And he said, “Bring me a new bowl, and put salt in it.” So they brought it to him.
Parallel translations
- WEB He said, “Bring me a new jar, and put salt in it.” Then they brought it to him.
- KJV And he said, Bring me a new cruse, and put salt therein. And they brought it to him.
- BSB “Bring me a new bowl,” he replied, “and put some salt in it.” So they brought it to him,
- NASB And he said, “Bring me a new jar, and put salt in it.” So they brought it to him.
- NLT Elisha said, “Bring me a new bowl with salt in it.” So they brought it to him.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Elisha calls for a new bowl with salt in it. The simple, ordinary means prepares for an extraordinary work of God.
Overview
The new jar and the salt are humble materials with no power in themselves; the miracle will come from God's word, not the elements. The instruction tests obedience and sets the stage for the healing. God often works through plain means to display that the power is His alone.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 3
- Judg 9:45Abimelech fought against the city all that day; and he took the city, and killed the people in it. He beat down the city, and sowed it with salt.
- Zeph 2:9Therefore as I live, says Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel, surely Moab will be as Sodom, and the children of Ammon as Gomorrah, a possession of nettles, and salt pits, and a perpetual desolation. The remnant of my people will plunder them, and the survivors of my nation will inherit them.
- Ezek 47:11But the miry places of it, and its marshes, shall not be healed; they shall be given up to salt.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Amid the long decline toward exile, the promise to David's house refuses to die; the flickering lamp kept burning anticipates the coming King who will not fail or be cut off.
How 2 Kings 2:20 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.