2 Kings 2:24 (YLT)

Passage

And he looketh behind him, and seeth them, and declareth them vile in the name of Jehovah, and two bears come out of the forest, and rend of them forty and two lads.

Nearby Context

2 Kings 2:22 And the waters are healed unto this day, according to the word of Elisha, that he spake.

2 Kings 2:23 And he goeth up thence to Beth-El, and he is going up in the way, and little youths have come out from the city, and scoff at him, and say to him, `Go up, bald-head! go up, bald-head!'

2 Kings 2:24 And he looketh behind him, and seeth them, and declareth them vile in the name of Jehovah, and two bears come out of the forest, and rend of them forty and two lads.

2 Kings 2:25 And he goeth thence unto the hill of Carmel, and thence he hath turned back to Samaria.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "looketh", "behind", "seeth", "declareth", "vile", "name", "jehovah", and "bears". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "looketh" and "behind", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 23's "And he goeth up thence to Beth-El..." into verse 25's "And he goeth thence unto the hill...", so "looketh" and "behind" 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 "looketh" and "behind" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.