New English Translation
2 Kings 2:24
24When he turned around and saw them, he called God’s judgment down on them. Two female bears came out of the woods and ripped forty-two of the boys to pieces.
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
22The water has been pure to this very day, just as Elisha prophesied. 23He went up from there to Bethel. As he was traveling up the road, some young boys came out of the city and made fun of him, saying, “Go on up, baldy! Go on up, baldy!” When he turned around and saw them, he called God’s judgment down on them. Two female bears came out of the woods and ripped forty-two of the boys to pieces. 25From there he traveled to Mount Carmel and then back to Samaria.
Read all of 2 Kings 22 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
Words taken from the KJV.
- And he turnedפָּנָהpânâh · to turnH6437
- backאַחַר'achar · afterH310
- and lookedרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seeH7200
- on them, and cursedקָלַלqâlal · to lightenH7043
- them in the nameשֵׁםshêm · nameH8034
- of the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- And there came forthיָצָאyâtsâ' · to come out: comeH3318
- twoשְׁנַ֫יִםshenayim shettayim · twoH8147
- she bearsדֹּבdôb dôb · bearH1677
- out of the woodיַ֫עַרya‛ar · woodH3293
- and tareבָּקַעbâqa‛ · to break up/openH1234
- fortyאַרְבָּעִים'arbâ‛îym · fortyH705
- childrenיֶ֫לֶדyeled · youthH3206
Cross-references for 2 Kings 2:24
- 2 Kings 1:10Elijah replied to the captain, “If I am indeed a prophet, may fire come down from the sky and consume you and your fifty soldiers!” Fire then came down from the sky and consumed him and his fifty soldiers.
- Genesis 9:25So he said, “Cursed be Canaan! The lowest of slaves he will be to his brothers.”
- Deuteronomy 28:15“But if you ignore the Lord your God and are not careful to keep all his commandments and statutes I am giving you today, then all these curses will come upon you in full force:
- Judges 9:20But if not, may fire blaze from Abimelech and consume the leaders of Shechem and Beth Millo! May fire also blaze from the leaders of Shechem and Beth Millo and consume Abimelech!”
- Jeremiah 28:16So the Lord says, ‘I will most assuredly remove you from the face of the earth. You will die this very year because you have counseled rebellion against the Lord.’”
- Jeremiah 29:21“The Lord God of Israel who rules over all also has something to say about Ahab son of Kolaiah and Zedekiah son of Maaseiah, who are prophesying lies to you and claiming my authority to do so. ‘I will hand them over to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and he will execute them before your very eyes.
- Lamentations 3:65Give them a distraught heart; may your curse be on them!
- Amos 7:17“Therefore this is what the Lord says: ‘Your wife will become a prostitute in the streets and your sons and daughters will die violently. Your land will be given to others and you will die in a foreign land. Israel will certainly be carried into exile away from its land.’”
- Mark 11:14He said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard it.
- Acts 5:5When Ananias heard these words he collapsed and died, and great fear gripped all who heard about it.
- Acts 8:20But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could acquire God’s gift with money!
- Acts 13:9But Saul (also known as Paul), filled with the Holy Spirit, stared straight at him
- 2 Corinthians 10:6We are also ready to punish every act of disobedience, whenever your obedience is complete.
- 2 Samuel 17:8Hushai went on to say, “You know your father and his men – they are soldiers and are as dangerous as a bear out in the wild that has been robbed of her cubs. Your father is an experienced soldier; he will not stay overnight with the army.
- Proverbs 17:12It is better for a person to meet a mother bear being robbed of her cubs, than to encounter a fool in his folly.
- Proverbs 28:15Like a roaring lion or a roving bear, so 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
In the dictionaries
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
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