2 Kings 2:19

Elisha

¹⁷ But when they pressed him to the point of embarrassment, he said, “Send them.” And they sent fifty men, who searched for three days but did not find Elijah.

¹⁸ When they returned to Elisha, who was staying in Jericho, he said to them, “Didn’t I tell you not to go?”

Then the men of the city said to Elisha, “Please note, our lord, that the city’s location is good, as you can see. But the water is bad and the land is unfruitful.”

²⁰ “Bring me a new bowl,” he replied, “and put some salt in it.” So they brought it to him,

²¹ and Elisha went out to the spring, cast the salt into it, and said, “This is what the LORD says: ‘I have healed this water. No longer will it cause death or unfruitfulness.’”

Here the Bible tells a story about someone else. Ask yourself what it can say to us today. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.

Compare

BSB: Then the men of the city said to Elisha, “Please note, our lord, that the city’s location is good, as you can see. But the water is bad and the land is unfruitful.”
KJV: And the men of the city said unto Elisha, Behold, I pray thee, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord seeth: but the water is naught, and the ground barren.
WEB: The men of the city said to Elisha, “Behold, please, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord sees; but the water is bad, and the land is barren.”
ASV: And the men of the city said unto Elisha, Behold, we pray thee, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord seeth: but the water is bad, and the land miscarrieth.
DARBY: And the men of the city said to Elisha, Behold now, the situation of the city is good, as my lord sees; but the water is bad, and the land is barren.
BLB: And the men of the city said to Elisha, “Behold, please, the site of the city [is] good, as my lord sees. And the waters [are] bad and the ground barren.”

ÅB: Mennene i byen sa til Elisa: Byen ligger godt til, som min herre ser; men vannet er dårlig, og landet lider under for tidlige fødsler.
OTB: Mennene i byen sa til Elisja, «Se, vår herre kan se at denne byen ligger godt til, men vannet er dårlig og landet ufruktbart.»
B1930: Mennene i byen sa til Elisa: Byen ligger godt til, som min herre ser; men vannet er dårlig, og landet lider under for tidlige fødsler.

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

Exodus 23:26
No woman in your land will miscarry or be barren; I will fulfill the number of your days.
Read in context
Deuteronomy 28:2–4
And all these blessings will come upon you and overtake you, if you will obey the voice of the LORD your God:
Read in context
Deuteronomy 28:11
The LORD will make you prosper abundantly—in the fruit of your womb, the offspring of your livestock, and the produce of your land—in the land that the LORD swore to your fathers to give you.
Read in context
Deuteronomy 28:15–18
If, however, you do not obey the LORD your God by carefully following all His commandments and statutes I am giving you today, all these curses will come upon you and overtake you:
Read in context
1 Kings 16:34
In Ahab’s days, Hiel the Bethelite rebuilt Jericho. At the cost of Abiram his firstborn he laid its foundation, and at the cost of Segub his youngest he set up its gates, according to the word that the LORD had spoken through Joshua son of Nun.
Read in context
Exodus 15:23
And when they came to Marah, they could not drink the water there because it was bitter. (That is why it was named Marah.)
Read in context
Exodus 7:19
And the LORD said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt—over their rivers and canals and ponds and reservoirs—that they may become blood.’ There will be blood throughout the land of Egypt, even in the vessels of wood and stone.”
Read in context
Numbers 12:11
and said to Moses, “My lord, please do not hold against us this sin we have so foolishly committed.
Read in context