2 Kings 2 Parallel Bible Translations

2 Kings 2 ▼
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1 As the time drew near when the LORD was about to take Elijah to heaven in a wind storm, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal. Now when the LORD was about to take Elijah up to heaven by a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal. When the LORD was about to take Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal.
2 Elijah instructed Elisha, |Remain here on this side, please, because the LORD is sending me as far as Bethel.| But Elisha replied, |As the LORD lives, I'm not going to leave you while you're still alive!| So they both went on to Bethel. And Elijah said to Elisha, “Please stay here, for the LORD has sent me as far as Bethel.” But Elisha said, “As the LORD lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they went down to Bethel. Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here; the LORD has sent me to Bethel.” But Elisha said, “As surely as the LORD lives and as you live, I will not leave you.” So they went down to Bethel.
3 When the Guild of Prophets who lived in Bethel came out to greet Elisha, they asked him, |You are aware, aren't you, that later today the LORD is going to remove your master from being your mentor?| |Of course I'm aware of it,| he said. |Calm down.| And the sons of the prophets who were in Bethel came out to Elisha and said to him, “Do you know that today the LORD will take away your master from over you?” And he said, “Yes, I know it; keep quiet.” The company of the prophets at Bethel came out to Elisha and asked, “Do you know that the LORD is going to take your master from you today?” “Yes, I know,” Elisha replied, “so be quiet.”
4 Elijah also spoke to him, |Elisha, remain here on this side, please, because the LORD is sending me to Jericho.| But Elisha responded, |As the LORD lives, and while you're still alive, I'm not going to leave you!| So they went to Jericho. Elijah said to him, “Elisha, please stay here, for the LORD has sent me to Jericho.” But he said, “As the LORD lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they came to Jericho. Then Elijah said to him, “Stay here, Elisha; the LORD has sent me to Jericho.” And he replied, “As surely as the LORD lives and as you live, I will not leave you.” So they went to Jericho.
5 The Guild of Prophets who lived in Jericho approached Elisha and asked him, |You are aware, aren't you, that later today the LORD is going to remove your master from being your mentor?| |Of course I'm aware of it,| he said. |Calm down.| The sons of the prophets who were at Jericho drew near to Elisha and said to him, “Do you know that today the LORD will take away your master from over you?” And he answered, “Yes, I know it; keep quiet.” The company of the prophets at Jericho went up to Elisha and asked him, “Do you know that the LORD is going to take your master from you today?” “Yes, I know,” he replied, “so be quiet.”
6 Elijah also spoke to him, |Elisha, remain here on this side, please, because the LORD is sending me to the Jordan River.| But Elisha responded, |As the LORD lives, and while you're still alive, I'm not going to leave you!| So they went on their way, Then Elijah said to him, “Please stay here, for the LORD has sent me to the Jordan.” But he said, “As the LORD lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So the two of them went on. Then Elijah said to him, “Stay here; the LORD has sent me to the Jordan.” And he replied, “As surely as the LORD lives and as you live, I will not leave you.” So the two of them walked on.
7 accompanied by 50 men from the Guild of Prophets, who stood at a short distance from them while they were both standing by the Jordan. Fifty men of the sons of the prophets also went and stood at some distance from them, as they both were standing by the Jordan. Fifty men from the company of the prophets went and stood at a distance, facing the place where Elijah and Elisha had stopped at the Jordan.
8 Elijah took off his ornamented cloak, wrapped it up in a roll, struck the water, and all of a sudden the water divided into two parts! One side of the river stood still opposite the other until the two of them crossed over on dry ground. Then Elijah took his cloak and rolled it up and struck the water, and the water was parted to the one side and to the other, till the two of them could go over on dry ground. Elijah took his cloak, rolled it up and struck the water with it. The water divided to the right and to the left, and the two of them crossed over on dry ground.
9 When they had crossed the Jordan River, Elijah invited Elisha, |Ask me what you want me to do for you before I'm taken away from you.| So Elisha asked, |Please, may there be a double portion of your spirit upon me!| When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, “Ask what I shall do for you, before I am taken from you.” And Elisha said, “Please let there be a double portion of your spirit on me.” When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, “Tell me, what can I do for you before I am taken from you?” “Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit,” Elisha replied.
10 |That's a hard thing to ask for,| Elijah answered, |but if you see me while I'm being taken from you, it will happen for you. But if you don't see me, it won't happen.| And he said, “You have asked a hard thing; yet, if you see me as I am being taken from you, it shall be so for you, but if you do not see me, it shall not be so.” “You have asked a difficult thing,” Elijah said, “yet if you see me when I am taken from you, it will be yours—otherwise, it will not.”
11 As they continued on, talking as they went, suddenly chariots blazing with fire and pulled by fiery horses appeared, separated the two of them, and Elijah ascended in a wind storm to heaven! And as they still went on and talked, behold, chariots of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them. And Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind.
12 As Elisha continued to watch, he cried out, |My father! My father! The chariots of Israel and its cavalry!| Then he did not see Elijah anymore. After this, Elisha gripped his clothes that he was wearing, tore them apart into two pieces, And Elisha saw it and he cried, “My father, my father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” And he saw him no more. Then he took hold of his own clothes and tore them in two pieces. Elisha saw this and cried out, “My father! My father! The chariots and horsemen of Israel!” And Elisha saw him no more. Then he took hold of his garment and tore it in two.
