So the king prepared a great feast for them, and after they had finished eating and drinking, he sent them away, and they returned to their master. And the Aramean raiders did not come into the land of Israel again.
Parallel translations
- WEB He prepared great feast for them. When they had eaten and drunk, he sent them away, and they went to their master. So the bands of Syria stopped raiding the land of Israel.
- KJV And he prepared great provision for them: and when they had eaten and drunk, he sent them away, and they went to their master. So the bands of Syria came no more into the land of Israel.
- NKJV Then he prepared a great feast for them; and after they ate and drank, he sent them away and they went to their master. So the bands of Syrian raiders came no more into the land of Israel.
- NASB So he provided a large feast for them; and when they had eaten and drunk, he sent them away, and they went to their master. And the marauding bands of Arameans did not come again into the land of Israel.
- NLT So the king made a great feast for them and then sent them home to their master. After that, the Aramean raiders stayed away from the land of Israel.
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
The king feasts the Syrians and releases them, and the raids on Israel cease for a time. Mercy succeeds where violence would have failed.
Overview
A great meal replaces the expected execution, and the astonished soldiers return home unharmed. The kindness brings an end to the bands of raiders, achieving peace by an unexpected path. The episode illustrates that returning good for evil can subdue an enemy more effectively than force. It stands as an Old Testament glimpse of the gospel principle of love overcoming hostility.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- 2 Kgs 5:2At this time the Arameans had gone out in bands and had taken a young girl from the land of Israel, and she was serving Naaman’s wife.
- 2 Kgs 24:2And the LORD sent Chaldean, Aramean, Moabite, and Ammonite raiders against Jehoiakim in order to destroy Judah, according to the word that the LORD had spoken through His servants the prophets.
- Luke 6:35But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them, expecting nothing in return. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.
- 2 Kgs 6:8–9Now the king of Aram was at war against Israel. After consulting with his servants, he said, “My camp will be in such and such a place.”
- Luke 10:29–37But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
- 2 Chr 28:15Then the men who were designated by name arose, took charge of the captives, and provided from the plunder clothing for the naked. They clothed them, gave them sandals and food and drink, anointed their wounds, and put all the feeble on donkeys. So they brought them to Jericho, the City of Palms, to their brothers. Then they returned to Samaria.
- Matt 5:47And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even Gentiles do the same?
- Prov 25:21–22If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat, and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink.
- 1 Sam 24:17–18and said to David, “You are more righteous than I, for you have rewarded me with good, though I have rewarded you with evil.
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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 6:23 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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