2 Kings 2:17

2 Kings 2:17 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And when they urged him till he was ashamed, he said, Send. They sent therefore fifty men; and they sought three days, but found him not.
• New International Version (NIV)But they persisted until he was too embarrassed to refuse. So he said, “Send them.” And they sent fifty men, who searched for three days but did not find him.
• English Standard Version (ESV)But when they urged him till he was ashamed, he said, "Send." They sent therefore fifty men. And for three days they sought him but did not find him.
• New King James Version (NKJV)But when they urged him till he was ashamed, he said, “Send them!” Therefore they sent fifty men, and they searched for three days but did not find him.

Context of 2 Kings 2:17

15The group of prophets from Jericho were standing not far away. They saw what happened. They said, ‘The spirit that gave power to Elijah is now with Elisha.’ They went to meet Elisha. They bent down low to the ground to respect him. 16They said to him, ‘Please, sir! We are your servants. We have 50 strong men with us. Let them go and look for your master. Perhaps the Spirit of the Lord has carried him away. Maybe it has dropped him somewhere on a mountain or in a valley.’ But Elisha replied, ‘No. Do not send them to look for him.’ But the prophets asked him many times to do this. Elisha was too ashamed to refuse. So he said, ‘Send them to look.’ They sent 50 men who looked for Elijah for three days. But they did not find him. 18When they returned, Elisha was waiting for them in Jericho. He said to them, ‘I told you not to go and look for Elijah.’ 19One day, the leaders in Jericho said to Elisha, ‘Please listen to us, sir. You can see that our city is in a good place. But the water here is bad. The land does not give us good crops.’

2 Kings 2:17 word by word

וַיִּפְצְרוּ־ב֥וֹ עַד־בֹּ֖שׁ וַיֹּ֣אמֶר שְׁלָ֑חוּ וַֽיִּשְׁלְחוּ֙ חֲמִשִּׁ֣ים אִ֔ישׁ וַיְבַקְשׁ֥וּ שְׁלֹשָֽׁה־יָמִ֖ים וְלֹ֥א מְצָאֻֽהוּ׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And when they urgedפָּצַרpâtsar · to pressH6484
• him till he was ashamedבּוֹשׁbûsh · be ashamedH954
• he saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• Sendשָׁלַחshâlach · to send: departH7971
• therefore fiftyחֲמִשִּׁיםchămishshîym · fiftyH2572
• menאִישׁ'îysh · manH376
• and they soughtבָּקַשׁbâqash · to seekH1245
• threeשָׁלֹשׁshâlôsh shâlôsh shelôshâh shelôshâh · threeH7969
• daysיוֹםyôm · dayH3117
• but foundמָצָאmâtsâ' · to findH4672

Cross-references for 2 Kings 2:17

• 2 Samuel 18:22Zadok's son Ahimaaz spoke to Joab again. He said, ‘I am not afraid of what may happen to me. Please let me run after the Ethiopian man.’ But Joab replied, ‘Why do you want to go as well? The king will not give you any gift for this news.’
• Luke 11:8Then Jesus said, ‘I will tell you what will happen. Perhaps your friend will not give you anything just because you are good friends. But if you continue to knock and ask for bread, your friend will get up. He will give you bread, as much as you need.
• Romans 10:2I can say this about them: They really want to serve God well. But they do not understand the right way to do this.
• Hebrews 11:5Enoch also believed God. Because of Enoch's faith, God took him away to heaven. He did not die like other people. As a result, nobody could ever find him, because God had taken him away. Before God took him away, it was clear that Enoch had made God happy.

Commentaries on 2 Kings 2:17

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 17Till he was ashamed - He saw they would not be satisfied unless they made the proposed search; he felt therefore that he could not, with any good grace, resist their importunity any longer.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 17Till he was ashamed - i. e. to refuse them any longer.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 13-18Verses 13-18 Elijah left his mantle to Elisha; as a token of the descent of the Spirit upon him; it was more than if he had left him thousands of gold and silver. Elisha took it up, not as a sacred relic to be worshipped, but as a significant garment to be worn. Now that Elijah was taken to heaven, Elisha inquired, 1. After God; when our creature-comforts are removed, we have a God to go to, who lives for ever. 2. After the God that Elijah served, and…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 16-18The prophets looked through the wilderness to make sure Elijah had not just vanished for a while (see 1 Kings 18:12). Elisha already knew the search was useless.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 14-1814-18. smote the waters--The waving of the mantle on the river, and the miraculous division of the waters consequent upon it, was an evidence that the Lord God of Elijah was with him, and as this miracle was witnessed by the scholars of the prophets from Jericho, they forthwith recognized the pre-eminence of Elisha, as now the prophet of Israel.Read the comment

Topics related to 2 Kings 2:17

• Ascension

In the dictionaries

• Double
• Elijah
• Heal
• Lord
• Mock
• Rest
• Ashamed
• Elisha
• Friend; Friendship
• Jehoram; Joram

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