2 Kings 2:10 (GNV)

Passage

And he saide, Thou hast asked an hard thing: yet if thou see me when I am taken from thee, thou shalt haue it so: and if not, it shall not be.

Nearby Context

2 Kings 2:8 Then Eliiah tooke his cloke, and wrapt it together, and smote the waters, and they were deuided hither and thither, and they twaine went ouer on the dry lande.

2 Kings 2:9 Nowe when they were passed ouer, Eliiah saide vnto Elisha, Aske what I shall doe for thee before I be taken from thee. And Elisha saide, I pray thee, let thy Spirit be double vpon me.

2 Kings 2:10 And he saide, Thou hast asked an hard thing: yet if thou see me when I am taken from thee, thou shalt haue it so: and if not, it shall not be.

2 Kings 2:11 And as they went walking and talking, beholde, there appeared a charet of fire, and horses of fire, and did separate them twaine. So Eliiah went vp by a whirle winde into heauen.

2 Kings 2:12 And Elisha saw it, and he cryed, My father, my father, the charet of Israel, and the horsemen thereof: and he sawe him no more: and he tooke his owne clothes, and rent them in two pieces.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "saide", "thou", "hast", "asked", "hard", "taken", and "thee". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "saide" and "thou", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 9's "Nowe when they were passed ouer Eliiah..." into verse 11's "And as they went walking and talking...", so "saide" and "thou" 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 "saide" and "thou" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.