2 Kings 2:23

2 Kings 2:23 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And he went up from thence unto Beth–el: and as he was going up by the way, there came forth little children out of the city, and mocked him, and said unto him, Go up, thou bald head; go up, thou bald head.
• New International Version (NIV)From there Elisha went up to Bethel. As he was walking along the road, some boys came out of the town and jeered at him. “Get out of here, baldy!” they said. “Get out of here, baldy!”
• English Standard Version (ESV)He went up from there to Bethel, and while he was going up on the way, some small boys came out of the city and jeered at him, saying, "Go up, you baldhead! Go up, you baldhead!"
• New King James Version (NKJV)Then he went up from there to Bethel; and as he was going up the road, some youths came from the city and mocked him, and said to him, “Go up, you baldhead! Go up, you baldhead!”

Context of 2 Kings 2:23

21Then Elisha went to the spring of water and threw the salt in it and said, “Thus says the Lord: ‘I [not the salt] have purified and healed these waters; there shall no longer be death or barrenness because of it.’ ” 22So the waters have been purified to this day, in accordance with the word spoken by Elisha. Then Elisha went up from Jericho to Bethel. On the way, young boys came out of the city and mocked him and said to him, “Go up, you baldhead! Go up, you baldhead!” 24When he turned around and looked at them, he cursed them in the name of the Lord. Then two female bears came out of the woods and tore to pieces forty-two of the boys. 25Elisha went from there to Mount Carmel, and from there he returned to Samaria.

2 Kings 2:23 word by word

וַיַּ֥עַל מִשָּׁ֖ם בֵּֽית־אֵ֑ל וְה֣וּא׀ עֹלֶ֣ה בַדֶּ֗רֶךְ וּנְעָרִ֤ים קְטַנִּים֙ יָצְא֣וּ מִן־הָעִ֔יר וַיִּתְקַלְּסוּ־בוֹ֙ וַיֹּ֣אמְרוּ ל֔וֹ עֲלֵ֥ה קֵרֵ֖חַ עֲלֵ֥ה קֵרֵֽחַ׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And he went upעָלָה‛âlâh · to ascend: riseH5927
• from thence unto Beth–elבֵּֽיתְ־אֵלbêyth-'êl · BethelH1008
• by the wayדֶּ֫רֶךְderek · way: journeyH1870
• there came forthיָצָאyâtsâ' · to come out: comeH3318
• littleקָטָןqâţân qâţôn · smallH6996
• childrenנַ֫עַרna‛ar · youthH5288
• out of the cityעִיר‛îyr ‛âr ‛âyar · cityH5892
• and mockedקָלַסqâlas · to mockH7046
• him, and saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• thou bald headקֵרֵחַqêrêach · baldH7142

