19 So Eliyah left that place and went and found Shafat’s son Elisha. There were twelve teams ploughing a field and he was with the back pair of cattle. Eliyah walked past him and threw his cloak over him. 20 Elisha left the plough and ran after Eliyah, saying, “Please let me kiss my father and my mother, then I’ll come with you.”

“Go on back then,” Eliyah replied, “because I haven’t done anything for you.”

21 So Elisha went back and killed his pair of cattle. He used the wood of the plough to cook the meat on, and he shared it around the people. After they’d eaten, he packed up and followed Eliyah and became his helper.