Berean Standard Bible
2 Kings 2:20
20“Bring me a new bowl,” he replied, “and put some salt in it.”
So they brought it to him,
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
18When they returned to Elisha, who was staying in Jericho, he said to them, “Didn’t I tell you not to go?” 19Then the men of the city said to Elisha, “Please note, our lord, that the city’s location is good, as you can see. But the water is bad and the land is unfruitful.” “Bring me a new bowl,” he replied, “and put some salt in it.” So they brought it to him, 21and Elisha went out to the spring, cast the salt into it, and said, “This is what the LORD says: ‘I have healed this water. No longer will it cause death or unfruitfulness.’” 22And the waters there have been healthy to this day, according to the word spoken by Elisha.
Read all of 2 Kings 22 Kings 2:20 word by word
וַיֹּ֗אמֶר קְחוּ־לִי֙ צְלֹחִ֣ית חֲדָשָׁ֔ה וְשִׂ֥ימוּ שָׁ֖ם מֶ֑לַח וַיִּקְח֖וּ אֵלָֽיו׃Read the interlinear
Cross-references for 2 Kings 2:20
- Judges 9:45And all that day Abimelech fought against the city until he had captured it and killed its people. Then he demolished the city and sowed it with salt.
- Ezekiel 47:11But the swamps and marshes will not become fresh; they will be left for salt.
- Zephaniah 2:9Therefore, as surely as I live,” declares the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, “surely Moab will be like Sodom and the Ammonites like Gomorrah— a place of weeds and salt pits, a perpetual wasteland. The remnant of My people will plunder them; the remainder of My nation will dispossess them.”
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
In the dictionaries
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
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