But 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.”
Parallel translations
- WEB One of his servants said, “No, my lord, O king; but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the words that you speak in your bedroom.”
- KJV And 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.
- NKJV And one of his servants said, “None, my lord, O king; but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the words that you speak in your bedroom.”
- NASB One of his servants said, “No, my lord, the king; but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the words that you speak in your bedroom.”
- NLT “It’s not us, my lord the king,” one of the officers replied. “Elisha, the prophet in Israel, tells the king of Israel even the words you speak in the privacy of your bedroom!”
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
A servant reveals that Elisha hears even the king's bedroom words and tells them to Israel. It testifies to the reach of God's revelation through His prophet.
Overview
The servant corrects the king: no traitor is at fault, but the prophet in Israel knows the most private counsels. This acknowledgment, even from a pagan court, bears witness to the reality of the Lord's omniscience working through Elisha. It sets the king's resolve to capture the prophet, mistaking the messenger for the power behind him. The verse magnifies a God from whom no secret is hidden.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Dan 2:28–30But there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in the latter days. Your dream and the visions that came into your mind as you lay on your bed were these:
- Amos 3:7Surely the Lord GOD does nothing without revealing His plan to His servants the prophets.
- 2 Kgs 6:9–10Then the man of God sent word to the king of Israel: “Be careful passing by this place, for the Arameans are going down there.”
- Eccl 10:20Do not curse the king even in your thoughts, or curse the rich even in your bedroom, for a bird of the air may carry your words, and a winged creature may report your speech.
- Dan 2:22–23He reveals the deep and hidden things; He knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with Him.
- 2 Kgs 5:13–15Naaman’s servants, however, approached him and said, “My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more, then, when he tells you, ‘Wash and be cleansed’?”
- Isa 29:15Woe to those who dig deep to hide their plans from the LORD. In darkness they do their works and say, “Who sees us, and who will know?”
- Dan 2:47The king said to Daniel, “Your God is truly the God of gods and Lord of kings, the Revealer of Mysteries, since you were able to reveal this mystery.”
- Jer 23:23–24“Am I only a God nearby,” declares the LORD, “and not a God far away?”
- Dan 4:9–18“O Belteshazzar, chief of the magicians, I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in you and that no mystery baffles you. So explain to me the visions I saw in my dream, and their interpretation.
- Ps 139:1–4For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. O LORD, You have searched me and known me.
- 2 Kgs 5:3She said to her mistress, “If only my master would go to the prophet who is in Samaria, he would cure him of his leprosy.”
- 2 Kgs 5:8Now when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, he sent a message to the king: “Why have you torn your clothes? Please let the man come to me, and he will know that there is a prophet in Israel.”
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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 6:12 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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