2 Kings 7:3

2 Kings 7:3 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And there were four leprous men at the entering in of the gate: and they said one to another, Why sit we here until we die?
• New International Version (NIV)Now there were four men with leprosy at the entrance of the city gate. They said to each other, “Why stay here until we die?
• English Standard Version (ESV)Now there were four men who were lepers at the entrance to the gate. And they said to one another, "Why are we sitting here until we die?
• New King James Version (NKJV)Now there were four leprous men at the entrance of the gate; and they said to one another, “Why are we sitting here until we die?

Context of 2 Kings 7:3

1Elisha said, ‘Now listen to the Lord's message! This is what the Lord says: “About this time tomorrow, five kilograms of good flour will cost only one piece of silver. Ten kilograms of barley will also cost one piece of silver. You will be able to buy this food at the gate of Samaria.” ’ 2The special officer who was near to the king said to the man of God, ‘That will never happen! Even if the Lord opens the skies and sends us rain, it could not happen so soon.’ Elisha said, ‘You yourself will see this happen, but you will not eat any of the food!’ At this time, there were four men who had leprosy. They were at Samaria's gate where people went in to the city. They said to each other, ‘We should not stay here. If we wait here we will die. 4There is no food in the city. If we go in there we will die. And if we stay here, we will die. So we will go out to the camp of the Syrian army. We will ask them to be kind to us. They may let us stay alive, or they may kill us. But we would have died anyway.’ 5At evening time, the men went towards the Syrian army's camp. When they reached the edge of the camp, they saw that there was nobody there!

2 Kings 7:3 word by word

וְאַרְבָּעָ֧ה אֲנָשִׁ֛ים הָי֥וּ מְצֹרָעִ֖ים פֶּ֣תַח הַשָּׁ֑עַר וַיֹּֽאמְרוּ֙ אִ֣ישׁ אֶל־רֵעֵ֔הוּ מָ֗ה אֲנַ֛חְנוּ יֹשְׁבִ֥ים פֹּ֖ה עַד־מָֽתְנוּ׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And there were fourאַרְבַּע'arba‛ 'arbâ‛âh · fourH702
• leprousצָרַעtsâra‛ · be leprousH6879
• menאֱנוֹשׁ'ĕnôsh · humanH582
• at the entering inפֶּ֫תַחpethach · entranceH6607
• of the gateשַׁ֫עַרsha‛ar · gateH8179
• and they saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• oneאִישׁ'îysh · man: anyoneH376
• to anotherרֵעַrêa‛ rêya‛ · neighborH7453
• Why sitיָשַׁבyâshab · to dwellH3427
• we here until we dieמוּתmûth · to dieH4191

Cross-references for 2 Kings 7:3

• 2 Kings 5:1Naaman was the leader of the king of Syria's army. Naaman's master respected him as a great man. The Lord had used Naaman to help Syria win wars against their enemies. Naaman was a brave soldier, but he had a bad disease of his skin.
• 2 Kings 8:4The king was talking to Gehazi, the servant of the man of God. The king said to Gehazi, ‘Tell me about all the great things that Elisha has done.’
• Leviticus 13:46He must be alone all the time that he has a disease. He must live outside the camp.
• Numbers 5:2‘Speak to the Israelites. They must send any person with a disease of the skin away from the camp. Or somebody may have a disease that causes pus to come out of his body. Any person like that is not clean. Anyone who has touched a dead person is also not clean. Send those people out of the camp too.
• Numbers 12:14But the Lord said to Moses, ‘Even if her father had spat on her face, she would have to be ashamed for seven days. So you must keep her outside the camp for seven days. After that you can let her come back inside the camp.’
• 2 Kings 7:4There is no food in the city. If we go in there we will die. And if we stay here, we will die. So we will go out to the camp of the Syrian army. We will ask them to be kind to us. They may let us stay alive, or they may kill us. But we would have died anyway.’
• Jeremiah 8:14The people say: ‘We should not sit here and do nothing. We must all go together into our strong cities. If we have to die, we will die there! The Lord our God has said that we must die. We have done bad things against him. He has decided to punish us with death. He has given us water to drink that has poison in it.
• Jeremiah 27:13You and your people do not need to die. But war, famine or disease will destroy any nation that refuses to serve the king of Babylon. The Lord has said that this will happen.

Commentaries on 2 Kings 7:3

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 3There were four leprous men - The Gemara in Sota, R. Sol. Jarchi, and others, say that these four lepers were Gehazi and his three sons. At the entering in of the gate - They were not permitted to mingle in civil society.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 3The position of the lepers is in accordance with the Law of Moses (marginal references); and shows that the Law was still observed to some extent in the kingdom of Israel.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 3-11Verses 3-11 God can, when he pleases, make the stoutest heart to tremble; and as for those who will not fear God, he can make them fear at the shaking of a leaf. Providence ordered it, that the lepers came as soon as the Syrians were fled. Their consciences told them that mischief would befall them, if they took care of themselves only. Natural humanity, and fear of punishment, are powerful checks on the selfishness of the ungodly. These feelings tend to…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 3These four men were outcasts due to their illness and stayed outside the city gates (Leviticus 13:45–46; see Luke 17:11–13).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 33. there were four leprous men--The account of the sudden raising of the siege and the unexpected supply given to the famishing inhabitants of Samaria, is introduced by a narrative of the visit and discovery, by these poor creatures, of the extraordinary flight of the Syrians. leprous men at the entering in of the gate--living, perhaps, in some lazar house there (Le 13:4-6; Nu 5:3).Read the comment

Topics related to 2 Kings 7:3

• Leprosy
• Prophecy
• Sanitation

In the dictionaries

• Manner
• Samaria
• Benhadad
• Buying
• Jehoahaz
• Jehoram; Joram
• Kings, Books of
• Leper; Leprosy
• Elisha

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