Cross-references for 2 Kings 2:23

• 1 Kings 12:28So the king took counsel [and followed bad advice] and made two calves of gold. And he said to the people, “It is too much for you to go [all the way] up to Jerusalem; behold your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.”
• Hosea 4:15Though you, Israel, play the prostitute [by worshiping idols], Do not let Judah become guilty [of the same thing]; And do not go to Gilgal [where idols are worshiped], Or go up to Beth-aven (House of Wickedness), Nor swear [oaths in idolatrous worship, saying], “As the Lord lives!”
• Hosea 10:5The people of Samaria will fear and tremble For the [idolatrous] calf of Beth-aven (House of Wickedness). Indeed, its people will mourn over it And its idolatrous priests will cry out and wail over it, Over its glory, because the glory [of their calf god] has departed from it.
• Amos 3:14“On that day when I punish Israel’s transgressions, I shall also punish the altars of Bethel [with their golden calves]; And the horns of the altar shall be cut off And fall to the ground.
• Amos 4:4“Come to Bethel [where the golden calf is] and transgress; In Gilgal [where idols are worshiped] multiply transgression; Bring your sacrifices every morning, Your tithes every three days!
• Amos 5:5But do not resort to Bethel [to worship the golden calf] Nor enter [idolatrous] Gilgal, Nor cross over to Beersheba [and its idols]; For Gilgal will certainly go into captivity and exile, And Bethel will come to nothing.
• Amos 7:13But do not prophesy any longer at Bethel, for it is the king’s sanctuary and a royal residence.”
• Job 19:18Even young children despise me; When I get up, they speak against me.
• Job 30:1“But now those younger than I mock and laugh at me, Whose fathers I refused to put with the sheepdogs of my flock.
• Proverbs 20:11Even a boy is known and distinguished by his acts, Whether his conduct is pure and right.
• Proverbs 22:6Train up a child in the way he should go [teaching him to seek God’s wisdom and will for his abilities and talents], Even when he is old he will not depart from it.
• Ecclesiastes 11:10Therefore, remove sorrow and anger from your heart and put away pain from your body, for childhood and the prime of life are fleeting.
• Isaiah 1:4Ah, sinful nation, A people loaded down with wickedness [with sin, with injustice, with wrongdoing], Offspring of evildoers, Sons who behave corruptly! They have abandoned (rejected) the Lord, They have despised the Holy One of Israel [provoking Him to anger], They have turned away from Him.
• Isaiah 3:5And the people will be oppressed, Each one by another, and each one by his neighbor; The boy will be arrogant and insolent toward the elder And the vulgar (common) toward the honorable [person of rank].
• Jeremiah 7:18The children gather wood, the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead the dough to make cakes for the queen of heaven; and they pour out drink offerings to other gods that they may offend and provoke Me to anger.
• Genesis 21:9Now [as time went on] Sarah saw [Ishmael] the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, mocking [Isaac].

Commentaries on 2 Kings 2:23

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 23There came forth little children out of the city - These were probably the school of some celebrated teacher; but under his instruction they had learned neither piety nor good manners. Go up, thou bald head; go up, thou bald head - קרח עלה קרח עלה aleh kereach, aleh kereach . Does not this imply the grossest insult? Ascend, thou empty skull, to heaven, as it is pretended thy master did! This was blasphemy against God; and their punishment (for they were…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 23As Beth-el was the older seat of the calf-worship 1 Kings 12:32-33; 13:1-32, a prophet of Yahweh was not unlikely to meet with insult there. By the way - i. e. “by the usual road,” probably that which winds up the Wady Suweinit, under hills even now retaining some trees, and in Elisha‘s time covered with a dense forest, the haunt of savage animals. Compare 1 Kings 13:24; and for the general prevalence of beasts of prey in the country, both earlier and…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 19-25Verses 19-25 Observe the miracle of healing the waters. Prophets should make every place to which they come better for them, endeavouring to sweeten bitter spirits, and to make barren souls fruitful, by the word of God, which is like the salt cast into the water by Elisha. It was an apt emblem of the effect produced by the grace of God on the sinful heart of man. Whole families, towns, and cities, sometimes have a new appearance through the preaching of…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 23The group of boys might have been young adults. The Hebrew word used here can mean a young adult who is still learning a job. For example, Solomon asked God for wisdom because he was young and inexperienced (1 Kings 3:7). Joshua's spies in Jericho were also called by this term (Joshua 6:22–23). Calling someone baldhead was disrespectful. The young men told Elisha to go away (literally go up), mocking his role as Elijah's successor, given by God.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 23-2423-24. there came forth little children out of the city--that is, the idolatrous, or infidel young men of the place, who affecting to disbelieve the report of his master's translation, sarcastically urged him to follow in the glorious career. bald head--an epithet of contempt in the East, applied to a person even with a bushy head of hair. The appalling judgment that befell them was God's interference to uphold his newly invested prophet.Read the comment

Topics related to 2 Kings 2:23

• Baldness
• Beth-El
• Children
• Derision
• Elisha
• Infidelity
• Mocking
• Persecution
• Scoffing

In the dictionaries

• Baldness
• Double
• Elijah
• Forest
• Heal
• Lord
• Mock
• Rest
• Elisha
• Friend; Friendship

Commentaries on 2 Kings 2

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings