1 And it came to pass, when the LORD {YHWH, Divine Uplifter} caused Elijah to ascend in the whirlwind {seʿarah: powerful storm} to the heavens, that Elijah and Elisha went from Gilgal.
2 And Elijah said to Elisha, “Please stay here, for the LORD {YHWH, Divine Sender} has sent me as far as Bethel {beit-El: house of God}.” But Elisha replied, “As the LORD lives and as your soul lives, I will not leave you.” So they went down to Bethel.
3 And the sons of the prophets who were at Bethel went out to Elisha and said to him, “Do you know that today the LORD {YHWH, Sovereign Remover} is taking your master {adon: spiritual leader} from above your head?” And he replied, “Yes, I also know; be quiet.”
4 And Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here {pōh: this place}, for the LORD {YHWH, Divine Sender} has sent me to Jericho.” But he replied, “As the LORD lives and as your soul lives, I will not leave you.” So they went to Jericho.
5 And the sons of the prophets at Jericho approached Elisha and asked him, “Do you know that today the LORD {YHWH, Sovereign Remover} is taking your master from over your head?” And he replied, “I also know; be silent {hekheshu: restrain your words}.”
6 And Elijah said to him, “Please stay here, for the LORD {YHWH, Divine Sender} has sent me to the Jordan.” But he said, “As the LORD lives, and as your soul {nefesh: life force} lives, I will not leave you.” So the two of them walked on together.
7 Fifty men from the sons {mibnei: designated group} of the prophets went and stood opposite them at a distance, while the two stood by the Jordan {yarden: river boundary}.
8 And Elijah {Eliyahu: Miracle Worker} took his mantle {adderet: Prophetic Cloak}, rolled it up, and struck the water with it; and the water was divided to one side and to the other, and the two of them crossed over on dry ground.
9 And it came to pass as they crossed over {keavram: when they had crossed over} that Elijah said to Elisha, “Ask what I shall do for you before I am taken from you.” And Elisha replied, “Let a double portion of your spirit {ruach: prophetic empowerment} be upon me.”
10 And he said, “You have made a difficult {hikshita: hard to grant} thing to ask; if you see me being taken from you {me’ittakha: beyond your reach}, it shall be so for you, but if not, it shall not be.”
11 And it happened, as they were going and speaking, that suddenly {vehineh: sudden appearance} a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them. And Elijah went up into the heavens in the whirlwind {searah: powerful storm}.
12 And Elisha {Elisha: prophet-apprentice} saw, and he began to cry out, “My father! My father! The chariot {rekhev: symbol of national defense} of Israel and its horsemen!” And he saw him no more. Then he took hold of his garments and tore them in two pieces.
13 And he picked up the cloak of Elijah {Eliyahu: My God is YHWH} that had fallen from upon him, and he returned and stood on the bank of the Jordan {yarden: descending river}.
14 And he took the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him and struck the waters and said, “Where is the LORD {YHWH, Miraculous Sovereign}, the God {Elohei, Elijah’s Protector} of Elijah? Even He!” And when he struck the waters, they were divided here and there, and Elisha crossed over.
15 And the sons of the prophets{nevi’im: prophetic guild} who were in Jericho from a distance saw him, and they said, “The spirit{ruach: empowering presence} of Elijah has settled on Elisha.” Then they went to meet him and bowed down to the ground before him.
16 They said to him, “Behold now, there are your servants, fifty men, sons of strength {chayil: valorous ability}. Let them go now and seek your master, lest the Spirit of the LORD {YHWH, Divine Mover} carry him and cast him on one of the mountains or in one of the valleys.” But he said, “You shall not send them.”
17 They urged him until he was ashamed {bosh: deeply embarrassed}, and he said, “Send them.” So they sent fifty men, and they searched {vayevakshu: diligent seeking} for three days, but they did not find him.
18 And they returned {vayashuvu: resumed the journey} to him, and he was sitting in Jericho {yerikho: ancient city near the Jordan River}. And he said to them, “Did I not say to you, ‘Do not go?’”
19 And the men of the city said to Elisha, “Behold now, the settlement of the city is good as my lord{adoni: respected master} sees, but the water is bad and the land is causing miscarriage{meshakalet: making unfruitful}.”
20 And he said, “Take a new {chadashah: fresh, unused} bowl {tselochit: specific pottery vessel} and put salt there,” and they brought it to him.
21 And he went out to the spring {mōṣāʾ: natural source} of the waters, threw salt there, and said, “Thus says the LORD {YHWH, Miracle Worker}, ‘I have healed these waters; there shall no longer be death or miscarriage.’”
22 And the waters were healed {rapha: miraculously restored} until this day, according to the word of Elisha {Elisha, prophetic agent} which he spoke.
23 And he went up from there to Bethel, and as he was going up on the road, small boys {ne‘arim: young boys} came out from the city and mocked {wayyiṯkallsûw-wo: derided aggressively} him, saying, “Go up, bald head! Go up, bald head!”
24 And he turned around and saw them, and he cursed them in the name of the LORD {YHWH, Divine Avenger}. Then two she-bears came out of the forest and mauled forty-two boys {yeladim: male youths} from among them.
25 And he went from there to Mount Carmel {Karmel: fertile highland}, and from there he returned to Samaria {Shomron: historic capital}.