What Does 2 Kings 2:18 Mean in the King James?
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 analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
The root of “came again” is שׁוּב (shuv), “return”: they come back, but their return cannot erase the word they already heard.
THE MEANING
A search can circle back to the very word that was already clear: they return to Elisha, and his question makes the earlier boundary audible again. Their movement does not produce what they sought; it brings them back to the refusal they tried to move past.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It undoes the belief that pursuing a path long enough can turn an already heard refusal into permission.
THE ROOT
וַיָּשֻׁבוּ
vayyashuvu
GROWS FROM
שׁוּב
To turn back, return, or bring back.
The word translated “came again” carries the motion of turning back. Its root also forms words for restoring or bringing something back, so return can name either a reversal of direction or a restoration. Here, the searchers return to Elisha, and his reminder makes clear that their return has not changed what he said.
ALSO GROWS
shuv: Turn back or return.
שׁוּב
This is the root’s basic movement, made visible as the group comes back to Elisha.
heshiv: Bring back or restore.
הֵשִׁיב
This causative branch shows that the same root can describe something being returned or restored, while this return brings the searchers back without changing the earlier word.
THE PATTERN
A warning that is ignored remains true when the journey brings its consequences into view.
And the LORD said unto me, Say unto them, Go not up, neither fight; for I am not among you; lest ye be smitten before your enemies.But after long abstinence Paul stood forth in the midst of them, and said, Sirs, ye should have hearkened unto me, and not have loosed from Crete, and to have gained this harm and loss.THE THREAD
So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.“Came again” and “return” share the root שׁוּב (shuv), meaning to turn back or return. Here people return from a search; Isaiah says God’s word does not return empty, opening a distinction between coming back from a journey and returning with what the word was sent to accomplish.
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