New English Translation
2 Kings 7:2
2An officer who was the king’s right-hand man responded to the prophet, “Look, even if the Lord made it rain by opening holes in the sky, could this happen so soon?” Elisha said, “Look, you will see it happen with your own eyes, but you will not eat any of the food!”
2 Kings 7:2 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Then a lord on whose hand the king leaned answered the man of God, and said, Behold, if the Lord would make windows in heaven, might this thing be? And he said, Behold, thou shalt see it with thine eyes, but shalt not eat thereof.
- New International Version (NIV)The officer on whose arm the king was leaning said to the man of God, “Look, even if the Lord should open the floodgates of the heavens, could this happen?” “You will see it with your own eyes,” answered Elisha, “but you will not eat any of it!”
- English Standard Version (ESV)Then the captain on whose hand the king leaned said to the man of God, "If the Lord himself should make windows in heaven, could this thing be?" But he said, "You shall see it with your own eyes, but you shall not eat of it."
- New King James Version (NKJV)So an officer on whose hand the king leaned answered the man of God and said, “Look, if the Lord would make windows in heaven, could this thing be?” And he said, “In fact, you shall see it with your eyes, but you shall not eat of it.”
Context of 2 Kings 7:2
1Elisha replied, “Hear the word of the Lord! This is what the Lord says, ‘About this time tomorrow a seah of finely milled flour will sell for a shekel and two seahs of barley for a shekel at the gate of Samaria.’” An officer who was the king’s right-hand man responded to the prophet, “Look, even if the Lord made it rain by opening holes in the sky, could this happen so soon?” Elisha said, “Look, you will see it happen with your own eyes, but you will not eat any of the food!” 3Now four men with a skin disease were sitting at the entrance of the city gate. They said to one another, “Why are we just sitting here waiting to die? 4If we go into the city, we’ll die of starvation, and if we stay here we’ll die! So come on, let’s defect to the Syrian camp! If they spare us, we’ll live; if they kill us – well, we were going to die anyway.”
Read all of 2 Kings 72 Kings 7:2 word by word
וַיַּ֣עַן הַשָּׁלִ֡ישׁ אֲשֶׁר־לַמֶּלֶךְ֩ נִשְׁעָ֨ן עַל־יָד֜וֹ אֶת־אִ֣ישׁ הָאֱלֹהִים֮ וַיֹּאמַר֒ הִנֵּ֣ה יְהוָ֗ה עֹשֶׂ֤ה אֲרֻבּוֹת֙ בַּשָּׁמַ֔יִם הֲיִהְיֶ֖ה הַדָּבָ֣ר הַזֶּ֑ה וַיֹּ֗אמֶר הִנְּכָ֤ה רֹאֶה֙ בְּעֵינֶ֔יךָ וּמִשָּׁ֖ם לֹ֥א תֹאכֵֽל׃ סRead the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Then a lordשָׁלִישׁshâlîysh shâlôsh shâlôsh · officerH7991
- on whose handיָדyâd · handH3027
- the kingמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4428
- leanedשָׁעַןshâ‛an · to leanH8172
- answeredעָנָה‛ânâh · to answerH6030
- the manאִישׁ'îysh · manH376
- of Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
- and saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- would makeעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to makeH6213
- windowsאֲרֻבָּה'ărubbâh · windowH699
- in heavenשָׁמַיִםshâmayim shâmeh · heavenH8064
- might this thingדָּבָרdâbâr · word: thingH1697
- Behold, thou shalt seeרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seeH7200
- with thine eyesעַ֫יִן‛ayin · eyeH5869
- but shalt not eatאָכַל'âkal · to eatH398
Cross-references for 2 Kings 7:2
- 2 Kings 5:18May the Lord forgive your servant for this one thing: When my master enters the temple of Rimmon to worship, and he leans on my arm and I bow down in the temple of Rimmon, may the Lord forgive your servant for this.”
- Genesis 18:12So Sarah laughed to herself, thinking, “After I am worn out will I have pleasure, especially when my husband is old too?”
- Numbers 11:21Moses said, “The people around me are 600,000 on foot; but you say, ‘I will give them meat, that they may eat for a whole month.’
- Psalms 78:19They insulted God, saying, “Is God really able to give us food in the wilderness?
- Genesis 7:11In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month – on that day all the fountains of the great deep burst open and the floodgates of the heavens were opened.
- Malachi 3:10“Bring the entire tithe into the storehouse so that there may be food in my temple. Test me in this matter,” says the Lord who rules over all, “to see if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until there is no room for it all.
- 2 Kings 7:17Now the king had placed the officer who was his right-hand man at the city gate. When the people rushed out, they trampled him to death in the gate. This fulfilled the prophet’s word which he had spoken when the king tried to arrest him.
- Deuteronomy 3:27Go up to the top of Pisgah and take a good look to the west, north, south, and east, for you will not be allowed to cross the Jordan.
- 2 Chronicles 20:20Early the next morning they marched out to the Desert of Tekoa. When they were ready to march, Jehoshaphat stood up and said: “Listen to me, you people of Judah and residents of Jerusalem! Trust in the Lord your God and you will be safe! Trust in the message of his prophets and you will win.”
- Isaiah 7:9Ephraim’s leader is Samaria, and Samaria’s leader is the son of Remaliah. If your faith does not remain firm, then you will not remain secure.”
- Romans 3:3What then? If some did not believe, does their unbelief nullify the faithfulness of God?
- 2 Timothy 2:13If we are unfaithful, he remains faithful, since he cannot deny himself.
- Hebrews 3:17And against whom was God provoked for forty years? Was it not those who sinned, whose dead bodies fell in the wilderness?
Commentaries on 2 Kings 7:2
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 2Then a lord - שליש shalish . This word, as a name of office, occurs often, and seems to point out one of the highest offices in the state. So unlikely was this prediction to be fulfilled, that he thought God must pour out wheat and barley from heaven before it could have a literal accomplishment. But shalt not eat thereof - This was a mere prediction of his death, but not as a judgment for his unbelief; any person in his circumstances might have spoken as…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 2A lord - Rather, “the captain,” as in Exodus 14:7; 1 Kings 9:22; etc. The term itself, שׁלישׁ shâlı̂ysh (derived from שׁלושׁ shâlôsh “three,”) may be compared with the Latin “tribunus.” Windows - Rather, “sluices” (compare Genesis 7:11). The “lord” means to say “If Yahweh were to open sluices in heaven, and pour down grain as He poured down rain in the time of the Deluge, even then could there be such abudnance as thou speakest of?”Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 2Joram's officer did not believe, so he missed out on God's blessings.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 22. a lord on whose hand the king leaned--When an Eastern king walks or stands abroad in the open air, he always supports himself on the arm of the highest courtier present. if the Lord would make windows in heaven--The scoffing infidelity of this remark, which was a sneer against not the prophet only, but the God he served, was justly and signally punished (see 2Ki 7:20).Read the comment
Topics related to 2 Kings 7:2
In the dictionaries
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
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