2 Kings 2 Young's Literal Translation

About YLT

Individual translator
OT: Masoretic Hebrew
NT: Textus Receptus
Protestant (66 books)
Very literal
1898
Public domain

Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings

YLT Young's Literal Translation

WEB World English Bible (Classic, with Deuterocanon)

1 And it cometh to pass, at Jehovah's taking up Elijah in a whirlwind to the heavens, that Elijah goeth, and Elisha, from Gilgal,

1 When Yahweh was about to take Elijah up by a whirlwind into heaven, Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal.

2 and Elijah saith unto Elisha, 'Abide, I pray thee, here, for Jehovah hath sent me unto Beth-El;' and Elisha saith, 'Jehovah liveth, and thy soul liveth, if I leave thee;' and they go down to Beth-El.

2 Elijah said to Elisha, “Please wait here, for Yahweh has sent me as far as Bethel.” Elisha said, “As Yahweh lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you.” So they went down to Bethel.

3 And sons of the prophets who [are] in Beth-El come out unto Elisha, and say unto him, 'Hast thou known that to-day Jehovah is taking thy lord from thy head?' and he saith, 'I also have known — keep silent.'

3 The sons of the prophets who were at Bethel came out to Elisha, and said to him, “Do you know that Yahweh will take away your master from over you today?” He said, “Yes, I know it. Hold your peace.”

4 And Elijah saith to him, 'Elisha, abide, I pray thee, here, for Jehovah hath sent me to Jericho;' and he saith, 'Jehovah liveth, and thy soul liveth, if I leave thee;' and they come in to Jericho.

4 Elijah said to him, “Elisha, please wait here, for Yahweh has sent me to Jericho.” He said, “As Yahweh lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you.” So they came to Jericho.

5 And sons of the prophets who [are] in Jericho come nigh unto Elisha, and say unto him, 'Hast thou known that to-day Jehovah is taking thy lord from thy head?' and he saith, 'I also have known — keep silent.'

5 The sons of the prophets who were at Jericho came near to Elisha, and said to him, “Do you know that Yahweh will take away your master from over you today?” He answered, “Yes, I know it. Hold your peace.”

6 And Elijah saith to him, 'Abide, I pray thee, here, for Jehovah hath sent me to the Jordan;' and he saith, 'Jehovah liveth, and thy soul liveth, if I leave thee;' and they go on both of them,

6 Elijah said to him, “Please wait here, for Yahweh has sent me to the Jordan.” He said, “As Yahweh lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you.” Then they both went on.

7 — and fifty men of the sons of the prophets have gone on, and stand over-against afar off — and both of them have stood by the Jordan.

7 Fifty men of the sons of the prophets went and stood opposite them at a distance; and they both stood by the Jordan.

8 And Elijah taketh his robe, and wrappeth [it] together, and smiteth the waters, and they are halved, hither and thither, and they pass over both of them on dry land.

8 Elijah took his mantle, and rolled it up, and struck the waters; and they were divided here and there, so that they both went over on dry ground.

9 And it cometh to pass, at their passing over, that Elijah hath said unto Elisha, 'Ask, what do I do for thee before I am taken from thee?' and Elisha saith, 'Then let there be, I pray thee, a double portion of thy spirit unto me;'

9 When they had gone over, Elijah said to Elisha, “Ask what I shall do for you, before I am taken from you.” Elisha said, “Please let a double portion of your spirit be on me.”

10 and he saith, 'Thou hast asked a hard thing; if thou dost see me taken from thee, it is to thee so; and if not, it is not.'

10 He said, “You have asked a hard thing. If you see me when I am taken from you, it will be so for you; but if not, it will not be so.”

11 And it cometh to pass, they are going, going on and speaking, and lo, a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and they separate between them both, and Elijah goeth up in a whirlwind, to the heavens.

11 As they continued on and talked, behold, a chariot of fire and horses of fire separated them; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.

12 And Elisha is seeing, and he is crying, 'My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and its horsemen;' and he hath not seen him again; and he taketh hold on his garments, and rendeth them into two pieces.

12 Elisha saw it, and he cried, “My father, my father, the chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” He saw him no more. Then he took hold of his own clothes and tore them in two pieces.

13 And he taketh up the robe of Elijah, that fell from off him, and turneth back and standeth on the edge of the Jordan,

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

14 and he taketh the robe of Elijah that fell from off him, and smiteth the waters, and saith, 'Where [is] Jehovah, God of Elijah — even He?' and he smiteth the waters, and they are halved, hither and thither, and Elisha passeth over.

