| King James Bible | Holman Christian Standard Bible |
| 1And it came to pass, when the LORD would take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal. | 1The time had come for the LORD to take Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind. Elijah and Elisha were traveling from Gilgal, |
| 2And 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. | 2and Elijah said to Elisha, "Stay here; the LORD is sending me on to Bethel." But Elisha replied, "As the LORD lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you." So they went down to Bethel. |
| 3And 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. | 3Then the sons of the prophets who were at Bethel came out to Elisha and said, "Do you know that the LORD will take your master away from you today?" He said, "Yes, I know. Be quiet." |
| 4And 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. | 4Elijah said to him, "Elisha, stay here; the LORD is sending me to Jericho." But Elisha said, "As the LORD lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you." So they went to Jericho. |
| 5And 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. | 5Then the sons of the prophets who were in Jericho came up to Elisha and said, "Do you know that the LORD will take your master away from you today?" He said, "Yes, I know. Be quiet." |
| 6And 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. | 6Elijah said to him, "Stay here; the LORD is sending me to the Jordan." But Elisha said, "As the LORD lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you." So the two of them went on. |
| 7And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went, and stood to view afar off: and they two stood by Jordan. | 7Fifty men from the sons of the prophets came and stood facing them from a distance while the two of them stood by the Jordan. |
| 8And 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. | 8Elijah took his mantle, rolled it up, and struck the waters, which parted to the right and left. Then the two of them crossed over on dry ground. |
| 9And 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. | 9After they had crossed over, Elijah said to Elisha, "Tell me what I can do for you before I am taken from you." So Elisha answered, "Please, let me inherit two shares of your spirit." |
| 10And 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. | 10Elijah replied, "You have asked for something difficult. If you see me being taken from you, you will have it. If not, you won't." |
| 11And 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. | 11As they continued walking and talking, a chariot of fire with horses of fire suddenly appeared and separated the two of them. Then Elijah went up into heaven in the whirlwind. |
| 12And 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. | 12As Elisha watched, he kept crying out, "My father, my father, the chariots and horsemen of Israel!" Then he never saw Elijah again. He took hold of his own clothes and tore them into two pieces. |
| 13He took up also the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and went back, and stood by the bank of Jordan; | 13Elisha picked up the mantle that had fallen off Elijah and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. |
| 14And 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. | 14Then he took the mantle Elijah had dropped and struck the waters. "Where is the LORD God of Elijah?" he asked. He struck the waters himself, and they parted to the right and the left, and Elisha crossed over. |
| 15And 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. | 15When the sons of the prophets from Jericho who were facing him saw him, they said, "The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha." They came to meet him and bowed down to the ground in front of him. |
| 16And 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. | 16Then the sons of the prophets said to Elisha, "Since there are 50 strong men here with your servants, please let them go and search for your master. Maybe the Spirit of the LORD has carried him away and put him on one of the mountains or into one of the valleys." He answered, "Don't send them." |
| 17And 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. | 17However, they urged him to the point of embarrassment, so he said, "Send them." They sent 50 men, who looked for three days but did not find him. |
| 18And when they came again to him, (for he tarried at Jericho,) he said unto them, Did I not say unto you, Go not? | 18When they returned to him in Jericho where he was staying, he said to them, "Didn't I tell you not to go?" |
| 19And 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. | 19Then the men of the city said to Elisha, "Even though our lord can see that the city's location is good, the water is bad and the land unfruitful." |
| 20And he said, Bring me a new cruse, and put salt therein. And they brought it to him. | 20He replied, "Bring me a new bowl and put salt in it." After they had brought him one, |
| 21And 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. | 21Elisha went out to the spring of water, threw salt in it, and said, "This is what the LORD says: 'I have healed this water. No longer will death or unfruitfulness result from it.'" |
| 22So the waters were healed unto this day, according to the saying of Elisha which he spake. | 22Therefore, the water remains healthy to this very day according to the word that Elisha spoke. |
| 23And 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. | 23From there Elisha went up to Bethel. As he was walking up the path, some small boys came out of the city and harassed him, chanting, "Go up, baldy! Go up, baldy!" |
| 24And 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. | 24He turned around, looked at them, and cursed them in the name of the LORD. Then two female bears came out of the woods and mauled 42 of the children. |
| 25And he went from thence to mount Carmel, and from thence he returned to Samaria. | 25From there Elisha went to Mount Carmel, and then he returned to Samaria. |
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