2 Kings 2:19 (DBY)

Passage

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.

Nearby Context

2 Kings 2:17 And they pressed him till he was ashamed, and he said, Send. They sent therefore fifty men, and they sought three days, but did not find him.

2 Kings 2:18 And they came again to him (now he was staying at Jericho); and he said to them, Did I not say to you, Go not?

2 Kings 2:19 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.

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

2 Kings 2:21 And he went forth to the source of the waters, and cast the salt in there, and said, Thus saith Jehovah: I have healed these waters: there shall not be from thence any more death or barrenness.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "city", "said", "elisha", "behold", "situation", "good", and "lord". 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 they came again to him now..." 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.