2 Kings 2:19 (KJV)

Passage

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.

Nearby Context

2 Kings 2:17 And when they urged him till he was ashamed, he said, Send. They sent therefore fifty men; and they sought three days, but found him not.

2 Kings 2:18 And when they came again to him, (for he tarried at Jericho,) he said unto them, Did I not say unto you, Go not?

2 Kings 2:19 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.

2 Kings 2:20 And he said, Bring me a new cruse, and put salt therein. And they brought it to him.

2 Kings 2:21 And he went forth unto the spring of the waters, and cast the salt in there, and said, Thus saith the LORD, I have healed these waters; there shall not be from thence any more death or barren land.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "city", "said", "elisha", "behold", "pray", "thee", and "situation". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "city" and "said", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 18's "And when they came again to him..." into verse 20's "And he said Bring me a new...", so "city" and "said" 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 "city" and "said" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.