2 Kings 2:18 (ASV)

Passage

And they came back to him, while he tarried at Jericho; and he said unto them, Did I not say unto you, Go not?

Nearby Context

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.

2 Kings 2:18 And they came back to him, while he tarried at Jericho; and 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, we pray thee, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord seeth: but the water is bad, and the land miscarrieth.

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

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "came", "back", "tarried", "jericho", and "said". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "came" and "back", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 17's "And when they urged him till he..." into verse 19's "And the men of the city said...", so "came" and "back" 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 "came" and "back" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.