¹⁵ When the members of the prophetic guild in Jericho, who were standing at a distance,^[a] saw him do this, they said, “The spirit that energized Elijah^[b] rests upon Elisha.” They went to meet him and bowed down to the ground before him. ¹⁶ They said to him, “Look, there are fifty capable men with your servants. Let them go and look for your master, for the wind sent from the Lord^[c] may have carried him away and dropped him on one of the hills or in one of the valleys.” But Elisha^[d] replied, “Don’t send them out.” ¹⁷ But they were so insistent that he became embarrassed. So he said, “Send them out.” They sent the fifty men out, and they looked for three days, but could not find Elijah.^{[e] 18} When they came back, Elisha^[f] was staying in Jericho. He said to them, “Didn’t I tell you, ‘Don’t go’?”

Elisha Demonstrates His Authority

¹⁹ The men of the city said to Elisha, “Look, the city has a good location, as our^[g] master can see. But the water is bad and the land doesn’t produce crops.”^{[h] 20} Elisha^[i] said, “Get me a new jar and put some salt in it.” So they got it. ²¹ He went out to the spring and threw the salt in. Then he said, “This is what the Lord has said, ‘I have purified^[j] this water. It will no longer cause death or fail to produce crops.’”^{[k] 22} The water has been pure to this very day, just as Elisha prophesied.^[l]