and as surely as thy soule lyueth, I wyl not leaue the, and so they went to Iericho. And the children of the Prophetes that were at Iericho came to Eliseus and sayde vnto hym: arte thou not ware that the Lorde wil take awaye thy mayster frome the this day? And he answered: I know it also, holde your peaxe. And Eliah sayde to hym: tarye I pray the here, for the Lorde hathe sent me to Ior∣dan. But he sayde: as surelye as the Lorde lyueth, and as thy soule lyueth, I wyll not leaue the. And so they went both of them to¦gyther. And fyftye men of the sonnes of the Prophetes went and stode in syght a farre of, as they two stode by Iordan.
And then Eliah toke his mantel & wrapt it togither, and smote the water, and it diui∣ded it selfe / parte one waye, and parte an o∣ther / and they two went ouer on the dry land. And as soone as they were ouer, Eliah sayde to Eliseus / aske what I shall doo for the, er I be taken awaye from the. And Eliseus sayde: let me haue thy spirite double in me. And he sayde: thou hast asked an harde thynge. Ne∣uerthelesse if thou se me when I am taken a∣waye frome the, thou shalte haue it so: yf thou do not, it shall not be. And as they went walkynge and talkynge: beholde there came a charet of fire, and horsses of fire / & put them asonder. And Eliah went vp in the whorl∣wynde to heauen. And Eliseus sawe and cry∣ed: [ C] O my father, O my father, the charet of Israel, and his charet man, but he sawe hym no more / and therfore toke his owne clothes, and rent them in two peaces.
And then he toke vp the mantell of Eliah that fel from him, and went backe agayn and stode by Iordans syde, and with the mantell of Eliah yt fell from him, he smote the water, and sayd: where is the Lorde God of Eliah, where is he? And when he had smytten ye wa∣ter, it diuided parte this waye and parte that way / and Eliseus went ouer. And the children of the Prophetes of Iericho whiche sawe him a farre, sayd: the spirite of Eliah, dothe rest on Eliseus / and went agaynst him, and bowed to the erth vnto him. And they sayd vnto him / se, there be amonge thy seruauntes fiftye lustye men: let them go and seke thy master, happly the spirite of the Lorde hath taken him vp & cast him vpon some mountayne, or in some va∣leye. And he sayd: sende not. Neuerthelesse yet they laye vpon him, tyll he was ashamed, and sayd: sende, and they sent fyftye men whiche sought him thre dayes and thre nyghtes / but found him not. And they came agayn to him, for he taryed at Iericho. And he sayd to them / dyd I not saye vnto you that ye shold not go? Then the men of Iericho sayde to Eliseus: [ D] beholde, the citye standeth plesauntly, as my Lorde seeth / but the water is noughte, and the grounde bareyn. And he sayde: brynge me a newe cruse, and put salte therin. And they broughte it to him. And he wente vnto the sprynge of the water, and cast the salte in thy∣ther / and sayd, thus sayth the Lorde: I heale this water / there shal not come henceforth ei∣ther deth, or bareynnesse. And the water was helthsome euer after, according to the sayinge of Eliseus whiche he spake.
And he wente frome thence vp to Bethell. And as he was goynge in the waye / there came lytle laddes oute of the cytye, and moc∣ked him, and sayd to him: goo vp thou balde heed / goo vp thou balde heed. And he tourned backe, and loked on them, and cursed theym in the name of the Lorde. And there came two beares oute of the wodde, and tare .xlij. of the boyes. And he wente frome thence to mounte Carmel, and frome thence wente a∣agayne to Samaria.