2 Kings 2:24

2 Kings 2:24 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And he turned back, and looked on them, and cursed them in the name of the Lord. And there came forth two she bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two children of them.
• New International Version (NIV)He turned around, looked at them and called down a curse on them in the name of the Lord. Then two bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the boys.
• English Standard Version (ESV)And he turned around, and when he saw them, he cursed them in the name of the Lord. And two she-bears came out of the woods and tore forty-two of the boys.
• New King James Version (NKJV)So he turned around and looked at them, and pronounced a curse on them in the name of the Lord. And two female bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the youths.

Context of 2 Kings 2:24

22So the waters have been purified to this day, in accordance with the word of Elisha which he spoke. 23Now 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!” When 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 2:24 word by word

וַיִּ֤פֶן אַֽחֲרָיו֙ וַיִּרְאֵ֔ם וַֽיְקַלְלֵ֖ם בְּשֵׁ֣ם יְהוָ֑ה וַתֵּצֶ֨אנָה שְׁתַּ֤יִם דֻּבִּים֙ מִן־הַיַּ֔עַר וַתְּבַקַּ֣עְנָה מֵהֶ֔ם אַרְבָּעִ֥ים וּשְׁנֵ֖י יְלָדִֽים׃Read the interlinear

• When he lookedפָּנָהpânâh · to turnH6437
• behindאַחַר'achar · afterH310
• him and sawרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seeH7200
• cursedקָלַלqâlal · to lightenH7043
• them in the nameשֵׁםshêm · nameH8034
• of the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• Then twoשְׁנַ֫יִםshenayim shettayim · twoH8147
• female bearsדֹּבdôb dôb · bearH1677
• cameיָצָאyâtsâ' · to come out: comeH3318
• of the woodsיַ֫עַרya‛ar · woodH3293
• and toreבָּקַעbâqa‛ · to break up/openH1234
• forty-twoאַרְבָּעִים'arbâ‛îym · fortyH705
• of the boysיֶ֫לֶדyeled · youthH3206

Cross-references for 2 Kings 2:24

• 2 Kings 1:10But Elijah replied to the captain of fifty, “If I am a man of God, may fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty.” Then fire came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty men.
• Genesis 9:25So he said, “Cursed be Canaan; A servant of servants He shall be to his brothers.”
• Deuteronomy 28:15“But it shall come about, if you do not obey the Lord your God, to be careful to follow all His commandments and His statutes which I am commanding you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you:
• Judges 9:20But if not, may fire come out of Abimelech and consume the leaders of Shechem and Beth-millo; and may fire come out of the leaders of Shechem and from Beth-millo, and consume Abimelech.”
• Jeremiah 28:16Therefore, this is what the Lord says: ‘Behold, I am going to remove you from the face of the earth. This year you are going to die, because you spoke falsely against the Lord.’”
• Jeremiah 29:21‘This is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says concerning Ahab the son of Kolaiah and concerning Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah, who are prophesying to you falsely in My name: “Behold, I am going to hand them over to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he will kill them before your eyes.
• Lamentations 3:65You will give them shamelessness of heart, Your curse will be on them.
• Amos 7:17Therefore, this is what the Lord says: ‘Your wife will become a prostitute in the city, your sons and your daughters will fall by the sword, your land will be parceled up by a measuring line, and you yourself will die upon unclean soil. Furthermore Israel will certainly go from its land into exile.’”
• Mark 11:14And He said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again!” And His disciples were listening.
• Acts 5:5And as he heard these words, Ananias collapsed and died; and great fear came over all who heard about it.
• Acts 8:20But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could acquire the gift of God with money!
• Acts 13:9But Saul, who was also known as Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, stared at him,
• 2 Corinthians 10:6and we are ready to punish all disobedience, whenever your obedience is complete.
• 2 Samuel 17:8Then Hushai said, “You yourself know your father and his men, that they are warriors and they are fierce, like a bear deprived of her cubs in the field. And your father is an expert in warfare, and he will not spend the night with the people.
• Proverbs 17:12Let a person meet a bear robbed of her cubs, Rather than a fool in his foolishness.
• Proverbs 28:15Like a roaring lion and a rushing bear Is a wicked ruler over a poor people.

Commentaries on 2 Kings 2:24

• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 24On this occasion only do we find Elisha a minister of vengeance. Perhaps it was necessary to show, at the outset of his career as a prophet, that he too, so mild and peaceful could, like Elijah, wield the terrors of God‘s judgments (1 Kings 19:19 note). The persons really punished were, not so much the children, as the wicked parents 2 Kings 2:23, whose mouth-pieces the children were, and who justly lost the gift of offspring of which they had shown…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
• 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 2:24

• Bear
• Beth-El
• Children
• Elisha
• Infidelity

In the dictionaries

• Bear
• Double
• Elijah
• Forest
• Heal
• Lord
• Mock
• Rest
• Baldness
• Elisha

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