2 Kings 7:10
8 When the lepers reached the edge of the camp, they went into a tent to eat and drink. Then they carried off the silver, gold, and clothing, and went and hid them. On returning, they entered another tent, carried off some items from there, and hid them.
9 Finally, they said to one another, “We are not doing what is right. Today is a day of good news. If we are silent and wait until morning light, our sin will overtake us. Now, therefore, let us go and tell the king’s household.”
So they went and called out to the gatekeepers of the city, saying, “We went to the Aramean camp and no one was there—not a trace—only tethered horses and donkeys, and the tents were intact.”
11 The gatekeepers shouted the news, and it was reported to the king’s household.
12 So the king got up in the night and said to his servants, “Let me tell you what the Arameans have done to us. They know we are starving, so they have left the camp to hide in the field, thinking, ‘When they come out of the city, we will take them alive and enter the city.’”
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
- So they went and called out to the gatekeepers of the city, saying, “We went to the Aramean camp and no one was there—not a trace—only tethered horses and donkeys, and the tents were intact.”
- KJV
- So they came and called unto the porter of the city: and they told them, saying, We came to the camp of the Syrians, and, behold, there was no man there, neither voice of man, but horses tied, and asses tied, and the tents as they were.
- WEB
- So they came and called to the city gatekeepers; and they told them, “We came to the camp of the Syrians, and, behold, there was no man there, not even a man’s voice, but the horses tied, and the donkeys tied, and the tents as they were.”
- ASV
- So they came and called unto the porter of the city; and they told them, saying, We came to the camp of the Syrians, and, behold, there was no man there, neither voice of man, but the horses tied, and the asses tied, and the tents as they were.
- DARBY
- And they came and called to the porters of the city, and told them saying, We came to the camp of the Syrians, and behold, there was no one there, no sound of man, but the horses tied, and the asses tied, and the tents as they were.
- BLB
- And they went and called to the gatekeepers of the city and declared to them, saying, “We went to the camp of Aram, and behold, there [was] not a man or the sound of man, but only the tied horse and tied donkey and the tents as they [were].”
- ÅB
- Så kom de og ropte til vakten ved byporten og fortalte det og sa: Vi kom til syrernes leir; det var ikke en mann å se eller lyden av et menneske å høre, men hestene og eslene sto bundet, og teltene var som de pleier å være.
- OTB
- Så de kom og ropte til portvaktene i byen, og fortalte dem, og sa, "Vi kom til arameernes leir, og se, det var ingen der, ikke en menneskelig stemme—bare hestene og eslene bundet, og teltene akkurat som de var."
- B1930
- Så kom de og ropte til vakten ved byporten og fortalte det og sa: Vi kom til syrernes leir; det var ikke en mann å se eller lyden av et menneske å høre, men hestene og asenene stod bundet, og teltene var som de pleier å være.
Study notes (Tyndale)
Original text and word study
Cross references
Psalms 127:1
Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain; unless the LORD protects the city, its watchmen stand guard in vain.
Read in context2 Samuel 18:26
the watchman saw another man running, and he called out to the gatekeeper, “Look! Another man is running alone!” “This one also brings good news,” said the king.
Read in contextMark 13:34–35
It is like a man going on a journey who left his house, put each servant in charge of his own task, and instructed the doorkeeper to keep watch.
Read in context2 Kings 7:11
The gatekeepers shouted the news, and it was reported to the king’s household.
Read in context2 Kings 7:6–7
For the Lord had caused the Arameans to hear the sound of chariots, horses, and a great army, so that they said to one another, “Look, the king of Israel must have hired the kings of the Hittites and Egyptians to attack us.”
Read in context