2 Kings 2:11
New International Version
As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind.

New Living Translation
As they were walking along and talking, suddenly a chariot of fire appeared, drawn by horses of fire. It drove between the two men, separating them, and Elijah was carried by a whirlwind into heaven.

English Standard Version
And as they still went on and talked, behold, chariots of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them. And Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.

Berean Standard Bible
As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire with horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up into heaven in a whirlwind.

King James Bible
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.

New King James Version
Then it happened, as they continued on and talked, that suddenly a chariot of fire appeared with horses of fire, and separated the two of them; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.

New American Standard Bible
And as they were walking along and talking, behold, a chariot of fire appeared with horses of fire, and they separated the two of them. Then Elijah went up by a whirlwind to heaven.

NASB 1995
As they were going along and talking, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire and horses of fire which separated the two of them. And Elijah went up by a whirlwind to heaven.

NASB 1977
Then it came about as they were going along and talking, that behold, there appeared a chariot of fire and horses of fire which separated the two of them. And Elijah went up by a whirlwind to heaven.

Legacy Standard Bible
As they were going along and talking, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire and horses of fire, and it separated the two of them. And Elijah went up by a whirlwind to heaven.

Amplified Bible
As they continued along and talked, behold, a chariot of fire with horses of fire [appeared suddenly and] separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind.

Christian Standard Bible
As they continued walking and talking, a chariot of fire with horses of fire suddenly appeared and separated the two of them. Then Elijah went up into heaven in the whirlwind.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
As they continued walking and talking, a chariot of fire with horses of fire suddenly appeared and separated the two of them. Then Elijah went up into heaven in the whirlwind.

American Standard Version
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.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
And it was that when they were speaking and walking, also, behold, a chariot of fire and horses of fire, and they parted between both of them, and Elyah went up in a whirlwind to Heaven.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And it came to pass as they were going, they went on talking; and, behold, a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and it separated between them both; and Eliu was taken up in a whirlwind as it were into heaven.

Contemporary English Version
Elijah and Elisha were walking along and talking, when suddenly there appeared between them a flaming chariot pulled by fiery horses. At once, a strong wind took Elijah up into heaven.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And as they went on, walking and talking together, behold a fiery chariot, and fiery horses parted them both asunder: and Elias went up by a whirlwind into heaven.

English Revised Version
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.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
As they continued walking and talking, a fiery chariot with fiery horses separated the two of them, and Elijah went to heaven in a windstorm.

Good News Translation
They kept talking as they walked on; then suddenly a chariot of fire pulled by horses of fire came between them, and Elijah was taken up to heaven by a whirlwind.

International Standard Version
As they continued on, talking as they went, suddenly chariots blazing with fire and pulled by fiery horses appeared, separated the two of them, and Elijah ascended in a wind storm to heaven!

JPS Tanakh 1917
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 assunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.

Literal Standard Version
And it comes to pass, they are going, going on and speaking, and behold, a chariot of fire and horses of fire [appear], and they separate between them both, and Elijah goes up to the heavens in a whirlwind.

Majority Standard Bible
As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire with horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up into heaven in a whirlwind.

New American Bible
As they walked on still conversing, a fiery chariot and fiery horses came between the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind,

NET Bible
As they were walking along and talking, suddenly a fiery chariot pulled by fiery horses appeared. They went between Elijah and Elisha, and Elijah went up to heaven in a windstorm.

New Revised Standard Version
As they continued walking and talking, a chariot of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them, and Elijah ascended in a whirlwind into heaven.

New Heart English Bible
It happened, as they still went on, and talked, that look, a chariot of fire and horses of fire separated them; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.

Webster's Bible Translation
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.

World English Bible
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.

Young's Literal Translation
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.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Elijah Taken to Heaven
10“You have requested a difficult thing,” said Elijah. “Nevertheless, if you see me as I am taken from you, it will be yours. But if not, then it will not be so.” 11 As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire with horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up into heaven in a whirlwind. 12As Elisha watched, he cried out, “My father, my father, the chariots and horsemen of Israel!” And he saw Elijah no more. So taking hold of his own clothes, he tore them in two.…

Cross References
Revelation 11:12
And the witnesses heard a loud voice from heaven saying, "Come up here." And they went up to heaven in a cloud as their enemies watched them.

Genesis 5:24
Enoch walked with God, and then he was no more, because God had taken him away.

2 Kings 6:17
Then Elisha prayed, "O LORD, please open his eyes that he may see." And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw that the hills were full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.

Psalm 104:4
He makes the winds His messengers, flames of fire His servants.


Treasury of Scripture

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.

2 Kings 6:17
And Elisha prayed, and said, LORD, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.

Psalm 68:17
The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands of angels: the Lord is among them, as in Sinai, in the holy place.

Psalm 104:3,4
Who layeth the beams of his chambers in the waters: who maketh the clouds his chariot: who walketh upon the wings of the wind: …

by a whirlwind

2 Kings 2:1
And it came to pass, when the LORD would take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal.

into heaven

Mark 16:19
So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God.

