2 Kings 2:18 (LSB)

Passage

So they returned to him while he was staying at Jericho; and he said to them, “Did I not say to you, ‘Do not go’?”

Nearby Context

2 Kings 2:16 Then they said to him, “Behold now, there are with your servants fifty excellent men, please let them go and search for your master, lest the Spirit of Yahweh has taken him up and cast him on some mountain or into some valley.” And he said, “You shall not send.”

2 Kings 2:17 But when they urged him until he was ashamed, he said, “Send.” They sent therefore fifty men; and they searched three days but did not find him.

2 Kings 2:18 So they returned to him while he was staying at Jericho; and he said to them, “Did I not say to you, ‘Do not go’?”

2 Kings 2:19 Then the men of the city said to Elisha, “Behold now, the habitat of this city is pleasant, as my lord sees; but the water is bad and the land is unfruitful.”

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

Study Lenses

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

The nearby context moves from verse 17's "But when they urged him until he..." into verse 19's "Then the men of the city said...", so "returned" and "staying" 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 "returned" and "staying" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.