Now when the king of Israel saw them, he said to 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?
- BSB And when the king of Israel saw them, he asked 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 5:13His servants came near, and spoke to him, and said, “My father, if the prophet had asked you do some great thing, wouldn’t you have done it? How much rather then, when he says to you, ‘Wash, and be clean?’”
- 2 Kgs 8:9So Hazael went to meet him, and took a present with him, even of every good thing of Damascus, forty camels’ burden, and came and stood before him, and said, “Your son Benhadad king of Syria has sent me to you, saying, ‘Will I recover from this sickness?’”
- 2 Kgs 2:12Elisha saw it, and he cried, “My father, my father, the chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” He saw him no more. Then he took hold of his own clothes, and tore them in two pieces.
- Luke 9:54–56When his disciples, James and John, saw this, they said, “Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from the sky, and destroy them, just as Elijah did?”
- 2 Kgs 13:14Now Elisha became sick with the illness of which he died; and Joash the king of Israel came down to him, and wept over him, and said, “My father, my father, the chariots of Israel and its horsemen!”
- 1 Sam 26:8Then Abishai said to David, “God has delivered up your enemy into your hand today. Now therefore please let me strike him with the spear to the earth at one stroke, and I will not strike him the second time.”
- 1 Sam 24:4David’s men said to him, “Behold, the day of which Yahweh said to you, ‘Behold, I will deliver your enemy into your hand, and you shall do to him as it shall seem good to you.’” Then David arose, and cut off the skirt of Saul’s robe secretly.
- Luke 22:49When those who were around him saw what was about to happen, they said to him, “Lord, shall we strike with the sword?”
- 1 Sam 24:19For if a man finds his enemy, will he let him go away unharmed? Therefore may Yahweh reward you good for that which you have done to me today.
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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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