2 Kings 8:9

8:9 So Hazael went to visit Elisha. ¹  He took along a gift, ²  as well as ³  forty camel loads of all the fine things of Damascus. When he arrived, he stood before him and said, “Your son, ⁴  King Ben Hadad of Syria, has sent me to you with this question, ⁵  ‘Will I recover from this sickness?’”

2 Kings 9:11

9:11 When Jehu rejoined ⁶  his master’s servants, they ⁷  asked him, “Is everything all right? ⁸  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.” ⁹ 

2 Kings 25:24

25:24 Gedaliah took an oath so as to give them and their troops some assurance of safety. ¹⁰  He said, “You don’t need to be afraid to submit to the Babylonian officials. Settle down in the land and submit to the king of Babylon. Then things will go well for you.”

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¹ tn Heb “him”; the referent (Elisha) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

² tn The Hebrew text also has “in his hand.”

³ tn Heb “and.” It is possible that the conjunction is here explanatory, equivalent to English “that is.” In this case the forty camel loads constitute the “gift” and one should translate, “He took along a gift, consisting of forty camel loads of all the fine things of Damascus.”

⁴ sn The words “your son” emphasize the king’s respect for the prophet.

⁵ tn Heb “saying.”

⁶ tn Heb “went out to.”

⁷ tc The MT has the singular, “he said,” but many witnesses correctly read the plural.

⁸ tn Heb “Is there peace?”

⁹ tn 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.

¹⁰ tn The words “so as to give them…some assurance of safety” are supplied in the translation for clarification.