He answered, “If the LORD does not help you, where can I find help for you? From the threshing floor or the winepress?”
Parallel translations
- WEB He said, “If Yahweh doesn’t help you, where could I get help for you? From of the threshing floor, or from the wine press?”
- KJV And he said, If the LORD do not help thee, whence shall I help thee? out of the barnfloor, or out of the winepress?
- NKJV And he said, “If the Lord does not help you, where can I find help for you? From the threshing floor or from the winepress?”
- NASB But he said, “If the Lord does not help you, from where am I to help you? From the threshing floor, or from the wine press?”
- NLT He answered, “If the Lord doesn’t help you, what can I do? I have neither food from the threshing floor nor wine from the press to give you.”
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 admits he cannot help unless the Lord does, since the granary and winepress are empty. His words confess human helplessness before divine judgment.
Overview
In a moment of bitter honesty, the king acknowledges that no earthly resource remains to relieve the famine. Whether spoken in despair or sarcasm, the statement is theologically true: deliverance must come from Yahweh. It exposes the bankruptcy of a kingdom that had forsaken its God. The confession ironically points to the only source of help even as the king resents Him.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Ps 118:8–9It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man.
- Ps 124:1–3A song of ascents. Of David. If the LORD had not been on our side—let Israel now declare—
- Jer 17:5This is what the LORD says: “Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind, who makes the flesh his strength and turns his heart from the LORD.
- Ps 62:8Trust in Him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts before Him. God is our refuge. Selah
- Ps 127:1A song of ascents. Of Solomon. Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain; unless the LORD protects the city, its watchmen stand guard in vain.
- Ps 146:3Put not your trust in princes, in mortal man, who cannot save.
- Ps 60:11Give us aid against the enemy, for the help of man is worthless.
- Isa 2:2In the last days the mountain of the house of the LORD will be established as the chief of the mountains; it will be raised above the hills, and all nations will stream to it.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 6:27 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.