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

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 

2 Kings 21:3

21:3 He rebuilt the high places that his father Hezekiah had destroyed; he set up altars for Baal and made an Asherah pole just like King Ahab of Israel had done. He bowed down to all the stars in the sky ⁹  and worshiped ¹⁰  them.

2 Kings 23:4-5

23:4 The king ordered Hilkiah the high priest, the high-ranking priests, ¹¹  and the guards ¹²  to bring out of the Lord’s temple all the items that were used in the worship of ¹³  Baal, Asherah, and all the stars of the sky. ¹⁴  The king ¹⁵  burned them outside of Jerusalem in the terraces ¹⁶  of Kidron, and carried their ashes to Bethel. ¹⁷  23:5 He eliminated ¹⁸  the pagan priests whom the kings of Judah had appointed to offer sacrifices ¹⁹  on the high places in the cities of Judah and in the area right around Jerusalem. (They offered sacrifices ²⁰  to Baal, the sun god, the moon god, the constellations, and all the stars in the sky.)

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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.

⁹ sn See the note at 2 Kgs 17:16.

¹⁰ tn Or “served.”

¹¹ tn Heb “the priests of the second [rank],” that is, those ranked just beneath Hilkiah.

¹² tn Or “doorkeepers.”

¹³ tn Heb “for.”

¹⁴ tn Heb “all the host of heaven” (also in v. 5).

¹⁵ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹⁶ tn Or “fields.” For a defense of the translation “terraces,” see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 285.

¹⁷ map For location see Map4-G4; Map5-C1; Map6-E3; Map7-D1; Map8-G3.

¹⁸ tn Perhaps, “destroyed.”

¹⁹ tn Or “burn incense.”

²⁰ tn Or “burned incense.”