2 Kings 2

KJV · Chapter 2/25

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

²And Elijah said unto Elisha, Tarry here, I pray thee; for the Lord hath sent me to Beth–el. And Elisha said unto him, As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they went down to Beth–el.

³And the sons of the prophets that were at Beth–el 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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

²³And he went up from thence unto Beth–el: 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.

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.

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

📖 Chapter study

Summary

Elijah is taken up to heaven in a whirlwind, in a chariot of fire with horses of fire, before Elisha, who receives a double portion of his spirit and takes up his prophetic mantle. Elisha purifies the waters of Jericho and curses mocking young men at Bethel.

Explanation

Elijah's ascension is one of the most extraordinary events in the Bible — he is one of only two people (along with Enoch in Genesis 5:24) who do not die, but are taken directly by God. The transition of prophetic authority to Elisha, symbolized by the fallen mantle, shows how God's work continues through appointed successors. The episode of healing the waters of Jericho demonstrates God's power through Elisha right at the beginning of his ministry, establishing his credibility as Elijah's legitimate successor.

Fun facts

Elisha's cry 'my father, my father, the chariot of Israel and its horsemen' will be repeated almost word for word in chapter 13:14, when the king of Israel himself weeps in that same way over Elisha's death, showing how this expression became a title of honor for great men of God.
The episode of the bears attacking the mocking young men of Bethel (the city of Jeroboam's golden calves) is often misunderstood; the context suggests they were not small children, but an organized group publicly mocking the prophetic authority of God represented by Elisha, in a city already known for rejecting God.

Verse-by-verse explanation

2 Kings 2:1The chariot and horses of fire don't carry Elijah away — they appear to separate the two prophets, and it's the whirlwind that lifts him up. It's the only exit of its kind recorded in the Hebrew Bible, which later fueled the Jewish expectation of Elijah's return.
2 Kings 2:2Elijah tries to leave Elisha behind in Bethel, maybe to spare him the final moment, but Elisha swears he won't abandon him. This test repeats three times throughout the chapter.
2 Kings 2:3The sons of the prophets at Bethel already know, by revelation, that Elijah will be taken away that very day. Elisha already knows too, but asks them not to bring it up.
2 Kings 2:4Elijah insists again that Elisha stay behind, now before going to Jericho, and again Elisha refuses to be separated from his master.
2 Kings 2:5The sons of the prophets at Jericho repeat the same warning the ones at Bethel gave: Elijah will be taken away today. It's the second confirmation of the same news.
2 Kings 2:6For the third time Elijah asks Elisha to stay behind, now before crossing the Jordan, and for the third time he refuses to leave his master alone.
2 Kings 2:7Fifty sons of the prophets follow at a distance, just watching — they almost certainly already know what is about to happen to Elijah.
2 Kings 2:8Elijah folds his mantle and strikes the waters of the Jordan, which part just as at the Red Sea and at the entrance into Canaan. It's the same kind of miracle marking the end of his ministry.
2 Kings 2:9Asking for a double portion isn't asking for twice the spiritual power in some magical sense; it's inheritance language used for the firstborn son. Elisha is asking to be recognized as Elijah's main, legitimate successor.
2 Kings 2:10Elijah warns that Elisha's request is hard to guarantee: it will only be fulfilled if he actually witnesses the exact moment he is taken, neither before nor after.
2 Kings 2:11This is where the central scene happens: the chariot and horses of fire appear between the two prophets, separating them, and Elijah goes up to heaven carried by the whirlwind — not by the chariot itself.
2 Kings 2:12Elisha cries out, “My father, my father,” and calls Elijah the chariot of Israel and its horsemen — a way of saying the prophet was worth more for the country's protection than any army. Tearing one's clothes was the traditional gesture of mourning.
2 Kings 2:13Elisha picks up the mantle that fell from Elijah, the same object used earlier to anoint him as successor. Holding this mantle now is the first visible sign that he is taking on the role.
2 Kings 2:14Elisha repeats with Elijah's mantle the same miracle of parting the waters of the Jordan, even repeating the question, “Where is the Lord God of Elijah?” It's the public proof that the prophetic power has passed to him.
2 Kings 2:15The sons of the prophets see Elisha repeat the Jordan miracle and conclude on the spot: the spirit of Elijah now rests on him. They bow before him as immediate recognition.
2 Kings 2:16The sons of the prophets still think Elijah may have simply been carried off to some mountain or valley, the way the Spirit of the Lord sometimes did. Elisha knows that's not the case, but they insist on searching.
2 Kings 2:17After they insist so much that Elisha feels awkward continuing to refuse, he lets the fifty men go search. Three days of searching confirm what he already knew.
2 Kings 2:18Elisha receives the searchers back at Jericho with a blunt comment: he had already warned them the search would be useless.
2 Kings 2:19A city with bad water and barren land depended on a healthy spring to survive. Elisha's gesture with salt in a new bowl marks the start of his ministry as a direct continuation of Elijah's miracles.
2 Kings 2:20Elisha asks for a new bowl and salt, the simple elements he will use for the miracle of healing the city's water spring next.
2 Kings 2:21Elisha goes to the spring, throws in the salt, and declares in the Lord's name that the water is healed from then on. It's his first public miracle as Elijah's successor.
2 Kings 2:22The text confirms that the healing of the spring was permanent — “unto this day,” meaning it still held true when the book was written.
2 Kings 2:23The mockery over Elisha's baldness was a direct insult to the prophet's authority right at the start of his ministry, in a city, Bethel, with a bad history of idolatry.
2 Kings 2:24This is one of the most uncomfortable episodes in the Bible, and it's worth avoiding both softening it and exaggerating it: the text doesn't make clear the exact age of these boys, a word that in Hebrew covers anything from small children to young adults. Even so, it's a punishment that stands out for how disproportionate it is to the insult, and the text simply reports the fact without justifying the outcome.
2 Kings 2:25Elisha continues traveling between Mount Carmel (Elijah's base, remembered for the confrontation with the prophets of Baal) and Samaria, Israel's capital, establishing his presence as the new leading prophet of the northern kingdom.

Chapters

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

Our apps

Our apps →

Bible in Stories

The Bible told as a story, with audio and videos.

📱 Get the app

World in Stories

True stories of humanity that sound made up.

App Store Google Play

Feito! Pequenas Vitórias

A light daily routine for people who lose track of the day.

App Store Google Play