2 Kings 2:12 (LSB)

Passage

And Elisha was seeing this and he was crying out, “My father, my father, the chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” And he saw Elijah no more. Then he took hold of his own clothes and tore them in two pieces.

Nearby Context

2 Kings 2:10 And he said, “You have asked a hard thing. Nevertheless, if you see me when I am taken from you, it shall be so for you; but if not, it shall not be so.”

2 Kings 2:11 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.

2 Kings 2:12 And Elisha was seeing this and he was crying out, “My father, my father, the chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” And he saw Elijah no more. Then he took hold of his own clothes and tore them in two pieces.

2 Kings 2:13 He also took up the mantle of Elijah that fell from him and returned and stood by the bank of the Jordan.

2 Kings 2:14 And he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him and struck the waters and said, “Where is Yahweh, the God of Elijah?” Indeed, he himself also struck the waters, and they were divided here and there! And Elisha crossed over.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "elisha", "seeing", "crying", "father", "chariots", "israel", and "horsemen". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "elisha" and "seeing", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 11's "As they were going along and talking..." into verse 13's "He also took up the mantle of...", so "elisha" and "seeing" belong inside that flow. In 2 Kings context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "elisha" and "seeing" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.