2 Kings 13:18

2 Kings 13:18 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And he said, Take the arrows. And he took them. And he said unto the king of Israel, Smite upon the ground. And he smote thrice, and stayed.
• New International Version (NIV)Then he said, “Take the arrows,” and the king took them. Elisha told him, “Strike the ground.” He struck it three times and stopped.
• English Standard Version (ESV)And he said, "Take the arrows," and he took them. And he said to the king of Israel, "Strike the ground with them." And he struck three times and stopped.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Then he said, “Take the arrows”; so he took them. And he said to the king of Israel, “Strike the ground”; so he struck three times, and stopped.

Context of 2 Kings 13:18

16Then Elisha said to the king of Israel, ‘Prepare to shoot an arrow.’ When he had done that, Elisha put his hands on the king's hands. 17Elisha said, ‘Open the window towards the east.’ When the king opened it, Elisha said, ‘Shoot the arrow!’ The king shot the arrow and Elisha said, ‘That is the Lord's arrow which shows that you will win the battle against Syria. You will completely destroy Syria's army at Aphek.’ Then Elisha said, ‘Pick up the other arrows.’ When the king of Israel took them, Elisha said to him, ‘Hit the ground with them.’ The king hit the ground three times and then he stopped. 19The man of God then became angry with King Jehoash. He said, ‘You should have hit the ground five times or six times. Then you would have completely destroyed Syria's army. But now you will only win three battles against Syria.’ 20After that, Elisha died and they buried him. Every year in spring, groups of fighters from Moab came to attack places in Israel.

2 Kings 13:18 word by word

וַיֹּ֛אמֶר קַ֥ח הַחִצִּ֖ים וַיִּקָּ֑ח וַיֹּ֤אמֶר לְמֶֽלֶךְ־יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ הַךְ־אַ֔רְצָה וַיַּ֥ךְ שָֽׁלֹשׁ־פְּעָמִ֖ים וַֽיַּעֲמֹֽד׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And he saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• Takeלָקַחlâqach · to take: takeH3947
• the arrowsחֵץchêts · arrowH2671
• unto the kingמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4428
• of Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
• Smiteנָכָהnâkâh · to smiteH5221
• upon the groundאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: soilH776
• thriceפַּ֫עַםpa‛am pa‛ămâh · beatH6471
• thriceשָׁלֹשׁshâlôsh shâlôsh shelôshâh shelôshâh · threeH7969
• and stayedעָמַד‛âmad · to stand: standH5975

Cross-references for 2 Kings 13:18

• Isaiah 20:2At that time, the Lord gave this message to Isaiah, the son of Amoz. He said, ‘Go and remove the rough clothes that you are wearing. Take your shoes off your feet.’ Isaiah did what the Lord told him to do. He walked about without clothes and without shoes.
• Ezekiel 4:1‘Son of man, take a large brick and put it in front of you. On the brick, draw a picture of the city, Jerusalem.
• Ezekiel 5:1‘Son of man, take a sharp sword. Use it like a knife to cut off your hair and your beard. Then use some scales to weigh the hair. Put it into three separate parts that are the same weight.
• Ezekiel 12:1The Lord gave this message to me:
• 2 Kings 4:6When all the jars were full, she said to one of her sons, ‘Bring me another jar.’ But he said, ‘There are no more jars.’ Then there was no more olive oil to pour from her jar.
• Exodus 17:11When Moses lifted up his hands, the Israelites were winning in the fight. But when Moses brought his hands down, the Amalekites were winning.

Commentaries on 2 Kings 13:18

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 18Smite upon the ground - As he was ordered to take his arrows, the smiting on the ground must mean shooting arrows into it. He smote thrice, and stayed - The prophet knew that this shooting was emblematical: probably the king was not aware of what depended on the frequency of the action; and perhaps it was of the Lord that he smote only thrice, as he had determined to give Israel those three victories only over the Syrians. Elisha's being wroth because…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 18Smite upon the ground - Some prefer to render - “Shoot to the ground;” i. e. “Shoot arrows from the window into the ground outside, as if thou wert shooting against an enemy.”Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 10-19Verses 10-19 Jehoash, the king, came to Elisha, to receive his dying counsel and blessing. It may turn much to our spiritual advantage, to attend the sick-beds and death-beds of good men, that we may be encouraged in religion by the living comforts they have from it in a dying hour. Elisha assured the king of his success; yet he must look up to God for direction and strength; must reckon his own hands not enough, but go on, in dependence upon Divine aid…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 18-19Jehoash knew the arrows symbolized victory over Aram (2 Kings 13:17), but he did not act on it. By striking the ground only three times, he unknowingly limited his success against the Arameans. His son Jeroboam II achieved final victory later (2 Kings 14:25–28).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 14-1914-19. Elisha was fallen sick of his sickness whereof he died--Every man's death is occasioned by some disease, and so was Elisha's. But in intimating it, there seems a contrast tacitly made between him and his prophetic predecessor, who did not die. Joash the king of Israel came down unto him, and wept over his face--He visited him where he was lying ill of this mortal sickness, and expressed deep sorrow, not from the personal respect he bore for the…Read the comment

Topics related to 2 Kings 13:18

• Arrow
• Doubting
• Elisha
• Jehoash
• Prophecy
• Symbols and Similitudes

In the dictionaries

• Israel
• Israel, Israelites
• Jacob, Israel
• Coming
• Elisha
• Augury
• Jehoash; Joash
• Pekah

Commentaries on 2 Kings 13

• 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