14 He took Elijah’s mantle that fell from him, and struck the waters, and said, “Where is Yahweh, the God of Elijah?” When he also had struck the waters, they were divided apart, and Elisha went over.

15 And they see him — the sons of the prophets who [are] in Jericho — over-against, and they say, 'Rested hath the spirit of Elijah on Elisha;' and they come to meet him, and bow themselves to him to the earth,

15 When the sons of the prophets who were at Jericho facing him saw him, they said, “The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha.” They came to meet him, and bowed themselves to the ground before him.

16 and say unto him, 'Lo, we pray thee, there are with thy servants fifty men, sons of valour: let them go, we pray thee, and they seek thy lord, lest the Spirit of Jehovah hath taken him up, and doth cast him on one of the hills, or into one of the valleys;' and he saith, 'Ye do not send.'

16 They said to him, “See now, there are with your servants fifty strong men. Please let them go and seek your master. Perhaps Yahweh’s Spirit has taken him up, and put him on some mountain or into some valley.” He said, “Don’t send them.”

17 And they press upon him, till he is ashamed, and he saith, 'Send ye;' and they send fifty men, and they seek three days, and have not found him;

17 When they urged him until he was ashamed, he said, “Send them.” Therefore they sent fifty men; and they searched for three days, but didn’t find him.

18 and they turn back unto him — and he is abiding in Jericho — and he saith unto them, 'Did I not say unto you, Do not go?'

18 They came back to him while he stayed at Jericho; and he said to them, “Didn’t I tell you, ‘Don’t go’?”

19 And the men of the city say unto Elisha, 'Lo, we pray thee, the site of the city [is] good, as my lord seeth, and the waters [are] bad, and the earth sterile.'

19 The men of the city said to Elisha, “Behold, please, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord sees; but the water is bad, and the land is barren.”

20 And he saith, 'Bring to me a new dish, and place there salt;' and they bring [it] unto him,

20 He said, “Bring me a new jar, and put salt in it.” Then they brought it to him.

21 and he goeth out unto the source of the waters, and casteth there salt, and saith, 'Thus said Jehovah, I have given healing to these waters; there is not thence any more death and sterility.'

21 He went out to the spring of the waters, and threw salt into it, and said, “Yahweh says, ‘I have healed these waters. There shall not be from there any more death or barren wasteland.’”

22 And the waters are healed unto this day, according to the word of Elisha, that he spake.

22 So the waters were healed to this day, according to Elisha’s word which he spoke.

23 And he goeth up thence to Beth-El, and he is going up in the way, and little youths have come out from the city, and scoff at him, and say to him, 'Go up, bald-head! go up, bald-head!'

23 He went up from there to Bethel. As he was going up by the way, some youths came out of the city and mocked him, and said to him, “Go up, you baldy! Go up, you baldy!”

24 And he looketh behind him, and seeth them, and declareth them vile in the name of Jehovah, and two bears come out of the forest, and rend of them forty and two lads.

24 He looked behind him and saw them, and cursed them in Yahweh’s name. Then two female bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of those youths.

25 And he goeth thence unto the hill of Carmel, and thence he hath turned back to Samaria.

25 He went from there to Mount Carmel, and from there he returned to Samaria.

People & places in this chapter

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Elisha
Prophet, successor of Elijah
Son of Shaphat from Abel-meholah, found plowing with twelve teams of oxen when Elijah threw his cloak around him, who inherited a double portion of Elijah's spirit, worked many…
Cited in the guide: 1 Kings 19:16; 1 Kings 19:19; 2 Kings 2:9
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Cross references (23)

Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info.

Cross references: OpenBible.info (CC BY), drawn mainly from the public-domain Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. · Sources & licences

What the Fathers said

Passages from the Church Fathers that expound or quote this chapter, verbatim from the public-domain Schaff edition (19th-century English translations).

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“Commentary” is the opening of a homily or exposition on this chapter (John Chrysostom’s homilies, Augustine’s tractates, sermons and expositions of the Psalms). “Quotes” are sentences where the edition’s own footnotes identify a quotation of a verse here, kept only when the wording matches the verse. Only works whose authorship is not in doubt are used. Psalms follow the Hebrew/English numbering (Augustine numbers them as the Septuagint does: his Psalm 50 is Psalm 51 here).

Quotes verse 2:23 Augustine of Hippo, Expositions on the Psalms (Psalm XLVII)
When God's Prophet Elisha was going up, children called after him mocking, "Go up thou bald head, Go up thou bald head:" but he, not so much in cruelty as in mystery, made those children to be devoured by bears out of the wood. If those children had not been devoured, would they have lived even till now?
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 8 (1888)

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What the Fathers said