2 Kings 2:20

2 Kings 2:20 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And he said, Bring me a new cruse, and put salt therein. And they brought it to him.
• New International Version (NIV)“Bring me a new bowl,” he said, “and put salt in it.” So they brought it to him.
• English Standard Version (ESV)He said, "Bring me a new bowl, and put salt in it." So they brought it to him.
• New King James Version (NKJV)And he said, “Bring me a new bowl, and put salt in it.” So they brought it to him.

Context of 2 Kings 2:20

18They returned to Elisha while he was staying at Jericho; and he said to them, “Did I not tell you, ‘Do not go’?” 19Then the men of the city said to Elisha, “Look, this city is in a pleasant place, as my lord [Elisha] sees; but the water is bad and the land is barren.” He said, “Bring me a new jar, and put salt in it.” So they brought it to him. 21Then Elisha went to the spring of water and threw the salt in it and said, “Thus says the Lord: ‘I [not the salt] have purified and healed these waters; there shall no longer be death or barrenness because of it.’ ” 22So the waters have been purified to this day, in accordance with the word spoken by Elisha.

2 Kings 2:20 word by word

וַיֹּ֗אמֶר קְחוּ־לִי֙ צְלֹחִ֣ית חֲדָשָׁ֔ה וְשִׂ֥ימוּ שָׁ֖ם מֶ֑לַח וַיִּקְח֖וּ אֵלָֽיו׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And he saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• Bringלָקַחlâqach · to take: bringH3947
• me a newחָדָשׁchâdâsh · newH2319
• cruseצְלֹחִיתtselôchîyth · jarH6746
• and putשׂוּםώûm ώîym · to set: putH7760
• saltמֶ֫לַחmelach · saltH4417

Cross-references for 2 Kings 2:20

• Judges 9:45Abimelech fought against the city that entire day. He took the city and killed the people who were in it; he demolished the city and sowed it with salt.
• Ezekiel 47:11But its swamps and marshes will not become fresh [and wholesome for animal life]; they will [as the river subsides] be left encrusted with salt.
• Zephaniah 2:9Therefore, as I live,” declares the Lord of hosts, The God of Israel, “Moab will in fact become like Sodom And the sons of Ammon like Gomorrah, A land possessed by nettles and salt pits, And a perpetual desolation. The remnant of My people will plunder them And what is left of My nation will inherit them [as their own].”

Commentaries on 2 Kings 2:20

• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 20The “new cruse” and the “salt” are evidently chosen from a regard to symbolizm. The foul stream represents sin, and to cleanse it emblems of purity must he taken. Hence, the clean “new” dish previously unused, and thus untainted; and the salt, a common Scriptural symbol of incorruption (see Leviticus 2:13; Ezekiel 43:24; Matthew 5:13, etc.).Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 19-25Verses 19-25 Observe the miracle of healing the waters. Prophets should make every place to which they come better for them, endeavouring to sweeten bitter spirits, and to make barren souls fruitful, by the word of God, which is like the salt cast into the water by Elisha. It was an apt emblem of the effect produced by the grace of God on the sinful heart of man. Whole families, towns, and cities, sometimes have a new appearance through the preaching of…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 20-22Elisha used a new bowl (Deuteronomy 21:3) filled with salt (Leviticus 2:13; Ezekiel 43:24) to ask God to purify the people and the environment. Elisha emphasized that the Lord, not he or the salt, purified the water.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2020. Bring me a new cruse, and put salt therein--The noxious qualities of the water could not be corrected by the infusion of salt--for, supposing the salt was possessed of such a property, a whole spring could not be purified by a dishful for a day, much less in all future time. The pouring in of the salt was a symbolic act with which Elisha accompanied the word of the Lord, by which the spring was healed [Keil].Read the comment

Topics related to 2 Kings 2:20

• Cruse
• Elisha
• Jericho
• Miracles
• Salt
• Water

In the dictionaries

• Cruse
• Double
• Elijah
• Heal
• Jericho
• Lord
• Mock
• Rest
• Elisha
• Friend; Friendship

Commentaries on 2 Kings 2

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings