2 Kings

Continues the story of the divided kingdoms, their decline, and eventual exile.

Chapter 2

1 And it came to pass, when the LORD would take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal.

When the Lord was set to take Elijah to heaven through a powerful wind, Elijah and Elisha traveled together from a place called Gilgal.

2 And 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.

Elijah told Elisha to stay put because God wanted him to go to Bethel. Elisha promised he wouldn't leave Elijah, so they both went to Bethel together.

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 to day? And he said, Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace.

The sons of the prophets at Bethel approached Elisha and asked if he knew that the Lord would take his master away today. Elisha replied affirmatively and told them not to say anything about it.

4 And 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.

Elijah told Elisha to stay put because God wanted him to go to Jericho. Elisha swore that he would not leave Elijah, so they went to Jericho together.

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 to day? And he answered, Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace.

The sons of the prophets from Jericho talked to Elisha and asked if he knew that the Lord would take his master away today. Elisha replied that he was aware of it, and told them not to say anything about it.

6 And 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.

Elijah told him to wait, because the Lord sent him to the Jordan River. The man promised to stay with Elijah, no matter what, and they both continued on their journey together.

7 And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went, and stood to view afar off: and they two stood by Jordan.

Fifty prophet's sons went far away to watch, while the two stayed near Jordan.

8 And 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.

Elijah used his cloak, tied it, hit the water, and it split apart. This way, he and another person could walk across on dry land.

9 And 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.

After they crossed, Elijah asked Elisha what he wanted him to do. Elisha replied, "Please leave behind a double amount of your spiritual power in me."

10 And 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.

He said, "You asked something difficult." But if you see me after I'm gone, it will happen for you. If not, it won't happen.

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 parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.

As they continued walking and talking, suddenly a chariot made of fire with fiery horses appeared and separated them. Then, Elijah was taken up to heaven in a whirlwind.

12 And 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.

Elisha saw something and shouted, "My father! My father! The chariots of Israel and its riders!" He never saw that person again. He grabbed his clothes and tore them into two parts.

13 He took up also the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and went back, and stood by the bank of Jordan;

He picked up Elijah's cloak that fell off and went back to the riverbank.

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 hither and thither: and Elisha went over.

He grabbed Elijah's cloak and hit the water, asking where Elijah's God was. After striking the water again, it split apart, allowing Elisha to cross.

15 And 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.

When the prophet's sons who watched in Jericho saw him, they said, "Elijah's spirit is with Elisha." They went to greet him and bowed down, touching the ground in front of him.

16 And 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.

They asked him, "There are fifty strong men with us. Please let them go to find your master. Maybe the Lord's Spirit has taken him somewhere, like a mountain or a valley." He replied, "You must not send them."

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.

When they kept pushing him until he felt embarrassed, he agreed and told them to send people. So, they sent 50 people to search for him, but they looked for three days and couldn't find him.

18 And when they came again to him, (for he tarried at Jericho,) he said unto them, Did I not say unto you, Go not?

When they returned, since he had stayed in Jericho, he told them, "Didn't I tell you not to go?"

19 And 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.

The city's people told Elisha, "Our city is nice, as you can see, but there's no water and the land is dry."

20 And he said, Bring me a new cruse, and put salt therein. And they brought it to him.

He asked for a new container and told them to put salt in it. They brought it to him.

21 And 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.

He went to the water source and added salt, saying, "The LORD says, I have made the water safe. No more death or barren land will come from here."

22 So the waters were healed unto this day, according to the saying of Elisha which he spake.

So, the waters have been cured since then, just like Elisha said they would be.

23 And 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.

He traveled to Bethel from there. While on his journey, young kids from the city came out and teased him, saying, "Climb up, baldy; climb up, baldy."

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 tare forty and two children of them.

He turned around, looked at them, and cursed them using God's name. Then, two bears came out of the woods and attacked, killing 42 children.

25 And he went from thence to mount Carmel, and from thence he returned to Samaria.

He traveled to Mount Carmel, then went back to Samaria.

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