New Living Translation
2 Kings 13:19
19But the man of God was angry with him. “You should have struck the ground five or six times!” he exclaimed. “Then you would have beaten Aram until it was entirely destroyed. Now you will be victorious only three times.”
2 Kings 13:19 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And the man of God was wroth with him, and said, Thou shouldest have smitten five or six times; then hadst thou smitten Syria till thou hadst consumed it: whereas now thou shalt smite Syria but thrice.
- New International Version (NIV)The man of God was angry with him and said, “You should have struck the ground five or six times; then you would have defeated Aram and completely destroyed it. But now you will defeat it only three times.”
- English Standard Version (ESV)Then the man of God was angry with him and said, "You should have struck five or six times; then you would have struck down Syria until you had made an end of it, but now you will strike down Syria only three times."
- New King James Version (NKJV)And the man of God was angry with him, and said, “You should have struck five or six times; then you would have struck Syria till you had destroyed it! But now you will strike Syria only three times.”
Context of 2 Kings 13:19
17Then he commanded, “Open that eastern window,” and he opened it. Then he said, “Shoot!” So he shot an arrow. Elisha proclaimed, “This is the Lord’s arrow, an arrow of victory over Aram, for you will completely conquer the Arameans at Aphek.” 18Then he said, “Now pick up the other arrows and strike them against the ground.” So the king picked them up and struck the ground three times. But the man of God was angry with him. “You should have struck the ground five or six times!” he exclaimed. “Then you would have beaten Aram until it was entirely destroyed. Now you will be victorious only three times.” 20Then Elisha died and was buried. Groups of Moabite raiders used to invade the land each spring. 21Once when some Israelites were burying a man, they spied a band of these raiders. So they hastily threw the corpse into the tomb of Elisha and fled. But as soon as the body touched Elisha’s bones, the dead man revived and jumped to his feet!
Read all of 2 Kings 132 Kings 13:19 word by word
וַיִּקְצֹ֨ף עָלָ֜יו אִ֣ישׁ הָאֱלֹהִ֗ים וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙ לְהַכּ֨וֹת חָמֵ֤שׁ אוֹ־שֵׁשׁ֙ פְּעָמִ֔ים אָ֛ז הִכִּ֥יתָ אֶת־אֲרָ֖ם עַד־כַּלֵּ֑ה וְעַתָּ֕ה שָׁלֹ֥שׁ פְּעָמִ֖ים תַּכֶּ֥ה אֶת־אֲרָֽם׃ סRead the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And the manאִישׁ'îysh · manH376
- of Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
- was wrothקָצַףqâtsaph · be angryH7107
- with him, and saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- Thou shouldest have smittenנָכָהnâkâh · to smiteH5221
- fiveחָמֵשׁchâmêsh chămishshâh · fiveH2568
- or sixשֵׁשׁshêsh shishshâh · sixH8337
- timesפַּ֫עַםpa‛am pa‛ămâh · beatH6471
- Syriaאֲרָם'ărâm · SyriaH758
- till thou hadst consumedכָּלָהkâlâh · to end: destroyH3615
- thriceשָׁלֹשׁshâlôsh shâlôsh shelôshâh shelôshâh · threeH7969
Cross-references for 2 Kings 13:19
- 2 Kings 1:9Then he sent an army captain with fifty soldiers to arrest him. They found him sitting on top of a hill. The captain said to him, “Man of God, the king has commanded you to come down with us.”
- 2 Kings 4:16“Next year at this time you will be holding a son in your arms!” “No, my lord!” she cried. “O man of God, don’t deceive me and get my hopes up like that.”
- 2 Kings 6:9But immediately Elisha, the man of God, would warn the king of Israel, “Do not go near that place, for the Arameans are planning to mobilize their troops there.”
- Leviticus 10:16Moses then asked them what had happened to the goat of the sin offering. When he discovered it had been burned up, he became very angry with Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron’s remaining sons.
- Numbers 16:15Then Moses became very angry and said to the Lord, “Do not accept their grain offerings! I have not taken so much as a donkey from them, and I have never hurt a single one of them.”
- Mark 3:5He looked around at them angrily and was deeply saddened by their hard hearts. Then he said to the man, “Hold out your hand.” So the man held out his hand, and it was restored!
- Mark 10:14When Jesus saw what was happening, he was angry with his disciples. He said to them, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children.
- 2 Kings 13:25Then Jehoash son of Jehoahaz recaptured from Ben-hadad son of Hazael the towns that had been taken from Jehoash’s father, Jehoahaz. Jehoash defeated Ben-hadad on three occasions, and he recovered the Israelite towns.
- Mark 6:5And because of their unbelief, he couldn’t do any miracles among them except to place his hands on a few sick people and heal them.
Commentaries on 2 Kings 13:19
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 19The unfaithfulness of man limits the goodness of God. Though Joash did the prophet‘s bidding, it was without any zeal or fervour; and probably without any earnest belief in the efficacy of what he was doing. Compare Mark 6:5-6. God had been willing to give the Israelites complete victory over Syria 2 Kings 13:17; but Joash by his non-acceptance of the divine promise in its fulness had checked the outflow of mercy; and the result was that the original…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 10-19Verses 10-19 Jehoash, the king, came to Elisha, to receive his dying counsel and blessing. It may turn much to our spiritual advantage, to attend the sick-beds and death-beds of good men, that we may be encouraged in religion by the living comforts they have from it in a dying hour. Elisha assured the king of his success; yet he must look up to God for direction and strength; must reckon his own hands not enough, but go on, in dependence upon Divine aid…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 18-19Jehoash knew the arrows symbolized victory over Aram (2 Kings 13:17), but he did not act on it. By striking the ground only three times, he unknowingly limited his success against the Arameans. His son Jeroboam II achieved final victory later (2 Kings 14:25–28).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 14-1914-19. Elisha was fallen sick of his sickness whereof he died--Every man's death is occasioned by some disease, and so was Elisha's. But in intimating it, there seems a contrast tacitly made between him and his prophetic predecessor, who did not die. Joash the king of Israel came down unto him, and wept over his face--He visited him where he was lying ill of this mortal sickness, and expressed deep sorrow, not from the personal respect he bore for the…Read the comment
Topics related to 2 Kings 13:19
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on 2 Kings 13
- 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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