2 Kings 2:13-25 - Elisha Succeeds Elijah

¹³ He picked up Elijah's cloak, which had fallen off him, and went back and stood on the shore of the Jordan. ¹⁴ He took the cloak that had fallen off Elijah, hit the water with it, and said, "Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah?" When he hit the water, it divided and Elisha crossed over.

¹⁵ When the members of the prophetic guild in Jericho, who were standing at a distance, saw him do this, they said, "The spirit that energized Elijah rests upon Elisha." They went to meet him and bowed down to the ground before him.

¹⁶ They said to him, "Look, there are fifty capable men with your servants. Let them go and look for your master, for the wind sent from the Lord may have carried him away and dropped him on one of the hills or in one of the valleys." But Elisha replied, "Don't send them out."

¹⁷ But they were so insistent, he became embarrassed. So he said, "Send them out." They sent the fifty men out and they looked for three days, but could not find Elijah. ¹⁸ When they came back, Elisha was staying in Jericho. He said to them, "Didn't I tell you, 'Don't go'?"

¹⁹ The men of the city said to Elisha, "Look, the city has a good location, as our master can see. But the water is bad and the land doesn't produce crops."

²⁰ Elisha said, "Get me a new jar and put some salt in it." So they got it. ²¹ He went out to the spring and threw the salt in. Then he said, "This is what the Lord says, 'I have purified this water. It will no longer cause death or fail to produce crops." ²² The water has been pure to this very day, just as Elisha prophesied.

²³ He went up from there to Bethel. As he was traveling up the road, some young boys came out of the city and made fun of him, saying, "Go on up, baldy! Go on up, baldy!" ²⁴ When he turned around and saw them, he called God's judgment down on them. Two female bears came out of the woods and ripped forty-two of the boys to pieces. ²⁵ From there he traveled to Mount Carmel and then back to Samaria.