2 Kings 1:16

1:16 Elijah 1  said to the king, 2  “This is what the Lord says, ‘You sent messengers to seek an oracle from Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron. You must think there is no God in Israel from whom you can seek an oracle! 3  Therefore you will not leave the bed you lie on, for you will certainly die.’” 4 

2 Kings 3:13

3:13 Elisha said to the king of Israel, “Why are you here? 5  Go to your father’s prophets or your mother’s prophets!” The king of Israel replied to him, “No, for the Lord is the one who summoned these three kings so that he can hand them over to Moab.”

2 Kings 5:7

5:7 When the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes and said, “Am I God? Can I kill or restore life? Why does he ask me to cure a man of his skin disease? 6  Certainly you must see that he is looking for an excuse to fight me!” 7 

2 Kings 6:22

6:22 He replied, “Do not strike them down! You did not capture them with your sword or bow, so what gives you the right to strike them down? 8  Give them some food and water, so they can eat and drink and then go back to their master.”

2 Kings 7:13

7:13 One of his advisers replied, “Pick some men and have them take five of the horses that are left in the city. (Even if they are killed, their fate will be no different than that of all the Israelite people – we’re all going to die!) 9  Let’s send them out so we can know for sure what’s going on.” 10 

1 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elijah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

2 tn Heb “him”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

3 tn Heb “Because you sent messengers to inquire of Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron, is there no God in Israel to inquire of his word?”

4 sn For the third time in this chapter we read the Lord’s sarcastic question to king and the accompanying announcement of judgment. The repetition emphasizes one of the chapter’s main themes. Israel’s leaders should seek guidance from their own God, not a pagan deity, for Israel’s sovereign God is the one who controls life and death.

5 tn Or “What do we have in common?” The text reads literally, “What to me and to you?”

6 tn Heb “Am I God, killing and restoring life, that this one sends to me to cure a man from his skin disease?” In the Hebrew text this is one lengthy rhetorical question, which has been divided up in the translation for stylistic reasons.

7 tn Heb “Indeed, know and see that he is seeking an occasion with respect to me.”

8 tn Heb “Are [they] ones you captured with your sword or your bow (that) you can strike (them) down?”

9 tn Heb “Let them take five of the remaining horses that remain in it. Look, they are like all the people of Israel that remain in it. Look, they are like all the people of Israel that have come to an end.” The MT is dittographic here; the words “that remain in it. Look they are like all the people of Israel” have been accidentally repeated. The original text read, “Let them take five of the remaining horses that remain in it. Look, they are like all the people of Israel that have come to an end.”

10 tn Heb “and let us send so we might see.”