13 picked up Elijah's ornamented cloak that had fallen from him, and went back to stand on the bank of the Jordan River. And he took up the cloak of Elijah that had fallen from him and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. Elisha then picked up Elijah’s cloak that had fallen from him and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan.
14 Elisha took hold of Elijah's ornamental cloak that had been left behind, struck the water, and cried out: |Where is the LORD God of Elijah?| All of a sudden, after he had struck the water, the water divided into two parts! One side of the river stood opposite the other, and Elisha crossed over. Then he took the cloak of Elijah that had fallen from him and struck the water, saying, “Where is the LORD, the God of Elijah?” And when he had struck the water, the water was parted to the one side and to the other, and Elisha went over. He took the cloak that had fallen from Elijah and struck the water with it. “Where now is the LORD, the God of Elijah?” he asked. When he struck the water, it divided to the right and to the left, and he crossed over.
15 As soon as the Guild of Prophets who lived adjacent to Jericho saw Elisha, they began to announce, |The spirit of Elijah is at rest on Elisha!| So they came out to meet him and they greeted him by bowing low to the ground in front of him. Now when the sons of the prophets who were at Jericho saw him opposite them, they said, “The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha.” And they came to meet him and bowed to the ground before him. The company of the prophets from Jericho, who were watching, said, “The spirit of Elijah is resting on Elisha.” And they went to meet him and bowed to the ground before him.
16 Then they asked Elisha, |Look! We have 50 valiant men here with your servant! Please let them go out and search for your master Elijah. Perhaps the Spirit of the LORD has taken him up on a mountain or into a valley.| Elisha responded, |Don't bother searching.| And they said to him, “Behold now, there are with your servants fifty strong men. Please let them go and seek your master. It may be that the Spirit of the LORD has caught him up and cast him upon some mountain or into some valley.” And he said, “You shall not send.” “Look,” they said, “we your servants have fifty able men. Let them go and look for your master. Perhaps the Spirit of the LORD has picked him up and set him down on some mountain or in some valley.” “No,” Elisha replied, “do not send them.”
17 But they persisted until he was frustrated, so he said, |Send them out!| So they sent out the 50 men, and they looked around for three days but did not find Elijah. But when they urged him till he was ashamed, he said, “Send.” They sent therefore fifty men. And for three days they sought him but did not find him. But they persisted until he was too embarrassed to refuse. So he said, “Send them.” And they sent fifty men, who searched for three days but did not find him.
18 By the time they returned, Elisha was living in Jericho. Then Elisha asked them, |Didn't I tell you not to go?| And they came back to him while he was staying at Jericho, and he said to them, “Did I not say to you, ‘Do not go’?” When they returned to Elisha, who was staying in Jericho, he said to them, “Didn’t I tell you not to go?”
19 The men who lived in the city addressed Elisha. |Look now,| they said, |our city's location is good, as you have been observing, but the water springs here are bad and the land isn't sustaining crops.| Now the men of the city said to Elisha, “Behold, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord sees, but the water is bad, and the land is unfruitful.” The people of the city said to Elisha, “Look, our lord, this town is well situated, as you can see, but the water is bad and the land is unproductive.”
20 Elisha ordered them, |Bring me a new bowl and put some salt in it.| So they brought him what he had requested. He said, “Bring me a new bowl, and put salt in it.” So they brought it to him. “Bring me a new bowl,” he said, “and put salt in it.” So they brought it to him.
21 Elisha went out to the springs, threw the salt into them, and declared, |This is what the LORD says: 'I have purified these waters. Neither death nor barrenness is to flow from them anymore.'| Then he went to the spring of water and threw salt in it and said, “Thus says the LORD, I have healed this water; from now on neither death nor miscarriage shall come from it.” Then he went out to the spring and threw the salt into it, saying, “This is what the LORD says: ‘I have healed this water. Never again will it cause death or make the land unproductive.’”
22 As a result, the water springs remain pure to this day, just as Elisha had declared. So the water has been healed to this day, according to the word that Elisha spoke. And the water has remained pure to this day, according to the word Elisha had spoken.
23 Later, Elisha left there to go up to Bethel, and as he was traveling along the road, some insignificant young men came from the city and started mocking him. They told him, |Get on up, baldy! Get on up, baldy!| He went up from there to Bethel, and while he was going up on the way, some small boys came out of the city and jeered at him, saying, “Go up, you baldhead! Go up, you baldhead!” From there Elisha went up to Bethel. As he was walking along the road, some boys came out of the town and jeered at him. “Get out of here, baldy!” they said. “Get out of here, baldy!”
24 He looked behind him, took note of the young men, and cursed them in the name of the LORD. Suddenly two female bears emerged from the woods and mauled 42 of the young men. And he turned around, and when he saw them, he cursed them in the name of the LORD. And two she-bears came out of the woods and tore forty-two of the boys. He turned around, looked at them and called down a curse on them in the name of the LORD. Then two bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the boys.
25 After this, he left from there to go to Mt. Carmel, and from there he went back to Samaria. From there he went on to Mount Carmel, and from there he returned to Samaria. And he went on to Mount Carmel and from there returned to Samaria.
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