Bible Strands
2 Kings 2:18
When they returned to Elisha, who was staying in Jericho, he said to them, “Didn’t I tell you not to go?”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Elisha, who was staying in Jericho, addresses the fifty men who returned after a three-day search for Elijah. He speaks to them at the moment of their fruitless return, following his initial refusal and their persistent urging to send the search party.
The words — The verb יֹשֵׁ֣ב (yo.Shev) indicates a settled residence rather than a temporary stop, marking Jericho as Elisha’s base. The interrogative particle הֲ/לֽוֹא־ (ha./lo'-) functions as a sharp rhetorical reminder, framing his question as a direct challenge to their disobedience.
The thread — This exchange mirrors the broader biblical pattern where prophets confront leaders and crowds for ignoring divine instruction in favor of human initiative (2 Kings 2:17; 1 Kings 22:16). The repeated motif of prophetic warning followed by human dismissal appears throughout the historical books.
Why it lands — The text demands acknowledgment that prophetic guidance carries authority and that bypassing it produces wasted effort. It asks the reader to confront the practical consequences of disregarding clear divine direction.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And when they came again to him, (for he tarried at Jericho,) he said unto them, Did I not say unto you, Go not?