2 Kings 2:24 (ASV)

Passage

And he looked behind him and saw them, and cursed them in the name of Jehovah. And there came forth two she-bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two lads of them.

Nearby Context

2 Kings 2:22 So the waters were healed unto this day, according to the word of Elisha which he spake.

2 Kings 2:23 And he went up from thence unto Beth-el; and as he was going up by the way, there came forth young lads out of the city, and mocked him, and said unto him, Go up, thou baldhead; go up, thou baldhead.

2 Kings 2:24 And he looked behind him and saw them, and cursed them in the name of Jehovah. And there came forth two she-bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two lads of them.

2 Kings 2:25 And he went from thence to mount Carmel, and from thence he returned to Samaria.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "looked", "behind", "cursed", "name", "jehovah", "came", "forth", and "she-bears". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "looked" and "behind", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 23's "And he went up from thence unto..." into verse 25's "And he went from thence to mount...", so "looked" and "behind" 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 "looked" and "behind" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.