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

18Elisha was still at Jericho when they returned. “Didn’t I tell you not to go?” he asked. 19One day the leaders of the town of Jericho visited Elisha. “We have a problem, my lord,” they told him. “This town is located in pleasant surroundings, as you can see. But the water is bad, and the land is unproductive.” Elisha said, “Bring me a new bowl with salt in it.” So they brought it to him. 21Then he went out to the spring that supplied the town with water and threw the salt into it. And he said, “This is what the Lord says: I have purified this water. It will no longer cause death or infertility.” 22And the water has remained pure ever since, just as Elisha said.

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 9:45The battle went on all day before Abimelech finally captured the city. He killed the people, leveled the city, and scattered salt all over the ground.
• Ezekiel 47:11But the marshes and swamps will not be purified; they will still be salty.
• Zephaniah 2:9Now, as surely as I live,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, “Moab and Ammon will be destroyed— destroyed as completely as Sodom and Gomorrah. Their land will become a place of stinging nettles, salt pits, and eternal desolation. The remnant of my people will plunder them and take their land.”

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