2 Kings 3:11

3:11 Jehoshaphat asked, “Is there no prophet of the Lord here that we might seek the Lord’s direction?”¹ One of the servants of the king of Israel answered, “Elisha son of Shapat is here; he used to be Elijah’s servant.”²

2 Kings 8:6

8:6 The king asked the woman about it, and she gave him the details.³ The king assigned a eunuch to take care of her request and ordered him,⁴ “Give her back everything she owns, as well as the amount of crops her field produced from the day she left the land until now.”

2 Kings 8:12

8:12 Hazael asked, “Why are you crying, my master?” He replied, “Because I know the trouble you will cause the Israelites. You will set fire to their fortresses, kill their young men with the sword, smash their children to bits, and rip open their pregnant women.”

2 Kings 9:11

9:11 When Jehu rejoined⁵ his master’s servants, they⁶ asked him, “Is everything all right?⁷ Why did this madman visit you?” He replied, “Ah, it’s not important. You know what kind of man he is and the kinds of things he says.”⁸

2 Kings 10:13

10:13 Jehu encountered⁹ the relatives¹⁰ of King Ahaziah of Judah. He asked, “Who are you?” They replied, “We are Ahaziah’s relatives. We have come down to see how¹¹ the king’s sons and the queen mother’s sons are doing.”

2 Kings 10:15

10:15 When he left there, he met¹² Jehonadab, son of Rekab, who had been looking for him.¹³ Jehu greeted him and asked,¹⁴ “Are you as committed to me as I am to you?”¹⁵ Jehonadab answered, “I am!” Jehu replied, “If so, give me your hand.”¹⁶ So he offered his hand and Jehu¹⁷ pulled him up into the chariot.

¹tn Heb “that we might inquire of the Lord through him?”

²tn Heb “who poured water on the hands of Elijah.” This refers to one of the typical tasks of a servant.

³tn Heb “and the king asked the woman and she told him.”

⁴tn Heb “and he assigned to her an official, saying.”

⁵tn Heb “went out to.”

⁶tc The MT has the singular, “he said,” but many witnesses correctly read the plural.

⁷tn Heb “Is there peace?”

⁸tn Heb “He said, ‘You, you know the man and his thoughts.’” Jehu tries to deflect their question by reminding them that the man is an eccentric individual who says strange things. His reply suggests that the man said nothing of importance. The translation seeks to bring out the tone and intent of Jehu’s reply.

⁹tn Heb “found.”

¹⁰tn Or “brothers.”

¹¹tn Heb “for the peace of.”

¹²tn Heb “found.”

¹³tn Heb “and he went from there and found Jehonadab son of Rekab [who was coming] to meet him.”

¹⁴tn Heb “and he blessed him and said to him.”

¹⁵tn Heb “Is there with your heart [what is] right, as my heart [is] with your heart?”

¹⁶tc Heb “Jehonadab said, ‘There is and there is. Give your hand.’” If the text is allowed to stand, there are two possible ways to understand the syntax of וָיֵשׁ (vayesh), “and there is”: (1) The repetition of יֵשׁ (yesh, “there is and there is”) could be taken as emphatic, “indeed I am.” In this case, the entire statement could be taken as Jehonadab’s words or one could understand the words “give your hand” as Jehu’s. In the latter case the change in speakers is unmarked. (2) וָיֵשׁ begins Jehu’s response and has a conditional force, “if you are.” In this case, the transition in speakers is unmarked. However, it is possible that וַיֹּאמֶר (vayyo’mer), “and he said,” or וַיֹּאמֶר יֵהוּא (vayyo’mer yehu), “and Jehu said,” originally appeared between יֵשׁ and וָיֵשׁ and has accidentally dropped from the text by homoioarcton (note that both the proposed וַיֹּאמֶר and וָיֵשׁ begin with vav, ו). The present translation assumes such a textual reconstruction; it is supported by the LXX, Syriac Peshitta, and Vulgate.

¹⁷tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jehu) has been specified in the translation for clarity.