Elisha Succeeds Elijah

15 Now when (A)the sons of the prophets who were at Jericho opposite him saw him, they said, “The spirit of Elijah has settled on Elisha.” And they came to meet him and bowed down to the ground before him. 16 Then they said to him, “Behold now, there are with your servants fifty strong men; please let them go and search for your master, in case (B)the Spirit of the Lord has taken him up and cast him on some mountain or into some valley.” But he said, “You shall not send anyone.” 17 Yet when (C)they urged him until he was ashamed to refuse, he said, “Send them.” So they sent fifty men; and they searched for three days, but did not find him. 18 They returned to him while he was staying in Jericho; and he said to them, “Did I not say to you, ‘Do not go’?”

19 Then the men of the city said to Elisha, “Behold now, the site of the city is pleasant, as my lord sees; but the water is bad and the land [a]is unfruitful.” 20 And he said, “Bring me a new jar, and put salt [b]in it.” So they brought it to him. 21 Then he went out to the spring of water and (D)threw salt [c]in it and said, “This is what the Lord says: ‘I have [d]purified these waters; there shall not come from there death or [e]unfruitfulness any longer.’” 22 So the waters have been [f]purified to this day, in accordance with the word of Elisha which he spoke.

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Kings 2:19 Lit causes miscarriages
  2. 2 Kings 2:20 Lit there
  3. 2 Kings 2:21 Lit there
  4. 2 Kings 2:21 Lit healed
  5. 2 Kings 2:21 Lit anything causing miscarriages
  6. 2 Kings 2:22 Lit healed

15 When the group of prophets from Jericho saw from a distance what happened, they exclaimed, “Elijah’s spirit rests upon Elisha!” And they went to meet him and bowed to the ground before him. 16 “Sir,” they said, “just say the word and fifty of our strongest men will search the wilderness for your master. Perhaps the Spirit of the Lord has left him on some mountain or in some valley.”

“No,” Elisha said, “don’t send them.” 17 But they kept urging him until they shamed him into agreeing, and he finally said, “All right, send them.” So fifty men searched for three days but did not find Elijah. 18 Elisha was still at Jericho when they returned. “Didn’t I tell you not to go?” he asked.

Elisha’s First Miracles

19 One 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.”

20 Elisha said, “Bring me a new bowl with salt in it.” So they brought it to him. 21 Then 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.[a] 22 And the water has remained pure ever since, just as Elisha said.

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Footnotes

  1. 2:21 Or or make the land unproductive; Hebrew reads or barrenness.