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 9:15
9:15 But King Joram had returned to Jezreel to recover from the wounds he received from the Syrians 6 when he fought against King Hazael of Syria. 7 Jehu told his supporters, 8 “If you really want me to be king, 9 then don’t let anyone escape from the city to go and warn Jezreel.”
2 Kings 10:19
10:19 So now, bring to me all the prophets of Baal, as well as all his servants and priests. 10 None of them must be absent, for I am offering a great sacrifice to Baal. Any of them who fail to appear will lose their lives.” But Jehu was tricking them 11 so he could destroy the servants of Baal.
2 Kings 18:22
18:22 Perhaps you will tell me, ‘We are trusting in the Lord our God.’ But Hezekiah is the one who eliminated his high places and altars and then told the people of Judah and Jerusalem, ‘You must worship at this altar in Jerusalem.’
2 Kings 18:27
18:27 But the chief adviser said to them, “My master did not send me to speak these words only to your master and to you. 12 His message is also for the men who sit on the wall, for they will eat their own excrement and drink their own urine along with you.” 13
2 Kings 22:13
22:13 “Go, seek an oracle from 14 the Lord for me and the people – for all Judah. Find out about 15 the words of this scroll that has been discovered. For the Lord’s fury has been ignited against us, 16 because our ancestors have not obeyed the words of this scroll by doing all that it instructs us to do.” 17
2 Kings 22:19
22:19 ‘You displayed a sensitive spirit 18 and humbled yourself before the Lord when you heard how I intended to make this place and its residents into an appalling example of an accursed people. 19 You tore your clothes and wept before me, and I have heard you,’ says the Lord.
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 “which the Syrians inflicted [on] him.”
7 sn See 2 Kgs 8:28-29a.
8 tn The words “his supporters” are added for clarification.
9 tn Heb “If this is your desire.” נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) refers here to the seat of the emotions and will. For other examples of this use of the word, see BDB 660-61 s.v.
10 tn Heb “and now, all the prophets of Baal, all his servants and all his priests summon to me.”
11 tn Heb “acted with deception [or, ‘trickery’].”
12 tn Heb “To your master and to you did my master send me to speak these words?” The rhetorical question expects a negative answer.
13 tn Heb “[Is it] not [also] to the men…?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Yes, it is.”
sn The chief adviser alludes to the horrible reality of siege warfare, when the starving people in the besieged city would resort to eating and drinking anything to stay alive.
14 tn Or “inquire of.”
15 tn Heb “concerning.”
16 tn Heb “for great is the anger of the Lord which has been ignited against us.”
17 tn Heb “by doing all that is written concerning us.” Perhaps עָלֵינוּ (’alenu), “concerning us,” should be altered to עָלָיו (’alav), “upon it,” in which case one could translate, “by doing all that is written in it.”
18 tn Heb “Because your heart was tender.”
19 tn Heb “how I said concerning this place and its residents to become [an object of] horror and [an example of] a curse.” The final phrase (“horror and a curse”) refers to Judah becoming a prime example of an accursed people. In curse formulations they would be held up as a prime example of divine judgment. For an example of such a curse, see Jer 29:22.