For the Lord had caused the Arameans to hear the sound of chariots, horses, and a great army, so that they said to one another, “Look, the king of Israel must have hired the kings of the Hittites and Egyptians to attack us.”
Parallel translations
- WEB For the Lord had made the army of the Syrians to hear the sound of chariots, and the sound of horses, even the noise of a great army; and they said to one another, “Behold, the king of Israel has hired against us the kings of the Hittites and the kings of the Egyptians to attack us.”
- KJV For the LORD had made the host of the Syrians to hear a noise of chariots, and a noise of horses, even the noise of a great host: and they said one to another, Lo, the king of Israel hath hired against us the kings of the Hittites, and the kings of the Egyptians, to come upon us.
- NKJV For the Lord had caused the army of the Syrians to hear the noise of chariots and the noise of horses—the noise of a great army; so they said to one another, “Look, the king of Israel has hired against us the kings of the Hittites and the kings of the Egyptians to attack us!”
- NASB For the Lord had made the army of the Arameans hear a sound of chariots, a sound of horses, that is, the sound of a great army; and they said to one another, “Behold, the king of Israel has hired the kings of the Hittites and the kings of the Egyptians against us, to attack us!”
- NLT For the Lord had caused the Aramean army to hear the clatter of speeding chariots and the galloping of horses and the sounds of a great army approaching. “The king of Israel has hired the Hittites and Egyptians to attack us!” they cried to one another.
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 Lord had caused the Syrians to hear phantom armies and flee in terror. God routed the enemy by His own power alone.
Overview
A divinely sent sound of chariots and a great host convinced the besiegers that hired armies were attacking. In panic they imagined Israel had summoned the Hittites and Egyptians. The deliverance came not by Israel's sword but by the Lord's direct intervention. It magnifies God as the true warrior who scatters the enemy and saves His people without their strength.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- 2 Sam 5:24As soon as you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, move quickly, because this will mean that the LORD has marched out before you to strike the camp of the Philistines.”
- Isa 31:1Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, who rely on horses, who trust in their abundance of chariots and in their multitude of horsemen. They do not look to the Holy One of Israel; they do not seek the LORD.
- 1 Kgs 10:29A chariot could be imported from Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse for a hundred and fifty. Likewise, they exported them to all the kings of the Hittites and to the kings of Aram.
- Rev 9:9They also had thoraxes like breastplates of iron, and the sound of their wings was like the roar of many horses and chariots rushing into battle.
- Isa 36:9For how can you repel a single officer among the least of my master’s servants when you depend on Egypt for chariots and horsemen?
- 2 Chr 12:2–3In the fifth year of Rehoboam’s reign, because they had been unfaithful to the LORD, Shishak king of Egypt came up and attacked Jerusalem
- Ps 14:5There they are, overwhelmed with dread, for God is in the company of the righteous.
- Rev 6:15–16Then the kings of the earth, the nobles, the commanders, the rich, the mighty, and every slave and free man hid in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains.
- Job 15:21Sounds of terror fill his ears; in his prosperity the destroyer attacks him.
- 2 Kgs 3:22–27When they got up early in the morning, the sun was shining on the water, and it looked as red as blood to the Moabites across the way.
- Ezek 10:5The sound of the wings of the cherubim could be heard as far as the outer court, like the voice of God Almighty when He speaks.
- 2 Kgs 19:7Behold, I will put a spirit in him so that he will hear a rumor and return to his own land, where I will cause him to fall by the sword.’”
- Jer 20:3–4The next day, when Pashhur released Jeremiah from the stocks, Jeremiah said to him, “The LORD does not call you Pashhur, but Magor-missabib.
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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 7:6 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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