Then Elisha said to the king of Israel, “Lay your hand on the bow.” And he laid his hand on it, then Elisha put his hands on the king’s hands.
Parallel translations
- WEB He said to the king of Israel, “Put your hand on the bow”; and he put his hand on it. Elisha laid his hands on the king’s hands.
- KJV And he said to the king of Israel, Put thine hand upon the bow. And he put his hand upon it: and Elisha put his hands upon the king’s hands.
- BSB Then Elisha said to the king of Israel, “Put your hand on the bow.” So the king put his hand on the bow, and Elisha put his hands on the king’s hands.
- NKJV Then he said to the king of Israel, “Put your hand on the bow.” So he put his hand on it, and Elisha put his hands on the king’s hands.
- NLT Elisha told him, “Put your hand on the bow,” and Elisha laid his own hands on the king’s hands.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Joash places his hand on the bow, and Elisha lays his own hands upon the king's hands, joining them in the act.
Overview
Elisha's hands over the king's signify that the coming victory is God's gift mediated through the prophetic word, not the king's own might. The gesture pictures divine empowerment: human effort is real but effective only as God's hand rests upon it. This dependence on the Lord for any triumph runs throughout Scripture and is ultimately fulfilled in the victory God Himself wins for His people in Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 3
- Ps 144:1By David. Blessed be Yahweh, my rock, who teaches my hands to war, and my fingers to battle:
- 2 Kgs 4:34He went up, and lay on the child, and put his mouth on his mouth, and his eyes on his eyes, and his hands on his hands. He stretched himself on him; and the child’s flesh grew warm.
- Gen 49:24But his bow remained strong. The arms of his hands were made strong, by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob, (from there is the shepherd, the stone of Israel),
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Christ at the center
Amid the long decline toward exile, the promise to David's house refuses to die; the flickering lamp kept burning anticipates the coming King who will not fail or be cut off.
How 2 Kings 13:16 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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