2 Kings 2:19
in 2 Kings 2Then the men of the city said to Elisha, “Please note, our lord, that the city’s location is good, as you can see. But the water is bad and the land is unfruitful.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the men of the city said unto Elisha, Behold, we pray thee, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord seeth: but the water is bad, and the land miscarrieth.
KJV
And 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.
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This verse in 2 Kings 2
Commentary
8 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The water is naught - i. e. “bad.” And the ground barren - Translate “and the land apt to miscarry.” The stream was thought to be the cause of untimely births, abortions, and the like, among the cattle, perhaps also among the people, that drank of it.
This site's exposition
the situation of this city is pleasant
on 2 Kings 2:19-20
The men of Jericho bring Elisha a civic complaint rather than a spiritual one: the situation of this city is pleasant, but the water is naught, and the ground barren, a stream commonly blamed for miscarriage among cattle and people alike. Elisha calls for a new cruse, never used, and salt, and the request is deliberately impractical; salt by nature makes water worse, not better, so whatever happens next cannot be credited to the vessel or the substance. The men bring exactly what he asks without argument, the same trust the sons of the prophets have just shown him.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
Let us see what these facts mean, dearly beloved. Elisha, as I have frequently suggested, is the type of our Lord and Savior. That bitter spring seems to signify Adam, from whom the human race has sprung. Before the coming of the true Elisha, that …
What should we say about the merits of Elisha? His first praiseworthy deed was his wish to surpass his father in grace, expressed when he asked that more grace be given to him than he knew was found in him who possessed such grace. To …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Barren - Either it was so originally, at least, as to that part of the city where the college of the prophets was: or, it became so from the curse of God inflicted upon it, when Hiel rebuilt it. However, upon the prophet's care, it grew exceeding fruitful, and therefore is commended for its fertility in later writers.
And the men of the city said unto Elisha,....
God's faithful prophets love to be employed; it is wisdom to make use of them during the little while that their light is with us. They had not applied to Elijah concerning the matter, perhaps because he was not so easy of access as Elisha was; but now, we may hope, by the influence of the divinity-school in their city, they were reformed.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
The water is naught, and the ground barren - The barrenness of the ground was the effect of the badness of the water.
The words behind it
17 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֨אמְר֜וּ | vaiyomeru | and they said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אַנְשֵׁ֤י | ʾanshei | [the] people of | H582 → | 566 times |
| הָעִיר֙ | hair | the city | H5892 → | 1090 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| אֱלִישָׁ֔ע | ʾelisha' | Elisha | H477 → | 58 times |
| הִנֵּה־ | hineh- | here! | H2009 → | 843 times |
| נָ֞א | na' | please | H4994 → | 404 times |
| מוֹשַׁ֤ב | moshav | [the] location of | H4186 → | |
| הָעִיר֙ | hair | the city | H5892 → | 1090 times |
| ט֔וֹב | tov | [is] good | H2896 → | 538 times |
| כַּאֲשֶׁ֥ר | kaasher | just as | H834 → | 5497 times |
| אֲדֹנִ֖י | ʾadoni | lord my | H113 → | 333 times |
| רֹאֶ֑ה | roeh | [is] seeing | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| וְהַמַּ֥יִם | vehamayim | and the waters | H4325 → | 581 times |
| רָעִ֖ים | raim | [are] bad | H7451 → | 662 times |
| וְהָאָ֥רֶץ | vehaaretz | and the land | H776 → | 2504 times |
| מְשַׁכָּֽלֶת׃ | meshakalet | [is] causing abortions | H7921 → |
וַיֹּ֨אמְר֜וּand they said
vaiyomeruH559 →5305 times
אַנְשֵׁ֤י[the] people of
ʾansheiH582 →566 times
הָעִיר֙the city
hairH5892 →1090 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
אֱלִישָׁ֔עElisha
ʾelisha'H477 →58 times
הִנֵּה־here!
hineh-H2009 →843 times
נָ֞אplease
na'H4994 →404 times
מוֹשַׁ֤ב[the] location of
moshavH4186 →
הָעִיר֙the city
hairH5892 →1090 times
ט֔וֹב[is] good
tovH2896 →538 times
כַּאֲשֶׁ֥רjust as
kaasherH834 →5497 times
אֲדֹנִ֖יlord my
ʾadoniH113 →333 times
רֹאֶ֑ה[is] seeing
roehH7200 →1300 times
וְהַמַּ֥יִםand the waters
vehamayimH4325 →581 times
רָעִ֖ים[are] bad
raimH7451 →662 times
וְהָאָ֥רֶץand the land
vehaaretzH776 →2504 times
מְשַׁכָּֽלֶת׃[is] causing abortions
meshakaletH7921 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
1 Kings 16:34In Ahab’s days, Hiel the Bethelite rebuilt Jericho. At the cost of Abiram his firstborn he laid its foundation, and at the cost of Segub his youngest he set up its gates, according to…
it leads to
- Joshua 6:26
At that time Joshua invoked this solemn oath: “Cursed before the LORD is the man who rises up and rebuilds this city, Jericho; at the cost of his firstborn he will lay its foundations;…
- Joshua 6:26
Through
Exodus 23:26No woman in your land will miscarry or be barren; I will fulfill the number of your days.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 28:4
The fruit of your womb will be blessed, as well as the produce of your land and the offspring of your livestock—the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Deuteronomy 7:14
You will be blessed above all peoples; among you there will be no barren man or woman or livestock.
- Job 5:26
You will come to the grave in full vigor, like a sheaf of grain gathered in season.
- Job 21:10
Their bulls breed without fail; their cows bear calves and do not miscarry.
- Isaiah 65:20
No longer will a nursing infant live but a few days, or an old man fail to live out his years. For the youth will die at a hundred years, and he who fails…
- Deuteronomy 28:4
Through
Deuteronomy 28:11The LORD will make you prosper abundantly—in the fruit of your womb, the offspring of your livestock, and the produce of your land—in the land that the LORD swore to your fathers to give…
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 30:9
So the LORD your God will make you abound in all the work of your hands and in the fruit of your womb, the offspring of your livestock, and the produce of your land.…
- Proverbs 10:22
The blessing of the LORD enriches, and He adds no sorrow to it.
- Deuteronomy 30:9
Where this verse is studied
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About 2 Kings
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Caesarius of Arles, SERMON 126.2-5; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Maximus of Turin, SERMON 84.3-4.