2 Kings 2:21

2 Kings 2:21 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And he went forth unto the spring of the waters, and cast the salt in there, and said, Thus saith the Lord, I have healed these waters; there shall not be from thence any more death or barren land.
• New International Version (NIV)Then he went out to the spring and threw the salt into it, saying, “This is what the Lord says: ‘I have healed this water. Never again will it cause death or make the land unproductive.’ ”
• English Standard Version (ESV)Then he went to the spring of water and threw salt in it and said, "Thus says the Lord, I have healed this water; from now on neither death nor miscarriage shall come from it."
• New King James Version (NKJV)Then he went out to the source of the water, and cast in the salt there, and said, “Thus says the Lord: ‘I have healed this water; from it there shall be no more death or barrenness.’ ”

Context of 2 Kings 2:21

19One day, the leaders in Jericho said to Elisha, ‘Please listen to us, sir. You can see that our city is in a good place. But the water here is bad. The land does not give us good crops.’ 20Elisha said, ‘Bring a new bowl to me with some salt in it.’ So they brought it to him. Then Elisha went out to the city's spring of water. He threw the salt into it. He said, ‘This is what the Lord says: “I have made this water clean again. It will no longer cause people to die. The land will no longer be useless for crops.” ’ 22Since that time, the water has always been pure. This is what Elisha had said would happen. 23Elisha went from Jericho to Bethel. While he travelled along the road, some boys came out of the town. They laughed at Elisha. They shouted at him, ‘Bald man, move on! Go away, you bald man!’

2 Kings 2:21 word by word

וַיֵּצֵא֙ אֶל־מוֹצָ֣א הַמַּ֔יִם וַיַּשְׁלֶךְ־שָׁ֖ם מֶ֑לַח וַיֹּ֜אמֶר כֹּֽה־אָמַ֣ר יְהוָ֗ה רִפִּ֙אתִי֙ לַמַּ֣יִם הָאֵ֔לֶּה לֹֽא־יִהְיֶ֥ה מִשָּׁ֛ם ע֖וֹד מָ֥וֶת וּמְשַׁכָּֽלֶת׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And he went forthיָצָאyâtsâ' · to come out: comeH3318
• unto the springמוֹצָאmôtsâ' môtsâ' · exitH4161
• of the watersמַיmayim · waterH4325
• and castשָׁלַךְshâlak · to throwH7993
• the saltמֶ֫לַחmelach · saltH4417
• in there, and saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• I have healedרָפָאrâphâ' râphâh · to healH7495
• there shall not be from thence any more deathמָ֫וֶתmâveth · deathH4194
• or barrenמְשַׁכֶּ֫לֶתshâkôl · barrennessH7921

Cross-references for 2 Kings 2:21

• 2 Kings 4:41Then Elisha said, ‘Bring some flour.’ He put the flour into the pot. He said, ‘Now pour out some more soup for the people to eat.’ Then there was nothing in the soup that would hurt them.
• 2 Kings 6:6Elisha asked him, ‘Where did it fall in the water?’ He showed Elisha the place. Then Elisha cut a branch from a tree. He threw it in the water at that place. It caused the iron axe to come to the top of the water.
• Exodus 15:25Then Moses called to the Lord for help. The Lord showed Moses a special tree. Moses threw a branch into the water. Then the water became good for them to drink. There at Marah, the Lord made a law for the Israelites to obey. He tested them there, to see if they would trust him.
• Leviticus 2:13A person must put salt in all his gifts of grain. Salt is a mark of God's promise to Israel's people.
• Matthew 5:11Yes, happy are you when people say bad things against you because you believe in me. Or they may hurt you. Or they may say things about you that are not true.
• Mark 9:50Salt is good. But if your salt is not salty any more, you cannot make it salty again. You should be like good salt and love each other. Do not cause trouble among yourselves.’
• John 9:6When Jesus had finished speaking, he spat on the ground. He mixed it with dirt on the ground so that he made mud. Then he put some of the mud on the eyes of the blind man.
• Ezekiel 47:8He said to me, ‘This river of water goes towards the land in the east. It goes into the valley of the Jordan River. Then the water goes into the Salt Sea. When it goes into the sea there, the water becomes pure instead of salty.
• 1 Corinthians 1:18Some people think that the message about Christ's death on the cross is silly. Those people are destroying themselves. But it is different for us, the people that God is saving. The message about the cross shows us God's power to save us.
• Revelation 22:2along the middle of the city's biggest street. I saw a tree that was growing on each side of the river. It is the tree that gives people true life. It has 12 different kinds of fruit, a new fruit every month. The tree's leaves are like medicine. They make people of every nation well again.
• Psalms 107:33In places where people are wicked, God makes the streams and rivers become dry, so that the land becomes a desert. He makes good land become a salty wilderness.
• Revelation 21:4God will take away all the tears from their eyes. Nobody will ever die again. Nobody will be sad again. Nobody will ever cry. Nobody will have pain again. Everything that made people sad has now gone. That old world has completely gone away.’

Commentaries on 2 Kings 2:21

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 21And cast the salt in there - He cast in the salt at the place where the waters sprang out of the earth. Jarchi well observes here, "Salt is a thing which corrupts water; therefore, it is evident that this was a true miracle." What Elisha did on this occasion, getting the new cruse and throwing in the salt, was only to make the miracle more conspicuous. If the salt could have had any natural tendency to render the water salubrious, it could have acted only…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 21The spring of the waters - The spring intended is probably that now called Ain-es-Sultan, which is not much more than a mile from the site of the ancient town. It is described as a large and beautiful fountain of sweet and pleasant water. The springs issuing from the eastern base of the highlands of Judah and Benjamin are to this day generally brackish.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

Topics related to 2 Kings 2:21

• Elisha
• Jericho
• Miracles
• Salt
• Water

In the dictionaries

• Double
• Elijah
• Elisha
• Heal
• Jericho
• Lord
• Mock
• Rest
• Barren; Barrenness
• 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