2 Kings 13:19

Syria

¹⁷ “Open the east window,” said Elisha. So he opened it and Elisha said, “Shoot!” So he shot. And Elisha declared: “This is the LORD’s arrow of victory, the arrow of victory over Aram, for you shall strike the Arameans in Aphek until you have put an end to them.”

¹⁸ Then Elisha said, “Take the arrows!” So he took them, and Elisha said to the king of Israel, “Strike the ground!” So he struck the ground three times and stopped.

But the man of God was angry with him and said, “You should have struck the ground five or six times. Then you would have struck down Aram until you had put an end to it. But now you will strike down Aram only three times.”

²⁰ And Elisha died and was buried. Now the Moabite raiders used to come into the land every spring.

²¹ Once, as the Israelites were burying a man, suddenly they saw a band of raiders, so they threw the man’s body into Elisha’s tomb. And as soon as his body touched the bones of Elisha, the man was revived and stood up on his feet.

Here the Bible tells a story about someone else. Ask yourself what it can say to us today. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.

Compare

BSB: But the man of God was angry with him and said, “You should have struck the ground five or six times. Then you would have struck down Aram until you had put an end to it. But now you will strike down Aram only three times.”
KJV: And the man of God was wroth with him, and said, Thou shouldest have smitten five or six times; then hadst thou smitten Syria till thou hadst consumed it: whereas now thou shalt smite Syria but thrice.
WEB: The man of God was angry with him, and said, “You should have struck five or six times. Then you would have struck Syria until you had consumed it, but now you will strike Syria just three times.”
ASV: And the man of God was wroth with him, and said, Thou shouldest have smitten five or six times: then hadst thou smitten Syria till thou hadst consumed it, whereas now thou shalt smite Syria but thrice.
DARBY: And the man of God was wroth with him, and said, Thou shouldest have smitten five or six times; then wouldest thou have smitten the Syrians till thou hadst consumed [them]; whereas now thou shalt smite Syria but thrice.
BLB: And the man of God was angry with him and said, “You should have struck five or six times; then you would have struck Aram up to completion. Now three times you will strike Aram.”

ÅB: Da ble den Guds mann vred på ham og sa: Du burde ha slått fem eller seks ganger; da hadde du slått syrerne og gjort ende på dem; men nå skal du bare slå syrerne tre ganger.
OTB: Da ble Guds mann sint på ham og sa, “Du burde ha slått fem eller seks ganger; da ville du ha slått Aram til du hadde gjort ende på det. Men nå skal du bare slå Aram tre ganger.”
B1930: Da blev den Guds mann vred på ham og sa: Du burde ha slått fem eller seks ganger; da hadde du slått syrerne og gjort ende på dem; men nu skal du bare slå syrerne tre ganger.

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

2 Kings 13:25
Then Jehoash son of Jehoahaz took back from Ben-hadad son of Hazael the cities that Hazael had taken in battle from his father Jehoahaz. Jehoash defeated Ben-hadad three times, and so recovered the cities of Israel.
Read in context
Leviticus 10:16
Later, Moses searched carefully for the goat of the sin offering, and behold, it had been burned up. He was angry with Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron’s remaining sons, and asked,
Read in context
2 Kings 6:9
Then the man of God sent word to the king of Israel: “Be careful passing by this place, for the Arameans are going down there.”
Read in context
Mark 10:14
But when Jesus saw this, He was indignant and told them, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not hinder them! For the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.
Read in context
2 Kings 4:40
And they poured it out for the men to eat, but when they tasted the stew they cried out, “There is death in the pot, O man of God!” And they could not eat it.
Read in context
Mark 3:5
Jesus looked around at them with anger and sorrow at their hardness of heart. Then He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” So he stretched it out, and it was restored.
Read in context
Mark 6:5
So He could not perform any miracles there, except to lay His hands on a few of the sick and heal them.
Read in context
2 Kings 4:16
And Elisha declared, “At this time next year, you will hold a son in your arms.” “No, my lord,” she said. “Do not lie to your maidservant, O man of God.”
Read in context