2 Kings 7:2
7:2 An officer who was the king’s right-hand man 1 responded to the prophet, 2 “Look, even if the Lord made it rain by opening holes in the sky, could this happen so soon?” 3 Elisha 4 said, “Look, you will see it happen with your own eyes, but you will not eat any of the food!” 5
2 Kings 7:19-20
7:19 But the officer replied to the prophet, “Look, even if the Lord made it rain by opening holes in the sky, could this happen so soon?” 6 Elisha 7 said, “Look, you will see it happen with your own eyes, but you will not eat any of the food!” 8
7:20 This is exactly what happened to him. The people trampled him to death in the city gate.
1 tn Heb “the officer on whose hand the king leans.”
2 tn Heb “man of God.”
3 tn Heb “the Lord was making holes in the sky, could this thing be?” Opening holes in the sky would allow the waters stored up there to pour to the earth and assure a good crop. But, the officer argues, even if this were to happen, it would take a long time to grow and harvest the crop.
4 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elisha) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
5 tn Heb “you will not eat from there.”
6 tn Heb “the Lord was making holes in the sky, could this thing be?” See the note at 7:2.
7 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Elisha) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
8 tn Heb “you will not eat from there.”
tn In the Hebrew text vv. 18-19a are one lengthy sentence, “When the man of God spoke to the king…, the officer replied to the man of God, ‘Look…so soon?’” The translation divides this sentence up for stylistic reasons.