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And it came to pass after this, that Benhadad king of Syria gathered all his host, and went up, and besieged Samaria.
2 Kings 6:24 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB After this, Benhadad king of Syria gathered all his army, and went up and besieged Samaria.
  • BSB Some time later, Ben-hadad king of Aram assembled his entire army and marched up to besiege Samaria.
  • NKJV And it happened after this that Ben-Hadad king of Syria gathered all his army, and went up and besieged Samaria.
  • NASB Now it came about after this, that Ben-hadad the king of Aram gathered all his army, and went up and besieged Samaria.
  • NLT Some time later, however, King Ben-hadad of Aram mustered his entire army and besieged Samaria.

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

Later Benhadad gathers his whole army and besieges Samaria. The renewed war brings Israel to severe extremity.

Overview

The earlier peace proves temporary as the Syrian king mounts a full-scale siege of the capital. The shift from raids to total blockade sets up the famine and desperation that follow. It shows that Israel's deliverances did not produce lasting repentance or security. The dire situation becomes the backdrop for another mighty act of God through Elisha's word.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 7

  • 1 Kgs 20:1And Benhadad the king of Syria gathered all his host together: and there were thirty and two kings with him, and horses, and chariots; and he went up and besieged Samaria, and warred against it.
  • Deut 28:52And he shall besiege thee in all thy gates, until thy high and fenced walls come down, wherein thou trustedst, throughout all thy land: and he shall besiege thee in all thy gates throughout all thy land, which the LORD thy God hath given thee.
  • 2 Kgs 17:5Then the king of Assyria came up throughout all the land, and went up to Samaria, and besieged it three years.
  • 1 Kgs 22:31But the king of Syria commanded his thirty and two captains that had rule over his chariots, saying, Fight neither with small nor great, save only with the king of Israel.
  • Eccl 9:14There was a little city, and few men within it; and there came a great king against it, and besieged it, and built great bulwarks against it:
  • 2 Kgs 25:1And it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came, he, and all his host, against Jerusalem, and pitched against it; and they built forts against it round about.
  • 2 Kgs 18:9And it came to pass in the fourth year of king Hezekiah, which was the seventh year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, that Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up against Samaria, and besieged it.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (3)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — 2 Kings videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on 2 Kings 6:24YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on 2 KingsMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

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 6:24 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

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.