2 Kings 2:21 (DBY)

Passage

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.

Nearby Context

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.

2 Kings 2:22 And the waters were healed to this day, according to the saying of Elisha which he spoke.

2 Kings 2:23 And he went up from thence to Bethel, and as he went up by the way, there came forth little boys out of the city, and mocked him, and said to him, Go up, bald head; go up, bald head!

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "healed", "went", "forth", "source", "waters", "cast", "salt", and "said". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "healed" and "went", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 20's "And he said Bring me a new..." into verse 22's "And the waters were healed to this...", so "healed" and "went" 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 "healed" and "went" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.