Jump to Previous
Apart Appeared Asunder Carriages Chariot Elijah Eli'jah Fire Great Heaven Heavens Horses Parted Separated Separating Talked Talking Together Walking Way Whirlwind Wind
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Apart Appeared Asunder Carriages Chariot Elijah Eli'jah Fire Great Heaven Heavens Horses Parted Separated Separating Talked Talking Together Walking Way Whirlwind Wind
2 Kings 2
1. Elijah, taking his leave of Elisha, with his mantle divides Jordan
9. and, granting Elisha his request, is taken up by a fiery chariot into heaven
12. Elisha, dividing Jordan with Elijah's mantle, is acknowledged his successor
16. The young prophets, hardly obtaining leave to seek Elijah, cannot find him.
19. Elisha with salt heals the unwholesome waters
23. Bears destroy the children that mocked Elisha














(11) And it came to pass . . . talked.--Literally, And it came to pass, they (emphatic) were walking a walking and talking, i.e., were going on farther and farther, talking as they went. Whither they went is not told; probably some height of the mountains of Gilead, Elijah's native country, was the scene of his departure. (Comp. Deuteronomy 34:5; Numbers 20:28.)

That, behold, there appeared . . . fire.--Literally, and, behold, chariots of fire and horses of fire. Rekeb is generally collective; so the Targum here. (Comp. 2Kings 6:17 : "Horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.")

Parted them both asunder.--Or, made parting between them twain, i.e., the appearance of fiery chariots and horses came between Elijah and Elisha, surrounding the former as with a flaming war-host. (Comp. 2Kings 6:17.)

Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.--Rather, Elijah went up in the storm heavenward, or, perhaps, into the air. S?'?r?h, properly storm-blast; and so storm, thunderstorm. (Comp. Ezekiel 1:4, seq., where Jehovah appears in a "whirlwind," which is described as a great fiery cloud; and Job 38:1, where He answers Job "out of the whirlwind;" and Nehemiah 1:3 : "The Lord hath His path in whirlwind and in storm (s?'?r?h), and the clouds are the dust of His feet.") The Hebrew mind recognised the presence and working of Jehovah in the terrific phenomena of nature; the thunder-cloud or storm-wind was His chariot, the thunder His voice, the lightning His arrow. (Comp. Psalm 18:6-15; Psalm 104:3.) We must therefore be cautious of taking the words before us in too literal a sense. The essential meaning of the passage is this, that God suddenly took Elijah to Himself, amid a grand display of His power in and through the forces of nature. The popular conception, which we see embodied in such pictures as William Blake's Translation of Elijah, that the prophet ascended to heaven in a fiery car drawn by horses of fire, is plainly read into, rather than gathered from, the sacred text. . . .

Verse 11. - And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked (comp. Luke 24:50, 51,). The antitype answers to the type in little details as well as in the general outline. That behold, there appeared a chariot of firs, and horses of fire. God's "angels are spirits, and his ministers a flaming fire" (Psalm 104:4). When the eyes of Elisha's servant were opened, and he saw the angelic host that protected his master, it appeared to him that "the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha" (2 Kings 6:17). Material fire is, of course, not to be thought cf. But the glory and brightness of celestial beings, when made visible to man, has some analogy with fire, or at any rate brings the conception of fire before the mind. The historian doubtless reports the account which Elisha gave of what he saw on this memorable occasion. And parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven; literally, and Elijah went up in a storm into the heavens. There is no mention of a "whirlwind;" and "the heavens" are primarily the visible firmament or sky which overhangs the earth. Elijah, like our Lord, rose bodily from the earth into the upper region of the air, and was there lost to sight. Three only of the seed of Adam - Enoch, Elijah, Jesus - have passed from earth to heaven without dying.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
As they
הֵ֣מָּה (hêm·māh)
Pronoun - third person masculine plural
Strong's 1992: They

were walking along
הֹלְכִ֤ים (hō·lə·ḵîm)
Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine plural
Strong's 1980: To go, come, walk

and talking together,
וְדַבֵּ֔ר (wə·ḏab·bêr)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Piel - Infinitive absolute
Strong's 1696: To arrange, to speak, to subdue

suddenly
וְהִנֵּ֤ה (wə·hin·nêh)
Conjunctive waw | Interjection
Strong's 2009: Lo! behold!

a chariot
רֶֽכֶב־ (re·ḵeḇ-)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 7393: A vehicle, a team, cavalry, a rider, the upper millstone

of fire
אֵשׁ֙ (’êš)
Noun - common singular
Strong's 784: A fire

with horses
וְס֣וּסֵי (wə·sū·sê)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine plural construct
Strong's 5483: A swallow, swift (type of bird)

of fire
אֵ֔שׁ (’êš)
Noun - common singular
Strong's 784: A fire

appeared and separated
וַיַּפְרִ֖דוּ (way·yap̄·ri·ḏū)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Hifil - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 6504: To break through, spread, separate

the two of them,
שְׁנֵיהֶ֑ם (šə·nê·hem)
Number - mdc | third person masculine plural
Strong's 8147: Two (a cardinal number)

and Elijah
אֵ֣לִיָּ֔הוּ (’ê·lî·yā·hū)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 452: Elijah -- 'Yah is God', a well-known prophet of Israel, also three other Israelites

went up
וַיַּ֙עַל֙ (way·ya·‘al)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 5927: To ascend, in, actively

into heaven
הַשָּׁמָֽיִם׃ (haš·šā·mā·yim)
Article | Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 8064: Heaven, sky

in a whirlwind.
בַּֽסְעָרָ֖ה (bas·sə·‘ā·rāh)
Preposition-b, Article | Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 5591: A hurricane


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OT History: 2 Kings 2:11 It happened as they still went (2Ki iiKi ii ki 2 kg 2kg)
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