And it happened after this that Ben-Hadad king of Syria gathered all his army, and went up and besieged Samaria.
Parallel translations
- WEB After this, Benhadad king of Syria gathered all his army, and went up and besieged Samaria.
- KJV And it came to pass after this, that Benhadad king of Syria gathered all his host, 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.
- 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 20:1Ben Hadad the king of Syria gathered all his army together; and there were thirty-two kings with him, with horses and chariots. He went up and besieged Samaria, and fought against it.
- Deut 28:52They will besiege you in all your gates, until your high and fortified walls come down, in which you trusted, throughout all your land. They will besiege you in all your gates throughout all your land, which Yahweh your God has given you.
- 2 Kgs 17:5Then the king of Assyria came up throughout all the land, went up to Samaria, and besieged it three years.
- 1 Kgs 22:31Now the king of Syria had commanded the thirty-two captains of his chariots, saying, “Don’t fight with small nor great, except only with the king of Israel.”
- Eccl 9:14There was a little city, and few men within it; and a great king came against it, besieged it, and built great bulwarks against it.
- 2 Kgs 25:1In the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came, he and all his army, against Jerusalem, and encamped against it; and they built forts against it around it.
- 2 Kgs 18:9In the fourth year of king Hezekiah, which was the seventh year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up against Samaria, and besieged it.
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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 6:24 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
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