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2 Kings 2:15-25

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Elisha Succeeds Elijah

15 Now when 1the sons of the prophets who were at Jericho saw him opposite them, they said, “The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha. ” And they came to meet him and bowed to the ground before him.
16 And they said to him, “Behold now, there are with your servants fifty strong men. Please let them go and seek your master. It may be that 2the Spirit of the Lord has caught him up and cast him upon some mountain or into some valley. ” And he said, “You shall not send. ”
17 But when they urged him 3till he was ashamed, he said, “Send. ” They sent therefore fifty men. And for three days they sought him but did not find him.
18 And they came back to him while he was staying at Jericho, and he said to them, “Did I not say to you, ‘Do not go’? ”
19 Now the men of the city said to Elisha, “Behold, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord sees, but the water is bad, and the land is unfruitful. ”
20 He said, “Bring me a new bowl, and put salt in it. ” So they brought it to him.
21 Then he went to the spring of water and 4threw 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. ”
22 So the water has been healed to this day, according to the word that Elisha spoke.
23 He went up from there to Bethel, and while he was going up on the way, some small boys came out of the city and jeered at him, saying, “Go up, you baldhead! Go up, you baldhead! ”
24 And he turned around, and when he saw them, 5he cursed them in the name of the Lord. And two she-bears came out of the woods and tore forty-two of the boys.
25 From there he went on to 6Mount Carmel, and from there he returned 7to Samaria.
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2 Kings 2:15-25 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO 2 KINGS 2

This chapter relates, how that Elisha accompanied Elijah to several places, and on the other side Jordan Elijah was taken up from him to heaven, which occasioned great lamentation in him, 2Ki 2:1-12, but having the mantle of Elijah, he divided the waters of Jordan, and passed over, 2Ki 2:13,14, and the sons of the prophets at Jericho, perceiving the spirit of Elijah on him, showed him great respect, and proposed sending men to seek his master, which they did in vain, 2Ki 2:15-18, when he healed the waters at Jericho, at the request of the men of it, 2Ki 2:19-22, and the chapter is concluded with the destruction of forty two children at Bethel by bears, who mocked him, 2Ki 2:23,24.

Taken from John Gill's Exposition of the Bible
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Cross References 7

  • 1. 2:15 [See ver. 3 above]
  • 2. 2:16 See 1 Kgs. 18:12
  • 3. 2:17 ch. 8:11
  • 4. 2:21 [ch. 4:41; Ex. 15:25]
  • 5. 2:24 [Neh. 13:25]
  • 6. 2:25 Josh. 19:26; 1 Kgs. 18:19, 20
  • 7. 2:25 [ch. 3:11]
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®) © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. All rights reserved. ESV Text Edition: 2025

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