2 Kings 2:18

18 and they turn back unto him -- and he is abiding in Jericho -- and he saith unto them, `Did I not say unto you, Do not go?'

2 Kings 2:18 Meaning and Commentary

2 Kings 2:18

And when they came again to him, for he tarried at Jericho,
&c.] Waiting their return to hear the report they made: which when they had,

he said unto them, did I not say unto you, go not?
assuring them it would be fruitless, and to no purpose; though this search of theirs served both to confirm the assumption of Elijah, and the truth of Elisha being a prophet of the Lord.

2 Kings 2:18 In-Context

16 and say unto him, `Lo, we pray thee, there are with thy servants fifty men, sons of valour: let them go, we pray thee, and they seek thy lord, lest the Spirit of Jehovah hath taken him up, and doth cast him on one of the hills, or into one of the valleys;' and he saith, `Ye do not send.'
17 And they press upon him, till he is ashamed, and he saith, `Send ye;' and they send fifty men, and they seek three days, and have not found him;
18 and they turn back unto him -- and he is abiding in Jericho -- and he saith unto them, `Did I not say unto you, Do not go?'
19 And the men of the city say unto Elisha, `Lo, we pray thee, the site of the city [is] good, as my lord seeth, and the waters [are] bad, and the earth sterile.'
20 And he saith, `Bring to me a new dish, and place there salt;' and they bring [it] unto him,
Young's Literal Translation is in the public domain.