When she reached the man of God at the mountain, she clung to his feet. Gehazi came over to push her away, but the man of God said, “Leave her alone, for her soul is in deep distress, and the LORD has hidden it from me and has not told me.”
Parallel translations
- WEB When she came to the man of God to the hill, she caught hold of his feet. Gehazi came near to thrust her away; but the man of God said, “Leave her alone; for her soul is troubled within her; and Yahweh has hidden it from me, and has not told me.”
- KJV And when she came to the man of God to the hill, she caught him by the feet: but Gehazi came near to thrust her away. And the man of God said, Let her alone; for her soul is vexed within her: and the LORD hath hid it from me, and hath not told me.
- NKJV Now when she came to the man of God at the hill, she caught him by the feet, but Gehazi came near to push her away. But the man of God said, “Let her alone; for her soul is in deep distress, and the Lord has hidden it from me, and has not told me.”
- NASB But she came to the man of God at the hill and took hold of his feet. And Gehazi came up to push her away, but the man of God said, “Leave her alone, for her soul is troubled within her; and the Lord has concealed it from me and has not informed me.”
- NLT But when she came to the man of God at the mountain, she fell to the ground before him and caught hold of his feet. Gehazi began to push her away, but the man of God said, “Leave her alone. She is deeply troubled, but the Lord has not told me what it is.”
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
She grasps Elisha's feet in anguish, and he restrains Gehazi, noting God had hidden her trouble from him. Her grief is real, and even the prophet depends on God's revelation.
Overview
The woman clings to Elisha in desperate sorrow, and he honors her distress. Elisha admits Yahweh had not shown him the cause, showing prophets know only what God reveals. This guards against viewing prophets as all-knowing in themselves. God remains sovereign over what His servants perceive, and He is about to act.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 18
- Gen 18:17And the LORD said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do?
- 2 Sam 7:3And Nathan replied to the king, “Go and do all that is in your heart, for the LORD is with you.”
- 1 Sam 1:10In her bitter distress, Hannah prayed to the LORD and wept with many tears.
- Amos 3:7Surely the Lord GOD does nothing without revealing His plan to His servants the prophets.
- Prov 18:14The spirit of a man can endure his sickness, but who can survive a broken spirit?
- 2 Kgs 4:25So she set out and went to the man of God at Mount Carmel. When the man of God saw her at a distance, he said to his servant Gehazi, “Look, there is the Shunammite woman.
- Matt 15:23But Jesus did not answer a word. So His disciples came and urged Him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.”
- Prov 14:10The heart knows its own bitterness, and no stranger shares in its joy.
- 2 Kgs 6:12But one of his servants replied, “No one, my lord the king. For Elisha, the prophet in Israel, tells the king of Israel the very words you speak in your bedroom.”
- Job 10:1“I loathe my own life; I will express my complaint and speak in the bitterness of my soul.
- Matt 28:9Suddenly Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” They came to Him, grasped His feet, and worshiped Him.
- Luke 7:38As she stood behind Him at His feet weeping, she began to wet His feet with her tears and wipe them with her hair. Then she kissed His feet and anointed them with the perfume.
- Mark 10:13Now people were bringing the little children to Jesus for Him to place His hands on them, and the disciples rebuked those who brought them.
- Matt 20:31The crowd admonished them to be silent, but they cried out all the louder, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”
- John 15:15No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not understand what his master is doing. But I have called you friends, because everything I have learned from My Father I have made known to you.
- John 4:27Just then His disciples returned and were surprised that He was speaking with a woman. But no one asked Him, “What do You want from her?” or “Why are You talking with her?”
- Mark 14:6But Jesus said, “Leave her alone; why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful deed to Me.
- John 12:4–7But one of His disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was going to betray Him, asked,
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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 4:27 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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