Translations
F.O.G.MPrimary
F.O.G MessageThe men of the city said to Elisha, 'See — our city is well situated, as you can tell. But the water here is bad, and the land keeps causing miscarriages.'
F.O.GSecondary
The F.O.GThe men of the city said to Elisha, 'See now — the location of this city is pleasant, as my lord can see, but the water is foul and the land is causing bereavement.'
KJV
King James VersionAnd the men of the city said unto Elisha, Behold, I pray thee, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord seeth: but the water is naught, and the ground barren.
BSB
Berean Standard BibleThen the men of the city said to Elisha, “Please note, our lord, that the city’s location is good, as you can see. But the water is bad and the land is unfruitful.”
Footnotes
*Meshakelet* (מְשַׁכֶּלֶת) derives from *shakal* — to be bereaved of children — and describes land that causes miscarriage, stillbirth, or the death of young livestock. This is not merely infertile soil; it is actively bereaving the community of its future. The same root describes bereaved mothers and childless women across the Hebrew Bible. FOG renders it 'causing bereavement' to honour the verb's emotional weight; FOG Message uses 'causing miscarriages' for medical and narrative clarity. The choice of Elisha's first public healing — restoring life to a death-dealing spring — resonates with his identity as the heir of resurrection-power.