thou shalt see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so to thee; but if not, it shall not be so . [2]
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 separated them; 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 its horsemen. And he saw him no more: and he took hold of his own clothes, and tore 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; [3]
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 to the one side and to the other: and Elisha went over.
15 And when the sons of the prophets who were looking on 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 to him, Behold now, there are with thy servants fifty strong men; let them go, we pray thee, and seek thy master: lest perhaps 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. [4] [5]
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 to them, Did I not say to you, Go not?
19 And the men of the city said to Elisha, Behold, I pray thee, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord seeth: but the water is bad, and the ground barren. [6]
20 And he said, Bring me a new cruse, and put salt in it. And they brought it to him.
21 And he went forth to 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 there any more death or barren land .
22 So the waters were healed to this day, according to the saying of Elisha which he spoke.
23 And he went up from there to Bethel: and as he was going up by the way, there came forth youths out of the city, and mocked him, and said to 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 tore forty and two youths of them.
25 And he went from there to mount Carmel, and from there he returned to Samaria.
CHAP. 3.
1 Now Jehoram the son of Ahab began to reign over Israel in Samaria in the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and reigned twelve years.
2 And he wrought evil in the sight of the LORD; but not like his father, and like his mother: for he put away the image of Baal that his father had made. [7]
3 Nevertheless he cleaved to the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin; he departed not from it.
4 And Mesha king of Moab was a sheepmaster, and rendered to the king of Israel an hundred thousand lambs, and an hundred thousand rams, with the wool.
5 But it came to pass, when Ahab was dead, that the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel.
6 And king Jehoram went out of Samaria the same time, and numbered all Israel.
7 And he went and sent to Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, saying, The king of Moab hath rebelled against me: wilt thou go with me against Moab to battle? And he said, I will go: I am as thou art, my people as thy people, and my horses as thy horses.
