Then he turned around, looked at them, and called down a curse on them in the name of the LORD. Suddenly two female bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the boys.
Parallel translations
- WEB He looked behind him and saw them, and cursed them in Yahweh’s name. Then two female bears came out of the woods, and mauled forty-two of those youths.
- KJV And he turned back, and looked on them, and cursed them in the name of the LORD. And there came forth two she bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two children of them.
- NKJV So he turned around and looked at them, and pronounced a curse on them in the name of the Lord. And two female bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the youths.
- NASB When he looked behind him and saw them, he cursed them in the name of the Lord. Then two female bears came out of the woods and tore up forty-two of the boys.
- NLT Elisha turned around and looked at them, and he cursed them in the name of the Lord. Then two bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of them.
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
Elisha curses the mockers in Yahweh's name, and two bears maul forty-two of them. God Himself judges the contempt shown to His prophet.
Overview
The judgment, carried out by God through the bears rather than by Elisha's hand, treats scorn for the prophet as scorn for the Lord who sent him. Many see the youths as a sizable, threatening mob whose mockery represented Bethel's wider rejection of God. The severe scene is a solemn reminder that despising God's word is no light matter, even as believers rightly note this belongs to the era of covenant judgment rather than Christ's gospel of mercy.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 25
- Acts 13:9–11Then Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked directly at Elymas
- Acts 5:5On hearing these words, Ananias fell down and died. And great fear came over all who heard what had happened.
- Acts 5:9“How could you agree to test the Spirit of the Lord?” Peter replied. “Look, the feet of the men who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out also.”
- Hos 13:8Like a bear robbed of her cubs I will attack them, and I will tear open their chests. There I will devour them like a lion, like a wild beast would tear them apart.
- Amos 7:17Therefore this is what the LORD says: ‘Your wife will become a prostitute in the city, and your sons and daughters will fall by the sword. Your land will be divided by a measuring line, and you yourself will die on pagan soil. And Israel will surely go into exile, away from their homeland.’”
- 2 Kgs 1:10–12Elijah answered the captain, “If I am a man of God, may fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men.” And fire came down from heaven and consumed the captain and his fifty men.
- Lam 3:65Put a veil of anguish over their hearts; may Your curse be upon them!
- Exod 20:5You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on their children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me,
- 1 Kgs 13:24As he went on his way, a lion met him on the road and killed him, and his body was left lying in the road, with the donkey and the lion standing beside it.
- Mark 11:21Peter remembered it and said, “Look, Rabbi! The fig tree You cursed has withered.”
- Jer 28:16Therefore this is what the LORD says: ‘I am about to remove you from the face of the earth. You will die this year because you have preached rebellion against the LORD.’”
- Mark 11:14Then He said to the tree, “May no one ever eat of your fruit again.” And His disciples heard this statement.
- Judg 9:57And God also brought all the wickedness of the men of Shechem back upon their own heads. So the curse of Jotham son of Jerubbaal came upon them.
- Neh 13:25–27I rebuked them and called down curses on them. I beat some of these men and pulled out their hair. Then I made them take an oath before God and said, “You must not give your daughters in marriage to their sons or take their daughters as wives for your sons or for yourselves!
- Deut 28:15–26If, however, you do not obey the LORD your God by carefully following all His commandments and statutes I am giving you today, all these curses will come upon you and overtake you:
- 1 Kgs 20:36Then the prophet said to him, “Because you have not obeyed the voice of the LORD, as soon as you depart from me a lion will kill you.” And when he left, a lion found him and killed him.
- 2 Sam 17:8He continued, “You know your father and his men. They are mighty men, and as fierce as a wild bear robbed of her cubs. Moreover, your father is a man of war who will not spend the night with the troops.
- Gen 9:25he said, “Cursed be Canaan! A servant of servants shall he be to his brothers.”
- Jer 29:21–23This is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says about Ahab son of Kolaiah and Zedekiah son of Maaseiah, who are prophesying to you lies in My name: “I will deliver them to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he will kill them before your very eyes.
- 1 Kgs 19:17Then Jehu will put to death whoever escapes the sword of Hazael, and Elisha will put to death whoever escapes the sword of Jehu.
- Acts 8:20But Peter replied, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money!
- 2 Cor 10:6And we will be ready to punish every act of disobedience, as soon as your obedience is complete.
- Prov 17:12It is better to meet a bear robbed of her cubs than a fool in his folly.
- Prov 28:15Like a roaring lion or a charging bear is a wicked ruler over a helpless people.
- Judg 9:20But if not, may fire come from Abimelech and consume the leaders of Shechem and Beth-millo, and may fire come from the leaders of Shechem and Beth-millo and consume Abimelech.”
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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 2:24 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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