But they kept urging him until they shamed him into agreeing, and he finally said, “All right, send them.” So fifty men searched for three days but did not find Elijah.
Parallel translations
- WEB When they urged him until he was ashamed, he said, “Send them.” Therefore they sent fifty men; and they searched for three days, but didn’t find him.
- KJV And when they urged him till he was ashamed, he said, Send. They sent therefore fifty men; and they sought three days, but found him not.
- BSB But when they pressed him to the point of embarrassment, he said, “Send them.” And they sent fifty men, who searched for three days but did not find Elijah.
- NKJV But when they urged him till he was ashamed, he said, “Send them!” Therefore they sent fifty men, and they searched for three days but did not find him.
- NASB Yet when they urged him until he was ashamed to refuse, he said, “Send them.” So they sent fifty men; and they searched for three days, but did not find him.
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
They press Elisha until he relents, but their three-day search finds nothing. The fruitless hunt confirms Elijah was indeed taken by God.
Overview
Elisha yields to their persistence, allowing the search to put the matter to rest. The failure to find Elijah vindicates Elisha's word and underscores the genuineness of the translation. Sometimes God lets human searching prove the truth that faith already held.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 5
- 2 Kgs 8:11He settled his gaze steadfastly on him, until he was ashamed. Then the man of God wept.
- Heb 11:5By faith, Enoch was taken away, so that he wouldn’t see death, and he was not found, because God translated him. For he has had testimony given to him that before his translation he had been well pleasing to God.
- Luke 11:8I tell you, although he will not rise and give it to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence, he will get up and give him as many as he needs.
- 2 Sam 18:22–23Then Ahimaaz the son of Zadok said yet again to Joab, “But come what may, please let me also run after the Cushite.” Joab said, “Why do you want to run, my son, since that you will have no reward for the news?”
- Rom 10:2For I testify about them that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge.
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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 2:17 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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