Elijah said, “Elisha, stay here. The Lord is sending me to Jericho.”

Elisha said, “As sure as the Lord lives, I won’t leave you.” So they went to Jericho.

The prophets at Jericho said to Elisha, “Do you know the Lord is going to take your master away from you today?”

“Yes, I know. Now be quiet.”

Elijah said to him, “Stay here. The Lord is sending me to the Jordan River.”

Elisha said, “As sure as the Lord lives, I won’t leave you.” So they went on together.

When they got to the Jordan, Elijah rolled up his cloak, and struck the water. Immediately, the waters parted and the two men walked across the river on dry ground. Fifty prophets watched from a distance.

Once the two men were on the other side, Elijah said to Elisha, “What do you want me to do for you before I’m taken away?”

Elisha didn’t hesitate. “Please, I want a double portion of your spirit.”

Elijah was shocked. He said, “What? Your request is difficult. But, you’ll have it if you see me being taken from you. If not, you won’t get it.”

As they continued on, suddenly a chariot of fire with horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them. Then Elijah was taken up into heaven in the whirlwind … and was gone.

Elisha saw it all. He ripped his clothes and yelled, “My father, my father, the chariots and horsemen of Israel!”

He then saw Elijah’s cloak, which fell when the prophet went up into the air. Elisha walked over and picked it up. He turned and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan River. He lifted the cloak high in the air, and then struck the water. He said, “Where’s the Lord God of Elijah?!” The waters parted, and he walked across on dry ground.

The fifty prophets saw all of this. They said, “The spirit of Elijah lives in Elisha.” From that day on, they honored him as their new leader.

When he got back to Jericho, the people of the city said to him, “Jericho is a good place to live, but the spring is bad. It even keeps our crops from growing.

He said, “Put some salt in a new bowl and bring it to me.”

They brought it to him and he went to the spring. He threw the salt into the water and said, “The Lord has made this water pure. You can now grow crops and no one will starve.”

He left Jericho to return to Bethel. Along the way, some boys started making fun of him. They said, “Get out of here, baldy!”

The prophet turned and put a curse on them. Immediately, two bears ran out of the woods and killed 42 of the boys and ripped them apart.