Now the king of Aram was at war against Israel. After consulting with his servants, he said, “My camp will be in such and such a place.”
Parallel translations
- WEB Now the king of Syria was at war against Israel; and he took counsel with his servants, saying, “My camp will be in such and such a place.”
- KJV Then the king of Syria warred against Israel, and took counsel with his servants, saying, In such and such a place shall be my camp.
- NKJV Now the king of Syria was making war against Israel; and he consulted with his servants, saying, “My camp will be in such and such a place.”
- NASB Now the king of Aram was making war against Israel; and he consulted with his servants, saying, “In such and such a place shall be my camp.”
- NLT When the king of Aram was at war with Israel, he would confer with his officers and say, “We will mobilize our forces at such and such a place.”
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 of Syria plans ambush camps in his war against Israel. The verse opens a new account of God's protection through Elisha's insight.
Overview
Aram (Syria) was a persistent military threat to the northern kingdom during this era. The king's secret strategy sessions set the stage for a contest between human cunning and divine knowledge. The narrative shifts from a private miracle to national affairs, showing the same God at work in both. It establishes the tension that Elisha's God-given foreknowledge will repeatedly frustrate.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Prov 20:18Set plans by consultation, and wage war under sound guidance.
- Prov 21:30There is no wisdom, no understanding, no counsel that can prevail against the LORD.
- 2 Kgs 6:24Some time later, Ben-hadad king of Aram assembled his entire army and marched up to besiege Samaria.
- 1 Kgs 22:31Now the king of Aram had ordered his thirty-two chariot commanders, “Do not fight with anyone, small or great, except the king of Israel.”
- Isa 7:5–7For Aram, along with Ephraim and the son of Remaliah, has plotted your ruin, saying:
- Isa 8:10Devise a plan, but it will be thwarted; state a proposal, but it will not happen. For God is with us.”
- Job 5:12–13He thwarts the schemes of the crafty, so that their hands find no success.
- 1 Kgs 20:23Meanwhile, the servants of the king of Aram said to him, “Their gods are gods of the hills. That is why they prevailed over us. Instead, we should fight them on the plains; surely then we will prevail.
- 1 Kgs 20:1Now Ben-hadad king of Aram assembled his entire army. Accompanied by thirty-two kings with their horses and chariots, he marched up, besieged Samaria, and waged war against it.
- 1 Kgs 20:34Ben-hadad said to him, “I will restore the cities my father took from your father; you may set up your own marketplaces in Damascus, as my father did in Samaria.” “By this treaty I release you,” Ahab replied. So he made a treaty with him and sent him away.
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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 6:8 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.