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

19And the men of the city said unto Elisha, Behold, I pray thee, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord seeth: but the water is naught, and the ground barren. 20And he said, Bring me a new cruse, and put salt therein. And they brought it to him. And he went forth unto the spring of the waters, and cast the salt in there, and said, Thus saith Yhwh, I have healed these waters; there shall not be from thence any more death or barren land. 22So the waters were healed unto this day, according to the saying of Elisha which he spake. 23And he went up from thence unto Beth–el: and as he was going up by the way, there came forth little children out of the city, and mocked him, and said unto him, Go up, thou bald head; go up, thou bald head.

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

• 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
• Yhwhיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · 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 4:41But he said, Then bring meal. And he cast it into the pot; and he said, Pour out for the people, that they may eat. And there was no harm in the pot.
• 2 Kings 6:6And the man of God said, Where fell it? And he shewed him the place. And he cut down a stick, and cast it in thither; and the iron did swim.
• Exodus 15:25And he cried unto Yhwh; And Yhwh shewed him a tree, which when he had cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet: there he made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there he proved them,
• Leviticus 2:13And every oblation of thy grain offering shalt thou season with salt; neither shalt thou suffer the salt of the covenant of thy God to be lacking from thy grain offering: with all thine offerings thou shalt offer salt.
• Matthew 5:11Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
• Mark 9:50Salt is good: but if the salt have lost his saltness, wherewith will ye season it? Have salt in yourselves, and have peace one with another.
• John 9:6When he had thus spoken, he spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay,
• Ezekiel 47:8Then said he unto me, These waters issue out toward the east country, and go down into the desert, and go into the sea: which being brought forth into the sea, the waters shall be healed.
• 1 Corinthians 1:18For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.
• Revelation 22:2In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
• Psalms 107:33He turneth rivers into a wilderness, and the watersprings into dry ground;
• Revelation 21:4And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed 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