2 Kings 2:14-21
New American Standard Bible
15Now when 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.
16Then 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 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.'
17Yet when 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.
18They returned to him while he was staying in Jericho; and he said to them, 'Did I not say to you, ‘Do not go’?'
19Then 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 is unfruitful.'
20And he said, 'Bring me a new jar, and put salt in it.' So they brought it to him.
21Then he went out to the spring of water and threw salt in it and said, 'This is what the Lord says: ‘I have purified these waters; there shall not come from there death or unfruitfulness any longer.’?'
King James Version
Chapter 2
14And he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and smote the waters, and said, Where is the LORD God of Elijah? and when he also had smitten the waters, they parted hither and thither: and Elisha went over. 15And when the sons of the prophets which were to view at Jericho saw him, they said, The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha. And they came to meet him, and bowed themselves to the ground before him. 16And they said unto him, Behold now, there be with thy servants fifty strong men; let them go, we pray thee, and seek thy master: lest peradventure the Spirit of the LORD hath taken him up, and cast him upon some mountain, or into some valley. And he said, Ye shall not send. 17And when they urged him till he was ashamed, he said, Send. They sent therefore fifty men; and they sought three days, but found him not. 18And when they came again to him, (for he tarried at Jericho,) he said unto them, Did I not say unto you, Go not?
19And 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.
20And he said, Bring me a new cruse, and put salt therein. And they brought it to him.
21And he went forth unto the spring of the waters, and cast the salt in there, and said, Thus saith the LORD, I have healed these waters; there shall not be from thence any more death or barren land.
Christian Standard Bible
New Living Translation
16Sir,' 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.'
17But 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.
18Elisha was still at Jericho when they returned. 'Didn’t I tell you not to go?' he asked.
English Standard Version
15Now when the 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.
16And 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 the 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.”
17But when they urged him till he was ashamed, he said, “Send.” They sent therefore fifty men. And for three days they sought him but did not find him.
18And 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’?”
19Now 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.”
20He said, “Bring me a new bowl, and put salt in it.” So they brought it to him.
21Then he went to the spring of water and threw 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.”
New International Version