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2
1 Just before the Lord took Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were walking together on their way from Gilgal. 2 Elijah said to Elisha, “Please stay here, for the Lord has sent me to Bethel.”
But Elisha replied, “As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they went to Bethel.
3 The sons of the prophets who lived in Bethel came to Elisha and told him, “You do know that the Lord is going to take your master away from you today, don't you?”
“Yes, I know,” he replied. “Don't talk about it.”
4 Then Elijah said to him, “Please stay here, Elisha, for the Lord has sent me to Jericho.”
He replied, “As the Lord lives, and as you live, I will not leave you.” So they went to Jericho.
5 The sons of the prophets who lived in Jericho came to Elisha and told him, “You do know that the Lord is going to take your master away from you today, don't you?”
“Yes, I know,” he replied. “Don't talk about it.”
6 Then Elijah said to him, “Please stay here, Elisha, for the Lord has sent me to the Jordan.”
He replied, “As the Lord lives, and as you live, I will not leave you.” So they travelled on together.
7 Then a group of fifty of the sons of the prophets went and stood facing Elijah and Elisha at a distance as the two of them stood by the Jordan. 8 Elijah took his cloak, rolled it up, and hit the water. It divided to the one side and to the other and both of them crossed over on dry ground.
9 When they arrived on the other side, Elijah asked Elisha, “What can I do for you before I'm taken from you?”
“Please let me have a double amount of your spirit,” Elisha replied.
10 “What you have asked for is hard,” Elijah responded. “But if you see me when I am taken from you, you will have it, otherwise not.”
11 As they were walking along, talking, a chariot of fire and horses of fire came between them, and Elijah was taken up in the whirlwind to heaven.
12 Elisha saw what happened and cried out, “My father! My father! Look! The chariots and horsemen of Israel!” Then Elisha couldn't see him anymore. He took his clothes and ripped them to pieces.* A symbolic act of great distress.
13 Then Elisha picked up Elijah's cloak that had fallen from him, and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. 14 He took Elijah's cloak that had fallen from him, hit the water, and cried out, “Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah?” When he hit the water, it divided to the one side and to the other and Elisha crossed over.
15 The sons of the prophets who lived in Jericho saw him from the opposite side and shouted out, “Elijah's spirit now rests upon Elisha!” They went over to meet him, and bowed to the ground before him.
16 “Look,” they said to Elisha, “we your servants have fifty good men here. Please allow them to go and search for your master. Maybe the Spirit of the Lord has taken him and put him down on a mountain or in a valley somewhere.”
“Don't bother sending them,” Elisha replied.
17 But they went on trying to persuade him until he was too embarrassed to say no. “Go ahead and send them,” he told them. So they sent fifty men, who searched for Elijah for three days but couldn't find him.
18 When they returned to Elisha, who was staying in Jericho, he said to them, “Didn't I tell you not to bother going?”
19 The townspeople said to Elisha, “Look, sir, while our town has a good location as you can see, the water is bad and the soil is poor.”
20 “Bring me a brand new bowl and put some salt in it,” he replied. So they brought it to him. 21 Then Elisha went to the spring, threw the salt into it, and said, “This is what the Lord says: ‘I have purified this water. It won't cause death or miscarriages anymore.’ ” 22 The water there is still pure to this very day, just as Elisha said it would be.
23 Elisha went on from there to Bethel. As he was walking along the road, a group of youths came from the town. They made fun of him, calling out, “Go on up, baldy! Go on up, baldy!”† It seems they were taunting Elisha by saying he should leave in the same way as Elijah.
24 Turning around, he looked at them and called down a curse on them in the Lord's name. Suddenly two female bears came out of the forest and mauled forty-two of them. 25 Elisha carried on to Mount Carmel, and from there he went back to Samaria.

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*2:12 A symbolic act of great distress.

†2:23 It seems they were taunting Elisha by saying he should leave in the same way as Elijah.

© 2018 Dr. Jonathan Gallagher