19 Now the men of the town said to Elisha, You see that the position of this town is good; but the water is bad, causing the young of the cattle to come to birth dead.
And the Lord said, Say to Aaron, Let the rod in your hand be stretched out over the waters of Egypt, and over the rivers and the streams and the pools, and over every stretch of water, so that they may be turned to blood; and there will be blood through all the land of Egypt, in vessels of wood and in vessels of stone.
And when they came to Marah, the water was no good for drinking, for the waters of Marah were bitter, which is why it was named Marah.
Then Aaron said to Moses, O my lord, let not our sin be on our heads, for we have done foolishly and are sinners.
And all these blessings will come on you and overtake you, if your ears are open to the voice of the Lord your God. A blessing will be on you in the town, and a blessing in the field. A blessing will be on the fruit of your body, and on the fruit of your land, on the fruit of your cattle, the increase of your herd, and the young of your flock.
But if you do not give ear to the voice of the Lord your God, and take care to do all his orders and his laws which I give you today, then all these curses will come on you and overtake you: You will be cursed in the town and cursed in the field. A curse will be on your basket and on your bread-basin. A curse will be on the fruit of your body, and on the fruit of your land, on the increase of your cattle, and the young of your flock.
And the town will be put to the curse, and everything in it will be given to the Lord: only Rahab, the loose woman, and all who are in the house with her, will be kept safe, because she kept secret the men we sent.
Then Joshua gave the people orders with an oath, saying, Let that man be cursed before the Lord who puts his hand to the building up of this town: with the loss of his first son will he put the first stone of it in place, and with the loss of his youngest son he will put up its doors.
In his days Hiel made Jericho; he put its base in position at the price of Abiram, his oldest son, and he put its doors in place at the price of his youngest son Segub; even as the Lord had said by Joshua, the son of Nun.
And while Obadiah was on his way, he came face to face with Elijah; and seeing who it was, he went down on his face and said, Is it you, my lord Elijah?
O Lord, what will you give them? Give them bodies which may not give birth and breasts without milk.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on 2 Kings 2
Commentary on 2 Kings 2 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 2
In this chapter we have,
This revolution in prophecy makes a greater figure than the revolution of a kingdom.
2Ki 2:1-8
Elijah's times, and the events concerning him, are as little dated as those of any great man in scripture; we are not told of his age, nor in what year of Ahab's reign he first appeared, nor in what year of Joram's he disappeared, and therefore cannot conjecture how long he flourished; it is supposed about twenty years in all. Here we are told,
2Ki 2:9-12
Here,
2Ki 2:13-18
We have here an account of what followed immediately after the translation of Elijah.
2Ki 2:19-25
Elisha had, in this respect, a double portion of Elijah's spirit, that he wrought more miracles than Elijah. Some reckon them in number just double. Two are recorded in these verses-a miracle of mercy to Jericho and a miracle of judgment to Bethel, Ps. 101:1.