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

21Elisha went out to the spring, threw salt in it, and said, “This is what the Lord says: ‘I have healed this water. No longer will death or unfruitfulness result from it.’” 22Therefore, the water still remains healthy today according to the word that Elisha spoke. From there Elisha went up to Bethel. As he was walking up the path, some small boys came out of the city and jeered at him, chanting, “Go up, baldy! Go up, baldy!” 24He turned around, looked at them, and cursed them in the name of the Lord. Then two female bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the children. 25From there Elisha went to Mount Carmel, and then 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 sought advice. Then he made two golden calves, and he said to the people, “Going to Jerusalem is too difficult for you. Israel, here are your gods who brought you up from the land of Egypt.”
• Hosea 4:15Israel, if you act promiscuously, don’t let Judah become guilty! Do not go to Gilgal or make a pilgrimage to Beth-aven, and do not swear an oath: As the Lord lives!
• Hosea 10:5The residents of Samaria will have anxiety over the calf of Beth-aven. Indeed, its idolatrous priests rejoiced over it; the people will mourn over it, over its glory. It will certainly go into exile.
• Amos 3:14I will punish the altars of Bethel on the day I punish Israel for its crimes; the horns of the altar will be cut off and fall to the ground.
• Amos 4:4Come to Bethel and rebel; rebel even more at Gilgal! Bring your sacrifices every morning, your tenths every three days.
• Amos 5:5Do not seek Bethel or go to Gilgal or journey to Beer-sheba, for Gilgal will certainly go into exile, and Bethel will come to nothing.
• Amos 7:13but don’t ever prophesy at Bethel again, for it is the king’s sanctuary and a royal temple.”
• Job 19:18Even young boys scorn me. When I stand up, they mock me.
• Job 30:1But now they mock me, men younger than I am, whose fathers I would have refused to put with my sheep dogs.
• Proverbs 20:11Even a young man is known by his actions — by whether his behavior is pure and upright.
• Proverbs 22:6Start a youth out on his way; even when he grows old he will not depart from it.
• Ecclesiastes 11:10Remove sorrow from your heart, and put away pain from your flesh, because youth and the prime of life are fleeting.
• Isaiah 1:4Oh sinful nation, people weighed down with iniquity, brood of evildoers, depraved children! They have abandoned the Lord; they have despised the Holy One of Israel; they have turned their backs on him.
• Isaiah 3:5The people will oppress one another, man against man, neighbor against neighbor; the young will act arrogantly toward the old, and the worthless toward the honorable.
• Jeremiah 7:18The sons gather wood, the fathers light the fire, and the women knead dough to make cakes for the queen of heaven, and they pour out drink offerings to other gods so that they provoke me to anger.
• Genesis 21:9But Sarah saw the son mocking — the one Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham.

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