2 Kings 2:15 (ASV)

Passage

And when the sons of the prophets that were at Jericho over against him saw him, they said, The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha. And they came to meet him, and bowed themselves to the ground before him.

Nearby Context

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

2 Kings 2:14 And he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and smote the waters, and said, Where is Jehovah, the God of Elijah? and when he also had smitten the waters, they were divided hither and thither; and Elisha went over.

2 Kings 2:15 And when the sons of the prophets that were at Jericho over against him saw him, they said, The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha. And they came to meet him, and bowed themselves to the ground before him.

2 Kings 2:16 And they said unto him, Behold now, there are with thy servants fifty strong men; let them go, we pray thee, and seek thy master, lest the Spirit of Jehovah hath taken him up, and cast him upon some mountain, or into some valley. And he said, Ye shall not send.

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.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "Spirit", "sons", "prophets", "jericho", "over", "against", "said", and "elijah". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "Spirit" and "sons", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 14's "And he took the mantle of Elijah..." into verse 16's "And they said unto him Behold now...", so "Spirit" and "sons" 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 "Spirit" and "sons" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.