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.
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.
- BSB 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.
- 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 5:2And the Syrians had gone out by companies, and had brought away captive out of the land of Israel a little maid; and she waited on Naaman’s wife.
- 2 Kgs 24:2And the LORD sent against him bands of the Chaldees, and bands of the Syrians, and bands of the Moabites, and bands of the children of Ammon, and sent them against Judah to destroy it, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake by his servants the prophets.
- Luke 6:35But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.
- 2 Kgs 6:8–9Then the king of Syria warred against Israel, and took counsel with his servants, saying, In such and such a place shall be my camp.
- Luke 10:29–37But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour?
- 2 Chr 28:15And the men which were expressed by name rose up, and took the captives, and with the spoil clothed all that were naked among them, and arrayed them, and shod them, and gave them to eat and to drink, and anointed them, and carried all the feeble of them upon asses, and brought them to Jericho, the city of palm trees, to their brethren: then they returned to Samaria.
- Matt 5:47And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?
- Prov 25:21–22If thine enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he be thirsty, give him water to drink:
- 1 Sam 24:17–18And he said to David, Thou art more righteous than I: for thou hast rewarded me good, whereas I have rewarded thee 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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