And when the king of Israel saw them, he asked Elisha, “My father, shall I kill them? Shall I kill them?”
Parallel translations
- WEB The king of Israel said to Elisha, when he saw them, “My father, shall I strike them? Shall I strike them?”
- KJV And the king of Israel said unto Elisha, when he saw them, My father, shall I smite them? shall I smite them?
- NKJV Now when the king of Israel saw them, he said to Elisha, “My father, shall I kill them? Shall I kill them?”
- NASB Then the king of Israel when he saw them, said to Elisha, “My father, shall I kill them? Shall I kill them?”
- NLT When the king of Israel saw them, he shouted to Elisha, “My father, should I kill them? Should I kill 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
Israel's king eagerly asks Elisha whether to slaughter the captive Syrians. His bloodthirsty reflex contrasts with the prophet's coming counsel of mercy.
Overview
Addressing Elisha as 'my father,' the king seeks permission to kill the helpless enemies. His impulse reflects the ordinary logic of war, repaying threat with death. The question sets up a striking lesson, for the prophet will direct a wholly different response. It exposes how God's ways of dealing with enemies surpass human instinct.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- 2 Kgs 5:13Naaman’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’?”
- 2 Kgs 8:9So Hazael went to meet Elisha, taking with him a gift of forty camel loads of every good thing from Damascus. And he went in and stood before him and said, “Your son Ben-hadad king of Aram has sent me to ask, ‘Will I recover from this illness?’”
- 2 Kgs 2:12As Elisha watched, he cried out, “My father, my father, the chariots and horsemen of Israel!” And he saw Elijah no more. So taking hold of his own clothes, he tore them in two.
- Luke 9:54–56When the disciples James and John saw this, they asked, “Lord, do You want us to call down fire from heaven to consume them?”
- 2 Kgs 13:14When Elisha had fallen sick with the illness from which he would die, Jehoash king of Israel came down to him and wept over him, saying, “My father, my father, the chariots and horsemen of Israel!”
- 1 Sam 26:8Abishai said to David, “Today God has delivered your enemy into your hand. Now, therefore, please let me thrust the spear through him into the ground with one stroke. I will not need to strike him twice!”
- 1 Sam 24:4So David’s men said to him, “This is the day about which the LORD said to you, ‘Behold, I will deliver your enemy into your hand, that you may do with him as you wish.’” Then David crept up secretly and cut off a corner of Saul’s robe.
- Luke 22:49Those around Jesus saw what was about to happen and said, “Lord, should we strike with our swords?”
- 1 Sam 24:19When a man finds his enemy, does he let him go away unharmed? May the LORD reward you with good for what you have done for me this day.
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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 6:21 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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