He went in therefore, and shut the door upon them twain, and prayed unto the LORD.
Parallel translations
- WEB He went in therefore, and shut the door on them both, and prayed to Yahweh.
- BSB So he went in, closed the door behind the two of them, and prayed to the LORD.
- NKJV He went in therefore, shut the door behind the two of them, and prayed to the Lord.
- NASB So he entered and shut the door behind them both, and he prayed to the Lord.
- NLT He went in alone and shut the door behind him and prayed to the Lord.
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 shuts the door and prays to Yahweh. The raising of the dead begins with private, earnest prayer to God.
Overview
Alone with the child, Elisha turns first to prayer, acknowledging that life comes from God alone. The closed door marks a moment of intimate dependence rather than display. This models that mighty works flow from communion with the Lord. The prophet seeks not his own power but God's gracious intervention.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Matt 6:6But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.
- 2 Kgs 4:4And when thou art come in, thou shalt shut the door upon thee and upon thy sons, and shalt pour out into all those vessels, and thou shalt set aside that which is full.
- Acts 9:40But Peter put them all forth, and kneeled down, and prayed; and turning him to the body said, Tabitha, arise. And she opened her eyes: and when she saw Peter, she sat up.
- Jas 5:13–18Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms.
- Luke 8:51And when he came into the house, he suffered no man to go in, save Peter, and James, and John, and the father and the mother of the maiden.
- 1 Kgs 17:20–21And he cried unto the LORD, and said, O LORD my God, hast thou also brought evil upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by slaying her son?
- John 11:41–42Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me.
- 2 Kgs 6:17–18And Elisha prayed, and said, LORD, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.
- 2 Kgs 5:11But Naaman was wroth, and went away, and said, Behold, I thought, He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the LORD his God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper.
- 1 Kgs 18:26–27And they took the bullock which was given them, and they dressed it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even until noon, saying, O Baal, hear us. But there was no voice, nor any that answered. And they leaped upon the altar which was made.
- 2 Kgs 6:20And it came to pass, when they were come into Samaria, that Elisha said, LORD, open the eyes of these men, that they may see. And the LORD opened their eyes, and they saw; and, behold, they were in the midst of Samaria.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 4:33 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
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.