2 Kings 2:11-18 ▼

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!

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,

13 picked up Elijah's ornamented cloak that had fallen from him, and went back to stand on the bank of the Jordan River.

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.

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.

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.|

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.

18 By the time they returned, Elisha was living in Jericho. Then Elisha asked them, |Didn't I tell you not to go?|