2 Kings 2:16-24
New American Standard Bible
Chapter 2
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.’?'
22So the waters have been purified to this day, in accordance with the word of Elisha which he spoke.
23Now he went up from there to Bethel; and as he was going up by the road, some young boys came out from the city and ridiculed him and said to him, 'Go up, you baldhead; go up, you baldhead!'
24When he looked behind him and saw them, he cursed them in the name of the Lord. Then two female bears came out of the woods and tore up forty-two of the boys.
King James Version
Chapter 2
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.
22So the waters were healed unto this day, according to the saying of Elisha which he spake.
23And he went up from thence unto Bethel: and as he was going up by the way, there came forth little children out of the city, and mocked him, and said unto him, Go up, thou bald head; go up, thou bald head.
24And he turned back, and looked on them, and cursed them in the name of the LORD. And there came forth two she bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two children of them.
Christian Standard Bible
17However, they urged him to the point of embarrassment, so he said, "Send them." They sent fifty men, who looked for three days but did not find him.
18When they returned to him in Jericho where he was staying, he said to them, "Didn't I tell you not to go? "
20He replied, "Bring me a new bowl and put salt in it."After they had brought him one,
21Elisha went out to the spring, threw salt in it, and said, "This is what the Lord says: 'I have healed this water. No longer will death or unfruitfulness result from it.' "
22Therefore, the water still remains healthy today according to the word that Elisha spoke.
23From there Elisha went up to Bethel. As he was walking up the path, some small boys came out of the city and jeered at him, chanting, "Go up, baldy! Go up, baldy! "
24He turned around, looked at them, and cursed them in the name of the Lord. Then two female bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the children.
New Living Translation
Chapter 2
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.
20Elisha said, 'Bring me a new bowl with salt in it.' So they brought it to him.
21Then 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. '
22And the water has remained pure ever since, just as Elisha said.
23Elisha left Jericho and went up to Bethel. As he was walking along the road, a group of boys from the town began mocking and making fun of him. 'Go away, baldy!' they chanted. 'Go away, baldy!'
24Elisha turned around and looked at them, and he cursed them in the name of the Lord. Then two bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of them.
English Standard Version
Chapter 2
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.”
22So the water has been healed to this day, according to the word that Elisha spoke.
23He went up from there to Bethel, and while he was going up on the way, some small boys came out of the city and jeered at him, saying, “Go up, you baldhead! Go up, you baldhead!”
24And he turned around, and when he saw them, he cursed them in the name of the LORD. And two she-bears came out of the woods and tore forty-two of the boys.
New International Version
17But they persisted until he was too embarrassed to refuse. So he said, 'Send them.' And they sent fifty men, who searched for three days but did not find him.
18When they returned to Elisha, who was staying in Jericho, he said to them, 'Didn't I tell you not to go?'
21Then he went out to the spring and threw the salt into it, saying, 'This is what the LORD says: 'I have healed this water. Never again will it cause death or make the land unproductive.''
22And the water has remained pure to this day, according to the word Elisha had spoken.
23From there Elisha went up to Bethel. As he was walking along the road, some boys came out of the town and jeered at him. 'Get out of here, baldy!' they said. 'Get out of here, baldy!'
24He turned around, looked at them and called down a curse on them in the name of the LORD. Then two bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the boys.
New King James Version
17But when they urged him till he was ashamed, he said, “Send them!” Therefore they sent fifty men, and they searched for three days but did not find him.
18And when they came back to him, for he had stayed in Jericho, he said to them, “Did I not say to you, ‘Do not go’?”
20And he said, “Bring me a new bowl, and put salt in it.” So they brought it to him.
21Then he went out to the source of the water, and cast in the salt there, and said, “Thus says the Lord: ‘I have healed this water; from it there shall be no more death or barrenness.’ ”
22So the water remains healed to this day, according to the word of Elisha which he spoke.
