Christian Standard Bible
2 Kings 7:2
2Then the captain, the king’s right-hand man, responded to the man of God, “Look, even if the Lord were to make windows in heaven, could this really happen?” Elisha announced, “You will in fact see it with your own eyes, but you won’t eat any of it.”
2 Kings 7:2 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Then a lord on whose hand the king leaned answered the man of God, and said, Behold, if the Lord would make windows in heaven, might this thing be? And he said, Behold, thou shalt see it with thine eyes, but shalt not eat thereof.
- New International Version (NIV)The officer on whose arm the king was leaning said to the man of God, “Look, even if the Lord should open the floodgates of the heavens, could this happen?” “You will see it with your own eyes,” answered Elisha, “but you will not eat any of it!”
- English Standard Version (ESV)Then the captain on whose hand the king leaned said to the man of God, "If the Lord himself should make windows in heaven, could this thing be?" But he said, "You shall see it with your own eyes, but you shall not eat of it."
- New King James Version (NKJV)So an officer on whose hand the king leaned answered the man of God and said, “Look, if the Lord would make windows in heaven, could this thing be?” And he said, “In fact, you shall see it with your eyes, but you shall not eat of it.”
Context of 2 Kings 7:2
1Elisha replied, “Hear the word of the Lord! This is what the Lord says: ‘About this time tomorrow at Samaria’s gate, six quarts of fine flour will sell for a half ounce of silver and twelve quarts of barley will sell for a half ounce of silver.’” Then the captain, the king’s right-hand man, responded to the man of God, “Look, even if the Lord were to make windows in heaven, could this really happen?” Elisha announced, “You will in fact see it with your own eyes, but you won’t eat any of it.” 3Now four men with a skin disease were at the entrance to the city gate. They said to each other, “Why just sit here until we die? 4If we say, ‘Let’s go into the city,’ we will die there because the famine is in the city, but if we sit here, we will also die. So now, come on. Let’s surrender to the Arameans’ camp. If they let us live, we will live; if they kill us, we will die.”
Read all of 2 Kings 72 Kings 7:2 word by word
וַיַּ֣עַן הַשָּׁלִ֡ישׁ אֲשֶׁר־לַמֶּלֶךְ֩ נִשְׁעָ֨ן עַל־יָד֜וֹ אֶת־אִ֣ישׁ הָאֱלֹהִים֮ וַיֹּאמַר֒ הִנֵּ֣ה יְהוָ֗ה עֹשֶׂ֤ה אֲרֻבּוֹת֙ בַּשָּׁמַ֔יִם הֲיִהְיֶ֖ה הַדָּבָ֣ר הַזֶּ֑ה וַיֹּ֗אמֶר הִנְּכָ֤ה רֹאֶה֙ בְּעֵינֶ֔יךָ וּמִשָּׁ֖ם לֹ֥א תֹאכֵֽל׃ סRead the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Then a lordשָׁלִישׁshâlîysh shâlôsh shâlôsh · officerH7991
- on whose handיָדyâd · handH3027
- the kingמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4428
- leanedשָׁעַןshâ‛an · to leanH8172
- answeredעָנָה‛ânâh · to answerH6030
- the manאִישׁ'îysh · manH376
- of Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
- and saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- would makeעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to makeH6213
- windowsאֲרֻבָּה'ărubbâh · windowH699
- in heavenשָׁמַיִםshâmayim shâmeh · heavenH8064
- might this thingדָּבָרdâbâr · word: thingH1697
- Behold, thou shalt seeרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seeH7200
- with thine eyesעַ֫יִן‛ayin · eyeH5869
- but shalt not eatאָכַל'âkal · to eatH398
Cross-references for 2 Kings 7:2
- 2 Kings 5:18However, in a particular matter may the Lord pardon your servant: When my master, the king of Aram, goes into the temple of Rimmon to bow in worship while he is leaning on my arm, and I have to bow in the temple of Rimmon — when I bow in the temple of Rimmon, may the Lord pardon your servant in this matter.”
- Genesis 18:12So she laughed to herself: “After I am worn out and my lord is old, will I have delight?”
- Numbers 11:21But Moses replied, “I’m in the middle of a people with six hundred thousand foot soldiers, yet you say, ‘I will give them meat, and they will eat for a month.’
- Psalms 78:19They spoke against God, saying, “Is God able to provide food in the wilderness?
- Genesis 7:11In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the sources of the vast watery depths burst open, the floodgates of the sky were opened,
- Malachi 3:10Bring the full tenth into the storehouse so that there may be food in my house. Test me in this way,” says the Lord of Armies. “See if I will not open the floodgates of heaven and pour out a blessing for you without measure.
- 2 Kings 7:17The king had appointed the captain, his right-hand man, to be in charge of the city gate, but the people trampled him in the gate. He died, just as the man of God had predicted when the king had come to him.
- Deuteronomy 3:27Go to the top of Pisgah and look to the west, north, south, and east, and see it with your own eyes, for you will not cross the Jordan.
- 2 Chronicles 20:20In the morning they got up early and went out to the wilderness of Tekoa. As they were about to go out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Hear me, Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem. Believe in the Lord your God, and you will be established; believe in his prophets, and you will succeed.”
- Isaiah 7:9the chief city of Ephraim is Samaria, and the chief of Samaria is the son of Remaliah. If you do not stand firm in your faith, then you will not stand at all.
- Romans 3:3What then? If some were unfaithful, will their unfaithfulness nullify God’s faithfulness?
- 2 Timothy 2:13if we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny himself.
- Hebrews 3:17With whom was God angry for forty years? Wasn’t it with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness?
Commentaries on 2 Kings 7:2
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 2Then a lord - שליש shalish . This word, as a name of office, occurs often, and seems to point out one of the highest offices in the state. So unlikely was this prediction to be fulfilled, that he thought God must pour out wheat and barley from heaven before it could have a literal accomplishment. But shalt not eat thereof - This was a mere prediction of his death, but not as a judgment for his unbelief; any person in his circumstances might have spoken as…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 2A lord - Rather, “the captain,” as in Exodus 14:7; 1 Kings 9:22; etc. The term itself, שׁלישׁ shâlı̂ysh (derived from שׁלושׁ shâlôsh “three,”) may be compared with the Latin “tribunus.” Windows - Rather, “sluices” (compare Genesis 7:11). The “lord” means to say “If Yahweh were to open sluices in heaven, and pour down grain as He poured down rain in the time of the Deluge, even then could there be such abudnance as thou speakest of?”Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 2Joram's officer did not believe, so he missed out on God's blessings.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 22. a lord on whose hand the king leaned--When an Eastern king walks or stands abroad in the open air, he always supports himself on the arm of the highest courtier present. if the Lord would make windows in heaven--The scoffing infidelity of this remark, which was a sneer against not the prophet only, but the God he served, was justly and signally punished (see 2Ki 7:20).Read the comment
Topics related to 2 Kings 7:2
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on 2 Kings 7
- 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
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