2 Kings 1:6

1:6 They replied, 1  “A man came up to meet us. He told us, “Go back to the king who sent you and tell him, ‘This is what the Lord says: “You must think there is no God in Israel! That explains why you are sending for an oracle from Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron. 2  Therefore you will not leave the bed you lie on, for you will certainly die.”’”

2 Kings 6:32

6:32 Now Elisha was sitting in his house with the community leaders. 3  The king 4  sent a messenger on ahead, but before he arrived, 5  Elisha 6  said to the leaders, 7  “Do you realize this assassin intends to cut off my head?” 8  Look, when the messenger arrives, shut the door and lean against it. His master will certainly be right behind him.” 9 

1 tn Heb “said to him.”

2 tn Heb “Is it because there is no God in Israel [that] you are sending to inquire of Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron?” The translation seeks to bring out the sarcastic tone of the rhetorical question. In v. 3 the messengers are addressed (in the phrase “you are on your way” the second person plural pronoun is used in Hebrew), but here the king is addressed (in the phrase “you are sending” the second person singular pronoun is used).

3 tn Heb “and the elders were sitting with him.”

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

5 tn Heb “sent a man from before him, before the messenger came to him.”

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

7 tn Heb “elders.”

8 tn Heb “Do you see that this son of an assassin has sent to remove my head?”

9 tn Heb “Is not the sound of his master’s footsteps behind him?”