And while he yet talked with them, behold, the messenger came down unto him: and he said, Behold, this evil is of the LORD; what should I wait for the LORD any longer?
Parallel translations
- WEB While he was still talking with them, behold, the messenger came down to him. Then he said, “Behold, this evil is from Yahweh. Why should I wait for Yahweh any longer?”
- BSB While Elisha was still speaking with them, the messenger came down to him. And the king said, “This calamity is from the LORD. Why should I wait for the LORD any longer?”
- NKJV And while he was still talking with them, there was the messenger, coming down to him; and then the king said, “Surely this calamity is from the Lord; why should I wait for the Lord any longer?”
- NASB While he was still talking with them, behold, the messenger came down to him and he said, “Behold, this evil is from the Lord; why should I wait for the Lord any longer?”
- NLT While Elisha was still saying this, the messenger arrived. And the king said, “All this misery is from the Lord! Why should I wait for the Lord any longer?”
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 arrives and despairs of waiting any longer on the Lord. His words voice faithless impatience under prolonged judgment.
Overview
As the messenger reaches Elisha, the king follows, lamenting that the calamity comes from Yahweh and asking why he should wait further. His complaint reveals unbelief that abandons hope just before deliverance dawns. The moment sets up Elisha's startling promise of overnight relief. It contrasts human despair with the imminent faithfulness of God.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 26
- Job 2:9Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity? curse God, and die.
- Isa 8:21And they shall pass through it, hardly bestead and hungry: and it shall come to pass, that when they shall be hungry, they shall fret themselves, and curse their king and their God, and look upward.
- 1 Sam 31:4Then said Saul unto his armourbearer, Draw thy sword, and thrust me through therewith; lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me through, and abuse me. But his armourbearer would not; for he was sore afraid. Therefore Saul took a sword, and fell upon it.
- 1 Sam 28:6–8And when Saul enquired of the LORD, the LORD answered him not, neither by dreams, nor by Urim, nor by prophets.
- Prov 19:3The foolishness of man perverteth his way: and his heart fretteth against the LORD.
- Isa 50:10Who is among you that feareth the LORD, that obeyeth the voice of his servant, that walketh in darkness, and hath no light? let him trust in the name of the LORD, and stay upon his God.
- Isa 26:3Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.
- Isa 8:17And I will wait upon the LORD, that hideth his face from the house of Jacob, and I will look for him.
- Job 2:5But put forth thine hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse thee to thy face.
- Job 1:21And said, Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.
- Job 1:11But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face.
- Lam 3:25–26The LORD is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him.
- Rev 16:9–11And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory.
- Jer 2:25Withhold thy foot from being unshod, and thy throat from thirst: but thou saidst, There is no hope: no; for I have loved strangers, and after them will I go.
- Exod 16:6–8And Moses and Aaron said unto all the children of Israel, At even, then ye shall know that the LORD hath brought you out from the land of Egypt:
- Hab 2:3For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.
- Luke 18:1And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;
- 2 Cor 2:7So that contrariwise ye ought rather to forgive him, and comfort him, lest perhaps such a one should be swallowed up with overmuch sorrow.
- 2 Cor 2:11Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.
- Gen 4:13And Cain said unto the LORD, My punishment is greater than I can bear.
- Ps 37:9For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the LORD, they shall inherit the earth.
- Ps 27:14Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.
- Ps 62:5My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him.
- Ps 37:7Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass.
- Matt 27:4–5Saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, What is that to us? see thou to that.
- Ezek 33:10Therefore, O thou son of man, speak unto the house of Israel; Thus ye speak, saying, If our transgressions and our sins be upon us, and we pine away in them, how should we then live?
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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 6:33 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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