2 Kings 7:2

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

1Then Elisha said, Hear ye the word of the LORD; Thus saith the LORD, To morrow about this time shall a measure of fine flour be sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, in the gate of Samaria. 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 thy eyes, but shalt not eat of it. 3And there were four leprous men at the entrance of the gate: and they said one to another, Why sit we here until we die? 4If we say, We will enter into the city, then the famine is in the city, and we shall die there: and if we sit still here, we die also. Now therefore come, and let us fall to the army of the Syrians: if they save us alive, we shall live; and if they kill us, we shall but die.

2 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

• lordשָׁלִישׁshâlîysh shâlôsh shâlôsh · officerH7991
• handיָדyâd · handH3027
• kingמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4428
• leanedשָׁעַןshâ‛an · to leanH8172
• answeredעָנָה‛ânâh · to answerH6030
• manאִישׁ'îysh · manH376
• Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
• saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• LORDיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• makeעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to makeH6213
• windowsאֲרֻבָּה'ărubbâh · windowH699
• heavenשָׁמַיִםshâmayim shâmeh · heavenH8064
• thingדָּבָרdâbâr · word: thingH1697
• seeרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seeH7200
• eyesעַ֫יִן‛ayin · eyeH5869
• eatאָכַל'âkal · to eatH398

Cross-references for 2 Kings 7:2

• 2 Kings 5:18In this thing the LORD pardon thy servant, that when my master goeth into the house of Rimmon to worship there, and he leaneth on my hand, and I bow myself in the house of Rimmon: when I bow down myself in the house of Rimmon, the LORD pardon thy servant in this thing.
• Genesis 18:12Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am become old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?
• Numbers 11:21And Moses said, The people, among whom I am, are six hundred thousand footmen; and thou hast said, I will give them flesh, that they may eat a whole month.
• Psalms 78:19Yea, they spoke against God; they said, Can God furnish a table in the wilderness?
• Genesis 7:11In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.
• Malachi 3:10Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house, and test me now in this, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open for you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it .
• 2 Kings 7:17And the king appointed the lord on whose hand he leaned to have the charge of the gate: and the people trod upon him in the gate, and he died, as the man of God had said, who spoke when the king came down to him.
• Deuteronomy 3:27Go up to the top of Pisgah, and lift up thy eyes westward, and northward, and southward, and eastward, and behold with thy eyes: for thou shalt not go over this Jordan.
• 2 Chronicles 20:20And they rose early in the morning, and went forth into the wilderness of Tekoa: and as they went forth, Jehoshaphat stood and said, Hear me, O Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem; Believe in the LORD your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper.
• Isaiah 7:9And the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is Remaliah’s son. If ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be established.
• Romans 3:3For what if some did not believe? shall their unbelief make the faithfulness of God without effect?
• 2 Timothy 2:13If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.
• Hebrews 3:17But with whom was he grieved forty years? was it not with them that had sinned, whose 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

• Elisha
• Israel, Prophecies Concerning
• Prophecy
• Unbelief

In the dictionaries

• God
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
• man of God
• Elisha
• Manner
• Samaria
• Astronomy
• Benhadad
• Buying
• Captain

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