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.
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.”
- BSB 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.”
- 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 that thing which I do;
- 2 Sam 7:3And Nathan said to the king, Go, do all that is in thine heart; for the LORD is with thee.
- 1 Sam 1:10And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed unto the LORD, and wept sore.
- Amos 3:7Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.
- Prov 18:14The spirit of a man will sustain his infirmity; but a wounded spirit who can bear?
- 2 Kgs 4:25So she went and came unto the man of God to mount Carmel. And it came to pass, when the man of God saw her afar off, that he said to Gehazi his servant, Behold, yonder is that Shunammite:
- Matt 15:23But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us.
- Prov 14:10The heart knoweth his own bitterness; and a stranger doth not intermeddle with his joy.
- 2 Kgs 6:12And one of his servants said, None, my lord, O king: but Elisha, the prophet that is in Israel, telleth the king of Israel the words that thou speakest in thy bedchamber.
- Job 10:1My soul is weary of my life; I will leave my complaint upon myself; I will speak in the bitterness of my soul.
- Matt 28:9And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail. And they came and held him by the feet, and worshipped him.
- Luke 7:38And stood at his feet behind him weeping, and began to wash his feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment.
- Mark 10:13And they brought young children to him, that he should touch them: and his disciples rebuked those that brought them.
- Matt 20:31And the multitude rebuked them, because they should hold their peace: but they cried the more, saying, Have mercy on us, O Lord, thou son of David.
- John 15:15Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.
- John 4:27And upon this came his disciples, and marvelled that he talked with the woman: yet no man said, What seekest thou? or, Why talkest thou with her?
- Mark 14:6And Jesus said, Let her alone; why trouble ye her? she hath wrought a good work on me.
- John 12:4–7Then saith one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, which should betray him,
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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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