Passage

2 Kings 2.9-15

Book: 2 Kings · NASB95

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"7. And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went, and stood over against them afar off: and they two stood by the Jordan. 8. And 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."

"9. And it came to pass, when they were gone over, that Elijah said unto Elisha, Ask what I shall do for thee, before I am taken from thee. And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me. 10. And 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. 11. And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, which parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. 12. And Elisha saw it, and he cried, My father, my father, the chariots 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. 13. He took up also the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and went back, and stood by the bank of the Jordan. 14. And he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and smote the waters, and said, Where is Jehovah, the God of Elijah? and when he also had smitten the waters, they were divided hither and thither; and Elisha went over. 15. And when the sons of the prophets that were at Jericho over against him 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."

"16. And they said unto him, Behold now, there are with thy servants fifty strong men; let them go, we pray thee, and seek thy master, lest the Spirit of Jehovah hath taken him up, and cast him upon some mountain, or into some valley. And he said, Ye shall not send. 17. And 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." (2 Kings 2:7-17, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. He also took up Elijah’s mantle that fell from him, and went back, and stood by the bank of the Jordan. 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. When the sons of the prophets who were at Jericho over against 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. 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. 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." (2 Kings 2:7-17, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"7. And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went, and stood to view afar off: and they two stood by Jordan. ^{to view: Heb. in sight, or, over against} 8. And 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."

"9. And 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. 10. And 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. ^{Thou hast: Heb. Thou hast done hard in asking} 11. And 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. 12. And 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. 13. He took up also the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and went back, and stood by the bank of Jordan; ^{bank: Heb. lip} 14. And 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. 15. And 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."

"16. And 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. ^{strong: Heb. sons of strength} ^{some mountain: Heb. one of the mountains} 17. And 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." (2 Kings 2:7-17, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"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. 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."

"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;' 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.' 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. 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. 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, 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. 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,"

"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.' 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;" (2 Kings 2:7-17, YLT)

Setting

Speaker: TBD
Audience: TBD
Location: TBD
Time period: TBD

Theological reading

Patristic / early-church-father exegesis, to be added.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word; see Lexicon Roadmap.

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Quoted in

H7307 - ruach

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.