2 Kings 2:24

2:24 When he turned around and saw them, he called God’s judgment down on them. ¹  Two female bears came out of the woods and ripped forty-two of the boys to pieces.

2 Kings 5:22

5:22 He answered, “Everything is fine. ²  My master sent me with this message, ‘Look, two servants of the prophets just arrived from the Ephraimite hill country. ³  Please give them a talent ⁴  of silver and two suits of clothes.’”

2 Kings 21:19

Amon’s Reign over Judah

21:19 Amon was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned for two years in Jerusalem. ⁵  His mother ⁶  was Meshullemeth, the daughter of Haruz, from Jotbah.

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¹ tn Heb “he cursed them in the name of the Lord.” A curse was a formal appeal to a higher authority (here the Lord) to vindicate one’s cause through judgment. As in chapter one, this account makes it clear that disrespect for the Lord’s designated spokesmen can be deadly, for it is ultimately rejection of the Lord’s authority.

² tn Heb “peace.”

³ tn Heb “Look now, here, two servants came to me from the Ephraimite hill country, from the sons of the prophets.”

⁴ tn The Hebrew term כִּכָּר (kikkar, “circle”) refers generally to something that is round. When used of metals it can refer to a disk-shaped weight made of the metal or to a standard unit of weight, generally regarded as a talent. Since the accepted weight for a talent of metal is about 75 pounds, this would have amounted to about 75 pounds of silver (cf. NCV, NLT, CEV).

⁵ map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

⁶ tn Heb “the name of his mother.”