2 Kings 6:6

6:6 The prophet¹ asked, “Where did it drop in?” When he showed him the spot, Elisha² cut off a branch, threw it in at that spot, and made the ax head float.

2 Kings 6:9-12

6:9 But the prophet sent this message to the king of Israel, “Make sure you don’t pass through this place because Syria is invading there.” 6:10 So the king of Israel sent a message to the place the prophet had pointed out, warning it³ to be on its guard. This happened on several occasions.⁴ 6:11 This made the king of Syria upset.⁵ So he summoned his advisers⁶ and said to them, “One of us must be helping the king of Israel.”⁷ 6:12 One of his advisers said, “No, my master, O king. The prophet Elisha who lives in Israel keeps telling the king of Israel the things you say in your bedroom.”

2 Kings 6:17-20

6:17 Then Elisha prayed, “O Lord, open his eyes so he can see.” The Lord opened the servant’s eyes and he saw that⁸ the hill was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. 6:18 As they approached him,⁹ Elisha prayed to the Lord, “Strike these people¹⁰ with blindness.”¹¹ The Lord¹² struck them with blindness as Elisha requested.¹³ 6:19 Then Elisha said to them, “This is not the right road or city. Follow me, and I will lead you to the man you’re looking for.” He led them to Samaria.¹⁴

6:20 When they had entered Samaria, Elisha said, “O Lord, open their eyes, so they can see.” The Lord opened their eyes and they saw that they were in the middle of Samaria.¹⁵

2 Kings 6:32

6:32 Now Elisha was sitting in his house with the community leaders.¹⁶ The king¹⁷ sent a messenger on ahead, but before he arrived,¹⁸ Elisha¹⁹ said to the leaders,²⁰ “Do you realize this assassin intends to cut off my head?”²¹ Look, when the messenger arrives, shut the door and lean against it. His master will certainly be right behind him.”²²

¹tn Heb “man of God” (also in v. 9).

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

³tn The vav + perfect here indicates action contemporary with the preceding main verb (“sent”). See IBHS 533-34 §32.2.3e.

⁴tn Heb “and the king of Israel sent to the place about which the man of God spoke to him, and he warned it and he guarded himself there, not once and not twice.”

⁵tn Heb “and the heart of the king of Syria was stirred up over this thing.”

⁶tn Heb “servants.”

⁷tn Heb “Will you not tell me who among us [is] for the king of Israel?” The sarcastic rhetorical question expresses the king’s suspicion.

⁸tn Heb “and he saw, and look.”

⁹tn Heb “and they came down to him.”

¹⁰tn Or “this nation,” perhaps emphasizing the strength of the Syrian army.

¹¹tn On the basis of the Akkadian etymology of the word, M. Cogan and H. Tadmor (II Kings [AB], 74) translate “blinding light.” HALOT 761 s.v. סַנְוֵרִים suggests the glosses “dazzling, deception.”

¹²tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹³tn Heb “according to the word of Elisha.”

¹⁴map For location see Map2-B1; Map4-D3; Map5-E2; Map6-A4; Map7-C1.

¹⁵tn Heb “and they saw, and look, [they were] in the middle of Samaria.”

¹⁶tn Heb “and the elders were sitting with him.”

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

¹⁸tn Heb “sent a man from before him, before the messenger came to him.”

¹⁹tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elisha) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

²⁰tn Heb “elders.”

²¹tn Heb “Do you see that this son of an assassin has sent to remove my head?”

²²tn Heb “Is not the sound of his master’s footsteps behind him?”