2 Kings 2:18 (GNV)

Passage

Therefore they returned to him, (for he taryed at Iericho) and he said vnto them, Did not I say vnto you, Goe not?

Nearby Context

2 Kings 2:16 And said vnto him, Beholde nowe, there be with thy seruants fiftie strong men: let them go, we pray thee, and seeke thy master, if so be the Spirite of the Lord hath taken him vp, and cast him vpon some mountaine, or into some valley. But he said, Ye shall not sende.

2 Kings 2:17 Yet they were instant vpon him, til he was ashamed: wherefore he saide, Sende. So they sent fiftie men, which sought three dayes, but founde him not.

2 Kings 2:18 Therefore they returned to him, (for he taryed at Iericho) and he said vnto them, Did not I say vnto you, Goe not?

2 Kings 2:19 And the men of the citie saide vnto Elisha, Beholde, we pray thee: the situation of this citie is pleasant, as thou, my lorde, seest, but the water is naught, and the ground baren.

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

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "therefore", "returned", "taryed", "iericho", "said", and "vnto". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "therefore" and "returned", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 17's "Yet they were instant vpon him til..." into verse 19's "And the men of the citie saide...", so "therefore" and "returned" 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 "therefore" and "returned" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.