Bible Strands
2 Kings 2:4
And Elijah said to Elisha, “Please stay here, for the LORD has sent me on to Jericho.” But Elisha replied, “As surely as the LORD lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they went to Jericho.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Elijah addresses Elisha at Bethel, directing him to remain while Yahweh sends him onward to Jericho. Elisha swears fidelity, and the two men proceed to Jericho together.
The words — שֵׁב (shev) means "remain" or "stay," and כִּי (ki) functions as "for" or "because." These terms frame Elijah’s command to Elisha and his stated reason for continuing.
The thread — The command to stay and Elisha’s refusal mirror the identical exchange at Bethel in 2 Kings 2:2. The destination Jericho recalls the city’s cursed status in Joshua 6:26 and its later rebuilding in 1 Kings 16:34.
Why it lands — The text records Elisha’s explicit refusal to abandon his master, establishing a pattern of loyal succession. A reader must acknowledge that prophetic transition requires deliberate, sworn commitment rather than passive inheritance.
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 Elijah said unto him, Elisha, tarry here, I pray thee; for the Lord hath sent me to Jericho. And he said, As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they came to Jericho.
Cross-references
- 2 Kings 2:2 and Elijah said to Elisha, “Please stay here, for the LORD has sent me on to Bethel.” But Elisha replied, “As surely as the LORD lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they went down to Bethel.
- Joshua 6:26 At that time Joshua invoked this solemn oath: “Cursed before the LORD is the man who rises up and rebuilds this city, Jericho; at the cost of his firstborn he will lay its foundations; at the cost of his youngest he will set up its gates.”
- 1 Kings 16:34 In Ahab’s days, Hiel the Bethelite rebuilt Jericho. At the cost of Abiram his firstborn he laid its foundation, and at the cost of Segub his youngest he set up its gates, according to the word that the LORD had spoken through Joshua son of Nun.
- 2 Kings 4:30 And the mother of the boy said, “As surely as the LORD lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So he got up and followed her.
- Luke 19:1 Then Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through.
- Acts 2:42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
- Acts 11:23 When he arrived and saw the grace of God, he rejoiced and encouraged them all to abide in the Lord with all their hearts.