2nd Kings Chapter 2 verse 18 Holy Bible
And they came back to him, while he tarried at Jericho; and he said unto them, Did I not say unto you, Go not?
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And they came back to him, while he was still at Jericho; and he said to them, Did I not say to you, Go not?
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And they came again to him (now he was staying at Jericho); and he said to them, Did I not say to you, Go not?
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And when they came again to him, (for he tarried at Jericho,) he said unto them, Did I not say unto you, Go not?
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And when they came again to him, (for he tarried at Jericho,) he said to them, Did I not say to you, Go not?
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They came back to him, while he stayed at Jericho; and he said to them, "Didn't I tell you, 'Don't go?'"
read chapter 2 in WEB
and they turn back unto him -- and he is abiding in Jericho -- and he saith unto them, `Did I not say unto you, Do not go?'
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Pulpit Commentary
Pulpit CommentaryVerse 18. - And when they came again to him, (for he tarried at Jericho,) he said unto them, Did I not say unto you, Go not? The prophet was not above vindicating the propriety of his past conduct. He waited at Jericho until the fifty men returned from their vain search, and then reminded them that his advice to them had been not to start on a useless errand. The ministers of God have to vindicate themselves, because God's honor is concerned in their being without reproach.
Ellicott's Commentary
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(18) For he tarried.--Now he (emphatic) was abiding in Jericho (while they were searching).Did I not say.--Or, command. Elisha could now fairly remind them of his authority. So the phrase "Go not" is, in the Hebrew, imperative. (Comp. "Ye shall not send," 2Kings 2:16.) With these words, the history of Elijah significantly closes. "Elias resembled Moses in courage and eloquence, and no other prophet was his equal. But when he withdrew from the world, that Providence which guided the destinies of Israel did not, therefore, forsake His people. A portion of Elijah's spirit passed to his disciples; and they are forbidden to seek their departed master in the desert: they must find among themselves the means of carrying on his work" (Reuss).Thenius considers the entire section (2Kings 1:2 to 2Kings 2:18) to be a distinct fragment of a lost history of Elijah. Its contents, he says, betray the same poetical (?) spirit as 1 Kings 17-19.