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

21Then he went out to the spring of water and threw salt in it and said, “This is what the Lord says: ‘I have purified these waters; there shall not come from there death or unfruitfulness any longer.’” 22So the waters have been purified to this day, in accordance with the word of Elisha which he spoke. Now he went up from there to Bethel; and as he was going up by the road, some young boys came out from the city and ridiculed him and said to him, “Go up, you baldhead; go up, you baldhead!” 24When he looked behind him and saw them, he cursed them in the name of the Lord. Then two female bears came out of the woods and tore up forty-two of the boys. 25He then went on from there to Mount Carmel, and from there 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

• Now he wentעָלָה‛âlâh · to ascend: riseH5927
• from thereשָׁםshâm · thereH8033
• to Bethelבֵּֽיתְ־אֵלbêyth-'êl · BethelH1008
• by the roadדֶּ֫רֶךְderek · way: journeyH1870
• youngקָטָןqâţân qâţôn · smallH6996
• boysנַ֫עַרna‛ar · youthH5288
• cameיָצָאyâtsâ' · to come out: comeH3318
• from the cityעִיר‛îyr ‛âr ‛âyar · cityH5892
• ridiculedקָלַסqâlas · to mockH7046
• him and saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• you baldheadקֵרֵחַqêrêach · baldH7142

Cross-references for 2 Kings 2:23

• 1 Kings 12:28So the king consulted, and he made two golden calves; and he said to the people, “It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem; behold your gods, Israel, that brought you up from the land of Egypt.”
• Hosea 4:15Though you, Israel, play the prostitute, Judah must not become guilty; Also you are not to go to Gilgal, Nor go up to Beth-aven And take the oath: “As the Lord lives!”
• Hosea 10:5The inhabitants of Samaria will fear For the calf of Beth-aven. Indeed, its people will mourn for it, And its idolatrous priests will cry out over it, Over its glory, since it has left it.
• Amos 3:14“For on the day that I punish Israel’s offenses, I will also punish the altars of Bethel; The horns of the altar will be cut off, And will fall to the ground.
• Amos 4:4“Enter Bethel and do wrong; In Gilgal multiply wrongdoing! Bring your sacrifices every morning, Your tithes every three days.
• Amos 5:5But do not resort to Bethel And do not come to Gilgal, Nor cross over to Beersheba; For Gilgal will certainly go into captivity And Bethel will come to nothing.
• Amos 7:13But do not prophesy at Bethel any longer, for it is a sanctuary of the king and a royal residence.”
• Job 19:18Even young children despise me; I stand up and they speak against me.
• Job 30:1“But now those who are younger than I mock me, Whose fathers I refused to put with the dogs of my flock.
• Proverbs 20:11It is by his deeds that a boy distinguishes himself, If his conduct is pure and right.
• Proverbs 22:6Train up a child in the way he should go, Even when he grows older he will not abandon it.
• Ecclesiastes 11:10So remove sorrow from your heart and keep pain away from your body, because childhood and the prime of life are fleeting.
• Isaiah 1:4Oh, sinful nation, People weighed down with guilt, Offspring of evildoers, Sons who act corruptly! They have abandoned the Lord, They have despised the Holy One of Israel, They have turned away from Him.
• Isaiah 3:5And the people will be oppressed, Each one by another, and each one by his neighbor; The youth will assault the elder, And the contemptible person will assault the one honored.
• Jeremiah 7:18The children gather wood, the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead dough to make sacrificial cakes for the queen of heaven; and they pour out drink offerings to other gods in order to provoke Me to anger.
• Genesis 21:9Now Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, mocking Isaac.

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