2 Kings 2:19 (YLT)

Passage

And the men of the city say unto Elisha, `Lo, we pray thee, the site of the city <FI>is<Fi> good, as my lord seeth, and the waters <FI>are<Fi> bad, and the earth sterile.'

Nearby Context

2 Kings 2:17 And they press upon him, till he is ashamed, and he saith, `Send ye;' and they send fifty men, and they seek three days, and have not found him;

2 Kings 2:18 and they turn back unto him--and he is abiding in Jericho--and he saith unto them, `Did I not say unto you, Do not go?'

2 Kings 2:19 And the men of the city say unto Elisha, `Lo, we pray thee, the site of the city <FI>is<Fi> good, as my lord seeth, and the waters <FI>are<Fi> bad, and the earth sterile.'

2 Kings 2:20 And he saith, `Bring to me a new dish, and place there salt;' and they bring <FI>it<Fi> unto him,

2 Kings 2:21 and he goeth out unto the source of the waters, and casteth there salt, and saith, `Thus said Jehovah, I have given healing to these waters; there is not thence any more death and sterility.'

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "city", "elisha", "pray", "thee", "site", "good", and "lord". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "city" and "elisha", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 18's "and they turn back unto him--and he..." into verse 20's "And he saith Bring to me a...", so "city" and "elisha" 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 "elisha" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.