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.”
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.
- BSB 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.”
- 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.”
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 20:18Plans are established by advice; by wise guidance you wage war!
- Prov 21:30There is no wisdom nor understanding nor counsel against Yahweh.
- 2 Kgs 6:24After this, Benhadad king of Syria gathered all his army, and went up and besieged Samaria.
- 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.”
- Isa 7:5–7Because Syria, Ephraim, and the son of Remaliah, have plotted evil against you, saying,
- Isa 8:10Take counsel together, and it will be brought to nothing; speak the word, and it will not stand: for God is with us.”
- Job 5:12–13He frustrates the devices of the crafty, So that their hands can’t perform their enterprise.
- 1 Kgs 20:23The servants of the king of Syria said to him, “Their god is a god of the hills; therefore they were stronger than we. But let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we will be stronger than they.
- 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.
- 1 Kgs 20:34Ben Hadad said to him, “The cities which my father took from your father I will restore. You shall make streets for yourself in Damascus, as my father made in Samaria.” “I”, said Ahab, “will let you go with this covenant.” So he made a covenant with him, and let him go.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
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 6:8 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.